ACM TechNews - Friday, May 19, 2000

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ACM TechNews
Volume 2, Number 58
Date: May 19, 2000
Site Sponsored by Gateway (http://www.gateway.com)

Top Stories for Friday, May 19, 2000:
http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html

"IT Pioneers Create Frenzy of Activity"
"Intel Tops Cisco in Market Value"
"New Virus More Destructive Than 'Love'"
"New Cooperation in Taming the Wild Web"
"Congress Hears From Industry, Privacy Groups"
"Warning to T-Online on Content Despite Growth"
"Two European Web Auction Sites to Merge to Fight eBay's Inroads"
"Bertelsmann Changes Focus"
"AT&T Wireless Offers Free Net Access"
"A Weak Response to Virus"
"Web Also Revolutionizing ID Fakery"
"Lucent to Add Over 2,000 Jobs"
"Yahoo! Signs Mobile Phone Content Deal"
"Boo.com's End Darkens Picture for E-Tailing"
"Secrecy for All, as Encryption Goes to Market"
"Burlington Northern Is Locked in Privacy Fight"
"Europe's First Multi-Access Web Portal"
"Pa.'s Improved Web Site: What's in It for Microsoft?"
"E-Power to the People"
"Boom in Tech Jobs Expanding in U.S."
"First Security"
"Should I Stay or Should I Go?"
"Defining 'Spam' Technically Isn't Easy"

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

"IT Pioneers Create Frenzy of Activity"
The Internet is taking hold of Estonia, with 25 percent of the
nation's population using the Internet. The area took advantage
of the slow development during the recent communist period,
installing new wireless technologies instead of new phone lines.  . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0519f.html#item1

"Intel Tops Cisco in Market Value"
Intel yesterday reached market capitalization of $413 billion
while Cisco had market capitalization of $385 billion. Intel
plans to split its shares two-for-one in a little over a month.
One analyst says that Intel is the only reliable major technology . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0519f.html#item2

"New Virus More Destructive Than "Love""
A new virus, more destructive than the love bug that recently
swept the world, is on the loose. The virus is not widespread,
but because it is a worm, a few cases can quickly become a
worldwide issue. The new virus, which targets Microsoft Outlook . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0519f.html#item3

"New Cooperation in Taming the Wild Web"
Participants at this week's Group of Eight cybercrime conference
pondered weighty issues such as how and where the line should be
drawn between privacy and freedom on the Internet. This type of
debate often pits governments versus the tech industry.  . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0519f.html#item4

"Congress Hears From Industry, Privacy Groups"
Privacy advocates and members of the Internet industry held talks
with the Congressional Privacy Caucus yesterday to debate the
pros and cons of federal privacy regulations. Data-collecting
cookies were one of the prime topics of discussion during the . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0519f.html#item5


"Warning to T-Online on Content Despite Growth"
German ISP T-Online yesterday reported an impressive
first-quarter showing in sales growth and number of new customers
recruited, but tempered these results with the warning that its
growth will slow over the coming two quarters due to "seasonal . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0519f.html#item6

"Two European Web Auction Sites to Merge to Fight eBay's Inroads"
The two biggest homegrown Internet auction sites in Europe are
merging to fight inroads made by U.S. auction behemoth eBay.
Britain's QXL has finalized an agreement with the German company
Ricardo.de to purchase the latter in a pure-stock deal worth . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0519f.html#item7

"Bertelsmann Changes Focus"
The recent deal between Lycos and Terra Networks includes some
side-agreements with Telefonica that will create new
opportunities in the Spanish-speaking world for Bertelsmann.
Bertelsmann has created an alliance with Telefonica worth . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0519f.html#item8

"AT&T Wireless Offers Free Net Access"
AT&T Wireless intends to supply its subscribers with unlimited
access to a select group of Web sites. The offer is an attempt
to profit from future growth in mobile Internet access. With the
purchase of one of two new AT&T Wireless phones and a . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0519f.html#item9

"A Weak Response to Virus"
The Government Accounting Office (GAO) says the federal
government was very slow in its response to the "I Love You"
virus. The GAO contends that the FBI's National Infrastructure
Protection Center did not warn other federal agencies of the . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0519f.html#item10

"Web Also Revolutionizing ID Fakery"
Web sites that purvey bogus identification documents are
proliferating across the Internet, allowing customers to purchase
software or download programs that can create driver's licenses,
birth certificates, immigration cards, and other personal . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0519f.html#item11

"Lucent to Add Over 2,000 Jobs"
Lucent Technologies announced Thursday it would invest $40
million to expand its manufacturing of optical networking
components in Southern California, increasing its workforce by
450 in the next year and a half. The company also said its . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0519f.html#item12

"Yahoo! Signs Mobile Phone Content Deal"
Telecom Italia Mobile formed an agreement with Internet portal
Yahoo! yesterday to receive content for its WAP service. Yahoo!
will provide TIM subscribers with access to its e-mail, news,
sports, and other information. TIM, Europe's larger wireless . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0519f.html#item13

"Boo.com's End Darkens Picture for E-Tailing"
In an announcement likely to further shake investors' confidence
in high-spending Internet retailers, online fashion retailer
Boo.com yesterday said it has no more money and is going out of
business. Boo.com made its high-profile online debut only six . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0519f.html#item14

"Secrecy for All, as Encryption Goes to Market"
As Internet and computer privacy issues rapidly move to the
forefront of public concern, companies in the cryptography field
are doing what would have been unthinkable just five years
ago--making big money. Companies that offer anonymity to Web . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0519f.html#item15

"Burlington Northern Is Locked in Privacy Fight"
Earlier this week former Burlington Northern Santa Fe employee
William Purdy posted on the Internet the first digit of company
CEO Robert Krebs' Social Security number as a protest against
certain company policies. Purdy says he intends to post . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0519f.html#item16

"Europe's First Multi-Access Web Portal"
Vodafone Airtouch, Vivendi, and Canal+ formally announced more
details surrounding the introduction of Vizzavi, Europe's new
portal site that is slated for a multi-country launch this year,
starting with France in a few weeks' time. After the French . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0519f.html#item17

"Pa.'s Improved Web Site: What's in It for Microsoft?"
Through free consulting provided by Microsoft, Pennsylvania hopes
its new state government Web site, PA PowerPort, will open as the
quickest and most extensive state government site nationwide.
The site would link to free services provided by Microsoft, and . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0519f.html#item18

"E-Power to the People"
While music companies are currently locked in bitter
copyright-infringement battles over college students using
Napster to swap music files over the Internet, a more
sophisticated version of the program is now on the loose in the . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0519f.html#item19

"Boom in Tech Jobs Expanding in U.S."
The American Electronics Association and Nasdaq on Tuesday
released the annual Cyberstates report, announcing that
California still leads the U.S. technology industry, but other
states are quickly catching up. The report is based on U.S. . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0519f.html#item20

"First Security"
Online banks have had relatively few security problems so far as
compared to other e-businesses because most spend between
one-eighth and one-quarter of their operational spending on
security-related technology. To secure their Web sites, banks . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0519f.html#item21

"Should I Stay or Should I Go?"
In a recent article for Newsweek, Steven Levy considers whether
it is worth sticking with Apple products in an increasingly
Windows-dominated world. Levy says the iMac and its follow-up,
the iMac SE, are beautiful to look at, and the iMac SE improves . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0519f.html#item22

"Defining 'Spam' Technically Isn't Easy"
Direct marketers, businesses with Web-based operations, consumer
groups, and legislators are likely to face some difficulty in
getting to the root of spam because the definition of such
electronic messages is not set in stone. While spam is . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0519f.html#item23


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