Dear ACM TechNews Subscriber: Welcome to the November 18, 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 424 Date: November 18, 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, November 18, 2002: http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html "Affordable Technology, Not Gee-Whiz Stuff, Is Focus at Comdex" "Businesses, Big and Small, Bet on Wireless Internet Access" "New Light Shed on Unbreakable Encryption" "Study: Linux's Security Problems Outstrip Microsoft's" "Wi-Fi Encryption Fix Not Perfect" "New Life for Old PCs" "AbiWord Up" "Supercomputer to Use Optical Fibers" "Talking Innovation: Marc Andreessen" "Shortage of IT Workers Reaches a Critical Stage" "Good Morning, Dave..." "Faster Wireless LAN Technology on Tap" "Cleaning Up Clean Rooms" "Tiny Tips Probe Nanotechnology" "The Wisdom of the Anthill" "Hyper Rapid Express" ******************* News Stories *********************** "Affordable Technology, Not Gee-Whiz Stuff, Is Focus at Comdex" Fancy, impractical innovations may give way to more affordable products at this year's Comdex trade show, although state-of-the-art technology will still be on display. National Semiconductor CEO Brian Halla says the tech industry's recovery ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1118m.html#item1 "Businesses, Big and Small, Bet on Wireless Internet Access" Both large and small companies are investing in wireless Internet technologies such as Wi-Fi, which are being touted as the next major communications advance, promising anytime, anywhere high-speed Internet access. San-Francisco-based Vivato, for ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1118m.html#item2 "New Light Shed on Unbreakable Encryption" A Northwestern University research team led by Prem Kumar and Horace Yuen have developed a quantum encryption technique in which bundles of photons are transmitted over a fiber-optic line at 250 Mbps, which the scientists estimate surpasses the speed of ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1118m.html#item3 "Study: Linux's Security Problems Outstrip Microsoft's" Open source software has more security holes than Microsoft software, according to an Aberdeen Group report. The report backs up its conclusions with findings from the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), in which 16 out of 29 advisories ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1118m.html#item4 "Wi-Fi Encryption Fix Not Perfect" Most of the security headaches associated with Wi-Fi stem from users failing to activate the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption program, but the program itself is not immune to hacker attacks. That is why cryptography consultant Niels ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1118m.html#item5 "New Life for Old PCs" Users with old PCs that they no longer want or can use can donate them to the nonprofit World Computer Exchange (WCE), which gives them to students in developing nations. Donors receive tax deductions and do not have to worry about paying recycling fees, ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1118m.html#item6 "AbiWord Up" Open-source software continues to make headway despite the boom and subsequent bust in the technology sector, primarily because open-source developers are best motivated by elements unassociated with IPOs or marketability. AbiWord, donated to the ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1118m.html#item7 "Supercomputer to Use Optical Fibers" The California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology today will unveil a new design for a campus-wide supercomputer that will place an optical router at the center of the system, allowing for some information sharing to take place ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1118m.html#item8 "Talking Innovation: Marc Andreessen" Marc Andreessen, Netscape pioneer and co-founder of automated software firm Ospware, says technology is becoming cheaper and more useful for companies as it moves toward commoditization. Linux, the open-source software that can run any UNIX ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1118m.html#item9 "Shortage of IT Workers Reaches a Critical Stage" A year ago, a report from the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) commissioned by the federal CIO Council concluded that there is a dearth of IT personnel across the United States, a situation that will be exacerbated by the ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1118m.html#item10 "Good Morning, Dave..." The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting research proposals into cognitive computer systems, and Ronald J. Brachman of the agency's Information Processing Technology Office expects to have a viable concept ready within ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1118m.html#item11 "Faster Wireless LAN Technology on Tap" A faster wireless LAN specification that will boost data transmission speeds up from 11 Mbps to 54 Mbps is expected to gain much attention at Comdex Fall next week. Analysts say the still unratified specification, IEEE 802.11g, should boost the ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1118m.html#item12 "Cleaning Up Clean Rooms" The microchip manufacturing process that takes place in supposedly ultra-sterile clean rooms involves a massive consumption of hazardous chemicals, water, and toxins that has prompted environmental groups and employees to allege that ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1118m.html#item13 "Tiny Tips Probe Nanotechnology" Scanning probe microscopes (SPMs) used in scientific research to measure and manipulate nanoparticles are being adopted by industry for industrial production and quality control. Classes of SPMs include scanning tunneling microscopes (STMs) that can ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1118m.html#item14 "The Wisdom of the Anthill" French scientist Eric Bonabeau has devised "ant algorithms" based on his study of social insects, and consultancies are using them in a variety of applications. In his book, "Swarm Intelligence," he posits that the social organization of ants could be applied ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1118m.html#item15 "Hyper Rapid Express" Three technologies--HyperTransport, PCI Express, and RapidIO--are competing in the race for standard chip-to-chip interconnects that offer improvements over PCI, which loses performance as data speed increases. Gabriele Sartori of the HyperTransport ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1118m.html#item16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -- To review Friday's issue, please visit http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1115f.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.