March 2000 Technology Updates1. Leap-day bugMost people were relieved after New Year's when the Y2K bug failed to produce major computer problems. However, Y2K experts could not really relax until February 29, 2000. Leap day presented another opportunity for the Y2K-related difficulties. The problems arise out of the complex rules that determine which years have a Leap day. Normally Leap days occur in years that are evenly divisible by four. However, this rule does not apply to years that are also divisible by 100. These years must also be divisible by 400 to have a Leap day. So, 1900 did not have a Leap day, but the year 2000 does, and many programmers may not have accounted for it. Japan was hard-hit by the Leap day bug. Approximately 1200 cash dispensers shut down due to the problem. Also, Japan's weather bureau reported that a Leap-day bug shut down its computer systems for two days. There were a few problems reported in the U.S., where some Bell Atlantic Caller ID systems displayed the date February 29, 2000, as March 1, 2000. Meanwhile reports of minor Y2K bugs are still filtering in. For example, a video rental store in New York attempted to charge a customer over $90,000 for a video that appeared to be returned 100 years late. Also, some computerized traffic lights failed in various countries. For more information, click on this link:
2. PC Tips - Emergency recovery part 2Something has gone wrong with your computer. It won't start properly. Fortunately, you already created an emergency disk (if not, see the February 2000 PC Tips). With that emergency disk at your side, use the following table to determine what steps you should take next:
3. Online TVA federal judge has ordered iCraveTV to stop broadcasting television content over the Internet until a number of lawsuits against the company can be heard. iCraveTV is a Canadian company that broadcasts the feed from 17 Canadian and U.S. television stations over the Internet. iCraveTV did not receive the television stations' permission to rebroadcast their feeds. The stations, along with movie studios and sports leagues, claim this is a violation of copyright. The U.S. television stations whose feed the company used are suing for $150,000 for each show broadcast. The National Basketball League (NBA) and National Football League (NFL) are each seeking $5 million. Canadian broadcasters are suing for $75 million. The company is working on technology that would block U.S.-based Web users from accessing the site. However, in the absence of such technology the site is virtually shut down. For related information, click on these links:
4. FTC probes AlexaThe Federal Trade Commission has launched an informal inquiry into Amazon.com's Alexa Internet division. Alexa is software that monitors a user's Web surfing habits. It also provides users with a list of sites related to the one they are currently viewing. The FTC is interested in determining if Alexa engaged in "unfair and deceptive acts." The inquiry comes on the heels of two lawsuits alleging that Alexa secretly transmitted personal data about users to Amazon.com. The suits are seeking class action status. Amazon.com denies any wrong doing. For more information, click on these links:
5. Denial of service attacks bring down major Web sitesThe Internet portal site Yahoo! was brought down for nearly three hours on February 7, 2000. Yahoo! is the second most popular site on the World Wide Web (after AOL). Yahoo! delivers an average of 465 million page views per day. Many businesses rely on its e-mail, calendar, and scheduling features. The outage was caused by a coordinated denial of service (DOS) attack on Yahoo's servers. In a DOS attack a hacker sends millions of fake messages to a server. The server becomes bogged down attempting to respond to these messages and cannot handle requests from other users. Other major Web sites, including eBay, Etrade, and CNN, were also victims of DOS attacks. Attorney General Janet Reno stated, "We are committed in every way possible to tracking down those who are responsible." The FBI has initiated an investigation. For more information, click on these links:
6. A refrigerator for your computerSYS Technologies has released a computer system that runs at 1 gigahertz (or 1,000 MHz). The system uses a standard AMD Athlon 750 MHz chip that has had its clock speed increased to 1 GHz. However, increasing the clock speed of the chip causes it to overheat. The problem has been solved by adding a refrigeration unit that cools the system to minus 40 degrees Celsius. Thus the system is named SYS Cold-Fusion 1000. While the system outperforms competitors for raw processing power, it performs somewhat worse when handling daily business activities. This is due to a slow cache (a part of the processorŐs memory that stores temporary information) and a slow hard disk system. The system comes with 128MB of RAM, an 18-B hard drive, and a 19-inch monitor. If purchased direct from SYS Technologies, the system costs $4,444. For more information, click on these links:
7. Windows 2000On February 17, 2000, Microsoft launched its latest operating system, called Windows 2000. The company received some help when Captain Picard of the USS Enterprise -- actor Patrick Stewart from TV's "Star Trek" -- showed up at the launch. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates reported that it took 5,000 programmers and $2 billion to complete the new operating system. Windows 2000 is aimed at the corporate and Internet server market. For small businesses and home users Microsoft suggests sticking with Windows 95 or 98 until the upgrade, called Millennium, is released next year. One of the main advantages of Windows 2000 over Windows NT (the old Microsoft operating system for corporate users and Internet servers) is its stability. Where Windows NT would typically crash within a week, Windows 2000 remains stable for months. In addition, Windows 2000 will support linking more central processing units (CPU) together. This ability is important for Internet servers that have to handle thousands of requests per second. Windows 2000 will compete with Linux in the Internet server market. For more information, click on these links:
8. Mannesman-Vodaphone mergerThe largest merger in history was announced on February 3, 2000. British mobile phone company Vodaphone Airtouch successfully ended its three-month bid for the German mobile phone company Mannesmann. Mannesmann is EuropeŐs largest mobile phone provider. The deal, worth about $160 billion, would give Mannesmann control of 49.5% of the combined company. Vodaphone was already the world's largest mobile phone provider. The combined company will control about 10 percent of the world's mobile phone business, with more than 40 million subscribers. The new company will compete directly with AT&T in the United States and NTT in Japan. For more information, click on these links:
9. Congress moves to raise visa limits for skilled workersWith the unemployment rate in the U.S. at a 30-year low and the technology sector booming, many high-tech companies are having difficulty filling jobs. Many operations are looking to skilled immigrants to fill positions, who need H1-B visas to work in the U.S. Recognizing the staffing problem, Congress raised the limit on the number of H1-B visas from 65,000 per year in 1998 to 115,000 in 1999 and 2000. However, even the higher limit is not enough to meet the demand. Legislation has been introduced in the Senate to raise the number of H1-B visas to 195,000 per year for the next three years. Unless new legislation is passed the visa limit will decrease to 107,500 in 2001 and revert back to 65,000 in 2002.The President has not indicated whether he will sign the bill if it is passed. For more information, click on these links below:
10. Ford and Delta offer employees PCs and Internet connectionsFord Motor Company announced on February 2, 2000, that it will offer its 300,000 employees computers and Internet access for a nominal monthly fee. Ford is working with Hewlett-Packard (HP), MCI Worldcom, and PeoplePC to offer a computer, printer, and Internet access for $5 per month. The HP computers will come with a 500-MHz Intel Celeron processor, 64MB of RAM, a 4.3GB hard drive, CD-ROM drive, a 15-inch monitor, and 56K modem. Basic Web-browsing and word-processing software will also be provided. Following Ford's lead, Delta Airlines announced similar plans for its 75,000 employees. Delta partnered with PeoplePC to offer the service for $13 per month. Employees will be required to sign up for three years in order to participate.
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