Dear ACM TechNews Subscriber: Welcome to the August 16, 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 discussion (and voting) forums on current industry issues and the latest on ACM activities, 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 387 Date: August 16, 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, August 16, 2002: http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html "Sleuths Invade Military PCs With Ease" "S.F., S.J. Officials Vow to Act on Controlling E-Waste" "Cambridge Tries U.S. Approach On Patent Profit" "ACM Turing Winner Kristen Nygaard Dies at 75" "Growing Pains for Linux, Open Source Standard-Bearer" "New Ways to Power Hungry Mobile Devices" "Hiring for Tech Jobs Fails to Pick Up, Slowing Recovery" "Whither Wi-Fi?" "A Campus for Collaboration, at a Billion Bits Per Second" "HyperCard Forgotten, But Not Gone" "Robot Competitions Finding a Place in Pop Culture" "Russia Becoming IT Powerhouse" "Russia to Host Next-Generation Tech Symposium" "Geeks In Government: A Good Idea?" "Quantum Cryptography Arrives" "Quality Counts" "Program Attracting Girls to Technical Studies" "'Approachable Design' Not Just for Cars Anymore" "Wireless Insecurity" ******************* News Stories *********************** "Sleuths Invade Military PCs With Ease" With little experience and without authorization, ForensicTec Solutions security consultants breached many military and government computer systems this summer using free, readily available software; they say this proves that the networks are . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0816f.html#item1 "S.F., S.J. Officials Vow to Act on Controlling E-Waste" With several bills for recycling electronic waste currently held up in the California legislature, Bay Area officials announced that they would propose local programs if delays continue. The stalled bills include a proposal from Sen. Byron Sher (D-San . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0816f.html#item2 "Cambridge Tries U.S. Approach to Patent Profit" Cambridge University's new policy of claiming ownership of patents and intellectual property coming from its departments is riling the community within and around the school. The area surrounding Cambridge, dubbed "Silicon Fen," is widely seen as . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0816f.html#item3 "ACM Turing Winner Kristen Nygaard Dies at 75" Norwegian computer pioneer and University of Oslo professor Kristen Nygaard passed away on Aug. 10 at the age of 75. In the 1960s, he and the late Professor Ole-Johan Dahl created the Simula programming language used to manage the complexity . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0816f.html#item4 "Growing Pains for Linux, Open Source Standard-Bearer" A stronger corporate presence at this week's LinuxWorld conference demonstrates the increasing popularity of the open-source operating system, but Linux enthusiasts are worried that the technology's grass-roots appeal is in danger because of . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0816f.html#item5 "New Ways to Power Hungry Mobile Devices" Future mobile devices that include features such as Internet access and color screens will probably consume power much more rapidly, so manufacturers are looking for alternative power sources. Gartner VP Ken Dulaney believes that the move toward . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0816f.html#item6 "Hiring for Tech Jobs Fails to Pick Up, Slowing Recovery" Job growth in the technology sector is still stagnant and hindering the economic recovery, despite indications earlier this year that the tech job market was improving and would be much better by now. Outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0816f.html#item7 "Whither Wi-Fi?" In an interview with CNET News.com, Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA) Chairman Dennis Eaton says the future of wireless LAN technology using the Wi-Fi brand name is in the middle of a tug-of-war over the technology's future . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0816f.html#item8 "A Campus for Collaboration, at a Billion Bits Per Second" Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management hosts a broadband network that can transfer a billion bits of data per second, a speed that CIO Lev Gonick estimates is 10 to 100 times faster than any other school's network . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0816f.html#item9 "HyperCard Forgotten, But Not Gone" Apple's HyperCard programming software languishes as company executives refuse to back updates for the aging code, which hasn't had a meaningful update in 15 years, but many users still say HyperCard is the best programming environment ever . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0816f.html#item10 "Robot Competitions Finding a Place in Pop Culture" Robot competitions, which are growing in popularity, are seen as both a sport and a way to interest young people in science and engineering. In the International Design Contest (IDC), which is entering its 13th year, multinational teams are given two weeks . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0816f.html#item11 "Russia Becoming IT Powerhouse" Russia's software development outsourcing industry is gaining clout on the global scene as companies continue to look for top-notch programming talent at cheap prices. The country's outsourcing sales have grown 50 percent per year, even while the . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0816f.html#item12 "Russia to Host Next-Generation Tech Symposium" A symposium to be held in Moscow on Sept. 10-13 will concentrate on microelectronics materials and processes. Some 500 international researchers from academia, industry, and national laboratories are expected to attend, share their research, and . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0816f.html#item13 "Geeks In Government: A Good Idea?" The hard truth is that Washington legislators strongly support the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) even as technologists fervently oppose it, and no amount of protesting is likely to sway the lawmakers. The DMCA, the USA Patriot Act, and life . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0816f.html#item14 "Quantum Cryptography Arrives" Quantum cryptography, which uses quantum mechanics to ensure that encrypted content is perpetually safeguarded, may already be in use for sensitive Washington, D.C., correspondence, according to Bell Labs researcher Chris Fuchs. He received this impression . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0816f.html#item15 "Quality Counts" The IT spending downturn has empowered IT managers to demand better quality software from vendors. Rather than be a silent victim, American Power Conversion (APC) threatened to no longer act as a reference for its software vendor unless bugs in its . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0816f.html#item16 "Program Attracting Girls to Technical Studies" The Girls Embrace Technology (GET) program is a six-week summer internship designed to allow female high-school students in Boulder, Colo., to become more familiar with engineering design, physics, instructional design, and software development, in the . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0816f.html#item17 "'Approachable Design' Not Just for Cars Anymore" So that office equipment such as printers, servers, and copiers impart a satisfying user experience, designers are taking a cue from the auto industry to give products a consistent appearance and feel that incorporates such human factors as ease-of-use, . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0816f.html#item18 "Wireless Insecurity" What makes wireless networks so vulnerable is not so much the technology as poor management and a failure to make security a key component of business strategy, according to experts. For example, an anonymous hacker informed SecurityFocus that he was . . . http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0816f.html#item19 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -- To review Wednesday's issue, please visit http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0814w.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.