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ACM TechNews - Friday, February 25, 2005



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ACM TechNews
February 25, 2005

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HEADLINES AT A GLANCE:

  • Companies Seek to Hold Software Makers Liable for Flaws
  • EU Patent Crisis: Pressure Mounting to Scrap IT Changes
  • 9-11 Commissioner Calls for End to ISACs
  • Artificially Induced
  • Taking Java to the Embedded Market
  • Go for IT: Conference Tells Grade-Nine Girls
  • Finding a Replacement for Passwords
  • No Encryption for E-Passports
  • The Touchy-Feely Side of Telecoms
  • Digital TV's Hollywood Showdown
  • For Simpler Robots, a Step Forward
  • Wireless's New Hookup
  • Navigating Open-Source Licenses Can Be Tough Task
  • Xen Lures Big-Name Endorsements
  • Breach Points Up Flaws in Privacy Laws
  • Slow Going on the Global Grid
  • High-Tech Renaissance
  • The 'Pull' of Niche Communities
  • Cybercorps Scholarships Fund New Generation of Security Gurus

     

    Companies Seek to Hold Software Makers Liable for Flaws

    Software makers traditionally have no responsibility for damage or problems their customers suffer as a result of flawed or vulnerable software, but increasing numbers of customers are insisting that liability be established. The hope is that accountability will significantly lower the cost to customers, ...

    [read more]      to the top


    EU Patent Crisis: Pressure Mounting to Scrap IT Changes

    A motion for the European Commission to act on the European Union's proposed software patenting directive was unanimously passed on Feb. 24 by the European Parliament, which is calling for the dismissal of the proposal in its current form and restarting the legislative process. Many EU ...

    [read more]      to the top


    9-11 Commissioner Calls for End to ISACs

    In a Feb. 17 panel discussion at the RSA Conference, Jamie Gorelick, a member of the 9-11 Commission, said the federal government's reliance on information sharing and analysis centers (ISACs) is a flawed model that should be discarded or dramatically revised. She said the voluntary, ...

    [read more]      to the top


    Artificially Induced

    Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Artificial Intelligence and Reasoning Lab is working to create reasoning computers for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Previous inventions at the laboratory include the psychometric experimental robotic intelligence system that could ...

    [read more]      to the top


    Taking Java to the Embedded Market

    State-of-the-art Java technology is partly responsible for traditional IT systems' gradual transformation from visible desktop computers to concealed embedded systems in smart devices, and the IST-funded HIDOORS project took an important step in this direction by demonstrating that the Java platform ...

    [read more]      to the top


    Go for IT: Conference Tells Grade-Nine Girls

    Lasha Dekker, Microsoft Canada's vice president of developer and platform evangelism, prepared for her keynote address at the Explore IT Conference on Feb. 23 by interviewing grade-nine girls about their perceptions of IT careers, and composing a presentation that debunked key myths. She noted ...

    [read more]      to the top


    Finding a Replacement for Passwords

    The fact that online password protection is a cost-free security measure is the key to its enduring appeal, and to users' general refusal to opt for more effective--and expensive--solutions, say analysts. Companies with a significant e-business component advise customers to use easy-to-remember ...

    [read more]      to the top


    No Encryption for E-Passports

    Security experts are concerned that the suggested upgrading of Americans' passports with radio frequency identification (RFID) chips containing data such as the bearer's name, date of birth, and digital photo could actually compromise travelers' security, because recently proposed rules forbid ...

    [read more]      to the top


    The Touchy-Feely Side of Telecoms

    Upcoming mobile phones from Samsung will incorporate haptic technology that enables users to send text messages with accompanying texture and other tactile sensations. Key challenges in haptics development include the complex interplay of physical variables such as force, vibration, texture, ...

    [read more]      to the top


    Digital TV's Hollywood Showdown

    Content owners have been fighting technology companies, consumer groups, and digital rights advocates over the FCC's mandate that broadcast flag technology be deployed in all electronic devices that receive TV signals sold after July 1 of this year. The debate reached a turning point on Feb. ...

    [read more]      to the top


    For Simpler Robots, a Step Forward

    Future bipedal robot designs may be significantly influenced by three models unveiled at last week's annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The robots--developed by the Delft University of Technology, MIT, and Cornell University--are capable of ...

    [read more]      to the top


    Wireless's New Hookup

    The Zigbee wireless standard promises to enable reasonably cheap home automation since people do not have to install wires. More than 100 firms announced plans for Zigbee products late last year, including Honeywell International, Motorola, Samsung Electronics, and Philips Electronics. ...

    [read more]      to the top


    Navigating Open-Source Licenses Can Be Tough Task

    Open Source Initiative (OSI) founder Eric Raymond says company developers should not spend too much effort researching possible patent infringement when launching new open source projects: "You don't 'want' to know what patents you may be infringing in advance--that makes it 'willful' and ...

    [read more]      to the top


    Xen Lures Big-Name Endorsements

    Open source virtualization software Xen has gained serious industry backing in the last few months, creating the possibility that the technology could become a standard feature for future computers. Xen allows multiple operating systems to run on the same machine through virtualization of the ...

    [read more]      to the top


    Breach Points Up Flaws in Privacy Laws

    The recent disclosure by ChoicePoint that personal data on nearly 145,000 individuals was accidentally sold to identity thieves has spurred discussion among lawmakers about how to shore up privacy and data protection laws. Experts say the ChoicePoint incident illuminates how ...

    [read more]      to the top


    Slow Going on the Global Grid

    The Globus grid computing software framework is receiving renewed support from big technology vendors with the release of its new Globus Toolkit version 4 (GT4), which makes the framework more suitable for business applications. Major business grid users such as Johnson & Johnson and ...

    [read more]      to the top


    High-Tech Renaissance

    Daniel A. Reed, formerly of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has conceived of a Renaissance Computer Institute where scholars of all disciplines can learn to tap high-performance computing and data mining resources to conduct research that could yield significant long-term ...

    [read more]      to the top


    The 'Pull' of Niche Communities

    Author and visiting scholar at USC's Annenberg Center John Seely Brown envisions the knowledge economy transitioning from the supply-push model of monopolistic corporations to the demand-pull model of niche communities, and discusses what parts open source and open content play in this ...

    [read more]      to the top


    Cybercorps Scholarships Fund New Generation of Security Gurus

    The goal of the National Science Foundation's Cybercorps scholarship program is twofold: To increase leading computer science students' knowledge of information assurance and security, and to encourage them to apply that knowledge to government work after they graduate. Professors ...

    [read more]      to the top


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