Dear ACM TechNews Subscriber: Welcome to the August 27, 2003 edition of ACM TechNews, providing timely information for IT professionals three times a week.ÿ 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 Remember to check out our hot new online essay and opinion magazine, Ubiquity, at ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ACM TechNews Volume 5, Number 538 Date: August 27, 2003 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Site Sponsored by Hewlett Packard Company ( < > ) ÿÿÿÿ HP is the premier source for computing services, ÿÿÿÿ products and solutions. Responding to customers' requirements ÿÿÿÿ for quality and reliability at aggressive prices, HP offers ÿÿÿÿ performance-packed products and comprehensive services. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Top Stories for Wednesday, August 27, 2003: "Coalition Questions Passenger Screening Plan" "DVD-Copying Code Loses Free Speech Shield" "Sleuths Try to Stay Ahead of Online Worms" "Welter of Viruses Is a Wake-Up Call for Software Industry" "Machine Thinks, Therefore It Is" "Can the Tech-Job Drain Be Stopped?" "Smarter Grid Could Warn of Impending Blackouts" "New Telecommunication Tools May Emerge From the Deep" "Tiny Technology Hasn't Hit the Big Time--Yet" "A Vote of No Confidence" "New Wireless Data Standard Threatens 3G" "Fear, Uncertainty and Linux" "New Navigation Tool Offers a Virtual World for the Blind" "RSA Seeks to Fix RFID Worries" "3 IT Projects Among NIST Grants" "Preparing Generation Z" "U.S. Computer Insecurity Redux" "Darwin in a Box" "Being Invisible" ******************* News Stories *********************** "Coalition Questions Passenger Screening Plan" The ACLU used an Aug. 25 press conference to question the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) proposed Computer Assisted Passenger Pre-screening System II (CAPPS II), which is still a magnet for criticism despite revisions added by the TSA ... "DVD-Copying Code Loses Free Speech Shield" An Aug. 25 decision by the California Supreme Court is considered to be a clear triumph for the DVD Copy Control Association (DVD CCA), because the ruling overturns an earlier court decision that allowed DVD decryption software to be published under the claim ... "Sleuths Try to Stay Ahead of Online Worms" The extent of the damage caused by the SoBig.F computer worm was limited somewhat thanks to the efforts of security researchers such as F-Secure's Mikko Hypponen, who helped dissect the worm and warned authorities about network weaknesses that could aid ... "Welter of Viruses Is a Wake-Up Call for Software Industry" The rapid spread of computer viruses such as SoBig and Blaster in recent weeks sends a clear message that commercial software makers must design more secure products.ÿ Although the damage caused by such viruses has been minor so far, Watts Humphrey of ... "Machine Thinks, Therefore It Is" Sandia National Laboratory cognitive psychologist Chris Forsythe is leading an effort to create "synthetic human" technology, which would allow computers to learn and store information about people in order to better interact with them.ÿ Forsythe began his ... "Can the Tech-Job Drain Be Stopped?" Although the outsourcing of high-tech jobs to cheaper overseas labor is attractive to U.S. businesses from a financial point of view, opponents argue that cost-benefit studies often overlook important variables.ÿ Marcus Courtney of the Communication ... "Smarter Grid Could Warn of Impending Blackouts" A team of Purdue University engineers believes that the incorporation of an Internet-based monitoring system into the North American electric power grid could have forestalled the massive blackout that struck on Aug. 14.ÿ The system would gather ... "New Telecommunication Tools May Emerge From the Deep" Researchers at Lucent Technologies' Bell Labs facility are looking to the natural world to develop processes that would improve the fabrication and capabilities of their parent company's products.ÿ The latest example is the Venus' flower ... "Tiny Technology Hasn't Hit the Big Time--Yet" Samuel Madden and Wei Hong of the University of California at Berkeley are working on TinyDB software used by a network of minuscule sensors or "motes."ÿ The researchers think wireless sensor networks have near-infinite applications, ranging from ... "A Vote of No Confidence" Johns Hopkins computer security expert Avi Rubin ignited a firestorm of publicity regarding electronic voting systems when he leaked the findings of his voting machine security study:ÿ Although prominent computer scientists such as Stanford ... "New Wireless Data Standard Threatens 3G" New IEEE 802.20 technology promises to replace carriers' still-nascent 3G rollouts, though groups with heavy investments in 3G cellular technology are likely to resist a quick adoption. The new standard is still being developed and leadership of the ... "Fear, Uncertainty and Linux" Even if SCO's multibillion dollar lawsuit against IBM for allegedly shunting copyrighted Unix code into Linux is dismissed, vendors and open-source advocates are worried that the action will breed enough fear and uncertainty within the marketplace to ... "New Navigation Tool Offers a Virtual World for the Blind" The Navigational Assistance for the Visually Impaired (NAVI) system developed by University of Rochester researchers uses radio and passive transponders to help guide blind people, though its potential applications could extend beyond this primary ... "RSA Seeks to Fix RFID Worries" RSA Security researchers claim they can allay consumers and enterprises' privacy concerns about the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags with an inexpensive solution designed to convince RFID readers that all possible tags are present at ... "Three IT Projects Among NIST Grants" The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently awarded funding to three advanced IT projects out of a total of 16 qualifying for the Advanced Technology Program.ÿ One recipient is InRAD of Knoxville, Tenn., which is developing the ... "Preparing Generation Z" Colleges and universities are changing their computer science and IT programs in order to graduate workers that better fit the needs of industry.ÿ During the dot-com boom, employers often signed students before their graduation, but today many demand ... "U.S. Computer Insecurity Redux" Peter G. Neumann of SRI International's Computer Science Laboratory writes that the poor state of computer security in the United States is exacerbated by growing reliance on computers, the proliferation of the Internet, the buildup of popular ... "Darwin in a Box" Programmers are employing genetic algorithms that follow a Darwinian pattern so that computer programs can evolve to carry out a specific operation or action by passing on their most advantageous traits to subsequent generations.ÿ Oxford researcher ... "Being Invisible" Technology for rendering people invisible is within the realm of physical possibility, though the power and hardware requirements will be formidable, writes aerospace engineer Wil McCarthy.ÿ For an invisibility cloak to be truly effective, it will need to ... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -- To review Monday's issue, please visit -- To visit the TechNews home page, point your browser to: -- 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:ÿ technews-request@acm.org