It's the revenge of the nerds all over again.

Those in the computer industry are enjoying glorious days, as those of us who are in the lesser professions well know when we fork out $100 an hour for advice.

A shortage of workers in the information technology industry is leading to fat pay gains for some in the profession according to a survey by Computerword, a trade publication.

Of 1,214 computer specialists in 20 industries surveyed, employees in 11 the 26 categories reported salary increases of more than ten percent in the past year. Chief information officers in charge of technology and computer systems earned an average of $123,000 a year in the US, up 28 percent from a year ago.

Systems analysts received a 15 percent pay hike to an average of $51,000.

Those managing and designing web sites for the Internet also received higher salaries. Bonuses for computer professionals ranged from $6,300 to $22,800 a year depending on the individual, department and company-wide performance.

The shortage of workers could last for the next six to ten years as an increasing number of companies put in more sophisticated technology systems, the survey predicted.

Apple Computer Inc. is acting confused, just when the company seemed to be on the right track. In a bid to rebound from a falling market share the company finally switched strategy and allowed other companies to make clones of its Macintosh personal computer. That was good news for computer buyers. Perhaps other companies could develop and market the Macintosh more widely at cheaper prices. The relatively high cost of a Macintosh compared to other computers would become competitive. As market share improved, programmers would be more willing to write more software for the Macintosh.

Apple could then collect more money from royalties gained on its top-notch operating system through the increased sales of the clones. The company was set to become more like a Microsoft, which took the strategy of staying out of the hardware business, and instead licenced its operating system to computer makers.

Apple has always had a winner of a operating system but has seen it relegated to a niche market by the Microsoft juggernaut. Even Microsoft uses Macintoshes (and Silicon Graphics machines) to do a lot of the work at its secretive research Interactive Media Production lab, according to The New York Times Magazine.

Now Apple is biting the hands that could help the company recover. Originally Apple offered $10 software upgrades to customers who purchased Macs or Mac clones 30 or fewer days before the release of a newer operating system. The usual price is $99 in the US (there is no customs duty on software in Bermuda). Now Apple says it will no longer offer the discount to those who purchase clones such as those made by Umax Computer Corp. I can't understand why Apple would try to create ill-will among its indirect customers at a time when the company is in a precarious position.

Yesterday Apple also announced it was buying Power Computing Corp. for $100 million in stock (see page 29). Apple had licenced Power Computing as the first clone maker, and behold, the company was eating into its sales. The purchase is perhaps good short-term strategy but poor long-term thinking. And bad for Mac lovers.

A second security flaw has been found in Netscape Communications Corp.'s updated version of its web browser. The flaw allows hackers to write a program that tracks and collects personal information when typed into the browser as the user moves to different web sites. The problem has to do with Netscape's JavaScript programming language. Java is a software addition which allows the design of a more interactive web sites and makes it easier to integrate databases.

"The hacker can eavesdrop on information going back and forth between your computer and the Internet,'' a Netscape spokesperson stated. Netscape promised that a fix for the bug will be available this week. Until then hold on to your credit card number.

The court battle over the export of encryption software between the computer industry and the US government continues. The US has classified the software in the same category as sensitive military equipment, thereby banning it for export by US companies.

The issue is important for places like Bermuda as the sophisticated encryption software being developed helps protect the secrecy of electronic mail, credit-card numbers and other information being transmitted over the Internet.

Big brother US says the software could be used by criminals to hide their activities, such as money laundering. The computer industry argues the software is necessary for the development of on-line commerce.

The rules were challenged in a San Francisco courtroom in a lawsuit by computer science professor Daniel Bernstein. He wants to post an encryption program he wrote on the Internet. The judge struck down the government rules on the grounds they violated the constitutional right to free speech. The government put new rules in place allowing the export of the encryption software but requiring companies to provide it with "keys'' allowing enforcement agencies to unlock the codes and eavesdrop.

The judge struck those rules down as unconstitutional prior restraint. Now the Clinton government has got the judge to keep the restrictions in place until next Monday while the Justice Department files an appeal to the decision.

The court battle illustrates a trite truth -- the success of any technology, invention or idea depends not only on the smarts of its promulgators, but also on social, political and economic forces prevailing at the time. Galileo Galilei had the full force of that truth thrust upon him in 1633 when the Catholic Church forced him to recant, under threat of torture, his proof of Nicolaus Copernicus' theory that the earth and other planets orbited the sun.

Internet Bermuda Ltd. (IBL) has upgraded its 28.8 dialup internet access services to a 33.6 connection. The numbers refer to the speed of the connection measured in thousands of bits per second. A megabyte can be downloaded on a 14.4 telephone line connection in 9.3 minutes, or in 4.8 minutes on a 28.8 connection. On a 33.6 connection the estimated time of arrival is 4.16 minutes. Those times hold true only if everything is working perfectly, and nothing ever does on the information slow lane, does it? IBL customers need a 33.6 modem and a 28.8 service account. The company also offers 14.4 accounts for a lower price.

IBL has also started the Virtual Bermuda Community Centre (community.bm), a free on-line discussion site. The company is looking for any volunteers to moderate topics of their choice. Currently there are five discussion sites, dealing with computing, pregnancy and parenting, alcohol abuse, health, and the triathlon.

Tech Tattle is a weekly column which focuses on technological developments and computer industry issues. If you have any ideas for topics or a business you would like to discuss, please call Ahmed at 295-5881 ext. 248, or at home 238-3854.