NewsScan Daily, 14 April 2004 ("Above The Fold")

NewsScan Daily, 14 April 2004 ("Above The Fold")
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NewsScan Daily is underwritten by RLG, a world-class organization making
significant and sustained contributions to the effective management and
appropriate use of information technology. NSD is written by John Gehl and
Suzanne Douglas, [email protected].
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"ABOVE THE FOLD"  
       In India, Infosys Celebrates Beginning of "New Journey"
       University Supercomputers Attacked by Vandals
       Challenge to Utah's New Anti-Spyware Law
       FTC Demands Explicit Labeling of Pornspam
       Digital Soap Operas

FEATURES        
       Flash Card
       Honorary Subscriber: George Washington Carver

IN INDIA, INFOSYS CELEBRATES BEGINNING OF "NEW JOURNEY"
     Infosys Technologies, the Indian software services giant that does a
great deal of work outsourced by U.S. companies, has for the first time
posted more than $1 billion in annual sales, making it possible for chief
executive Nandan M. Nilekani to boast: "Today, we have the required size,
brand, compelling value proposition and ambition to build the
next-generation software, services and consulting company." The company,
which was founded in 1981 by seven entrepreneurs on an initial investment of
$250, specializes in performing data entry, programming and customer
technical support. Company chairman N. R. Narayana Murthy believes that the
$1 billion revenue milestone is the "beginning of a new journey." (New York
Times 14 Apr 2004) 
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/14/business/worldbusiness/14rupee.html

UNIVERSITY SUPERCOMPUTERS ATTACKED BY VANDALS
     Network vandals have infiltrated supercomputers at as many as 20
colleges, universities and research institutions in recent weeks, disrupting
the TeraGrid, a network of computers funded by the National Science
Foundation and used in support of such scientific projects as weather
forecasting and genome sequencing. The vandals have not been identified.
None of the systems was permanently damaged, but the intruders gained the
ability to control the various networks for short periods of time, prompting
TruSecure security expert Russ Cooper to warn, "This could be a wake-up call
to what should be very, very secure computing environments, because these
machines should never have been compromised." The attacks were made against
Unix machines. Stanford University computer security officer Tina Bird
comments: "This incident is definitely giving us an opportunity to
reevaluate the maintenance and protection we provide to our Unix systems.
When you're completely focused on widespread attacks on Windows systems,
it's certainly startling." (Washington Post 13 Apr 2004)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8995-2004Apr13.html

CHALLENGE TO UTAH'S NEW ANTI-SPYWARE LAW
     A new Utah law called the Spyware Control Act (banning the practice of
imposing pop-up ads on Internet users as they surf the Web) is being
challenged in a federal lawsuit filed by the New York advertising company
WhenU.com Inc., which argues that the law violates a constitutionally
protected right to advertise. WhenU provides users with free software such
as games and screen savers that come with a separate program, SaveNow, that
tracks Web traffic and matches a user's surfing habits with particular
advertisers. WhenU says its software is installed only with permission and
doesn't invade privacy. (AP/San Jose Mercury News 13 Apr 2004)
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/8422326.htm

FTC DEMANDS EXPLICIT LABELING OF EXPLICIT SPAM
     If you can't stop them, label them. The Federal Trade Commission is
requiring pornspam e-mail messages to have an explicit warning on the
subject line so that Internet users can easily filter them out. Beginning
the 19th of next month, such messages will have to bear a label reading
"SEXUALLY-EXPLICIT:" and the messages themselves will be prohibited from
containing graphic material. This new federal standard will supersede state
laws requiring such labels as "ADV:ADULT" for pornspam. (Reuters/USA Today
14 Apr 2004)
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2004-04-14-labeling-porn_x.htm

DIGITAL SOAP OPERAS
     Videogame companies Nvidia (in Silicon Valley) and ATI Technologies (in
Toronto) are battling for the lead in a contest over a new generation of
microchips offering startling realism. Game programmers will be able to
create characters that are more convincing as they move, talk, laugh and
cry. Nvidia chief executive Jen-Hsun Huang notes that the videogame market
is now mainly targeted at young men, but predicts: "You could imagine
interactive soap operas." A Nvidia vice president says that one of its
computerized game characters, Dawn, has been getting offers to appear in TV
commercials: "We are getting calls from Hollywood agencies. It's pretty
weird." (Wall Street Journal 14 Apr 2004) http://www.wsj.com/

*****  

FLASH CARD 
     "Nature is an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks
to us every hour, if we only will tune in." (George Washington Carver

HONORARY SUBSCRIBER: GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER
     Today's Honorary Subscriber is the black American scientist George
Washington Carver (1864-1943), who won international fame for his
agricultural research, especially for his work with peanuts. Carver
developed more than 300 products from peanuts, including a milk substitute,
face powder, printer's ink, and soap. He also created more than 75 products
from pecans and more than 100 products from sweet potatoes, including flour,
shoe polish, and candy. His other products included a type of synthetic
marble made from wood shavings. Carver was instrumental in persuading
Southern farmers to grow peanuts and other crops in place of cotton and
tobacco. He also exerted a positive force for promoting improved race
relations and the socio-economic interests of black people.
     Carver was born a slave on a farm near Diamond, Missouri, where he was
reared by Moses and Susan Carver, his owners until slavery was abolished in
1865. The Carvers taught him to read and write, and at age 11 he attended a
school for black children in Neosho, Missouri. For the next 20 years, Carver
worked at various jobs to support himself while he pursued further education
first at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, and then at Iowa State in Ames
(where he received a bachelor's degree in agriculture in 1894 and a master's
degree in 1896). 
     At the invitation of Booker T. Washington, Carver joined the faculty of
the Tuskegee Institute, where he became head of the agricultural department
and director of an Alabama state agricultural station. Carver's career at
Tuskegee included a wide range of interests and responsibilities, focused
principally on soil conservation and improved crop production. He wrote
pamphlets and bulletins on applied agriculture and distributed them to
farmers in Alabama and other states. He promoted productive agricultural
practices through conferences, traveling exhibits, demonstrations, and
lectures. Moving around Alabama in his "school on wheels," a traveling
classroom, he taught the basics of soil enrichment to the state's farmers.
In 1910, he became head of Tuskegee's newly created Department of Research,
and in 1914 he began his celebrated research on peanuts, for which he
received national attention in a1921 appearance before a committee of
Congress. During the 1920's he became active with the Commission on
Inter-Racial Cooperation and the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA).
     Carver did not patent or otherwise profit from his research
discoveries, but freely gave them to mankind. "God gave them to me." he
would explain. "How can I sell them to someone else?"
     In 1916, in recognition of his scientific achievements, Carver was
named a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts of London, and in 1923, the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) awarded
him the Spingarn Medal for distinguished service in agricultural chemistry.
In 1939, Carver also received the prestigious Theodore Roosevelt Medal for
his many scientific accomplishments. Carver never married, and in 1940,
three years before his death, he gave his life savings of $33,000 to the
Tuskegee Institute. The money was used to establish the George Washington
Carver Research Foundation for agricultural research there. In 1951, the
George Washington Carver National Monument was established on the Missouri
farm where Carver was born.

See 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0826207855/newsscancom/ref=nos
im for "George Washington Carver in His Own Words" -- or look for it in your
favorite library. (We donate all revenue from our book recommendations to
adult literacy programs.)

MAILBAG: THE WORLD AS WE FIND IT


LINUX VS. WINDOWS
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=10357
     With regard to the story "Linux a Contender, But Windows Owns the Track
for Now," the quote from Lauro DeDio doesn't seem like a fair comparison to
me. He's comparing a Linux deployment with a Windows upgrade. Of course the
first-time deployment or total switchover will be more expensive than an
upgrade to an existing system, due to personnel training and initial
software support -- but wouldn't the higher initial costs be more than
offset, in  the long run, by the price difference between Linux and Windows
upgrades? (Wilson Baptista Junior)

DO THEY OR DON'T THEY?
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=10367
     The article "Mobile Phones Cleared for Takeoff?" begins "Contrary to
popular airline lore, mobile phones don't really interfere with airline
navigation systems" and then later says "Instead, [a new in-flight system
will] enable onboard cell phones to 'roam'... eliminating any interference
with avionics." So, which is it? Do or do not cell phones interfere with
avionics? (Mark Gibbs) [Well, the article says that "avionics systems on
modern aircraft are hardened against radio interference," and notes that, on
an average transatlantic flight, several cellphones are usually left on by
accident without causing any problems. Presumably if there's an in-plane
base station, perhaps the "hardening" technology would be unnecessary? --
J&S] 

TSA's KNEEJERK REACTION
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=10352
     With regard to "TSA Eyes RFID Boarding Passes": Usual "privacy"
kneejerk reaction -- "how long I spend in the lavatory". If your privacy
advocate wants a true "nightmare scenario" I suggest she reprise the live TV
coverage of 9/11. Personally I would be MUCH more worried about the risk and
opportunity for pickpocket and other theft of what seems basically a free
pass onto any relevant plane. Sounds like a pretty silly idea from that
point of view. (Scott Pollard)

DIGITAL PUBLISHING
     It is really surprising that the magazines, which are supposed to
inform us about the latest trends in technology, are themselves so slow to
adopt it, even when it is in their own interest. For quite some time, it is
possible for magazines to make their digital editions available. This is of
tremendous benefits for readers outside the U.S. Firstly, they no longer
have to a pay a huge amount for postage, which has no benefit for the
publisher or the reader. Secondly, the delivery period, that used to be not
weeks but months for my part of the world, has been reduced to minutes. (In
fact, it takes more time for the readers of the paper edition in the U.S. to
get their copies) Thirdly, it so easy to save the back issues as well as
search through them.
     Yet, very few magazines are offering digital editions. (Zinio.com and
Newsstand.com are the leading distributors.) There are still fewer that are
passing on the economies to the readers. (The publisher saves a bundle by
not paying for paper, printing, finishing, postage, etc. for the digital
edition. Even the delivery charges ­ via Internet ­ are paid by the reader.)
PC Magazine, which was among the pioneers, is a glorious exception. It just
asked for $9.99 for 22 issues of its digital edition! On the other hand,
Business 2.0 recently made its special offer available only for North
American readers, without realizing that it makes no difference if the
reader is in the U.S. or on the other side of the world. How long will it
take for all U.S. magazines to offer digital editions simultaneously?
(Muhammad Abd al-Hameed, Lahore, Pakistan)

'I'M NO LUDDITE'
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=10334
     I'm no Luddite. So, I must agree with Greg Farman's comment on mine
that leaded gas and Freon had their part on modern world development. I even
assume that Kettering didn't know their bad side by then. But my point is:
let's always have a critical view of facts. Today we know that leaded gas
and Freon also have a bad side. Let's praise Farman but also learn to better
test new technologies so we're not regretful years after. (Luiz Claudio
Silva)

GATES PULLS ANOTHER BONER
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=10320
     With regard to "Gates Envisions 'Almost Free' Hardware," my comments
are: ... Bill Gates, pulls another boner! Like "The Road Ahead" and the PDA,
Gates blows it again. He sees everyone carrying around tablets. The real
vision is software that is totally free. Here is the problem with his
"vision." The startup cost for manufacturing these little jewels he is
predicting is on the order of $10B and 10 years. The basic costs of
production preclude Gates' vision.
     The reason most hardware is so cheap today is because of heavy subsidy
by government, industry, and investors. As the technology matures and
becomes more self-sufficient, costs will come more inline with reality. What
is really happening is that software is becoming free. Why? It is because
startup costs for software development are practically nill. Any old Intel
box will run Linux and Open Source software. As long as education is done on
the cheap, schools will teach software design over hardware design.
     Whenever a region suffers massive unemployment, put the people to work
developing software. Startup costs are zero so it doesn't matter whether
they actually produce anything. Taking a closer look at startup costs, we
see, as the world gets more congested, environmental impact is a growing
factor in development costs. The new hardware technology uses highly toxic
materials in very demanding environments. Whereas software can be developed
with pencils and paper. The greatest environmental hazard for software
development is chalk dust. Why should people be burdened with carrying
anything around? Bio-Infomatics will give us identity security wherever we
go. There will be kiosks and computers everywhere. Why lug anything? Any
true vision of the future is without Bill Gates. (Larry Breyer)

AMEN CORNER
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=10332
     Regarding Andy Funk's comment that he misses the old Internet "with its
limits on  acceptable use, lack of commercial anything, and even text-based
interfaces," I say: "A-men, Andy!" (John McNulty, Halifax, Canada)

FLY ME TO THE MOON -- AGAIN
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=10356
     Now this is a pleasant surprise -- I didn't know NewaScan's editors are
anime fans?! ;) This is one of my favorite songs, especially with Claire
Littley's sexy vocal. Most American "adults" will however remember the song
from the end credit of "Space Cowboys." But it actually has its origin from
a very innovative and provocative Japanese anime title "Neon Genesis
Evangelion" -- a sci-fi drama with heavy religious overtones. But I am sure
these are old news to NewsScan's editors. Anyway, thanks for the pleasant
surprise ... Albert Lu) [Albert, the song's actually got a much older
history, and written by Bart Howard in 1954. Check out:
http://www.songsofshirleybassey.co.uk/song/sng63001.html Thanks for your
note; we appreciate it! John and Suzanne]

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