Dear ACM TechNews Subscriber: Welcome to the June 14, 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 361 Date: June 14, 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, June 14, 2002: http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html "Bush Urges Tech Leaders to Help Keep the Peace" "Content, Tech Industries Debate Digital Copy Protection" "High-Tech Companies Act to Safeguard Operations in India" "Japanese Supercomputer Finds a Home in Alaska" "Microsoft Warns of New Security Flaws" "Coding Flaw Might Assist Hackers" "Scientists to Grow Microchips" "Transistors Reach Molecular Level" "The Case for Reflective Middleware" "Higher Ed Can't Meet Info Security Demand" "The Technology Innovation Squeeze" "Fabrics Smart Enough to Change Colors and Keep You Dry" "Upgrading Washington" "Stalker Tech" "Senators Weigh ICANN's Future" "Code Sharing is Key Part of Web Services" "Hung Up" "Attack of the Clones" ******************* News Stories *********************** "Bush Urges Tech Leaders to Help Keep the Peace" President Bush told a forum of about 130 high-tech industry executives on Thursday that he expects them to contribute to the war on terrorism and the push for homeland security. "Our high-tech advantage will make it easier for us to keep the ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item1 "Content, Tech Industries Debate Digital Copy Protection" Representatives of content providers and technology companies, brought together on Wednesday for a panel discussion organized by the Cato Institute, strongly disagreed on how to curb digital piracy: Content firms believe that adding copy protection is the ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item2 "High-Tech Companies Act to Safeguard Operations in India" Although tensions between India and Pakistan have eased slightly, the threat of a conflict or terrorist act has caused many software companies with operations in the region to scramble to protect India's $7.8 billion software-export business, which has ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item3 "Japanese Supercomputer Finds a Home in Alaska" A Japanese-built SX-6 supercomputer called Rime has been transferred to the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, where it will spend the next 12 months being tested and converting software codes for the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center. The ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item4 "Microsoft Warns of New Security Flaws" Microsoft disclosed a trio of critical software vulnerabilities on Wednesday. The company has issued a patch for a hole that can cause system shutdowns or enable hackers to run malicious code on a computer; the flaw affects users of Windows XP, Windows Routing ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item5 "Coding Flaw Might Assist Hackers" Computer-security specialists are exploring whether the Internet infrastructure could become a ripe target for hackers because of findings that faulty deployments of the Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1) computer language makes Simple Network Management ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item6 "Scientists to Grow Microchips" University of Arizona researchers are investigating how cellular proteins could be used to fashion more flexibly designed microchips with denser circuitry. Their experiments involve long protein strings called microtubules, which assistant professor of ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item7 "Transistors Reach Molecular Level" Two separate teams of American researchers report in the Thursday edition of Nature that they have developed techniques to produce single-molecule transistors. The teams were led by Hongun Park of Harvard University and Hendrik Schon of Bell Labs. The chief ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item8 "The Case for Reflective Middleware" The computational infrastructure will become even more dynamic than it is now with the advent of ubiquitous computing over the next five years, and current middleware technology does not have the support to handle this dynamic nature. One possible ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item9 "Higher Ed Can't Meet Info Security Demand" Over 50% of students enrolled in Western Connecticut State University's management of information (MIS) systems degree program take the information security track, while 90% of all MIS students take one information security course at minimum, ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item10 "The Technology Innovation Squeeze" Analysts believe the economic slump does not necessarily translate into a downturn in technical innovation, although companies are being more cautious, investing in technologies that are practical rather than fashionable. Aberdeen Group analyst ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item11 "Fabrics Smart Enough to Change Colors and Keep You Dry" Conductive polymers could be the key to smart textiles, leading to innovations such as fabrics that can rearrange their molecules to change color, absorb perspiration, or become waterproof when triggered by an electrical signal. Smart textiles could also be ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item12 "Upgrading Washington" As the federal government looks for solutions that will make it more effective in combating terrorism, President Bush needs to implement better IT policy at the federal level, writes Scott Kirsner. Already, government leaders are tackling issues of ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item13 "Stalker Tech" Students at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) are being equipped with free wireless PDAs running location-tracking software. The collaborative project uses Jordana PDAs from Hewlett-Packard and a Wi-Fi network installed throughout the ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item14 "Senators Weigh ICANN's Future" A Senate subcommittee hearing on ICANN on June 12 focused on whether ICANN has overstepped its mandate during four years of operation, and possible ways the scope of ICANN's authority could be limited. ICANN board member Karl Auerbach says that although ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item15 "Code Sharing is Key Part of Web Services" Software makers need to cooperate and share code if they wish to successfully develop industry-wide use of Web services software. Unfortunately, right now they are too busy "jockeying for position," according to Sageza Group analyst Charles King. ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item16 "Hung Up" Many telecom companies have yet to deliver on promised business innovations to their customers as a result of the sector's financial implosion. Many carriers have severely cut back on research and development to concentrate on projects that offer ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item17 "Attack of the Clones" With approximately 200 worms and malicious software currently residing on the Internet, the most recent--and perhaps the most dangerous--is the Klez email virus, which wreaks havoc with multiple strains. The virus exploits a security flaw in ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item18 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -- To review Wednesday's issue, please visit http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0612w.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.