April 2000 Technology Updates1. Y2K Final ReportThe world made it through the Y2K computer crisis in good shape. But how much did fixing the Y2K bug cost? Estimates vary widely. The Gartner Group estimates that global spending on Y2K was approximately $600 billion, with $200 billion of that in the United States. IDC estimates that total U.S. spending on Y2K amounts to only $121 billion. We may never know the final bill for fixing the Y2K problem. In fact, many companies will have ongoing costs because they used a technique called "windowing" to fix their Y2K problem. With this technique a pivot date is selected. All two-digit years before that date are considered to have a 20 in front of the year, while all two-digit dates after the pivot are considered to have a 19 in front of the year. For example, if the pivot date is, say, 60, then the two-digit date 03 would be read as 2003, and the two-digit date 98 would be read 1998. The problem is that as the pivot date approaches these companies will have to change the pivot date or find other methods for fixing the problem. Thus, the cost of fixing the Y2K bug will keep rising. For more information, click on these links:
2. PC Tips - Configuring a personal firewallPersonal firewall software protects computers that are permanently connected to the Internet from hackers (see Personal firewalls in this month's technology updates). This PC Tip will show you how to configure and use BlackICE Defender from NetworkICE.
To monitor the status of your firewall, double-click on the BlackICE icon. A sample display follows:  The Attacks tab shows the date and time of the attack, the attack type, and the attacker. Be aware that many attacks are security scans from the access provider or inadvertent intrusions by innocent people. The Intruders tab provides more information about an intruder. You can use this information to contact the intruders Internet service provider. The History tab shows a graphical analysis of intrusion activity. 3. Voting OnlineOn Super Tuesday, March 8, 2000, the Arizona Democratic primary became the first binding election held in the United States where voters could cast their ballots over the Internet. The election actually ran for four days, from March 7 through March 11. Online turnout was very high -- about 40,000 people cast their ballot online (out of about 86,000 total). The number of people who voted online was more than double the number that voted in 1996. The ability to cast votes online may bring more young people, those under the age of 24, to the polls. Many senior citizens, however, are reluctant to vote online. The election was run by Election.com, a company that has run online elections for businesses and associations. The company worked to ensure the security and integrity of the voting. All registered voters were sent a personal identification number (PIN) prior to the election. Users entered their PIN and answered several personal questions to verify their identities. Once identity and address information was confirmed, the voter cast his/her ballot by clicking on the appropriate candidate. Vice-president Al Gore won the presidential primary. For more information, click on these links:
4. Tracking Web usersIn late February and early March 2000, DoubleClick, an online advertising placement company, announced and then quickly withdrew plans to track individual's Web browsing habits. The company serves ad banners on thousands of Web sites and is able to track users across those sites. The plan called for associating in a database users' names and addresses with their browsing habits. Consumer reaction caused DoubleClick's stock price to plummet. The U.S. government is also interested in tracking Web users for security purposes. The Working Group on Unlawful Conduct on the Internet, which the White House created to explore new laws related to the Internet, is set to release a report that recommends tracking Internet users. The report will encourage Internet service providers (ISPs) to track their users and keep detailed records. For more information, click on these links:
5. Battle Over CyberpatrolA major legal battle is heating up between Mattel, the makers of Barbie Dolls, and owners of Web sites that distributed a program that allows users to bypass the company's CyberPatrol filtering software. CyberPatrol is produced by Mattel subsidiary Microsystems Software, Inc. It is used to block access to objectionable Web sites and online newsgroups. Two programmers, Eddy Jansson of Sweden and Matthew Skala of Canada, wrote a program, called cphack, and posted it on the World Wide Web. The program enables users to bypass CyberPatrol. It also shows users what sites CyberPatrol is filtering. Mattel filed, and received, a temporary restraining order requiring the two programmers to remove the cphack program and supporting documentation from their Web sites. Although it is unclear if a U.S. judge's order would apply in Canada and Sweden the page was removed. Mattel is now going after sites that copied the program and documentation and any person who downloaded it. Among those sites blocked are: a number of student organizations at Carnegie Mellon University including the quilting club, many journalism newsgroups (such as alt.journalism), and the most recent update blocks Jansson's homepage. For more information, click on the links below:
6. 1 GHz chipsLast month's technology updates reported on a 1 GHz system that required refrigeration to operate. That system used a 750-MHz chip with increased clock speed. On March 6, 2000, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) announced that it has begun shipping a 1 GHz chip that uses standard cooling techniques (a heat sink on the chip and a fan built into the computer's power supply). The chip will sell for $1,299 per 1000 units. Not to be outdone, Intel, the number-one microprocessor company in the world, revealed its own 1 GHz chip on March 8. Dell was the first manufacturer to use the 1 GHz chip. However, fast Intel chips (like the 1 GHz) are in short supply due to the acceleration of their release dates. For example, the wait time for a 1 GHz Dell computer is currently almost a month. For more information, click on these links:
7. Personal FirewallsAs more homes and businesses use high-speed Internet connections, such as cable modems and digital subscriber lines (DSL), the demand for personal firewall software increases. Computers that use high-speed Internet access are permanently connected to the Internet and can come under attack from hackers. Personal firewall software is an inexpensive and easy way to protect these computers. Two of the best known personal firewall products are BlackICE Defender from NetworkICE and Norton Internet Security 2000 from Symantec. Both products cost about $50 and can be downloaded directly from the companies' Web sites. BlackICE protects against unauthorized intrusions. It also allows users to backtrace an intrusion and record evidence in case legal action is necessary. Norton Internet Security provides a suite of protection packages that includes a firewall, virus protection, privacy protection, and content-screening software. For more information, click on this link:
8. Iridium to crash to EarthIridium, the world's first satellite phone system, may soon shut down operations and allow its satellites to burn up in the Earth's atmosphere. The company, which had received financial backing from wireless phone company Motorola, filed for bankruptcy in August. Since then it has been looking for a buyer. Cellular phone mogul Craig McCaw was considering a $600 million purchase but backed away from the deal. Documents filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Southern New York by Iridium on March 17, 2000, ask the court to allow the company to shut down its service. The company also has asked for permission to alter the paths of its 66 satellites so they will drop out of orbit and burn up in the Earth's atmosphere. Iridium has sent a notice to its remaining 55,000 subscribers informing them that they should make other communications arrangements. The service ceased at midnight on March 17. It left two arctic explorers and a person attempting to row across the Pacific Ocean without means of communication. For more information, click on this link:
9. Game Console WarsOn March 10, 2000, Microsoft announced that it was developing a video game console called X-Box. The announcement came at the Game Developer's Conference in California. The device should be available in fall 2001. It will run on an Intel 600-MHz chip and include a DVD-ROM drive and an extremely fast graphics system. The device will also come with a modem and Ethernet port to allow game players to connect to the Internet using standard phone lines or high-speed connections, such as digital subscriber lines and cable modems. Pricing for the new console has not been announced. In another development, Sony has been plagued by problems with its PlayStation 2 console. The company has received over 1,000 complaints about a memory card problem that erased programming information needed to play certain games. Sony also discovered that the PlayStation 2 DVD player could be manipulated to play DVDs produced outside of Japan. This violates an industry agreement that DVD players play only domestic DVDs that contain an encryption code. The problem opens Sony to copyright violation lawsuits. For more information, click on these links:
10. Stephen King work available only onlineOn March 14, 2000, Stephen King became the first best-selling author to exclusively publish online. The new work is called Riding the Bullet. King described it as "a ghost story in the grand manner." It can be downloaded to personal digital assistants (such as the Palm Pilot), electronic book devices, and desktop computers for $2.50. However, many online book sellers, such as Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble, offered the story for free on the first day of release. Demand was so great that most users could not get through to the server to download it. Barnes and Noble offered to e-mail the work to people who could not access the server. Book-reading software must be installed before the story can be read. The Simon and Schuster Web site offers an excerpt of the story and also provides links to online sellers. Simon and Schuster is exploring online publishing with other authors. For more information, click on these links:
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