Government Gets Secure
U.S. government agencies will begin deploying more secure authentication technologies as a result of a partnership between RSA Security and Maximus, a large government services firm. Using digital certificates and smart cards, agencies will begin implementing “two-factor” identification requiring both a password and an additional authentication method such as a smart card or token.
Thin and Cool
Intel is developing packaging technology for microprocessors that will run at 20 gigahertz and use less power. The technology, which Intel says wont be used in commercial products for five years, is called Bumpless Build-Up Layer. The package will be thinner than a dime, will reduce heat by using less metal and will cost less to make than todays chip packages.
Info Purge
Webmasters across cyberspace have yanked sensitive information from Web sites since the Sept. 11 attacks. The Environmental Protection Agency, for example, has shuttered sites about chemical plants and their response plans; the Department of Health and Human Services took down a report about the dangers of chemical plant terrorism; and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has pulled a report critical of the countrys preparedness against chemical and biological warfare.
Whose Writing?
In a big win for Xerox, an appeals court has reversed an order that threw out its lawsuit claiming Palm violated the copier makers patent for handwriting recognition software. The case was remanded to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York in Rochester, N.Y. Xerox claims its scientists invented the Unistroke software that recognizes one-stroke motions as characters, the basis of Palms Graffiti system. Palm insists its system does not infringe on the Xerox patent, and says it will “vigorously” defend its claim.