NewsScan Daily, 18 February 2005 (" Above The Fold" )

NewsScan Daily, 18 February 2005 (" Above The Fold" )
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"ABOVE THE FOLD"
        'D' Is for 'Dismal' U.S. Gov't Cybersecurity
        Choicepoint Leaks Consumers' Data
        Gartner Urges CIOs to Prepare for Worker Shortage
        Newspapers to Cyberjournalists: Shall We Dance?
        Random House Eyes Cell Phone Applications

FEATURES
         Flash Card
         Honorary Subscriber: Edmund Halley

[HOLIDAY:  Monday will be a NewsScan publishing holiday, in honor of 
President's Day.]

'D' IS FOR 'DISMAL' U.S. GOV'T CYBERSECURITY
      Despite widespread agreement that computer security should be a top 
priority of U.S. government agencies, the latest cybersecurity progress 
report from Congress rates overall government efforts a D-, with seven of 
the 24 largest agencies earning a failing grade -- including the 
departments of Energy and Homeland Security, which, ironically, houses the 
National Cyber Security Division. "Several agencies continue to receive 
failing grades, and that's unacceptable," says Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), 
chair of the House Government Reform Committee. But on the bright side, 
says Davis, "We're also seeing some exceptional turnarounds." Those include 
the departments of Transportation (up from a D+ to an A-), Justice (up from 
an F to a B-) and the Interior (up from an F to a C+). Davis notes that 
problem areas include lax security at federal contractor computers; a lack 
of contingency planning for broad system failures; and scant training 
opportunities for employees responsible for computer security. 
(AP/Boston.com 16 Feb 2005)
<http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2005/02/16/agencies_earn_d_plus_on_computer_security/>

CHOICEPOINT LEAKS CONSUMERS' DATA
      ChoicePoint, a spinoff of credit reporting agency Equifax, has come 
under fire for a major security breach that exposed the personal data 
records of as many as 145,000 consumers to thieves posing as legitimate 
businesses. The information revealed included names, addresses, Social 
Security numbers and credit reports. "The irony appears to be that 
ChoicePoint has not done its own due diligence in verifying the identities 
of those 'businesses' that apply to be customers," says Beth Givens, 
director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. "They're not doing the very 
thing they claim their service enables their customers to achieve." In its 
defense, ChoicePoint claims it scrutinizes all account applications, 
including business license verification and individuals' background checks, 
but in this case the fraudulent identities had not been reported stolen yet 
and everything seemed in order. ChoicePoint marketing director James Lee 
says they uncovered the deception by tracking the pattern of searches the 
suspects were conducting. (Washington Post 18 Feb 2005)
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33802-2005Feb18.html>

GARTNER URGES CIOS TO PREPARE FOR WORKER SHORTAGE
      Analyst firm Gartner recommends that CIOs prepare now for a shortage 
of workers that the company says will occur by 2012. Gartner's 
human-capital-management practice, people3, has issued a report that 
outlines four steps CIOs should take in order to avoid being caught 
under-resourced. According to people3, there will be 21 million new jobs in 
2012, but only 17 million people entering the IT industry, according to the 
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Execs should create a strategic workforce 
plan that covers at least three years. (Outsourcing Pipeline 8 Feb 2005) 
rec'd from John Lamp, Deakin U.
<http://www.outsourcingpipeline.com/59302238>

NEWSPAPERS TO CYBERJOURNALISTS: SHALL WE DANCE?
      CNet editor Jeff Pelline says when he quit a steady newspaper job 
nine years ago to launch CNet's News.com site, his friends and coworkers 
thought he was nuts, but it turns out he was just ahead of the curve. "Now 
the print media giants are changing their tune -- albeit more from a 
defensive than offensive posture. Stuck with stagnant growth and under 
pressure from Wall Street, these companies are taking their biggest plunge 
yet into the Internet pool," says Pelline. He cites Thursday's announcement 
by the New York Times that it's acquiring information portal About.com for 
$410 million from Primedia and the Washington Post's December deal to 
purchase online magazine Slate from Microsoft as harbingers of a new 
détente between old and new media. "This year will no doubt go down as a 
time when Internet and print media companies danced like never before," 
says Pelline. "For star-struck Internet companies, it may be a reality 
check to have to dance with old timers. But the old timers sure don't mind: 
It puts more dance in their step than a new pair of wingtip shoes." (CNet 
News.com 18 Feb 2005)
<http://news.com.com/Newspapers+Net+correction/2010-1071_3-5581727.html>

RANDOM HOUSE EYES CELL PHONE APPLICATIONS
      In the case of another old-line publishing business moving into the 
digital era, Random House has purchased a minority stake in Vocel, a 
California company that provides "premium-branded applications for mobile 
phones," such as games and mini-series. Random House, a unit of Germany's 
Bertelsmann AG, will license its Living Language foreign-language study 
programs and Prima Games video game strategy guides to Vocel for 
distribution via cell phones.  "You have a whole generation of consumers, 
perhaps more than a generation, who are never more than 10 feet from their 
cell phones, including when they shower," says Random House Ventures chief 
Richard Sarnoff. "Increasingly, cell phones are becoming an appliance for 
entertainment and education." (AP 18 Feb 2005)
<http://apnews.excite.com/article/20050218/D88B17BO0.html>

*****

FLASH CARD
      "Physicists and astronomers see their own implications in the world 
being round, but to me it means that only one-third of the world is asleep 
at any given time and the other two-thirds is up to something." (Dean Rusk)

HONORARY SUBSCRIBER: EDMUND HALLEY
     Today's Honorary Subscriber is the English astronomer Edmund Halley 
(1656-1742), who is remembered mainly for predicting the regular 
re-appearance of the comet that now bears his name.
      In his study of comets, Halley observed that the path of the comets 
of 1456, 1531, and 1607 were surprisingly similar, prompting him to surmise 
that these three sightings were different apparitions of a single comet, 
which he predicted would return again around 1758. He died before his 
prediction was verified, but the comet returned as predicted and has been 
known as Halley's Comet ever since. Halley's work demonstrated that comets, 
once considered outlaw celestial bodies that came and went erratically, 
were in fact subject to fixed, regular orbits. Their appearance seemed 
erratic only because their orbits were so elongated that some might appear 
only at intervals of many thousands of years and remain visible during only 
minute portions of their total orbit.
     Halley was the son of a wealthy London soap-maker who had him tutored 
privately at home before sending him to St Paul's School, where Halley 
showed himself equally distinguished in classics and mathematics. He also 
displayed a talent for astronomy, and when he entered Queen's College 
Oxford at age 17 he was already an expert astronomer with a fine collection 
of instruments purchased for him by his father. He began working with John 
Flamsteed, the Royal Astronomer, assisting him with observations both at 
Oxford and at Greenwich.
     With the opening of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich in 1675, 
Flamsteed undertook the task of mapping the northern hemisphere stars. The 
next year, Halley gave up his studies at Oxford to set up an observatory on 
St Helena to conduct a similar program for the southern hemisphere. The 
weather in St Helena proved less optimal for astronomical observations than 
Halley had hoped, but his 18-month stay on the island resulted in his 
cataloging 341 southern hemisphere stars. He also made the first complete 
observation of a transit of Mercury.
     Halley returned to England in 1678 where, despite not having graduated 
from Oxford, he found himself with the reputation of one of the leading 
astronomers. Honors quickly came his way. He became a graduate of the 
University of Oxford without taking the degree examinations, the degree 
being conferred on the command of King Charles II. He was also elected a 
member of the Royal Society, becoming, at the age of 22, one of its 
youngest ever Fellows.
     The lack of an academic post did not hold Halley back in his 
scientific work. He worked for the Royal Society in various roles, serving 
as editor of the Philosophical Transactions from 1685 to 1693 and 
publishing frequently in the Society's publications. In 1686 he published a 
map of the world showing the prevailing winds over the oceans, making it 
the first published meteorological chart. He also prepared mortality tables 
for the city of Breslau, which influenced the production of life insurance 
actuarial tables.
     Halley played an active role in the events and controversies of his 
time. He supported Newton in his controversy with Leibniz over who invented 
the calculus. He fell out of favor with Flamsteed, who succeeded in 
blocking his academic appointment at Oxford. Upon Flamsteed's demise, 
Halley would succeed him as Royal Astronomer, a post he occupied for twenty 
years in latter part his life.

[To find a library copy  Halley's "Synopsis of the Astronomy of Comets" 
visit RLG's RedLightGreen service at 
<http://www.redlightgreen.com/ucwprod/servlet/ucw.servlets.UCWController?ACTION=EDITION&WORKID=14259193&> 
-- or to purchase Alan Cook's biography of Halley, go to: 
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0198500319/newsscancom/ref=nosim> 
Note: We donate all revenue from our book recommendations to adult literacy 
programs.]

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