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Open-Xchange Server 5 Blends Proprietary, Open-Source Perks
“Netline Internet Service, of Olpe, Germany, has released Open-Xchange Server 5, which lets IT administrators create and implement applications without having to changing their existing infrastructure components such as databases, directory services, message transfer agents, e-mail servers or Web servers.“

VMware Updates Desktop Virtualization Software
The new Teams feature, for example, “allows you to set up multiple virtual machine ‘developer classes’ and connect them together so you have an entire multitiered configuration running on one physical machine,” said Srinivas Krishnamurti, senior product manager at Palo Alto, Calif.-based VMware Inc.< /blockquote>

PC Magazine reviews VMware 5.0

O’Reilly Network: RSDP: A Really Simple Proposal
“Most of what we use databases for, we can accomplish with XML-RPC and SQL. So why not define a simple XML-RPC interface (Really Simple Database Protocol, or RSDP), that allows applications to communicate with SQL databases without the need for troublesome external packages and middleware? People are already doing this with in-house projects, so all that is needed is for a couple of vendors to build simple XML-RPC front ends to existing systems.“

Sounds like a good idea, but I can already accomplish something pretty close to this with PHP and XML-RPC, I don’t think I need another layer.

freshmeat.net: Project details for Edukalibre Collab Moodle
“Edukalibre Collab Moodle is a Web interface to the Edukalibre Repository Manager, a system to create collaborative educational material with additional functionality such as automatic conversion of documents, history of documents, etc. This interface allows users to perform the most common tasks over the system using a Web browser. Some examples are the ability to upload or update a document, review the history of a document, or view the converted formats, etc.“

Teachers leave grading up to the computer | CNET News.com
“Ed Brent, professor of sociology at the Columbia, Mo., university, spent six years developing the program, which is called Qualrus, and has been testing it on his pupils for the past two. It works by scanning text for keywords, phrases and language patterns. Students load papers directly into the system via the Web and get nearly instant feedback.

How can a cold, mechanical computer comprehend the art and nuance of writing? The program is actually quite sophisticated, Brent said. It’s not enough to just throw keywords into an essay willy-nilly. The program analyzes sentence and paragraph structure and can ascertain the flow of arguments and ideas. It gives each work a numeric score based on the weight instructors place on various elements of the assignment.“

I wonder if this would choke on a law school final?