ACM TechNews - Wednesday, November 29, 2000

[technews <technews@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear ACM TechNews Subscriber:

Welcome to the November 29, 2000 edition of ACM TechNews,
providing timely information for IT professionals three times a
week.  For instructions on how to unsubscribe from this
service, please see below.

Remember to check out our hot new online essay and opinion
magazine, Ubiquity, at http://www.acm.org/ubiquity

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ACM TechNews
Volume 2, Number 135
Date: November 29, 2000
Site Sponsored by Gateway (http://www.gateway.com)

Top Stories for Wednesday, November 29, 2000:
http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html

"Amazon.com Is Using the Web to Block Unions' Efforts to Organize"
"Intel, IBM, Microsoft, Others Form Group to Boost E-Commerce"
"Workers at 'Dot-Com' Firms Seek to Unionize"
"Software Makers Have a Program Simplifying Use of Digital Signatures"
"Dot-Com Layoffs Hit Record in November"
"Germany Investigates Yahoo's Nazi Auctions"
"Businesses Respond to a Wave of High-Tech Crime"
"New Dot-Com Mantra: 'Just Pay Me in Cash, Please'"
"Does Internet Time March On or Has Its Clock Been Cleaned"
"Senate Panel Presses FBI on Carnivore"
"Asia Seeks E-Commerce Parity"
"The Best Way to...Stop Spam"
"Southern Cal Not Mickey Mouse When It Comes to Tech"
"Hewlett-Packard Settles Music Case"
"High-Tech Issues Help Unify Divided Congress"
"Women Face 'Slow Climb'"
"Quantum Leaping"

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

"Amazon.com Is Using the Web to Block Unions' Efforts to Organize"
Amazon.com has responded to union efforts to organize its workers
with an aggressive anti-union campaign.  Anti-union material made
available on Amazon's internal Web site and released to the press
by an anonymous employee makes clear that the company will not . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1129w.html#item1

"Intel, IBM, Microsoft, Others Form Group to Boost E-Commerce"
IBM, Intel, and Microsoft are among several leading technology
companies comprising the Business Internet Consortium, a
nonprofit organization that will work to encourage industry-wide
consensus on technical issues such as systems interoperability . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1129w.html#item2

"Workers at 'Dot-Com' Firms Seek to Unionize"
Dot-com workers took a step closer to unionizing yesterday, as 36
employees at Etown.com and ShopAudioVideo.com filed a petition
with the National Labor Relations Board seeking union
representation.  The move is one of the first major gains for . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1129w.html#item3

"Software Makers Have a Program Simplifying Use of Digital Signatures"
Today, VeriSign, Microsoft, and webMethods will likely announce a
new technical framework called XML key-management specification
(XKMS) that will make it easier to utilize digital signatures
with e-commerce programs.  The technology framework, which is . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1129w.html#item4

"Dot-Com Layoffs Hit Record in November"
November saw 8,789 dot-com workers lose their jobs, an increase
of 55 percent from October, recruitment firm Challenger, Gray &
Christmas reported Monday.  Since December of last year,
Challenger has recorded 31,056 job cuts in the Internet industry.  . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1129w.html#item5

"Germany Investigates Yahoo's Nazi Auctions"
Germany has opened an investigation into allegations that Yahoo!
broke German law by selling copies of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf
on its auction Web sites.  Yahoo! sold copies of the
autobiography from Feb. 1 and Apr. 19 of this year, according to . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1129w.html#item6

"Businesses Respond to a Wave of High-Tech Crime"
Internet security experts warn that most businesses are
unprepared to protect themselves from cybercrime.  The Computer
Security Institute found that 90 percent of all corporations and
government agencies had suffered a breach of some sort within the . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1129w.html#item7

"New Dot-Com Mantra: 'Just Pay Me in Cash, Please'"
As dot-com stock values continue to decline, many dot-com
employees are seeking to replace their stock-option packages with
cash compensation.  A few of the industry's leaders have
responded.  Amazon.com has given a bonus of $1 million to its CFO . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1129w.html#item8

"Does Internet Time March On or Has Its Clock Been Cleaned"
The Internet industry has discovered that former Netscape CEO Jim
Barksdale's famous pronouncement that those who do not get on
Internet time will "die" may not necessarily be true.  That
philosophy, that the key to a successful Internet strategy was to . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1129w.html#item9

"Senate Panel Presses FBI on Carnivore"
Congress continued its offensive against the FBI's Carnivore
email monitoring system Monday, as Senate Judiciary Committee
Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)
called upon FBI Director Louis Freeh to explain just how the . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1129w.html#item10

"Asia Seeks E-Commerce Parity"
The likelihood that digital signature bills and other forms of
e-commerce legislation will be introduced in Southeast Asia
became much stronger Friday as the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) formally ratified an agreement to embrace . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1129w.html#item11

"The Best Way to...Stop Spam"
San Francisco research firm Ferris Research estimates that the
average corporate email user will waste 15 hours of productivity
per year, translating into $400, on spam messages.  Although
there is no way to completely block all spam messaging, online . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1129w.html#item12

"Southern Cal Not Mickey Mouse When It Comes to Tech"
Southern California is often overlooked as a high-tech region,
according to a recent study from the Los Angeles Regional
Technology Alliance (LARTA).  Although Silicon Valley is renowned
as a hotbed for high-tech innovation and venture capital, . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1129w.html#item13

"Hewlett-Packard Settles Music Case"
Hewlett-Packard was ordered to pay fees for making CD burners to
lift music off of the Web in Germany.  The company agreed to pay
a fee of $1.54 for each burner it sold in Germany since 1998, and
$5.16 for each unit sold in the future.  German law protects . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1129w.html#item14

"High-Tech Issues Help Unify Divided Congress"
IT experts say citizens and the new appointees of the next U.S.
president will play key roles in moving the high-tech agenda
forward.  Citizens will continue to demand e-government, they
say, while the appointees of the new administration will know how . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1129w.html#item15

"Women Face 'Slow Climb'"
Liz Ryan, the executive director of WorldWIT (Women in
Technology), an international listserv for women in the IT field,
says women still confront a "slow, uphill climb" in the industry.
She says the dot-com culture was a step backward for women in . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1129w.html#item16

"Quantum Leaping"
Intelligence agencies are increasingly becoming involved in
quantum information theory projects, which could have a major
impact on national security.  Although projects in this area have
yet to yield a usable device, intelligence agencies are intrigued . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1129w.html#item17

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-- To review Monday's issue, please visit
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1127m.html

-- To visit the TechNews home page, point your browser to:
http://www.acm.org/technews/

-- To unsubscribe from the ACM TechNews Early Alert Service:
Please send a separate email to listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
with the line

signoff technews

in the body of your message.

-- Please note that replying directly to this message does not
automatically unsubscribe you from the TechNews list.

-- To submit feedback about ACM TechNews, contact:
technews@xxxxxxxxxx

-- ACM may have a different email address on file for you,
so if you're unable to "unsubscribe" yourself, please direct
your request to: technews-request@xxxxxxx

We will remove your name from the TechNews list on
your behalf.

-- For help with technical problems, including problems with
leaving the list, please write to:  technews-request@xxxxxxx

----
ACM TechNews is sponsored by Gateway