The SAFE alert system will allow students to receive e-mails or text messages if a campus emergency occurs.

Complete with a mini-golf hole and representatives from various software companies like Apple, Dell and Adobe, the 2007 Technology Fair came to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Union on Thursday Sept. 27.

The purpose of the technology fair, according to one employee, is to educate the UWM community about technologies available to them.

“We’re basically here today to show the campus what services we provide as a department,” said Beorn Morder, who works for UWM’s University Information Technology Services, or UITS, in the Department of Systems Integration. UITS was formerly known as Information and Media Technologies.

A new addition to the fair this year was a booth for UWM’s newly developed SAFE Alert System. The program allows UWM students to receive emails or even text messages if a campus safety emergency occurs.

The SAFE program is currently sponsoring a contest called the cyber S.A.M. video challenge. Contestants must create a safety and security awareness video that doesn’t exceed two minutes in length and submit their entries by Oct. 31.

All entries have a chance to win various prizes such as a $100 Panther Gold Card, two weeks of free parking, or gift certificates for area restaurants.

Vendors from Apple, Dell and Adobe were also a new addition to the technology fair. A representative from the Adobe booth was quick to point out a wide range of software titles that are available to students at a discount price.

Many programs, including Adobe CS3 and Microsoft Office applications, can be purchased at www.wisc.edu/wisc. All students need is a credit card and their campus ID card.

Like last year, the technology fair featured a single mini-golf green where participants can win a UITS non-credit short course. These short courses are concentrated classes in the area of computers and technology, including lessons in CCS, Dreamweaver and HTML/XHTML.

Also making a return to the technology fair was a “Computing on Campus” CD-Rom kit. The free disc provides students with copies of programs like the Mozilla Firefox Internet browser, McAfee anti-virus software, Winamp media player, and many more. However, UITS is making an effort to keep the content of the fair fresh and appealing to young people.

“This year we have multiple new features, such as third party vendors that offering student discounts,” said Morder. “We’re trying to upgrade how we present the information to students.”

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