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Issue no. 16, 2002 Published: Apr 19, 2002
IBM drops internet patent bombshell
US court quashes child porn law
Western Europe set to see growth in PC demand
Controversial copyright clause abandoned
Supercomputer smashes world speed record
HP to build Linux supercomputer
High-tech school bullies work round the clock
New memory technology will speed up computers
Swiss researchers show self-repairing touch screen
Start-up unveils tiny PC
Lucent claims 3G chip breakthrough
Microsoft pictures the future
E-strings for the future musician
Frankfurt eBook Awards are no more

IBM drops internet patent bombshell
An IBM patent claim could threaten royalty-free access to a key internet standard protocol called ebXML backed by the United Nations. ebXML is a set of definitions for electronic transactions and business collaboration. IBM's patent claim was made in an intellectual property disclosure filed in late March with the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS). Executives from both the UN and OASIS said they expected the ebXML specification to be royalty-free and unencumbered by patent claims. Both said they were surprised by the sudden appearance of the disclosure. IBM says it has one patent and one patent application that it believes are relevant to compliance with ebXML's Collaboration Protocol Profiles (CPPs) and Collaboration Protocol Agreements (CPAs) specifications. IBM is offering a license on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms (RAND) to implementers of either of the two ebXML protocols. The RAND licensing model allows patent holders to charge royalties for intellectual property.
ZDNet Apr 16, 2002	back to top

US court quashes child porn law
The US Supreme Court has struck down a federal law banning virtual images which look like children engaged in sexual acts. The court ruled 6-3 against the law, which it said violated free speech, and was too vague and far-reaching to be constitutional. The law - adopted by Congress six years ago - stipulates sentences of up to 15 years for distribution or five years for possession of computer images of children having sex, even if the images do not involve real children. The challenge was brought by the Free Speech Coalition, a trade association of businesses that sell adult-oriented material. The group did not challenge a section of the law banning the use of identifiable children in virtual images.
BBC New Apr 16, 2002	back to top

Western Europe set to see growth in PC demand
Demand for personal computers in western Europe is set to return to modest growth by the end of this year, in spite of the fact that demand in the region fell by 4 per cent during the recent first quarter. According to data from technology research group Gartner Dataquest, Dell, the world's largest PC maker, enjoyed the strongest growth in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Dell's sales in the first quarter were up 8.4 per cent on the previous year, against a decline of 6.1 per cent for Compaq and a fall of 13.6 per cent for IBM, which has been reducing its exposure to the PC market. Gartner said it did not expect to see a more general recovery in IT spending until the second half of 2003. Although it expected modest growth in PC demand later this year, Gartner said sales could still be lower than levels attained during 2000.
Financial Times Apr 18, 2002	back to top

Controversial copyright clause abandoned
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), which publishes 30 per cent of all computer science journals worldwide, is to stop requiring authors to comply with a controversial US digital copyright law after receiving many complaints. The IEEE produced a new set of conditions for publication at the beginning of 2002. These required that authors' work must not contravene the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Many academics believe the DMCA discourages scientists from publishing valuable research through fear of legal action. The DMCA prohibits 'any technology, product, service, device, component or part' that circumvents digital copy protection systems. Scientists say the Act means that just producing research on a copy protection system could land them in legal trouble.
New Scientist Apr 15, 2002	back to top

Supercomputer smashes world speed record
A Japanese supercomputer has recorded the fastest 'floating point' calculation speed of any computer on the planet. The feat is reported in the latest edition of the Linpack report, a ranking of supercomputer performance. The Earth Simulator at the Marine Science and Technology Center in Kanagawa, notched up 35.61 teraflops - that is over 35 trillion 'floating point' calculations per second. The speed is five times faster than that recorded by the previous record holder, IBM's ASCI White at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. This computer achieved a benchmark of 7.23 teraflops. A spokesman for NEC said that the Earth Simulator was tested using the Linpack benchmarking software. This provides a standard measure of the machine's ability to perform computationally intensive mathematical calculations.
New Scientist Apr 18, 2002	back to top

HP to build Linux supercomputer
Hewlett-Packard announced a high-profile contract Tuesday to build a Linux-powered supercomputer for the US Department of Energy. The $24.5m supercomputer will be capable of processing 8.3 trillion calculations per second (8.3 teraflops). That would place the system among the current top 10 of the world's fastest supercomputers. HP expects to have the supercomputer running early next year. The supercomputer will be used for biological and environmental research. The project, which will create the world's most powerful Linux computer, is also seen as a coup for the open-source operating system, although lab officials said they weren't particularly motivated by OS choice. The supercomputer will be powered by 1,400 Intel processors based on the chipmaker's high-end Itanium design. The chips will be a 4-to-1 mix of Madison, the third-generation version of Itanium, to be released next year, and the upcoming second-generation McKinley.
CNET Apr 16, 2002	back to top

High-tech school bullies work round the clock
Playground bullies are harnessing the power of technology to persecute their victims round the clock. NCH, a UK children's charity said the latest generation of schoolchildren is without refuge from a phenomenon that all too often drives vulnerable kids to suicide - with one in every four suffering bullying by text-message, e-mail or in chat rooms. 'The crucial difference from traditional bullying is that in the past kids who are being bullied could go home and find a safe haven,' said NCH associate director John Carr. 'But if they're bullied on their mobile or on the internet, then it's ever-present,' he added. Carr said that schools were generally good in preventing bullying, but NCH wanted to make sure they were reacting to this new angle. Carr said the survey in March had polled 856 children aged between 11 and 19. One in six had received bullying text messages, and about one in 10 had been bullied over the internet.
CNN / Reuters Apr 16, 2002	back to top

New memory technology will speed up computers
Developments in memory research could see an end to computer reboots. Scientists at the University of Houston, have developed a thin film memory technology based on a material called perovskite, which uses resistor logic rather than traditional transistor logic. The resistors can be electrically programmed to alter the passage of electricity through them, a function allowing them to hold digital code. PCs currently rely on RAM, which is fast access memory used to process immediate data that is lost when the power is off, and magnetic mass memory used in hard disks, which is slow to access. This next generation memory could also be up to 1,000 times faster than flash memory, the speediest current offering. Hard disks and Ram memory sticks could be replaced by a single unit of perovskite memory. In the event of a computer crash or power loss, work could be picked up immediately from where it was interrupted. Commercial availability of the chips is expected by 2005.
VNUnet UK Apr 15, 2002	back to top

Swiss researchers show self-repairing touch screen
Researchers at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne have such confidence in their self-repairing touch screen that they are inviting the public to try to destroy it. The BioWall, part of a new science exhibit at Switzerland's Villa Reuge museum, is a shimmering mosaic of 3,200 electronic modules that can act as - what else? - a clock. When visitors try to halt a stopwatch countdown by destroying modules at random, neighbouring modules take over the functions of the 'dead' ones. The BioWall was inspired by a worm, Caenorhabditis Elegans. The nematode always has the same number of cells, each containing a copy of the genome, from which the worm can completely regenerate itself. In the same way, each 'molecule' of the BioWall contains the plan of the whole, enabling it to keep going even when parts are destroyed. The researchers foresee a variety of uses this technology, such as chalkless blackboards or clothes that change colour. The technology could also act as self-repairing microcircuits in unmanned space probes.
Time Magazine (print edition) Apr 15, 2002	back to top

Start-up unveils tiny PC
US Start-up OQO unveiled a PC that crams processor, memory, battery and storage into a package the size of a paperback novel. When the Ultra-Personal Computer hits stores later this year, it will operate as a wireless handheld computer, akin to a Palm, OQO said. Or it can be used as a 'modular PC' that connects to a full-size keyboard, mouse and monitor to replace a desktop PC. The 5-inch by 3-inch device runs Microsoft Windows XP on a processor of up to 1 gigahertz. It also bundles 256 megabytes of RAM, a 10 gigabyte hard drive, and two wireless networking connections. A docking cable allows it to connect with an external keyboard, mouse and monitor. It can also be networked to an existing PC or laptop through an Ethernet cable or wireless connection. When undocked, the device's battery life is similar to a laptop's, at 3-8 hours.
CNN / AP Apr 17, 2002	back to top

Lucent claims 3G chip breakthrough
Lucent Technologies has announced new technology it says could increase capacity and reduce costs for 3G operators. The firm has unveiled a chipset for UMTS base stations that can accommodate voice and data signals. Researchers say it will mean each station will be able to handle 10 per cent more calls at the highest transmission speeds. Lucent has already licensed the technology for chipsets for UMTS handsets, wireless PC modem cards and other devices. Third-generation Universal Mobile Telecommunications System networks promise wireless multimedia communications at speeds comparable with broadband internet access. The researchers created a unified codec, a processor that protects wireless transmissions by coding and decoding voice and data streams. It was later incorporated into silicon chips for UMTS base stations.
Ananova Apr 16, 2002	back to top

Microsoft pictures the future
Microsoft is working on ways to make digital images as easy to change and improve as text. The company's researchers are developing tools that automate many of the complex tasks needed to enhance or edit amateur digital photos or images. The tools can automatically trace outlines, seamlessly cover marks or blemishes, and fill in backgrounds when pieces of an image are removed. The still image tools currently being worked on will find their way into a future release of Microsoft's Picture It! software. The researchers are also working on similar tools that automate the editing of video clips. Although only at the experimental stage, the tool can significantly shrink video clips, yet retain their most interesting parts, according to the researchers.
BBC News Apr 18, 2002	back to top

E-strings for the future musician
The symphony orchestras of the future could be saying goodbye to the traditional wood section in favour of electronic violins, cellos and violas. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US are developing a series of what they call hyperinstruments. The hyperinstrument project is designed to use technology to give extra power and finesse to virtuoso performers. The team at MIT is focusing on designing computer systems that measure and interpret the human expression and feeling that goes into playing an instrument. With the hyperviolin, the latest development in the series, it is trying to capture the most intricate aspects of violin bowing technique through wireless hardware technology embedded in an enhanced bow. The slight changes in acceleration, speed, and force applied to the bow while it is in play are measured. Then, sound synthesis software converts the data into music.
BBC News Apr 18, 2002	back to top

Frankfurt eBook Awards are no more
The Frankfurt eBook Awards have been discontinued, bringing yet another e-book enterprise to an end. Microsoft, the principal backer of the International eBooks Awards Foundation, has reportedly cut off support. The Foundation was created in 1999 at the height of industry optimism about electronic books. The foundation's essential purpose was to give out e-book awards at the Frankfurt Book Fair, where thousands of publishers gather each year. The awards were worth up to $50,000 for first prize. Winners have included Joyce Carol Oates and Ed McBain. Random House and AOL Time Warner recently closed down their electronic imprints, but the market continues to expand. While annual numbers for individual publishers remain small, other publishers reported double-digit growth over the past year. However, predictions are no longer heard that such titles will overtake the paper versions, and books are usually published both ways simultaneously.
Nando Times / AP Apr 17, 2002	back to top