Facebook News: New Profile Layouts

Facebook will be unveiling the first major change to user profile pages since the mini-feed and 3rd party apps in the coming months.

Learn more about tabs, the new publisher, resizing of news feed stories, and more.

Profile Changes Are Coming Soon

New Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education

Charles L. Tucker III, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, was announced as the new University of Illinois College of Engineering Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education and Programs last week. Professor Umberto Ravaioli has served the College amazingly over the past year. We thank him for all his hard work, and are excited about the future with Dean Tucker.

"Professor Tucker is very well-respected as a teacher, advisor, and researcher, and he has held a similar position administering academic programs at the department-level," remarked Ilesanmi Adesida, dean of the College of Engineering. "His appointment as associate dean comes after a thorough review of both internal and external candidates and I am very pleased that he has accepted my offer to serve all students and faculty in the college."

Tucker chosen as Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education

Vice Chancellor for Research

Our current Vice Chancellor for Research Charles Zukoski will step down this summer. As an amazing teacher, administrator, and professor, he will be missed.

Zukoski said he's leaving with mixed emotions but feels the time is right. The career path for most vice chancellors for research involves taking a job as dean, provost or chancellor of another university, he said, and he is in "no hurry to leave Champaign-Urbana."

The News-Gazette: UI vice chancellor for research will step down

What Computer for College - 2008 Edition

So every year we get a few requests about "What computer should I buy for college?" Here are some of our thoughts, as well as some specifics that every new computer should have.

Laptop or Desktop (or Tablet)? - I'd say a large majority of college students have laptops, simply because the mobility of a laptop is important to students who are on-the-go. Further, a laptop is simply easier to move around while moving in and out of your dorm room. Laptops are more expensive, however, so this is a trade off decision that you must make yourself.

Tablet PCs are still a specialized category of computer - most students do not get this unless they know that they need a tablet PC. Most of the major online retailers (Dell, HP, Lenovo, Toshiba) have tablet PC options.

PC or Mac? - Most people don't really need to ask this question, as you should just get whatever you've been using before at home or school. Macs do have the reputation of being less buggy, more stylish, and simpler to use than Windows. These things come at a hefty price tag, though, as a PC is often much cheaper than an equivalent Mac laptop or desktop.

Vista or XP? - right after Windows Vista was released, some people were sticking with Windows XP, but now that Vista has been updated significantly, there is no reason that a new computer should be purchased without a copy of the latest, most secure version of Windows - Vista.

Now some idea on specifications (these are more appropriate for Windows laptops)

Screen Size - This defines the overall size of the laptop. A 15" display is the typical average, but some students will get a smaller screen because they want to be more mobile, or a bigger (17 inch) screen if they want a desktop replacement (a computer that they intend to leave on their desk a majority of the time)

RAM/Memory - If you're getting Windows Vista, 2 GB of memory is a must, if not 3 GB.

CPU Speed - Intel Core 2 Duo is important to get if you want a speedy laptop - do not get a Celeron or a Intel Dual Core. 2 GHz is the typical speed, and slight deviations from this (e.g. 2.2 GHz) won't affect overall performance that much.

Hard Drive - A typical hard drive is between 150-250 GB for laptops. This is plenty of space for a decent amount of music and school documents. If you will be doing video editing (which takes up more hard drive space), you may want to get something bigger.

Optical Drive - A standard laptop will come with a CD Burner + DVD Player. This is probably enough for an average student, but a DVD-burner upgrade is nice if you want to burn DVDs of video or for backups.

Video Card - A laptop will probably not play games very well, simply because a top-of-the-line video card cannot fit into the laptop. The standard video card is fine for everyday use.

Wireless - Wireless is essential for school laptops. Upgrades to "802.11 Draft N" or things with "N" are not essential - your school wireless will use the widely standardized 802.11b.

Summer!

Summer is here. Grades are expected to be posted on Friday - so be ready.

Have a great summer. We'll continue to post UIUC news here on a less frequent schedule.

Gas Mileage Tips

As the semester comes to an end, many UIUC students will be driving home and to other parts of the country for summer internships. But the gas prices are quite ridiculous right now, making driving much more costly. Check out some of these videos and websites to maximize your miles per gallon.

Revision3: Gas Prices killing you? We can help you max out your MPG!
Wikipedia: Fuel economy-maximizing behaviors
CleanMPG

Image by cobalt123 under Creative Commons

Send Your Name to the Moon

Before NASA begins manned missions to the moon, they will first send the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) to scout out particular features on the surface. The LRO is scheduled to launch later this year, but NASA has invited people of all ages to take part in the mission now. You can visit the LRO website to submit your name to be brought aboard the spacecraft. The collected names will be stored in a database on a microchip inside the LRO. Participants are encouraged to submit their information at http://lro.jhuapl.edu/NameToMoon/, print a certificate and have their name entered into a database. The deadline for submitting names is June 27, 2008.

"Everyone who sends their name to the moon, like I'm doing, becomes part of the next wave of lunar explorers," said Cathy Peddie, deputy project manager for LRO at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "The LRO mission is the first step in NASA's plans to return humans to the moon by 2020, and your name can reach there first. How cool is that?"

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

One boy, one girl - one dorm room

Interesting story about two students of opposite sexes rooming together in Connecticut's Wesleyan University dorms.

"People are shocked to hear that it's happening and even that it's possible," said Youngdahl, a 20-year-old sophomore. But "once you actually live in it, it doesn't actually turn into a big deal."

CNN: One boy, one girl -- one dorm room

UIUC on Engadget

Very cool to see UIUC on a technology blog ... seems like we don't get as much press as we deserve.

We've already seen a few viruses delivered via hardware, but a group of researchers from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are now warning that we may not have seen anything yet.

Engadget: Researchers design "malicious circuits," warn of potential risk

Reading Day 2008

Well, the semester is officially over. Classes are finished and all that's left is final exams. Today is Reading Day. It's been in debate for years as to what the purpose of this day really is. Do they expect us to read all day? I think it is meant to be a day off, after class and before exams. To those of you who have exams on Friday, today would probably be a great day to study. For those of you who have nothing to study for, or are just too lazy, here are some ideas to fill your day:

Top Ten Things to do on Reading Day:
10. Study for Finals
9. Go outside and enjoy the weather
8. Go home and skip finals
7. Come back to campus when your parents find out you're skipping finals
6. Return your stolen cafeteria items to the "amnesty box"
5. Recycle all your notes (or toss them into a [safe and contained] fire)
4. Browse Facebook (all day)
3. Go to your normal Thursday classes and wonder where everyone is
2. Sleep
1. Read!?! (It is reading day.)

Good luck on your exams!