The E-Mail Mess
Will the Election Be Hacked?
The distrust people feel toward paperless touch-screen electronic voting systems is turning into a national movement, fueled by audits from RABA Technologies, Johns Hopkins, and others that uncovered serious flaws in machines from Diebold Election Systems--flaws that not only raise the ...
[read more]
to the top
1980s Technology Propels Mars Exploration
The twin Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity are equipped with 20-year-old microprocessor technology that offers greater tolerance to radiation and extreme temperatures and vibrations common to space exploration. BAE Systems used an early version of IBM's PowerPC chip running at a speed of ...
[read more]
to the top
H-1B Training Program to Be Axed
The White House is calling for the cancellation of the H-1B Training Program in its proposed budget for fiscal 2005, claiming that the effort has not proven successful at improving the skills of American workers in specialized professions. Under the program, Americans are trained to fill ...
[read more]
to the top
IT Salaries Picking Up Momentum
Dice CEO Scott Melland reports that the modest 2 percent rise in technology salaries over the past year, recorded in the Dice Salary Survey Report, indicates a resurgence for tech professionals who have suffered wage drops over the 18 months or so. Government and defense salaries experienced the ...
[read more]
to the top
Robot Dogs Get Social Conscience Installed
Yale University mechanical engineer and computer scientist Natalie Jeremijenko has spearheaded the creation of "feral" robotic canines programmed to scan for the presence of toxic materials in public areas; the robot dogs also exhibit pack behavior and a social conscience. The robots, ...
[read more]
to the top
Privacy Reduction's Next Act
Declan McCullagh finds considerable fault with the recently introduced Fraudulent Online Identity Sanctions Act, which he describes as an attempt by the government to penalize domain name holders who withhold contact information from the Whois database, even when such anonymity is protected ...
[read more]
to the top
ACM Professional Development Centre Expands Learning Opportunities
ACM's Professional Development Centre, launched in 2002, is about to expand its course offerings. On Tuesday, February 17, the number of courses accessible from the Centre will climb from 250 to over 300; all are free to ACM members. New topics will ...
[read more]
to the top
Linux Security on the Ropes
The perception among Linux fans is that the open-source operating system is more secure than Windows, but others argue that Linux will prove to be less secure than Windows if it acquires more market share and thus becomes an even more attractive target to hackers and virus writers. Illuminata ...
[read more]
to the top
Cyberinfrastucture Poised to Revolutionize Environmental Sciences and Other Disciplines
The potential impact of a national "cyberinfrastructure" on environmental sciences and other disciplines will be the subject of two sessions of the AAAS Annual Meeting in Seattle on Feb. 13, 2004.
Two directorates of the National Science Foundation (NSF), which has become increasingly involved ...
[read more]
to the top
Lofty Goal: Computers People Can Talk With
Making computers capable of understanding natural language to the degree that human beings can converse with them as if they too were flesh-and-blood is a long-term goal of the National Science Foundation (NSF). Thus far, research and commercial development of computer-language ...
[read more]
to the top
Neural Software Could Become Soldier's Best Friend
A real-time advice system for soldiers and other government agents in the field is being developed at Sandia National Laboratories, using neural-network software. The researchers' goal is to build a virtual mentor that can counsel people engaged in vital operations within a ...
[read more]
to the top
The Virus Underground
The year 2003 was a banner year for malware, with the release of network worms that spread with increasing rapidity and insidiousness, and such events are putting elite virus writers on the spot. Even though many top virus and worm authors have not technically transgressed any laws and ...
[read more]
to the top
Save Your Software! Recycle
Grant Larsen, an engineer at IBM's Rational software development tools division, believes the Re-usable Asset Specification (RAS) for recycling software code is edging toward standardization. RAS, which is expected to be ratified in July following its review by the Object Management Group, ...
[read more]
to the top
Great Taste, Less Privacy
Driver's licenses are being used for more than just identification, given the type and amount of information stored on the cards' bar codes and magnetic strips. The scanning of such licenses is usually a security measure--restaurants and bars do it to spot underage drinkers with fake ...
[read more]
to the top
Can E-Mail Survive?
Email reform is desperately needed, not only because of the convergence of spam and viruses, but because email is also threatening to collapse from overload. Legislation alone will not solve the problem: Laws such as the recently passed CAN-SPAM are unlikely to significantly reduce spam because ...
[read more]
to the top
Reasoning on the Web With Rules and Semantics
The European Commission, as part of its sixth Framework Programme, will launch REasoning on the WEb with Rules and SEmantics (REWERSE), a research "Network of Excellence" that will include 27 European research and development organizations designed to bolster Europe's expertise in Web ...
[read more]
to the top
Return of the Supercomputers
The ascendance of Japan's Earth Simulator to the ranking of world's fastest supercomputer has spurred calls among U.S. computer scientists and government officials for greater investments in fundamental, next-generation supercomputing research. "It's a technological race, and ...
[read more]
to the top
Rushing Toward Chaos
In his book "It's Alive," Nerve founder Christopher Meyer diagrams the American IT's economy progression over the next decade, outlining the transition of companies to a biological evolutionary model that focuses on the "adaptive enterprise," spurred by rapid advances in biotechnology and ...
[read more]
to the top
Smart Robot Pet Tricks
Sony's AIBO robot dog comes with a set of preprogrammed behaviors, but after a period of resistance, Sony issued software developer tools that allow programmers to modify and customize the dog's behavior, partly in the hopes of making the toy a research platform for artificial intelligence and ...
[read more]
to the top
The E-Mail Mess
Some states have strict laws against spammers, with some laws focusing on deceptive email and others trying to stop spam before it starts, but the new federal Can-Spam Act will hinder many of those laws. The federal legislation strengthens the rights of Internet users in states that lack ...
[read more]
to the top
To submit feedback about ACM TechNews, contact:
technews@xxxxxxxxxx
To unsubscribe from the ACM TechNews Early Alert Service:
Please send a separate email to listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
with the line
signoff technews
in the body of your message.
Please note that replying directly to this message does not
automatically unsubscribe you from the TechNews list.
ACM may have a different email address on file for you,
so if you're unable to "unsubscribe" yourself, please direct
your request to: technews-request@xxxxxxx
We will remove your name from the TechNews list on
your behalf.
For help with technical problems, including problems with
leaving the list, please write to:
technews-request@xxxxxxx
to the top
© Copyright 2004 Information, Inc.
