Dear ACM TechNews Subscriber: Welcome to the December 27, 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 439 Date: December 27, 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 27, 2002: http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html "1.1 Million Jobs Coming for Haggard IT Workforce" "EU Copyright Law Misses Deadline" "India Is Regaining Contracts With U.S." "The Year Ahead: Top Ten Technologies to Watch" "Critics Fear Broadcast Flag Would Stomp on Consumer Rights" "Ex-Hacker Will Soon Be Allowed to Use the Internet Again" "'No-Touch' Typing for Disabled" "Eyeing the Costs of the Tech Boom" "The Code That Cuts Both Ways" "Erasing the Blind Spot: A Driver's Aid Averts Traffic Jams" "Piracy Foes' Big Legal Stick Cut Shorter by Prudent Jury" "Sharing the Riches" "Top Ten Trends 2003" "Computer Clocks Wind Down" "Why You Might Soon Feel More Secure about Insecure Software" "God Is the Machine" ******************* News Stories *********************** "1.1 Million Jobs Coming for Haggard IT Workforce" Although U.S. firms laid off 500,000 tech workers in 2002, a new study from the Information Technology Association of America predicts that 1.1 million tech workers will be hired back in 2003. After two consecutive years of falling numbers, the size ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1227f.html#item1 "EU Copyright Law Misses Deadline" Despite aggressive lobbying, the Dec. 22 deadline for the adoption of the European Union's Copyright Directive has come and gone, with only two member states, Greece and Denmark, instituting it. The directive, which the EU approved in April, ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1227f.html#item2 "India Is Regaining Contracts With U.S." Indian companies and the India-based units of overseas firms are taking more outsourcing contracts after a lull following the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001. In Bangalore and other high-tech nodes in India, companies such as Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1227f.html#item3 "The Year Ahead: Top Ten Technologies to Watch" The year 2003 will see continued improvement in wireless networking, location-based mobile services, radio-frequency ID (RFID) chips, displays, and other technologies. More devices will come equipped with Bluetooth wireless connectivity, and new ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1227f.html#item4 "Critics Fear Broadcast Flag Would Stomp on Consumer Rights" Inserting broadcast flags into television transmissions in order to limit or prevent unauthorized distribution of programs will violate consumers' rights and stifle high-tech innovation, critics charge. The flag, which devices would pick up to render ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1227f.html#item5 "Ex-Hacker Will Soon Be Allowed to Use the Internet Again" Famed and convicted hacker Kevin Mitnick will be released Jan. 20 from probation, which bars him from using computers, software, modems, or any other devices connecting to the Internet without prior permission. He has been granted permission to use a cell ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1227f.html#item6 "'No-Touch' Typing for Disabled" Programmers at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil have produced a free adaptable software program that disabled people use to operate computers and home automation systems. Once downloaded onto a user's computer, the Motrix program allows ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1227f.html#item7 "Eyeing the Costs of the Tech Boom" Every technological revolution has a downside: For the information technology and networking boom, that downside includes information overload and intense competition that threatens to inundate unskilled workers and consumers. Other ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1227f.html#item8 "The Code That Cuts Both Ways" There is widespread agreement that publicly disclosing computer security flaws is necessary, but experts disagree on how much information should be disclosed, and how soon after bugs are discovered should the public be notified. Computer vendors such ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1227f.html#item9 "Erasing the Blind Spot: A Driver's Aid Averts Traffic Jams" Technology firms and automakers are looking into driver-assistance systems that can make the roads safer and less congested. Different types of monitoring devices would help drivers respond faster to traffic conditions so that isolated ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1227f.html#item10 "Piracy Foes' Big Legal Stick Cut Shorter by Prudent Jury" The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) received a serious set-back recently as a jury in San Jose acquitted a defendant prosecuted under that law. Elcomsoft was standing trial for selling an e-book copying program over the Internet which ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1227f.html#item11 "Sharing the Riches" Lotus founder Mitch Kapor is funding the nonprofit Open Source Applications Foundation (OSAF) that focuses on bringing open-source software to PC users in order to make information exchange more intuitive. OSAF's centerpiece is Chandler, a ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1227f.html#item12 "Top Ten Trends 2003" Red Herring's sixth annual top 10 trends list concentrates on emerging technologies likely to make a significant impact in 2003; they are expected to balance out some of the more negative trends, and owe a great deal of their development to the Sept. 11 ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1227f.html#item13 "Computer Clocks Wind Down" The reliability of the synchronous circuits or "clocks" common in most computers is more difficult to maintain as chips increase in size and complexity, and their heat output and power consumption rise with each new chip generation. To find a solution, ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1227f.html#item14 "Why You Might Soon Feel More Secure about Insecure Software" The software industry is notorious for releasing products with inadequate security, and consumers have accepted this as the status quo. Software security was lax because there was initially no call for it, but the growth of networking and ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1227f.html#item15 "God Is the Machine" Digital physicists argue that the universe could well be the ultimate computer, and that all existence is, in essence, a function of computation. Adding weight to such suppositions are the theories that all things--equations, multimedia works, even ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1227f.html#item16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -- To review Monday's issue (there was no issue on Wednesday [Christmas Day]), please visit http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.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.