Anyone who has ever wondered when the next C-1 bus will arrive won't have to speculate any longer-as long as they have a mobile device.
Duke will be launching a new set of applications targeted for a variety of mobile devices around Spring Break, said Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations. The applications will include maps with live GPS tracking, access to various Duke services and more.
"Our goal is to extend Duke's web environment to mobile devices, which have become so prevalent over the past few years," Tracy Futhey, vice president for information technology and chief information officer, wrote in an e-mail. "We're identifying web-based information and applications that are good candidates for use on the go, and working to deliver those applications across the most common mobile platforms---iPhones, Blackberries and other [Wireless Application Protocol] clients."
The project, dubbed iDuke by some, is similar to iStanford, a set of iPhone applications for Stanford University.
"We are working with the team that developed the iStanford applications," Schoenfeld said. "It will have things like mapping, access to course information, videos, all customized for mobile devices."
He added that the new set of applications will also take advantage of the GPS built into these mobile devices, and will allow real-time tracking of the student's location on campus.
"GPS and mapping has a lot of untapped potential, whether it's for a campus tour or the ability to locate your friends on campus to connect up," Schoenfeld said. "We also have a great and growing University calendar, and to be able to connect to your personal account on your mobile device will be a tremendous asset."
The project is a part of Duke's continued progress to improve information delivery, and Schoenfeld said he hopes students will actively partake in the development of new applications for the mobile platforms after the initial release. He also said students have the equipment to take advantage of this application, noting that the number of iPhones and iPod Touches registered on the Duke network is in the thousands.
"It's pretty clear that the student usage of mobile devices is only going to grow," Schoenfeld said. "And it would be great to have a vibrant Duke presence on the [Apple iTunes] application store, where students develop their own applications."
This is not the first time that Duke has developed software for mobile devices. In the Fall of 2004, 1,650 iPods were given out to the members of the Class of 2008, loaded with the academic calendar, audio tour of East Campus and the Blue Devil fight song. But students questioned the value of the investment and some felt it was unfair to the rest of the Duke student body. The program was discontinued the next year.
"What we've learned from the iPod experience program is that it's better to develop and use applications and customize for their own needs," Schoenfeld said.
Members of the Duke community are generally positive about the project, but some remain watchful over the response to the applications. Junior Dave Stecher, president of Duke Association for Computer Machinery, said centralizing the various parts of Duke's Web site using the applications is obviously good.
Owen Astrachan, professor of the practice of computer science and co-director of undergraduate studies for the department, said the project is a step in the right direction and can help to improve some existing infrastructures.
"It would be nice to know where your friends are, or where you are, or when the bus is coming from East or a host of other information that makes sense in a mobile device," he wrote in an e-mail. "If they can make registration data available via iDuke maybe they can make ACES suck less at the same time, that would be a huge benefit."
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