Podcasts at MIT
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a podcast is "a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program, made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player." IS&T recently launched a Podcasts at MIT page (web.mit.edu/ist/podcasts/) to encourage members of the community to contribute podcasts. Especially relevant are submissions from departments, labs and centers, as well as MIT-sponsored events such as lectures and forums. Individuals can add informal content directly via the IS&T Podcast Wiki at istwiki.mit.edu/istwiki/podcasts.
All submissions must be free of copyright infringement. IS&T recommends that contributors look into getting a Creative Commons license, which enables copyright holders to grant some of their rights to the public while retaining others. For details, visit creativecommons.org/.
IS&T plans to roll out a more robust podcast indexing service and is working on standards for tagging to make content easily accessible and searchable.
Theses in DSpace
The MIT Libraries have added more than 11,000 MIT theses to DSpace -- doubling the content of the digital archive and providing worldwide exposure to the work of MIT scholars. The MIT thesis collection contains the theses of many well-known MIT alumni, including several Nobel Prize winners. In DSpace their work, and the valuable research of many others, will now be even more accessible via the Web.
To find theses in DSpace, go to libraries.mit.edu/mit-theses. Current MIT students, faculty and staff can print PDF files of theses (certificates required). Non-MIT users have access to a readable copy and the option of purchasing printable files.
The theses in DSpace represent a small portion of the more than 100,000 theses in the collection. The full collection of paper theses dating from 1868 can be found in the Institute archives. More theses will be added to DSpace as they are scanned on demand or submitted electronically. Recent MIT graduates or students about to complete their degree may submit electronic versions of their theses to DSpace at web.mit.edu/etheses.
Cheaper international cell calls
MIT staff and students can now take advantage of reduced international cell phone calling rates through an agreement with MobileSphere. This prepaid CellularLD service is intended for cell phone calls originating in the United States and placed to an international location.
Once you've registered for the service, you will be given a local Boston area access number and an extensive list of local access numbers throughout the United States that you can use to make international calls when you are traveling. An international call will incur charges against your prepaid CellularLD account, as well as local minute charges against your cell phone plan.
To learn more about MobileSphere's CellularLD service, including rates and how to sign up, go to web.mit.edu/ist/tel/cellularld.html.
New Media Center
The New Media Center in Room 26-139 provides the MIT community with a range of tools for producing multimedia. This "do-it-yourself" cluster includes Power Macintosh G5s loaded with multimedia software, as well as a new analog-to-digital video converter for digitization of VHS tapes. Many of the machines feature Athena-enabled logins and home directories; the entire cluster will offer this capability by the end of this year.
When it isn't being used by a class, the center is open to the MIT community 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The NMC has a keypad lock to allow access to students, faculty and staff. To get the code (the same as the Athena cluster code), type "tellme combo" at an Athena prompt. For more information, including a link to a schedule of reserved times, see web.mit.edu/nmc/.
Digitalk is compiled by Information Services and Technology.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on November 16, 2005 (download PDF).
