Dear ACM TechNews Subscriber: Welcome to the May 31, 2002 edition of ACM TechNews, providing timely information for IT professionals three times a week. For instructions on how to unsubscribe from this service, please see below. ACM's MemberNet is now online. For discussion (and voting) forums on current industry issues and the latest on ACM activities, visit http://www.acm.org/membernet Remember to check out our hot new online essay and opinion magazine, Ubiquity, at http://www.acm.org/ubiquity ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ACM TechNews Volume 4, Number 355 Date: May 31, 2002 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Site Sponsored by Compaq (http://www.compaq.com/smbcatalog) Compaq is the premier source for computing services, products and solutions. Responding to customers' requirements for quality and reliability at aggressive prices, Compaq offers performance-packed products and comprehensive services. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Top Stories for Friday, May 31, 2002: http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html "Linux Vendors Stand Behind UnitedLinux" "FBI Analysis: We Don't Compute" "In Search of the Green PC" "Bush Criticized on Digital Divide" "EPA Plans to Promote Ways to Recycle Old TVs, Computers" "'Radio on a Chip' Debuts" "Linux Grows on Government Systems" "Enforcing Laws in a Borderless Web" "Europe to Compete With U.S. Global Positioning System" "Anti-Snooping Operating System Close to Launch" "Telecom Companies Put Tiny Tech on Hold" "Flexible Virtual Reality Environment Unveiled" "Linux Development Kernel Gets Bluetooth" "Critics Say ICANN Should Compete for Net Governance Duties" "Cheap Wireless Sees the Light" "Where the Jobs Are" "Keeping an Eye on Web Apps" "The 15% Solution" "The Toughest Transistor Yet" ******************* News Stories *********************** "Linux Vendors Stand Behind UnitedLinux" Linux vendors Caldera, SuSE, Conectiva, and Turbolinux on Thursday announced plans to merge their Linux versions into a single Linux distribution called UnitedLinux in order to fight fragmentation and to create a stronger product to compete with ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0531f.html#item1 "FBI Analysis: We Don't Compute" FBI director Robert Mueller called for an extensive reorganization of the bureau, a key point of which will be the updating of its technological infrastructure. He said such an effort would involve not only additional hardware, but all bureau. ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0531f.html#item2 "In Search of the Green PC" PC vendors are coming under pressure from environmental groups and an increasingly aware consumer base to reduce the amount of computer waste that is disposed of each year. The National Safety Council (NSC) estimates that 315 million computers will be. ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0531f.html#item3 "Bush Criticized on Digital Divide" Consumer and civil rights groups are pressing the Bush administration to change its tact on bridging the digital divide, which Commerce Department Deputy Director Michael D. Gallagher says is now focusing on opportunities, not divides. In February, ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0531f.html#item4 "EPA Plans to Promote Ways to Recycle Old TVs, Computers" To prevent a half-billion old TVs and computers from being consigned to the junk pile in the next five years, the EPA announced plans on Wednesday to tweak regulations so that electronic discards can be more properly recycled. Plastics, ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0531f.html#item5 "'Radio on a Chip' Debuts" University of Florida researchers have built a tiny radio transmitter and receiver into a silicon chip, leading the way for vast improvements in computer performance and sensor networking. Because broadcasting information across the chip simultaneously ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0531f.html#item6 "Linux Grows on Government Systems" More and more government organizations are taking on Linux as a cost-effective and secure operating system that is improving all the time and has bigger backing from the biggest IT vendors. IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and Red Hat all are reporting new sales of ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0531f.html#item7 "Enforcing Laws in a Borderless Web" The rapid expansion of the Internet has left international legal affairs in its wake, and disagreements over how to apply local laws to the World Wide Web are increasing despite treaties such as the World Intellectual Property Organization, which went into ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0531f.html#item8 "Europe to Compete With U.S. Global Positioning System" The $3.2 billion Galileo project, approved by the European Union's 15 transportation ministers in March, is a network of 30 satellites that could rival the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) by enabling people to pinpoint their exact geographical ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0531f.html#item9 "Anti-Snooping Operating System Close to Launch" Privacy advocates in Britain are worried about an upcoming third part of that country's Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, which will allow police to demand access to electronic information, including encryption keys, from criminal suspects. ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0531f.html#item10 "Telecom Companies Put Tiny Tech on Hold" Telecommunications startups believe that nanotechnology-based gear could give the communications sector a much-needed shot in the arm after last year's meltdown, but their hopes for the technology are dampened by inventory surpluses, not enough cash, ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0531f.html#item11 "Flexible Virtual Reality Environment Unveiled" The Virtual Reality Applications Center (VRAC) of Iowa State University has developed a flexible virtual environment that is a distinct improvement over an earlier system. VRAC associate director Carolina Cruz-Neira says the C4, or "cave," features a ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0531f.html#item12 "Linux Development Kernel Gets Bluetooth" Version 2.5.14 of the Linux development kernel now includes a protocol stack for Bluetooth support, a sign that future Linux distributions will include native Bluetooth support. PC software vendors Apple Computer and Microsoft also are developing ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0531f.html#item13 "Critics Say ICANN Should Compete for Net Governance Duties" Competition should be introduced to bid against ICANN for the privilege of managing the Internet's global addressing system, says a group of public interest groups that includes the ACLU, the Consumer Federation of America, the Electronic Privacy ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0531f.html#item14 "Cheap Wireless Sees the Light" Cheaper wireless and 3G networks could become a reality thanks to the efforts of BT researchers who claim to have built a machine that converts radio waves into light. The device is called an electroabsorption modulator (EAM), and features an optical ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0531f.html#item15 "Where the Jobs Are" National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) employment information manager Camille Luckenbaugh says the slow economy is compelling companies to be choosy when evaluating college graduates for entry-level IT spots, unlike in previous years when. ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0531f.html#item16 "Keeping an Eye on Web Apps" With a massive wave of Web applications about to break, both new and established vendors are competing to provide IT staff with tools and services that sustain the applications' performance and availability around the clock. Meta Group's Corey Ferengul ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0531f.html#item17 "The 15% Solution" AspectJ, the brainchild of Gregor Kiczales of the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), is a Java extension that is designed to consolidate tasks that are often wildly distributed throughout source code. Kiczales says the development time from concept to ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0531f.html#item18 "The Toughest Transistor Yet" Gallium nitride transistors, with their high levels of speed, heat resistance, and power-handling, could pave the way for countless innovations that will enhance advanced communications networks and revive the flagging technology industry. There are ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0531f.html#item19 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -- To review Wednesday's issue, please visit http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0529w.html -- To visit the TechNews home page, point your browser to: http://www.acm.org/technews/ -- To unsubscribe from the ACM TechNews Early Alert Service: Please send a separate email to listserv@listserv2.acm.org with the line signoff technews in the body of your message. -- Please note that replying directly to this message does not automatically unsubscribe you from the TechNews list. -- To submit feedback about ACM TechNews, contact: technews@hq.acm.org -- ACM may have a different email address on file for you, so if you're unable to "unsubscribe" yourself, please direct your request to: technews-request@acm.org We will remove your name from the TechNews list on your behalf. -- For help with technical problems, including problems with leaving the list, please write to: technews-request@acm.org ---- ACM TechNews is sponsored by Compaq.