Almanac: 16 October 2000

By J.D. Hildebrand

Greetings!

Today is the 289th day of 2000; 76 days remain in the year. Happy Monday!

October 16 is a big day in the history of literature. Lexicographer Noah Webster was born 242 years ago, in 1758. Poet and playwright Oscar Wilde was born 146 years ago, in 1854 -- that's him at right. Playwright Eugene O'Neill was born 112 years ago, in 1888. And German novelist Gunter Grass was born 73 years ago, on 16 October 1927.

CARS GET SMARTER. In the news today are several announcements regarding the trend toward embedding ever-greater intelligence in automobiles.

ZDNet's report covers Windows CE for Automotive, a new version of Windows CE designed especially for use in cars. The operating system is intended to run on something called the Mobile Productivity Center, which ZDNet describes as "a sort of docking station that connects a traditional cell phone and a Palm V computer to the vehicle's audio system." The idea is that CE for Automotive will provide a voice-control links to Internet services. Or, as we might as well begin calling it now, to Car .Net services.

CNet passes along analysts' projections regarding the convergence of automobiles and high-tech. "Analysts predict that by 2006, nearly 50 percent of all new cars -- and 90 percent of luxury vehicles -- will have some kind of Internet capability," CNet states in this report. CNet describes Car .Net as a set of standards and defined services for automobile-based computing.

Here is a news release covering Microsoft's announcement.

Microsoft isn't the only company exploring the convergence between automobiles and intelligent, Internet-based services. In fact, this field is exploding. Here are some data points:

• CNN reports on an alliance between Palm Computer and Delphi Automotive, which founded MobileAria to address this market. Internet.com covered this story too. Here is the MobileAria home page.
• According to this report, Johnson Controls uses Bluetooth technology in its in-car phones and handheld computers.
• A voice-activated car radio has been developed by PenguinRadio and Ieva.com.
• Mercedes has made substantial R&D investments in intelligent automobiles. On this page you'll find links to drive-by-wire, proximity-controlled cruising, and Electronic Stability Program research projects -- fascinating!
• The Clarion AutoPC is an "in-dash personal assistant" powered by Windows CE. This is a good example of the technology that's currently available.
• Ford is working with partner Qualcomm to install intelligent wireless services in more than 1 million new cars and trucks by the end of 2002, according to this report.
• Dearborn, MI-based Visteon Corp. is working on a wide range of devices and services for cars. I lost nearly an hour this morning poking around all the fascinating material at the company's Web site.

ACTIVIST ELECTED TO INTERNET GOVERNING BODY. Salon has prepared this article about Karl Auerbach, the German radical who has been elected to ICANN's board of directors. "I feel like I just signed up to replace Sisyphus," Auerbach says, "so that he can go to Hawaii while I undertake to roll the boulder up the mountain every day..." For more on Auerbach, check out his home page. And while you're at it, read through this thought-provoking Harvard Law School debate over Internet governance, which Auerbach participated in.

HP BUYS HISTORIC GARAGE. Garages are integral to the history of Silicon Valley. In a nod to its history -- and a feel-good marketing move almost certain to land the company in the newspapers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) -- Hewlett-Packard has purchased the very garage where Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard founded the company in the 1930s. Today, Hewlett-Packard is a $42 billion company eager to convince customers that it still has the spirit of an entrepreneurial start-up.

CONGRESS MULLS CONTROVERSIAL WEB-FILTER MANDATE. CNN published this report about a Congressional initiative to require the installation and use of Web-filtering software on computers used in schools and libraries. The idea is that these institutions would lose federal funding unless they agreed to restrict users' access to the Internet. "This is ensuring that the government is not paying for access to pornography through libraries," says John Albaugh, chief of staff for Rep. Ernest Istook, R-Oklahoma. An unlikely coalition of groups, ranging from state chapters of the Christian Coalition to the American Civil Liberties Union, is opposing the measure.

PATCH OFFERED FOR INTERNET EXPLORER SECURITY HOLE. My in-box is always overflowing with announcements of updates and security patches for various programs. I ignore most of them -- most of the problems addressed in these messages are minor and unlikely to strike me. Or that's what I figure. But this report from Computerworld caught my attention. It's a security hole in Internet Explorer that allows Java applets to execute any code in any ActiveX control on users' systems. This capability could give a malicious Web-site operator unrestricted access to users' PCs. I've already installed the patch.

Speaking of security, Network World Fusion reports that more than 50 percent of small businesses will suffer Internet-based attacks. The story, based on a Gartner Group report, offers very little good news.

 HOT SOURCE CODE! COME AND GET IT! Don't forget to pick up the source code to StarOffice. Fetch yourself a copy at www.openoffice.org.