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Issue no. 21, 2004 Published: Jun 11, 2004
EU revisits Intel probe
EU to launch Europe-wide public services portal
First German file swapper convicted
Microsoft checks off patent win
Microsoft 'shield' to fight off worms
First quantum cryptography network unveiled
Rules aim to get devices talking
Cursor speed shows virtual bumps
Digital pen takes on mouse
Virtual fences to herd Wi-Fi cattle
Study: Computer use a boost to young minds

EU revisits Intel probe
The European Commission has begun a new round of inquiries in its investigation of chipmaker Intel's business practices. The Commission recently issued 64 letters of inquiry regarding Intel to computer makers and retailers in the region, after it received information from Intel rival AMD. The Commission's investigation, which essentially focuses on whether Intel has used its dominant position to influence the market for PC processors, was opened in 2001. The investigation had been quiet lately, but was never concluded. During this time, AMD has kept in touch with the Commission and has continued to pass along information. European regulators are also investigating the procurement processes of government agencies in several countries, which specify that only Intel-based computers may be purchased. In addition, Intel is under investigation by regulators in Japan. The new probe is being handled by the same European Commission team that investigated Microsoft.
ZDNet / CNET News / Reuters Jun 08, 2004	back to top

EU to launch Europe-wide public services portal
The EU has issued revised plans for the development of an online public services portal. The portal, to be known as 'Your Europe', is hoped to become the EU's main website offering cross border e-government services for businesses and citizens. A pilot version of the portal is to run until the end of 2004 after which the EU will launch a 'fully operational' service, according to the plans. The EU is moving ahead with the portal despite earlier reports acknowledging the practical difficulties with the initiative. Services to be offered through the portal include VAT number validation, social security, guidance on education opportunities and employment information. The plans include a 'multi-channel' approach with the possibility of offering services through kiosks, digital TV, call centres and mobile technology.
Yahoo / Kablenet.com Jun 10, 2004	back to top

First German file swapper convicted
A 23-year-old man has become the first music sharer to be successfully convicted in Germany for uploading songs to Kazaa. And expect more such cases across Europe, the International Federation of Phonographic Industries (IFPI) warned. The man was fined €8,000 for making thousands of songs available to other Kazaa users. He must also pay the case's legal costs and sign a pledge never again to engage in music piracy, the court ruled. The man's identity was revealed by Kazaa last April to German prosecutors. Police raided his house and seized a PC containing 6,000 MP3 files and CD-Rs holding over 1,000 songs. He pleaded guilty to the copyright infringement charges laid against him. The case is one of 68 brought before the German court by local music industry representatives, IFPI said. In addition, 24 cases are pending in Denmark and 30 more in Italy.
The Register Jun 09, 2004	back to top

Microsoft checks off patent win
Better not get too fancy with your grocery list, now that Microsoft has patented a glorified form of the to-do list. US Patent No. 6,748,582, granted and assigned Tuesday to Microsoft, covers the use of a 'task list' in a software development environment. The patented technology essentially integrates certain comments left in the source code of an application under development with an accompanying checklist. Leave a 'TODO' comment in the source code, and an authoring application automatically creates an item in the task list. The new patent fits with Microsoft's ongoing efforts to enlarge its patent portfolio to generate more revenue and has since applied for hundreds of patents. The company has received patents covering everything from seemingly elementary aspects of computing technology to arcana such as XML-scripting methods. The patent push seemed to reach comical proportions earlier this year, when the company was accidentally granted a plant patent for a variety of apple tree.
CNET News Jun 08, 2004	back to top

Microsoft 'shield' to fight off worms
Researchers at Microsoft have developed a software shield that protects PCs against worm attacks soon after a new threat emerges without requiring a patch or update. The shield is effectively a generic network filter that is automatically installed once a vulnerability is discovered. It will examine network traffic to and from the application affected by the worm, dropping any traffic that tries to exploit the vulnerability. Patches would still be necessary, however, because the shields take up computing power. And as exploits and therefore shields pile up over time, this will affect the user experience. The software shields are an improvement over patches because they do not affect applications or the operating system, eliminating the need for the system to reboot.
VNUnet UK Jun 10, 2004	back to top

First quantum cryptography network unveiled
The first computer network in which communication is secured with quantum cryptography is up and running in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Currently, Quantum Net (Qnet) only consists of six servers, but they can be integrated with regular servers and clients on the internet. Qnet's creators say the implementation of more nodes in banks and credit card companies could make exchanging sensitive data over the internet more secure than it is with current cryptography systems. The data in Qnet flows through ordinary fibre optic cables over 10 kilometres. It is encrypted using keys determined by the exchange of a series of single, polarised photons. Qnet is the first network consisting of more than two nodes to use quantum cryptography. Quantum cryptography guarantees secure communications by harnessing the quantum quirks of photons sent between users. Any attempt to intercept the photons will disturb their quantum state and raise the alarm.
New Scientist Jun 04, 2004	back to top

Rules aim to get devices talking
In the not-too-distant future, when nearly all electronic devices in the home contain computer chips, it would be nice if appliances could communicate with each other in order to coordinate their activities to carry out complicated tasks. Belgian researchers have developed a set of ubiquitous computing requirements that are aimed at allowing dissimilar devices to share information and divvy up portions of complicated tasks. The researchers' requirements follows the principle of self- organisation, which holds that if individual entities have the right properties their unguided interactions will result in coherent behaviour. The protocol frames interactions between devices in terms of rules of a game to enable devices to learn the meaning of messages and sense of which devices are cooperative. The devices work out communications by applying a language game, division of labour by delegating tasks to the most appropriate devices, and workflow by an evolutionary trial-and-error process.
Technology Research News Jun 09, 2004	back to top

Cursor speed shows virtual bumps
Haptic, or tactile feedback devices offer computer users a way to feel virtual surfaces. French researchers have devised a way for computer users to sense textures in the absence of a haptic interface. Instead of giving a user literal tactile feedback, the technique simulates tactile sensations by modifying the speed of a mouse cursor as a function of the height of the texture the cursor passes over. The technique could allow users to sense the textures of pictures or drawings in painting or photo software, sense graphical user interface and web components such as window edges, buttons and icons, and sense textures in games, according to the researchers. The technique could also be used to more easily visualise complicated data. As a user moves the mouse cursor around, the cursor decelerates to indicate an upward slope in a texture and accelerates to indicate a downward slope. The variations of the speed of the cursor stand in for the effect of lateral forces when passing a finger over a texture.
Technology Research News Jun 04, 2004	back to top

Digital pen takes on mouse
Imagine if you could pick up a digital file or a note on a computer and pass it to a colleague's computer as easily as you can give them a paper document or a Post-It note. Researchers at Sony's Computer Science Laboratories in Tokyo believe they have figured out how to do just that. The owner of a handheld computer can pick up a file from their device, using a special pen, and drop it onto the screen of another computer, by placing the pen on its screen. The technology allows people to visually select and move information in physical space, rather than having to understand abstract concepts of networks and servers. The pick and drop technique would make it easy for two colleagues in a meeting to exchange files between their laptop computers, new acquaintances to pass each other electronic business cards, or friends to swap references to websites or music tracks they like.
BBC News Jun 10, 2004	back to top

Virtual fences to herd Wi-Fi cattle
Virtual, moving fences controlled from a laptop could one day herd cattle to fresh fields for grazing. A farmer would control multiple herds from a single server at home as if they were playing a video game, said Zack Butler, of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Butler and his colleagues have written software that transmits the chosen GPS coordinates of a virtual fence to head-collars worn by the cows in the field. When a cow strays towards these coordinates, software running on the collar triggers a stimulus chosen to scare the cow away, such as a sound or a small electric shock. The software also 'herds' the cows when the position of the virtual fence is moved. Each collar is equipped with a Wi-Fi networking card, a Zaurus PDA, an eTrex GPS unit and a loudspeaker. The server and the collars communicate using the 802.11B Wi-Fi standard. Currently farmers herd the cattle on horseback, motorcycles or even in helicopters, and have to open and close gates, all requiring many workers and considerable time.
New Scientist Jun 04, 2004	back to top

Study: Computer use a boost to young minds
Preschool children who use a computer appear to develop better learning skills than peers who lack computer savvy, US researchers said Monday. In a study of 122 children aged 3 to 5, those exposed to a home or school computer either alone or with someone else three to four times a week scored higher on tests that gauge school readiness and cognitive development than non-users, said the study. They said young children 'use' a computer in a variety of ways: typing, playing games, using learning software, jiggling the mouse or joystick, watching images, or observing and imitating parents or siblings when they use the computer. Some earlier studies have found computer use improves children's fine motor skills and improves recognition of numbers and letters. But other research has found no relationship between computer use and children's knowledge or language capability. Some experts believe computer use displaces essential experiences such as playing with toys or with peers.
CNN / Reuters Jun 07, 2004	back to top