Dear ACM TechNews Subscriber: Welcome to the December 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 438 Date: December 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, December 23, 2002: http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html "Bush Plan to Monitor Net Raises Stir" "Many Tools of Big Brother Are Now Up and Running" "File Swapper Eluding Pursuers" "Electronics Makers Give Little Respect to Consumers' Rights" "Digital Copyright: A Law Defanged?" "Nanotech Pioneer Looks Ahead" "Computers Just Doing What Comes Naturally" "An Aria With Hiccups: The Music of Data Networks" "Agencies Seek Stronger Controls on Trade in Dual-Use Technologies" "New Heights for Wireless Net Access?" "Voice Holds the Key" "The Notebook Vs. Desktop Popularity Contest" "The 10 Best Hype Jobs of 2002" "Move Over, Silicon" "Patenting the Process" "2002 Year in Review" "Future Tech: Thinking Machines" ******************* News Stories *********************** "Bush Plan to Monitor Net Raises Stir" Among the goals outlined in the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace is the formation of a Cyberspace Network Operations Center, a hub where ISPs would share information about network traffic in order to forestall cyberattacks. The September draft ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item1 "Many Tools of Big Brother Are Now Up and Running" The government already has eyes and ears observing people's everyday activities, but that data is not currently gathered or analyzed comprehensively in a way that would be useful to intelligence agencies. The Internet, as well as new Web ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item2 "File Swapper Eluding Pursuers" File-trading software Kazaa is proving a slippery adversary for the music and movie industries seeking to shut it down through legal means. The system was built in Estonia by three freelance computer programmers who were commissioned by a man in the ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item3 "Electronics Makers Give Little Respect to Consumers' Rights" Electronics providers routinely ban consumer modifications of the products they buy, a practice that is "blatantly anti-competitive," writes Dan Gillmor. For example, DVD movies typically contain software code that limits how they play on DVD ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item4 "Digital Copyright: A Law Defanged?" Although cyber-libertarians declare the U.S. District Court of San Jose's acquittal of Russian software firm ElcomSoft for allegedly violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) a triumph for their side, it does not really set a precedent for ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item5 "Nanotech Pioneer Looks Ahead" Nanotechnology pioneer and IBM Fellow Don Eigler believes electronic devices that exist on the molecular scale will one day revolutionize mankind's way of life, although researchers have only just begun to tap into nanotech's vast potential. He ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item6 "Computers Just Doing What Comes Naturally" Computer technology needs to become easier to use, not necessarily more powerful, according to Telstra Research Laboratories CEO Hugh Bradlow. Telstra's IT research facilities are the largest in Australia, and workers there are developing ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item7 "An Aria With Hiccups: The Music of Data Networks" Stanford University music professor Chris Chafe has developed a new acoustic method of monitoring network performance. In the same way a guitar string resonates at a higher pitch when vibrations are shorter in length, network signals are assigned ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item8 "Agencies Seek Stronger Controls on Trade in Dual-Use Technologies" Agencies in the Bush administration want to curb the export of dual-use technologies--commercial products that have military applications as well--to unfriendly nations by raising awareness among "transshipment" countries that lack effective export ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item9 "New Heights for Wireless Net Access?" Sanswire Technologies, among other companies, is working on high-altitude solutions to increase the range of high-speed Internet access, using new airships to deliver wireless communications services. In collaboration with Canada's 21st ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item10 "Voice Holds the Key" Speech recognition technology carries much more weight as a result of Sept. 11 and its aftermath, which includes a new focus on security, especially at the corporate level. Thanks to recent advances, voice recognition companies such as Phonetic Systems ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item11 "The Notebook Vs. Desktop Popularity Contest" Notebook computer purchases are on the increase, both because of their decline in price, says IDC analyst Alan Promisel, and because of their skyrocketing performance improvements. Notebooks now rival the speed and processing capacity of ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item12 "The 10 Best Hype Jobs of 2002" The marketing of technology again suffered from too much hype this year, as a number of technologies were promoted beyond their ability to deliver, writes Jon Oltsik. Oltsik's pick for the 10 most overhyped technologies this year are, in order: ROI, the ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item13 "Move Over, Silicon" The quest to make cheap and flexible electronics has fueled advances in the use of plastic as a semiconductor, and yielded some interesting breakthroughs. Electro-luminescent light-emitting polymers (LEPs) hold great promise as flat panel ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item14 "Patenting the Process" There is a growing trend for companies to claim ownership of patented e-commerce processes and file infringement suits against users in order to collect usage fees that they feel are owed them. Sheppard, Mullins, Richter, & Hampton attorney Jonathan ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item15 "2002 Year in Review" The past year has witnessed significant developments in the areas of pervasive computing, edge computing, Web services, open source and open standards, and virtualization. The expansion of handhelds, wireless networks, and mobile infrastructure and ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item16 "Future Tech: Thinking Machines" The development of a thinking machine has repeatedly eluded researchers who follow a top-down approach whereby a computer is used as a model for the brain, but scientists such as neuromorphic engineer Kwabena Boahen theorize that better results ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item17 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -- To review Friday's issue, please visit http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1220f.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.