ACM TechNews - Monday, September 18, 2000

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ACM TechNews
Volume 2, Number 107
Date: September 18, 2000
Site Sponsored by Gateway (http://www.gateway.com)

Top Stories for Monday, September 18, 2000:
http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html

"A Worn-Out Welcome Mat"
"Programmers: Worth Their Weight in Gold?"
"The Net as One Giant Brain"
"Popular Privacy Bill Stalls Due to Industry Opposition"
"Calif. Net Tax Bill a Job Cutter?"
"WAP, Europe's Wireless Dud?"
"Lab Rat: Actually, This Is Rocket Science"
"Self-Service HR Popular Among Tech Companies"
"High-Tech Connections Shape U.S.-India Relations"
"Utah Takes Another Step Toward Totally Online Government"
"Mass Hack Performed by Petrol Protestor"
"How to Beat the Odds"
"Va.'s UCITA Committee Opens Hearings"
"ICANN Is on the Up-and-Up, GAO Decides"
"Goodbye, Shrink-Wrap: Software for Rent"
"Teaching Teen Techies"
"Are You Web Smart?"
"Privacy as Global Policy"

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

"A Worn-Out Welcome Mat"
Sanjay Sathya of Chicago, Ill., is moving to Canada now that his
H-1B visa has expired.  Sathya came to the United Stated six
years ago, hoping to make a life for himself in the booming
high-tech market.  He has been successful, but critics believe . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0918m.html#item1

"Programmers: Worth Their Weight in Gold?"
European IT companies are suffering from the same shortage of
skilled labor as their American counterparts, according to an
Andersen Consulting report.  That labor shortage currently stands
at 600,000 but could grow to 2 million within only three years.  . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0918m.html#item2

"The Net as One Giant Brain"
Distributed computing might present a much larger opportunity for
peer-to-peer networking than does Napster, which has received
much of the attention on peer-to-peer technology so far.  Several
companies are creating software and services that perform complex . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0918m.html#item3

"Popular Privacy Bill Stalls Due to Industry Opposition"
The Notice of Electronic Monitoring Act (NEMA), a bill that would
bar employers from monitoring Internet usage in the workplace
without informing employees on an annual basis, has been stopped
in its tracks by fierce opposition from business interests.  The . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0918m.html#item4

"Calif. Net Tax Bill a Job Cutter?"
If signed by California Gov. Gray Davis, online tax bill AB 2412
could cause 2,100 people to lose their jobs next year, according
to a report by the Pacific Research Institute (PRI).
Furthermore, if online sales are subject to higher taxes than the . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0918m.html#item5

"WAP, Europe's Wireless Dud?"
European consumers have yet to show major a interest in using WAP
technology.  Although millions of WAP-enabled mobile phones have
been purchased since becoming commercially available almost a
year ago, the demand for WAP services has not matched industry . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0918m.html#item6

"Lab Rat: Actually, This Is Rocket Science"
It is hoped that a little-known branch of science called quantum
physics may one day be able to drive microprocessor performance
beyond Moore's Law--the axiom that the number of transistors on a
microprocessor doubles every 18 months.  A quantum factorization . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0918m.html#item7

"Self-Service HR Popular Among Tech Companies"
Companies are increasingly providing Web-based, self-service
access to benefits, personnel data, 401(k) services, and other
human resources functions to their employees.  Over 30 percent of
companies have human resources portals in place, and nine out of . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0918m.html#item8

"High-Tech Connections Shape U.S.-India Relations"
Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee addressed Congress on
Thursday, saying his country views the United States as a key
partner in global democracy and the spread of information
technology.  Despite the tension that has existed between the two . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0918m.html#item9

"Utah Takes Another Step Toward Totally Online Government"
Utah signed a contract with Digital Signature Trust (DST) this
week that will enable the state to offer residents and businesses
digital certificates.  The agreement has state officials such as
chief information officer Al Sherwood believing that digital . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0918m.html#item10

"Mass Hack Performed by Petrol Protestor"
A hacker known as Herbless who altered nine local government Web
agencies last month and did the same last week to the
Legoland.co.uk Web site, has placed a message supporting a
protest of the United Kingdom's high fuel taxes on the main page . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0918m.html#item11

"How to Beat the Odds"
The IT industry, e-business in particular, is considered to be a
more favorable working environment for women than old economy
corporate America.  Debbi Gillotti, former CIO of Duracell, the
subsidiary of the Gillette Co., says the corporate America . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0918m.html#item12

"Va.'s UCITA Committee Opens Hearings"
Virginia passed its version of the Uniform Computer Information
Transactions Act (UCITA) in March, becoming the first state to do
so, but decided to wait until 2001 to implement it.  In the
meantime, Virginia wants to study the ramifications of the act.  . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0918m.html#item13

"ICANN Is on the Up-and-Up, GAO Decides"
ICANN's relationship with the Commerce Department is legal, the
General Accounting Office (GAO) concluded in a recent report.
The Commerce Department formed ICANN in 1998 to be the private
sector administrator of the Domain Name System originally run by . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0918m.html#item14

"Goodbye, Shrink-Wrap: Software for Rent"
Wall Street analysts are so high on the burgeoning software
rental market that they are calling application service providers
(ASPs) the "key to the growth of our global economy over the next
decade."  Market observers say rental software products could . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0918m.html#item15

"Teaching Teen Techies"
High-tech companies are working to create a supply of future IT
workers by forming educational partnerships with schools from the
elementary to college level.  With 850,000 high-tech jobs
expected to go unfilled this year, according to the Information . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0918m.html#item16

"Are You Web Smart?"
Use of the Web to make, sell, and market products in any industry
is now standard, so a radical e-transformation may be the next
step.  Gary Hamel, author the classic "Competing for the Future,"
says that businesses must now "out-innovate the innovators."  . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0918m.html#item17

"Privacy as Global Policy"
Businesses that use increasingly integrated technology on an
international level must implement privacy policies that satisfy
the ethical and legal requirements of each culture or
jurisdiction involved, writes P.J. Connolly.  Any privacy policy . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0918m.html#item18


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