Upcoming NSF deadlines include Knowledge and Distributed Intelligence (KDI), 17May99, ; Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR), 09Jun99, ; CISE Educational Innovation Program, 14May99, ; Digital Libraries Initiative -- Phase 2, 17May99, ; Advanced Computational Research Program, 01Jul99, ; Human Cognition and Perception, 15Jul99, ; and Linguistics, 15Jul99, . [NSF E-Bulletin, , 01Apr99.] (Don't forget NSF's international programs, for the US side of research collaborations.)

NSF's new program on Societal Dimensions of Engineering, Science and Technology (SDEST; NSF 99-82) combines two previous programs, "Ethics and Values Studies" and "Research on Science and Technology." Budget has been about $2.5M/year, for 30 new awards each year. Apply by 01Aug or 01Feb each year. . [Rachelle Hollander or John Perhonis . iMP, , Mar99.]

If you're into the philosophy and politics of government science funding, or want the latest government R&D news and program announcements, check out "iMP: The Magazine on Information Impacts" at . Education policy is also covered. iMP is published by the SAIC's Center for Information Strategy and Policy (CISP); Amy Friedlander is the editor. [John C. Cherniavsky , 25Mar99.]

LM Ericsson is offering $250K in Web development services and expenses to non-profit organizations, for "new and creative ideas for technology applications that take advantage of the community-building power of the Internet." Apply for the Ericsson Internet Community Awards (ERICA) by 31Mar99. . [iMP, , Mar99.]

The Naval Research Laboratory is soliciting scientific, engineering, technical, and analytical support (SETA) for a wide range of NRL research activities, including speech processing, high-performance computing and networks, decision support systems, robotics, virtual environments, etc. or . [CBD, 19Mar99. FOA, 20Mar99.]

Tip: delete words such as "very," "good," and "important" from your spell checker dictionary so that your word processor will flag weak constructions. [Lynn Miner , Grantseeker Tips, 22Mar99.]

2> Industry news: [With Mike Hanafin.]

The Professional NewsBytes website covers business, legal, medical, and scientific news. . [, newjour, 16Dec98.]

Periscope reports the latest defense/military news from major newspapers and wire services. . [David Rackley , newjour, 01Dec98.]

"OtakuBoy Online" reports console video gaming news (Nintendo 64, Sega Saturn and Dreamcast, Sony Playstation, etc.) every day, with links gleaned from relevant websites. Send an empty message to . [Mike Whalen , NEW-LIST, 08Oct98.]

Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit has started a quarterly newsletter for Mac users called Microsoft MacTopia. The MBU is "committed to pioneering innovations in the Macintosh versions of our products, and bringing you features first on the Macintosh and only on the Macintosh." The newsletter offers application templates (at ), power-user tips, educational discounts, etc. Excel spreadsheet users can pick up macros for investment tracking at . . [Bill Park, 20Mar99.]

Gnome (GNU Network Object Model Environment) is a new user-friendly graphic interface for Linux, distributed with a word processor, spreadsheet, database program, presentation manager, Web browser, and email reader. It was developed at Universidad National Autonoma de Mexico, and is likely to win strong international backing. [NYT, 04Mar99. Edupage.]

For its April Fool's edition, TidBITS suggested a solution for the lawsuit against Microsoft by the US Dept. of Justice and 19 states. Microsoft would agree to perform 2.1B hours of community service, defined as free tech support for all Windows applications. Welfare recipients would be trained to handle most of the calls. (Wall Street's relief at the settlement terms would push Microsoft's stock higher.) Microsoft might then announce plans for a new Winux operating system, or Windows-style interface on Linux. "Winux is not Windows." . [Adam C. Engst , TidBITS, 01Apr99.]

----- I'm bothered by the fact that stupid people don't spontaneously combust, which they should. -- Erik Naggum , comp.lang.lisp, 07Mar99. -----