Dear ACM TechNews Subscriber: Welcome to the August 19, 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 388 Date: August 19, 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 19, 2002: http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html "Opposition to Nanotechnology" "Technology: Digital Copying Rules May Change" "Tech's 'Dirty Little Secret'--Cybersecurity" "The Trouble with Software Patches" "The Age of Assisted Cognition" "Linux Makes a Run for Government" "NIPC Asks for Help on Cyber Alerts" "Language Barriers on the Web?" "Foreign Flood to IT Courses" "Egypt Gets Into Gear on the IT Superhighway" "Researchers Observe Electroluminescence from Individual Molecules" "Could Broadband Get Simpler Soon?" "SIP Breathes New Life Into Voice Over IP" "Shrinking Toward the Ultimate Transistor" "GIS Goes Worldwide" "Data Path Architecture Reconfigures on Its Own" "Filling the Infosec Ranks" ******************* News Stories *********************** "Opposition to Nanotechnology" Nanotechnology opponents are gaining credibility and a stronger voice now that the technology is on a path toward commercialization, and has already found limited use in products such as clothing, sunscreen, and wound dressings. The Science . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0819m.html#item1 "Technology: Digital Copying Rules May Change" New rules from the FCC and legislation currently working its way through Congress would severely restrict the copying and distribution of digital content, and consumer proponents charge that such measures will curtail consumers' fair-use rights. The . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0819m.html#item2 "Tech's 'Dirty Little Secret'--Cybersecurity" Groove Networks CEO and Lotus Notes creator Ray Ozzie argues that both the government and the technology industry have been irresponsible, and have contributed to the insecurity of computer network devices. He notes that all online corporate . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0819m.html#item3 "The Trouble with Software Patches" Experts say the sheer quantity of software patches being issued, as well as the increasing frequency of their release, is inhibiting their deployment by IT departments. Many companies do not have enough IT staff to keep abreast of new releases, but . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0819m.html#item4 "The Age of Assisted Cognition" Speakers at an Oregon conference hosted by Intel Research say that the elderly, particularly those stricken with Alzheimer's disease, will be the earliest beneficiaries of pervasive computing. Dr. Eric Tangalos of the Alzheimer's Disease Research . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0819m.html#item5 "Linux Makes a Run for Government" Linux may get its first federal government certification through an effort by a university think tank, The Cyberspace Policy Institute (CPI). The CPI wants to add some authentication and key management features to a Security-Enhanced Linux (SE Linux) . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0819m.html#item6 "NIPC Asks for Help on Cyber Alerts" Just a week after issuing a warning of widespread hacker attacks, the National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) announced a call for outside contractors to help with keeping tabs on Internet threats and security incidents, as well as notifying the . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0819m.html#item7 "Language Barriers on the Web?" Last week, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) approved a new Web design standard, XHTML, to replace HTML, although experts agree the transition is far off in the future. Two drafts are being worked on: XHTML 1.0 corrects some errors in the published . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0819m.html#item8 "Foreign Flood to IT Courses" More international students are enrolling in IT programs at Australia's universities. Australian Computer Society's Richard Hogg fears the trend will reduce job opportunities for local residents. Norman Lacy, executive director of the Information . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0819m.html#item9 "Egypt Gets Into Gear on the IT Superhighway" To build itself into a major IT development hub, Egypt has instituted free Internet access in some cities as well as government-supported IT clubs in about 390 locations, where low-income citizens can expand their computing skills. Such . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0819m.html#item10 "Researchers Observe Electroluminescence from Individual Molecules" In the Aug. 6 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Georgia Tech scientists detailed their observation of electroluminescence from individual molecules. Robert Dickson of Georgia Tech's School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, in . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0819m.html#item11 "Could Broadband Get Simpler Soon?" Lawmakers and federal regulators are still working to figure out a way to speed broadband deployment, improve network infrastructure, and make the market more competitive. The Yankee Group's Matthew Davis says the issue is high-strung politically . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0819m.html#item12 "SIP Breathes New Life Into Voice Over IP" Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)-enabled multimedia applications that are flexible and instantaneous could drive corporate deployment of deeply converged networks. Nortel's Dave Moore states that such applications are beyond the capabilities of TDM, . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0819m.html#item13 "Shrinking Toward the Ultimate Transistor" Since its invention in 1947, the transistor has become approximately 10 billion times smaller than its original size, but traditional photolithographic techniques will one day no longer be able to shrink transistor components without having . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0819m.html#item14 "GIS Goes Worldwide" Geographic information systems (GIS) applications will penetrate the mainstream even further thanks to increased collection and cheap availability of GIS-useful data and the development of industry-standard databases and programming interfaces. Utility . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0819m.html#item15 "Data Path Architecture Reconfigures on Its Own" Carnegie Mellon University researchers collaborated with STMicroelectronics to develop PipeRench, a data path architecture capable of reconfiguration without intervention from hosts or users. The architecture utilizes a six-metal-layer 0.18-micron . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0819m.html#item16 "Filling the Infosec Ranks" With the assistance of a $400,000 grant from the National Science Foundation's Federal Cyber Service program, Carnegie Mellon University has started an initiative to help other higher-learning institutions build information security academic . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0819m.html#item17 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -- To review Friday's issue, please visit http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0816f.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.