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Issue no. 6, 2005 Published: Feb 25, 2005
EC publishes European eGovernment blueprint
EU, Asia launch joint clampdown on spam
US woman sues HP over ink cartridges
Computer vulnerabilities given unified rating system
Compression algorithms harnessed to fight HIV
Scientists envision granting sight to the blind
Software learns to translate by reading up
TV kills, says German professor
Four passwords needed to foil hackers
Google book plan sparks French war of words

EC publishes European eGovernment blueprint
The European Commission (EC) has published a blueprint for implementing cross-Europe electronic government services. The 'European Interoperability Framework for pan-European eGovernment Services' (EIF) is the basis of interoperability guidelines for a programme to promote cross-border co-operation and the reduction of red tape between public administrations. This programme - the Interoperable Delivery of European eGovernment Services to public Administrations, Business and Citizens (IDABC) - is aimed at easing bureaucratic barriers to accessing rights and opportunities across EU member countries. EIF provides organisational, semantic and technical guidance, as well as guiding principles, for co-operation over European internet-based government services and resources. The IDABC aims to promote collaboration between the continent's public administrations and ease the administrative burden on migrant or mobile workers, and businesses or tourists.
VNUnet UK Feb 22, 2005	back to top

EU, Asia launch joint clampdown on spam
The European Commission this week announced a joint EU-ASEAN initiative to clamp down on spam, which constitutes an estimated 60 per cent of all emails sent around the world. The EU and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) signed an agreement at a conference on electronic commerce this week, the EU's executive arm said. Experts estimate that 20 per cent of global spam originates in in China and South Korea alone. At an EU-ASEAN conference in London this week, the EU's 25 member states and 13 Asian partner countries agreed notably to boost legal tools to fight spam as well as constantly seek new technical means of blocking the unwanted mails. The countries agreed to meet regularly to discuss what further action can be taken.
EUBusiness / AFP Feb 24, 2005	back to top

US woman sues HP over ink cartridges
A US woman is suing Hewlett Packard (HP), saying its printer ink cartridges are secretly programmed to expire on a certain date. The woman says that a chip inside the cartridge tells the printer that it needs re-filling even when it does not. The lawsuit seeks to represent anyone in the US who has purchased an HP inkjet printer since February 2001. HP ink cartridges use a chip technology to sense when they are low on ink and advise the user to make a change. But the suit claims the chips also shut down the cartridges at a predetermined date regardless of whether they are empty. The lawsuit is asking for restitution, damages and other compensation. HP declined to comment on the lawsuit.
BBC News Feb 24, 2005	back to top

Computer vulnerabilities given unified rating system
A consortium of software and security companies has come up with the first unified language for rating the vulnerabilities that plague computer operating systems, opening them to attack from viruses and hackers. The system will provide system administrators with the first quick way to prioritise the dozens of software patches they receive each week, say its creators. The Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) was designed by engineers from more than seven companies, including Microsoft, Cisco Systems, Symantec and Qualys, as part of their role on the US National Infrastructure Advisory Council, a branch of the US Department of Homeland Security.
New Scientist Feb 21, 2005	back to top

Compression algorithms harnessed to fight HIV
Machine learning algorithms commonly used to compress digital images and recognise patterns in email spam might also be able to help scientists find an effective vaccine for HIV. The algorithms, developed by Microsoft, are being adapted for vaccine development in collaboration with researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle, US, and Royal Perth Hospital in Western Australia. HIV mutates rapidly, thus evading the human immune system. This means that vaccines developed to counteract one strain may not be effective against another variant. But the researchers hope that algorithms capable of finding patterns in digital information could also help identify key genetic features across many different strains of HIV. This could enable them to engineer an HIV vaccine that is effective against several strains at once.
New Scientist Feb 24, 2005	back to top

Scientists envision granting sight to the blind
A small camera mounted on spectacles and connected to the optical nerve could restore the sight of thousands of people suffering from deterioration of the retina, a team of Belgian, French and German scientists said Monday. The medical advance has the potential to help more than 300,000 Europeans whose sight is impaired because the thin layer of tissue that lines the eye and processes images is deteriorating, according to the researchers. A camera mounted on glasses sends images to an electronic device implanted behind the eye and stimulates the optic nerve, which passes the information to the brain. The technology could also help people with the retinal disease macular degeneration, which can lead to loss of fine-detail sight and which is one of the leading causes of visual impairment in the United States. So far the device has been implanted in two patients.
CNN / Reuters Feb 23, 2005	back to top

Software learns to translate by reading up
Translation software that develops an understanding of languages by scanning through previously translated documents has been released by researchers at the University of Southern California. Most existing translation software uses hand-coded rules for transposing words and phrases. But the new software takes a statistical approach, building probabilistic rules about words, phrases and syntactic structures. The key to the 'statistical machine translation software' are the translation dictionaries, patterns and rules - translation parameters - that the program develops. It does this by creating many different possible translation parameters based on previously translated documents and then ranking them probabilistically. The translated documents used to teach the translation algorithms can be electronic, on paper, or even audio files. The system is not only faster than other methods, but also better suited to tackling less common languages and the unusual vocabulary found in specialised or technical texts, according to the researchers.
New Scientist Feb 22, 2005	back to top

TV kills, says German professor
Television is responsible for the deaths of 20,000 Germans a year, according to professor Manfred Spitzer, a neuroscientist at the University of Ulm. He says he has found a direct correlation between watching excessive amounts of television and death caused by obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and diabetes. In a recently published book, Beware of the TV Screen, Spitzer also quantifies the damage TV inflicts on the mind. 'Children who watch TV have narrow horizons. It reduces the plasticity of their brains which remain unstimulated and fail to develop properly,' he said. 'Later they smell and taste things differently because their senses are warped, and, as adults, go on to buy unhealthy foods, similar to those they have seen advertised on television.' Television in early childhood also often leads to attention deficiency, violence and depression that affects children's performance in the classroom, he said.
Daily Telegraph Feb 19, 2005	back to top

Four passwords needed to foil hackers
Every computer user should have at least four different types of password to securely access websites and work systems, according to the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA). The first should be easy to remember for use on general websites. The same password can be used in many low-risk places. The second password should be more complex, with a mix of numbers and letters, for e-commerce websites. But if this password is compromised, CompTIA warned, there may be financial implications, such as credit card theft. Thirdly a very complex password is required for banking websites. This password should contain lower case letters, uppercase letters, numbers and punctuation marks, or at least three of these categories. If this password is compromised, identity theft is possible. Finally a separate password should be used only at work, which should not resemble any of the passwords used for home and personal computing. All passwords except the easy website password should be changed at least every 90 days, the trade body advised.
VNUnet UK Feb 22, 2005	back to top

Google book plan sparks French war of words
France's national library has raised a 'war cry' over plans by Google to put books from some of the world's great libraries on the internet and wants to ensure the project does not lead to a domination of US ideas. Jean-Noel Jeanneney, who heads France's national library and is a noted historian, says Google's choice of works is likely to favour Anglo-Saxon ideas and the English language. He wants the European Union to balance this with its own program and its own internet search engines. Jeanneney says he is not anti-American. But like French President Jacques Chirac, he says he wants a multi-polar world in which US views are not the only ones that are heard. His views are making waves among intellectuals in France, where many people are wary of the impact of American ways and ideas on the French language and culture. Jeanneney pushed his campaign forward this week by announcing the national library would make editions of 22 French periodicals and newspapers dating back to the 19th century available on the internet.
ZDNet / Reuters Feb 21, 2005	back to top