Resources for Information Technology
Not unlike members of the library profession, information technologists working in higher education (network administrators, help desk operators, desktop computing experts, IT department administrators, etc.) are finding it challenging to keep up with rapid technology change while they also try to stay abreast of developments across a spectrum that runs from higher education, to the computing industry at large, and a wide range of technologies and standards. This page points to both specific e-newsletters and sources of additional newsletters that can be used by information technologists in their effort to keep up.
Campus Technology IT Trends
LockerGnome
E-Newsletters.Internet.Com
ComputerWorld IT Newsletters
FreeTech Mail
TechWeb Newsletters
Woody's Watch
Support Alert
IT Update
MIT InfoTech Update
New York Times Technology Feed
This free, twice-monthly newsletter is made available by the publishers of Campus Technology magazine (formerly Syllabus). It contains news expressly for IT professionals in higher education, and includes news, product announcements, resources, deals and contracts, and an opinion column.
Suggested strategy: To subscribe to Campus Technology IT Trends point your browser to:
https://campustechnology.com/mcv/newsletters/newsletters/ and follow the instructions to choose a newsletter and register for a subscription. You can also view archival copies of the newsletter at this page.
This is a link to a variety of free technology newsletters, in addition to links to a various "tips" for using different operating systems and software products. Examples of newsletters offered include Windows Daily and Webmaster Weekly. Most of the newsletters are published at least once a week.
Suggested strategy: Point your browser to https://www.lockergnome.com where you can review the various newsletters offered and subscribe by checking off those you are interested in and supplying your e-mail address.
This site is simply a compendium of dozens of other technology newsletters, most of which are free. With choices such as Javascript Weekly and Silicon Valley, the majority of the newsletters are fairly narrow in scope, but there are many to choose from as well as a few more general news reporters.
Suggested strategy: Point your browser to https://e-newsletters.internet.com to see the listing of newsletters, and to subscribe by checking off those you want to receive, and then supplying your e-mail address. It is possible to see an HTML version sample of any of the newsletters listed.
This well-known IT industry news reporter also makes available a nice range of free newsletters. Two particularly useful ones are the ComputerWorld Daily which is a report on the day's events in IT, and the Weekly Top Ten which is great if you don't have time for the daily report. The Top Ten provides the ten most requested stories from that week as well as other news overviews for the IT industry.
Suggested strategy: Point your browser to: https://www.cwrld.com/action/member.do?command=registerNewsletters&intsrc;=null which is the page that lists all of the available newsletter. A brief description of each is provided, but there is no option to examine sample issues. Use this same page to subscribe by checking off titles of interest and providing your e-mail address.
This highly organized site refers to itself as "Your search engine for IT newsletters." It provides ratings, information, links to sample issues, and the ability to subscribe for hundreds of IT newsletters. One of the best features is the ability to search for newsletters by keyword, newsletter name, or publisher. Organized like a directory, there are roughly 15 major categories, each of which has various sub-categories, so even though there are hundreds of newsletters listed, it is easy to browse by broad or narrow topic area.
Suggested strategy: Point your browser to https://www.freetechmail.org/ to browse or search the collection of newsletters.
This site list far fewer newsletters, but one thing it does offer is the ability to subscribe to several newsletters from the essential IT industry trade journal, Information Week. It offers, for example, subscriptions for InformationWeek Daily and This Week On InformationWeek.com. So you can find newsletters to provide you with news on a daily or weekly basis. The site offer newsletters on a variety of other IT topics as well. The ability to see a sample issue in inconsistent.
Suggested strategy: Point your browser to https://www.techweb.com/newsletters to browse and subscribe to the IT newsletters.
Woody's offers just a few free newsletters, but they are geared to selected Microsoft software products. For example, if you need to keep up with the latest news about the Office suite or just ACCESS or XP, Woody offers a newsletter for it. Why some software, such as Excel, is ignored is unclear. Though it isn't obvious, it is possible to look at their sample issues.
Suggested strategy: Point your browser to https://woodyswatch.com/office/subscribe.asp to subscribe to the newsletters.
This is the free edition (there is a premium "fee" version called The Supporters Edition) of a newsletter that provides links to technology news items, links to all sorts of sites with advice on how to make better use of technology, news about new computer utilities, and there are links to sites with computer security updates. It is published about once a month, and there is likely to be at least one item in each edition that will provide a useful tip or tool for just about anyone.
Suggested Strategy: Point your browser to https://www.techsupportalert.com/ and that page has a box in the right column where you can subscribe to the newsletter.
This free weekly newsletter will most likely appeal to the campus CIO or other information technology administrators. It says it is published by the editors of Information Technology Update, which is a fee-based newsletter published by Progressive Business Publications. It likely replicates technology news about viruses and other threats that are published in other computing newsletter, but it appears to be a quick way to keep up with recent developments of interest to IT administrators (and their staffs).
Suggested strategy: Point your browser to https://www.pbpinfo.com/signupITU/ezine.asp?ID=-1875894629 and check the box for IT Update and then add your registration information and submit.
The folks at the MIT Technology Review offer a variety of newsletters, including a daily emerging technologies update. So as not to be overwhelmed I recommend the weekly InfoTech update that comes to your inbox each Friday (free). It answers these kinds of questions: What will life be like when your computer understands what you say? When your cell phone becomes your wallet? The Update keeps you at the forefront of new developments--and prepares you to tackle the challenges and grab the opportunities they present.
Suggested strategy: Point your browswer to https://www.technologyreview.com/cust/newsletter.aspx and sign up for as many of the Technology Review newsletters as you like. You can also see examples of InfoTech articles.
The New York Times Technology page is a daily source of the latest developments in the world of technology. This makes it a great way to keep up with the latest gadets, business ventures, search engine activity, and much more. With the available RSS feed you can easily be up-to-date with the technology at the start of each day.
Suggested strategy: Go to the NYT RSS feed listing and scroll down until you find the feed icon for the technology section. There are some sub-sections but the main feed is the best.