A recent WiFi - iPhone problem was resolved recently at Duke University. At first it was feared that the iPhone was causing a problem with the WiFi network in the campus by barraging the servers with thousands of media control access requests a second, effectively knocking out the wireless access points. As many as 20 to 30 WAPs at a time was knocked out because of the MAC requests.

Recently though, the problem was resolved and the Campus' wireless network provider, Cisco, fixed a glitch in their systems. Apparently, the problem lay within the network and not entirely on the iPhone. A statement released by Cisco stated that the wireless network at Duke University "experience[s] some minor and temporary disruptions in service" given a "particular set of conditions." The specifics of what this set of conditions entail was not enclosed with the statement.

Van Baker, research Vice President at Garter in California, believes that the problem was something unique to the system at Duke University. Other universities also use the the Cisco system using the same kind of infrastructure and they did not experience any problems similar to what Duke experienced. Baker surmises that the Duke system has an encryption system not incorporated in the iPhone and that caused the glitch in the system which caused the WAPs to get knocked out.

Baker further explains his theory by explaining that "Cisco's LEAP (Lightweight Extensible Authentication Protocol) is an enterprise deployment not seen in the consumer market at all. The iPhone doesn't have a lot of the features you'd normally expect to see in an enterprise class phone."

You high school guys might want to go easy on your iPods for a bit. Reportedly high school institutions across the U.S. are banning the music device to keep students from cheating in exams.

Students have become increasingly creative with ways to cheat with the growing technology at their disposal, hence the teachers are looking at cutting the evil from the roots, so to speak. And this is by way of imposing an outright ban on digital media players. Mountain View High School, for example, has already implemented the ban, realizing that some students had downloaded formulas and other material to their players.

Says National Association of Secondary School Principals spokeswoman, Shana Kemp of the ban, "I think it is becoming a national trend. We hope that each district will have a policy in place for technology - it keeps a lot of the problems down."

On the other end of the spectrum, meanwhile, there are some institutions like Duke University in North Carolina, which have chosen to utilize the iPod to enhance the educational experience of the students. So far, with the experiment going on for three years now, the move seems to be working for them. Instances of cheating have declined over the past ten years, and they say it's "largely because the community expects its students to have academic integrity," explains Tom Dodd, executive director of Duke's  The Center of Academic Integrity.

Technology can both be a boon and a bane. It's just a matter of determining for yourself if you'll use it for the good or not.

Since Apple allowed universities to post lectures and other educational items on iTunes, universities have grabbed the opportunity to spread the knowledge. George Washington University, Duke University, North Carolina Central University, and Ohlone College are just some of the universities that have joined iTunes U.

With that, a bill was put forward on Michigan recently that includes a proposal to give out US$ 38 million in iPods or other mp3 players as instructional tools for every student in the state. But even if the Michigan legislators mean well, they were still questioned by school representatives. According to Don Wotruba, spokesman for the Michigan Association of School Boards:

My members are telling me they have much more pressing things theyÂ?re worried about, like whether theyÂ?re going to be able to make payroll in May.

iTunes U is slowly catching on, with more and more universities seeing the advantage of having lectures readily available and have students listen to them on the go. Three more schools have tapped Apple's service.

North Carolina Central University (NCCU), the first North Carolina system to join iTunes U, has elected last June to utilize the iPod technology in their teaching methods. Fuqua's speeches, interviews, and conference presentations can now be downloaded straight to the iPod by students of Duke University's Fuqua School of Business in North Carolina. September will see Ohlone College joining in the increasing number of educational institutions embracing iTunes U.