ACM TechNews - Friday, August 4, 2000

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ACM TechNews
Volume 2, Number 89
Date: August 4, 2000
Site Sponsored by Gateway (http://www.gateway.com)

Top Stories for Friday, August 4, 2000:
http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html

"Microsoft Faces Antitrust Proceeding in Europe"
"U.S. Eases Export Restrictions on Computer Sales"
"On the Web, Security Is a Moving Target"
"Report: New Day Dawning for Dot-Com Workers"
"A Long Love Affair With the PC Might Be Holding Back the U.S."
"Justice Told to Expedite Reply on Net Wiretap"
"The Spy Who Employed Me"
"Debate Erupts Over Disclosure of Software Security Holes"
"Web Surfing, at the Sound of Your Own Voice"
"In Search of an E-Commerce Candidate"
"ICANN Taps Nominees"
"Dutch E-Mail Snooping?"
"ICANN's Pace Slows Progress on the Internet"
"Brain Gain"
"Reports of the PC's Death..."
"Mixing B-to-B Dot-Coms With UCITA Will Make for a
 Volatile Combination"
"Wholesalers Make Hay in Domain Name Deregulation"
"Copyright Ownership Often a Murky Affair"
"Catch-Up Across the Pond"

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

"Microsoft Faces Antitrust Proceeding in Europe"
The European Union yesterday launched a formal antitrust case
against Microsoft, accusing the company of abusing its dominance
in the operating system market to gain control over the server
software market.  The proceedings began after Sun Microsystems . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0804f.html#item1

"U.S. Eases Export Restrictions on Computer Sales"
The White House announced yesterday it will ease export
restrictions and allow computer manufacturers to offer more
powerful business computers to customers in Tier Two and Tier
Three countries.  Tier Two countries, which include South Korea . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0804f.html#item2

"On the Web, Security Is a Moving Target"
The arrival of account aggregation Web sites, which store a great
deal of a user's personal and financial information, including
credit card numbers, has raised new security concerns among
consumers and merchants.  Bill Hancock, the chief security . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0804f.html#item3

"Report: New Day Dawning for Dot-Com Workers"
The high-tech labor shortage is forcing Internet startups to
provide workers with high starting salaries as well as
non-monetary benefits such as flex time, according to a recent
report from Hewitt Associates and WetFeet.com.  Dot-coms can no . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0804f.html#item4

"A Long Love Affair With the PC Might Be Holding Back the U.S."
Companies in Europe and Japan have gained a significant edge on
U.S. companies in the development of new digital technologies.
The most advanced wireless phones and non-PC-based Internet
devices that are not yet available to U.S. consumers are . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0804f.html#item5

"Justice Told to Expedite Reply on Net Wiretap"
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has succeeded in
getting the Justice Department to act faster on releasing
information about the FBI's Carnivore surveillance system.  U.S.
District Judge James Robertson yesterday responded to EPIC's . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0804f.html#item6

"The Spy Who Employed Me"
British data protection commissioner Elizabeth France has
developed guidelines to be released next month that call for
British companies to let workers know when and where they are
being monitored.  Although many companies already have monitoring . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0804f.html#item7

"Debate Erupts Over Disclosure of Software Security Holes"
Debate raged at the recent Black Hat Briefings security
conference in Las Vegas about the pros and cons of full
disclosure of software vulnerabilities.  Network Flight Recorder
CEO Marcus Ranum charged that disclosure does nothing to improve . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0804f.html#item8

"Web Surfing, at the Sound of Your Own Voice"
Several companies are now marketing telephone-based voice portals
as an alternative way to access the Internet.  With voice
portals, users can call from any kind of telephone to request
information from the Internet.  Voice-recognition software allows . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0804f.html#item9

"In Search of an E-Commerce Candidate"
Frontrunner presidential candidates Al Gore and George W. Bush
hold similarly moderate views on Internet policy issues, but dark
horse candidate Ralph Nader of the Green Party is taking the
boldest stance on e-commerce.  Given the chance, Nader usually . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0804f.html#item10

"ICANN Taps Nominees"
ICANN revealed a list of 18 candidates for the five at-large
director positions on the organization's board of directors.  The
African candidates are Alan Levin and Nii Quaynor, and the
Asian/Pacific candidates are Johannes Chiang, Lulin Gao, Masanobu . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0804f.html#item11

"Dutch E-Mail Snooping?"
The U.K.'s Regulation of Investigatory Powers bill is not the
only piece of legislation worrying civil liberties advocates in
Europe.  The Dutch Parliament is examining a bill that would
allow the Internal Security Service of the Netherlands, the . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0804f.html#item12

"ICANN's Pace Slows Progress on the Internet"
Although ICANN is not actually a government entity, sometimes it
appears to utilize government-like powers, and currently the
organization is making some significant decisions regarding the
Internet's future, according to columnist Dan Gillmor.  The . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0804f.html#item13

"Brain Gain"
The Internet is at the forefront of a wave of expatriates leaving
the West and returning to their developing countries for greater
opportunities.  As markets such as China, India, and Latin
America forge ahead with their own Internet revolutions, the top . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0804f.html#item14

"Reports of the PC's Death..."
Investors overreacted to the International Data report last week
that revealed PC unit sales grew just 14.5 percent in the second
quarter, about half the growth of a year ago.  Their reaction
sent Dell Computer and Hewlett-Packard shares reeling by 10 . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0804f.html#item15

"Mixing B-to-B Dot-Coms With UCITA Will Make for a
 Volatile Combination"
The Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA) will
make licensing even more complicated for business-to-business
(B2B) dot-coms such as ASPs and digital exchanges.  Even without
UCITA, B2B dot-coms have difficulty convincing customers to . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0804f.html#item16

"Wholesalers Make Hay in Domain Name Deregulation"
Following ICANN's deregulation of the domain name registration
business that was once monopolized by Network Solutions through
an exclusive government contract, domain name prices have fallen
from $70 for a two-year contract and $35 annually to as low as . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0804f.html#item17

"Copyright Ownership Often a Murky Affair"
According to federal copyright law, an author owns all
intellectual property rights, including copyright, to a work,
unless those rights are expressly assigned by contract to a third
party.  Copyright ownership includes the exclusive rights to . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0804f.html#item18

"Catch-Up Across the Pond"
Europe is attempting to catch up with the United States in
providing Internet service by creating more capacity to support
voice and data.  "There is a subtle shift moving through Europe
with real, tangible commitments being made to facilitate the . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0804f.html#item19


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