XplanaZine

Icarus Studios Partners With IBM to Upgrade Performance, Availability for Its Online Games
Icarus Studios has completed porting its database systems to the IBM Informix Dynamic Server (IDS) 11 for its game and virtual world data storage and retrieval, a critical component for delivering the 3D Internet reliability and performance that consumers demand. Icarus works with leading entertainment companies, intellectual property owners, and e-learning customers, serving as a comprehensive resource center for builders of 3D virtual worlds, massively multiplayer online games, and simulation projects. — CNN

RMIT University Stays Ahead of Technology Curve With Education Solution From Nortel
RMIT University, one of Australia’s leading educational institutions, is laying the foundation for a multi-million dollar, campus-wide unified communications and multimedia network to serve more than 3,500 staff and 60,000 students using an innovative education technology solution from Nortel. The new network will be built around Nortel’s flagship Communication Server (CS) 1000 IP PBX serving 7,000 endpoints and 5,000 Nortel 1140e IP handsets. The CS 1000s will be installed across RMIT University’s three main campuses. Other components will include Nortel’s MCS 5100 for multimedia conferencing and Nortel Contact Center 6.0 for an IP-based help desk infrastructure. Nortel will also provide maintenance, integration and network optimization from the Nortel Global Services portfolio. — MarketWire

Saba Centra Enables Contact North to Deliver Interactive, Online Education and Training to Students in Remote Communities Across Northern Ontario
Saba Software, Inc. announced that Contact North/Contact Nord, Northern Ontario’s sole distance education and training network, is using Saba Centra to deliver online programs and courses provided by 14 education partners to 90 Access Centers located in small, remote communities across Northern Ontario. — Earth Times

Microsoft aims to win student developers’ hearts with free dev tools
During a talk entitled “On Software, Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Giving Back” at Stanford University on February 19, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates unveiled  the Microsoft “DreamSpark” program. Via this program, Microsoft will make Visual Studio Professional Edition (both the 2005 and 2008 variants); Expression Studio, its family of design tools; SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition; and Windows Server, Standard Edition, among other tools, available to college students — and eventually high-school students, as well — for free. — ZD Net

O’Reilly taking Mathematica online
Mathematica, Wolfram Research’s sophisticated software for complicated mathematical calculations and visualization, is going online. The O’Reilly School of Technology announced Wednesday a licensing deal with Wolfram that will let it create an online version of Mathematica called Hilbert that “will emulate the desktop version of the software with remarkable fidelity.” — Cnet News