-- IN THIS ISSUE --

BUILD A BETTER INTERNET

WHAT PRICE PRIVACY?

HOW DOES THE CUSTOMER REACT TO PRICE CHANGES?

Features

• Analysis & Commentary
  
  

  WHAT PRICE PRIVACY? SURVEILLANCE & SECURITY IN TIME OF WAR
  by Alan Beck, editor-in-chief
  In the wake of September 11th's terrorist abominations, Americans actively involved with issues of information technology have split along predictable lines. Those affiliated with organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union, Anonymizer.com, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the Electronic Privacy Information Center have been quick to condemn increased governmental scrutiny of electronic communications as dangerously intrusive and corrosive of our basic freedoms. On the other hand, our President, Attorney General, and governmental officials specifically -- and Constitutionally -- charged with ferreting out those who threaten us and their support infrastructure as well, see stepped-up surveillance as a vital route toward obtaining key intelligence about the enemy.

  INFORMATION SECURITY WILL BE KEY WITH LAWMAKERS
  The September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States are expected to shift government and legislative priorities on a host of technology issues. Internet privacy, for instance, the top technology policy issue barely more than a week ago, will likely be replaced by critical-infrastructure protection as the United States seeks to retaliate against what President Bush has called "an act of war."

  SENATE COMMITTEE LOOKS INTO IT VULNERABILITIES
  Not wasting any time, the U.S. Senate Governmental Affairs Committee held a hearing on a key question in the wake of the attacks in New York and Washington: whether computer networks that run vital services are vulnerable to terrorism.

• Leading Edge R&D
  
  

  ASD softswitch BRINGS AI TO CONTACT CENTERS
  ASD softswitch -- the latest generation of multimedia contact center software from SCS -- uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology to raise the productivity and effectiveness of inbound, outbound and blended contact center environments.

  DEVELOP AI SOFTWARE IN RECORD TIME WITH COBALT AI SDK
  The Cobalt A.I. SDK allows software engineers to develop true A.I. software (software that thinks) with little or no A.I. expertise, using their favorite programming language such as C++, VB, Microsoft.NET (VB.Net, CSharp, ASP.Net), SQL, FoxPro, Delphi, Java, ASP, PHP and many others that support COM (component object model).

  HOW DOES THE CUSTOMER REACT TO PRICE CHANGES?
  Lufthansa Systems is currently developing a tailor-made Pricing Simulation Model (PSM) for the tour operator John Mason Cook, a leading European provider of package tours.

  SRI INT'L APPLIES AI TO ADVANCE SYSTEMS BIOLOGY RESEARCH
  SRI International, a leading research institute based in Silicon Valley, has developed a novel software system that uses artificial intelligence and symbolic computing to better understand and manipulate the overwhelming information produced by genome data.

  U OF ULSTER AND QUB TEAM UP TO BUILD A BETTER INTERNET
  A joint research program between the University of Ulster and Queen's University of Belfast has developed a revolutionary new technology that could cut the cost of Internet access, while boosting reliability and speed.

• Business & Money Trail
  
  

  ORACLE BEATS ESTIMATES, BUT REVENUE SLIPS
  Oracle reported profits that narrowly beat analyst estimates, but its fiscal first-quarter revenue dropped slightly from a year ago.

  WhiteCross ANNOUNCES TELEGRAPH CUSTOMER ANALYTICS CONTRACT
  WhiteCross Systems announced it has signed an agreement to provide Web customer analysis for telegraph.co.uk's network of channels. telegraph.co.uk has chosen WhiteCross to provide detailed analysis for all of its sites, refine content offerings, increase registration levels, and encourage customer loyalty.

Top Of The News

• Computers & Processors
  Integrated Business Systems & Services' 64-Bit Synapse
  Unisys ES7000 Slashes High-Performance Computing Costs

• Applications
  Business Objects to Host 7th Annual Int'l User Conference
  InterWorking Labs Releases SilverCreek 7.0 with ODBC
  Survey.com Rates MS SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services

• Storage
  DataCore Software Teaches "ROI Street Smarts"
  Dot Hill Introduces SANnet Axis
  XIOtech Announces Strategy for Leading IP Storage Protocols

• Peer-To-Peer
  Yantra Provides Data Quality Through Group 1's HotData

Short Takes

• On The Market
  Aelita Software Now Shipping EventAdmin v.6.0/EDR v.5.0

• Financial Watch
  DataLabs/Microsoft Collaboration in Pharm'l Industry
  Ericsson Selects Sybase Industry Warehouse Studio
  Informatica Corporation Expands Operations Into France

• People & Positions
  digiMine Strengthens Executive Team
  Gina Shanhouse to Lead Infowise's Business Objects Practice

Quote Of The Week

"I think [cyberattacks] will help persuade companies to take more precautions, develop more redundant systems, develop means of storing their critical information in remote locations." -- William Reinsch, a Commerce Department undersecretary in the Clinton administration

Conferences & Seminars

DSstar is proud to be affiliated with the following organizations:

Official Media Partner with Frost & Sullivan

TDWI World Conference Media Sponsor

DSstar notes events and highlights a complete listing of industry-related conferences, exhibitions, meetings, etc.

DSstar Information

• Subscriptions & Removal Information
• DSstar Staff
• Index of DSstar Back Issues
• Editorial Guidelines

DSstar welcomes bylined comments for publication.

All comments regarding editorial content should be sent to: dseditor@dsstar.com.

Last Week's Top 5 Articles

1. IT FOCUS TURNS TO DISASTER RECOVERY
2. IDC FINDS ANALYTIC APPS MARKET WILL CLIMB TO $6.2B IN 2005
3. COMPANIES WARNED ABOUT POSSIBLE CYBERATTACKS
4. IDC ON HEWLETT-PACKARD AND COMPAQ -- LOOK TO THE FUTURE
5. COURT ORDERS BUSINESS OBJECTS PATENT CASE TO TRIAL