Dear ACM TechNews Subscriber: Welcome to the November 13, 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 422 Date: November 13, 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 Wednesday, November 13, 2002: http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html "House OK's Computer Security Bill" "An Innovation Recession?" "New Tech Taps Solar Power to Deliver Broadband" "'Rewiring' File-Sharing Networks May Stop Attacks" "U.S. Hopes to Check Computers Globally" "Photonic Crystals in Uniforms" "Tech Futures: Where Workers and Investors Will Find Opportunities in the Years Ahead" "Silicon Hogs" "CMU Work Aims to Change Relationship Between Vehicle, Driver" "Few Firms Have Figured Out How to Make MEMS Quickly and Cheaply" "Government-Backed Software Security Study Takes Off" "Map Data Goes Live with Voice, Gesture-Based Computer System" "Internet Turf War Playing Out" "Three New 'Net Domains Could Be Added Next Year" "IBM's 3D IC: No Funny Glasses Needed" "New Software Cages Hacker Attacks" "Heart of the Matter" "A Scientific Funding Fight" "Why 6-Legged Bots Rule" ******************* News Stories *********************** "House OK's Computer Security Bill" The $903 million Cyber Security Research and Development Act, which will fund cybersecurity projects and training programs over the next five years, was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday. Under the bill, the National ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1113w.html#item1 "An Innovation Recession?" A study estimates that tech spending on research and development fell 8 percent between mid-2001 and early 2002 because of the economic recession, and analysts are troubled that this will impact technological innovations, which are regarded as vital to ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1113w.html#item2 "New Tech Taps Solar Power to Deliver Broadband" Researchers at the University of Southern California, San Diego (UCSD) have developed broadband microwave antennas powered by solar panels to deliver wireless connectivity to remote areas. "The use of solar panels to power wireless broadband ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1113w.html#item3 "'Rewiring' File-Sharing Networks May Stop Attacks" Stanford University researchers have developed a network design model that would prevent attackers from crashing peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing networks, including movie studios and music labels that want to stop pirated works from being traded online. ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1113w.html#item4 "U.S. Hopes to Check Computers Globally" Former national security adviser John Poindexter, who runs the new Information Awareness Office, has proposed a global computer surveillance system that would be used to study commercial and government databases worldwide for evidence of terrorist ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1113w.html#item5 "Photonic Crystals in Uniforms" MIT researcher Yoel Fink has conceived of polymer-based photonic crystals that could be used as part of a $50 million Defense Department contract to create an exoskeleton that would give soldiers enhanced abilities. Fink's planned contribution to the ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1113w.html#item6 "Tech Futures: Where Workers and Investors Will Find Opportunities in the Years Ahead" In order for the technology sector to start selling its products again, it does not need to introduce revolutionary products, but simply further the penetration of existing ones throughout the economy. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan noted last week http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1113w.html#item7 "Silicon Hogs" Growing e-waste resulting from more and more electronic equipment being junked is a well known problem, but a new study to be published in the December issue of Environmental Science & Technology indicates a huge amount of materials and energy is ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1113w.html#item8 "CMU Work Aims to Change Relationship Between Vehicle, Driver" Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) are working to make interaction between drivers and electronic vehicle systems easier and safer, given the risk of distraction caused by both the increasing sophistication of vehicle electronics and the ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1113w.html#item9 "Few Firms Have Figured Out How to Make MEMS Quickly and Cheaply" The road to mass production of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) is paved with obstacles, including high cost, a still-developing infrastructure, packaging difficulties, and a lack of standards. Despite these hurdles, WTC forecasts that the ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1113w.html#item10 "Government-Backed Software Security Study Takes Off" As part of the U.S. government's Software Protection Initiative (SPI), the Air Force Research Laboratory awarded Network Associates with a $1.8 million research contract focusing on projects such as the production of a secure development ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1113w.html#item11 "Map Data Goes Live with Voice, Gesture-Based Computer System" With funding from the National Science Foundation, Penn State researchers have developed a prototype interface technology that allows people to access Geographic Information System (GIS) map data using gestures and vocal commands. Emergency management ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1113w.html#item12 "Internet Turf War Playing Out" The ICANN reform decisions approved at ICANN's Shanghai meeting make the meeting ICANN's most eventful ever by launching ICANN into a new era free of user-participation mechanisms and publicly elected board members, writes Michael Geist. ICANN has chosen ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1113w.html#item13 "Three New 'Net Domains Could Be Added Next Year" ICANN President Stuart Lynn has recommended the creation of three more top level domains, but they will probably be reserved for specific online communities, and Lynn says that such limitations could help avoid the huge domain rush that occurred during ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1113w.html#item14 "IBM's 3D IC: No Funny Glasses Needed" IBM announced today that it has developed a new fabrication technique for three-dimensional integrated circuits (ICs) that would significantly boost the density, performance, and functionality of chips. The company said the slow adoption of 3D ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1113w.html#item15 "New Software Cages Hacker Attacks" Experts at Pennsylvania State University have developed a program that lures prospective hackers into fake databases, confines any altered data, and almost instantly repairs the database. As a result, legitimate users can continue to operate the database ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1113w.html#item16 "Heart of the Matter" Companies and government agencies are rethinking IT infrastructure in order to boost efficiency, functionality, performance, and flexibility, and the factors fueling this trend include the need for real-time computing, collaborative business, ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1113w.html#item17 "A Scientific Funding Fight" A congressional proposal to double the National Science Foundation's $5 billion budget over the next three to five years has been halted by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which contends through officials and other opponents that the ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1113w.html#item18 "Why 6-Legged Bots Rule" Robert J. Full of the University of California at Berkeley is using his expertise in animal locomotion to advise technology developers such as Segway Human Transporter inventor Dean Kamen on how to create more effective, stable, and mobile mechanisms. ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1113w.html#item19 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -- To review Friday's issue (there was no issue on Monday, November 11 [Veteran's Day holiday]), please visit http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1108f.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.