ACM TechNews - Monday, February 10, 2003

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ACM TechNews
Volume 5, Number 456
Date: February 10, 2003

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Top Stories for Monday, February 10, 2003:
http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html

"Pentagon Names Boards to Oversee Data-Search Plan"
"Don't Underestimate Cyberterrorists, Experts Warn"
"NASA Leads Efforts to Build Better Software"
"Scientists of Very Small Draw Disciplines Together"
"'Sticky' DNA Crystals Promise New Way to Process Information"
"The Linux Kernel's Next Incarnation"
"See Here!"
"Group Hopes to Give New Life to Desktop Linux"
"Suits Test Limits of Digital Copyright Act"
"Journalist Perpetrates Online Terror"
"For the Smart Dresser, Electric Threads That Cosset You"
"The Fate of UCITA"
"Proving IT"
"10 Emerging Technologies That Will Change the World"
"Pssst! This Note's For You"
"Tech's Biggest Battle"

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

"Pentagon Names Boards to Oversee Data-Search Plan"
The Defense Department announced on Feb. 7 the creation of two
panels tasked with overseeing the controversial Total Information
Awareness (TIA) project, in response to criticism from Congress
and other organizations that such a project, supposedly designed ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item1

"Don't Underestimate Cyberterrorists, Experts Warn"
Security experts warn that America's enemies can exploit
cyberspace to wreak havoc with the nation's public
infrastructure, unless its online defenses are beefed up with the
installation of security software and increased awareness among ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item2

"NASA Leads Efforts to Build Better Software"
The 1999 crash of the Mars Polar Lander, which was attributed to
a software bug, made NASA officials realize that preventing a
similar embarrassment would require an upgrade in software
quality and the development of failure-proof systems.  Following ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item3

"Scientists of Very Small Draw Disciplines Together"
A recent three-day conference in Los Angeles was a rallying point
for scientists and other advocates who wish to merge the
disciplines of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information
technology, and cognitive research into a single discipline ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item4

"'Sticky' DNA Crystals Promise New Way to Process Information"
Researchers at the University of Minnesota have succeeded in
forming a regularly structured DNA crystal with gold
nanoparticles attached.  Electrical engineering professor Richard
Kiehl, who leads the project, says it is significant because ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item5

"The Linux Kernel's Next Incarnation"
As Linux becomes a more important component of enterprise
computing portfolios, IT managers should be aware of upcoming
changes in the Linux kernel.  Although popular Linux software
such as Apache and Samba create a front-end for the open-source ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item6

"See Here!"
York University scientists are building an automated
videoconferencing system that responds to hand signals, and its
development includes research into the psychology of body
language and camera-operator training.  The research team, led by ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item7

"Group Hopes to Give New Life to Desktop Linux"
The Desktop Linux Consortium (DLC), which is composed of leading
vendors and open source organizations, hopes to deepen the
penetration of Linux on the desktop, which Linux creator Linus
Torvalds declared as "inevitable" in a press statement.  "Linux ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item8

"Suits Test Limits of Digital Copyright Act"
New lawsuits by Lexmark International and the Chamberlain Group
are testing the limits of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
(DMCA), which observers say has been interpreted broadly by
courts.  Lexmark is suing Static Control Components and ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item9

"Journalist Perpetrates Online Terror"
Computerworld has retracted a story about terrorists claiming to
be the author of the recent Slammer worm after learning that
Brian McWilliams, former Newsbytes.com reporter, was imitating
the cited terrorist group when this group ostensibly asserted ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item10

"For the Smart Dresser, Electric Threads That Cosset You"
Electrotextiles--electrically conductive cloth--are being
developed so that they can be applied to many wearable products
in both the military and civilian sector.  The cloth is fashioned
from synthetic or metallic fibers that can be linked to ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item11

"The Fate of UCITA"
Ed Foster writes an open letter to the American Bar Association's
(ABA) House of Delegates in which he urges them to kill the
Uniform Computer Information Transaction Act (UCITA), which has
long been a target of criticism from customers of IT products.   ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item12

"Proving IT"
Prior to committing to big IT investments, companies are now
setting up test labs to prove the business value of tech
projects.  The in-house testing facilities are usually overseen
by CIOs and other IT executives, while personnel are made up of ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item13

"10 Emerging Technologies That Will Change the World"
New technologies with significant implications for computing,
manufacturing, security, and other vital areas are being
developed by some of the best minds in their fields.  University
of California, Berkeley, scientist David Culler is working on ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item14

"Pssst! This Note's For You"
Mainstream adoption of Global Positioning System (GPS) technology
has reached critical mass, as evidenced by unexpected uses far
beyond what its inventors intended.  Originally developed as a
way for smart bombs to more precisely locate targets, GPS has ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item15

"Tech's Biggest Battle"
Intel plans to crowd IBM and Sun Microsystems out of the 64-bit
server market with its Itanium 2 chip, but rivals may still be
able to triumph by using the time between the announcement of
Itanium and its long-delayed launch to deepen their roots and ...
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2003-5/0210m.html#item16


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