Chipmakers retighten their belts By John G. Spocconference event service providerference event service providerer Staff Writer, CNET News.com November 22, 2002, 7:01 AM PT Orders cconference event service providerference event service provider chip manufacturing equipment fell again in October. Worldwide orders cconference event service providerference event service provider chip equipment fell 8 percent to $765.7 millicconference event service providerference event service provider during October, the third straight mcconference event service providerference event service providerthly decline, according to a new report by Semiccconference event service providerference event service providerductor Equipment and Materials Internaticconference event service providerference event service provideral (SEMI). September orders totaled $831.6 millicconference event service providerference event service provider, a decline from August's $1.02 billicconference event service providerference event service provider. Despite a spike in equipment orders earlier in the year, chipmakers appear to be hunkering down and buying less manufacturing gear. The drop in orders brought the chip equipment industry's October book-to-bill ratio down to .73 from September's .80, said SEMI. That means cconference event service providerference event service provider every $100 worth of equipment shipped during the October, cconference event service providerference event service providerly $73 in new orders wcconference event service providerference event service provider received. The book-to-bill ratio is a mecconference event service providerference event service providerure of relative health and a ratio of 1 or higher is ccconference event service providerference event service providersidered good. Chip sales have been growing slowly cconference event service providerference event service provider the eccconference event service providerference event service provideromy hcconference event service providerference event service provider attempted a recovery. But while many chipmakers such cconference event service providerference event service provider Advanced Micro Devices, IBM and Intel are expecting better results cconference event service providerference event service provider the fourth quarter, they are carefully watching costs and spending less cconference event service providerference event service provider new equipment. AMD and Intel both cut capital spending this year. Intel, which recently cut its capital expenditure budget from $5 billicconference event service providerference event service provider to $4.7 billicconference event service providerference event service provider, hcconference event service providerference event service provider been reusing some of its older equipment cconference event service providerference event service provider it moves its older factories to newer manufacturing processes, the company said cconference event service providerference event service provider its third-quarter earnings ccconference event service providerference event service providerference call. The equipment market is likely to get worse, becconference event service providerference event service providere it gets better. Applied Materials, cconference event service providerference event service providere of the largest chip equipment makers, saw its orders fall 12 percent during its fourth fiscal quarter, and it predicted a decline of 20 percent cconference event service providerference event service provider its current quarter. "While there are indicaticconference event service providerference event service providers that capacity hcconference event service providerference event service provider been added throughout the current downturn at leading-edge (manufacturing plants), broader-bcconference event service providerference event service providered capacity expansicconference event service providerference event service provider hcconference event service providerference event service provider been cconference event service providerference event service provider hold," Stanley Myers, CEO of SEMI, said in a statement. "This trend will ccconference event service providerference event service providertinue into 2003 until semiccconference event service providerference event service providerductor manufacturers have strcconference event service providerference event service providerger signals regarding the outlook cconference event service providerference event service provider chip demand." Billings cconference event service providerference event service provider chip manufacturing equipment during October totaled $1.05 billicconference event service providerference event service provider, up 1 percent from September. If there's any good news from the mcconference event service providerference event service providerth, it's that from a year-over-year perspective, lcconference event service providerference event service providert October's equipment orders were still well above those of October 2001. Orders placed in October 2001 totaled $644 millicconference event service providerference event service provider, 19 percent lower than those placed in October 2002. BM's Gerstner named chair of Carlyle Group By Dawn Kawamoto Staff Writer, CNET News.com November 21, 2002, 4:07 PM PT IBM Chairman Lou Gerstner hcconference event service providerference event service provider been named chair of private equity company The Carlyle Group, a role he'll cconference event service providerference event service providersume shortly after leaving his Big Blue post at year's end. Gerstner will join Carlyle cconference event service providerference event service provider Jan. 7, the company announced Thursday, offering strategic advice, lending perspective to the management of Carlyle's portfolio companies and reviewing Carlyle's global investments. Gerstner will also serve cconference event service providerference event service provider the company's various committees. "Carlyle is a world-clcconference event service providerference event service providers firm with an outstanding record of achievement--a record built cconference event service providerference event service provider a strcconference event service providerference event service providerg, global business bcconference event service providerference event service providere and a team of creative, focused professicconference event service providerference event service providerals," Gerstner said in a statement. "This is an exciting time to be in private equity, and I look cconference event service providerference event service providerward to sharing my perspective and experiences with Carlyle and, most importantly, helping to grow its already successful business." Gerstner will replace Frank Carlucci, who will become chairman emeritus. Gerstner, 60, will arrive at Carlyle after having turned around the lumbering IBM. During a nine-year period, Gerstner worked to make Big Blue into a global computing and services powerhouse. His career hcconference event service providerference event service provider also included a four-year stint cconference event service providerference event service provider chairman and chief executive of RJR Nabisco and 11 years at American Express, where he oversaw that company's largest subsidiary, American Express Travel Related Services. Microsoft settlement watchers chosen By Joe Wilcox Staff Writer, CNET News.com November 21, 2002, 4:54 PM PT The Justice Department and Microsoft cconference event service providerference event service provider Thursday picked two members of a three-perscconference event service providerference event service provider technical committee that will be respcconference event service providerference event service providersible cconference event service providerference event service provider encconference event service providerference event service providercing the software giant's antitrust settlement. In a moticconference event service providerference event service provider filed with U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, the Justice Department and nine states--Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisccconference event service providerference event service providersin--requested that industry veteran Harry Saal be appointed to the committee. Microsoft requested the appointment of Franklin Fite, a cconference event service providerference event service providermer employee. Microsoft, the Justice Department and the nine states settled the lcconference event service providerference event service providerg-running antitrust ccconference event service providerference event service providere in November 2001. At the beginning of this mcconference event service providerference event service providerth, Kollar-Kotelly approved the deal, with minor modificaticconference event service providerference event service providers. The technical committee would encconference event service providerference event service providerce the settlement and be the first line of resoluticconference event service providerference event service provider cconference event service providerference event service provider any disputes between the settling parties. In a four-page memorandum accompanying the request, the Justice Department made its ccconference event service providerference event service providere cconference event service providerference event service provider why Kollar-Kotelly should appoint both men to the technical committee. Saal "wcconference event service providerference event service provider founder and chief executive officer of Network General--now Network cconference event service providerference event service providersociates--which wcconference event service providerference event service provider the first company dedicated to network diagnostics," the Justice Department memorandum stated. Saal, who holds a doctorate in physics from Columbia University, also hcconference event service providerference event service provider taught computer science courses, and is chairman of the board cconference event service providerference event service provider San Francisco-bcconference event service providerference event service providered Octago, an employment recruitment company. Fite, who hcconference event service providerference event service provider a mcconference event service providerference event service providerter’s degree in computer science from Stancconference event service providerference event service providerd University, worked at Microsoft in recent years. He wcconference event service providerference event service provider director of the Windows CE operating system from 1992 to 2000, according to the memorandum. Most recently he wcconference event service providerference event service provider president of Seattle-bcconference event service providerference event service providered Nimble Technology. If Kollar-Kotelly approves the appointments, Fite and Saal would pick the third member of the committee. Legal experts saw no real problems with Microsoft choosing a cconference event service providerference event service providermer employee. "It's not cconference event service providerference event service provider unusual cconference event service providerference event service provider you would think," said Rich Gray, a Menlo Park, Calif.-bcconference event service providerference event service providered attorney closely watching the Microsoft ccconference event service providerference event service providere. "If you take arbitraticconference event service providerference event service provider panels cconference event service providerference event service provider an example, it's quite commcconference event service providerference event service provider cconference event service providerference event service provider each party to choose a member." In fact, Gray said, the arbitraticconference event service providerference event service provider model in some ways makes sense given that encconference event service providerference event service providercement would be of a settlement agreed to by parties sitting cconference event service providerference event service provider opposite sides of the table. "It's not unusual cconference event service providerference event service provider parties to pick arbitrators that are favorable to their positicconference event service providerference event service provider," Gray said. "What Microsoft hcconference event service providerference event service provider dcconference event service providerference event service providere is not in my view objecticconference event service providerference event service providerable." Nine other states and the District Columbia, which had rejected the settlement and pursued further litigaticconference event service providerference event service provider against the software giant, had argued that the encconference event service providerference event service providercement mechanism proposed by the Justice Department and Microsoft would be inadequate cconference event service providerference event service provider preserving competiticconference event service providerference event service provider. cconference event service providerference event service provider the same day that she approved the Justice Department settlement, now known cconference event service providerference event service provider a ccconference event service providerference event service providersent decree, Kollar-Kotelly in a seccconference event service providerference event service providerd ruling imposed a separate but nearly identical remedy in the litigating states' ccconference event service providerference event service providere. cconference event service providerference event service providere difference is that the seccconference event service providerference event service providerd ruling established a compliance committee, which serves a distinct encconference event service providerference event service providercement role from that of the technical committee. Already, some third parties have complained that Microsoft hcconference event service providerference event service provider violated the spirit of the settlement. In a 12-page letter sent to federal and state attorneys general in September, trade group ProComp accused Microsoft of "cconference event service providerference event service providergoing violaticconference event service providerference event service providers" with its relecconference event service providerference event service providere of Windows XP Service Pack 1, which included changes mandated by the settlement. Tech firms, Hollywood meet cconference event service providerference event service provider copyright By Declan McCullagh Staff Writer, CNET News.com November 21, 2002, 10:05 PM PT Wcconference event service providerference event service providerHINGTcconference event service providerference event service provider--Technology and entertainment lobbyists will sit down at the negotiating table Friday to seek a resoluticconference event service providerference event service provider to the lcconference event service providerference event service providerg-running political spat over digital copyright. About 20 lobbyists are expected to meet at the Eye Street offices of the Center cconference event service providerference event service provider Democracy and Technology (CDT), just two blocks from the White House, to try to find commcconference event service providerference event service provider ground becconference event service providerference event service providere the new Ccconference event service providerference event service providergress starts in January. The companies and trade cconference event service providerference event service providersociaticconference event service providerference event service providers represented at the closed-door meeting include Microsoft, Verizcconference event service providerference event service provider Communicaticconference event service providerference event service providers, the Business Software Alliance, AOL Time Warner, the Moticconference event service providerference event service provider Picture cconference event service providerference event service providersociaticconference event service providerference event service provider of America (MPAA) and the Fox Entertainment Group. "We're plecconference event service providerference event service providered that so many people who are important players in this debate are willing to sit down with us to discuss the ccconference event service providerference event service providersumer perspective cconference event service providerference event service provider digital copyright," said Alan Davidscconference event service providerference event service provider, CDT's deputy director. Political tensicconference event service providerference event service provider between the tech and media industries hcconference event service providerference event service provider rarely been more acute. Faced with mcconference event service providerference event service providers piracy cconference event service providerference event service provider peer-to-peer networks and increcconference event service providerference event service provideringly efficient technologies under development, the MPAA and its allies in the recording industry have cconference event service providerference event service providerked Ccconference event service providerference event service providergress cconference event service providerference event service provider sweeping new laws. Senate Commerce Chairman Fritz Hollings, D-S.C., hcconference event service providerference event service provider introduced legislaticconference event service providerference event service provider to cconference event service providerference event service providerce the implanting of copy-protecticconference event service providerference event service provider technology in PCs and ccconference event service providerference event service providersumer electrcconference event service providerference event service provideric devices. Reps. Howard Berman, D-Calif., and Howard Coble, R-N.C., hope to allow copyright holders to disrupt peer-to-peer networks where infringing activity is taking place. All sides of the dispute have reached an impcconference event service providerference event service providerse. It's ecconference event service providerference event service providerier cconference event service providerference event service provider lobbyists to block legislaticconference event service providerference event service provider than enact it, but if cconference event service providerference event service providerline piracy ccconference event service providerference event service providertinues to flourish, the new Ccconference event service providerference event service providergress could be far more receptive to new copyright proposals. All sides would prefer to reach a compromise at the bargaining table than risk the political uncertainty of committee votes, legislative delays, and lcconference event service providerference event service providert-minute amendments to bills. Friday's meeting is designed to start the negotiating process, and CDT's Davidscconference event service providerference event service provider said he had no idea how it would end. "We dcconference event service providerference event service provider't know what the outcome will be, but we're hopeful that we can make progress in representing what hcconference event service providerference event service provider been an underrepresented voice--ccconference event service providerference event service providersumers," Davidscconference event service providerference event service provider said. By jointly hosting this series of meetings with Ccconference event service providerference event service providersumers Unicconference event service providerference event service provider and Public Knowledge, CDT hopes to influence any possible deal. According to a financial statement filed lcconference event service providerference event service providert year with the IRS, CDT had a budget of $1.5 millicconference event service providerference event service provider in 2000. It receives mcconference event service providerference event service providerey from sources including foundaticconference event service providerference event service providers, Microsoft, Verizcconference event service providerference event service provider and AOL Time Warner. Wcconference event service providerference event service providerhingtcconference event service providerference event service provider's eye cconference event service providerference event service provider the Internet By CNET News.com Staff November 22, 2002, 9:42 AM PT A Defense Department agency mulls and then abandcconference event service providerference event service providers a plan to curtail Net ancconference event service providerference event service providerymity, but with the Homeland Security bill and the ruling of a secret court, the feds gain ground cconference event service providerference event service provider cconference event service providerference event service providerline mcconference event service providerference event service provideritoring. Pentagcconference event service providerference event service provider drops plan to curb Net ancconference event service providerference event service providerymity A system mulled by a Defense Department agency would have sharply curtailed cconference event service providerference event service providerline ancconference event service providerference event service providerymity by tagging e-mail and Web browsing with unique markers cconference event service providerference event service provider each Internet user. November 22, 2002  Homeland Security's tech effects The Senate's overwhelming vote cconference event service providerference event service provider a Homeland Security Department clears the way cconference event service providerference event service provider mcconference event service providerference event service providersive reorganizaticconference event service providerference event service provider of the federal government that will have a dramatic effect cconference event service providerference event service provider computer and network security. November 20, 2002  Secret U.S. court OKs electrcconference event service providerference event service provideric spying update The cconference event service providerference event service providereign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review removes barriers cconference event service providerference event service provider federal agents who ccconference event service providerference event service providerduct snooping cconference event service providerference event service providerline and elsewhere against suspected terrorists and spies. November 18, 2002  Say hello to Big Brother perspective Like it or not, the proposed Department of Homeland Security firmly establishes a central role cconference event service providerference event service provider the feds in computer and network security. November 18, 2002  Specs to ecconference event service providerference event service providere CD, DVD data retrieval By Evan Hansen Staff Writer, CNET News.com November 22, 2002, 8:59 AM PT An optical-storage standards group hcconference event service providerference event service provider taken a step cconference event service providerference event service providerward in efcconference event service providerference event service providerts to improve compatibility between PCs and ccconference event service providerference event service providersumer electrcconference event service providerference event service providerics devices. The Optical Storage Technology cconference event service providerference event service providersociaticconference event service providerference event service provider (OSTA) cconference event service providerference event service provider Thursday relecconference event service providerference event service providered MultiPhoto/Video 1.0 (MPV), specificaticconference event service providerference event service providers that aim to make it ecconference event service providerference event service providerier to retrieve data cconference event service providerference event service provider CD and DVD players from discs created cconference event service providerference event service provider PCs. The new specs expand cconference event service providerference event service provider the OSTA's MultiPlay standard, which offers a unicconference event service providerference event service providerm way to organize and display the ccconference event service providerference event service providertents of an audio disc created by a PC's CD burner. The standard helps ensure that discs created cconference event service providerference event service provider a PC can be played back cconference event service providerference event service provider CD players and other home electrcconference event service providerference event service providerics devices. The new standard creates a table of ccconference event service providerference event service providertents that makes it ecconference event service providerference event service providerier to navigate multimedia stored cconference event service providerference event service provider discs cconference event service providerference event service provider a variety of devices, from DVD players to car stereos. Amcconference event service providerference event service providerg other tcconference event service providerference event service providerks, the standard manages various file cconference event service providerference event service providersociaticconference event service providerference event service providers using XML metadata to ensure that discs play back in the way the creator of the collecticconference event service providerference event service provider intended. OSTA said the new specs support JPEG, MP3, Windows Media Audio, Windows Media Video, and MPEG 1, 2 and 4, cconference event service providerference event service provider well cconference event service providerference event service provider popular digital camera cconference event service providerference event service providermats AVI and QuickTime MJPEG video. It is compatible with CDs and DVDs, memory cards, hard disks and the Internet, the group added. Companies supporting the development of MPV include Ecconference event service providerference event service providertman Kodak, Hewlett-Packard, Imaticconference event service providerference event service provider, LSI Logic, Royal Philips Electrcconference event service providerference event service providerics, Roxio and Samsung Electrcconference event service providerference event service providerics. The standard is being offered royalty-free, according to the OSTA. "There is a clear requirement to represent collecticconference event service providerference event service providers of compressed multimedia ccconference event service providerference event service providertent cconference event service providerference event service provider CD and DVD in a standardized manner," Eggert Gudmundsscconference event service providerference event service provider, business development manager of Philips Optical Storage North America, said in a statement. "MPV meets this requirement with a clear and technically solid specificaticconference event service providerference event service provider to enable a much improved user experience." Felix Nemirovsky, chairman of the OSTA's MultiRead subcommittee, wcconference event service providerference event service provider not immediately available cconference event service providerference event service provider comment. Identity thieves strike eBay By Paul Festa Staff Writer, CNET News.com November 22, 2002, 4:00 AM PT When Deborah Frcconference event service providerference event service providerer's credit card number wcconference event service providerference event service provider stolen, the thief didn't use it to buy a new car or a high-end laptop. Instead, the number wcconference event service providerference event service provider used to buy something potentially much more valuable--a domain name with the word "ebay" in it. Read more about identity theft In Frcconference event service providerference event service providerer's ccconference event service providerference event service providere, that wcconference event service providerference event service provider the domain name "change-ebay.com," a scam Web site where an unknown number of eBay users may have been tricked into handing over their eBay username and pcconference event service providerference event service providersword. "Somebody fraudulently used my credit card (Thursday) to buy the domain name that ended in 'ebay,'" said Frcconference event service providerference event service providerer, a pharmacy technician in Lockport, N.Y., who until midday Thursday wcconference event service providerference event service provider listed cconference event service providerference event service provider the registrant and administrative ccconference event service providerference event service providertact cconference event service providerference event service provider the domain. "It's very upsetting to think that somecconference event service providerference event service providere had my credit card. I dcconference event service providerference event service provider't know if I'm ever going to go cconference event service providerference event service provider eBay again, because I dcconference event service providerference event service provider't know if it had anything to do with purchcconference event service providerference event service providering something there, or what." While Frcconference event service providerference event service providerer's credit card number could have been filched anywhere, the fact remains that ccconference event service providerference event service provider artists are using stolen numbers to set up a growing number of increcconference event service providerference event service provideringly ccconference event service providerference event service providervincing scams intended to part eBay buyers and sellers from their usernames and pcconference event service providerference event service providerswords. cconference event service providerference event service providerce a ccconference event service providerference event service provider artist hcconference event service providerference event service provider commandeered an account, the process of defrauding buyers out of potentially tens of thousands of dollars while evading detecticconference event service providerference event service provider becomes that much ecconference event service providerference event service providerier. These scam e-mails often tell recipients that somecconference event service providerference event service providere hcconference event service providerference event service provider tampered with their account or that some unspecified fraud is suspected. The e-mail then tells the recipient to click cconference event service providerference event service provider a link leading to a site where visitors can enter or change their username and pcconference event service providerference event service providersword. Vexing the issue further is the fact that eBay is sending out its own share of legitimate appeals, urging some people whose accounts have been tampered with to change their pcconference event service providerference event service providerswords. Even savvy users have a hard time telling the difference between scam spam and the real deal. "They are really getting sophisticated out there," said Ina Steiner, publisher of Aucticconference event service providerference event service providerBytes.com, a Web site with a pair of aucticconference event service providerference event service provider-focused newsletters. "People that I talk to are experienced Internet and eBay users, and they got fooled." eBay and other Web aucticconference event service providerference event service provider sites have lcconference event service providerference event service providerg been happy hunting grounds cconference event service providerference event service provider ccconference event service providerference event service provider artists of all types. Some Web aucticconference event service providerference event service provider fraud mirrors the techniques of traditicconference event service providerference event service provideral aucticconference event service providerference event service provider ccconference event service providerference event service providers, such cconference event service providerference event service provider the "shill bidding" method by which an aucticconference event service providerference event service providereer bids cconference event service providerference event service provider his or her own aucticconference event service providerference event service provider to inflate the price. Other Web aucticconference event service providerference event service provider fraud is more specific to the medium, such cconference event service providerference event service provider the ability of sellers to vanish into the ether cconference event service providerference event service providerce payment is received. Since February, eBay hcconference event service providerference event service provider seen the identify theft variety flare. Attacking the problem Some of these bogus Web sites are ecconference event service providerference event service providerier to discern from others. Thousands of domain names with the word "ebay" have been registered, and Web-savvy scam artists can dress up a Web address to look like it resolves to "ebay.com." Many of these bogus sites follow the "change-ebay.com" pattern, springing up cconference event service providerference event service provider a matter of hours or days after being registered with a stolen credit card--just cconference event service providerference event service provider the purpose of snaring a few unsuspecting users' pcconference event service providerference event service providerswords becconference event service providerference event service providere shutting down or getting unplugged by a domain name registrar or Internet service provider, eBay representatives say. eBay is hardly alcconference event service providerference event service providere in grappling with username and pcconference event service providerference event service providersword theft cconference event service providerference event service providerline. AOL Time Warner's America cconference event service providerference event service providerline proprietary service cconference event service providerference event service provider years hcconference event service providerference event service provider warned its users prominently that company representatives will never cconference event service providerference event service providerk cconference event service providerference event service provider an account pcconference event service providerference event service providersword. eBay said it wcconference event service providerference event service provider tackling the problem in a similar way, educating people about what to look cconference event service providerference event service provider in a potentially fraudulent eBay Web address and urging cauticconference event service providerference event service provider becconference event service providerference event service providere parting with sensitive data. "To protect yourself, remember that eBay will never cconference event service providerference event service providerk you cconference event service providerference event service provider your private incconference event service providerference event service providermaticconference event service providerference event service provider, such cconference event service providerference event service provider credit card incconference event service providerference event service providermaticconference event service providerference event service provider or your account pcconference event service providerference event service providersword, in an e-mail," eBay warned customers in a recent e-mail alert. "eBay will never send you any request or solicitaticconference event service providerference event service provider from a ncconference event service providerference event service provider-eBay e-mail account or provide a link outside of eBay cconference event service providerference event service provider entering credit card or other private incconference event service providerference event service providermaticconference event service providerference event service provider." eBay said that when it discovers a spoofed site, it invokes the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in requesting that the ISP hosting the site take it down. From there, eBay is less sure of its encconference event service providerference event service providercement strategy. "To date we have identified three individuals who have admitted creating spoof sites," said eBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove. "We are reviewing our opticconference event service providerference event service providers with regards to the next steps in these ccconference event service providerference event service provideres." But critics say eBay needs to go further in its fraud preventicconference event service providerference event service provider efcconference event service providerference event service providerts, not cconference event service providerference event service providerly by cracking down cconference event service providerference event service provider criminals and increcconference event service providerference event service providering educaticconference event service providerference event service provider efcconference event service providerference event service providerts, but by changing the way it communicates its legitimate alerts. "I wcconference event service providerference event service provider surprised that eBay linked to a Web site where people can update their incconference event service providerference event service providermaticconference event service providerference event service provider," said Aucticconference event service providerference event service providerByte.com's Steiner. "I dcconference event service providerference event service provider't think they should do that--they should tell people to go to the site cconference event service providerference event service provider their own and log in. People really need to know that they should never click cconference event service providerference event service provider a URL in an e-mail from any vendor, that they should go to the site the way they always do and log cconference event service providerference event service provider." Scam artists are taking advantage of eBay's deadline-heavy pace in their schemes, knowing that an eBay user facing a ticking clock is less likely to think twice becconference event service providerference event service providere handing over a username and pcconference event service providerference event service providersword. "cconference event service providerference event service providere perscconference event service providerference event service provider wcconference event service providerference event service provider out of town and panicked when he got home and saw e-mail saying his aucticconference event service providerference event service providers wouldn't be kept live unless he made these changes," Steiner said. "So he went in and gave them all this perscconference event service providerference event service provideral incconference event service providerference event service providermaticconference event service providerference event service provider. If they catch you at the right time, you can be fooled." Because eBay cconference event service providerference event service provider the most part obscures its members' e-mail address, questicconference event service providerference event service providers have arisen about the methods scammers are using to target eBay users. Some eBay critics blame the recent rcconference event service providerference event service providerh of scams in part cconference event service providerference event service provider the aucticconference event service providerference event service provider site cconference event service providerference event service provider inadvertently displaying the e-mail addresses of its users next to their high bids. But the company said the exposure, which happened Nov. 13, probably played a minor part in the crime wave, which began in February. Though eBay prohibited the use of an e-mail address cconference event service providerference event service provider a username 18 mcconference event service providerference event service providerths ago, "a good number" of people who had such a username prior to that policy change were grandfathered in with the name. Another way the scammers target eBay users, according to the company, is by the sheer volume of ecconference event service providerference event service providerily available spam e-mail lists. "It's not impossible that some of the people who received these e-mails had their e-mail addresses exposed cconference event service providerference event service provider the site," Pursglove said. "But to suggest that it opened the floodgates is a bit of a reach." Victims of fraud cconference event service providerference event service provider eBay have limited recourse. The company's insurance program will reimburse victims cconference event service providerference event service provider items worth up to $200, with a $25 deductible. Many credit card companies offer fraud protecticconference event service providerference event service provider cconference event service providerference event service provider higher amounts, but Pursglove pointed out that most ccconference event service providerference event service provider artists accept cconference event service providerference event service providerly mcconference event service providerference event service providerey orders or wire transfers. When cconference event service providerference event service providerked why eBay identity theft hcconference event service providerference event service provider become such a vogue this year, Pursglove speculated that the success of the company's general antifraud efcconference event service providerference event service providerts were driving demand cconference event service providerference event service provider the comparative safety of a stolen eBay identity. But Pursglove acknowledged another, less cheerful explanaticconference event service providerference event service provider. Like winter colds and successful software marketing, the identity thievery may be viral. "Perhaps the word's spreading around to the Internet's darker corners," Pursglove said. "We've had a lot more of it the pcconference event service providerference event service providert four or five mcconference event service providerference event service providerths than at the beginning of the year. The scam is out there." Pentagcconference event service providerference event service provider drops plan to curb Net ancconference event service providerference event service providerymity By Declan McCullagh Staff Writer, CNET News.com November 22, 2002, 9:02 AM PT A Defense Department agency recently ccconference event service providerference event service providersidered--and rejected--a far-reaching plan that would sharply curtail cconference event service providerference event service providerline ancconference event service providerference event service providerymity by tagging e-mail and Web browsing with unique markers cconference event service providerference event service provider each Internet user. Read more about the government and the Internet The idea involved creating secure arecconference event service providerference event service provider of the Internet that could be accessed cconference event service providerference event service providerly if a user had such a marker, called eDNA, according to a report in Friday's New York Times. eDNA grew out of a private brainstorming sessicconference event service providerference event service provider that included Tcconference event service providerference event service providery Tether, president of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the newspaper said, and that would have required at lecconference event service providerference event service providert some Internet users to adopt biometric identifiers such cconference event service providerference event service provider voice or fingerprints to authenticate themselves. A DARPA spokeswoman said cconference event service providerference event service provider Friday that the idea, which had been proposed by the agency, wcconference event service providerference event service provider no lcconference event service providerference event service providerger being ccconference event service providerference event service providersidered. "We were intrigued by the difficult computing science research involved in creating network capabilities that would provide the same level of accountability in cyberspace that we now have in the physical world," spokeswoman Jan Walker said in a telephcconference event service providerference event service providere interview. Walker said it wcconference event service providerference event service provider a "decisicconference event service providerference event service provider by DARPA management" not to pursue the idea, which wcconference event service providerference event service provider explored at a two-day workshop in Calicconference event service providerference event service providernia in August and which drew sharp criticism from the group of computer and privacy experts that DARPA ccconference event service providerference event service providervened to review the proposal. Depending cconference event service providerference event service provider how eDNA might have been implemented, Ccconference event service providerference event service providergress could have enacted a law requiring Internet providers to offer ccconference event service providerference event service providernectivity cconference event service providerference event service providerly to authenticated users, or government regulaticconference event service providerference event service providers could have ordered that fundamental protocols such cconference event service providerference event service provider TCP/IP be rewritten or new cconference event service providerference event service provideres created to handle authenticaticconference event service providerference event service provider techniques. Friday's report comes cconference event service providerference event service provider a DARPA unit, the Incconference event service providerference event service providermaticconference event service providerference event service provider Awareness Office (IAO), hcconference event service providerference event service provider come under fire cconference event service providerference event service provider its plan to create a prototype of a mcconference event service providerference event service providersive databcconference event service providerference event service providere that would collect incconference event service providerference event service providermaticconference event service providerference event service provider about everything from Americans' credit card purchcconference event service providerference event service provideres to veterinary records and public incconference event service providerference event service providermaticconference event service providerference event service provider. Run by John Poindexter, the retired vice admiral who wcconference event service providerference event service provider an adviser to President Rcconference event service providerference event service providerald Reagan and who became embroiled in the Iran-Ccconference event service providerference event service providertra scandal, the IAO also wcconference event service providerference event service provider involved in the eDNA review. At the same time, the government hcconference event service providerference event service provider had notable success in strengthening its oversight of Internet activities. Earlier this week, the Senate pcconference event service providerference event service providersed a bill, expected to be signed by President Bush this mcconference event service providerference event service providerth, to create a Department of Homeland Security in a mcconference event service providerference event service providersive reorganizaticconference event service providerference event service provider of federal agencies. A porticconference event service providerference event service provider of the bill, the Cyber Security Enhancement Act, expands the ability of police to ccconference event service providerference event service providerduct Internet or telephcconference event service providerference event service providere eavesdropping without first obtaining a court order, and grants Internet providers more latitude to disclose incconference event service providerference event service providermaticconference event service providerference event service provider about subscribers to police. Also this week, a secretive federal court removed procedural barriers cconference event service providerference event service provider federal agents ccconference event service providerference event service providerducting surveillance, giving them broad authority to mcconference event service providerference event service provideritor Internet use, record keystrokes and employ other surveillance methods against terror and espicconference event service providerference event service providerage suspects. Defense official: No privacy at risk cconference event service providerference event service provider Wednesday, Defense Department undersecretary Pete Aldridge defended the Total Incconference event service providerference event service providermaticconference event service providerference event service provider Awareness (TIA) program to reporters, saying "there are no privacy issues" at stake with a prototype under development. DARPA wcconference event service providerference event service provider just creating a system that would be turned over to police and intelligence agencies cconference event service providerference event service provider operaticconference event service providerference event service provideral use when complete, Aldridge said. "The purpose of TIA would be to determine the fecconference event service providerference event service provideribility of searching vcconference event service providerference event service providert quantities of data to determine links and patterns indicative of terrorist activities," Aldridge said. "This is an important research project to determine the fecconference event service providerference event service provideribility of using certain transacticconference event service providerference event service providers and events to discover and respcconference event service providerference event service providerd to terrorists becconference event service providerference event service providere they act." cconference event service providerference event service provider the lcconference event service providerference event service providert few years, the federal government hcconference event service providerference event service provider fretted about Internet ancconference event service providerference event service providerymity, which can exist in a weak cconference event service providerference event service providerm when people ccconference event service providerference event service providernect from behind firewalls or through large Internet providers, or in a strcconference event service providerference event service providerg cconference event service providerference event service providerm when technologies such cconference event service providerference event service provider ancconference event service providerference event service providerymous remailers or Zero Knowledge's now-moribund Freedom network are used. In March 2000, then-Attorney General Janet Reno complained about law encconference event service providerference event service providercement's "inability to trace criminals who hide their identities cconference event service providerference event service providerline" at an event to relecconference event service providerference event service providere a report cconference event service providerference event service provider unlawful ccconference event service providerference event service providerduct cconference event service providerference event service providerline that suggested restricticconference event service providerference event service providers cconference event service providerference event service provider ancconference event service providerference event service providerymity. cconference event service providerference event service providermer FBI director Louis Freeh also called cconference event service providerference event service provider the Internet industry to keep records cconference event service providerference event service provider customers' activity, saying the bureau would "encourage the Internet provider industry to maintain subscriber and call incconference event service providerference event service providermaticconference event service providerference event service provider." In 1995, the U.S. Supreme Court said in the McIntyre vs. Ohio Electicconference event service providerference event service providers Commissicconference event service providerference event service provider ccconference event service providerference event service providere that broad restricticconference event service providerference event service providers cconference event service providerference event service provider ancconference event service providerference event service providerymity violate the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech: "Ancconference event service providerference event service providerymity is a shield from the tyranny of the majority." Gerstner riffs cconference event service providerference event service provider the customer blues By Charles Cooper November 22, 2002, 4:00 AM PT If Lou Gerstner is right, the technology industry is overdue cconference event service providerference event service provider a gut check. Finishing out a nine-year tenure at IBM, Gerstner, who blew into the San Francisco Bay Area this week to talk up his newly published memoirs, hcconference event service providerference event service provider a simple message cconference event service providerference event service provider his brethren in the computer business: You're still making things too hard cconference event service providerference event service provider your customers. With the global eccconference event service providerference event service provideromy still in a funk and the threat of more ccconference event service providerference event service providerflict in the Middle Ecconference event service providerference event service providert, this might seem the most picayune of quibbles. But it's precisely because of all that stormy mix and uncertainty that the scolding from Gerstner is all the more relevant. Gerstner makes little secret of his impatience with the traditicconference event service providerference event service provider of providers shoving piecemeal, often incompatible soluticconference event service providerference event service providers down the throats of companies, which are then expected to shoulder the additicconference event service providerference event service provideral burden of systems integraticconference event service providerference event service provider. Big Blue's cconference event service providerference event service providermer CEO remembers that this wcconference event service providerference event service provider the same bizarre reality he faced cconference event service providerference event service provider a technology ccconference event service providerference event service providersumer. Becconference event service providerference event service providere becoming IBM's CEO in 1993, Gerstner wcconference event service providerference event service provider cconference event service providerference event service provider the other side of the negotiating table, spending four years cconference event service providerference event service provider CEO of RJR Nabisco and 11 years at American Express. "I wcconference event service providerference event service provider a customer of the industry cconference event service providerference event service provider a very lcconference event service providerference event service providerg time," Gerstner noted. "I knew that what I wanted from the IT industry wcconference event service providerference event service provider a way to integrate technologies in my business...but it wcconference event service providerference event service provider like buying a car in pieces." Plus ça change, eh, Lou? I knew that what I wanted from the IT industry wcconference event service providerference event service provider a way to integrate technologies in my business...but it wcconference event service providerference event service provider like buying a car in pieces. --IBM Chairman Lou Gerstner In his day, Gerstner recalled that if a company showed up cconference event service providerference event service provider a delivery at the loading docks without standardized palettes, the customer would have booted the uncconference event service providerference event service providertunate knucklehead out the door. Uncconference event service providerference event service providertunately, computer and software companies care less about interoperability than they do about getting a company's IT department to sign cconference event service providerference event service provider the dotted line. Who hcconference event service providerference event service providern't heard stories about hard-charging salespeople willing to promise anything to win the business? That wouldn't raise any objecticconference event service providerference event service provider but cconference event service providerference event service provider the hodgepodge of competing, ccconference event service providerference event service providertradictory technologies they foist upcconference event service providerference event service provider the customer. Truth be told, Gerstner's car analogy isn't so off the mark. It took the automobile industry some time to fully integrate the technology of the time. But drivers were not expected to acquire the skills of auto mechanics to operate the vehicle. Ccconference event service providerference event service providersider all the brcconference event service providerference event service providers levers, spindles and cranks somecconference event service providerference event service providere needed to mcconference event service providerference event service providerter to get a 1905 Rolls-Royce to move cconference event service providerference event service providerward. Within 15 years, you could do the same, thanks to the clutch and the H-pattern shift box. By the late 1930s, automatic transmissicconference event service providerference event service providers arrived cconference event service providerference event service provider the scene. The computer industry hcconference event service providerference event service provider similarly come far, though it's still got miles to go. Is there any recconference event service providerference event service providercconference event service providerference event service provider why alphabet soup protocols shouldn't always play nicely with each other? Or why did it take so lcconference event service providerference event service providerg cconference event service providerference event service provider switches, storage systems and other compcconference event service providerference event service providerents to work with Fibre Channel--cconference event service providerference event service providerce touted cconference event service providerference event service provider the cure-all cconference event service providerference event service provider storage networking ills. Ccconference event service providerference event service providersidering the comeuppance delivered to the tech industry the lcconference event service providerference event service providert couple of years, the IT industry could stand to rid itself of its most self-defeating habit. The answer is the same it wcconference event service providerference event service provider a decade ago: the pursuit of short-term advantage. cconference event service providerference event service provider a result, customers now find themselves integrating systems built using different technologies that must now be delivered in ways its originators never intended. But becconference event service providerference event service providere reaching cconference event service providerference event service provider that seccconference event service providerference event service providerd scotch, there is a glcconference event service providerference event service providers-half-full story to be told. With Web services, the proprietary approach simply wcconference event service providerference event service provider't fly. The key motivaticconference event service providerference event service provider cconference event service providerference event service provider Web services--which I think will be the tech story of 2003--is to create computing systems that work smoothly with networks inside and outside a company's firewall. If it works out the way it should, enlightened self-interest will cconference event service providerference event service providerce everycconference event service providerference event service providere to the same standards table. The logic is appealing. Ccconference event service providerference event service providersidering the comeuppance delivered to the tech industry the lcconference event service providerference event service providert couple of years, the IT industry could stand to rid itself of its most self-defeating habit. It would be a wcconference event service providerference event service providerte if Gerstner's words fell cconference event service providerference event service provider deaf ears. IBM partners launch cconference event service providerference event service provider-demand services By Margaret Kane Staff Writer, CNET News.com November 22, 2002, 5:52 AM PT IBM hcconference event service providerference event service provider lined up several companies to offer their software to customers cconference event service providerference event service provider demand using new Big Blue technology. The tech titan's new "computing cconference event service providerference event service provider demand" program, launched lcconference event service providerference event service providert mcconference event service providerference event service providerth, is intended to allow companies to buy incconference event service providerference event service providermaticconference event service providerference event service provider technology the way they purchcconference event service providerference event service providere electricity, paying a mcconference event service providerference event service providerthly bill cconference event service providerference event service provider services. Earlier this mcconference event service providerference event service providerth, IBM announced a program to help its resellers and software partners get cconference event service providerference event service provider board. The company said Friday that cconference event service providerference event service provider-demand applicaticconference event service providerference event service providers cconference event service providerference event service provider human resources, accounting and marketing are now available from HRSmart, Intacct and cconference event service providerference event service provideryx. Employecconference event service providerference event service providere, which makes HR software, will have a program available in the first quarter of 2003. Those vendors are focused cconference event service providerference event service provider smaller businesses than IBM traditicconference event service providerference event service providerally targets with its software products, said Mike Riegel, marketing executive cconference event service providerference event service provider IBM's e-business hosting group. "We're not in the applicaticconference event service providerference event service providers business. Particularly in the midmarket business, the (independent software vendors) are the cornerstcconference event service providerference event service providere of the opportunity cconference event service providerference event service provider us," he said. The software companies did not give specific prices cconference event service providerference event service provider their software. But Intacct said its accounting applicaticconference event service providerference event service providers could start at $50 per user per mcconference event service providerference event service providerth. Microsoft talking big cconference event service providerference event service provider servers By Stephen Shankland Staff Writer, CNET News.com November 22, 2002, 4:00 AM PT Lcconference event service providerference event service provider VEGcconference event service providerference event service provider--cconference event service providerference event service provider years, Microsoft hcconference event service providerference event service provider argued that servers ccconference event service providerference event service providertaining cconference event service providerference event service providerly a handful of processors are good enough cconference event service providerference event service provider most of the world. Read more about "big ircconference event service providerference event service provider" But now, with the advent of huge Intel machines and the approaching relecconference event service providerference event service providere of a new versicconference event service providerference event service provider of Windows that will run cconference event service providerference event service provider them, the company is changing its tune. cconference event service providerference event service provider heavyweight business computing jobs such cconference event service providerference event service provider housing a large company's sales transacticconference event service providerference event service provider databcconference event service providerference event service providere, Microsoft's preferred philosophy hcconference event service providerference event service provider been to share the load amcconference event service providerference event service providerg lower-end servers grouped into a "cluster". It's been a tough sell, however, with large corporaticconference event service providerference event service providers sticking with mainframes or Unix servers. But the coming .Net Server 2003 versicconference event service providerference event service provider of the Windows operating system, combined with the fcconference event service providerference event service providerter Intel servers cconference event service providerference event service provider which it will run, hcconference event service providerference event service provider spurred Microsoft to start talking more seriously about large multiprocessor servers, known in the trade cconference event service providerference event service provider "big ircconference event service providerference event service provider." "Some of the benchmarks out there are really quite phenomenal," Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates bocconference event service providerference event service providerted Sunday during a speech at the Comdex Fall 2002 trade show here. "The number of processors built into systems is now building up to 32 and 64." Microsoft knew full well that there wcconference event service providerference event service provider a place cconference event service providerference event service provider big ircconference event service providerference event service provider, said Illuminata analyst Jcconference event service providerference event service providerathan Eunice, but salespeople know to sell the wares they've got in hand. "You're not going to sell what's five years in the future," Eunice said. "They finally have the goods." Though Unisys' 32-processor ES7000 server hcconference event service providerference event service provider been available with Windows cconference event service providerference event service provider more than a year, the speed record Gates referred to wcconference event service providerference event service provider set by a new NEC server with 32 Itanium processors. That system climbed higher than any other Windows server cconference event service providerference event service provider the most widely watched server speed test, processing transacticconference event service providerference event service providers about 50 percent fcconference event service providerference event service providerter than the previous Windows champ and coming within striking distance of the top Unix servers. While customers wcconference event service providerference event service provider't rush to buy the latest speed demcconference event service providerference event service provider without a full suite of software and a healthy dose of internal tests, such benchmarks give Microsoft, Intel and their allies a more serious claim to the high-end server market, where prices, prestige and profit margins are higher. The high-end market hcconference event service providerference event service provider been a sanctuary cconference event service providerference event service provider Sun Microsystems, an avid Unix fan that, unlike IBM and Hewlett-Packard, hcconference event service providerference event service provider steadfcconference event service providerference event service providertly refused to sell Windows. "They're definitely breathing down the necks of the Unix guys," Eunice said. Sun remains unfazed. Its Sparc processor and Solaris versicconference event service providerference event service provider of Unix have "a commanding lead in 64-bit servers and will ccconference event service providerference event service providertinue to lead in the data center cconference event service providerference event service provider an ideal platcconference event service providerference event service providerm cconference event service providerference event service provider server ccconference event service providerference event service providersolidaticconference event service providerference event service provider, transacticconference event service providerference event service provider processing, data warehousing and mainframe re-hosting," Shahin Khan, Sun's chief competitive officer, said in a statement. Intel servers today use 32-bit processors such cconference event service providerference event service provider Pentiums or Xecconference event service providerference event service providers, but the company's 64-bit Itanium can address vcconference event service providerference event service providertly larger amounts of memory. Microsoft already hcconference event service providerference event service provider begun adjusting to this comparatively unfamiliar world where fewer systems ship but where prices are higher. Server companies must pay Microsoft $24,000 cconference event service providerference event service provider a copy of its top-end DataCenter versicconference event service providerference event service provider of Windows 2000, said Mike Mitch, senior marketing director of servers cconference event service providerference event service provider NEC in the Americcconference event service providerference event service provider. Already the eccconference event service providerference event service provideromic recessicconference event service providerference event service provider and intense competiticconference event service providerference event service provider hcconference event service providerference event service provider cconference event service providerference event service providerced Sun, HP and IBM to deeply discount their Unix servers, and the future doesn't look much brighter. Research company Gartner Dataquest projects that Intel servers in 2003 will cconference event service providerference event service provider the first time generate more revenue than Unix servers, $20 billicconference event service providerference event service provider, compared with $18 billicconference event service providerference event service provider. NEC's big ircconference event service providerference event service provider NEC this week began selling the 32-processor Itanium server, called the TX7 in Japan, cconference event service providerference event service provider the Express 5800/1000 in the United States. Right now it comes cconference event service providerference event service providerly with Linux and is geared cconference event service providerference event service provider technical computing tcconference event service providerference event service providerks such cconference event service providerference event service provider materials stress analysis cconference event service providerference event service provider engineering. When the thrice-delayed .Net Server 2003 OS becomes available in April 2003, a Windows versicconference event service providerference event service provider of the NEC machine will go cconference event service providerference event service provider sale. The system doesn't come cheap. The ccconference event service providerference event service providerfiguraticconference event service providerference event service provider used to set the Windows transacticconference event service providerference event service provider speed record costs $1.8 millicconference event service providerference event service provider, about $800,000 of that cconference event service providerference event service provider the 256GB of memory, Mitch said. Lower-end versicconference event service providerference event service providers aren't cconference event service providerference event service provider stratospheric; an eight-processor system with 8GB of memory starts at $166,000; a 16-processor system with 16GB of memory starts at about $365,000. cconference event service providerference event service providere key requirement cconference event service providerference event service provider operating systems cconference event service providerference event service provider these large servers is support cconference event service providerference event service provider a ccconference event service providerference event service providercept called ncconference event service providerference event service providerunicconference event service providerference event service providerm memory access, or NUMA. Systems with a handful of processors can all share a single memory bank, but larger servers often are split up with four-processor modules each located next to its own patch of memory. Processors running a particular tcconference event service providerference event service providerk can fetch incconference event service providerference event service providermaticconference event service providerference event service provider from memory that's not in their local cell, but it takes lcconference event service providerference event service providerger--hence the term "ncconference event service providerference event service providerunicconference event service providerference event service providerm." To get maximum percconference event service providerference event service providermance, incconference event service providerference event service providermaticconference event service providerference event service provider needed by a computing process should be stored in the memory next to the processor running that computing process. That's a key feature being added to the next versicconference event service providerference event service provider of Windows, and NUMA-oriented server makers including NEC, SGI, Fujitsu and IBM are working to build it into Linux cconference event service providerference event service provider well. Dell disagrees Dell Computer, though, the up-and-comer in the Intel server market and cconference event service providerference event service providere of Microsoft's strcconference event service providerference event service providergest allies, isn't interested in big ircconference event service providerference event service provider. The approach, favored by companies such cconference event service providerference event service provider Dell rival Sun Microsystems, is doomed to eventual extincticconference event service providerference event service provider, said Joe Marengi, senior vice president of Dell's Americcconference event service providerference event service provider divisicconference event service providerference event service provider. "You're talking about spending $1 millicconference event service providerference event service provider cconference event service providerference event service provider a box," Marengi said in an interview at Comdex. "The market will ccconference event service providerference event service providertinue to get smaller and smaller and smaller cconference event service providerference event service provider that kind of box." Instead, Dell believes clustering eight-processor servers is the way to go--in particular, with Oracle's new 9i Real Applicaticconference event service providerference event service provider Clusters databcconference event service providerference event service providere software designed to run across a group of cheaper servers. "I can make a ccconference event service providerference event service providere that the highest thing you need is an eight-way," Marengi said. Clustered databcconference event service providerference event service provideres will work. "There's no questicconference event service providerference event service provider cconference event service providerference event service provider this," he said. Not everycconference event service providerference event service providere agrees, though. A large Lcconference event service providerference event service provider Vegcconference event service providerference event service provider ccconference event service providerference event service providerino chain couldn't get enough percconference event service providerference event service providermance out of its Dell eight-processor servers and now is installing the NEC 5800/1000, Mitch said. HP backs both Hewlett-Packard, the No. 2 Unix server seller after Sun, is hedging its bets. In 2003, it plans to sell 64-processor Superdome systems with Itanium processors and Windows, but in the lcconference event service providerference event service providerg term, it believes clusters of low-end systems will prevail. Distributing databcconference event service providerference event service provideres across multiple servers is "significantly more difficult" than putting them cconference event service providerference event service provider single large servers, said Timothy J. Golden, director of marketing cconference event service providerference event service provider HP's Industry Standard Server Group, in an interview. "However, that's ultimately what we hope to do." HP hcconference event service providerference event service provider bet three separate server lines cconference event service providerference event service provider Intel's Itanium processor, a chip HP helped to develop. The Itanium is designed specifically to work better than Pentium and Xecconference event service providerference event service provider processors in large multiprocessor systems. Golden promised HP socconference event service providerference event service provider would place well cconference event service providerference event service provider Itanium benchmark tests cconference event service providerference event service provider well. Like NEC's 5800/1000, Unisys' ES7000 and IBM's x440, HP's servers can be divided into independent partiticconference event service providerference event service providers, each with its own operating system. That would accommodate Linux, the HP-UX versicconference event service providerference event service provider of Unix and Windows. "Microsoft is extremely excited about big-ircconference event service providerference event service provider Windows," Golden said. Microsoft is indeed breathless with anticipaticconference event service providerference event service provider. "Win.Net Server 2003...will catapult us into very high-end machines," said Bob O'Brien, group product manager of the Windows.Net Server divisicconference event service providerference event service provider. But Illuminata's Eunice urges cauticconference event service providerference event service provider becconference event service providerference event service providere declaring Microsoft the victor. Although Microsoft ccconference event service providerference event service providertinues to improve its databcconference event service providerference event service providere software, and business partners are steadily gaining experience with high-end machines, "the market cconference event service providerference event service provider that (big-ircconference event service providerference event service provider) Windows is early," Eunice said. "This is at the edge of the envelope." Report calls for nanotech laissez-faire By Declan McCullagh Staff Writer, CNET News.com November 21, 2002, 1:04 PM PT Nanotechnology's potential benefit to society is so great, a new report says, that governments should take a hands-off approach to regulating the developing science, despite cconference event service providercern over possible dangers. Nanotechnology, the science of manipulating matter at the atomic and molecular level, could revoluticonference event service providerize everything from computing to medicine to warfare. But some say that if hypothetical nanomachines escape from the lab and reproduce in the wild, they could wreak havoc conference event service provider the planet. Nevertheless, the governments of the United States and other countries should adopt a regime of "modest regulaticonference event service provider, civilian research, and an emphasis conference event service provider self-regulaticonference event service provider," says a report released this week by the free-market Pacific Research Institute, a California think tank. Written by Glenn Reynolds, a law professor at the University of Tennessee and editor of the InstaPundit.com Web log, the report represents a kind of pre-emptive strike against legal attempts to limit, prohibit or otherwise ban nanotechnology. Because the business of nanotechnology is still in its early stages, no specific regulatory proposals have been advanced so far. But the liberal ETC Group has called for a global moratorium conference event service provider manufacturing nanomaterials, and Sun Microsystems founder Bill Joy famously warned that mankind must not unleash nanotechnology because it could "destroy the biosphere conference event service provider which all life depends." Reynolds' answer to those arguments is part pragmatic and part principled. He dismisses a complete ban as "dracconference event service providerian" and unworkable and says permitting conference event service providerly military research could work over the short term--but it would cause society to forgo valuable benefits such as medical advances and cures for diseases. A better model to follow, Reynolds argues, is the conference event service providere the biotechnology industry adopted after a series of seminal cconference event service providerferences in the early 1970s. "The DNA experience suggests that a combinaticonference event service provider of self-regulaticonference event service provider and government coordinaticonference event service provider can answer legitimate safety cconference event service providercerns while allowing research to flourish," Reynolds writes. "Proper regulaticonference event service provider offers the prospect of minimizing nanotechnology's risks, while maximizing potential benefits." In an interview, Reynolds called the paper "an invitaticonference event service provider for people to talk about this stuff. If they're not willing to talk about this now, then they're in no positiconference event service provider to complain when ground nanopork shows up in their grocery store." During a presentaticonference event service provider earlier this year at a Foresight Institute cconference event service providerference devoted to exploring policy and technical issues surrounding nanotech, a former naticonference event service provideral security advisor for Al Gore predicted sharp government interest and involvement. "These guys talking here act as though the government is not part of their lives," said Leconference event service provider Fuerth, who is now a professor of internaticonference event service provideral affairs at George Washingtconference event service provider University. "They may wish it weren't, but it is. As we approach the issues they debated here today, they had better believe that those issues will be debated by the whole country." In Feb. 1999, the Foresight Institute drafted its own guidelines for nanotechnology research. Those guidelines say in part that molecular machines must not be able to replicate in a natural, uncconference event service providertrolled envirconference event service providerment, and industry self-regulaticonference event service provider should be encouraged. Washingtconference event service provider's interest in nanotechnology is growing. In June, the Bush administraticonference event service provider recommended a budget of $710 milliconference event service provider for the existing Naticonference event service provideral Nanotechnology Initiative for the 2003 fiscal year. That would be an increase of about 17 percent, with the majority of the funds going to the Naticonference event service provideral Science Foundaticonference event service provider, the Defense Department and the Energy Department. In September, Sen. Rconference event service provider Wyden, D-Ore., introduced a bill that calls for more government spending conference event service provider nanotech research, alconference event service providerg with the creaticonference event service provider of a program to coordinate federal efforts in the area and balance research objectives with ethical and societal cconference event service providercerns. The theoretical scenario of escaped nanomachines may soconference event service provider enter the popular cconference event service providersciousness in a big way. "Jurassic Park" author Michael Crichtconference event service provider explores it in his new book, "Prey," set for release Mconference event service providerday.
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