ACM TechNews - Wednesday, February 14, 2001

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ACM TechNews
Volume 3, Number 165
Date: February 14, 2001
Site Sponsored by Gateway (http://www.gateway.com)

Top Stories for Wednesday, February 14, 2001:
http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html

"The Body Electronic Builds Its Resistance to Infection"
"Appelate Judges Back Limitations on Copying Music"
"Tech Firms Go Overseas to Expand"
"Lawmakers Introduce High-Tech Training Initiative"
"Offices in Cyberspace"
"Napster Is Just One Battle in the War for Control of Digital Content"
"U.S. Proposal Would Aid Small Net Businesses"
"Updating Voting Machines Could Take Nation a Decade"
"High-Tech Workers' Fortunes See Shift"
"Microsoft Draws Some Cautionary Views"
"EU Parliament OKs Law Curbing Internet, Tech Piracy"
"ICANN Tethered"
"Operator of Web Site Goes on Trial in China for Sedition"
"Report: Most European B2B Marketplaces to Fail"
"Web Accessibility Ripples Through IT"
"Round Three"
"When the Dot-Com Bubble Burst"
"Best New Places to Do Business for Tech Companies"
"The Ideas Machine"

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

"The Body Electronic Builds Its Resistance to Infection"
Monday's email virus that enticed users with an attachment
supposedly containing a picture of tennis star Anna Kournikova
caused more annoyance than damage, computer security experts say.
Although the virus affected hundreds of thousands of users, . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/0214w.html#item1

"Appelate Judges Back Limitations on Copying Music"
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled Monday
to support the injunction the recording industry has been seeking
against Napster.  Federal District Judge Marilyn Patel issued
that injunction in July, condemning the file-sharing service for . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/0214w.html#item2

"Tech Firms Go Overseas to Expand"
U.S. tech firms are responding to the slowing domestic market by
strengthening international investments.  As growth in U.S. tech
spending this year slows to only 7 percent, sales are rising by
10 percent and 11 percent in Asia and Europe, respectively, . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/0214w.html#item3

"Lawmakers Introduce High-Tech Training Initiative"
Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Ill.) and Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) are
preparing to reintroduce the Technology Education and Training
Act, legislation that would give a $1,500 tax break to companies
and their workers for enlisting for technology training courses.  . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/0214w.html#item4

"Offices in Cyberspace"
The conventional workplace environment may be eliminated in the
future, writes Louise Kehoe.  She says online collaboration will
free employees from the confines of the office and allow them to
access a global, 24-hour workplace comprising not only co-workers . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/0214w.html#item5

"Napster Is Just One Battle in the War for Control of Digital Content"
Although Monday's ruling by a panel of federal appeals judges in
San Francisco did not shut down Napster completely, the popular
music file-sharing service's days may be numbered, writes Dan
Gillmor.  Gillmor cannot foresee the site succeeding with a . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/0214w.html#item6

"U.S. Proposal Would Aid Small Net Businesses"
Less than half of small businesses consider e-commerce a
significant resource for procurement or sales, a recent survey by
Cyber Dialogue found.  A bill pending before the U.S. Congress
would create an advisory panel to support e-commerce efforts by . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/0214w.html#item7

"Updating Voting Machines Could Take Nation a Decade"
Election officials and the makers of voting machines both warn
that a full-scale upgrade of the nation's voting machines could
not be accomplished in time for the 2004 presidential election
and could take as long as 10 years.  The Florida election debacle . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/0214w.html#item8

"High-Tech Workers' Fortunes See Shift"
Internet firms are facing lean times just like other industries,
and the proof is in the fact that many of their employees--highly
paid professionals previously in high demand--are spending twice
as much time looking for a new job as they did before.  Analysts . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/0214w.html#item9

"Microsoft Draws Some Cautionary Views"
Microsoft analysts remain uncertain over the large investments
the company is making in new efforts such as the .NET platform
and the Xbox game console.  Company executives gathered yesterday
at co-founder Paul Allen's Experience Music Project museum in . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/0214w.html#item10

"EU Parliament OKs Law Curbing Internet, Tech Piracy"
The European Parliament today passed into law the European
Union's copyright directive.  The new law, which cracks down on
the illegal copying of copyrighted works, was hailed by consumer
groups for its balance between respecting individual liberties . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/0214w.html#item11

"ICANN Tethered"
Although ICANN was originally supposed to take over control of
the "A" root server and disentangle itself from the U.S.
government, the U.S. Department of Commerce still has final say
over ICANN's decisions, as well as the "A" root server.  The U.S . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/0214w.html#item12

"Operator of Web Site Goes on Trial in China for Sedition"
The government of China yesterday began its prosecution of Huang
Qi, the operator of a news Web site whom the Chinese government
accuses of sedition.  The first day of the trial was interrupted
when Huang, who claims he was beaten by prison guards, fell ill . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/0214w.html#item13

"Report: Most European B2B Marketplaces to Fail"
Although the overall volume of trade is expected to continue to
soar, most online business-to-business marketplaces, both in the
United States and Europe, are nonetheless expected to fail in the
coming few years.  Global B2B e-commerce will reach $2.78 . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/0214w.html#item14

"Web Accessibility Ripples Through IT"
Major software vendors such as IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle are
hoping that by adding features that make their Web design and
development tools easier to use by those with physical
disabilities they will improve sales to federal government . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/0214w.html#item15

"Round Three"
Although Microsoft is promoting its .NET Internet platform as a
great step forward, industry analysts say the software giant is
actually doing nothing more than playing catch up to rivals such
as Sun Microsystems, Oracle, and IBM.  For several years, these . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/0214w.html#item16

"When the Dot-Com Bubble Burst"
Although the dot-com bubble has burst, causing some $500 billion
to $2 trillion in paper-fund losses, lawmakers in Washington are
likely to proceed as if the fallout never happened.  Market
observers do not expect lawmakers to reign in high-tech companies . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/0214w.html#item17

"Best New Places to Do Business for Tech Companies"
The Industry Standard magazine has identified the Route 202
corridor outside the city of Philadelphia as the best location
for tech startups to be located.  The suburban area offers
reasonable traffic, close proximity to many East Coast cities, . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/0214w.html#item18

"The Ideas Machine"
"Genetic algorithms" are widely used today in commercial
applications such as finding the most efficient airline schedules
and designing circuitry.  John Koza of Stanford University has
been developing the next generation of that idea, genetic . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/0214w.html#item19

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