ACM TechNews - Friday, February 25, 2000

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ACM TechNews
Volume 2, Number 22
Date: February 25, 2000
Site Sponsored by Gateway (http://www.gateway.com)

Top Stories for Friday, February 25, 2000:
http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html

"Microsoft Breakup Called Illogical"
"CeBit: Wireless Net, Linux, Win2000 to Take Center Stage"
"Computers May Feel 'Leap Year Bug' Bite"
"Microsoft Says It Foiled Hacker Assault"
"Study: U.S. Manufacturers Not B2B E-Commerce Ready"
"Linux: Long-Term Commitment or a Flash in the Pan?"
"J.C. Penney Sold on New Outlet: Online Auctions"
"Europe Angered by Claims of U.S. Spying"
"Chatting With the Web"
"First Win 2000 Virus Found"
"Locking Out the Hackers"
"You Haven't Got Mail"
"Designing for Survival"
"Spawning the Gigahertz Era"
"Slashing Design Time"

******************* News Stories ***********************


"Microsoft Breakup Called Illogical"
Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig, who has been asked by
Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson to give his opinion on several
issues in the Microsoft antitrust trial, said yesterday that
splitting up the software giant "doesn't seem logical."  If . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0225f.html#item1

"CeBit: Wireless Net, Linux, Win2000 to Take Center Stage"
With approximately 7,500 participants, the CeBit exhibition is
the world's largest IT event.  This year's CeBit, boasting a new
service that allows exhibitors to transmit live broadcasts of
press conferences via the Internet, will be held in Hannover, . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0225f.html#item2

"Computers May Feel 'Leap Year Bug' Bite"
The President's Council on Y2K Conversion, originally formed to
address the potential computer problems caused by the transition
to the year 2000, now fears some computer software will not
recognize that this calendar year is a leap year.  Council . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0225f.html#item3

"Microsoft Says It Foiled Hacker Assault"
Microsoft yesterday reported a syn-flood attack on its corporate
Web site that had a minimal effect on the site's performance.  A
syn-flood attack aims to use up processing power by corrupting
transmissions between a PC and the site server, causing the . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0225f.html#item4

"Study: U.S. Manufacturers Not B2B E-Commerce Ready"
Although business-to-business e-commerce is gaining in
popularity, few manufacturers are participating in it, concluded
National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) President Jerry
Jasinowski in reference to a NAM survey of 2,500 U.S. . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0225f.html#item5

"Linux: Long-Term Commitment or a Flash in the Pan?"
This year will be crucial in determining Linux's long-term
success, writes Paul Bray.  Although Linux has gained the support
of the industry, and despite the publicity this support has
yielded, whether Linux is here to stay is not clear, says Bray.  . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0225f.html#item6

"J.C. Penney Sold on New Outlet: Online Auctions"
This April J.C. Penney will launch an online auction site
designed to sell overstocked items from its stores and catalog.
The move is intended to reverse the company's declining earnings
figures from the past two years by attracting repeat business and . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0225f.html#item7

"Europe Angered by Claims of U.S. Spying"
Some Europeans are accusing the National Security Agency (NSA) of
intercepting communications sent by private citizens and using
economic espionage to the advantage of U.S. corporations.  A
committee of the 15-nation European Parliament recently heard . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0225f.html#item8

"Chatting With the Web"
IBM this week previewed new speech recognition technologies
designed to make Web surfing even easier at the Speech Fair held
at IBM's Santa Theresa Research facility.  IBM unveiled a Palm
Pilot PDA equipped with IBM's prototype Personal Speech Assistant . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0225f.html#item9

"First Win 2000 Virus Found"
Although Windows 2000 was released only a week ago, virus writers
have already created W2K.Infis.4608, a virus that targets the new
version of the Microsoft operating system.  Symantec says the
virus is only capable of infecting a system if a machine is . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0225f.html#item10

"Locking Out the Hackers"
Experts say there are five ways to make the Internet more secure
without burdening the medium with excessive regulation or
invading user privacy.  First, computer experts suggest that
software developers receive better training and learn new . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0225f.html#item11

"You Haven't Got Mail"
Consumer-sent emails are frequently ignored by Fortune 100
companies, and there is a 62 percent chance of receiving no
reply, according to a test by software vendor Brightware.  After
sending emails to top companies asking who is each one's CEO, . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0225f.html#item12

"Designing for Survival"
The consumer electronics industry can now further fuel the desire
for constant innovation through the Internet, inexpensive
processing power for computers, and the growth of digital media.
Manufacturers will have to act fast to utilize new technologies . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0225f.html#item13

"Spawning the Gigahertz Era"
Intel, IBM, and Compaq all presented papers at the recent IEEE
Solid State Circuit Conference, describing forthcoming 1 GHz
processors, and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) demonstrated a 1.1
GHz Athlon chip.  Intel disclosed details on its Itanium 64-bit . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0225f.html#item14

"Slashing Design Time"
The Ohio Aerospace Institute (OAI) of Cleveland will assist the
National Institute for Standards and Technology in designing a
computer program that facilitates manufacturer communications.
OAI recently received a $21.5 million grant from the Department . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0225f.html#item15


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