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News Track
ACM filed a declaration in federal court regarding the legal challenge to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in the Felten v. RIAA case. In the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey by a number of computing researchers led by Princeton University computer scientist Edward Felten, the plaintiffs are asking the court to rule portions of the DMCA unconstitutional, arguing its broad prohibitions on disseminating information and technology restrict freedom of speech as protected by the First Amendment. The declaration was filed (www.acm.org/felten) in support of Felten et al. to help the court understand the practical effect of the issues at stake in this case. ACM is also concerned that, in addition to harming the progress of research, the risk of legal liability under the DMCA threatens ACM's publication and sponsorship of professional conferences that might include scientific papers assessing the strengths and weaknesses of computer and data security measures. For more information, see Barbara Simon's "Viewpoint," p. 23.
"It is imperative for the court to understand the application of any law that may limit the freedom to publish research on computer technology will impose a cost on the academic community, the process of scientific discourse, and society in general. We believe the threat of litigation under the DMCA will have a profoundly chilling effect on analysis, research, and publication."
Taking a Bite Out of Shark Attacks
Scientists are attaching satellite antennas to the fins of great white sharks in an attempt to cut down on shark attacks, reports the New York Post. When the fish surfaceabout once every two daystheir locations are transmitted to a satellite, then posted on a Web site. The tagging program, started in Australia where five fatal shark attacks have occurred in the past 10 months, could eventually be used in Florida where a number of sharks have attacked swimmers and surfers. The cost of taggingabout $3,000 per sharkis being paid for by corporate sponsorship.
China Web Growth
The number of Internet users in China rose four million in the first six months of this year to 26.5 million, reports the China National Network Information Center. During the same period in 2000 the number of users had more than quadrupled to 16.9 million from 4 million in 1999. The Center's survey results also show Internet users becoming more representative of the population. Women make up 38.7% of the total, up from 25.3% last July. About 20% of users now earn less than $60 a month, up from 8.3% last year.
Table. 10 Worst Piracy Nations
Photomapping Technology
Researchers have developed polynomial texture mapping that uses a digital camera equipped with 50 small flashbulbs timed to provide a more complex view of the subject piece than if it were viewed with only the naked eye, reports Investor's Business Daily. Indentations show up so clearly that the technology can be used by forensic experts to discern filed-off serial numbers on handguns; archaeologists can now see ancient writing on cuneiform tablets. The new mapping will allow field workers to gather 50 times more photos for the same cost as traditional methods.
Simulating Mercury's Wobble
Computer simulations show planet Mercury's orbit wobbled 65 million years ago, contributing to the extinction of the dinosaurs, reports New Scientist. Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles' Center for Astrobiology used computer models to map out the solar system for the past 250 million years, looking closely at the perihelion of each planet (the point of orbit closest to the sun). They suggested an orbital blip pulled at the asteroid belt in Mercury's region and sent a shower of asteroids into the Earth, killing plant life and essentially starving the dinosaurs. Not all researchers agree, of course. "I'm skeptical," Mark Bailey, director of the Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland, said. "It seems that this is a very long chain of assumptions."
Cell Phone Impact on Wildlife
The mining of an essential ingredient in many electronic devices is causing elimination of gorillas, elephants, chimpanzees, and forest antelopes in the eastern Congo, reports NPR and BBC Wildlife. Coltan, short for columbo-tantalite, is a source of the element tantalumthe coating for components in cell phones and computers. Manufacturers have doubled and tripled their orders for tantalum supplies, driving the price of ore from about $30 a pound to more than $400. This has caused a rush of miners to the eastern Congo, and with the influx, the gorilla habitat is being destroyed, andmore significantlythe primates are being shot for meat. A researcher from the Wildlife Conservation Society found the eastern Congo elephant population virtually wiped out, and estimated about a 50% drop in the eastern lowland gorilla population.
Wile E. Coyote Doesn't Stand a Chance
The warning explaining rented vehicles are all G.P.S.-equipped and drivers who exceed the speed limit will be charged $150 per occurrence went unnoticed when James Turner signed the contract. It was when he returned home he discovered that Acme Rent-A-Car, New Haven, Conn., deducted $150 from his checking account three times during his trip with an Acme-rented van. The case went to court and was deferred to the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection. Acme has since made its rental agreement clearer, but the case brings up the latest issue of consumer privacy. So far, commercial trucking and rental car companies that use G.P.S. equipment and other intelligent systems (known as telematics) have been careful about protecting consumer privacy by not programming them to track speeds. After all, they do not want to jeopardize their potential markets.
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