Implanting Hope
A CAPPS by Any Other Name
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) will soon release an assessment of the Secure Flight passenger pre-screening system, but Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.), computer security expert Bruce Schneier, and ACLU members held a March 24 press call in which they expressed concern that the ...
[read more] to the top
War of Words over Operating Systems' Safety
Recent reports on Linux-based Web servers, the open-source Firefox Web browser, and Apple's Mac OSX operating system raise doubts about their security, which experts contend is still better than their Microsoft equivalents. Symantec's biannual Internet Security Threat report issued on ...
[read more] to the top
Study: Grid Growth Requires Friendlier Software Licensing
The 451 Group's recently released "Grid Computing--The Impact of Software Licensing" study concludes that traditional per-processing licensing models are hindering the growth of grid computing, and friendlier licensing models should be implemented. Primary study author William Fellows contends that ...
[read more] to the top
Common Sense Boosts Speech Software
MIT Media Lab researchers are applying common-sense reasoning to the improvement of speech recognition software's accuracy through the Open Mind Common Sense Project. The software's inability to understand word meaning makes distinguishing between words that sound similar or identical ...
[read more] to the top
Tech Versus the World
The "Battle of the Brains" among the world's top collegiate programmers is scheduled for April 3-7, 2005, in Shanghai, China. Michigan Technological University's representative at the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest will be "MTU Blue," a team that consists of Jonathan Kaus, ...
[read more] to the top
Small Banks Can Compete Through Niche Marketing Online
A Penn State researcher believes small banks will be able to compete with their technology-laden counterparts if they concentrate on their niche markets. Although community banks will not be able to invest as much in wireless communications and mobile banking, adding links to their Web sites ...
[read more] to the top
Biometric Passports Set to Take Flight
The State Department's Office of Passport Policy, Planning, and Advisory Service recently announced its readiness to start issuing radio frequency identification (RFID) chip-equipped biometric passports, but critics warn that the technology does not adequately protect the user's personal ...
[read more] to the top
SHA-1 Flaw Seen as No Risk to One-Time Password Proposal
A vulnerability in the SHA-1 one-way hash function discovered by Chinese cryptographers in February does not affect most SHA-1-based applications, including the Hashed Message Authentication Code (HMAC) from the Initiative for Open Authentication (Oath). The proposed HMAC standard is a one-time ...
[read more] to the top
Getting Smart Is All About Using Your Intelligence
Despite the ongoing investment in business intelligence (BI) solutions, companies have not realized the goal of information democracy, which provides the right amount of information to the masses to provide key insights, solve problems faster, and open up new opportunities. Gartner's ...
[read more] to the top
Motion Filter Eases Troubles With Mouse
An adapter invented by IBM researcher James Levine can filter out shaky mouse movements caused by tremors in the hands of users suffering from motor skills disorders. The Assistive Mouse Adapter is about as small as a handheld calculator and plugs in between the mouse and the computer; the ...
[read more] to the top
Does IM Stand for Insecure Messaging?
The threat of instant messaging (IM) worms is growing, and a key factor in their spread is the obliviousness of users and IT administrators. "A person unaware of the IM threat is the biggest risk that exists for these viruses to have some success," warns McAfee research fellow Jimmy Kuo. ...
[read more] to the top
PC Forum: Where in the World Is Search Heading?
Dan Farber reports on the final PC Forum panel, where scientists and vendor representatives offered their perspectives on search technology developments, leading to expectations that more personalized search could emerge in the next five years, although no definite predictions were made. ...
[read more] to the top
Cyberterrorism Isn't a Threat Yet, One Expert Says
Cyberterrorism is a concept that has been overblown by the media and poses no threat, though someday it will evolve into a threat worth worrying about, according to longtime computer security expert Marcus Ranum, the inventor of the proxy firewall. Ranum made his comments at Texas Christian ...
[read more] to the top
Tech That Makes a Difference
University of California at Berkeley computer science professor and Inktomi founder Eric Brewer sees three major problems with attempts to bring technology to developing regions: Their reliance on existing, off-the-shelf technology, which may not align well with the region; their ...
[read more] to the top
Taming the River of Data
The Information Dominance Center (IDC) of the Army's Intelligence and Security Command is testing new software tools designed to fuse data from numerous sources and present it in a comprehensible manner. Command director Maj. Gen. John Kimmons says too much of his analysts' time is ...
[read more] to the top
IETF Eyes 'Net Emergency Communications
The IETF recently launched the Emergency Context Resolutions with Internet Technologies (ECRIT) working group to develop a way to stream emergency communications over the Internet in much the same way that 911 calls are sent across the public switched telephone network (PSTN). ECRIT is ...
[read more] to the top
The 'dotCommunist'
Columbia University law professor and Free Software Foundation general counsel Eben Moglen is a fervent believer in free software as part of his struggle to promote freedom of speech and advance knowledge. He defines software as a "public utility," and argues that software patents and other ...
[read more] to the top
The Science Deficit
General increases in federal funding for research and development belie the diversion of funding from key civilian disciplines such as physics and biology to defense and homeland security, and this trend is sparking fears that U.S. technological innovation will lag behind that of international ...
[read more] to the top
Implanting Hope
Excitement is brewing over the potential use of implantable brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) to increase the mobility and independence of paralytics and other movement-impaired patients, although the technology is in a very early stage of development. One of the most notable inventions in this ...
[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@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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
