Internet becomes high-tech battleground
By Daniel Sieberg
CNN.com Technology Editor
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This year computer users learned to beware of e-mails bearing love letters.
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(CNN) -- The most notable stories in technology during the year 2000 continued to follow a trend of privacy, copyright and security issues.
Millions of computers around the world were infected with the "I love you" virus in May, which in turn caused billions of dollars in damage. That incident came on the heels of several denial-of-service attacks in February against such prominent sites as Yahoo!, eBay and CNN.com, forcing the sites to temporarily shut down.
Both occasions forced Internet professionals to assess their virtual castle walls and evaluate the laws in place to deter such behavior.
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Although Napster was officially launched in mid-1999, it wasn't until the spring of 2000 that recording industries and the media really began to take notice. The wildly popular song-sharing site has since attracted some 30 million members who are able to swap compressed music files called MP3s without paying any fees. A U.S. Court of Appeals was asked to review the case and determine if an injunction should be imposed. So far, no decision has been issued.
A story that crossed the lines of business, law and computing this year was the U.S. District Court ruling that Microsoft Corp. violated the nation's antitrust laws. The judge said Microsoft used its monopoly power in personal computer operating systems to stifle competition.
Although Microsoft was ordered to split in two, the decision is being appealed. A request by the Justice Department to expedite the process through the Supreme Court was denied. In the interim, several analysts said that Microsoft will not change the way it conducts its operations.
Many parents and kids alike were frustrated in the lead-up to Christmas after only limited units of the much-heralded Sony PlayStation 2 were released in October. The newest video game console -- featuring enhanced graphics and a DVD player -- was released to swarming hordes in Japan in March. But thousands of gamers in North America were left high and dry following Sony's announcement of a parts shortage that led to fewer units being shipped. While the PlayStation 2 itself marks an important advancement in video game technology, the story became focused on the dearth of units.
Significant technology events also included approval by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers of seven new domain names to ease the dot-com crunch, and the controversy surrounding the FBI's e-mail surveillance system dubbed "Carnivore." Privacy advocates blasted the Justice Department for not releasing more details of its inner workings and demanded that it be reviewed by an independent institution. For its part, the department says Carnivore adheres to strict court orders and does not violate civil rights. A final report is expected at the end of the year, though the debate will likely continue.
Other stories worth noting are the Motion Picture Association of America's victory in a trial over the sharing of decrypted DVD code, the implementation of legalized e-signatures, the increasing interest in wireless technology, and the convergence of cell phones and personal digital assistants. Most recently, a judge's ruling that Yahoo! must block French users from accessing sites selling Nazi memorabilia sent shock waves through the Internet community over concerns of censorship.
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