ACM TechNews - Friday, June 14, 2002

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ACM TechNews
Volume 4, Number 361
Date: June 14, 2002

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Top Stories for Friday, June 14, 2002:
http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html

"Bush Urges Tech Leaders to Help Keep the Peace"
"Content, Tech Industries Debate Digital Copy Protection"
"High-Tech Companies Act to Safeguard Operations in India"
"Japanese Supercomputer Finds a Home in Alaska"
"Microsoft Warns of New Security Flaws"
"Coding Flaw Might Assist Hackers"
"Scientists to Grow Microchips"
"Transistors Reach Molecular Level"
"The Case for Reflective Middleware"
"Higher Ed Can't Meet Info Security Demand"
"The Technology Innovation Squeeze"
"Fabrics Smart Enough to Change Colors and Keep You Dry"
"Upgrading Washington"
"Stalker Tech"
"Senators Weigh ICANN's Future"
"Code Sharing is Key Part of Web Services"
"Hung Up"
"Attack of the Clones"

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

"Bush Urges Tech Leaders to Help Keep the Peace"
President Bush told a forum of about 130 high-tech industry
executives on Thursday that he expects them to contribute to the
war on terrorism and the push for homeland security.  "Our
high-tech advantage will make it easier for us to keep the ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item1

"Content, Tech Industries Debate Digital Copy Protection"
Representatives of content providers and technology companies,
brought together on Wednesday for a panel discussion organized by
the Cato Institute, strongly disagreed on how to curb digital
piracy:  Content firms believe that adding copy protection is the ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item2

"High-Tech Companies Act to Safeguard Operations in India"
Although tensions between India and Pakistan have eased slightly,
the threat of a conflict or terrorist act has caused many
software companies with operations in the region to scramble to
protect India's $7.8 billion software-export business, which has ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item3

"Japanese Supercomputer Finds a Home in Alaska"
A Japanese-built SX-6 supercomputer called Rime has been
transferred to the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, where it
will spend the next 12 months being tested and converting
software codes for the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center.  The ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item4

"Microsoft Warns of New Security Flaws"
Microsoft disclosed a trio of critical software vulnerabilities
on Wednesday.  The company has issued a patch for a hole that can
cause system shutdowns or enable hackers to run malicious code on
a computer; the flaw affects users of Windows XP, Windows Routing ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item5

"Coding Flaw Might Assist Hackers"
Computer-security specialists are exploring whether the Internet
infrastructure could become a ripe target for hackers because of
findings that faulty deployments of the Abstract Syntax Notation
One (ASN.1) computer language makes Simple Network Management ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item6

"Scientists to Grow Microchips"
University of Arizona researchers are investigating how cellular
proteins could be used to fashion more flexibly designed
microchips with denser circuitry.  Their experiments involve long
protein strings called microtubules, which assistant professor of ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item7

"Transistors Reach Molecular Level"
Two separate teams of American researchers report in the Thursday
edition of Nature that they have developed techniques to produce
single-molecule transistors.  The teams were led by Hongun Park
of Harvard University and Hendrik Schon of Bell Labs.  The chief ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item8

"The Case for Reflective Middleware"
The computational infrastructure will become even more dynamic
than it is now with the advent of ubiquitous computing over the
next five years, and current middleware technology does not have
the support to handle this dynamic nature.  One possible ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item9

"Higher Ed Can't Meet Info Security Demand"
Over 50% of students enrolled in Western Connecticut State
University's management of information (MIS) systems degree
program take the information security track, while 90% of
all MIS students take one information security course at minimum, ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item10

"The Technology Innovation Squeeze"
Analysts believe the economic slump does not necessarily
translate into a downturn in technical innovation, although
companies are being more cautious, investing in technologies that
are practical rather than fashionable.  Aberdeen Group analyst ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item11

"Fabrics Smart Enough to Change Colors and Keep You Dry"
Conductive polymers could be the key to smart textiles, leading
to innovations such as fabrics that can rearrange their molecules
to change color, absorb perspiration, or become waterproof when
triggered by an electrical signal.  Smart textiles could also be ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item12

"Upgrading Washington"
As the federal government looks for solutions that will make it
more effective in combating terrorism, President Bush needs to
implement better IT policy at the federal level, writes Scott
Kirsner.  Already, government leaders are tackling issues of ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item13

"Stalker Tech"
Students at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) are
being equipped with free wireless PDAs running location-tracking
software.  The collaborative project uses Jordana PDAs from
Hewlett-Packard and a Wi-Fi network installed throughout the ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item14

"Senators Weigh ICANN's Future"
A Senate subcommittee hearing on ICANN on June 12 focused on
whether ICANN has overstepped its mandate during four years of
operation, and possible ways the scope of ICANN's authority could
be limited.  ICANN board member Karl Auerbach says that although ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item15

"Code Sharing is Key Part of Web Services"
Software makers need to cooperate and share code if they wish to
successfully develop industry-wide use of Web services software.
Unfortunately, right now they are too busy "jockeying for
position," according to Sageza Group analyst Charles King.  ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item16

"Hung Up"
Many telecom companies have yet to deliver on promised business
innovations to their customers as a result of the sector's
financial implosion.  Many carriers have severely cut back on
research and development to concentrate on projects that offer ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item17

"Attack of the Clones"
With approximately 200 worms and malicious software currently
residing on the Internet, the most recent--and perhaps the most
dangerous--is the Klez email virus, which wreaks havoc with
multiple strains.  The virus exploits a security flaw in ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/0614f.html#item18


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