ACM TechNews - Wednesday, April 19, 2000

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ACM TechNews
Volume 2, Number 45
Date: April 19, 2000
Site Sponsored by Gateway (http://www.gateway.com)

Top Stories for Monday, April 17, 2000:
http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html


"A Tricky Element in the Antitrust Battle: Microsoft's Server Tactics"
"Wringing New Potential Out of the Old Economy"
"Computing's Dark Side: Digital Domination"
"Rift Develops Over Microsoft Punishment"
"Canadian Arrest Made in February Web Attacks"
"Juniper Networks Says Chip Can Help Thwart Hackers"
"Europe's First E-Commerce Site for Media Companies Debuts"
"Worldly Web Suffixes Open New Domains"
"New Study Finds Hope for Internet Retailers"
"Safe Harbor Vote Delayed"
"Turkey Debates Cyberspace Controls"
"Critics Doubt Value of Maryland's New Software Legislation"
"Study: ASPs to Spend $1 Billion on Technology in 2000"
"After Taking a Beating, Dot-Coms Now Seek Financial Saviors"
"A Docket Full of Issues"
"Battle Cry: Integrate e-Biz Apps"
"The Well-Rounded Consumer"
"Those Web Patents Aren't Advancing the Ball"


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


"A Tricky Element in the Antitrust Battle: Microsoft's Server Tactics"
U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, who ruled on April 3
that Microsoft's business practices violated the Sherman
Antitrust Act, is now focusing on remedies in order to restore
competition to areas where Microsoft holds a monopoly.  Competitors . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0419w.html#item1


"Wringing New Potential Out of the Old Economy"
Traditional companies and Internet startups continue to blend,
leaving old-line firms well-positioned to take advantage of the
new economy, and particularly business-to-business e-commerce.
Still, investors seem to prefer dot-coms, and traditional firms . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0419w.html#item2


"Computing's Dark Side: Digital Domination"
Two prominent high-tech gurus, Sun Microsystems cofounder and
chief scientist Bill Joy and Intel director of research David
Tennenhouse, are warning that computers could eventually dominate
humans and urging scientists to use caution to prevent this from . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0419w.html#item3


"Rift Develops Over Microsoft Punishment"
Some states involved in the Microsoft antitrust trial now wish to
submit a remedy proposal separate from the Justice Department,
since the stock market drop seems to have softened the
department's stance.  Although the states still have disputes to . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0419w.html#item4


"Canadian Arrest Made in February Web Attacks"
Canadian police say that they have arrested "a person" believed
to be responsible for the February "denial-of-service" attacks
that disabled major Web sites such as Yahoo! and eBay and caused
many consumers to question the security of e-commerce in general . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0419w.html#item5


"Juniper Networks Says Chip Can Help Thwart Hackers"
Juniper Networks announced that its Internet-switching gear will
be equipped with a new chip to uncover and prevent hacker attacks
on the Internet.   Juniper said the chip will enable Internet
traffic to be monitored and filtered without hampering network . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0419w.html#item6


"Europe's First E-Commerce Site for Media Companies Debuts"
The recently launched KameraOne online marketplace will provide a
forum for the trade of digitized video content, including news,
sports, and entertainment from the Associated Press, Planet Rock
Files, VideoFashion, and short film producer Honkworm.  "KameraOne . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0419w.html#item7


"Worldly Web Suffixes Open New Domains"
As businesses and individuals scramble to register any Internet
address that ends in dot-com, dot-net, and dot-org, some
companies are hoping to strike it rich by reserving the rights to
lesser known Internet suffixes.  Cash-strapped or tiny countries . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0419w.html#item8


"New Study Finds Hope for Internet Retailers"
Although Internet retail stocks have plummeted and recent hype
portends the downfall of online retailers, 38 percent of Web
retailers are now earning profits, says a new study from Boston
Consulting Group (BCG).  The study, conducted jointly with online . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0419w.html#item9


"Safe Harbor Vote Delayed"
A European Union vote to ratify the Safe Harbor agreement reached
by EU and U.S. officials last month has been pushed back until
late May.  "We were looking for a political green light, but have
to defer to the institutional demands of the EU," said one . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0419w.html#item10


"Turkey Debates Cyberspace Controls"
Turkey is debating an anti-terrorism bill that would greatly
expand the government's control of the Internet and could force
local Internet companies to turn over private information,
including email content, to a watchdog group composed entirely of . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0419w.html#item11


"Critics Doubt Value of Maryland's New Software Legislation"
Critics are questioning the value of new software legislation
that Maryland's lawmakers are soon expected to pass.  The Uniform
Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA) is a wide-ranging
modernization of commercial law controlling software purchased . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0419w.html#item12


"Study: ASPs to Spend $1 Billion on Technology in 2000"
Networking and technology firms intend to position themselves in
the application service provider (ASP) market as the increasing
number of ASPs expand their infrastructures to boost
competitiveness.  The number of ASPs in the market has grown to . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0419w.html#item13


"After Taking a Beating, Dot-Coms Now Seek Financial Saviors"
E-commerce companies are seeking deals to help them survive after
the recent barrage in the stock market over the past weeks left
many of them with little money or interest from investors.  The
trend is toward consolidation between companies providing similar . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0419w.html#item14


"A Docket Full of Issues"
Burgeoning information technology companies are pushing into new
legal waters, but society is following with new laws as well.
Tech companies should keep an eye on developing legislation
issues, such as privacy.  The recent Financial Services . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0419w.html#item15


"Battle Cry: Integrate e-Biz Apps"
A new class of middleware known as business-to-business (B2B)
integration software is now available to businesses needing to
establish communications channels with partners, suppliers, and
customers.  By availing themselves of the B2B integration . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0419w.html#item16


"The Well-Rounded Consumer"
Companies are working to gather and analyze customer information
to obtain a 360-degree view of customers over time and across
various channels, as e-business increasingly empowers consumers.
The Internet allows customers to switch their business to . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0419w.html#item17


"Those Web Patents Aren't Advancing the Ball"
The current system for granting patents for simple Internet ideas
is  barring progress, writes Timothy J. Mullaney.  Under the law,
the Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) will grant patents if they
are useful, novel, and not obvious, and according to PTO . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0419w.html#item18


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