February 2000 Technology Updates1. Y2K - Initial AssessmentThe New Year came and went, and fears about widespread problems due to the Y2K computer bug have been put to rest. Most major systems, such as electricity generation and delivery, were not affected by the bug, but some problems did arise. Here are some examples:
Experts predict that we have not yet seen all of the Y2K-related problems. Many companies use software only at certain times of the year -- to process financial statements, for example. Therefore, reports of additional Y2K problems may filter in throughout the year. For more information, click on these links:
2. PC Tips - Emergency Startup DiskYou turn your computer on and nothing happens. What can you do to bring your computer back to life? If you are using Windows 95/98, you may have already created an emergency disk. If you have not (or if you want to create one for future emergencies), follow these steps:
After the disk has been created, label it and put it somewhere safe. Next month's PC Tips will examine what to do with the startup disk in an emergency. 3. Domain Names for SaleIf you have attempted to register an Internet domain name recently, you know that most of the good ones are taken. In the fierce competition to generate traffic at Web sites, a good domain name is a must. Thus the owners of some attractive names have put them up for sale. The bidding for domain names started heating up in December when eCompanies, a Web business incubator, paid $7.5 million for the Business.com domain. Just after the New Year the owners of the Year2000.com domain put it up for sale on the eBay online auction site. The domain had been used to track potential Y2K computer bug problems. Three $10-million bids were received, but two were pranks and the third was withdrawn. The owners of Year2000.com are now planning to find a buyer through a private sale. Because domain names can be registered for only $70, some people have made a business out of registering names only to resell them, a practice called cybersquatting. Currently about 97 percent of the words in Webster's English dictionary have been used in domain names. Congress has recently passed an anti-cybersquatting law, and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is looking at ways to prevent cybersquatting. For more information, click on these links:
4. Stealing Domain NamesWhile some people are content making up and then selling domain names, others have attempted to steal them. Over the last few months there have been numerous attempts to hijack domain names. In July a resident of Chicago found that he controlled a number of domain names, including excite.com (which is one of the ten most-visited sites on the Internet). His being reassigned these names was apparently a prank, and the domain names were returned by the Chicago resident to their rightful owners. In January 2000, an unknown individual attempted to hijack domain names used by Exodus, a Web hosting company, and by the World Wide Web Consortium, a Web standards body. The individual sent an e-mail with a fake return address to Network Solutions, the company that controls the master domain name database. In a separate January incident the owner of an online pornography directory was the victim of a hijacking attempt. The hijacker tried to sell the domain name on eBay for $750,000 but the auction was stopped when the theft was noticed. Network Solutions provides additional security for those domain name owners who request it. However, these security procedures can be cumbersome, so most people do not bother. For more information, click on this link:
5. Online CD Store Break-inIf a thief breaks into a CD store, she can come away with CDs. If another thief breaks into an online CD store, he can come away with over 300,000 credit card numbers. That is what happened to CD Universe in early December 1999, when a hacker broke into its Web site. The hacker, who calls himself Maxim, is believed to be located in Eastern Europe. Maxim attempted to blackmail CD Universe into paying him $100,000 for the destruction of the credit card numbers. When the company refused to pay, he posted the numbers to his Web site. CD Universe has acknowledged the break-in. The company is working with the FBI to catch the hacker. It is also working with its customers and credit card companies to resolve problems stemming from the theft. The incident has raised a general concern among e-tailers and Web security experts. For more information, click on these links:
6. Transmeta Unveils Its Big SecretThe secretive Silicon Valley chip company Transmeta Corporation (see December 1999 Technology Updates) unveiled its first computer chips on January 19, 2000. The new chips, called Crusoe, are targeted at the fast growing mobile-computing sector. The chips use less battery power than comparable chips from other manufacturers. The Crusoe chips use less than 1.65 watts of power, while rival Intel's Pentium III chips use about 7 watts. Transmeta's first chip, called TM3120, will target the notebook PC market. It is available at speeds of 333 and 400 megahertz (MHz). Its second chip, called TM5400, will be built for ultra-light notebook computers and will run at speeds of 500 and 700 MHz. For more information, click on these links:
7. Linux Takes on Windows CELinux, the free open-source version of the Unix operating system, has become popular on Web servers. Now the Linux community plans to bring scaled-down versions of the operating system to portable devices. Transmeta, the mobile-computing chip maker, plans to give away its Mobile Linux software to companies that use its chips in their portable devices. Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux, is an employee at Transmeta. Transmeta will have competition in the Linux mobile-device space from Lineo. Lineo's version of Linux is called Embedix. Since all Linux code is open source (it is made public for anyone to improve) both companies will probably quickly incorporate the other's improvement into their own software. Both products will compete with Microsoft's Windows CE. For more information, click on these links:
8. No New Rules for TelecommutersA Labor Department letter of interpretation concerning the health and safety of telecommuters came to light in January and was quickly withdrawn. The letter was sent by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), part of the Labor Department, to an employer with telecommuters. The letter stated that "the employer is responsible for correcting hazards of which it is aware, or should be aware." This raised concern that employers would be forced to visit the homes of telecommuters to look for safety problems. Labor Secretary Alexis Herman withdrew the letter immediately after it became public. There are currently over 20 million telecommuters and the number is growing. Advocates of telecommuting feared that the letter would discourage employers from allowing employees to work from home. For more information, click on these links:
9. Encryption Export Restrictions LiftedOn January 10, 2000, the Department of Commerce released new regulations easing the export of software that contains strong encryption technology. The new regulations, which have been delayed since September 1999, were eagerly awaited by the U.S. software industry. In the past, U.S. regulations prohibited the export of software that could be used to encrypt computer files and messages. This position was primarily due to concerns that the technology would make it more difficult for U.S. intelligence organizations to monitor illegal activities ***to ?. However, the regulations were viewed by many experts ***By the U.S. software industry? as leaving the U.S. software industry with a disadvantage over software companies in other countries with more liberal export controls. The new regulations allow U.S. companies to sell encryption technologies to "individuals, commercial firms, and other non-government end-users in all destinations." Export restrictions to governments that support terrorists -- such as Iraq, North Korea, and Libya -- still apply. For more information, click on these links:
10. AOL - Time Warner MergeOn January 10, 2000, America Online (AOL), the world's largest Internet service provider, announced that it will purchase Time Warner, one of the world's largest media companies. The new company will be called AOL Time Warner and trade on the New York Stock Exchange under AOL's current ticker symbol. The impetus for the deal was AOL's desire to position itself to take advantage of broadband, high speed, Internet connections. The deal will give AOL access to Time Warner's cable television network, allowing AOL subscribers to take advantage of high-speed cable modems. AOL subscribers had been limited to slow-speed dial-up connections. It will also give AOL access to Time Warner's media content. Time Warner owns CNN, Sports Illustrated, and Warner Brothers. For more information, click on these links:
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