Collection of Education/collectionofeducationcarat1997.iso/COMPUSCI/EDU0195.ZIP/EDU01055.DOC

Text File | 1995-01-11 | 9KB | 160 lines

Subject: Edupage 1/5/95
HACKER PENETRATES MILITARY NETWORK
A British teenager was able to tap into sensitive U.S. government computers
and monitor secret communications on the North Korean nuclear crisis last
spring. The 16-year-old browsed several defense computers over a
seven-month period, and was finally caught by special U.S. investigators
when he left his terminal online to a U.S. defense computer overnight. He
was arrested by British police, and prosecutors will decide this month
whether he can be charged. (St. Petersburg Times 1/4/95 A7) Meanwhile, the
Computer Emergency Response Team at Carnegie Mellon warns that hack attacks
are on the rise, usually perpetrated through exploitation of a flaw in the
Network File System. For information on how to remedy the situation, FTP to
info.cert.org, go to the directory./pub/cert_advisories and look for CERT
Advisory CA-94:15.NFS.Vulnerabilities. (Chronicle of Higher Education
1/6/95 A21)

ORACLE TRUSTS YOU
Taking a giant step into the marketing unknown, Oracle plans to distribute
its newest software product, Personal Oracle 7, over the Internet.
Customers can download a complete copy of the software for a free, 90-day
trial, after which they're expected to pay up or erase it off their hard
drives. "We are trusting them," says Oracle's client-server systems VP. But
just to make sure, the company will require downloaders to provide names
and phone numbers, and some information about how they plan to use the
software. Oracle is still considering the option of building in a password
that kills the program after a certain time period unless the owner pays
for it. (Wall Street Journal 1/4/95 B1)

GINGRICH'S TECHNO-ALL STARS
House Speaker Newt Gingrich has lined up big names to assist him in ironing
out details of his Knowledge Age agenda, says Interactive Age (12/12/94).
Alvin Toffler, George Gilder and Esther Dyson have been retained by The
Progress and Freedom Foundation (with which Gingrich is closely allied),
and number one on the agenda so far is total deregulation of the
telecommunications industry. (Information Week 1/9/95 p.49))

PRESSLER TARGETS TELECOM OWNERSHIP RULES
Incoming Commerce Committee Chairman Larry Pressler (R-SD) wants to change
the foreign ownership rules that now restrict foreign companies from owning
more than 25% of a U.S. communications company. "In the comprehensive bill
to deregulate telecommunication, I'd very much like to lift the
restrictions on foreign ownership of radio licenses on a reciprocal basis,"
he says. The change would mean that foreign companies would be compelled to
open their communications markets to U.S. firms. (BNA Daily Report for
Executives 1/3/95 A9)

===============================================================


FCC CONTEMPLATES NATIONAL RADIO SERVICE
The Federal Communications Commission will decide next week whether it will
allocate a portion of the public's airwaves to a satellite-delivered radio
service. The digitally delivered service would be available nationwide and
would require a special radio and antenna for receiving broadcasts. Under
most proposals, there would be a monthly charge for the service. (St.
Petersburg Times 1/5/95 E1) The National Association of Broadcasters has
protested the action, saying, "Any audience diverted to satellite services
would reduce revenues local advertisers would pay local stations."
(Broadcasting & Cable 1/2/95 p.44)

CONFERENCE ON GLOBAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE
A two-day meeting of international telecommunications leaders to discuss
the future global information infrastructure is scheduled for February
25-26 in Brussels, and for the first time will include a session with 40-50
private sector representatives from the telecommunications and computer
industries. The U.S. government hopes to gain international agreement on
its five principles for GII development: to encourage private investment;
to promote competition; to create a flexible regulatory framework; to
provide open access to the network for all information providers; and to
ensure universal service.  For info on the meeting:  gopher.ntia.doc.gov,
or www.ntia.doc.gov, or ftp.ntia.doc.gov .

INTERACTIVE TV GAMES FROM GTE AND NINTENDO
The Nintendo/GTE alliance to develop interactive video games has produced
its first product, a game called FX Fighter that will be used at first on
Nintendo 16-bit or soon-to-come 64-bit players, but is destined also to run
over GTE phone lines carrying interactive TV and other services. (Wall
Street Journal 1/4/95 B7)

ONLINE WATCHDOGS WANT MORE ACCESS
Hundreds of citizens have reportedly contacted the new Republican House
majority to urge free online access to more congressional documents and
reports. In addition to the currently available bills and Congressional
Record, access to FEC campaign filings and Congressional Research Service
reports has been requested. This online citizenry could "help prevent
government boondoggles, blunders, waste and abuse," says the director of
the Congressional Accountability Project, a group started by Ralph Nader.
(Information Week 1/9/95 p.15)

APPLE INTRODUCES MORE POWERFUL POWER MACS
Apple Computer now has three new Power Mac models that are up to 40% more
powerful than the original models, thanks to improvements in the PowerPC
chips, bigger hard drives and more memory. The computer maker also has a
new Apple Mobile Message System, designed for notebook computers. Using a
personal 800 number, notebook users can receive text messages, numeric
pages and notification of voice mail and faxes, through a small pager card
that works alone or can be plugged into a PCMCIA slot. (Investor's Business
Daily 1/4/94 A7)

MICROSOFT ASSISTANT WORKS FOR NOTHING
Microsoft's Internet Assistant for Word will be available for downloading
-- free -- from its Web site, probably by mid-January. The software
converts documents created in Word for Windows into Hypertext Markup
Language (HTML), for use on the World Wide Web. (Business Week 1/9/95 p.22)

ENTREPRENAUTS
Internet Business Journal is so anxious to know who your favorite Internet
entrepreneurs are that it will enter your name in a random drawing to win a
$500 prize.  Info: [e-mail]. (Internet Business Journal
Jan.'95 p.19)

ONLINE ABSOLUTION
Although everyone knows the rumor about Microsoft buying the Roman Catholic
Church was a hoax, that doesn't mean the Church is technophobic. Prodigy
recently arranged an online chat with Cardinal John O'Connor on its
religious bulletin board service. (Investor's Business Daily 1/4/95 A6)

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