ACM TechNews - Monday, December 4, 2000

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ACM TechNews
Volume 2, Number 137
Date: December 4, 2000
Site Sponsored by Gateway (http://www.gateway.com)

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

"Tech Groups Still Wary of International Cyber-Crime Treaty"
"Holiday Traffic at Online-Only Stores Lags Chains' Sites"
"Industry Heavyweights Join to Address Key E-Biz Problems"
"Legislating Cookies"
"What's a Penny Worth on the Web?"
"Microsoft, VeriSign Lead Net Security Push"
"Americans Cautiously Willing to Share Info Online--Study"
"Govt Drafts Plan to Combat Cyber-Terrorism"
"Enterprise; Outsourcing Spending Set to Soar"
"E-Gov Resolution Transforms Federal Operations"
"Businesses, Individuals Push EU Web Use Higher"
"Email Snooping Row Kicks Off Again"
"The Great Foreign IT Worker Debate"
"Agent of E-Change"
"Firms Work to Keep Women"
"Bucking Privacy"
"Whatcha Gonna Do...When the Bad Boy Is You?"
"Making It Personal"
"Digital Divide So Close and Yet So Far"

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

"Tech Groups Still Wary of International Cyber-Crime Treaty"
A group of high-tech leaders will meet with Justice Department
officials today to discuss their concerns about the latest
version of the Council of Europe's international cybercrime
treaty.  The tech community is worried that even with recent . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1204m.html#item1

"Holiday Traffic at Online-Only Stores Lags Chains' Sites"
Sales returns from the early stages of the holiday shopping
season indicate that pure-play online retailers are not doing as
well as traditional retailers' online channels.  Although
Amazon.com remains the No. 1 destination for online shopping, . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1204m.html#item2

"Industry Heavyweights Join to Address Key E-Biz Problems"
A group of major IT vendors formed the Business Internet
Consortium last week in order to address issues confusing
businesses seeking to adopt e-commerce solutions.  The members
plan to form workgroups to explore a number of issues, such as . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1204m.html#item3

"Legislating Cookies"
The Internet privacy debate will play out in the courts now that
plaintiffs in Denver and Redmond, Wash., filed federal class
action lawsuits last week against ExciteAtHome subsidiary
MatchLogic and online advertiser Avenue A, respectively.  The two . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1204m.html#item4

"What's a Penny Worth on the Web?"
Although previous attempts at charging micropayments--payments of
less than $5, and often only a few cents--for access to Internet
content have had little success, some e-businesses are again
considering them as a way to create revenue without alienating . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1204m.html#item5

"Microsoft, VeriSign Lead Net Security Push"
Microsoft, VeriSign, and WebMethods have joined forces to develop
a new technology to enhance online security called XKMS, and
submitted this new technology as a potential new standard.  "Our
new XML offerings, coupled with the XKMS specification released . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1204m.html#item6

"Americans Cautiously Willing to Share Info Online--Study"
Out of more than 1,000 polled Americans, the majority stated a
willingness to share personal information over the Internet as
long as adequate safety measures were in place, according to a
study by Columbia University law Professor Alan Westin.  . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1204m.html#item7

"Govt Drafts Plan to Combat Cyber-Terrorism"
The Japanese government is taking steps to keep government
administrative offices, banks, and other key institutions safe
from cyber-terrorists.  The plan calls for cooperation with other
countries and, if necessary, the enactment of laws to combat . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1204m.html#item8

"Enterprise; Outsourcing Spending Set to Soar"
Giga Information predicts 18 percent growth in outsourcing
spending next year, with the biggest gains to be had from
traditional players such as IBM and EDS.  Currently worth $85
billion worldwide, the outsourcing market is moving away from . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1204m.html#item9

"E-Gov Revolution Transforms Federal Operations"
E-government has been front and center in the minds of federal
workers since the Clinton administration ushered the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1998 and corresponding executive orders into
law.  In broadest terms, these measures will bring government . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1204m.html#item10

"Businesses, Individuals Push EU Web Use Higher"
A report prepared by the European Commission for the eEurope
Action Plan, which aims to encourage Internet use in the European
Union, states that Internet use by small and midsize businesses
has risen to 70 percent, with 40 percent having their own Web . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1204m.html#item11

"Email Snooping Row Kicks Off Again"
U.K. Data Protection Commissioner Elizabeth France has proposed a
code of practice for monitoring employee email and phone
conversations that is at odds with the government's Regulation of
Investigatory Powers (RIP) Act.  Under the RIP Act, staff email . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1204m.html#item12

"The Great Foreign IT Worker Debate"
The H-1B visa program is generating controversy as advocates
maintain that the U.S. tech industry needs foreign workers to
ease the existing labor shortage, while opponents argue that
companies abuse the program to obtain cheap labor.  President . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1204m.html#item13

"Agent of E-Change"
The Internet and e-commerce are forcing information technology
professionals to shift their priorities, learn new skills, and
think on a broader scale.  "It's a foundational shift," says
Getty Images CTO Bud Albers.  "My people want to know the . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1204m.html#item14

"Firms Work to Keep Women"
Companies are trying to retain female IT workers by changing
their work culture and offering benefits such as flex time and
mentoring programs.  IT careers tend to highlight the differences
between men and women, because technology emphasizes quantitative . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1204m.html#item15

"Bucking Privacy"
The so-called "safe harbor" rules that U.S. officials hammered
out with European Union regulators have not caught on among U.S.
businesses.  Through mid-November only one company has joined the
program.  Although it appears U.S. companies are holding out on . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1204m.html#item16

"Whatcha Gonna Do...When the Bad Boy Is You?"
The Business Software Alliance (BSA) warns that global software
piracy is a $12 billion a year business, and that one third of
the counterfeiting takes place in the United States.  The BSA
contends that 109,000 jobs were lost because of piracy in the . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1204m.html#item17

"Making It Personal"
Personalization software has become a popular addition to retail
Web sites, with vendors vying to sell collaborative filtering and
artificial intelligence applications.  Lands' End, a catalog
apparel retailer, launched a relatively simple personalization . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1204m.html#item18

"Digital Divide So Close and Yet So Far"
"Philanthropic entrepreneurialism" is starting to replace
feel-good rhetoric about closing the digital divide.  Robert
Knowling, who was one of the few African-American CEOs in Silicon
Valley before his resignation from broadband Internet provider . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1204m.html#item19


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