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Issue no. 36, 2002 Published: Oct 04, 2002
Four member states take issue with EU privacy law
Bugbear virus on the loose
Cell phone-tumour lawsuit thrown out
Quantum cryptography takes to the skies
Electronic circuits created in a flash
Sharp unveils 'switchable' 3D screens
IBM makes nanotube breakthrough
Red Hat unveils Linux OS version 8.0
Motorola unveils technology to improve analogue radio
You have mail: 31 billion a day
What the net is doing to you
Dog language device proves a hit
Napster the movie on its way

Four member states take issue with EU privacy law
Sweden, Finland, Austria and the UK are seeking amendments to the EU's new data privacy law, in an attempt to facilitate companies that operate globally to transfer data from one country to another. The four have sent a position paper to the European Commission requesting for unnecessary bureaucratic stipulations to be removed from the directive. Firms in the US such as General Motors, IBM and Oracle have also expressed concern about the directive, which prohibits data transfer from firms in European member states to US companies, unless they make a formal pledge to respect EU laws. Meanwhile, a recent survey showed that EU citizens were also dissatisfied with the directive. However, unlike businesses, which want the law relaxed, citizens said the law does not go far enough to provide adequate protection and they fear that their data could be misused.
Europemedia.net Oct 02, 2002	back to top

Bugbear virus on the loose
The computer virus BugBear is shaping up to be the nastiest released in 2002. Since its first logged occurrence on Sunday, anti-virus company Message Labs said on Thursday it has stopped at least 70,000 copies, 22,000 of which were identified in the last 24 hours. According to Message Labs, BugBear's peak was one in every 300 emails examined over an hour. However, at present, it is still behind 2002's biggest attack, Klez.H, which peaked at 1 in 169 emails. BugBear can give malicious hackers total control of the target PC. It can also capture passwords and credit card details entered on an infected machine using a hidden program that stores keystrokes. The worm bundles up this information into a local file and emails it to a set of encrypted email addresses stored within the worm. Patches to fix the hole that BugBear exploits have been available for 18 months.
New Scientist Oct 03, 2002	back to top

Cell phone-tumour lawsuit thrown out
A US federal judge Monday threw out an $800m lawsuit filed against cell phone manufacturer Motorola and several major cell phone carriers by a doctor who claims cell phones caused his brain tumour. US District Judge Catherine Blake ruled that none of the evidence submitted by Dr Christopher Newman was substantial enough to warrant a trial. Newman, a neurologist, claims the older, analogue cell phone he used from 1992 to 1998 caused his brain cancer. The judge ruled, however, that although there is evidence that radiation from cell phones may cause cancer, there are many more studies that show no relationship between tumours and cell phones. Three major studies published since December 2000 found no harmful health effects from cell phones. The wireless industry has been watching the case closely because if allowed to go forward, it could have opened the door to other lawsuits. No other such claims have succeeded so far.
CNN / AP Sep 30, 2002	back to top

Quantum cryptography takes to the skies
Quantum cryptography keys encoded in photons have been transmitted more than 23 kilometres through air, researchers have announced. The experiment was carried out by researchers at QinetiQ, the public arm of UK's defence research agency, and the Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich. It paves the way for the development of a completely secure global key-distribution network based on optical links to low-Earth- orbit satellites, according to the researchers. Keys are cryptographic tools that allow one person to encode a message and send it securely to another person, who can decode it with a copy of the key. QinetiQ's experiment involved attaching the key's digits to individual photons, which are sent as a weak beam of light. This method is safe because intercepting the key noticeably alters the state of the photons, warning the recipient that the key has been compromised.
New Scientist / AP / Reuters Oct 02, 2002	back to top

Electronic circuits created in a flash
A material that turns into an electrical conductor at the flash of a light has been developed by researchers at the Japan Science and Technology Corporation in Kawasaki. Circuits could be created on the material using a stencil, or by 'writing' with a directed light beam. The advance promises to reduce the cost of producing LCD displays used in laptop computers, and to lead to new forms of optical storage. Current LCD screens are manufactured by a costly production process called photolithography, involving a long series of layering and etching steps. The compound developed by the researchers is a transparent oxide insulator that permanently becomes a conductor after exposure to ultraviolet light. The new technique makes it possible to omit most of the photolithography process in circuit formation, according to the researchers.
New Scientist Oct 03, 2002	back to top

Sharp unveils 'switchable' 3D screens
Sharp has developed a new kind of liquid crystal display that allows 3D viewing without the need for special glasses. The technology works by controlling the path of light so that slightly different images reach the left and right eyes. Each eye sees only the image intended for it and the brain combines the images and perceives them as a 3D representation. The technology is also switchable, so users will be able to use the screens for different functions. Although the new screens are likely to cost up to half as much again as current TFT technology, volume production could start within the next few months. The first products, probably PDAs and handheld games players, are scheduled for launch early next year, while TVs are the long-term target. By this time the price should have come down making the screens only about 20 per cent more expensive than current TFTs.
Ananova / VNUnet UK Oct 02, 2002	back to top

IBM makes nanotube breakthrough
IBM researchers have discovered a way to fabricate carbon nanotubes that could be incorporated into processors to make them more powerful. According to the magazine Nanoletters, the method will remove the need for wires in chips. The process involves using silicon rather than metal as a catalyst in the nanotube fabrication process and could improve the manufacturing yields of single-walled nanotubes. Carbon nanotubes are one of the two leading candidates to replace wires inside chips because they conduct electricity well and are incredibly small. So far, however, the nanotubes can only be manufactured in small numbers inside labs, and cheaper manufacturing methods remain years away.
VNUnet UK Sep 30, 2002	back to top

Red Hat unveils Linux OS version 8.0
Red Hat has released version 8.0 of its Linux operating system, which it says is easier to use. The US vendor said that version 8.0 is designed for personal and small business computing and includes a new graphical look and feel. Linux 8.0 is bundled with an office suite, configuring tools, Apache 2.0 web server and network integration tools. Key features include Bluecurve, the company's name for its redesigned desktop including a range of new icons, while OpenOffice.org is provided as the open source office suite. The release of Red Hat Linux 8.0 signals a fresh attempt by the company to make an impact in the desktop operating system market. A fully configured, easy-to-use desktop environment is believed to be an important part of the company's ability to take on Microsoft in this space.
VNUnet UK / ComputerWire Oct 01, 2002	back to top

Motorola unveils technology to improve analogue radio
Motorola has developed new technology to raise the quality of analogue radio broadcasts. The company says its Symphony Chipset will allow listeners to near-digital quality broadcasts on the old AM and FM frequencies. The technology promises less static and fading, extended listening range and improved clarity and volume. The innovation rests with the use of software algorithms in receivers to improve the radio signal. Motorola expects partner manufacturers to begin selling first radios using the technology by Christmas 2003. Analogue radio uses electronic waves in their original form. Digital transforms the wave into a stream of binary code that can be tuned, filtered and improved by software. Motorola's innovation is to replace analogue frequency tuning circuitry in receivers with software. Until now broadcasters have needed to acquire new digital broadcasting equipment to offer improved services.
Ananova Oct 02, 2002	back to top

You have mail: 31 billion a day
Email may grow out of practical control within three years, research from analyst organisation IDC has warned. IDC predicts that more than 60 billion emails will be sent every day by 2006. The report puts the current daily email count at 31 billion. The report's author, Mark Levitt - vice president of IDC's Collaborative Computing program - said: 'Like water flowing out of a hose, email has the potential to fill our inboxes and workdays, overwhelming our abilities to navigate through the growing currents of content.' He said that firms need to do more to address the continued upsurge, particularly in the volume of spam. Levitt said that technology that streamlines customers' access to important and time-sensitive email was urgently needed. Only a more effective means of filtering out spam would 'ensure that email continues to be a valuable business and personal communications tool', he said.
VNUnet UK Sep 30, 2002	back to top

What the net is doing to you
The effect of the internet on the lives of its users is hard to determine. More difficult still is working out how life might be different years from now as we adapt to these changes. But academics are starting to find out how important an agent of social change the internet is, the opportunities it presents for researchers and how to frame policy and practice to cope with its associated changes. Last week the Oxford Internet Institute was inaugurated, one of the world's first research centres dedicated to studying the net and its social consequences. The Institute has been established as a multi- disciplinary centre that will have its own teaching staff, carry out its own research and act as a collection point and clearing house for net research projects. It aims to establish its own regular surveys of net use and analyse trends. The Institute will also become an outpost of the World Internet Project, which is coordinating work on net use studies around the globe.
BBC News Oct 01, 2002	back to top

Dog language device proves a hit
A computerised gadget to help canine owners understand their dog's needs has proved an immediate hit after going on sale in Tokyo. Bowlingual comprises an 8cm microphone to be attached to a dog collar, which transmits sounds to a palm-sized console. The console immediately classifies the sounds into six emotional categories: frustration, menace, joy, sorrow, demand and self-expression. It then shows Japanese language phrases to fit the emotional state, such as 'I am sad. I want to play' and 'I am super angry. I am going to explode!' Manufacturer Takara, a joint research with Japan Acoustic Laboratory, claims to have made Bowlingual compatible with more than 50 dog species, from Chihuahuas to German shepherds. By the end of March 2003, the company hopes to sell 300,000 units of Bowlingual. It has no immediate plans to sell the product overseas.
Ananova Sep 28, 2002	back to top

Napster the movie on its way
The story of Napster, the failed online song-swapping service, always promised the kind of larger-than-life elements Hollywood thrives on - corporate intrigue, a nail-biting court battle and a young hero. Now comes Napster, the movie. MTV on Wednesday said it has reached a deal for the exclusive rights to the life story of Shawn Fanning, who created the controversial and wildly popular file-sharing program in 1999 while he was a 19-year-old student at Northeastern University in Boston. The movie may even star Fanning, now 21, as himself. Fanning dropped out of college to launch the business around the program he dubbed Napster - based on his own nickname - and which sparked a revolution by enabling millions of fans to swap songs on the internet. MTV has hired filmmaker Alex Winter to write and direct the film. Fanning is set to collaborate on the screenplay and is also planning to executive produce the soundtrack, according to MTV.
Yahoo / Reuters Oct 03, 2002	back to top