Dear ACM TechNews Subscriber: Welcome to the September 20, 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 the latest on ACM activities, member benefits, and industry issues, 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 341 Date: September 20, 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 Friday, September 20, 2002: http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html "Cybersecurity Plan Lacks Muscle" "Senate Scrutinizes U.S. Nanotech Investments" "Computing in Indian Language Could Help Other Countries Too" "No Keys, Just Soft Light and You" "Engineers Meet for Mass Mind Meld" "Crypto-Chip Boosts ID Security" "DemoMobile Highlights the Hopefuls" "Computer Signals Size Up Earth" "Building Ideas" "Coming Soon: New Alloys With Shape Recall" "A Gathering of Big Crypto Brains" "Space Particles Hit Logic Chips" "Farewell to Face-to-Face" "Government Programme to Get Women Back to IT" "Building a Better Workplace" "Small Wonders" "The Networked Car" "Does IT Favor Men?" "'Arguing A.I.' Barely Scratches Surface of Intellectual Debate" ******************* News Stories *********************** "Cybersecurity Plan Lacks Muscle" Critics of the White House cybersecurity strategy, unveiled on Wednesday, contend that it lacks teeth, because it simply recommends that industry and individual users be more responsible rather than proposes new legislation to implement security ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0920f.html#item1 "Senate Scrutinizes U.S. Nanotech Investments" Nanotechnology's increasing importance to the United States' global economic strength was illustrated when the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space held the first official nanotech hearing yesterday. Testimony from experts ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0920f.html#item2 "Computing in Indian Language Could Help Other Countries Too" Indian language-based computing could help IT penetrate the mainstream in other Asian countries besides India. Pat Hall of Britain's Open University notes that Southeast Asian languages such as Myanmarese use variants of Brahmi, which shares ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0920f.html#item3 "No Keys, Just Soft Light and You" Virtual keyboards are under development that promise to eliminate the need for mobile input devices such as portable keyboards or thumb keypads, and could eventually liberate users from the "legacy of desktop computing," says DEMOmobile executive producer ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0920f.html#item4 "Engineers Meet for Mass Mind Meld" Approximately 100 engineering experts distinguished by their work in industry, academic circles, and government have been selected to attend this week's Frontiers of Engineering symposium in Irvine, Calif., which is organized to promote cross-discipline ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0920f.html#item5 "Crypto-Chip Boosts ID Security" Researchers from MIT and ThingMagic report in Friday's issue of Science that they have developed a physical mechanism that can supply cryptographic security to smart cards, sensors, and other forms of ID. The mechanism is an epoxy token filled with glass ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0920f.html#item6 "DemoMobile Highlights the Hopefuls" Companies large and small are showcasing, demonstrating, and discussing innovative technologies at the DemoMobile conference in California this week. Wireless mobility, wireless network management, smart displays, and support for home-based networks ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0920f.html#item7 "Computer Signals Size Up Earth" The Earth's dimensions can be rapidly and easily measured by reading computer signals conveyed by fiber-optic cables buried under the oceans, according to a recent paper from Michael Crescimanno of Youngstown State University. He claims that ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0920f.html#item8 "Building Ideas" Numerous companies and academic research laboratories in the Boston area are pursuing technologies that promise to spur growth, demonstrating the resiliency of the region's research infrastructure despite the sluggish economy, according to Donald ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0920f.html#item9 "Coming Soon: New Alloys With Shape Recall" Shape memory technology developed by pioneers such as Peter Salmon could usher in a new paradigm of form-factor computers. Salmon's SysFlex technology, which integrates shape-memory alloy (SMA) with dense, flexible motherboards, could be used to create ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0920f.html#item10 "A Gathering of Big Crypto Brains" Well-known cryptography experts met in Naas, Ireland, this week for the annual COSAC conference, which gave them the opportunity to pick each other's brains, demonstrate their research, and discuss such topics as wireless security, forensics, and the ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0920f.html#item11 "Space Particles Hit Logic Chips" As clock speeds increase and chip functions operate on smaller platforms, chip designers are working out how best to deal with logic errors resulting from radiated alpha particles and neutrons. French firm Iroc Technologies is partnering with ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0920f.html#item12 "Farewell to Face-to-Face" Sales of videoconferencing and teleconferencing systems were expected to skyrocket after the Sept. 11 attacks, but the growth rate appears to have returned to normal levels in the past 12 months. An informal poll of major Boston area companies and ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0920f.html#item13 "Government Program to Get Women Back to IT" As part of the UK government's Teaching Company Scheme (TCS), 10 women will be placed in positions involving science, engineering, and technology (SET) to encourage other women to return to those industries. Coventry University will manage the project while ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0920f.html#item14 "Building a Better Workplace" Australian researchers are creating office technologies that promote ad hoc collaboration and interactivity between co-workers. Existing workplaces often stifle the free flow of ideas and face-to-face meetings that can improve business ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0920f.html#item15 "Small Wonders" Both IBM and Hewlett-Packard have developed circuitry with unprecedented component density using new technologies, vastly raising the bar of potential memory storage. HP's Stanley Williams recently announced at a Royal Institute of Technology ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0920f.html#item16 "The Networked Car" Bosch prototype cars illustrate cutting-edge advances in automotive electronics; they feature Cartronic software that can regulate electricity, keep engine temperature at optimal levels, and give braking and down-shifting unprecedented precision. One ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0920f.html#item17 "Does IT Favor Men?" A recent Techies.com survey of 2,067 IT professionals in the United States shows that, although women are being promoted to managerial positions more often, they still do not have equal footing with men in this area. The survey drew a huge response ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0920f.html#item18 "'Arguing A.I.' Barely Scratches Surface of Intellectual Debate" Sam Williams' book "Arguing A.I." presents both sides of the debate over artificial intelligence: Ray Kurzweil's contention that machines capable of surpassing human intelligence are inherently good as well as inevitable, and Bill Joy's argument ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0920f.html#item19 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -- To review Wednesday's issue, please visit http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0918w.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.