College Without College Credit
Funds Available For Anti-Terror Business
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This article was prepared for the November 14, 2001 edition of
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Computer Networking For Home & Small Business
You have a PC in the home office, one in each child’s
bedroom, and you and your wife each have a laptop. Battles erupt over
Internet time, the scanner was dropped as it was being spirited away
from the home office en route to a bedroom, and each of the teen-agers
is putting forth a case for adding more printers to the family’s
electronic
cache.
Sounds like it’s time to network the machines so that everyone can
access the Internet at once, share the printer and scanner, and even
announce that dinner is served via instant messaging. Networking,
despite its grim reputation for inducing tantrums, is not all that
difficult says Jonathan White, owner of a Plainsboro PC support
company with a comforting name — Yes! Consulting
He provides a detailed road map for every possible computer
configuration
when he speaks on “Home Networking and Network Sharing” on
Monday, November 19, at 7:30 p.m. at the Princeton PC Users Group
at the Lawrence library on Route 1 South. Free. Call 609-292-6219.
Networking computers at home or in the office may be a snap, as White
soothingly insists, but pitfalls await, as his attorney recently
discovered.
“Networking killed his PC,” White says. The hapless attorney
decided he wanted to link his machines, and set out to complete the
task himself. Soon his computer crashed, and he called Compaq computer
support. Round about 2 a.m., after he had turned the machine around,
the better to look into its innards, he tripped over a computer cable,
the thing slid onto the floor, and its useful life ended.
White is quite sure he knows how the networking installation went
awry. This, he says, is how such unfortunate outcomes usually start:
“It asks you for a CD you don’t have. It might ask for the
original
CD from Microsoft. You think `Oh, I know what happened. The dog ate
it.’ You decide it is not all that important, and press the `skip’
icon appearing with message.”
The computer is looking for a driver on the CD, White says, and you
had better provide it if you don’t want to end up committing computer
mayhem in the early hours of the morning. If the thing is lost, just
go borrow one from a neighbor, White suggests, adding that this is
not even a breach of your Microsoft license because your machine is
already running Windows, and you are just feeding it a driver from
the borrowed CD.
White knows this — and a whole lot more — because he has been
enthralled by computers since he was a teenager. When he was a
15-year-old
student at a prep school in his native United Kingdom, his counselor
told his parents he should not be wasting his time playing with
computers,
but rather should get on with his “real work.” His parents
ignored the advice, and bought him a Sinclair ZX 81. Made by Timex,
the computer used a tape player to record and load programs.
White studied chemical engineering at Wales Polytechnic. After failing
the first year twice, he decided chemical engineering was not for
him, and joined a small software firm. He learned that programming
was not for him either in a subsequent job where he was writing
industrial
control software. “My brick press nearly killed someone,”
he says.
The year was 1986, and the company for which he had attempted to
design
brick press software was getting in lots of PCs. He migrated toward
setting the machines up, and showing the firm’s secretaries how to
use them. He had found his niche. His next job was for Lloyd’s of
London, where he provided desktop support for both PCs and Macs. Then
he took a job with Unilever, where, among other things, he provided
tech support at a margarine factory. The entire margarine production
process is done by computer, he says, recalling with great enthusiasm
the sight of great pyramids of margarine boxes being loaded onto
pallets
without human intervention.
From margarine production, White moved to Unilever’s head office,
where he provided PC support for a new breed of computer, the
corporate
desktop. These machines are being adopted by corporations all over
the world, he says, because they are pre-loaded with all the software
employees need, and are “locked down,” so that employees with
a yen to install a cool new application can not do so. White says
employees’ installation of software on their machines is first among
the causes of their computers malfunctioning. (Just think back to
the attorney and his attempt to install networking software.)
In adopting these corporate desktops, he says, companies are not only
protecting their machines and files, but they are moving toward a
day when on-site tech support will no longer be needed. These tech
support people command high salaries, he says, and yet add nothing
to a company’s bottom line. Already, many corporations, their
corporate
desktops in place, can get by with remote tech support through which
PC experts diagnose and fix problems by tapping into a computer
electronically
from a site that can be thousands of miles away from the balky PC.
Many PC owners, including home users and small business owners, have
to slog along without this support, upgrading all on their own. For
those among them that are ready to take on the challenge of
networking,
White offers this guidance:
Pull that old PC out of the closet. White has sevencomputers.Among them is an old 486. The thing is no good for surfing the ‘Net,and has nowhere near the horsepower needed to run a good game, butWhite has found a most important use for it. He uses it as hisfirewall.It is networked to all of his other computers, and protects them all.White is adamant about the necessity of having firewall protection,especially for users who connect to the Internet via a cableconnection.”It’s on all the time. Your computer is connected to the Internetall the time,” he says. This means that other Internet users withmischief on their minds can attach themselves to you, and you won’teven know it.Most commercial firewalls cost anywhere from $100 to $50,000 (forsomething that will protect thousands of machines). Zone Alarm(www.zonealarm.com),however, is free for home users. An alternative White prefers isSmoothWall(www.smoothwall.org), a Linux program that asks only a donation. Thatis what White uses on his network.Decide what you want to network. Joining a line of threePCs — perhaps the machines in the kids’ homework room — isdifferent from linking the PC in the basement with that in the attic.Wires are cost effective. If you want to link that lineof PCs, all sitting next to one another on a desk, networking cableswill do the job for a small amount of money. For machines that arescattered throughout the house, you can use ethernet or coaxialcables.The cables run about $1 a yard. Networking cards are $10 apiece, anda hub can be as little as $10. Of course, using cables could meanpulling up carpets, or even drilling through walls.Wireless is easy. Wireless hardware is now available,and while it is more expensive than wire, it is easier to put inplace.Networking cards are about $80 and a base station that will connectup to 255 PCs is about $200. The range of these systems is good enoughthat your son can do Internet research in his attic bedroom whileyour spouse E-mails friends from an easy chair in the living room.Combinations can work. In networking, it doesn’t haveto be all or nothing. Look at the location of your machines, countup your laptops, and see what makes sense. You can network one througha phone line, a couple of more through cables, and still use wirelessfor others.Do the installation. For anyone sinking into despair at thethought of accomplishing this, White’s website includes dozens oflinks to sites that will walk you through an installation. He saysit’s as easy as slipping network cards into each computer and movinga few cables from your PC and peripherals to a base station. Heparticularlylikes Linksys (www.linksys.com), a site that sells all manner ofnetworkingessentials, and explains how to use them.Call in an expert. Anyone who has spent one too manyeveningsinstalling new software and/or hardware, all the while alternatelyweeping and alarming the children with words they rarely hear outsideof the schoolyard, can opt for professional help. White says he wouldcharge somewhere between $50 and $100 to set up a simple home network.The attorney with the scrambled PC almost certainly would haveconsidered this a pittance. Although, says White, he is not all thatupset. He shoved the ruined PC into a closet (Why can’t we throw darnthings away?), and went directly to his nearest computer superstore.He now has a much spiffier machine, and a flat screen monitor too.Top Of PageCollege Without College CreditSitting in the classroom is not the only way to gainknowledge. That’s what a group of business leaders and governors ofWestern states decided when they formed Western Governor’s University,an online university supported by 19 states and governors as wellas 24 corporations and foundations (www.wgu.edu). It has 500 to 600active students and a staff of 30, located in Salt Lake City, withmentors and teachers from all over.WGU offers competency-based degrees — associate, bachelor, andmasters degrees in information technology, business, and education.In fact, WGU bills itself as offering the only online competency-baseddegrees in the country. It has contracted with the Princeton-basedChauncey Group International, the non-profit arm of EducationalTestingService, to provide these tests. The Chauncey Group providescertificationand licensing examinations for professionals, business and government,and has 160 employees located on ETS’s Rosedale Road campus.(www.chauncey.com).Competency-based learning is familiar to GIs who for decades havebeen getting college credit for taking Dantes tests (also an ETSproduct).It is also familiar to students enrolled at Thomas Edison StateCollege,the Trenton-based institution that helps non-traditional studentsget college credit for life experience (www.tesc.edu). TESCawards credits to those who successfully pass Dantes and similartests,and it also gives credits through portfolio assessment. If you haveexpertise in your job, you complete a portfolio that displays thisknowledge, and you may be able to earn credit for it.In contrast, WGU offers no credits. “We offer competency-based,not credit-based degrees,” says Robert Mendenhall, presidentof WGU. An alumnus of Brigham Young University, Class of 1977, hisprevious job was running IBM’s worldwide business under CEO LouGerstner.”We bring together a panel of experts and ask them to define whatcompetencies would be expected in a graduate at any of threelevels,”says Mendenhall. “We find the courses that relate to thosecompetenciesand our full-time faculty members, PhDs, map the courses to thecompetencies.”Students may have to complete courses that mentors select, “butwe do not count the courses they take nor do we count thecredits,”says the college president. “The mentor determines thecompetenciesthey likely have and the competencies they need to gain, and we buildan academic action plan.” Mentors are in constant contact withstudents by phone or E-mail — and mentors can encourage distancelearning opportunities and assign papers and portfolio work.Students demonstrate proficiency through such assessments as writtentests, portfolios, projects, and performance tasks. Master’s degreestudents do a capstone project and an oral defense. The testing partof the assessment is administered in a proctored testing center.WGU has been accredited by Distance Education Training Council andis a candidate for regional accreditation in four regions. One bigdifference between it and the Trenton’s “college withoutwalls”is in cost. TESC students who are New Jersey residents or on activemilitary duty pay an overall fee — including registration,tuition,AV fees, portfolio assessment, testing, transfer evaluation, andadvisement— of $2,825 or about $76 per credit for up to 36 credits for thefirst year. For subsequent years it costs $2,320 or $64 for 36credits.Out of state residents pay $4,025 or $110 per credit for the firstyear, or $3,450 or $96 per credit for succeeding years.Whereas TESC students taking a lot of courses at once can save money,WGU charges for the degree. Any two-year degree, whether an associatesdegree, master’s degree, or the second half of a bachelor’s degreecosts from $7,000 to $9,000. Of that the tuition is $4,500, and thecourses can cost from $2,500 to $4,500, depending on the competenciesof the student.Here are other comparisons:WGU is the new kid on the block. TESC was establishedin 1972 but WGU was established five years ago and has been activelyoffering degree programs for two years. Only a handful of studentshave earned degrees so far. “In some ways it is pioneering, inother ways it is adapting technologies and putting them together ina new way,” says John Becker, WGU spokesperson.Both WGU and TESC encourage distance learning , the currenttrendy term for courses taken online. But whereas WGU offers noneof its own distance learning courses, TESC offers a wide array ofdistance learning opportunities.TESC students can present portfolio experience forspecificcollege credits, but WGU students present the portfolio work as partof their overall preparation for the degree.WGU students take WGU tests for their competency-baseddegrees. TESC does not have its own proprietary tests.Many WGU tests are scored electronically whereas noneof TESC’s tests are scored electronically. The Chauncey Group’s latestproject for WGU is on electronic assessments for students seekingbusiness degrees, for instance, and it is also working in the areasof quantitative literacy and language and communication.Using ETS’ E-rater tool, it will develop the objective portions ofboth tests and will also create the essay portion of the languageand communication assessment. With this tool a computer scores theessay, and then a human person scores it. “If there arediscrepancies,it goes to another human, and it is usually found that the computerwas more accurate,” says Bill Cramer, spokesperson for theChaunceyGroup.Among the other test developers for WGU are Galton and InterEd.ThompsonPrometric (formerly Sylvan Learning) delivers the WGU electronictests.Portfolio, essays and projects are scored by faculty.WGU has one big advantage over the brick and mortar institutionsin Salt Lake City. When the Olympics come to town, the Universityof Utah will have to close down, but WGU gets to stay open.— Barbara FoxTop Of PageCorporate AngelsThe Nassau Inn is donating 10 percent of netprofitsfrom all holiday functions from Thanksgiving through Christmas Dayto the Windows of Hope Family Relief Fund. The hotel also is donating10 percent of net profits generated from the Yankee Doodle Tap Roomrestaurant and bar from the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to theSundayafter Thanksgiving.The Windows of Hope Family Relief Fund provides aid to the familiesof victims of the World Trade Center tragedy who worked in the foodservice profession throughout the entire complex. Restaurants takingpart in this effort helped initiate a fund that provided immediateemergency aid, as well as future scholarships and funds for thefamiliesof victims of the September 11 tragedy. To date, Windows of Hope hasraised over $4 million.Direct contributions can be sent to Windows of Hope Family ReliefFund, c/o David Berdon & Co. LLP, 415 Madison Avenue, New York 10017.Parsons Infrastructure and Technology , the firm thatoperatesthe state’s motor vehicle inspection stations, has contributed $25,000to the New Jersey Conference of Mayors Relief Fund. The fund directlybenefits families of New Jersey victims of the September 11 terroristattacks.The Lawrenceville Rotary Club ‘s members donated moneyto the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund at their September17 luncheon. The Rotary Club matched its members’ donations.Top Of PageDonate PleaseWeichert Realtors ‘ Princeton Junction office is holdinga toy drive to benefit the homeless and disadvantaged children servedby Homefront. Sales associates from Weichert will be collecting toyson Saturday, November 24, and Saturday, December 1 between 10 a.m.and 2 p.m. at KayBee Toys in the Quaker Bridge Mall.Top Of PageSpeakers PleaseThe Trenton Computer Festival is looking for speakers to addressattendees at its annual event on Saturday and Sunday, May 4 and 5,at the New Jersey Convention Center in Edison.The Trenton Computer Festival seeks speakers with expertise on avarietyof topics, including the Internet, multimedia, networking, security,graphics, photography, video conferencing, database management, music,robotics, operating systems, and programming.Anyone who would like to present a talk or lead a forum or user groupsession can fill out a speaker application at www.tcf-nj.org. Formore information call Allen Katz, speaker program chairperson,at 609-771-2666.Top Of PageFunds Available For Anti-Terror BusinessThe New Jersey Commission on Science and TechnologySpringboard Fund Technology Investment Program will provideinterest-freeloans of up to $250,000 to small businesses in New Jersey to developand market technology-based anti-terrorism and public safety products.The Springboard Fund, currently funded at $5 million, provides 10-yearinterest-free loans of between $50,000 and $250,000 for product andprototype development, proof of concept or demonstration products,field and clinical trials, and other projects with a near-termcommercialoutcome. Companies are required to repay only the principal amountof the loan and the repayment schedule is based upon company revenue.There is a dollar for dollar matching requirement, which may bepartiallysatisfied through company, third party, or in-kind resources.John Tesoriero, director of the commission, said in a preparedstatement: “We want to make our Springboard Fund technologyinvestmentprogram known and available to entrepreneurs and small businessesthat may have new technologies to detect, neutralize, and/or mitigateterrorist threats and attacks.”Applications are reviewed on a quarterly basis and the review processtakes about three months. The deadline for applications is Tuesday,January 8. Call 609-984-1671 or visit (www.njcst.com).The Check Is in the Mail? Consumers telling their creditcard, banks, and other creditors that payments were mailed on timemay just be right, especially if they live in New Jersey. With a majorregional post office closed for nearly a month, and smaller postofficesclosed for shorter periods of time, the mail is slow.Helping consumers out is Acting Governor Donald DiFrancesco,who has directed the Division of Consumer Affairs to review theimpositionof late fees by credit card issuers in cases of delayed mail.Consumer Affairs notified card issuers that it is seeking forbearance.Many have responded, assuring the department that customers callingthe customer service number on their cards to report delayed mailwill receive an accommodation for any late fees. Any consumer havingdifficulty achieving a successful resolution of a late fee problemcan seek help at www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/home.htm.Top Of PageNominations PleaseThe Greater Mercer County Chamber of Commerce is seekingnominations for its 2001 Business Awards. Categories are 2001 Citizenof the Year (for a lifelong contribution to the area); 2001Corporationof the Year (open to companies with more than 100 employees); 2001Small Business of the Year (for companies of fewer than 100 employeesthat have been in business in the area for more than five years).Mail nominations and justifications to the Greater Mercer Chamberof Commerce, 2001 Business Awards, 214 West State Street, Trenton08608. Or send them by fax to 609-393-1032. The deadline forsubmissions is December 15.Previous StoryNext StoryCorrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
