NewsScan Daily, 17 September 2004 ("Above The Fold")

NewsScan Daily, 17 September 2004 ("Above The Fold")
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"ABOVE THE FOLD"
        FTC Okays Cash Bounties for Spammers
        EarthLink Tests P2P File-Sharing System
        Hackers Seek to Save America
        Cell Phones Track Down Wi-Fi Hotspots
        Thumbs Up On 'Thumb Drives'

FEATURES
        Flash Card
        Honorary Subscriber: Henry Cavendish

FTC OKAYS CASH BOUNTIES FOR SPAMMERS
      The Federal Trade Commission has given limited endorsement to the 
idea of offering cash rewards to people who help identify spammers, noting 
that although technology buffs can often pierce the technical camouflage 
used to disguise spam's origins, it's far more difficult to gather the kind 
of information that would lead to successful prosecutions. The idea of 
offering cash for outing spam-mongers has been around for awhile, but 
gained credence last year when Stanford University professor and cyberlaw 
expert Lawrence Lessig told Congress he was so confident that such a system 
would produce results, he would quit his job if it failed to do so. The FTC 
noted in its report that in order to be effective, such a law would need to 
concentrate on rewarding whistleblowers and others close to the operation, 
and that cash amounts would likely have to be in the $100,000 to $250,000 
range -- an amount that Congress would need to fund because it exceeds any 
damages likely to be won in court. Meanwhile, the FTC warned against taking 
any steps that would divert resources from enforcement efforts. "A poorly 
designed reward system would not only fail to achieve its purpose… but also 
result in significant costs to the commission." (Washington Post 17 Sep 2004)
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27220-2004Sep16.html>

EARTHLINK TESTS P2P FILE-SHARING SYSTEM
      EarthLink is testing peer-to-peer software dubbed SIPshare (for 
Session Initiation Protocol), as part of a larger drive to demonstrate the 
positive aspects of P2P technology. The company notes on its Web site that 
such technology could be used for voice communications and other 
applications: "EarthLink believes an open Internet is a good Internet. An 
open Internet means users have full end-to-end connectivity to say to each 
other whatever it is they say -- be that voice, video, or other data 
exchanges -- without the help of mediating servers in the middle, whenever 
possible." P2P technology has been under a cloud the last several years 
because of its popularity for swapping copyrighted music files, but last 
month a federal appeals court upheld a lower court ruling that said P2P 
software companies Streamcast Networks and Grokster could not be held 
liable for copyright infringement perpetrated by people using their 
products. (CNet News.com 16 Sep 2004)
<http://news.com.com/EarthLink+tests+file-sharing+program/2100-1032_3-5369839.html>

HACKERS SEEK TO SAVE AMERICA
      Jason Larsen types in a few lines of computer code to hack into the 
controls of a nearby chemical plant. Then he finds an online video camera 
inside and confirms that he has pumped up a pressure value. "It's the 
challenge. It's you finding the flaws," he says when asked about his 
motivation. "It's you against the defenders. It comes from a deep-seated 
need to find out how things work." Larsen, 31, says his goal is not to 
wreak havoc, but to boost security for America's pipelines, railways, 
utilities and other infrastructure, part of a project backed by the Idaho 
National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. Sponsored by the U.S. 
Department of Energy, the Idaho lab launched a new cyber security center 
last month where expert hackers such as Larsen test computing 
vulnerabilities. Spread across 890 square miles (2305 square km) in a 
remote area of eastern Idaho, INEEL gives experts access to an entire 
isolated infrastructure such as the one Larsen hacked into. "I don't think 
people have an understanding of what could be the impact of cyber attacks," 
says INEEL director Paul Kearns. "They don't understand the threat." In 
recent months, U.S. security officials have warned that the nation is not 
prepared against cyber terrorism. (The Age, 17 Sep 2004) rec'd from John 
Lamp, Deakin U.
<http://theage.com.au/articles/2004/09/16/1095221724884.html>

CELL PHONES TRACK DOWN WI-FI HOTSPOTS
      If you're in the U.K. and you're looking for a Wi-Fi hotspot to 
download e-mail, you're in luck. A Web site called Totalhotspots.com, which 
offers a list of global hotspots, has teamed up with Mobile Commerce, a 
phone services company, to enable users to consult the Totalhotspots 
directory via cell phone while on the go. The user simply sends a text 
message consisting of the word "hotspot" to the 84140 SMS short code 
number, and the name, address and telephone number of the nearest Wi-Fi 
location will pop up on the screen. "It's like making a directory enquiries 
call," says Mobile Commerce exec Dan Jelfs. Currently, the system works 
only with the UK's GSM networks (Vodafone, Orange, O2 and T-Mobile) but 
compatibility with future third-generation networks is planned also. (BBC 
News 17 Sep 2004)
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3665382.stm>

THUMBS UP ON 'THUMB DRIVES'
      Thumb drives -- those tiny gizmos also known as USB flash drives, 
jump drives or keychain drives -- have been the "must-have" gadget among 
techies for the past couple of years, but now they're gaining popularity 
among students and business people who are replacing their recordable CDs 
used for transferring data from one computer to another. The thumb drives 
come in several guises -- Victorinox, maker of Swiss army knives, offers 
one squeezed in next to the nail file on its Swissmemory model -- and 
memory capacity has risen from an average of 64 megabytes in 2001 to 256 
megabytes today. Meanwhile, during the same period prices have dropped from 
about $100 to about $40 and a Gartner analyst predicts the stand-alone 
versions are getting so cheap they'll soon replace coffee mugs as giveaways 
at corporate events. "It's a great low-tech solution. I used to have to 
carry a bunch of disks around. I don't have to do that anymore," says one 
banking executive. (Wall Street Journal 17 Sep 2004)
<http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109537053772020139,00.html> (sub req'd)

*****

FLASH CARD
      "I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem 
to have been only a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself in 
now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, 
whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me." (Isaac Newton)

HONORARY SUBSCRIBER: HENRY CAVENDISH
      Today's Honorary Subscriber is the English physicist and chemist 
Henry Cavendish (1731-1810), whose notable scientific discoveries included 
the composition of air, the nature and properties of hydrogen, the specific 
heat of certain substances, the composition of water, and various 
properties of electricity.
      Cavendish also measured the density and mass of the Earth by a method 
now known as the Cavendish experiment, and besides his work in pure 
science, he also carried out studies in meteorology and other applied 
sciences, including government-sponsored investigations to find ways to 
protect powder magazines from lightning strikes and to develop 
wear-resistant gold alloys for making coins.
      Driven mainly by the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake and not 
for public acclaim, Cavendish frequently neglected to publish the specifics 
of his research. That, however, did not prevent the scientific community 
from making him a fellow of the Royal Society in 1760, and in 1803 he was 
elected a foreign associate of the Institut de France 1803.
      Much of Cavendish's unpublished research became a treasure trove of 
valuable information for later scientists. For instance, both James Maxwell 
in his work on electricity and Antoine Lavoisier on gases owed much to the 
Cavendish unpublished notebooks. Despite his passionate commitment to 
science, Cavendish left his considerable inherited wealth to his relatives, 
and nothing to science. In 1871 the Cavendish family repaired this neglect 
by founding the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge University, which since 
has become the source of exceptional work in nuclear physics.
      Cavendish descended from aristocratic families on both sides. He was 
born in Nice, France, where his mother had taken up residence to improve 
her health. After attending the Hackney seminary near London, Cavendish 
entered Cambridge University's Peterhouse College in 1849, leaving four 
years later without a degree, probably because he objected to the required 
declaration of adherence to the Church of England. After touring the 
Continent, he lived in London with his father until the latter's death in 
1783. During this period he carried out all of his electrical, and most of 
his chemical, researches, starting as an assistant to his father, whose own 
experimental skill once drew praise from Benjamin Franklin. When Cavendish 
turned 40, he inherited the fortune that made him, in the words of a 
contemporary French scientist, "the richest of all learned men, and very 
likely also the most learned of all the rich."
      Despite his wealth Cavendish lived frugally, spending his money 
mostly to build an extensive library of scientific equipment and books. He 
was shy and slightly reclusive, confining his public appearances to 
meetings with his fellow scientists. He never married and was enough of a 
misogynist to require his female domestic help to keep out of his sight. He 
even communicated with his housekeeper in writing.
      Cavendish died in his 78th year and was buried in what is now Derby 
Cathedral, England. His most significant contributions were probably made 
in chemistry, where he showed that gases could be weighed, that air is a 
mixture and that water is a compound.

[See 
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0195160045/newsscancom/ref=nosim> 
for "Speculative Truth: Henry Cavendish, Natural Philosophy, and the Rise 
of Speculative Science" -- or look for it in your favorite library. Note: 
We donate all revenue from our book and media recommendations to adult 
literacy programs.]

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