Communications of the ACM
News track
News Track
IT professionals who (so far) escaped the layoffs and corporate downsizing can expect workloads to increase dramatically in coming years with salary increases slight. A new 2001 IT Market Compensation Study survey by Gartner Consulting's People3 group found that IT departments should expect workloads to increase 50% in the next four years. Meanwhile, median salaries for all IT staff increased 1.8% to $62,100 in 2001 from 2000, with system programmers seeing the biggest salary gains (7.1%). A related survey from RHI Consulting in Menlo Park, CA., found relief will not come soon for overworked techies. The Chicago Tribune reports that a survey of 1,400 CIOs across the U.S. showed only 15% intend to add staff and 4% will reduce staff in the first quarter of this yearthe lowest net increase in the survey's seven-year history. The safest workers are those "whose work history includes demonstrated contributions to the bottom line," says RHI head, Katherine Spencer Lee.
Jacked-In Jersey
A team of European researchers has designed a soccer shirt with computer devices sewn in to monitor athletes remotely. The shirt is capable of measuring the pace, acceleration, pulse rate, and temperature of the wearer, reports BBC News Online. The e-shirt, created to better analyze the speed and performance of athletes during live sporting events, transmits data via a radio. Researchers from universities in Germany, Italy, Austria, Greece, the U.K., and The Netherlands developed the jersey, although some design challenges still remain. In particular: how the mechanisms can survive the wash cycle.
Not Just Music
Games and music aren't the only features that attract teens to the Internet. According to a new survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation, teens and young adults hit the Web for health-related information just as much as they download tunes or shop online. Indeed, one in four people ages 1524 say they get a great deal of health information online, and a significant number of those youths are acting on the information they find. The survey, Generation Rx.com, found nearly 40% of young people claim to have changed their own behavior because of information they found on the Web. Half of all online youths search for information on specific diseases such as cancer and diabetes as well as sensitive youth-oriented topics such as birth control and HIV/AIDS. One in four check for information related to weight issues, mental health, drugs and alcohol, and violence. Kaiser's Victoria Rideout says the results of this survey were stunning, raising a series of questions regarding the quality of the online information available and targeted to this age group.
Infectious Glow
A smart bandage that glows when the wound it is covering begins to develop certain bacteria will soon offer a valuable medical service to patients and doctors. The early alert will allow doctors to treat serious infections more swiftly and effectively. A team of U.S. researchers has created a tiny device that emits a faint glow in the presence of two types of bugs, reports Nature magazine. Although the glow from the current bandage is not detectable with the naked eye, the goal is to create a refined sensor to generate a recognizable array of colors signifying dangerous or antibiotic-resistant strains.
All-Seeing
New software code released from Intel researchers may allow developers to build computers that can see in real depth and clarity. Computer vision applications have traditionally been limited to 2D, single flat images. The stereoscopic-enabling source code from Intel enhances computer vision capabilities dramatically to include gesture and face recognition, and object tracking. Researchers claim that those technologies may lead to more sophisticated computer interfaces, better security systems and biometric tools, improved robotics, and space exploration methods, reports IDG. Intel researchers expect computer vision to play a significant role in simplifying the interaction between users and computers throughout the decade.
On Your Mark
Those who attempt to copy copyrighted digital material may be thwarted by a new watermarking technology that inserts information about a user's smart card into the copied file. If that data was unavailable, then the watermark would contain hardware information, thus allowing pirates to be traced by an e-trail emanating from their own files, reports New Scientist Online. The technology would take the form of a microchip and software combination to be used with digital video recording capabilities. Researchers have questioned the resistance of this watermarking technology developed by Amino Communications. Others, however, see serious privacy issues in store.
Brain Waves
The most detailed and sophisticated computer atlas of the brain ever created will not only display the brain's anatomy, but model how it functions. A group of brain cartographers from around the world is working together on this $15 million project that will involve assembling brain scans from 7,000 healthy individuals from nine countries, representing a cross section of the global population. To date, the brain map that served as a model for all the billions of unique brains on the planet was based on that of a 60-year-old French woman. With this new online 3D atlas, still a couple of years from completion, scientists and doctors worldwide will be able to compare and interact in order to treat patients with greater speed and accuracy.
"I teach ethical values. It's not my responsibility if (students) use my information to do something illegal at home."
Clad Strife, Instructor at The Hackademy
Diabolical Degree
A school for computer hackers recently opened in Paris designed to instruct future e-intruders in the art of hacking. Faculty members at The Hackademy (we're serious) claim the goal of the school is to teach computer enthusiasts how to protect themselves from being hacked. Then again, these faculty members have names like "Clad Strife" and "Fozzy" to protect themselves from possible litigation. Paris police are reportedly watching this school very closely, according to the New York Daily News. Their concern, of course, is what the students eventually do with the knowledge they gain from this institution.
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