Dear ACM TechNews Subscriber: Welcome to the February 12, 2003 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 5, Number 457 Date: February 12, 2003 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 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, February 12, 2003: http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html "Congress Agrees to Bar Pentagon From Terror Watch of Americans" "Software Licensing Act Hits Snag With Lawyer Group" "Woman Sues Software Makers Over Licensing Terms" "MEMS to Remain a Niche Technology?" "If U.S. Launches Cyberattack, It Could Change Nature of War" "Researchers Announce World's Smallest Switch" "New Mac Tool Is Kon-Fabulous" "DARPA Releases Strategic Plan" "Falling Prey to Machines?" "Intel Developer Forum To Cover New Tracks, Latest Advancements" "At FCC, Gadget-Freak Powell Shapes Digital Future" "The Internet Might Just Save the Planet" "Bridging the 'Power Gap'" "Applying Space Technology on Earth" "EU Proposes Agency to Coordinate Internet Security" "Goodbye GUI? Ambient Orb a Computer 'Mood Ring'" "The Best Thing Since the Bar-Code" "Blurring Lines" "Mega-Bandwidth Gets Real" "Take a Number" ******************* News Stories *********************** "Congress Agrees to Bar Pentagon From Terror Watch of Americans" Negotiators from the Senate and the House of Representatives have agreed to prohibit the Pentagon from using the Total Information Awareness (TIA) project to spy on innocent American citizens. Last Friday's announcement that the Pentagon would set up several ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0212w.html#item1 "Software Licensing Act Hits Snag With Lawyer Group" The Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA), which proponents claim would create a software licensing law that could be applied nationally and reduce liability costs for software vendors, may be in jeopardy because the American Bar Association ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0212w.html#item2 "Woman Sues Software Makers Over Licensing Terms" A San Francisco-area chef is suing software vendors Microsoft and Symantec, and their retailers, for not allowing consumers to return software when they do not agree with its licensing terms. Cathy Baker's lawyer, Ira Rothken, says existing contract law ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0212w.html#item3 "MEMS to Remain a Niche Technology?" Panelists at the International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) in San Francisco expected microelectromechanical (MEMS) devices to be a key market driver without making any definite predictions about when they will take off. They wondered whether ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0212w.html#item4 "If U.S. Launches Cyberattack, It Could Change Nature of War" The nature of war could undergo a fundamental shift if a nation launches a coordinated cyberattack on another, according to historians. The effects of such an attack are hard to predict, and that is why the U.S. military is debating the use and ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0212w.html#item5 "Researchers Announce World's Smallest Switch" Physics scientists have created the world's smallest electrical switch using a single molecule sandwiched between two gold surfaces. A scanning tunneling microscope's gold tip is used to switch the benzene-dithiolate (BDT) molecule, which contains ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0212w.html#item6 "New Mac Tool Is Kon-Fabulous" A new open-architecture Mac software called Konfabulator promises to allow anyone to create their own mini-applications. Arlo Rose, who together with Greg Landweber created Kaleidoscope for customized Mac environments, plans to replicate that success with ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0212w.html#item7 "DARPA Releases Strategic Plan" The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) outlined eight key research areas in a report disclosed to the public on Feb. 6. In the area of counterterrorism, one of DARPA's chief projects is the Total Information Awareness (TIA) project, a ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0212w.html#item8 "Falling Prey to Machines?" John Holland, recipient of the first computer science Ph.D in 1959, says artificial intelligence is possible, but will take far more work on the conceptual side. Holland is now a computer science and psychology professor at the University of Michigan ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0212w.html#item9 "Intel Developer Forum To Cover New Tracks, Latest Advancements" The upcoming Intel Developer Forum (IDF), a leading industry event for designers and developers, will offer new tracks on Intel technology as well as in-depth technical training on the latest advances in computing and communications. IDF, slated for Feb. 18-21 at the San Jose McEnery ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0212w.html#item10 "At FCC, Gadget-Freak Powell Shapes Digital Future" FCC Chairman Michael Powell is an avowed technology aficionado and unabashed advocate of free market economics, and Powell's vision for the technology industry is to promote progress by having the government study the markets and intervene as little ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0212w.html#item11 "The Internet Might Just Save the Planet" Despite the global economic downturn, several Internet-driven trends are providing new growth and promise, writes Jeff Davies. First, communication barriers have largely been erased, allowing one-person businesses to be available all the time via cell ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0212w.html#item12 "Bridging the 'Power Gap'" Because portable electronic devices have developed so quickly in the last few years, their functions have outstripped traditional batteries' ability to power them adequately. President Bush attempted to address this need in his recent proposal for ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0212w.html#item13 "Applying Space Technology on Earth" Searchers for debris of the space shuttle Columbia used global positioning devices to mark the exact location of finds. Observers say many popular current technologies, including the Global Positioning System (GPS), were originally spawned or made ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0212w.html#item14 "EU Proposes Agency to Coordinate Internet Security" The European Union on Monday proposed creating an agency to monitor Internet security throughout Europe. It could take up to nine months for the European Parliament and the EU member countries to approve the agency; Erkki Liikanen, EU information ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0212w.html#item15 "Goodbye GUI? Ambient Orb a Computer 'Mood Ring'" Forthcoming products developed by Ambient Devices have the potential to dramatically change computer/person interaction, according to Ambient executives. One of the products is a large orb that is wirelessly linked to Internet data feeds via pager ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0212w.html#item16 "The Best Thing Since the Bar-Code" Academic researchers are working with businesses to develop smart label technology that promises to replace the bar code as a universal method for identifying and tracking just about anything. Consumer goods manufacturers see radio-frequency ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0212w.html#item17 "Blurring Lines" The availability of new technology that can be used in the office as well as in the home gives IT managers and chief technologists more to think about when they make their IT decisions. Employees are increasingly purchasing new wireless communications devices ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0212w.html#item18 "Mega-Bandwidth Gets Real" Advanced networking, high-bandwidth technologies are already being used to link hundreds of sites throughout the United States, and they are starting to penetrate the corporate sector. Over 200 U.S. colleges, government sites, and corporations are ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0212w.html#item19 "Take a Number" Although the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has been awarding business-method patents (class 705) since 1998, many people say they can be detrimental to commercial activities. An example of business-related intellectual property is Amazon.com's ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0212w.html#item20 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -- To review Monday's issue, please visit http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.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.