ACM TechNews - Monday, December 10, 2001

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ACM TechNews
Volume 3, Number 286
Date: December 10, 2001

Top Stories for Monday, December 10, 2001:
http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html


"U.S. Mastery of PC Industry May Be Ending"
"IT Salaries Stabilizing"
"Valley to Make Security Pitch"
"Computer Virus Attacks Are Forcing Businesses to Cough Up Less Cash"
"EU Dispute Delays Data Protection Bill"
"Grads Find Tech Jobs Scarce"
"Ginger's Scheme All in the Lean"
"Tracing Technology Could Catch Digital Pirates"
"Cyberdefense Skills Shortage Identified"
"Inventors Answer Pentagon's Call in Droves"
"New Chips Ideas Not So Far-Fetched"
"Microsoft Research Offers Peek Into Future"
"Number Takes Prime Position"
"In Intelligence Revamp, Technology Challenge Is Just the Beginning"
"World Governments Choosing Linux for National Security"
"Techies Trade Dot-Com Dreams For Stability"
"Sluggish Economy Tests High-Tech Industry's Generosity"
"The Lure Home"
"Collaborative Virtual Design Environments"


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


"U.S. Mastery of PC Industry May Be Ending"
Investor unrest over the proposed Hewlett-Packard merger with
Compaq may be a sign that the U.S. PC is near the end of its long
era of dominance.  PC sales have dropped this year for the first
time ever, while labor costs have risen, worldwide competition . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/1210m.html#item1


"IT Salaries Stabilizing"
Starting salaries for IT workers are predicted to grow by just
0.1 percent in 2002, compared to 8.4 percent in 2001, according
to a survey by RHI Consulting.  The lackluster growth in salaries
is due to a dampened economy and dot-com troubles, says RHI . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/1210m.html#item2


"Valley to Make Security Pitch"
Silicon Valley businesses will hold a summit in San Jose next
week to discuss defense and security technology.  The goal of the
Technology and Homeland Security Summit and Expo is to display
state-of-the-art defense solutions designed to revive the . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/1210m.html#item3


"Computer Virus Attacks Are Forcing Businesses to Cough Up Less Cash"
The worldwide damage caused by computer worms and viruses this
year cost companies less than last year, according to findings by
Computer Economics.  Online havoc has cost $12.3 billion in 2001
so far, compared to $17.1 billion in 2000, the research firm . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/1210m.html#item4


"EU Dispute Delays Data Protection Bill"
A disagreement between the European Parliament and European Union
governments about the regulation of unsolicited spam email
threatens to scuttle plans to enhance EU data protection laws.
EU governments are calling for a prohibition on the emails, while . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/1210m.html#item5


"Grads Find Tech Jobs Scarce"
Many graduates who had set their sights on getting lucrative
high-tech jobs--particularly in Silicon Valley--have had their
hopes dashed or postponed because of the dot-com bust and
economic recession.  Even a degree from a prestigious institution . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/1210m.html#item6


"Ginger's Scheme All in the Lean"
The Segway Human Transporter, better known as Ginger, does not
read a user's mind but it does feature five gyroscopes that
measure how far ahead the rider has leaned; this measurement is
sent to microprocessors that in turn tell the transporter's . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/1210m.html#item7


"Tracing Technology Could Catch Digital Pirates"
Copiers of copyrighted digital material could be undone by a new
watermarking technology from Amino Communications that inserts
information about a user's smart card into the copied file.  If
that data were unavailable, then the watermark would contain . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/1210m.html#item8


"Cyberdefense Skills Shortage Identified"
IT workers with cyberdefense skills are in short supply,
according to a study from online testing firm Brainbench.  Demand
has never been greater for people with skills in network
security, disaster recovery, and WAN technology, the firm says . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/1210m.html#item9


"Inventors Answer Pentagon's Call in Droves"
The Department of Defense says the response to its request for
new security tools that could help fight terrorism has been
overwhelming.  The Pentagon usually receives anywhere from 10 to
a few hundred proposals when it puts out Broad Agency . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/1210m.html#item10


"New Chips Ideas Not So Far-Fetched"
Computer chip researchers at this year's International Electron
Devices Meeting hosted about half the number of guests first
expected, but featured groundbreaking new developments
nonetheless.  Participants said the chip industry may be entering . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/1210m.html#item11


"Microsoft Research Offers Peek Into Future"
Microsoft Research (MSR) senior VP Rick Rashid says better voice
technology, plentiful data storage, realistic computer graphics,
and more intelligent software are key aspects to the
revolutionary technology on the five- to 10-year horizon.  Other . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/1210m.html#item12


"Number Takes Prime Position"
The largest prime number yet to be documented has been discovered
by Michael Cameron, a participant in the Great Internet Mersenne
Prime Search (Gimps).  The project, founded in 1996 by George
Woltman, aims to uncover new Mersenne primes through distributed . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/1210m.html#item13


"In Intelligence Revamp, Technology Challenge Is Just the Beginning"
When U.S. officials talk about overhauling the intelligence
agencies, technology is often a topic that leads to heated
debates regarding the issue.  While advocates of technology
maintain it is needed to gather, analyze, and share data . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/1210m.html#item14


"World Governments Choosing Linux for National Security"
Many countries are turning to the free, open-source Linux
operating systems instead of programs designed by Microsoft and
other computer corporations, mostly for reasons of national
security.  Because Linux is open source, programmers can fix . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/1210m.html#item15


"Techies Trade Dot-Com Dreams For Stability"
Tech workers burned by the dot-com implosion are turning to
Washington-area defense contractors and firms embarking on
government-related homeland security projects.  "The government
is the only [place] left that has any money," says Mario  . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/1210m.html#item16


"Sluggish Economy Tests High-Tech Industry's Generosity"
The top high-tech companies have not wavered in their
philanthropic efforts to schools even as sales are down, stock
values are struggling, and employees are being let go.  Leading
education officials, such as Ted Sanders, president of the . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/1210m.html#item17


"The Lure Home"
The economic downturn has been a sobering event for foreign
workers who came to the United States on H-1B visas in search of
lucrative jobs.  Just a few years ago, a tech worker shortage
prompted Congress to dramatically raise the cap on H-1Bs.  Today . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/1210m.html#item18


"Collaborative Virtual Design Environments"
Companies are using collaborative virtual design environments
(CVDEs) to facilitate collaborative virtual design and product
development.  CVDEs are virtual reality applications that feature
3D imagery and are designed to enable users to view and review . . .
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2001-3/1210m.html#item19


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