University of Pennsylvania telecommunications professor and Internet pioneer David J Farber, a longtime outspoken voice on Internet-related issues, last week was appointed the Federal Communications Commission's chief technologist. Farber, who helped design the first electronic switching system, also testified on behalf of the government in the Microsoft Corp. antitrust trial. In an interview last week with Computerworld reporter Patrick Thibodeau, Farber said that despite his new post, he will retain the freedom to speak his mind.
University of Pennsylvania telecommunications professor and Internet pioneer David J. Farber, a longtime outspoken voice on Internet-related issues, last week was appointed the Federal Communications Commission's chief technologist. Farber, who helped design the first electronic switching system, also testified on behalf of the government in the Microsoft Corp. antitrust trial. In an interview last week with Computerworld reporter Patrick Thibodeau, Farber said that despite his new post, he will retain the freedom to speak his mind.
The legacy of the year 2000 problem may reverberate for years in companies and government agencies in the form of new management styles and outlooks. It has raised the visibility of information technology departments, fostered teamwork across large enterprises and made things like disaster planning crucial.
With the U.S. and the world escaping any major Y2K problems on the rollover date, federal officials began to relax and some companies shut down their Y2K command centers.
By late morning yesterday in the US, the New Year had arrived in about one-third of the world, but the year 2000 computer problem had failed to trigger shutdowns of critical infrastructure systems -- utilities, transportation and financial -- in Australia, New Zealand, Japan and other industrialised nations in that region, said White House and other government officials.
As each hour passed and another part of the world marked the New Year, the year 2000 computer glitch appeared to defy expectations that it might disrupt power, financial systems or daily life. U.S. officials late tonight continued to offer generally upbeat but cautionary assessments about Y2K's impact. There were also reports of what appeared, at first glance, to be some minor date-related problems -- including an equipment malfunction at a Japanese nuclear plant that didn't jeopardise plant safety, officials said.
As each hour passed and another part of the world marked the New Year, the year 2000 computer glitch appeared to defy expectations that it might disrupt power, financial systems or daily life. U.S. officials late tonight continued to offer generally upbeat but cautionary assessments about Y2K's impact. There were also reports of what appeared, at first glance, to be some minor date-related problems -- including an equipment malfunction at a Japanese nuclear plant that didn't jeopardize plant safety, officials said.
Corporate information security managers say they can see benefits in helping the US Department of Commerce improve computer security at private companies, but some also worry it could lead to unwanted regulations or public disclosure of a company's security problems or practices.
The US Department of Energy (DOE) is estimating that a desire by consumers to fill up their gas tanks as a Y2K precaution could increase demand by an amount nearly equal to all the gasoline consumed on one day in the US.
The World Trade Organisation (WTO), which met in Seattle last week, was expected to extend the moratorium on tariffs for cross-border electronic transmissions, keeping e-commerce free of a regulatory burden that could stunt its growth.
Companies operating the United States' key infrastructures - finance, utilities and transportation - will play an unprecedented role over New Year's weekend in helping the White House collect and assess Y2K incident reports.
The Y2K problem isn't expected to affect overall US economic growth, although the software glitch may have some short-lived effects on the economy if businesses and consumers stockpile goods in this quarter, the US Department of Commerce said yesterday.
With 51 days left before the New Year, the White House said today that key infrastructures - financial services, energy, transportation and telecommunications - were "well prepared" for Y2K.
A think tank devoted to researching internet issues has been formed by a consortium of high-tech and telecommunications companies.
Microsoft is a monopoly that is free to charge what it wants for its operating systems and is not threatened by rival platforms, such as Linux, said antitrust trial Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson in hard-hitting and long awaited findings in the landmark antitrust case.