February 2001 Technology Updates
1. Transfer of Web power
While the presidential election did not proceed smoothly, the rushed transition and inauguration appeared to — that is, until people attempted to access the official White House Web site on inauguration day. The site was virtually unusable. Many of the links did not work, and the home page included an area with the text "Insert something meaningful here."
Part of the problem was that the election's legal wrangling left little time for the transition. But another problem remains: part of the site was written in a relatively obscure computer language called Symbolics Lisp. The new administration is apparently having difficulty finding somebody who knows this language and is willing to make the needed changes. The person responsible for writing the original code was a Democratic intern from MIT.
For more information, click on these links:
2. PC Tips — Fast Excel charts
Spreadsheet data is often used to create charts for presentation purposes. Creating charts in Microsoft Excel is easy. Just follow these steps:
- Create your spreadsheet and add all your data
- Select the data you want to use for your chart. To do this you can highlight the area with your mouse or place the cursor in the upper left cell and press CTRL+Shift+* (Control, Shift, and * simultaneously).
- To create a fast bar chart just press F11. The chart will be created in a new sheet.
- If you do not want a bar chart or just want more control over the process, then click on the chart wizard icon.
- The wizard has four steps:
- One. Select the chart type, then click on Next >
- Two. Select the data range (this was already done in step 2 above, but you can make changes here if you'd like), then click on Next >
- Three. Enter chart options. You can name your chart, label the axes, and add gridlines and legend. Experiment to see what looks best. Then click on Next >
- Four. Decide if you want your chart saved as a new sheet or as an object on the current sheet (this latter option will cause your chart to appear near the data), then click on Finish.
3. Domain name system vulnerable
On January 29, 2001, the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) reported that a vulnerability in the software that runs the Internet Domain Name System (DNS) could lead to widespread disruption of Internet traffic. The DNS translates English-like names, such as www.prenhall.com, into Internet addresses, such as 204.179.152.71. CERT is concerned that unauthorized persons could access the computers that run the DNS and reroute Internet traffic. For example, all requests for a popular Web site like Yahoo could be shunted to a small site.
The problem rests with a program called Berkeley Internet Name Domain (BIND), which handles about eighty percent of the DNS. CERT has found four specific vulnerabilities in BIND versions 4 and 8 (see http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-2001-02.html for technical details). Fortunately, systems administrators can solve the problem simply by upgrading to the latest version of BIND.
For more information, click on these links:
4. Argus's $50K contest
Argus Systems Group believes that its Pit Bull operating system security product is impenetrable. In fact, many computer security experts have given Pit Bull high marks for security. Argus is so confident that it recently promised to give away $50,000 to the first hacker who successfully perpetrated four different types of hacks on a Web site the company established for the contest. The company considered giving away a car, but in past hacking contents the winners were often too young to drive.
The contest began on January 15, 2001, and ran for two weeks. However, in late January the contest site was brought down for a few days by denial of service (DoS) attacks, which flooded the service with illegitimate requests. The server overloaded and couldn't handle legitimate traffic. In any event, as of the last day of the contest (January 31, 2001) none of the four hacks had been perpetrated.
For more information, click on these links:
5. Amazon and Microsoft pull Hezbollah ads
Executives at Amazon.com and Microsoft were surprised to learn that a Lebanese television station owned by the Hezbollah was displaying their banner ads on its Web site. Hezbollah is considered a terrorist group by the U.S. State Department. The discovery was made by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an organization that monitors anti-semitic behavior.
The television station, ManarTV, was able to use the ads by signing up for Amazon and Microsoft's affiliate advertising programs. With an affiliate program a site agrees to display a banner ad in exchange for a small percentage of the business it sends to the company's advertising company's Web site. Large companies, such as Amazon.com and Microsoft, do not investigate every company that applies for affiliate status. Instead they remove affiliates if they deem them inappropriate. Both companies have ended ManarTV's affiliate status.
For more information, click on these links:
6. Xbox
During the huge International Consumer Electronics Show, held in Las Vegas during the first weekend in January 2001, Microsoft unveiled its long anticipated gaming console, the Xbox. It was introduced by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and World Wrestling Federation (WWF) star The Rock. The WWF is developing a wrestling game for the Xbox.
The Xbox controller contains a feedback system, which shakes the controller at appropriate times, like when a gamer's wrestler gets slammed into the mat. Xbox, which connects to the Internet, is expected in stores for the 2001 holiday season. No information about pricing has been made public.
For more information, click on these links:
7. Web translation software
On January 9, 2001, IBM introduced software that quickly translates Web pages, e-mail, and other Web content between English and a variety of other languages. The software, called WebSphere Translation Server, currently supports translation between English and Spanish, German, Italian, and French. It can also translate English into Chinese, Japanese, and Korean but cannot translate those languages to English.
The software will run on the Internet and corporate servers. It processes text translation at about 500 words per minute. The software will be ready to ship in March 2001.
For more information, click on these links:
8. DSL service problems
A group of irate customers have filed suit against Verizon Communications, the company formed by the merger of Bell Atlantic and Nynex. The suit — its proponents are seeking class action status for it — alleges that Verizon knows that it is unable to support the number of customers it signs up for its digital subscriber line (DSL) service. DSL is a high speed Internet connection that can work over existing phone lines. However, special equipment needs to be installed at the customer's location and at the phone switching location.
Problems with installation and service of DSL lines in general are becoming legendary. Many customers receive multiple visits from a technician and still do not receive the service. Some customers are airing their complaints on Web sites such as VerizonComplaints.com.
For more information, click on these links:
9. New UK crime bill
On January 19, 2001, a bill was introduced, by the British Government's Home Office, in the United Kingdom (UK) that has outraged privacy advocates. The proposed legislation is called the "Criminal Justice and Police Bill." If enacted, it would give police in the UK broad powers in dealing with disorderly conduct. The bill would also allow the police or custom's officials to copy the hard drive of any computer found during a legal search. The copy would be searched for evidence at a later time.
Some corporate executives who travel with notebook computers are concerned that the bill could be used by the British Government and British industry for industrial espionage. The technologies ordinarily used to protect sensitive information on computers, such as passwords and encryption, are vulnerable due to a previous UK law that requires computer owners to provide encryption passwords to the police upon request.
For more information, click on these links:
10. CASE tools for rent
The makers of software development tools, also called computer aided software engineering (CASE), have seen their market shrink considerably over the past few years. Where these tools used to sell for tens of thousands of dollars, they now sell for hundreds. Now a number of companies, including Oracle and IBM, are beginning to offer their tools online using the application service provider (ASP) model. Under this model companies lease the software for a monthly fee instead of buying it outright.
Many companies like the new approach as it allows them to set up their development environment quickly. In most cases companies save money by paying only a monthly fee and allowing somebody else to host the software.
For more information, click on these links:
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