Dear ACM TechNews Subscriber: Welcome to the August 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 385 Date: August 12, 2002 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Site Sponsored by Hewlett Packard Company ( ) HP is the premier source for computing services, products and solutions. Responding to customers' requirements for quality and reliability at aggressive prices, HP offers performance-packed products and comprehensive services. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Top Stories for Monday, August 12, 2002: http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html "Number of H-1B Visas Issued Has Fallen by Half" "Wireless Networking Poised to Shake Up Telecommunications Industry" "Bigger 'Digital Closets'" "Computer Camp Engenders Technology in Girls" "Linux Expo Has Come a Long Way" "Keyboard for Those on the Move" "Open Source's New Weapon: The Law?" "Female-Dropout Study Focuses on Engineering" "What Does the Future Hold for COBOL?" "Activists: No More Nanomaterials Until We Know Whether it Pollutes" "Taiwan Preps for Battle in MEMS Technology" "Internet Overseer Takes Wrong Path on Accountability" "Terrorism Repercussions" "Barriers Slow Efforts to Fill Federal IT Jobs" "Securing Perimeter" "Switching Made Smarter" "Q & A: The Innovation Machine Needs Fixing" "Deja Vu All Over Again" "Digital Rivers" ******************* News Stories *********************** "Number of H-1B Visas Issued Has Fallen by Half" The number of H-1B visas issued to temporary foreign workers, many of whom come to the United States to fill vacant computer-related positions, has declined 54 percent so far this year. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) approved ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0812m.html#item1 "Wireless Networking Poised to Shake Up Telecommunications Industry" Although Wi-Fi wireless networking is in its infancy, Wi-Fi's potential of providing a "cloud" of Internet access while bypassing the physical infrastructure of telecommunications and cable companies is already generating responses from telecom ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0812m.html#item2 "Bigger 'Digital Closets'" Hard drive manufacturers are already making products that can store as much as 160 GB of information, and many industry observers expect increased demand for larger drives as digital entertainment content proliferates. Researchers say that even ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0812m.html#item3 "Computer Camp Engenders Technology in Girls" John Adams Middle School science teacher Bob Snyder notes that many female students are expected to conform to traditional girl behavior and avoid pursuing an interest in science when they enter the seventh grade. He argues that a negative stereotype of ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0812m.html#item4 "Linux Expo Has Come a Long Way" This year's LinuxWorld Expo will feature exhibitions by former Linux critics Sun Microsystems and Microsoft, as well as from other corporate giants such as IBM, Dell, and Oracle, which shows exactly how far Linux has come from being a grassroots phenomenon ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0812m.html#item5 "Keyboard for Those on the Move" Former Motorola engineer John McKown used his experience as a biophysicist to develop a patented one-handed keyboard that he claims offers improvements over previous models. The device allows users to flex their fingers and type without having to ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0812m.html#item6 "Open Source's New Weapon: The Law?" Proponents of open-source software will unveil the Digital Software Security Act next week, which decrees that California agencies purchase software strictly from vendors that keep their source code open. In addition, the state agencies would have the ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0812m.html#item7 "Female-Dropout Study Focuses on Engineering" According to a study of 238 students at the University of California-San Diego, because female engineering students tend to think that they are born with math and science skills, they are more likely than males to change disciplines or drop out. The ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0812m.html#item8 "What Does the Future Hold for COBOL?" Despite the hype surrounding Java, XML, .NET, and Websphere, enterprises are trying to find ways to maximize their mission-critical COBOL applications to get the most out of their IT investments. Gartner says that as much as 70 percent of ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0812m.html#item9 "Activists: No More Nanomaterials Until We Know Whether it Pollutes" The ETC Group wants companies to put all nanomaterial production on hold until the products are comprehensively tested for environmental effects by U.S. regulatory agencies. Such materials can permeate living cells and build up inside animal ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0812m.html#item10 "Taiwan Preps for Battle in MEMS Technology" The Taiwanese government, some local semiconductor foundries, and a handful of startups are working to turn Taiwan into a powerhouse in the microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) market, just as it is in the semiconductor market. The government has ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0812m.html#item11 "Internet Overseer Takes Wrong Path on Accountability" The ICANN battle to prevent ICANN board director Karl Auerbach from viewing ICANN corporate records and documents shows just how closed ICANN is to public scrutiny, and how delinquent corporate boards are in overseeing management, from Enron to WorldCom to ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0812m.html#item12 "Terrorism Repercussions" A new report from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) predicts U.S. scientific and technological research may be damaged by proposed post-Sept. 11 restrictions on information sharing and the use of foreign students in research. ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0812m.html#item13 "Barriers Slow Efforts to Fill Federal IT Jobs" There are almost 1,000 IT job vacancies spanning nearly all federal agencies and departments, but bureaucracy and red tape are serious detriments to job seekers despite the government's aggressive hiring strategy, according to observers. The ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0812m.html#item14 "Securing Perimeter" Refinements to the national cyber-security plan, which will be disclosed on Sept. 18, are being discussed by government officials. One of the proposed amendments would require all government agencies to buy hardware and software that are ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0812m.html#item15 "Switching Made Smarter" Enhancing packet switches with intelligence appears to be at the center of a number of trends. Packet inspection is gaining ground thanks to the emergence of such technologies as SSL accelerators and load balancers, and the maturation of these ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0812m.html#item16 "Q&A: The Innovation Machine Needs Fixing" Morgenthaler Ventures venture capitalist and former Bell Laboratories researcher and manager Greg E. Blonder warns that U.S. technology innovation is currently in too poor a state to deal with the next technological crisis. He cites China and ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0812m.html#item17 "Deja Vu All Over Again" The development of Wi-Fi resembles that of ISPs, in terms of exponential growth of its connection speeds, the number of startups it has inspired, a resurgence of equity investment, a mature equipment base, installation simplicity, the availability ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0812m.html#item18 "Digital Rivers" In much the same way as access to rivers directly affected the quality of life in ancient times, access to digital content is impacting everyday living, and the further development of wireless technology will broaden access even more. Designing ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0812m.html#item19 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -- To review Friday's issue, please visit http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0809f.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 Hewlett Packard Company.