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In this issue. . .

* Bluetooth's Uphill Battle
* P2P Computing: Up from the Underground
* Cancer-Fighting Enzymes
* Postmortem on Dot-Coms
* Nanotechnology for Gas Sensors
* Europeans' Courtship of Good Employees
* New, Improved Linux
* Technology Leaps in Europe
* Proliferating Retirement Accounts
* Better Teamwork through Neural Networks


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(Full text of SRIC-BI publications is available to
sponsoring clients only.  To find out if your company is a
sponsor, please visit http://www.sric-bi.com/info.shtml.)
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Bluetooth's Uphill Battle

Technical and bureaucratic problems have stymied efforts to
make Bluetooth the technology of choice for wireless
personal-area networks. Moreover, wireless local-area
networks have higher speeds and greater range. Down the
road, however, Bluetooth could usher in a dazzling range of
wirelessly connected devices. (Bluetooth: A Struggle for 
the Throne)
http://www.sric-bi.com/BIP/Bulletin/B292.shtml#2308


P2P Computing: Up from the Underground

Peer-to-peer (P2P) computing may have begun as an
underground way to share music files, but it is rapidly 
proving its mettle in mainstream applications. Offering
direct communication without the use of servers, P2P will 
foster communication and collaboration in business and help
build communities of interest among consumers. (Peer-to-Peer 
Computing)
http://www.sric-bi.com/BIP/Bulletin/B292.shtml#2309


Cancer-Fighting Enzymes

Enzymes show promise as cancer-fighting agents. One new
genetic technique uses "maxizymes" to stop leukemia cells
from spreading and cause them to self-destruct. Another
approach injects a gene into cancer cells to stimulate
production of an enzyme that shrinks liver tumors.
(February Biocatalysis Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/BC.shtml


Postmortem on Dot-Coms

Some 130 U.S. and European dot-com companies failed in 2000,
and the failures continue to pile up in 2001. Lessons
suggest that Internet economics need to move closer to
conventional financial standards. In the meantime,
customers' expectations have changed forever, so established
companies cannot afford to be complacent. (Dot-Com Failures: 
Lessons and Opportunities for Established Companies)
http://www.sric-bi.com/BIP/Bulletin/B292.shtml#2310


Nanotechnology for Gas Sensors

U.S. companies are using nanosize powders and particles to
produce gas sensors. This application offers good near-term
prospects for nanotechnology and will happily tap into the
hefty gas-sensor market, which was worth $1 billion in 2000.
(February Solid-State Microsensors Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/SSM.shtml


Europeans' Courtship of Good Employees

Companies in Western Europe need skilled employees to remain
competitive, but signals are mixed about the best way to
motivate and keep good workers. Certainly, flexibility in
benefits and work arrangements are pluses, but financial
constraints and business imperatives temper a company's
ability to give employees everything they want.
(Employee Motivation and Retention in Western Europe)
http://www.sric-bi.com/BIP/Bulletin/B292.shtml#2311


New, Improved Linux

The Linux open-source operating system is fast becoming a
viable high-end computing platform that combines mainframe
power with great application support and Internet
friendliness. With today's Linux, researchers and 
integrators can build "homemade" supercomputers that are
substantially cheaper than those from large commercial
vendors. (February High-Performance Computing Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/HPC.shtml


Technology Leaps in Europe

At a recent Scan meeting in Europe, attendees discussed the
growing tendency of companies--and even entire regions--to
leapfrog state-of-the-art technology and move directly to
next-generation technology. Analysts also noted growth in
workplace stress in Europe, anticipating that the issue will
move up the corporate agenda in the near future. (Europe Scan: 
January 2001)
http://www.sric-bi.com/BIP/Bulletin/B292.shtml#2312


Proliferating Retirement Accounts

U.S. consumers are collecting a hodgepodge of retirement
accounts as they shift jobs and conscientiously save 
for their later years. Drastic measures are necessary to
ease the burden of managing these multiple accounts, 
particularly when the time comes to disburse the assets. 
(Overlap of Retirement Products in U.S. Households)
http://www.sric-bi.com/CFD/MRsummaries/MR.V-2.shtml


Greater Teamwork through Neural Networks

Finnish researchers are commercializing a neural network
that will help companies build more productive teams. 
In the new technology, "self-organizing maps" graphically
represent the complex interactions between workers,
highlighting communication gaps and other patterns of
interaction. (February Neural Networks Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/NN.shtml


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Copyright 2001 by SRI Consulting Business Intelligence.