Dr. Dobb's Journal November, 2005
The Video Electronics Standards Association (http://www.vesa.org/) has proposed DisplayPort, a new digital display interface specification for computer monitors, TVs, projectors, PCs, and the like. DisplayPort enables high-quality audio to be available to display devices over the same cable as the video signal. It also enables a common interface approach across both internal connections, such as interfaces within a PC or monitor, and external display connections. The standard includes an optional digital audio capability so high-definition digital audio and video can be streamed over the interface. DisplayPort incorporates Main Link, a high-bandwidth, low-latency, unidirectional connection supporting isochronous stream transport. One stream video with associated audio is supported in Version 1.0, but DisplayPort is seamlessly extensible, enabling support of multiple video streams. Version 1.0 also includes an Auxiliary Channel to provide consistent-bandwidth, low-latency, bidirectional connectivity with Main Link management, and device control based on VESA's E-DDC, E-EDID, DDC/CI, and MCCS standards. The Main Link bandwidth enables data transfer at up to 10.8 Gbits/second using a total of four lanes.
The U.S. State Department is developing an electronic passport that will be put in use before the end of the year (http:// travel.state.gov/passport/). Embedded in the cover of the passport will be a microchip that includes facial-recognition information, along with the name, date of birth, gender, place of birth, dates of passport issuance and expiration, passport number, and photo image of the bearer. A digital signature will protect the stored data from alteration and mitigate the threat of photo substitution. To combat unauthorized reading, the passport will also incorporate anti-skimming technology in the front cover. Conventional paper passports will be replaced as upon renewal.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has made a five-year, $150 million award to operate and enhance the TeraGrid (http://www.teragrid.org/). Built over the past four years, TeraGrid is the world's largest distributed cyberinfrastructure for open scientific research. Through high-performance network connections, TeraGrid integrates high-performance computers, data resources and tools, and high-end experimental facilities around the country. Scientists and engineers responsible for TeraGrid operations will work closely with researchers whose science requires powerful computing resources. For example, researchers using TeraGrid are exploring functions of decoded genomes, how the brain works, the constitution of the universe, disease diagnosis, and real-time weather forecasting to predict the exact locations of tornado and storm threats. The TeraGrid award includes $48 million for overall architecture, software integration, operations, and coordination of user support and $100 million for operation, management, and user support of TeraGrid resources at eight resource provider sites. Science gateway projects are aimed at supporting access to TeraGrid via web portals, desktop applications, or via other grids. An initial set of 10 gateways will address new scientific opportunities in fields from bioinformatics to nanotechnology as well as interoperation between TeraGrid and other grid infrastructures.
The Digital Communities consortium has been launched to encourage communities to use wireless technology. Led by Intel, Cisco, Dell, IBM, and SAP, among others, the Digital Communities initiative (http://www.intel.com/go/digitalcommunities/) will promote Wi-Fi and WiMAX technology for developing and deploying services to enhance government efficiency, promote economic growth, foster greater community satisfaction, and bridge the digital divide. Applications range from automating mobile workers (meter readers and building inspectors, for instance) to increasing the safety and enhancing resource management of first responders by remotely monitoring vehicle location to enhancing parent/teacher collaboration for improved student success. Among the pilot communities are Cleveland, Ohio; Corpus Christi, Texas; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Taipei, Taiwan.
ACCURATE, short for "A Center for Correct, Usable, Reliable, Auditable, and Transparent Elections," has been launched at John Hopkins University. Avi Rubin, a professor of computer science at Johns Hopkins and technical director of the university's Information Security Institute, will direct the center, which is dedicated to improving the reliability and trustworthiness of voting technology. Researchers from five other institutions—Rice University, Stanford University, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Iowa, and SRI International—will participate in the project. The multidisciplinary team will include experts in computer science, public policy, and human behavior. All findings will be made public and used to help develop technical standards and proposals for electronic voting systems that are easy to use and tamper evident.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced that it received enough H-1B petitions in early August to meet the congressionally mandated cap of 65,000 H-1B visa requests for fiscal year 2006. Federal officials say this is the earliest that the limit has ever been reached.
With more than 130,000 cooperating computers, the World Community Grid (http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/) has already made computations equal to a single PC running continuously for more than 14,000 years. Launched in November 2004, the community's goal is to harness some of the unused computing power of the world's 650 million PCs. To join, all you need is a PC, Internet access, and a free downloadable program that runs in the background. Currently, the World Community Grid is running research for the Human Proteome Folding Project, which seeks to understand common diseases and develop possible cures by studying the way proteins function. The organization is accepting proposals for other research projects.