Welcome to InfoText - an e-newsletter from the Knowledge Business Centre at InfoLab21, aimed at keeping you informed about developments inside InfoLab21 and other news which we hope will be of interest to you.

If you would like to contribute news items to future editions please contact the editor – Amanda Ross - at a.ross@lancaster.ac.uk.

InfoLab21 Academic becomes Nokia Champion

Mobile phone giant Nokia has recognised a Lancaster University academic as one of the top mobile developers worldwide. Dr Paul Coulton, head of mobile game research in the Department of Communication Systems, has been made a founding member of Forum Nokia Champion - a recognition and reward program that honours a select group of mobile developers from around the world.

Nokia has described Forum Nokia Champions as ‘the outstanding talents in our community’.

To read the full story go to:
http://domino.lancs.ac.uk/info/lunews.nsf/r/33aa

Events at InfoLab21

Connecting People - Connecting Machines is the topic for the next Talking Technology event. Dr David Lund, Technology Manager of HW Communications Ltd will be talking about this fascinating area.
Date to be announced soon.

Some analysts promote the connection of machines as bigger business than how people became connected by the mobile phone, with market saturation expected to be well beyond 2010. Who are the players and what is the technological state of the art that is available for us to take advantage of this?

HW is one of the leading advanced technology companies in the UK. Current technology interests include Machine Telematics, Telemedicine and Emergency Multimedia, Application Optimised Positioning Technologies, Harsh Communication Envrionment (Powerline) Modem design, ETSI Standardisation activity, Data and Protocol Security.

HW has recently 'spun in' new company 'InoTek', of which David is also a Director overseeing Research and Product Development activity, into Infolab21

Freshen up your Marketing!

A series of marketing workshops to help you sharpen your marketing and to help you business stand out and get noticed have been created by Lancaster University Management School. Six individual events will cover the essential mix of marketing including Branding and the Web, Market Research and PR and the Media. The events take place on Tuesday mornings from 7 March to 11 April.

For further details, click here
http://omelette.lancs.ac.uk/infotext/feb06/lmu_flyer.pdf

Operational Research Projects

A project opportunity is being offered by the MSc in Operational Research course in Lancaster University Management School.

Students taking the MSc (OR) degree develop a range of analytical and statistical skills which are of relevance to many complex issues that arise in organisations. They also gain an understanding of the context of business problems and have experience of problem structuring methods that can illuminate multi-stakeholder problems. Many projects involve interaction with IT systems and databases. Expert academic supervision is provided according to the functional area involved. eg forecasting, inventory control, data mining. Following the course most students take on posts as junior analysts/consultants in UK organisations.

These projects run from May 22nd to September 22nd and the cost to organisations is £2,800 (+vat + expenses). If you are interested in discussing a potential project please contact John Ranyard on 01433 651659 jranyard@cix.co.uk

For further details and examples of previous projects, please click here

http://omelette.lancs.ac.uk/infotext/feb06/Project_Spec_2006.doc

http://omelette.lancs.ac.uk/infotext/feb06/Masters_Project_Abstracts.doc

Training Opportunities!

Courses on offer from ICT Focus:

ICT Focus is currently enrolling for the Certificate in Network & Systems Administration (NASA) starting April 2006. The Certificate is validated at 60 credits, level C Higher Education. And will give students an in-depth overview of the practical issues involved in administering a system or network using a combination of practical tutor-led study and self-paced learning. Further details can be found at http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/ictfocus/nasa/nasa.html

The Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician (MCDST) certification will get you started in your IT career by ensuring you have the skills to successfully troubleshoot desktop environments running on the Microsoft Windows operating system. ICT Focus are currently offering these courses at discounted rates 2,3,4 May http://www.microsoft.com/learning/syllabi/en-us/2261bfinal.mspx and 21 & 22 June 2006 http://www.microsoft.com/learning/syllabi/en-us/2262bfinal.mspx.

For further information about the Desktop Support Technician courses click here

For details of all our courses please see our web site at www.lancaster.ac.uk/ictfocus , e-mail us at ictfocus@lancaster.ac.uk or phone Tracy on 01524 510425

New e-mail charges cause an Internet storm

A new system for e-mail delivery announced by AOL and Yahoo has caused controversy, particularly among businesses that rely on mass-mailing to stay in touch with customers and publicise their products. If implemented, the system will see charges of up to one cent per e-mail, which will guarantee the arrival of messages and ensure they avoid spam filters. Critics have accused AOL and Yahoo of trying to create a two-tier Internet.

The BBC has more details about the plans at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4684942.stm

Computer Misuse Act to be revamped

The Government has announced plans to bring the 1990 Computer Misuse Act into the 21st century by increasing the maximum jail sentence for hackers and shoring up the legal protection available for firms against denial of service attacks. The reforms are encompassed under the newly published Police and Justice Bill, and have been labelled by industry commentators as "long overdue".

There are more details at:
http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/Article.aspx?liArticleID=213944&PrinterFriendly=true

The £15m InfoLab21 building was made possible with funding from Lancaster University, the Northwest Development Agency (NWDA), the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).

Project part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund NW Objective 2 Programme 2000-06 NW Knowledge Based Action Plan www.nwua.ac.uk Delivering an Entrepreneurial and Digital Economy in North West Lancs.

For further information on InfoLab21, please see: