Dear ACM TechNews Subscriber: Welcome to the December 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 434 Date: December 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 Friday, December 13, 2002: http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html "Tech Jobs Become State's Unwanted Big Export" "Spam to Overtake Real E-Mail in 2003" "Researchers Crack Security System" "FCC Seeks More Spectrum for Wireless" "U.S. Firms Move IT Overseas" "Wireless? You Bet. Compatible? Well, Maybe." "Australian Court's Upside-Down Internet Ruling" "Biology Aiding Nanotech Researchers" "Better Display Screens Exist" "Digital Actors in Rings Can Think" "'Smart' Jacket Warms, Lights Up at Night, Monitors Heart" "The Next Design Inspiration" "Karl Auerbach: ICANN "Out of Control"" "The Future of Computer Interfaces" "Autoimmune Computer Systems" "Crossed Signals" "Future Drivers" "Seeing the Light" ******************* News Stories *********************** "Tech Jobs Become State's Unwanted Big Export" The worldwide technology bust is forcing many California high-tech companies to outsource overseas in order to remain competitive, but the trade-off is a decrease in employment and tax revenue that could seriously affect the state's economy. ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1213f.html#item1 "Spam to Overtake Real E-Mail in 2003" Unsolicited commercial email will outnumber real email in 2003, according to an annual report from email filtering firm MessageLabs issued on Wednesday. MessageLabs CTO Mark Sunner says the increasing availability and improvement of technology is ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1213f.html#item2 "Researchers Crack Security System" Computer scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have cracked a security feature meant to stymie Web bots that automatically create free email accounts, enter sweepstakes, and otherwise impersonate real people online. The security system, ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1213f.html#item3 "FCC Seeks More Spectrum for Wireless" The FCC has proposed a new rule that would open up the spectrum for Wi-Fi networks and other unlicensed wireless devices, and is seeking public comment on the feasibility of the matter. Such devices would be allowed to share TV broadcast spectrum at times ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1213f.html#item4 "U.S. Firms Move IT Overseas" The growth of competing Indian technology services firms are prompting U.S. IT services companies to shift their offerings overseas, where wages are cheaper, says Gartner analyst Frances Karamouzis. Forrester Research says the development of low-cost, ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1213f.html#item5 "Wireless? You Bet. Compatible? Well, Maybe." Several standards are under development to ensure that Wi-Fi devices possess high bandwidth capacity, security, and quality of service, but in the meantime manufacturers are releasing products that use interim standards that may not be compatible with each ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1213f.html#item6 "Australian Court's Upside-Down Internet Ruling" Recent court rulings, such as the one made this week by the High Court of Australia, threaten free-speech on the Internet, writes Dan Gillmor. An Australian businessman won the right from the High Court to sue Dow Jones for defamation because of a story ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1213f.html#item7 "Biology Aiding Nanotech Researchers" A recent conference hosted by the National Science Foundation highlighted academic nanotechnology research efforts that involve biological materials and systems. Such a strategy allows for bottom-up assembly, noted Cornell University's Barbara Baird. ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1213f.html#item8 "Better Display Screens Exist" Display screens composed of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are expected to one day replace liquid crystal displays (LCDs), once certain technical and financial issues are resolved. Unlike LCDs, OLED screens do not require backlighting, they offer better ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1213f.html#item9 "Digital Actors in Rings Can Think" Adding epic splendor to the battles in the blockbuster "Lord of the Rings" films are armies of digital warriors, each of which acts individually thanks to an artificial intelligence-inspired program dubbed Massive. Created by programmer Stephen ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1213f.html#item10 "'Smart' Jacket Warms, Lights Up at Night, Monitors Heart" A prototype jacket designed by Cornell University graduate student Lucy Dunne for her senior thesis features embedded electronics that can illuminate it at night, heat it when cold, and monitor the wearer's heart and pulse rate. Warmth is ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1213f.html#item11 "The Next Design Inspiration" Chip complexity is increasing because of the need to make smaller, faster, and more flexible semiconductors, but this complicates design confirmation. Engineers are working to come up with new designs for denser, lower-power circuits, says Palo ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1213f.html#item12 "Karl Auerbach: ICANN "Out of Control"" ICANN board member Karl Auerbach, in a wide-ranging interview, argues that the Oct. 21 DDoS attack on the Internet's root servers shows that a decentralized management of the DNS would be the best option for preventing any future concentrated attacks. ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1213f.html#item13 "The Future of Computer Interfaces" The development of simpler, intuitive, and flexible computer interfaces will spur the integration of technology and everyday life, and technologies that could usher in a new age of ubiquitous computing include input interfaces, output interfaces, ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1213f.html#item14 "Autoimmune Computer Systems" Several research initiatives are underway to develop computers that are capable of automated and adaptive defense. Hewlett-Packard researchers in Bristol, England, are focusing on "resilient infrastructure," whereby computers remain in operation ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1213f.html#item15 "Crossed Signals" As electronics become smaller and faster, they become more prone to electromagnetic interference (EMI); at the same time, the proliferation of wireless connections between computers and other electronic devices is causing interference sources to grow. ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1213f.html#item16 "Future Drivers" The annual Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition (IGVC) offers teams of college engineering students the opportunity to pit their robotic designs against each other to see how well they can integrate a variety of technologies, including vision systems, ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1213f.html#item17 "Seeing the Light" Up to now, microprocessors, memory, and hard drive technology has moved in leaps and bounds while displays have limped along, but organic light-emitting polymers could revolutionize the field and lead to the development of roll-up screens as thin as a sheet of ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1213f.html#item18 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -- To review Wednesday's issue, please visit http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1211w.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.