Communications of the ACM articles from September 1999

Communications of the ACM archives from September 1999

UCITA LATEST.(Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act)
September 1, 1999... The National Conference of Commissions on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) in July voted to promulgate the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA), formerly the Article 2B amendment of the Uniform Commercial Code. Under much...

INTERNET MERGER BOOM.(Brief Article)
September 1, 1999... Global technology mergers doubled in value to a record $545 billion in the first half of 1999, shattering last year's total record deal value of $488 billion, according to a report by investment bank Broadview International. The explosion in...

MULTIPLE LANGUAGE CHOICES.(on the Web)(Internet/Web/Online Service Information)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1999... By 2002, the majority of worldwide Internet users will be non-English speaking; by 2005, six of 10 users are expected to speak a language other than English, according to research firm Computer Economics, Carlsbad, Calif. The coming...

HOW GREEN WAS MY SILICON VALLEY.
September 1, 1999... Once the heart of the Internet technology industry, Silicon Valley now faces intense competition to lure high-tech firms and employees. Such regions as Seattle's "Silicon Forest," Austin, Texas's Silicon Hills," Washington, D.C.'s "Silicon...

PATIENTS TEACHING DOCTORS.
September 1, 1999... Medical Web sites are arming patients with loads of health information and diagnostics about diseases and ways to treat them, sometimes knowing more than their doctors, reports USA Today. At the end of last year, 22 million adults went online...

WOODSTOCK DRAGNET.
September 1, 1999... In the aftermath of arson, looting, and allegations of rape during and after Woodstock 99, the weekend-long concert held in upstate New York 30 years after the original event, state police have resorted to the Web to gain information on...

Voice and Data Traffic Jam.
September 1, 1999... I WAS QUITE SURPRISED AND disappointed by Michael Noll's "Technical Opinion" ("Does Data Traffic Exceed Voice Traffic," June 1999, p. 121). The very premise that "today's megamergers may be tomorrow's megalosses" because voice traffic will...

Why the Anticircumvention Regulations Need Revision.
September 1, 1999... Like a tempest in a teapot, the storm rages on over DMCA's ambiguous provisions. Every vision of the digital future foresees copyrighted content widely available via global networks. There is considerable debate, however, about the...

Y2K International Status and Opportunities.(Industry Trend or Event)
September 1, 1999... Measures to raise awareness are only the first steps to global compliance. Having spent considerable resources fixing the Y2K computer problem in the U.S., governments and firms are now particularly concerned about possible effects...

Can a Course Be Taught Entirely Via Email?(Industry Trend or Event)
September 1, 1999... Distance learning is a hot topic on U.S. college campuses. Recently, a trend has developed in many schools to offer complete email courses, and in some cases, one can obtain an entire degree via email [3, 4]. But there are nagging questions:...

DIGITAL NEWSPAPERS EXPLORE MARKETING ON THE INTERNET.
September 1, 1999... New forms of digital news products combine existing forms of generating revenue with new product development and services. The newspaper industry has extended the traditional print medium through its use of the Internet. Marketing in this...

Exploiting the Benefits of Y2K Preparation.(Industry Trend or Event)
September 1, 1999... Paying for the Y2K compliance is also an investment in future systems performance, and in long-term business performance and financial goals. DESPITE THE ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF PRESS coverage Y2K readiness has received, the thrust of that...

TEACHING E-COMMERCE.(at George Washington University)
September 1, 1999... The students were the virtual vendors, consumers, and corporate executives, paying and receiving e-payments and negotiating with the bank and the government. TO A MULTIDISCIPLINARY CLASS A semester-long e-commerce course the authors...

The Economics of NETWORK MANAGEMENT.
September 1, 1999... Why are pricing issues the key to infrastructure investment and future growth of the Internet? It is not surprising that researchers in network technology are utilizing ideas from the field of economics since it provides the conceptual...

DISTRIBUTED MISSION TRAINING TEAMS, VIRTUAL REALITY, and REAL-TIME NETWORKING.
September 1, 1999... DISTRIBUTED MISSION TRAINING (DMT) IS a REVOLUTIONARY TEAM-TRAINING Paradigm currently evolving at the U.S. Department of Defense, especially in the Air Force. The objective of DMT is to concurrently train people in team efforts involving...

MULTIMODAL INTEGRATED TEAM TRAINING.
September 1, 1999... DISTRIBUTED MISSION TRAINING IS THE CREATION OF A SHARED ENVIRONMENT comprised of real, virtual, and constructive systems that allow teams of individuals to train both individually and collectively. While DMT is primarily a team-training...

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DISTRIBUTED MISSION TRAINING.
September 1, 1999... Synthetic training environments can enhance teamwork performance. THE ADVANCES IN COMPUTING AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES have led to synthetic training environments with tremendous potential. Distributed Mission Training is such an...

A REUSABLE ARCHITECTURE for SIMULATIONS.
September 1, 1999... Flexible, interacting simulations provide a foundation for successful DMT applications. The High Level Architecture (HLA) for simulation systems is designed to facilitate reuse and interoperability of a wide range of virtual and live...

IMAGE GENERATION SYSTEMS IN VIRTUAL TRAINING PLATFORMS.(Technology Information)
September 1, 1999... A novel technology proves ideally suited to fast-moving training environs. COMPUTER-IMAGE GENERATION IN VR ENVIRONMENTS IS AN IMPORTANT component of Distributed Mission Training systems. In fact, this is one of the limiting factors of...

IMPLEMENTING DISTRIBUTED MISSION TRAINING.(US Air Force Research Laboratory's RoadRunner'98 exercise)(Technology Information)
September 1, 1999... An experimental training program tests the DMT mettle through some tough terrain. THE GOAL OF DISTRIBUTED MISSION TRAINING IS TO PROVIDE INDIVIDUALS with opportunities to train for real-world operational missions in an environment that...

Getting the Best of Both Real and Virtual Worlds.(Technology Information)
September 1, 1999... A simple but effective way to facilitate visual occlusion using a see-through display. In contrast to virtual reality systems, generally designed to immerse the user as fully as possible within a synthetic environment, computer-augmented...

The Trojan Horse Race.(Internet/Web/Online Service Information)
September 1, 1999... This year has been pivotal for malicious software (malware) such as viruses, worms, and Trojan horses. Although the problem is not new, Internet growth and weak system security have increased the risks. Viruses and worms survive by moving...

ACM Special Task Force Identifies K-12 Education Problems.(Technology Information)
September 1, 1999... The ACM K-12 Special Task Force, which had its first meeting in June, focused on the issue that the majority of students graduating today do not have adequate skills in math, science, and technology to become competitive players in the global...

Commentary: Jenny House Urges ACM Members to Get Involved with K-12 Education!(chair of the ACM Presidential Task Force on K-12 Education)(Technology Information)(Interview)
September 1, 1999... Jenny House is the Chair of the ACM Presidential Task Force on K-12 Education (kindergarten through 12th grade, pre-college). Her committee had its first meeting this past June, shortly before the Educational Computing Conference held in...

Budapest Meeting Rescheduled for September.(ACM meeting)(Industry Trend or Event)
September 1, 1999... As reported in the March issue of MemberNet, ACM had scheduled a meeting in Budapest in May, 1999 to focus on information technology issues in the Eastern and Central European region. That meeting was regretfully postponed due to the crisis...

Grants Information on acm.org.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1999... A new site at acm.org brings funding information to ACM members and the general community. The site, at http://www.acm.org/education/grants/, provides information about online funding resources, pointers to grant writing, and a grants...

Development Exchange Names ACM Crossroads "Site of the Week".(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1999... The editors of the Development Exchange have chosen ACM Crossroads as the "Site of the Week." ACM Crossroads is the ACM electronic and print student magazine written for and prepared by students. The Objective Viewpoint column of ACM...

ACM Student Promoted Chapters by Educators.(Industry Trend or Event)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1999... Why should there be a Student ACM Chapter in every college and university worldwide? Three educators from prominent universities comment on the importance of: * Professional contacts * Technical and professional growth *...

ACM is Calling All Faculty!(Brief Article)
September 1, 1999... As the new school year rolls in, the Association invites faculty to stock up on ACM Student Membership information. To order brochures online through a detailed order form for all ACM promotional materials, visit: http://www....

ACM Launches Professional Liability Insurance Program.(Editorial)
September 1, 1999... ACM is pleased to announce a new Professional Liability Program for its members. Many of you have told us that your clients often require you to carry liability coverage. Now, through ACM, you may purchase a Professional Liability policy that...

Quests Over-the-Net.(News Briefs)
September 1, 1999... The winners of the first ACM Quest for Windows CE Applications contest have now been posted online at http://www.acm.org/windowsce. The contest was supported by Microsoft, Exerex, Casio, and Hewlett-Packard. The winners in each category...

1998 Quest for Java Winners Announced.(News Briefs)
September 1, 1999... ACM is proud to announce that the winners of the ACM/IBM Quest for Java contest have now been posted online at http://www. acm.org/jquest. Contestants from around the globe competed for cash prizes totaling over $18,000 and all registrants...

ACM Establishes New Lawler Award.(Brief Article)
September 1, 1999... ACM has established the Eugene L. Lawler Award for Humanitarian Contributions within Computer Science and Informatics as part of the Association's annual award program. The Lawler Award will recognize an individual or a group who has made a...

Quest for Java 2000.(Brief Article)
September 1, 1999... The Quest continues so make your plans to compete! The contest has enjoyed great success and ACM looks forward to hosting it again this year. The Association encourages all student members to compete. The contest is a great way to help...

New Features Added to the ACM Digital Library!(Editorial)
September 1, 1999... Now is a great time to subscribe to the ACM Digital Library because ACM has added a number of exciting new features and will be adding more! These new features can alleviate information overload and keep you on top of the latest technological...

Renew Your ACM Membership through the E-Store.(Editorial)
September 1, 1999... ACM is developing a new capability for members to renew their memberships online, The Association hopes to launch this capability at the beginning of the calendar year. You can continue to renew online as in the past, however, by visiting the...

ACM Magazine Group Keeps Up Good Work.(Editorial)
September 1, 1999... The ACM Magazine Group continues to establish a track record for producing on-time issues on timely topics. The next issue of netWorker, September, 1999, will feature articles on the Internet 2, the influence of XML on HTML and SGML, plus an...

New Series Focuses on Critical Issues.(Technology Information)
September 1, 1999... The first edition in a new publication series that will focus on some of the critical issues facing the computing industry debuts this month. The goal of this series is to broaden the ACM audience to include readers beyond the computing...

Two Books for SIGGRAPH'99!(Compressed Image File Formats, Networked Virtual Environments)(Review)
September 1, 1999... In what has become almost a tradition, ACM Press and its publishing partner, Addison Wesley Longman, released graphics-oriented books just in time for SIGGRAPH, the annual ACM-sponsored graphics exposition. This year's SIGGRAPH attendees in...

More ACM Press Books!(Software Blueprints, Software Test Automation, Test Process Improvement)(Review)
September 1, 1999... In addition to the two books for SIGGRAPH'99, ACM Press Books is also releasing four other tides, all in the area of software engineering. Two books address testing, always a hot topic, and two address requirements process and blueprint,...

New Java Books Available.
September 1, 1999... The following Java Series books are made available to ACM members through special arrangement with Addison Wesley Longman. These books cover some of the latest developments on Java, including the Jini technology and JavaSpace architecture....

SIGUCCS Conference Sets Sights High.
September 1, 1999... ACM's Special Interest Group on University and College Computing Services (SIGUCCS) focuses on helping its members to assist academic communities to effectively use technology. Members include college and university computing professionals,...

Y2K COUNTDOWN.(workforce safety issues)(Industry Trend or Event)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1999... What About the Workers? Worker safety has been overlooked as the world heads into the final months before the Y2K computer rollover, say lawyers and consultants. A few examples: * Factories. Valves in chemical manufacturing plants...