Dear ACM TechNews Subscriber: Welcome to the February 10, 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 456 Date: February 10, 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 Monday, February 10, 2003: http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html "Pentagon Names Boards to Oversee Data-Search Plan" "Don't Underestimate Cyberterrorists, Experts Warn" "NASA Leads Efforts to Build Better Software" "Scientists of Very Small Draw Disciplines Together" "'Sticky' DNA Crystals Promise New Way to Process Information" "The Linux Kernel's Next Incarnation" "See Here!" "Group Hopes to Give New Life to Desktop Linux" "Suits Test Limits of Digital Copyright Act" "Journalist Perpetrates Online Terror" "For the Smart Dresser, Electric Threads That Cosset You" "The Fate of UCITA" "Proving IT" "10 Emerging Technologies That Will Change the World" "Pssst! This Note's For You" "Tech's Biggest Battle" ******************* News Stories *********************** "Pentagon Names Boards to Oversee Data-Search Plan" The Defense Department announced on Feb. 7 the creation of two panels tasked with overseeing the controversial Total Information Awareness (TIA) project, in response to criticism from Congress and other organizations that such a project, supposedly designed ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item1 "Don't Underestimate Cyberterrorists, Experts Warn" Security experts warn that America's enemies can exploit cyberspace to wreak havoc with the nation's public infrastructure, unless its online defenses are beefed up with the installation of security software and increased awareness among ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item2 "NASA Leads Efforts to Build Better Software" The 1999 crash of the Mars Polar Lander, which was attributed to a software bug, made NASA officials realize that preventing a similar embarrassment would require an upgrade in software quality and the development of failure-proof systems. Following ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item3 "Scientists of Very Small Draw Disciplines Together" A recent three-day conference in Los Angeles was a rallying point for scientists and other advocates who wish to merge the disciplines of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, and cognitive research into a single discipline ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item4 "'Sticky' DNA Crystals Promise New Way to Process Information" Researchers at the University of Minnesota have succeeded in forming a regularly structured DNA crystal with gold nanoparticles attached. Electrical engineering professor Richard Kiehl, who leads the project, says it is significant because ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item5 "The Linux Kernel's Next Incarnation" As Linux becomes a more important component of enterprise computing portfolios, IT managers should be aware of upcoming changes in the Linux kernel. Although popular Linux software such as Apache and Samba create a front-end for the open-source ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item6 "See Here!" York University scientists are building an automated videoconferencing system that responds to hand signals, and its development includes research into the psychology of body language and camera-operator training. The research team, led by ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item7 "Group Hopes to Give New Life to Desktop Linux" The Desktop Linux Consortium (DLC), which is composed of leading vendors and open source organizations, hopes to deepen the penetration of Linux on the desktop, which Linux creator Linus Torvalds declared as "inevitable" in a press statement. "Linux ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item8 "Suits Test Limits of Digital Copyright Act" New lawsuits by Lexmark International and the Chamberlain Group are testing the limits of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which observers say has been interpreted broadly by courts. Lexmark is suing Static Control Components and ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item9 "Journalist Perpetrates Online Terror" Computerworld has retracted a story about terrorists claiming to be the author of the recent Slammer worm after learning that Brian McWilliams, former Newsbytes.com reporter, was imitating the cited terrorist group when this group ostensibly asserted ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item10 "For the Smart Dresser, Electric Threads That Cosset You" Electrotextiles--electrically conductive cloth--are being developed so that they can be applied to many wearable products in both the military and civilian sector. The cloth is fashioned from synthetic or metallic fibers that can be linked to ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item11 "The Fate of UCITA" Ed Foster writes an open letter to the American Bar Association's (ABA) House of Delegates in which he urges them to kill the Uniform Computer Information Transaction Act (UCITA), which has long been a target of criticism from customers of IT products. ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item12 "Proving IT" Prior to committing to big IT investments, companies are now setting up test labs to prove the business value of tech projects. The in-house testing facilities are usually overseen by CIOs and other IT executives, while personnel are made up of ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item13 "10 Emerging Technologies That Will Change the World" New technologies with significant implications for computing, manufacturing, security, and other vital areas are being developed by some of the best minds in their fields. University of California, Berkeley, scientist David Culler is working on ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item14 "Pssst! This Note's For You" Mainstream adoption of Global Positioning System (GPS) technology has reached critical mass, as evidenced by unexpected uses far beyond what its inventors intended. Originally developed as a way for smart bombs to more precisely locate targets, GPS has ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item15 "Tech's Biggest Battle" Intel plans to crowd IBM and Sun Microsystems out of the 64-bit server market with its Itanium 2 chip, but rivals may still be able to triumph by using the time between the announcement of Itanium and its long-delayed launch to deepen their roots and ... http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -- To review Friday's issue, please visit http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0207f.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.