ACM TechNews - Wednesday, January 23, 2002

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ACM TechNews
Volume 4, Number 302
Date: January 23, 2002

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Top Stories for Wednesday, January 23, 2002:
http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html

"H-1B Visas Jump in 2001"
"Bush Administration Urged to go High-Tech on Terrorism"
"'Telework' Is on the Rise, But It Isn't Just Done From Home Anymore"
"Asian Enterprises Turn to Linux"
"Industry Says Ho-Hum to Netscape Lawsuit"
"Red Hat's Significance for AOL"
"Teaching Robot Dogs New Tricks"
"GovNet: What Is It Good For?"
"Programmers Could Thwart Hacker Attacks With Smarter Software"
"Sci-Tech: Tiny Chain Could Drive New Microchip Designs"
"How Small Can You Go?"
"Broadband Internet Access Is Key to Nation's Progress, Tech
 Industry Says"
"Exploding Chips Could Foil Laptop Thieves"
"MS Refocuses on Software Pirates"
"Philanthropist Nurtures Tech Start-Ups by Women"
"Security Vs. Privacy"
"Software Liability Gaining Attention"
"The Road to Secure Web Services"
"Patching Holes in Cyber-Space"

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

"H-1B Visas Jump in 2001"
A VisaNow.com survey indicates that the number of H-1B visa
applications received by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization
Service (INS) increased 14.4 percent between Oct. 1, 2000 and
Sept. 30, 2001, demonstrating that the economic recession has not ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0123w.html#item1

"Bush Administration Urged to go High-Tech on Terrorism"
The Progressive Policy Institute issued several reports
indicating that the next terrorist attack can only be thwarted if
the Bush administration formulates a solid plan for putting the
latest technology and information-sharing tools in the hands of ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0123w.html#item2

"'Telework' Is on the Rise, But It Isn't Just Done From Home Anymore"
Telecommuting and other forms of 'telework,' are on the rise.
Telework refers to remote work from satellite offices, the home,
or while on the road.  Jala International's Jack Nilles, who
coined the term "telecommuting" in 1974, says there are kinds of ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0123w.html#item3

"Asian Enterprises Turn to Linux"
More and more firms in Asia are turning to Linux-based operating
systems to run their server applications.  According to a report
by Gartner Asia-Pacific, 15 percent of firms in the region (with
the exception of Japan) used Linux in 2001's fourth quarter, ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0123w.html#item4

"Industry Says Ho-Hum to Netscape Lawsuit"
The lawsuit filed against Microsoft by Netscape Communications
has elicited a less than shocked reaction from high-tech
lobbyists, some of whom have been expecting such a development
ever since U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ruled that ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0123w.html#item5

"Red Hat's Significance for AOL"
Recent media reports that Red Hat, a major distributor of the
open-source Linux computer operating system, may be purchased by
the media behemoth AOL Time Warner could indicate that AOL is
implementing a new campaign in its ongoing rivalry with ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0123w.html#item6

"Teaching Robot Dogs New Tricks"
Sony is struggling to settle a controversial issue that cuts to
the heart of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).  In
late October, Sony Entertainment Robots America informed the
hacker known as AiboPet that posting programs that decrypt its ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0123w.html#item7

"GovNet: What Is It Good For?"
GovNet, proposed by President Bush's cybersecurity adviser,
Richard Clarke, is getting little support from security experts
and the intelligence community, who say that existing networks
can adequately be used to fulfill its intended function--to allow ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0123w.html#item8

"Programmers Could Thwart Hacker Attacks With Smarter Software"
AT&T Labs researcher Avi Rubin believes that training smarter
software programmers can foil hackers.  He cites the buffer
overflow security hole in AOL's Instant Messenger program as
proof that better programmers are needed.  "There's no excuse for ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0123w.html#item9

"Sci-Tech: Tiny Chain Could Drive New Microchip Designs"
Sandia National Laboratories has developed a microchip element
that could drive down the cost of systems-on-a-chip, according to
technician Ed Vernon.  The component is a microchain drive
mechanism capable of turning numerous drive shafts, thus ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0123w.html#item10

"How Small Can You Go?"
Researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder are
investigating how far down they can shrink nanotechnology before
exceeding structural stability limits.  They are using
sophisticated simulation tools to focus on multilayer ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0123w.html#item11

"Broadband Internet Access Is Key to Nation's Progress, Tech
 Industry Says"
TechNet says the U.S. government should make universal broadband
access a "national imperative."  In a recent report, TechNet said
the government owed it to the nation to make universal broadband
access as important as landing on the moon in the 1960s, and ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0123w.html#item12

"Exploding Chips Could Foil Laptop Thieves"
University of California, San Diego researcher Michael Sailor and
colleagues have developed a way to make silicon chips explode via
an electrical signal.  Such technology could be used to destroy
circuitry in stolen machines, according to the team.  The ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0123w.html#item13

"MS Refocuses on Software Pirates"
At a recent press conference, Microsoft anti-piracy manager Diana
Piquette accused software pirates of using their profits to
support terrorist organizations and organized crime.  Among
incidences she cited were a Paraguayan counterfeiter who ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0123w.html#item14

"Philanthropist Nurtures Tech Start-Ups by Women"
Catherine Muther, a millionaire philanthropist, has been
nurturing tech startups by women for a number of years.  Muther
became the head of marketing at Cisco Systems in 1989, and she
became a millionaire when the company launched its initial public ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0123w.html#item15

"Security Vs. Privacy"
The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators this
week is expected to introduce a proposal to issue drivers'
licenses with biometric identifiers.  However, the plan faces
considerable privacy and technical hurdles, especially with ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0123w.html#item16

"Software Liability Gaining Attention"
Until now, software security breaches such as Nimda or Code Red
have had little impact on software vendors.  Venders are
protected by software user agreements, and few lawsuits have been
filed.  However, legal experts believe that consumers will ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0123w.html#item17

"The Road to Secure Web Services"
The emergence of Web services means that new security solutions
will be needed for the next big thing in Internet-based
applications and transactions.  Although Web services take
advantage of user IDs, passwords, access control lists, file ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0123w.html#item18

"Patching Holes in Cyber-Space"
President Bush's cybersecurity advisor Richard Clarke is urging
software companies to distribute software patches to customers
and implement rapid closure of security holes.  If such flaws
cannot be rectified in a timely manner, an administration ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0123w.html#item19

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