Dear ACM TechNews Subscriber: Welcome to the October 28, 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 416 Date: October 28, 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, October 28, 2002: http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html "Web Ready For National Alerts" "Light-Emitting Silicon Shines Much Brighter in New Invention" "Tech's Future Lies Beyond Silicon" "Analysis: The Golden Age of Hacking Rolls On" "Smart Routing Could Stop Distributed Net Attacks" "Taking a Quantum Leap" "European IT Skills Progress Stalling" "P2P Hacking Bill May Be Amended" "Computer Aids for the Blind" "Industry Experience Bolsters Reed's Research" "Public Advocate on Key Internet Board Loses His Voice" "Industry Attacks IT Tuition" "Palm-Tops to Guide Tourists" "Tech's Newest Trend--Decentralization" "Will the U.S. Fall Behind in Tech?" "Users Hoping SIP's the Answer" "Eternally Yours at 8 Bits" "Can Public Web Services Work?" ******************* News Stories *********************** "Web Ready For National Alerts" Terra Lycos CTO Tim Wright suggests that an Emergency Online Broadcast System be organized, either in imitation of or with the cooperation of the Emergency Alert System (EAS). Wright says that voluntarily running alerts--delivered in XML--on the main ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1028m.html#item1 "Light-Emitting Silicon Shines Much Brighter in New Invention" STMicroelectronics claims that its scientists have boosted the efficiency of light-emitting silicon by a factor of 100 through the patented implantation of ions of rare-earth metals into a special layer on the surface of the silicon substrate. The ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1028m.html#item2 "Tech's Future Lies Beyond Silicon" HP Labs quantum science research director Stan Williams believes that computer chips 15 years from now will no longer rely on silicon as their basic component, and that molecular grid technology, which he co-developed, will help usher in this ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1028m.html#item3 "Analysis: The Golden Age of Hacking Rolls On" The past six months shows that the hacking culture is thriving, computer security consultant Ed Skoudis said recently at a SANS Institute conference, and is continuing to make gains on vendors and companies trying to make their networks secure. He said ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1028m.html#item4 "Smart Routing Could Stop Distributed Net Attacks" Concerns over distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks in which servers are flooded by bogus traffic were reinforced by the Oct. 21 assault on the root domain name system (DNS) servers, and one solution that Steve Bellovin and colleagues at AT&T Labs are ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1028m.html#item5 "Taking a Quantum Leap" MIT researchers are working on the next generation in computing, using quantum bits instead of binary digital bits to perform powerful, near-instantaneous computations. Quantum bits have extraordinary powers, such as the ability to be both "true" and ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1028m.html#item6 "European IT Skills Progress Stalling" Despite a wealth of initiatives designed to help give Europe a superior knowledge-based economy within eight years, European commissioners such as Anna Diamantopoulou are concerned that there has been little progress in the push to remedy IT skills ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1028m.html#item7 "P2P Hacking Bill May Be Amended" A proposed bill by Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.) allowing copyright holders to damage peer-to-peer networks will be modified, said the congressman's aide, Alec French, on Oct. 23. The original bill introduced in July would have allowed copyright ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1028m.html#item8 "Computer Aids for the Blind" Although several products debuting today aim to provide visually impaired persons with the means to use computer technology more efficiently, advocates claim that the technological chasm blind people face is widening. National Federation of the Blind ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1028m.html#item9 "Industry Experience Bolsters Reed's Research" Yale University professor and Molecular Electronics (MEC) co-founder Mark Reed leverages his industry experience at Texas Instruments (TI) to further his own research and better understand how industry approaches new technologies. The lessons ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1028m.html#item10 "Public Advocate on Key Internet Board Loses His Voice" ICANN board member and vociferous critic Karl Auerbach will soon leave his ICANN board seat as ICANN prepares to approve a reform proposal that ends all elected seats on the ICANN board. ICANN officials such as Chairman Vint Cert and former Chairwoman Esther ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1028m.html#item11 "Industry Attacks IT Tuition" Only a fifth of computer science graduates in the United Kingdom work in the information technology sector despite a current shortage, says a new report from e-skills UK. Of the 27,648 students in 1998 who began their studies in computer science, ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1028m.html#item12 "Palm-Tops to Guide Tourists" A new pilot project funded by the European Union is meant to revive investor interest in the mobile communications industry there. The EU and 17 businesses from six European countries are collaborating on the Mobile Tourism Guide project, which will ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1028m.html#item13 "Tech's Newest Trend--Decentralization" It is no surprise that today's most successful technologies are decentralized in nature, because decentralized systems are much better suited to take on the tasks required in an increasingly complex and demanding IT environment, writes technology analyst ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1028m.html#item14 "Will the U.S. Fall Behind in Tech?" Leading tech executives at the recent Agenda technology conference voiced concerns that the United States may lose its competitive edge against global IT rivals, and attributed this trend to three factors: A severe reduction in national IT ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1028m.html#item15 "Users Hoping SIP's the Answer" Network executives believe that Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)-enabled products could get the most from voice over IP (VoIP), streamline network management, and provide a platform for new applications, but only if they are compatible with each ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1028m.html#item16 "Eternally Yours at 8 Bits" The 8-bit microcontroller unit (MCU) has become ubiquitous in the two decades since Intel introduced the 8051; designers of embedded systems often choose it because it is compact, cheap to manufacture, and can encapsulate all primary computer functions. ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1028m.html#item17 "Can Public Web Services Work?" Public Web services can be a lucrative business opportunity, if properly deployed: Amazon.com's recently-launched Web service for Amazon.com Associates has proven to be a solid source of revenue, one that ServiceObject CEO Geoff Grow thinks could ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1028m.html#item18 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -- To review Friday's issue, please visit http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1025f.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.