October 2004 - Vol. 47 No. 10

Features

Opinion Editorial pointers Oct 1 2004

Editorial Pointers

A month from now one of the most contested U.S. presidential elections will be history. And it will make history. For in an effort to avoid another Florida 2000, an unprecedented wave of electronic voting systems will replace traditional lever machines and chad-producing punch cards. As a result, tens of millions of U.S. citizens will […]

Diane Crawford

Architecture and Hardware

News News track Oct 1 2004

The U.S. State Department is ready to roll out new passports using embedded digital photos against the advice of federal researchers, industry experts, and privacy proponents, who warn face recognition technology has shown an unacceptable error rate. The Washington Post reports the department chose face recognition to comply with the U.N.-affiliated International Civil Aviation Organization, […]

CACM Staff

Computing Applications

Opinion Forum Oct 1 2004

As Peter G. Neumann discussed in his "Inside Risks" column "Optimistic Optimization" (June 2004) there is clearly a problem in the IT industry involving the failure of developers to consider the long-term implications of their decisions. But is the issue more that developers fail to identify them up front or to identify them at all? […]

Diane Crawford

Computing Applications

Opinion The business of software Oct 1 2004

Not-Defect: the Mature Discipline of Testing

Taking a deliberate, measured approach to software development and testing.

Phillip G. Armour

Computing Applications

Opinion Hot links Oct 1 2004

ACM provides a large number of online resources for its members, some of which you may not be aware of. In an attempt to rectify this situation, we are introducing a monthly column listing the most popular downloads in three categories: refereed journal and conference papers, magazines and survey articles, and online courses. The three […]

David A. Patterson

Computing Applications

Opinion Viewpoint Oct 1 2004

Voluntary Collective Licensing For Music File Sharing

Why can't American peer-to-peer file sharers have the same deal the broadcast radio industry has had for almost 100 years?

Fred von Lohmann

Computing Applications

Opinion Technology strategy and management Oct 1 2004

Reflections on Free and Open Software

Considering the often overlapping perspectives in the software development realm.

Michael A. Cusumano

Computing Applications

Research and Advances The problems and potentials of voting systems Oct 1 2004

Technology today plays a greater role in elections than at any other point in the history of democracy. The Florida 2000 experience served to accelerate an existing trend in the U.S. of replacement of legacy voting technologies (mechanical lever machines and punch cards) with computer-based systems (typically optically scanned paper or fully electronic systems). Simultaneously, […]

Peter G. Neumann

Architecture and Hardware

Research and Advances The problems and potentials of voting systems Oct 1 2004

Voting Systems Standards and Certifications

Surveying the effort to create a new implementation-independent voting system standard.

Herb Deutsch and Stephen Berger

Computing Applications

Research and Advances The problems and potentials of voting systems Oct 1 2004

Independent Testing of Voting Systems

Independent qualification testing is a prerequisite in over 40 U.S. states for seeking accreditation of a direct-recording electronic (DRE) or paper-based voting system. While individual state laws vary, this is generally interpreted as being tested by National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) accredited hardware and software Independent Testing Authorities (ITAs) to the voluntary FEC […]

Carolyn Coggins

Computing Applications

Research and Advances The problems and potentials of voting systems Oct 1 2004

Implementing Voting Systems: the Georgia Method

Sharing the experiences of the first statewide adoption of a computerized election process.

Brit J. Williams and Merle S. King

Computing Applications

Research and Advances The problems and potentials of voting systems Oct 1 2004

Small Vote Manipulations Can Swing Elections

Considering the effects and implications of changing only a single vote per machine.

Anthony Di Franco, Andrew Petro, Emmett Shear, and Vladimir Vladimirov

Computing Applications

Research and Advances The problems and potentials of voting systems Oct 1 2004

Auditing Elections

Exploiting the redundancy in election records to conduct useful audits and improve the system design process.

Douglas W. Jones

Computing Applications

Research and Advances The problems and potentials of voting systems Oct 1 2004

The Code of Elections

The disparity between the code of election law and the code that comprises election equipment reflects inherent problems in the translation of social policies into computer procedures and overseeing processes.

Rebecca T. Mercuri and L. Jean Camp

Computing Applications

Research and Advances The problems and potentials of voting systems Oct 1 2004

Analyzing Internet Voting Security

An extensive assessment of a proposed Internet-based voting system.

David Jefferson, Aviel D. Rubin, Barbara Simons, and David Wagner

Computing Applications

Research and Advances The problems and potentials of voting systems Oct 1 2004

Source Availability and E-Voting: an Advocate Recants

A former proponent of requiring the availability of e-voting system source code explains why he no longer develops source-available e-voting software.

Jason Kitcat

Computing Applications

News Oct 1 2004

ACM Statement on Voting Systems

The Association recommends more attention to integrity, security, and usability in the design and use of all voting systems.

Jeff Grove

Architecture and Hardware

Research and Advances Oct 1 2004

Latency Lags Bandwith

As I review performance trends, I am struck by a consistent theme across many technologies: bandwidth improves much more quickly than latency. Here, I list a half-dozen performance milestones to document this observation, many reasons why it happens, a few ways to cope with it, a rule of thumb to quantify it, plus an example of how to design systems differently based on this observation.

David A. Patterson

Architecture and Hardware

Research and Advances Oct 1 2004

Cyber Warfare: Steganography vs. Steganalysis

For every clever method and tool being developed to hide information in multimedia data, an equal number of clever methods and tools are being developed to detect and reveal its secrets.

Huaiqing Wang and Shuozhong Wang

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Oct 1 2004

Open Source Software Development Should Strive For Even Greater Code Maintainability

A study of almost six million lines of code tracks how freely accessible source code holds up against time and multiple iterations.

Ioannis Samoladas, Ioannis Stamelos, Lefteris Angelis, and Apostolos Oikonomou

Computing Applications

Practice Oct 1 2004

Evaluating E-Commerce Functionality with a Focus on Customer Service

B2C Web sites allow companies to present their unique advantages, as long as they provide the necessary customer service. This checklist will help developers create more effective B2C sites.

Nancy J. Lightner

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Oct 1 2004

Portals: Toward an Application Framework For Interoperability

A common portal definition, universal client, and application-support infrastructure would turn the portal concept on its head, eventually shifting control from the information providers to the information consumers.

Michael Alan Smith

Architecture and Hardware

Research and Advances Oct 1 2004

A Survey of Online E-Banking Retail Initiatives

Customer demand is forcing banks to provide their services online. There are two successful paths they can take: to grow, or to specialize in providing localized services and information.

Peter B. Southard and Keng Siau

Architecture and Hardware

Opinion Technical opinion Oct 1 2004

Who Values Technology Certification?

When it comes to gauging the value of IT certification for assessing the competency of job candidates, it really all depends on who's doing the hiring.

Casey G. Cegielski

Computing Applications

Opinion Inside risks Oct 1 2004

The Nonsecurity of Secrecy

Considerable confusion exists between the different concepts of secrecy and security, which often causes bad security and surprising political arguments. Secrecy usually contributes only to a false sense of security. In June 2004, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security urged regulators to keep network outage information secret. The Federal Communications Commission requires telephone companies to […]

Bruce Schneier

Computing Applications

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