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ACM TechNews - Wednesday, December 18, 2002



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ACM TechNews
Volume 4, Number 436
Date: December 18, 2002

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Top Stories for Wednesday, December 18, 2002:
http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html

"U.S. Clears Russian Tech Firm In E-Book Copyright Case"
"Gilmore Commission Critical of Bush Cybersecurity Plan"
"DMCA Critics Say Reform Still Needed"
"Limits Sought on Net Access Without Wire"
"Netherlands Court Ruling Offers Haven to File-Sharing Services"
"Portland Lacks an E-Waste Disposal System"
"Regulating Cyberspace"
"Fastest Computer Spawns High-Tech Race"
"Philanthropy Meets Technology in Global Stanford Program"
"Does Moore's Law Still Hold True?"
"Software, Security, and Ethnicity"
"Sandia 'Be There Now' Hardware Enhances Long-Distance Collaborations"
"The Semantic Web Gets Real"
"Cool Runnings"
"ACM Extends Deadline for Awards Nominees"
"Links Adding Up for Grid Computing"
"CCR Using Larger-Than-Life Technology"
"The High Cost of Handhelds"
"Getting Real"

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

"U.S. Clears Russian Tech Firm In E-Book Copyright Case"
The U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., ruled in favor of
Russian software company ElcomSoft on Tuesday, thus dismissing a
federal lawsuit alleging that the firm violated the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) by distributing a program that ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1218w.html#item1

"Gilmore Commission Critical of Bush Cybersecurity Plan"
In its fourth annual report, the Advisory Panel to Assess
Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of
Mass Destruction finds fault with President Bush's Draft National
Strategy to Secure Cyberspace.  The commission says the plan is ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1218w.html#item2

"DMCA Critics Say Reform Still Needed"
Although a jury acquitted Russian software maker ElcomSoft of
willfully violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
by distributing a program that bypassed e-book copy protections,
Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) says this is no reason to get ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1218w.html#item3

"Limits Sought on Net Access Without Wire"
The U.S. Department of Defense is looking to curb the growth of
low-power radio technology for commercial use that could
interfere with military radar.  Industry representatives have
already met with Pentagon officials to discuss the issue, after ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1218w.html#item4

"Netherlands Court Ruling Offers Haven to File-Sharing Services"
An Amsterdam appeals court ruling last March that local file-trading
service Kazaa is not legally responsible for copyright violations
committed by its users may encourage other file-trading service
providers to set up operations in the Netherlands.  Dutch lawyer ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1218w.html#item5

"Portland Lacks an E-Waste Disposal System"
The mounting problem of electronic waste (e-waste) is being
addressed in the United States and elsewhere, but with different
approaches.  The EPA estimates that up to 500 million personal
computers will be discarded between 2000 and 2007 in the United ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1218w.html#item6

"Regulating Cyberspace"
The so-called lawlessness of the Internet has been increasingly
called into question, most recently with an Australian court's
ruling that U.S.-based Dow Jones had committed libel against an
Australian businessman by publishing an article accessible via a ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1218w.html#item7

"Fastest Computer Spawns High-Tech Race"
NEC's $350 million Earth Simulator in Japan has raised the bar
for other supercomputing efforts and has taken away the U.S.'s
lead in the supercomputing race; it is now the world's
fastest supercomputer, capable of running 35.6 trillion ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1218w.html#item8

"Philanthropy Meets Technology in Global Stanford Program"
The goal of the Reuters Foundation's Digital Vision Fellowship
Program at Stanford University is to bring information technology
to far-flung regions of developing countries by creating usable
initiatives.  Fellows covering a wide range of disciplines ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1218w.html#item9

"Does Moore's Law Still Hold True?"
A recent academic paper from Ilkka Tuomi, a visiting scholar at
the European Commission's Joint Research Center, argues that
there is a disparity between the doctrine of Moore's Law, which
states that computing power doubles every 18 to 24 months, and ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1218w.html#item10

"Software, Security, and Ethnicity"
As the U.S. and its allies and foes worldwide ramp up
their ability to make war on the digital front, U.S.
organizations need to improve their software security without
casting suspicion on IT workers of foreign descent.  The threat ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1218w.html#item11

"Sandia 'Be There Now' Hardware Enhances Long-Distance Collaborations"
Sandia National Laboratories has devised interactive
remote-visualization hardware that will allow people to view and
manipulate computer-generated images from remote locations with
no significant lag time.  "The niche for this product is when the ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1218w.html#item12

"The Semantic Web Gets Real"
The development and future of the Semantic Web is
debatable--there are those who argue it is a waste of time that
will never get past the drawing board stage, while others claim
it could facilitate seamless communication between computers and ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1218w.html#item13

"Cool Runnings"
Sandia National Laboratories researchers have created a device
that cools down computer chips without heat sinks and fans, using
7-micron-thick channels that convey liquid methanol through
capillary action.  These "smart heat pipes" are contained in a ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1218w.html#item14

"ACM Extends Deadline for Awards Nominees"
In an effort to expand the net of qualified contenders, ACM has
extended the deadline for nominations to four of its annual awards.
The deadline is now February 28 for nominees to the ACM-IEEE
CS Eckert Mauchly Award; the Grace Murray Hopper Award; and the ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1218w.html#item15

"Links Adding Up for Grid Computing"
Grid computing is taking hold outside of the academic community,
according to Argonne National Laboratory researcher and
University of Chicago computer science professor Ian Foster.  He
and colleagues around the country continue to develop the ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1218w.html#item16

"CCR Using Larger-Than-Life Technology"
The University at Buffalo's Center for Computational Research
(CCR) has built a relatively low-cost facility enabling real-time
communication, remote collaboration, and high-definition displays
of large images.  The room has a 12-foot tiled-display wall and ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1218w.html#item17

"The High Cost of Handhelds"
Gartner says that handheld computers can be more expensive than
most people think:  Whereas the average store-bought handheld can
cost as little as $300, Gartner estimates that hidden
costs--training, support, etc.--can drive up the total cost of ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1218w.html#item18

"Getting Real"
Researchers are developing new 3D display technologies that do
away with headpieces, such as the classic blue and red cellophane
glasses used decades ago.  At New York University's Media
Research Laboratory, director Ken Perlin is developing an ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1218w.html#item19


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