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World Wide Web creator Tim Berners-Lee has won 1 million euros (nearly $1.2 million) -- the largest single amount of money he has made from an invention that has made many others very rich. Berners-Lee was named the first winner of the world's largest technology award, the Millennium Technology Prize, by the Finnish Technology Award Foundation. Berners-Lee, who is 48, launched the World Wide Web in 1991, giving people easy access to information and revolutionizing the way they work and communicate. When myriad dot-com firms went public in the late 1990s, their founders were instantly turned into millionaires at the height of the Internet investment bubble. In his 1999 memoir "Weaving the Web,'' Berners-Lee said he had once considered forming a start-up to exploit his invention but calculated that the move was too risky. The Internet architect bypassed cashing-in on his technology contributions for an academic's salary at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Berners-Lee was also recently knighted. AT&T Wireless cell phones can now be used to identify music that someone's listening to through a service in which subscribers dial a specific number, hold their cell phone close to a speaker for 15 seconds, and then a song's title and recording artist is sent via short text message to their phone. The "name that tune" service is the first in the United States, AT&T Wireless said. Academic supercomputing labs continue to clean up Linux and Solaris servers targeted by unknown attackers over the last month, as law enforcement officials investigate the crimes. The attacks compromised servers at several supercomputing labs and universities, including the San Diego Supercomputing Center, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications and Stanford University. While the attackers had access to many of the computers that act as nodes on distributed high-performance computing networks, the intruders were more interested in access to computing power than sabotage. The attacks represent one of the widest spread infiltrations of computer systems since a group of hackers gained access to Pentagon servers in the late 1990s. The National Center for Supercomputing Applications, based at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, took several of its systems offline to secure them and also stressed that no major damage was done. The attacks didn't use any new techniques to infiltrate the research centers. The attackers typically gained access to one computer on the network by attempting various common passwords or by exploiting a vulnerability that hadn't been patched on the system. By cracking that system's password file, and because users typically use the same password on multiple systems, the attackers were able to leverage their control of one system to gain access to others in the same network. The technique could also be used to gain access to another supercomputing center's systems, because many researchers have accounts on more than one supercomputing network. Shipments of liquid crystal display television are expected to surge 10 times over the next five years, hitting 40 million units by 2008, according to a new study by iSuppli/Stanford Resources. According to the research firm, the most spectacular growth would be this year--a jump of almost 120% to 9.6 million units. In a similar study, research firm In-Stat/MDR predicted that worldwide shipments of digital TV sets, including the ones based on LCD, would soar to 93 million units by 2008, up from a projected 17 million units this year. The number of "phishing" e-mails circulating on the Web has increased from 279 to 215,643 over the past six months, according to e-mail security company MessageLabs. Phishing is an internet scam in which unsuspecting users receive official-looking e-mails that attempt to fool them into disclosing online passwords, user names and other personal information. Victims are usually persuaded to click on a link that directs them to a doctored version of an organization's Web site. MessageLabs, which monitors corporate e-mail traffic, reported that in September 2003 the company encountered just 279 phishing e-mails; in January 2004, this figure reached 337,050 and then dropped back to 215,643 by March. The company said it is impossible to estimate exactly how many people have been fooled by the phishers. The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG), which was formed in November 2003 to provide a forum for financial institutions to share information about new phishing campaigns, recently warned its members about an attack that can modify the victim's browser by replacing the address bar with a Java applet. This allows the attacker to take the victim to any Web site but display the address of an official Web site in the browser's window, increasing the chances of fooling people. According to the APWG's Web site, the new attack targeted Citibank customers at the end of March. Small and medium-size businesses will increase spending on information technology by almost 7% this year, a new study has predicted, much greater than the 1.7% rise predicted for larger companies, according to Forrester Research. Forrester surveyed more than 1,000 IT decision makers in companies that have fewer than 1,000 employees and found those companies to be far more upbeat about their business outlook than large enterprises. Nearly 81% described their business climate as moderately strong and 78% expected further improvement as the year progresses. This will translate into increased spending on hardware, security software and information management software. New security investments are likely for 75% of small and midsize companies. About 74% are planning to purchase new servers, while 65& plan to buy new storage gear. The companies surveyed said they plan to buy directly from vendors, bypassing the middleman. Technology originally developed to help companies organize and access information on their systems will play a role in trying to prevent terrorist attacks on the Olympic Games this summer, according to Science Applications International, a U.S. company that has been awarded the contract to provide information technology security at the Olympics. The software will be used by the Greek police to monitor communications traffic for words and phrases that could suggest terrorist activity. This software will be used to help automate the processes of analyzing, routing and delivering content, irrespective of format or storage location, and monitor potentially suspicious activity to help increase the efficacy of intelligence operations. The system is composed of 30 subsystems that will allow Greek authorities to collect, analyze and disseminate information. These include a command and decision support system, a communication and information system, a digital trunked radio system, a port security system, and fixed and mobile command centers for the Greek police and firefighters, the coast guard, the Athens Olympic Committee Security Division and the Ministry of Defense, according to information posted to SAIC's Web site. SAIC also plans to set up an electronic fence around the Olympics, using infrared and high-resolution cameras, along with vehicle-tracking systems. An airborne surveillance center will float above the Olympics' site. E-COMMERCE RELATED EVENTS AND INFORMATIONThe following are links to upcoming seminars and other events that our readers might have an interest in and/or other information related to e-commerce. HACC Launches Speakers Marketplace
To register, call (717) 780-2414 or (717) 780-2616. For more information, email Sandra Schrawder at sjschraw@hacc.edu *************************************************************************** Visit http://www.newpa.com/ for information on Governor Rendell’s new economic stimulus package. Included is $250 million for the New Pennsylvania Venture Guarantee Program; $60 million for the New PA Venture Capital Investment Program; $50 million for the Second Stage Loan Program. Funding; $10 million for grants and $25 million in tax credits to establish Keystone Innovation Zones; $30 million for the Expanded Research and Development Tax Credit. *************************************************************************** Nation's Position as Innovation Leader at Stake, Say Industry and Academia Targeted for policymakers and the public, the task force's initiative is aimed at reversing a decline in federal investment in basic research in the physical sciences and engineering. The decline, the task force says, puts at risk the development of new technologies, new industries and high-value jobs. Basic research in areas such as chemistry, physics, nanotechnology, genomics and semiconductor manufacturing has brought about some of the most significant innovations of the last 20 years, the task force argues. The group points to the development of the World Wide Web, magnetic resonance imaging and fiber optics as evidence of the importance of basic research. The semiconductor industry alone has led to 226,000 jobs, the group notes, and basic research performed at America's universities has resulted in 4,000 spin-off companies hiring 1.1 million employees. Despite their importance and economic impact, however, funding for such efforts has remained flat in constant dollars or decreased by 37 percent as a share of gross domestic product, the task force says. This has created "a serious risk that the American discovery stream will be reduced to a trickle with a negative impact on innovation in the U.S." Decreases in basic research funding in the President's recent budget request reflect the trend, as in past Administrations, the group adds. In response, the task force launched an advocacy campaign that includes paid advertising and outreach to policymakers. The group is calling on the federal government to increase funding by 10 percent to 12 percent per year over the next 5-7 years for NSF, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Department of Energy's Office of Science, and the Department of Defense Research Accounts. The initiative will partly rely on testimony from U.S. companies and academics with experience in basic research. The NSF report, INVENTION: Enhancing Inventiveness for Quality of LIfe, Competitiveness, and Sustainability, is the culmination of a year-long study by 56 leading scholars and practitioners. Over a series of five workshops, the group reviewed some of the pillars of invention and sought to better understand the role of inventive ingenuity in solving global problems. The resulting report asserts that the government, business and education sectors must actively foster inventiveness to safeguard the nation’s innovative edge in an increasingly competitive global market. Recommendations include:
An executive summary of NSF's report and other backgrounders, including summary reports on each of the five workshops, are available at: http://web.mit.edu/invent/report.html Source: SSTI Weekly Digest PROCUREMENT AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIESThe following is a listing of recently published technology procurement or Federally funded opportunities with various governmental entities. We hope our readers take the opportunity to investigate these postings and increase their business : The following information was posted on www.eps.gov DON - Naval Supply Systems Command DISA - Acquisition Directorate DON - Naval Supply Systems Command DON - Office of Naval Research HHS - National Institutes of Health EPA - Office of Acquisition Management
Department of Education NASA NASA also will be soliciting proposals to develop hydrogen-oxygen regenerative fuel cells (RFC) for evaluation and characterization tests. The RFC is an electrochemical system that collects and stores solar energy during the day, releasing the energy at night and making the sun's energy available at all times. Multiple awards are anticipated. Full and open competition is encouraged. The solicitation is expected to be released on or about April 15, 2004, with proposals due May 17, 2004. More information is available at: http://www2.eps.gov/spg/NASA/GRC/OPDC20220/NNC0405177R/listing.html NEWS & NOTES is a service of the
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