Dear ACM TechNews Subscriber: Welcome to the June 12, 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 360 Date: June 12, 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 Wednesday, June 12, 2002: http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html "Summit Addresses Threats to Cyberspace" "Software Programmers Hit the Law Books" "A New System for Storing Data: Think Punch Cards, But Tiny" "Super-Secure Linux, Inch by Inch" "Computer Grid Will Simulate Terror Scenarios" "Chip Designers Voyage to Voltage Island" "Nearly 200 Tech Companies Sign on for Latest Bid at Wireless Compatibility" "Microsoft, States Sum Up Cases for Judge" "Drowning In a Deluge of Data" "Broadband Talks to Address New Strategies" "Uncle Sam's Info-Tech Crisis" "U.S. Should Control Internet Body, Senator Says" "Tech Advances Nudge Smart Vehicle Sensors Closer to Reality" "Locals Look Good in Software" "Rust Belt States Try High-Tech" "Massachusetts, Washington Top High-Tech Survey" "High Tech Evolves" "Designed For Life" "Six Sigma Goes Corporate" ******************* News Stories *********************** "Summit Addresses Threats to Cyberspace" Speaking at the third Networked Economy Summit in Reston, Va., the president's special adviser for cyberspace security Richard A. Clarke urged that government, industry, and academia cooperate to safeguard the country's information networks from cyberattacks ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0612w.html#item1 "Software Programmers Hit the Law Books" A new computer science class at Stanford University is teaching students the political aspect of their field, and is indicative of a growing awareness among programmers about the effect of law on their work. The new class is taught by Barbara Simons, IBM ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0612w.html#item2 "A New System for Storing Data: Think Punch Cards, But Tiny" Researchers at IBM's Zurich laboratory report in the current issue of IEEE Transactions on Nanotechnology that they have devised a punch card-like technology capable of storing 1 trillion bits of data per square inch, effectively enabling the ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0612w.html#item3 "Super-Secure Linux, Inch by Inch" The National Security Agency (NSA) is working with open source developers on a Linux module that provides extra security features, such as mandatory access controls. Linux systems equipped with the Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux) can, for ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0612w.html#item4 "Computer Grid Will Simulate Terror Scenarios" Experts say that grid computing, in which complicated applications are split up and distributed across a network of processors, will help government agencies run homeland security scenarios such as terrorist attacks through simulation. A ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0612w.html#item5 "Chip Designers Voyage to Voltage Island" Finding ways to reduce the amount of power consumed and heat generated by computer chips will be a major focus of the VLSI Symposia on Technology and Circuits. IBM Microelectronics' Bijan Davari says that power consumption will likely "become the ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0612w.html#item6 "Nearly 200 Tech Companies Sign on for Latest Bid at Wireless Compatibility" A number of leading technology companies involved in the development of new wireless operating systems have formed the Open Mobile Alliance to develop a universal wireless standard. The alliance will write new code that will serve as the building ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0612w.html#item7 "Microsoft, States Sum Up Cases for Judge" Both Microsoft and the holdout states presented their recommendations to resolve the antitrust case against the software giant to U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on Monday. Microsoft's Jim Desler reiterated the ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0612w.html#item8 "Drowning In a Deluge of Data" About 24 exabytes of unique information has been produced by the human race, according to a two-year-old study from the School of Information Management and Systems at the University of California, Berkeley, while study leader Hal Varian has noted the ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0612w.html#item9 "Broadband Talks to Address New Strategies" Industry officials, politicians, and local government leaders this week will gathered at a "Massachusetts broadband summit" to discuss the rollout of high-speed Internet infrastructure. Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) is expected in his keynote address to ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0612w.html#item10 "Uncle Sam's Info-Tech Crisis" The federal government's technology infrastructure--particularly its ability to search and transmit data--is in poor shape and could be putting the country at risk. Communications between the FBI and other agencies is severely limited because they rely on ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0612w.html#item11 "U.S. Should Control Internet Body, Senator Says" Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) says he is likely to introduce legislation forcing ICANN to allow U.S. government influence in ICANN decisions, and says that if ICANN does not comply, ICANN's contract to manage the DNS may be cancelled when it comes up for ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0612w.html#item12 "Tech Advances Nudge Smart Vehicle Sensors Closer to Reality" Vanderbilt University's assistant professor of mechanical engineering Kenneth Frampton is using micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and distributed computing to overcome the technical limitations of smart sensor networks that have the ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0612w.html#item13 "Locals Look Good in Software" Russia is making rapid gains in the software outsourcing sector, according to attendees of the Second Software Outsourcing Summit in St. Petersburg last week. Brunswick Warburg estimates that Russian software exports this year will almost double from last ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0612w.html#item14 "Rust Belt States Try High-Tech" State capitols along the U.S. Rust Belt are competing in a race to build the next major high-tech research hub, snapping up top tech talent and making heavy investments in such technologies as bioinformatics and optoelectronics. New York plans to create ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0612w.html#item15 "Massachusetts, Washington Top High-Tech Survey" The Progressive Policy Institute says Massachusetts, Washington, California, and Colorado top the list of states most ready to succeed in the new economy. In a new survey, those states had the best mix of tech skills, entrepreneurship, and ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0612w.html#item16 "High Tech Evolves" A five-member Board of Technologists consisting of inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil, Melanie Mitchell of the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico, Ardesta VP for nanotechnology Sandeep Malhotra, director of Cap Gemini Ernst & Young's Center for Business ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0612w.html#item17 "Designed For Life" Robotics pioneer Rodney Brooks of MIT's Artificial Intelligence Lab argues in his new book, "Robot: The Future of Flesh and Machines," that there is a critical ingredient missing from robotics and AI that hampers their evolution--"something in all ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0612w.html#item18 "Six Sigma Goes Corporate" The Six Sigma quality approach focuses on companies aiming to develop products and services that have zero defects at the outset in order to stop time and money from being wasted in fixing flawed products, and to prevent the inevitable refunds and ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0612w.html#item19 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -- To review Monday's issue, please visit http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0610m.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.