Dear ACM TechNews Subscriber: Welcome to the September 23, 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 342 Date: September 23, 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, September 23, 2002: http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html "A Cybersage Speaks His Mind" "Tech Companies Fight The Law That Dictates Mature Industries Slow" "Interview: Wyden Eyes Nanotech" "A Bid to Overcome Patent Backlogs" "Official: Cybersecurity Not Watered Down" "Revised In-Vehicle Electronics Spec Due by Year's End" "Beyond Bar Codes" "Library Of Congress Goes Grid" "Diamonds Improve Quantum Crypto" "Organic Displays May Supplant LCDs" "State's Technology Employment Slows But Still Grows" "The New Power Generation" "Technology Helps the Elderly Live Alone" "Forbidden Zone" "Humanity, New and Improved" "Headed in Reverse" "Attracting Women" "Welcome to Flatland" ******************* News Stories *********************** "A Cybersage Speaks His Mind" Internet legal expert David Sorkin of the John Marshall Law School in Chicago and an ICANN board member was one of the first academics to offer courses dealing with cyberlaw. Sorkin's views are relatively widely publicized, through the Spam Laws Web site ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0923m.html#item1 "Tech Companies Fight The Law That Dictates Mature Industries Slow" Technology business spending is growing at a snail's pace, despite rapid advances leading to faster computing speed, lower costs, and smaller PCs. The annual growth rate of PC sales surpassed 25 percent at the peak of the Internet boom, compared ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0923m.html#item2 "Interview: Wyden Eyes Nanotech" In an interview with United Press International, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) talks about the importance of nanotechnology and legislation to make it more of a priority. He stresses that policymakers need to expand awareness of how nanotech can ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0923m.html#item3 "A Bid to Overcome Patent Backlogs" The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has long been criticized by lawmakers and inventors for taking too long to process applications, awarding patents of poor quality, and being burdened with an overwhelming backlog; patent examiners with bad ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0923m.html#item4 "Official: Cybersecurity Not Watered Down" White House National Critical Infrastructure Protection Board vice chairman Howard Schmidt says claims that the White House cybersecurity plan was watered down due to pressure from the IT industry is 100 percent unfounded, untrue, and unfair. The ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0923m.html#item5 "Revised In-Vehicle Electronics Spec Due by Year's End" The Automotive Multimedia Interface Collaboration (AMI-C) announced this week that its revised specification will be introduced in December. Its adoption by automakers will supply a common platform for adding in-vehicle electronics such as cell ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0923m.html#item6 "Beyond Bar Codes" It is becoming cheaper to install and manufacture radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, and advocates say this will lead to the technology being used in a wide variety of applications, including tracking groceries and other retail items throughout ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0923m.html#item7 "Library Of Congress Goes Grid" The Library of Congress wants to test how Storage Research Broker (SRB) Grid technology from the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) can preserve the library's digital collections. The library's American Memory collection alone contains some 7.5 ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0923m.html#item8 "Diamonds Improve Quantum Crypto" Scientists at the French National Scientific Research Center (CNRS) and Ecole Polytechnic report that they have significantly improved quantum cryptography methodology using a 40-nm diamond nanocrystal. "We have developed an efficient, stable, all ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0923m.html#item9 "Organic Displays May Supplant LCDs" A number of large technology firms, and many more smaller ones, are working on next-generation organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, which will allow for greater versatility and less power consumption than even LCDs. The advantages of OLEDs ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0923m.html#item10 "State's Technology Employment Slows But Still Grows" In spite of the weakened economy, the number of technology jobs in California still grew in 2001, according to a recent study by the American Electronics Association (AEA), although the rate dropped to 1.3 percent, after hitting 13 percent at the height of ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0923m.html#item11 "The New Power Generation" Author Scott Kirsner cautions that the United States fails to note that many of its troubles with the Middle East arise from our interest in oil and that the country has the technical skill to advance other types of energies. Kirsner contends, however, ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0923m.html#item12 "Technology Helps the Elderly Live Alone" Surveillance technologies are helping adult children and caregivers keep tabs on elderly parents and patients. Using high-speed Internet connections, videoconferencing equipment and health-monitoring devices allow the elderly to live alone where ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0923m.html#item13 "Forbidden Zone" The void between light and radio waves in the electromagnetic spectrum is occupied by terahertz radiation, and engineers are developing technology that exploits such rays for a variety of applications, including medical imaging and, more significantly, ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0923m.html#item14 "Humanity, New and Improved" The National Science Foundation (NSF) is promoting a plan to merge information technology, nanotechnology, and biotechnology, each of which has the potential to dramatically modify humanity at the biological level, according to advocates. Drafted by NSF ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0923m.html#item15 "Headed in Reverse" The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that restrictions on reverse-engineering included in shrink-wrap software licenses precludes competitors from adding similar features in their own products. This establishes a dangerous precedent and is not in ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0923m.html#item16 "Attracting Women" Executive director of university relations for Hewlett-Packard Wayne Johnson insists that industry must lead the charge to bring more women into IT by encouraging them to stick with science and engineering courses and share their technology ideas with their ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0923m.html#item17 "Welcome to Flatland" Flatland, developed by the University of New Mexico's Albuquerque High Performance Computing Center (AHPCC), is an interactive software environment where users can visualize simulation program operations in order to better understand and debug them. ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0923m.html#item18 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -- To review Friday's issue, please visit http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0920f.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.