ACM TechNews - Wednesday, December 27, 2000

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ACM TechNews
Volume 2, Number 146
Date: December 27, 2000
Site Sponsored by Gateway (http://www.gateway.com)

Top Stories for Wednesday, December 27, 2000:
http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html

"Number of Dot-Com Job Cuts Climbed 19 Percent in December"
"Labor Department Unveils Revised H-1B Regulations"
"Bush Probably Will Consider Tech Czar Post"
"Microsoft Waits for Bush's Position on Its Antitrust Case"
"Law Provides More Labor for Tech Industry"
"Highlights, Lowlights of Year 2000"
"Pollinating Viruses Help Set Record for Outbreaks"
"New Year Brings No Worries of 'Y2K'"
"Privacy Heats Up But Doesn't Boil Over"
"Internet Companies Shift Strategies to Survive"
"Hong Kong Police Advise Hackers to Think Twice"
"IRS' Internet Review Worries Groups"
"China to Protect Intellectual Copyrights on the Net"
"Domain Name Infringement on Increase"
"Dot-Com Parties Dry Up"
"Paying for IT 2001"
"Now UCITA, Now You Don't"
"IT Unions Would Do More Harm Than Good"
"A New President, a Different Country"

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

"Number of Dot-Com Job Cuts Climbed 19 Percent in December"
Dot-coms said they would lay off 10,459 workers in December,
marking a 19 percent increase over the previous record of 8,789
layoffs in November, according to a recent study from Challenger,
Gray & Christmas.  The number of layoffs has risen for seven . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1227w.html#item1

"Labor Department Unveils Revised H-1B Regulations"
The U.S. Department of Labor has added several new regulations to
the H-1B visa program, which lets skilled foreign workers hold a
job with U.S. firms for a set period of time.  Earlier this year
Congress expanded the number of H-1B visas issued each year to . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1227w.html#item2

"Bush Probably Will Consider Tech Czar Post"
President-elect George W. Bush may appoint a technology czar to
his administration, aides to the next president say.  The
technology czar would be modeled on a position created by
Virginia Gov. James Gilmore, an ally of Bush.  Gilmore's . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1227w.html#item3

"Microsoft Waits for Bush's Position on Its Antitrust Case"
The Bush administration appears unlikely to aggressively pursue
the government's antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft, observers
say.  When President-elect George W. Bush was campaigning, he
expressed concern about Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's decision . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1227w.html#item4

"Law Provides More Labor for Tech Industry"
The high-tech industry could receive an additional 50,000 H-1B
visa holders beyond the recently increased limit as a result of
two measures in the bill.  Congress in October lifted the H-1B
cap from 115,000 to 195,000, but the bill will also provide a . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1227w.html#item5

"Highlights, Lowlights of Year 2000"
The year 2000 has seen both highs and lows in the high-tech
industry, writes Dan Gillmor.  Clearly, the lowest low point has
been the collapse of the dot-com boom.  Although this has taught
the industry that it cannot escape the laws of economics, it has . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1227w.html#item6

"Pollinating Viruses Help Set Record for Outbreaks"
Computer-security experts claim that 2000 was the worst year on
record for viruses.  The Love Bug virus was the greatest epidemic
in 2000, according to MessageLabs.  Within 24 hours of its first
appearance in May, the virus struck 47 million users.  The Love . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1227w.html#item7

"New Year Brings No Worries of 'Y2K'"
Although 2001 is the actual start of the new millennium, the
threat of Y2K glitches is over, says John Koskinen, former chair
of the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion.  The last day
for potential problems relating to the data change was Feb. 29, . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1227w.html#item8

"Privacy Heats Up But Doesn't Boil Over"
Online privacy became a mainstream issue this year, with
lawmakers introducing several privacy bills but ultimately
passing none.  The FBI's Carnivore email surveillance system
underwent intense public scrutiny, as did the consumer . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1227w.html#item9

"Internet Companies Shift Strategies to Survive"
Although in 1999 the media and the public saw the Internet and
e-commerce as the next big thing, this year has seen the bubble
burst.  Many dot-coms are struggling to stay afloat, others have
collapsed completely, and investors are no longer willing to . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1227w.html#item10

"Hong Kong Police Advise Hackers to Think Twice"
Hong Kong law enforcement officials on Monday reminded computer
hackers that they face up to 10 years in prison if they break the
territory's laws on computer crime.  The number of Hong Kong
citizens with Internet access has increased by 300 percent over . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1227w.html#item11

"IRS' Internet Review Worries Groups"
House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas) and free speech
advocates are criticizing an Internal Revenue Service plan to
place restrictions on tax-exempt groups' use of Web sites as a
fund-raising and lobbying tool.  In October, the IRS released a . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1227w.html#item12

"China to Protect Intellectual Copyrights on the Net"
The Supreme People's Court of China has ruled that copyrights are
subject to enforcement on the Internet, a ruling that should
prompt greater enforcement of online intellectual material by the
Chinese government.  The court also stated that copyright owners . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1227w.html#item13

"Domain Name Infringement on Increase"
Since 1998, there has been a 5 percent increase in domain name
infringement, a 2,200 percent increase in the number of parody
sites, a 1,650 percent increase in online counterfeiting, and a
1,280 percent increase in metatags infringement, according to a . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1227w.html#item14

"Dot-Com Parties Dry Up"
The decline of the dot-com party scene may be the surest sign
that the industry has moved from hot to cold, observers say.
Although the early dot-com gatherings were generally open to all
and offered lavish buffets and free drinks, including a few . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1227w.html#item15

"Paying for IT 2001"
Most IT managers will have larger budgets in 2001, with
business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce accounting for much of the
spending, according to a recent Computerworld survey of 100
managers at firms with at least 400 workers.  About 59 percent of . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1227w.html#item16

"Now UCITA, Now You Don't"
The Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA) is
causing conflict between software vendors who support the bill
and corporate users who believe the act allows vendors too much
control over software contracts.  UCITA is designed to bring . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1227w.html#item17

"IT Unions Would Do More Harm Than Good"
The information technology industry should prepare for the
inevitable unionization of IT workers, writes John Taschek.  IT
is particularly ripe for unionization, with employees working
long hours under stressful conditions.  In addition, IT salaries . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1227w.html#item18

"A New President, a Different Country"
The high-tech industry may ask President-elect George W. Bush to
make good on his promises of personal and corporate tax cuts if
the U.S. economy slides into a recession.  "One of the first
things he's going to have to do is stimulate the economy with tax . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/1227w.html#item19


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