Dr. Dobb's Journal December, 2005
Researchers at Cornell University and Tel Aviv University have devised a technique for scanning text in a variety of languages, then autonomously learning its complex syntax. This information can then be used to generate new and meaningful sentences. The Automatic Distillation of Structure (ADIOS) algorithm, which relies on a statistical method for pattern extraction and on structured generalization, discovers the patterns by repeatedly aligning sentences and looking for overlapping parts (http://adios.tau.ac.il/). The technique has implications for speech recognition and natural-language engineering, genomics, and proteomics. The algorithm was developed by David Horn and Eytan Ruppin, professors at Tel Aviv University, with Ph.D. student Zach Solan.
The IrSimple Protocol and Profile Specifications, released by the Infrared Data Association (http://www.irda.org/), were designed for fast, wireless communication between mobile devices and digital home appliances. Data rates up to 16 Mbps (VFIR) are currently available with 100 Mbps (UFIR) under development. For example, the specs will enable mobile devices such as camera phones to instantly connect and wirelessly transmit digital images to similarly enabled TVs, monitors, projectors, and photo kiosks. The organization claims that there are more than 750 million IrDA-enabled devices in the global market today.
The Optical Storage Technology Association has released its Universal Disc Format (UDF) Rev. 2.60 filesystem specification (http://www.osta.org/specs/). A major addition in Rev. 2.60 is the addition of a new Pseudo OverWrite (POW) mechanism that supports sequential recording on new types of write-once discs and drives such as BD-R (Blu-Ray Disc-Write Once). The special logical overwrite function of the POW mechanism that enables write-once media to behave more like a rewritable disc was developed in parallel by the Blu-Ray Disc Association (BDA). Rev. 2.60 with POW also increases disc compatibility between consumer video recorders and computer systems, and allows use of the Metadata File to locate metadata in a logically contiguous manner for increased efficiency. UDF is a filesystem first defined by OSTA in 1997 to support transfer of Magneto-Optical discs and files between different computer systems. The specification, based on the ECMA-167/ISO 13346 Standard, is intended for developers planning to implement UDF to enable disc and file interchange among different operating systems.
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has launched the GPL Version 3 Development and Publicity Project (http://www.fsf.org/news/gplv3/), with the goal of updating the General Public License (GPL). The current version of the license was written in 1991. Among the issues expected to be addressed are distribution and licensing. Free Software Foundation members have been invited to participate in various committees, starting with advisory committees that will specify the objectives and parameters for participation in GPLv3. Guidelines are expected to be released by December 2005, with a draft ready in early 2006.
More than 70 countries were represented in this year's International Olympiad on Informatics, an annual world computing championship contest for precollegiate students held this year in Nowy Sacz, Poland. The competition consisted of two five-hour programming sessions, each with three programming challenges. The four USA Computing Olympiad (http://www.usaco.org/) team members—Alex Schwendner, Eric Price, John Pardon, and Richard McCutchen—all won gold medals. Additionally, Eric Price received a special Grand Award for his perfect score of 600. Poland's Filip Wolski was crowned as the World Champion. The USACO is sponsored by Equinix, USENIX, SANS, the ACM, and IBM.
The National Science and Space Administration has announced that two of its teams will receive the agency's Software of the Year Award. A team from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center was recognized for its Land Information System Software 4.0, while a team from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory was acknowledged for its Autonomous Sciencecraft Experiment (ASE) software. LIS (http://lis.gsfc.nasa.gov/) is a land surface modeling and data assimilation system that predicts water and energy cycles such as runoff, evaporation from plants and soil, and heat storage in the ground. ASE (http://ase.jpl.nasa.gov/) makes it possible for autonomous spacecrafts to increase their science return by two orders of magnitude via onboard decision making. ASE is used for detecting and tracking environmental events on Earth, such as volcanic eruptions, floods, and wild fires.
Computer Associates International (http://ca.com/) has released 14 of its patents to individuals and groups working on open-source software. In the process, CA joined IBM in encouraging an industry-wide "patent commons" in which patents are pledged royalty free to further innovation. The patents covered by CA's move generally include: Application development and modeling that automates translation between programming languages; business intelligence and analytics; systems management and storage-management solutions that provide intelligent process controls to maximize system performance and storage utilization; and network management and security tools that enhance visualization of network traffic patterns and congestion, selectively capture and filter network traffic, and provide granular session-control capabilities.
To help address a nationwide shortage of math and science teachers, IBM has launched a Transition-to-Teaching program that enables as many as 100 U.S. employees to gain teacher certification. IBM will reimburse participants up to $15,000 for tuition and stipends while they student teach, as well as provide online mentoring and other support services in conjunction with partner colleges, universities, and school districts. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, more than 260,000 new math and science teachers will be needed by the 2008-2009 school year. The IBM pilot will be operational in January 2006 in New York, North Carolina, and other locations where IBM has a significant population. Employees will need management approval and must fulfill requirements such as 10 years of service with IBM, a bachelor's degree in math or science or a higher degree in a related field, and some experience teaching, tutoring, or volunteering in a school or other children's program.