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ACM TechNews - Friday, October 4, 2002
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ACM TechNews
Volume 4, Number 407
Date: October 4, 2002
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Top Stories for Friday, October 4, 2002:
http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html
"Government Releases Top 20 Vulnerability 'Hit List'"
"Congress Asked to Unpick Copy Lock Laws"
"More Patents, Please!"
"Robotic Vision"
"Quantum System Keeps Secrets Safe"
"The Mac OS That Can't Be Tweaked"
"U.N.: Robots Could Lighten Load of Household Chores"
"Invisible Circuits in a Flash"
"Upgrades to Boost SETI@home Alien Search"
"Super Goop"
"Working in IT: Where Has All the Fun Gone?"
"A Moment of Clarity"
"From Humble Materials, a Burst of Power for Batteries"
"Where the Girls Aren't"
"Prospects Dim for Future Tech Pros Prepping for Spring Job Scramble"
"Sounds Could Make Smart Devices Smarter"
"Welcome to Feedback Universe"
"Fighting Terrorism With Technology"
"Data Extinction"
******************* News Stories ***********************
"Government Releases Top 20 Vulnerability 'Hit List'"
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) on Wednesday
issued its third annual target list of the top 20 Internet
security flaws, which was compiled by the SANS Institute and the
FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC). This ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1004f.html#item1
"Congress Asked to Unpick Copy Lock Laws"
Reps. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) and John Doolittle (D-Calif.)
introduced legislation on Thursday calling for amendments to the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) that would allow
consumers to circumvent anti-copying technology measures for ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1004f.html#item2
"More Patents, Please!"
Technology companies are pushing their staffs to produce more
patents, which can boost the bottom line with licensing fees and
strengthen their competitive edge; many firms are trying to
encourage patent generation by offering engineers incentives such ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1004f.html#item3
"Robotic Vision"
Engineers at Caltech and the University of Southern California
(USC) are investigating a form of robotic vision known as
selective-attention modeling, which is based on neuroscientific
research that suggests the human brain's recognition of salient ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1004f.html#item4
"Quantum System Keeps Secrets Safe"
British scientists report in this week's issue of Nature that
they successfully transmitted encryption keys on a weak beam of
light between two mountaintops in Germany across a distance of 14
miles--the longest distance yet for a transmission of this type, ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1004f.html#item5
"The Mac OS That Can't Be Tweaked"
Apple Computer has reversed its tact of letting individual users
make changes to the Macintosh operating system with the new OS X.
Although the company published the application program interfaces
of previous operating systems, CEO Steve Jobs has stopped the ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1004f.html#item6
"U.N.: Robots Could Lighten Load of Household Chores"
The U.N. Economic Commission for Europe's World 2002 Robotics
Report issued on Thursday suggests that robots could soon ease
the burden of housework from homeowners, thanks to falling
prices, rising labor costs, and technological advancements. The ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1004f.html#item7
"Invisible Circuits in a Flash"
Scientists in Japan have discovered a transparent material that
acts as an electric conductor when exposed to ultraviolet light,
paving the way for invisible computer chips. Such chips could be
unnoticeably integrated into LCDs and other optical devices. ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1004f.html#item8
"Upgrades to Boost SETI@home Alien Search"
SETI@home, the grid computing effort that recruits home users to
help search for signs of intelligent extraterrestrial life, will
be upgraded with new software and switch to a telescope that can
scan a greater area of sky. The first software release will be ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1004f.html#item9
"Super Goop"
MR fluid is liquid material that stiffens into a more clay-like
consistency when it is subjected to a magnetic force, and
researchers are studying potential applications in robotics and
building stability, among other things. The substance is already ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1004f.html#item10
"Working in IT: Where Has All the Fun Gone?"
The image and purpose of IT has changed significantly since the
late 1990s, when insatiable demand for high tech and IT
professionals made it cool to be a tech enthusiast and for
companies to invest heavily in new technology, observes ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1004f.html#item11
"A Moment of Clarity"
MIT researchers say a new anti-glare coating could lead to
innovation in optic technologies. Although traditional
anti-glare coatings allow for the near-complete transmission of
light--which is important in solar cell panels and optical ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1004f.html#item12
"From Humble Materials, a Burst of Power for Batteries"
The lithium cobalt oxide most rechargeable batteries use is
relatively expensive, and this has prompted research into cheaper
alternatives. Dr. Yet-Ming Chiang of MIT reports in the October
issue of Nature Materials that his team has successfully raised ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1004f.html#item13
"Where the Girls Aren't"
For over 10 years, educators have tried to get girls interested
in pursuing computers, math, and science as a course of study and
a possible career using a broad range of programs, and now
researchers at North Carolina State University are studying ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1004f.html#item14
"Prospects Dim for Future Tech Pros Prepping for Spring Job Scramble"
People who earn bachelor's degrees in technology fields this year
will have an even tougher time finding jobs. The National
Association of Colleges and Employers says companies are planning
to hire fewer college graduates this year compared to last year. ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1004f.html#item15
"Sounds Could Make Smart Devices Smarter"
Parham Aarabi of the University of Toronto says he is
incorporating sound navigation into electronic devices, and he
predicts that it will be five to 10 years before such
communications devices are offered to consumers. Aarabi claims ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1004f.html#item16
"Welcome to Feedback Universe"
A feedback loop--a closed system in which the results of an event
send back data that helps shape the event in the future--is being
applied to practically every aspect of life. Feedback, in its
most basic form, is either negative--progressing toward balance ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1004f.html#item17
"Fighting Terrorism With Technology"
Harvard University professor Lewis M. Branscomb says that
industry and government must work together so that an effective
IT counterterrorism strategy can be implemented. He co-chaired
the National Academies' Committee on Science and Technology for ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1004f.html#item18
"Data Extinction"
The built-in obsolescence of digital technologies threatens the
preservation of data--photos, documents, video, etc.--especially
since decoding programs are rendered out-of-date by evolving
computer languages and operating systems. Migration is one of ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1004f.html#item19
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