TechWatch

Technology in the News: An Edupage Sampler
A sampler of items from Edupage, Educom's
three-times-a-week electronic digest of
information technology news.


EURO HOLOGRAM IS MISSING
Somewhere between Paris and Munich, a unique hologram design, intended to deter counterfeiting of the new euro currency, has turned up missing. The French-made hologram was on its way to a high-security printer near Nuremberg for testing. One European Union monetary official called the disappearance "startling" and there's speculation that the EU may have to change the design of its high-denomination euro banknotes, due to be issued in 2002. The hologram was designed by a small business in Paris and was taken to be loaded onto an Air France flight at Roissy airport by Brink's security services. Officials in Paris say the theft bears the hallmarks of a well-organized crime, as only an expert would understand the significance of the hologram in the note-printing process. (Financial Times, 21 May 98)


U.S. ENCRYPTION POLICY COULD COST COMPANIES $9 BILLION
A study released recently by the Economic Strategy Institute shows that U.S. makers of encryption software could miss out on $9 billion worth of sales over the next five years, if the U.S. doesn't revise its export policy. Although the administration has shown some signs of willingness to relax its stance against encryption export, companies remain wary. Government officials "continually play this game of offering some meaningless relief, promising more and never delivering," says RSA Data Security president Jim Bidzos. "They're gridlocked. When pressed to make concessions, the NSA and FBI never find any compromises acceptable." "We need to get a new dialogue started," says IBM's public policy director. "As long as there is posturing by law enforcement on one hand and people advocating total freedom to use and export strong encryption on the other, you're going to end up in this area of paralysis." (Investor's Business Daily, 21 May 98)


NEW WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY FOR DATA TRANSFER
A group of computer and telecommunications companies is backing a new technology for transferring electronic data over short distances, up to 30 feet. The technology, code-named Bluetooth, uses a portion of the radio spectrum that was set aside for industrial, scientific and medical devices, and can transfer data at about eight times the speed of a 56-Kbps computer modem. Bluetooth transmitters are expected to cost about $20 apiece, and will be able to communicate with a number of different devices. Backers include Intel, IBM, Nokia, Ericsson and Toshiba Corp.
(Wall Street Journal, 20 May 98)


REPETITIVE STRESS INJURIES TO STUDENTS
Rising numbers of teenagers and college students are suffering from Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI) as a result of using computer keyboards. A study at Carnegie Mellon University shows that 22% of students, faculty and staff report symptoms of RSI, and vast increases in RSI problems have been reported by Harvard, MIT and other institutions. Anita Barkin at Carnegie Mellon says: "Students are using computers earlier and earlier. They are using them in elementary school and in high school. By the time they come here, they've already gotten into some bad habits and have not been aware that RSI is a problem." (Washington Post, 17 May 98)

NAVY TURNS TO OFF-THE-SHELF PCs TO POWER SHIPS
The U.S. Navy, facing pressure from Congress to cut spending, is maintaining its cutting edge by replacing expensive custom-built systems with off-the-shelf products. "If we insisted on military specs, we'd be a generation behind, and they'd cost twice as much," says the intelligence officer on the USS Coronado. The new strategy, called IT-21 or Information Technology for the 21st Century, is the brainchild of the Pacific Fleet commander-in-chief Adm. Archie Clemins. "If you use proprietary systems, you can never stay current with technology," says Clemins. Another advantage is a shortened learning curve: "Everybody knows how to use the technology so training costs are way down." In addition, using off-the-shelf systems makes it a lot easier to coordinate joint operations with U.S. allies. "Proprietary computers were too expensive for our coalition partners." The only downside is that the Navy may be losing some of its computer brain power to the private sector: "Our people are very valuable in the commercial world," says a spokesman. (St. Petersburg Times, 18 May 98)


THE INTERNET AS LOBBYING TOOL
Referring to a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event yesterday demonstrating the use of the Internet as a lobbying tool for communicating with (lobbying) government officials, James Thurber, director of American University's Center for Congressional Studies, says: "This is an example of the future. . . . The linkage between a direct lobbying effort and the Internet is going to improve the capacity of these large organizations to pressure individual members of Congress to do what they want them to do. With these sites, they can just click an icon, and they have programs that will automatically send a letter to the right members of Congress." (Washington Post 18 May 98)


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