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Issue no. 8, 2002 Published: Feb 22, 2002
Europe clamps down on software patents
Microsoft told to open Windows
Electronics makers set uniform standard for DVD
Deep-frozen atoms stop beam of light in its tracks
Mobile phone shields are all talk, warn experts
Scientists build ultra broadband laser
Peekabooty aims to banish internet censorship
Health problems await child addicts of computer games
French go virtual with nuclear testing
Copyright law comes under the spotlight
Hackers face US bombing
Web rage hits the internet

Europe clamps down on software patents
The European Commission on Wednesday unveiled a new approach to software patents, which will set tougher criteria for the granting of a patent. The proposal requires that software contain new ideas to qualify for patent protection. In addition, patents would apply only to software loaded on a machine or connected to an operating system. Commissioner Frits Bolkestein, whose Internal Markets group oversaw the new approach, said the proposal differs from US patent rules, which permit patents for software independent of machines and which do not necessarily require innovation. The proposal is certain to face amendment before it wins the needed approval from the European Parliament and the EU member states. The proposal, however, offers no shelter from the law to software pirates. Officials were quick to say that software transmitted over the internet or published would continue to be protected under copyright law.
ZDNet / Reuters Feb 20, 2002	back to top

Microsoft told to open Windows
Microsoft has been ordered to hand over core computer code for its Windows software to lawyers it will soon face in court. A US judge has told the software giant that its legal opponents should have the right to verify Microsoft's claims about the innards of the flagship software. Currently nine US states are using the courts to try and impose tougher penalties on Microsoft for its flouting of antitrust laws. The states want Microsoft to produce a stripped-down version of Windows free of add-ons such as the Internet Explorer web browser. Meanwhile, in what is regarded as a 'defensive move', Microsoft will will share blueprints for Windows and .Net server software with technical experts who build and maintain computer systems for thousands of companies. System integrators at about 150 companies, including Compaq and Avanade, will be eligible.
BBC News / Wired News / AP Feb 21, 2002	back to top

Electronics makers set uniform standard for DVD
Nine consumer electronics makers said on Tuesday they had agreed to a uniform standard for next-generation DVDs. In reaching a basic agreement, the firms hope to avoid the fragmentation of standards for recordable DVD recorders that has plagued the current line-up. There are currently three DVD standards. The new format will have 27 gigabytes of memory on one side of a single 12-cm disc, allowing for more than 13 hours of television to be recorded, compared with two hours on the current 4.7 gigabyte disc, the companies said. The high-capacity optical disc will be called the 'Blue-ray Disc' after the blue laser used to cram information onto them. Agreeing to the new format were Philips, Samsung, Thomson Multimedia, Sony, LG Electronics, Hitachi, Pioneer, Sharp and Matsushita. Licensing of the new DVD format will begin in the spring.
CNN / Reuters Feb 19, 2002	back to top

Deep-frozen atoms stop beam of light in its tracks
Researcher at the Rowland Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts say they have succeeded in making a pulse of laser light slow down to a complete halt. Then, after a relatively long interval of about a thousandth of a second they made it start up again as if nothing had happened. The breakthrough, which will have implications for designing the supercomputers of the future, has been achieved by using a tiny, dense cloud of sodium atoms that have been chilled to one-millionth of a degree above absolute zero (-273.15C). By using a tuned laser beam to get these atoms into just the right state, scientists can get a light beam passing through that cloud to move slower and slower. A handful of other scientists around the world have worked on similar techniques, and a group at Texas A & M University hopes to go one better by stopping light and then reversing its direction.
Daily Telegraph Feb 17, 2002	back to top

Mobile phone shields are all talk, warn experts
Some shields touted as protecting mobile phone users from radiation do not work as advertised, according to the US Federal Trade Commission. They may even cause the wireless devices to emit even more energy. The agency announced it had filed charges against two companies for promoting shields with unsupported claims such as 'prevents electromagnetic waves from penetrating the brain' and 'blocks up to 99% of the radiation'. The FTC says shielding products that block only the earpiece are ineffective because the entire phone emits radiation. Shields may also interfere with a phone's signal, causing it to draw extra power to communicate and emit more energy. Mobile phone users who want to limit exposure to electromagnetic emissions should limit mobile phone use, use a hands-free headset and avoid using mobiles where the signal is weak.
Ananova Feb 21, 2002	back to top

Scientists build ultra broadband laser
Scientists at Lucent Technologies said Wednesday they had built the world's first semiconductor laser that emits light over a wide spectrum of infrared wavelengths. The laser, developed at the company's Bell Labs in New Jersey can be used to detect pollutants in the atmosphere, in medical diagnostic tools or in the future to produce semiconductor lasers for fibre optics. Until now, semiconductor lasers have been narrowband devices that emit light of a single colour at a characteristic wavelength. With the new laser the wavelength can be much wider or narrower depending on the application.
Yahoo / Reuters Feb 20, 2002	back to top

Peekabooty aims to banish internet censorship
A long-awaited computer program that can circumvent government censorship of the internet has debuted at a computer conference in the US. The program - Peekabooty - promises to give people in countries such as China and Saudi Arabia safe access to the whole of the internet. Peekabooty relies on users inside and outside a government-imposed 'firewall' downloading software. Restricted content can then be delivered using volunteer 'nodes' outside the restricted zone communicating with users within. The content is disguised as encrypted browser traffic, which is normally used to transmit credit card information or sensitive information such as passwords. Peekabooty uses a complicated communications system to allow users to share information while revealing little about each user's identity. This is to protect them from anyone trying to infiltrate the system from inside. Peekabooty was demonstrated at CodeCon 2002 in California.
New Scientist Feb 19, 2002	back to top

Health problems await child addicts of computer games
Children who spend hours glued to video games are exposing themselves to an array of health problems ranging from mouse elbow to joystick digit. Doctors say children who play games for more than an hour a day are putting themselves at risk. As many as one in five children had some kind of health problem linked to overuse, according to a new study by the Akita University School of Medicine in Japan. One in seven children spent so much time playing games that they had evidence of black rings around the eyes because of lack of sleep, say the researchers, who quizzed 1,142 children aged six to 11 and their parents. The report shows that 20 per cent of the children had muscle stiffness, and, in a third of cases, the stiffness was so severe that the shoulder blade had been displaced.
The Independent Feb 17, 2002	back to top

French go virtual with nuclear testing
The French government is investing in Europe's largest supercomputer as an alternative to testing nuclear weapons in the Pacific. Compaq says that its machine is seven times more powerful than any other European supercomputer, and is capable of five trillion calculations per second. It is based on 2,560 of the company's Alpha processors and was constructed in just one year. Dubbed the Tera, because of its ability to deliver five teraflops of power rather than its function of calculating death and destruction, the computer uses 640 Alpha servers clustered using a purpose built high- performance switch. The system has 50 terabytes of Ram, arranged on a storage area network. Compaq announced that it will replace the machine with a 12 teraflop version within the next five years.
VNUnet UK Feb 19, 2002	back to top

Copyright law comes under the spotlight
The US supreme court on Tuesday agreed to make a rare foray into intellectual property law. It will hear a case which attacks recent trends in US law that have expanded the scope and duration of copyright at the expense of public access to copyrighted works. It was brought by Lawrence Lessig, Stanford University law professor and theorist of the digital society, on behalf of Eric Eldred, who wanted to compile an electronic archive of unusual and out-of-print works online, but was prevented from posting some works by a 1998 law extending the term of copyright protection. Lessig said US copyright law allows creators to monopolise their creations in ways that stifle future innovation. He said Congress has exceeded its constitutional authority by extending the term of copyrights 11 times in the past 40 years. In 1790, copyrights lasted 14 years. Now they last 70 years after the death of the inventor, if known.
Financial Times Feb 19, 2002	back to top

Hackers face US bombing
The US government has warned that it could take military action against any terrorists who launch attacks through the internet. In a move that could send cruise missiles heading toward hackers' houses, a White House technology adviser says the US 'reserves the right to respond in any way appropriate' to tackle the growing number of internet warriors. Advisor Richard Clarke says Iran, Iraq, North Korea, China, Russia and other countries are already having people trained in internet warfare. Speaking at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on cyber-terrorism, Clarke said the US could use covert action but military action was one of the tools available to the president. Mr Clarke refused to say what level of cyber-attack might lead to a military strike. 'That's the kind of ambiguity that we like to keep intentionally to create some deterrence,' he said.
VNUnet UK Feb 18, 2002	back to top

Web rage hits the internet
More than half of all internet users admit to losing their rag with the net at least once a week, according to a Mori study. High on people's stress meter is the length of time it takes websites to appear, help buttons that do not offer any help and requests for personal details before being allowed into a site. Mice and keyboards seem to bear the brunt of people's frustration, with 7 per cent admitting to hitting them after a frustrating web experience. Two per cent admitted to hitting workmates to vent their frustration. Revenge tales are also common. One 43-year-old man ordered £1 million worth of goods from a website after a TV he ordered failed to turn up despite sending numerous e-mails. The survey was commissioned by Abbey National to mark the relaunch of its website. It has come up with a novel way to reveal the daily stresses of the net. It has created Momentsofsimplicity.co.uk, has a selection of chilled out music and images to calm surfers down.
BBC News Feb 20, 2002	back to top