ACM TechNews - Monday, December 23, 2002

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ACM TechNews
Volume 4, Number 438
Date: December 23, 2002

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

"Bush Plan to Monitor Net Raises Stir"
"Many Tools of Big Brother Are Now Up and Running"
"File Swapper Eluding Pursuers"
"Electronics Makers Give Little Respect to Consumers' Rights"
"Digital Copyright: A Law Defanged?"
"Nanotech Pioneer Looks Ahead"
"Computers Just Doing What Comes Naturally"
"An Aria With Hiccups: The Music of Data Networks"
"Agencies Seek Stronger Controls on Trade in Dual-Use Technologies"
"New Heights for Wireless Net Access?"
"Voice Holds the Key"
"The Notebook Vs. Desktop Popularity Contest"
"The 10 Best Hype Jobs of 2002"
"Move Over, Silicon"
"Patenting the Process"
"2002 Year in Review"
"Future Tech: Thinking Machines"

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

"Bush Plan to Monitor Net Raises Stir"
Among the goals outlined in the National Strategy to Secure
Cyberspace is the formation of a Cyberspace Network Operations
Center, a hub where ISPs would share information about network
traffic in order to forestall cyberattacks.  The September draft ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item1

"Many Tools of Big Brother Are Now Up and Running"
The government already has eyes and ears observing people's
everyday activities, but that data is not currently gathered or
analyzed comprehensively in a way that would be useful to
intelligence agencies.  The Internet, as well as new Web ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item2

"File Swapper Eluding Pursuers"
File-trading software Kazaa is proving a slippery adversary for
the music and movie industries seeking to shut it down through
legal means.  The system was built in Estonia by three freelance
computer programmers who were commissioned by a man in the ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item3

"Electronics Makers Give Little Respect to Consumers' Rights"
Electronics providers routinely ban consumer modifications of the
products they buy, a practice that is "blatantly
anti-competitive," writes Dan Gillmor.  For example, DVD movies
typically contain software code that limits how they play on DVD ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item4

"Digital Copyright: A Law Defanged?"
Although cyber-libertarians declare the U.S. District Court of
San Jose's acquittal of Russian software firm ElcomSoft for
allegedly violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) a
triumph for their side, it does not really set a precedent for ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item5

"Nanotech Pioneer Looks Ahead"
Nanotechnology pioneer and IBM Fellow Don Eigler believes
electronic devices that exist on the molecular scale will one day
revolutionize mankind's way of life, although researchers have
only just begun to tap into nanotech's vast potential.  He ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item6

"Computers Just Doing What Comes Naturally"
Computer technology needs to become easier to use, not
necessarily more powerful, according to Telstra Research
Laboratories CEO Hugh Bradlow.  Telstra's IT research facilities
are the largest in Australia, and workers there are developing ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item7

"An Aria With Hiccups: The Music of Data Networks"
Stanford University music professor Chris Chafe has developed a
new acoustic method of monitoring network performance.  In the
same way a guitar string resonates at a higher pitch when
vibrations are shorter in length, network signals are assigned ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item8

"Agencies Seek Stronger Controls on Trade in Dual-Use Technologies"
Agencies in the Bush administration want to curb the export of
dual-use technologies--commercial products that have military
applications as well--to unfriendly nations by raising awareness
among "transshipment" countries that lack effective export ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item9

"New Heights for Wireless Net Access?"
Sanswire Technologies, among other companies, is working on
high-altitude solutions to increase the range of high-speed
Internet access, using new airships to deliver wireless
communications services.  In collaboration with Canada's 21st ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item10

"Voice Holds the Key"
Speech recognition technology carries much more weight as a
result of Sept. 11 and its aftermath, which includes a new focus
on security, especially at the corporate level.  Thanks to recent
advances, voice recognition companies such as Phonetic Systems ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item11

"The Notebook Vs. Desktop Popularity Contest"
Notebook computer purchases are on the increase, both because of
their decline in price, says IDC analyst Alan Promisel, and
because of their skyrocketing performance improvements.
Notebooks now rival the speed and processing capacity of ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item12

"The 10 Best Hype Jobs of 2002"
The marketing of technology again suffered from too much hype
this year, as a number of technologies were promoted beyond their
ability to deliver, writes Jon Oltsik.  Oltsik's pick for the 10
most overhyped technologies this year are, in order: ROI, the ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item13

"Move Over, Silicon"
The quest to make cheap and flexible electronics has fueled
advances in the use of plastic as a semiconductor, and yielded
some interesting breakthroughs.  Electro-luminescent
light-emitting polymers (LEPs) hold great promise as flat panel ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item14

"Patenting the Process"
There is a growing trend for companies to claim ownership of
patented e-commerce processes and file infringement suits against
users in order to collect usage fees that they feel are owed
them.  Sheppard, Mullins, Richter, & Hampton attorney Jonathan ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item15

"2002 Year in Review"
The past year has witnessed significant developments in the areas
of pervasive computing, edge computing, Web services, open source
and open standards, and virtualization.  The expansion of
handhelds, wireless networks, and mobile infrastructure and ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item16

"Future Tech: Thinking Machines"
The development of a thinking machine has repeatedly eluded
researchers who follow a top-down approach whereby a computer is
used as a model for the brain, but scientists such as
neuromorphic engineer Kwabena Boahen theorize that better results ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2002-4/1223m.html#item17


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