News - Online Archives - Wired The Postal Service Wants .us - The US Postal Service wants a piece of the online pie and outlines its plans at a Commerce Department hearing. Declan McCullagh reports from Washington. [Wired News] The Wired News Week - "Melissa" exposed as a man from New Jersey ... Credit card fraud plagues online business ... Yahoo gobbles Broadcast.com ... Serbian police shut down radio station B92 ... and other news and goings-on. Compiled by Pete Danko. [Wired News] Lotus Positioning a Browser Presence? - Observers are atwitter about a possible foray into the market. [Wired News] Wired News - Daily technology, political, cultural, and business stories. No Credit Where It's Due - Vice President Gore tells a reporter the Internet was his idea. Nice try, Al. Declan McCullagh reports from Washington. [Wired News] Few Dips for Chips - Semiconductor industry analysts predict solid first-quarter earnings. Never mind the slump in personal computer sales. [Wired News] CMP Closing NetGuide Magazine - Company execs thought that in NetGuide they had a name that couldn't be beat. They were wrong. [Wired News] Animation Tutorial: Lesson 4 - This introduction to Macromedia's Flash is no Mickey Mouse. Whether you're an old hand at animating or your dexterity stops at stick figures, this intro will have you drawing online in no time. From Webmonkey. [Wired News] Microsoft Blames the Messenger - A lawyer leaks an internal memo about the software company's antitrust trial. It's probably not an accident. Declan McCullagh reports from Washington. [Wired News] Salon Is Salon.com, at Last - The Left Coast purveyor of news and commentary buys the URL it's always wanted, and prepares a redesign and nationwide advertising blitz. Also: Yahoo uses Online Anywhere.... Speedy AMD chip challenges Pentium.... And GTE scoops up 20 Ameritech wireless properties. [Wired News] Education Dream Job: Teach in the Community - For seven years, The Buddy System has been helping the San Francisco Bay Area get educated. [Wired News] Animation Tutorial: Lesson 2 - Emily and Anna pull out all the stops on the five-star tour of GIF89. From Webmonkey. [Wired News] US: Worry About the Y2K Nuts - The US government doesn't fear a collapse of society because of Y2K computer problems. Policymakers say the greater danger is overreaction. [Wired News] Staking iTurf on Wall Street - The online purveyor of T-shirts and bikinis for Generation Y figures to be all the rage on Wall Street when it goes public this week. [Wired News] NBC Takes Tip from Microsoft, Expands Online - The move shows how new-media and old-media enterprises are uniting to leverage their respective strengths. It also provides Sidewalk with an opportunity to use the familiar NBC brand to reach a whole new audience. [Wired News] Animation Tutorial: Lesson 3 - Quirky as it is, dHTML's high jinks can be a boon to animators. Anna tells us how to get dynamic. From Webmonkey. [Wired News] Compromise Near on Y2K Lawsuits - Senate Republicans say they're willing to take a second look at legislation limiting Y2K lawsuits. It's good news for Democrats and consumers, bad news for the nation's software industry. [Wired News] Amazon, Wal-Mart Settle - The two retailing giants agree to stop throwing punches over defecting employees. No damages were paid to Wal-Mart, but some Amazon employees will find themselves with brand new job titles. By Jennifer Sullivan. [Wired News] Microsoft Again in the Cross Hairs - The Department of Justice is looking into Microsoft's multiple investments in the streaming-media business, and may be probing as well into the software giant's recent deal with Apple. [Wired News] Freelancing in the Web World - So you think you've got the cojones to be a freelancer, eh? Then join Evany as she gives you some pointers on this wild and woolly career move. From Webmonkey. [Wired News] UK May Loosen Crypto Rules - A new UK government electronic commerce roadmap relaxes a once hard-line stance on scrambled communications. So why that secret meeting? Wendy Grossman reports from London. [Wired News] Amazon's Auction a Bust So Far - Amazon.com shows book shoppers related items for sale in the site's new auction section. But "related" is clearly a subjective term. By Chris Oakes. [Wired News] Reuters Dumped from Trading Service - The Chicago Mercantile Exchange will switch from Reuters' to a French company's systems and technology in the Globex online trading system. [Wired News] Overcoming Yuk - It may be unnatural, but encouraging genetic choice in humans is not bad. (It's also inevitable.) [Wired News] Israeli Court Freezes Sex Domain - An Israeli man with high hopes for striking it rich on the Net takes his domain-name dispute to the nation's highest court. Tania Hershman reports from Jerusalem. [Wired News] Stocks Soar on Jobs Data - Signs that the US economy isn't overheating reinforce investors' belief that the Fed won't fiddle with interest rates any time soon. The market flirts with record territory. By David Lazarus. [Wired News] AOL Gears Up for Another Ad Blitz - A few short months after an aggressive ad campaign clogged AOL's lines with new users, the company is trying to expand its customer base again. [Wired News] Creating One Huge Computer - In an interview with Wired magazine, Sun Microsystems visionary Bill Joy gives the first in-depth glimpse of Jini, the Java-based distributed-computing technology that aims to give all computers everywhere the ability to interact. By Kevin Kelly and Spencer Reiss. [Wired News] A Baby Step for Encryption - A congressional panel approves a measure to ease export restrictions on encrypted software. But the bill has a bumpy legislative road ahead. Declan McCullagh reports from Washington. [Wired News] Jobs Data Send Stocks Flying - Signs that the Fed won't fiddle with interest rates any time soon propel share prices through the roof. The Dow tops 10K again and the Nasdaq climbs to a record high. By David Lazarus. [Wired News] Sysadmin Dream Job: Seattle Art Museum - The Seattle Art Museum wants to start networking, but needs a computing staff. [Wired News] Animation Tutorial: Lesson 5 - This lesson in animation and design theory draws the base line, then invites you to break all the rules of the game. From Webmonkey.com. [Wired News] Mitnick Trial: Full Speed Ahead - The judge in the case against accused cracker Kevin Mitnick throws out defense motions that would have give him some breathing room. Douglas Thomas reports from Los Angeles. [Wired News] Tech Firms Invade Fortune 500 - Smokestack companies like General Motors and General Electric still dominate the Fortune 500 list -- but not for much longer, Fortune says. [Wired News] Design Dream Job: Cyber Salutations - San Francisco start-up Greet Street provides greeting cards and, soon, "E-greetings" over the Web. [Wired News] Hey -- That's Private - Users want privacy and the bennies of personalized sites. Collaborative filtering coupled with a technology-based privacy standard may be the answer to protecting user data. From Webmonkey.com. [Wired News] Net Journalists Outwit Censors - Despite old-fashioned attempts to muzzle journalists, the Internet offers new ways of publishing the news. Journalists around the world use the Net to take control of information. Alan Docherty reports from London. [Wired News] New Record for Online Trading - Online brokerages stocks surge on news of the historic first quarter. A new report says one in seven trades takes place on the Net. [Wired News] Microsoft and Intuit in E-Bank Detente - The rivals agree on "Open Financial Exchange," a common standard for online banking and financial transactions. [Wired News] Power to the People - Taylor urges his fellow, frustrated Web developers to get involved in the standards process. From Webmonkey.com. [Wired News] AOL Fraud Touches West Virginia - With the help of his AOL account, a fast-food restaurant manager allegedly committed credit-card fraud against residents of his small town. By Polly Sprenger. [Wired News] Better Times for MS Temps? - Microsoft increases the number of temp agencies that supply its temporary labor force. The competition may mean better benefits, the company says. Or not, say labor organizers. Chris Stamper reports from Seattle. [Wired News] RealNetworks' Stock Opens with Bang - The leading streaming media firm sees its brand-new issue rise 60 percent in the first hours of trading. [Wired News] Opera 3.0 - Browser to Beat the Band - There are things that upstart browser Opera 3.0 can't do, but it whoops the Big Two browsers in speed. [Wired News] Jerry Brown's Oakland.net - The former California governor is Oakland's new mayor. His challenge is to revive a major city that sits smack in the middle of high-tech America. So what's the plan? Christopher Jones reports from Oakland, California. [Wired News] MCI WorldCom, Nextel in Talks - Will MCI WorldCom make the wireless plunge? Sources say a deal is far from certain. Also: Malone invests billions in Murdoch's News Corp.... DVD still stomping Divx.... Boeing's Delta 3 on hold.... The red phone booth lives.... And Intel price cuts are on the way. [Wired News] Average Salaries Soar for US Engineers - A survey sets the annual average at US$72,000, the highest amount in 25 years. Engineers have the Internet to thank. [Wired News] Browser Standards Beat On - As the Document Object Model moves toward standardization, Microsoft and Netscape waver on uniform support. Forces at play: hubris, competition, and the Microsoft factor. By Chris Oakes. [Wired News] Journalist Admits Eavesdropping - A freelance writer who taped phone conversations of celebrity couple Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise pleads guilty to a wiretapping charge. [Wired News] Red Hat Linux on Dell PCs - Dell buys a stake in Red Hat, agrees to install Linux on some of its PCs, and sells a bunch of Linux boxes to a big corporate customer. Is this the beginning of the end for Windows? [Wired News] TCI Names Leo Hindery as President - The appointment is a small step by TCI toward winning back the confidence of investors. [Wired News] Contrarian Browsers - Everyone agrees that browsers should be standards compliant. But that's easier said than done, and it often comes at the price of innovation. From Webmonkey. [Wired News] Hillary Online: Socks, Not Sex - The first lady tells all -- about the White House pets -- in an AOL chat session. Will Buddy stand beside her in a US Senate campaign? [Wired News] Stocks Stage Cautious Rally - Wall Street creeps higher after a mixed showing for much of the session. Investors shrug off concerns about high valuations and the situation in Yugoslavia. By David Lazarus. [Wired News] Java Dream Job: Direct the Engineers - WebLogic produces products from drivers to server software that provide Java database connectivity. [Wired News] The Trouble with P3P - The budding privacy protocol aims to negotiate the exchange of personal data between Web sites and consumers. But the biggest hurdle to its success may not be technical. By Chris Oakes. [Wired News] Execs: Regulations Won't Help - Businesses and creative professionals in England agree that governments should keep their paws off the Net. Alan Docherty reports from Exeter, England. [Wired News] The Microsoft of Mobile Radio - A group of radio dispatch companies says it wants the US government to keep Nextel Communications, the industry's biggest player, from monopolizing the market. By Joanna Glasner. [Wired News] EarthLink 'Made Mistake' on Cash Crisis Claim - The ISP admits it goofed when it reported to regulators that it didn't have enough cash to meet expenses. The company now says it has plenty of money. [Wired News] Should Feds Trust Windows NT? - With potentially more than three million licenses at stake, Microsoft is keen to push its Windows NT operating system to government desktops even, alleges one security expert, at the expense of national security. [Wired News] Chemical Plants Face Y2K Threat - A new report warns that chemical plants face "significant" risk of Y2K related failures. Worse, local governments seem to be oblivious to the problem. [Wired News] Rally Sputters, Stocks Mixed - Wall Street cools its heels following Monday's run into the record books. Investors decide to pocket some cash, and cast a wary eye toward Yugoslavia. By David Lazarus. [Wired News] Online Services Settle with FTC - AOL, CompuServe, and Prodigy agree to better inform their customers that all those free trial offers turn into real debits. The Microsoft Network, while not part of the probe, had better watch it, too. [Wired News] Wireless Net Thinks, Acts Locally - While Iridium and other satellite-based networks aim to blanket the globe with their services, Celsat is arguing the virtues of a regionalized approach. Whether the FCC sees its point is another matter. [Wired News] Military Vexed by Vaccine Scare - The Pentagon takes issue with Internet discussions warning that the military's mandatory anthrax inoculation is dangerous. Declan McCullagh reports from Washington. [Wired News] Star Wars: The Rules - Theaters screening Phantom will have to follow multiple conditions on exactly how and where it will run. Also Hewlett-Packard in US$100 million e-commerce deal, and Boeing's Delta 3 can't get off the ground (again). [Wired News] NYC Dream Job: Multimedia Meets Music - As Atlantic Records hits its 50th anniversary, the compact multimedia division is hiring a designer. [Wired News] One Big Beta - Broadcasters venturing into DTV territory this fall are walking a very thin line. Folks in TV land won't be impressed unless the show goes on -- and stays on. By Kristi Coale. [Wired News] Forbes Trumpets GOP Run Online - The magazine publisher puts up a press release on his Web site and calls it a first. [Wired News] At Home in Japan - The cable Internet company continues its overseas expansion, joining with Japanese corporations to provide high-speed access to the island nation. [Wired News] Animator Dream Job: Work for Wild Brain - This 2-year-old animation studio's projects run from Seuss to Spawn, and more animators are needed. [Wired News] Back? The Amiga Never Left - It was a platform to beat all platforms, yet the other platforms won. But the Amiga computer survives today, thanks to a cadre of devoted followers. And if Gateway can do what other companies couldn't, Amiga could be back to stay. By Chris Oakes. [Wired News] UK's Royal Mail Does E-Commerce - The centuries-old institution introduces a secure document technology service aimed at the business sector. British consumers will likely be next in line. By Wendy Grossman. [Wired News] Big Guns Unite To Unify Unix - Compaq joins the Monterey alliance, an effort by a dozen companies, including IBM, to solidify the scattered Unix software market. [Wired News] Demon Puts 49 Percent Share on the Block - Britain's oldest dialup ISP is seeking a partner to help it survive a changing market and growing competition. [Wired News] Day 1: The Foundations of Web Design - Jeffrey Veen's Web design manifesto begins with a look at the place where art and technology collide. [Wired News] The Web Privacy Seal, Take 2 - The Better Business Bureau begins stamping its own "seal of approval" on Web sites. Like Truste, the bureau hopes it can calm privacy-nervous consumers. By Chris Oakes and James Glave. [Wired News] Bulk Buying Comes to the Web - The more people who want something, the higher the price, right? Maybe not. A new Web shop called Accompany flips the supply-demand equation on its head. By Craig Bicknell. [Wired News] Developers Straying from the MS Way? - Microsoft-watchers say despite its public embrace of the Internet, the company is still shackled to a piece of old thinking: Windows must be Number One. [Wired News] No More GIF Text! - You can now embed fonts right into your Web pages to make your site good lookin', searchable, and structurally beautiful. [Wired News] Lost in Space and Red Tape - NASA should lead, follow, or get out of the way of private space exploration. That's the consensus at a conference on the future of space. Declan McCullagh reports from Washington. [Wired News] Tech Stocks Sag, Net Shines - Wall Street is mixed as investors steer clear of leading tech shares. But a heavyweight online music alliance, and a stratospheric IPO, add gloss to the Internet sector. By David Lazarus. [Wired News] ISPs' Complaints Force Tweak of Speed Study - Boardwatch magazine and Keynote Systems will allow ISPs to choose which servers are measured. [Wired News] Animation Tutorial: Introduction - Animating season is now open. Begin with this introduction to get an overview, read profiles of the main technologies, and find out what to expect from this seven-lesson tutorial. From Webmonkey. [Wired News] FTC, Intel Bury the Hatchet - In its settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, Intel agrees to share technical information fairly -- even with those companies that it is fighting in court. By Declan McCullagh. [Wired News] Pop Music Retail Titan is Born - The selection of CDs on the Web just got bigger. Two of the world's largest record labels are getting together to operate a new music store, offering hits from Elton John to Puff Daddy. [Wired News] IDG, Ziff-Davis Merge Mac Mags - Dwindling circulation and ad sales force Macworld and MacWEEK into a joint venture, while MacUser dies. [Wired News] Feeding Frenzy Over Netscape Code - While Microsoft shrugged and touted its own browser components, developers looked under the hood of Netscape's newly released browser code. [Wired News] Whose Right to Know? - US and European Union negotiators struggle to resolve fundamental consumer privacy differences. What does it mean for data in the digital age? [Wired News] Dow Soars, Techs Struggle - Blue-chip stocks zoom back into five digits, and Net shares are boosted by a heavyweight online music alliance and a stratospheric IPO. Techs can't keep up. By David Lazarus. [Wired News] Scans: Gold Digging in Deep Space - One man's dream to capture a new corner of an old market may become a reality. He plans to mine the rich gold and platinum deposits on asteroids. [Wired News] Can Caching Tame the Web? - Web caching would store popular pages closer to users, and a flurry of companies are out to popularize it. Promising less Net traffic and faster browsing, caching must anticipate usage patterns on a constantly growing and changing Web. But skeptics say even when it does, caching's impact may be limited at best. [Wired News] FCC to Bells, GTE: Open Up - The FCC is pushing for more competition by ordering regional phone carriers to allow access to their equipment to new companies. [Wired News] Lawsuit Says MCI 'Redlines' - A Los Angeles man says MCI Worldcom discriminates against people calling from minority-populated areas by not allowing those customers to place calling card calls. [Wired News] Microsoft Builds Up Its Web Offerings - A partnership with search engine-maker Inktomi is part of Redmond's move to beef up its online content - following the lead of Yahoo and Excite. [Wired News] Q&A: The Wearable Mann - Steve Mann, co-founder of MIT's Wearable Computing Project, was putting computers on his head long before anyone had them on a desk. By Chris Oakes. [Wired News] Mitnick Pleads Guilty - After languishing in jail for four years, celebrity cracker Kevin Mitnick pleads guilty only a month before his trial was to start. Douglas Thomas reports from Los Angeles. [Wired News] Four IPOs Set to Net Investors - Four tech IPOs are scheduled for Thursday and Friday. All will probably do very well, analysts say. But keep an eye on the long term. By Jennifer Sullivan. [Wired News] Bandai Calls Off Planned Merger with Sega - The move came after Bandai's board decided the two companies wouldn't be such a good fit after all. [Wired News] Smurfing Cripples ISPs - The latest denial-of-service attack is possibly the worst the Internet has ever seen, says one victim. And critics say the national providers seem to be asleep at the switch. [Wired News] Maine Wants to Stockpile for Y2K - Where do you put 13 million cubic feet of rice and beans? That's the question facing a Maine state legislator as she moves to stockpile emergency food in the event of Y2K failures. Declan McCullagh reports from Washington. [Wired News] Blowout Quarter for Yahoo - The online directory reports first-quarter results far above Wall Street expectations. Traffic, revenue, and earnings all surge in the quarter. [Wired News] Vivid To Pay Bills, Workers With New Loan - The pioneering multimedia firm hopes to "get the gears working up to speed again." [Wired News] Who Will Rule the Set-Top Box? - A survey of the companies that are investing money and technology in the race for the lucrative set-top real estate. [Wired News] Does Privacy Trump Piracy? - A bill to protect private information, such as medical records, meets strong opposition from companies who want the data to stay in the public domain. By Kristen Philipkoski. [Wired News] Wallstreet.com Up for Sale - A tiny Arizona firm hopes to bag big bucks by auctioning off its glitzy Web address. By Craig Bicknell. [Wired News] Community Dream Job: 3-D Infrastructure Guru - Black Sun, creator of virtual community software, is hiring an infrastructure specialist. [Wired News] Does Yahoo Still Yahoo? - One of the Web's flagship sites is increasingly blasted for failing to list submissions. It's not its job to get every site in, Yahoos say - but some are calling for the Web's de facto directory to own up to a quiet shift in its goals. [Wired News] Case Closed for Cracker? - Kevin Mitnick's guilty plea won't stop the underground movement that bears his name. Their rallying cry says it all. Douglas Thomas reports from Los Angeles. [Wired News] That Cell-Phone Jolt - Researchers find that microwave emissions from mobile phones could speed your reaction time. Also Net news hoax sends company's stock soaring, for a while, Falcon joins At Home effort to bring broadband to the sticks, and Cisco buys two ATM firms. [Wired News] AT&T Buys Big into India Mobile-Phone Market - The conglomerate's local joint venture plans to invest $1.5 billion in constructing a system capable of attracting a million subscribers. [Wired News] Indexing the Video Frontier - Seeking footage of Regis kissing Kathie Lee? The pope in the pope-mobile? As video libraries grow online, interest in searching them will grow, too. Video analysis is the technology for the (daunting) job ahead, but media-makers from ABC to PBS - and technology vendors like Microsoft - are starting to pay heed. [Wired News] Key US Computer Lags on Y2K - The US Department of Health and Human Services switches its tactics on Y2K compliance, jeopardizing federal funding for everything from Medicare to airports. Declan McCullagh reports from Washington. [Wired News] Wow Dow Marches Higher - Wall Street shakes off a bumpy start to resume its record-breaking ascent. But another profit warning from AMD pours some cold water on tech stocks. By David Lazarus. [Wired News] SGI Moves to Advance VRML Standard - By purchasing 3-D software maker ParaGraph International and creating a new subsidiary, the company hopes a "Second Web" will soon emerge. [Wired News] Group Out to Set A New Standard - Designers in the Web Standards Project have a message for Netscape and Microsoft: By not sticking to standards, you cost us tens of thousands of dollars each year. By Chris Oakes. [Wired News] Aussies Sound Smut Alert - The Australian government invites community-minded citizens to ferret out Net porn. Also: A Japanese court sends a man to jail for posting porn online in the United States. [Wired News] Net Surfing's Up - The average user spends seven hours each month surfing the Web at work. It's all business, of course. [Wired News] NetObjects Heads to Land of the Rising Sun - The maker of Web site-building software is teaming up with Mitsubishi to get into Japan's rapidly growing Internet market - but does it have the right stuff? [Wired News] Sun's New Headache: H-P's Java Brew - Hewlett-Packard has shipped its own Java virtual machine for embedded devices such as printers and phones. The company also signed up Microsoft as a licensee, and announced plans to enter the standards arena. [Wired News] GM Recalls Faulty Web Site - Until today, spammers could tap into the personal data of more than 10,000 online sweepstakes entrants at Pontiac's site. The company promised that would never happen. By James Glave. [Wired News] Blue Chips Go Bananas - Earnings worries? What earnings worries? Wall Street reopens the record books as the Dow scores another home run. Once again, tech stocks bring up the rear. By David Lazarus. [Wired News] @Home Crosses Border - The high-speed access company - heading back from the dead - joins forces with Canadian cable giants. [Wired News] Weather Data Lost in Space - The failure of the Galaxy IV satellite did more than interrupt paging -- it hit the distribution of critical Doppler weather data to airports, airlines, and the national weather forecasting center. By James Glave. [Wired News] Rural Net Surfers Stuck in Limbo - US West says it's trying to bring high-speed access to rural areas, but is hamstrung by regulators. Hogwash, regulators say. By Joseph Rose. [Wired News] Cisco Gobbles Up Two More Firms - The world's biggest data-equipment maker becomes even bigger with two acquisitions worth a total of US$445 million. The booty: technology to fuse voice and data networks. [Wired News] AOL, BMG to Make Beautiful Marketing Music - The online giant and the music publishing giant are nearing a deal that will package startup software on audio CDs, Wired News has learned. [Wired News] MS, Sun Weave Tangled Path - In describing the network of the future, both Microsoft and Sun see distributed, self-monitoring systems. How to achieve this goal is where the companies diverge. By Lisa Rein. [Wired News] MS, DOJ: No Deal Yet - Despite Microsoft's claims to the contrary, the government says the two sides have not begun discussing a possible settlement to the antitrust trial. James Glave reports from Scottsdale, Arizona. [Wired News] The View from AboveNet - Sherman Tuan claims he was a lousy engineer. But he came up with a clever business plan: build a network above the Net's congested traffic routes. Customers are signing on. So is Wall Street. By Joanna Glasner. [Wired News] It's Consolidation Season in the Ad Business - On the heels of this month's I/Pro-NetCount merger, ClickOver and Focalink join forces - putting teeth to the claim that it takes bigger fish to swim in stronger seas. [Wired News] No 'Right' to Crypto Export? - The US deputy secretary of defense tells Fortune 500 company officials that no one has a god-given right to use powerful American encryption technology. By Michael Stutz. [Wired News] The Laugh Is on Gore - Republicans scored some great one-liners after Al Gore claimed to have fathered the Internet. But they missed a prime opportunity to question the vice president's stand on tech issues. A perspective by Declan McCullagh. [Wired News] PlayStation Clones Go to Court - Sony is trying to halt the shipment of PlayStation emulators for PC and Mac. Sony will appear today with Connectix and Bleem in separate hearings. By Leander Kahney. [Wired News] Paradigm Acquires SonicNet from Prodigy - The alternative-music Web site has plans to receive new resources and expand offerings - but it has yet to make money. [Wired News] Think Different: Hack a New Mac OS - You've probably never heard of Cache Computing, but its founders claim they are set to give Mac owners a whole new operating system. Cupertino is not amused. [Wired News] Y2K Aid Bill Clears Congress - The House approves an estimated US$500 million in loans for small businesses infestations of the millennium bug. Declan McCullagh reports from Washington. [Wired News] Sony Player Coming Soon? - Though tight-lipped about details, Sony is interested in portable Walkman-like playback devices for audio. Piracy issues still need to be resolved with the recording industry. By Jennifer Sullivan. [Wired News] Find Porky's; Buy It, Too - Internet Movie Database and Reel.com strike a deal on instant movie sales. [Wired News] No Java in IE5's Base-Level Download? - Microsoft intends to leave out Java support in the minimum installation for the next version of Internet Explorer, a source says. Although Microsoft won't confirm the plan, it says that allowing components like Java support to be downloaded later is one way to balance size and features. [Wired News] MP3 Search Engine Under Fire - An international music industry group is filing a lawsuit against the Norwegian company that built the MP3 search engine used on the Lycos site. [Wired News] Net, Tech Stocks Lead Pack - Wall Street takes a breather after its record-setting run-up a day earlier. Blue-chip shares lose ground as investors rekindle their affections for gadgets and gizmos. By David Lazarus. [Wired News] Publishing Dream Job: Peachpit Press - Berkeley-based publishing house Peachpit Press is now a division of textbook giant Addison-Wesley. [Wired News] Does the Internet Backbone Index Have a Spine? - CompuServe owns the fastest backbone in the US, according the Third Keynote/Boardwatch Index of Backbone Providers. Critics say that's not surprising, given what they allege is the survey's flawed methodology. [Wired News] Kosovo Won't Be Televised - International live TV transmission from Kosovo went black Wednesday before the bombs started falling. Serbian police are blamed for a satellite shutdown, preventing Baghdad-like live telecasts. By Chris Oakes. [Wired News] The Wired News Week - Cypherpunks and politicians hash it out at the annual Computers, Freedom, and Privacy confab ... Brits plan US invasion for the Phantom Menace screening ... Teen geek builds a wearable Web cam ... and other news and goings-on. Compiled by Pete Danko. [Wired News] Newtonians Share Angst Over Falling Apple - A report that Apple is secretly about to sell its PDA to raise cash sends Newton's small but dedicated following to the Internet to voice their fears. [Wired News] Back Orifice a Pain in the ...? - An underground computer security group says it is about to release a program that will allegedly grant deep access into the machine of any Windows user unfortunate enough to run it. By James Glave. [Wired News] Yugoslav Free Radio Shut Down - Government officials have closed Radio B-92, Yugoslavia's main independent radio station, preventing it from reporting on the impending NATO attacks. [Wired News] Yet Another Big IPO Day - Three new tech firms hit the market Friday, and all three more than doubled. Is it madness or prescience? Who cares?! By Craig Bicknell [Wired News] Intel, DEC Reported in Talks to Settle Patent Feud - The companies' chiefs are reported to have discussed a deal that would allow Intel to acquire DEC's top-of-the-line Alpha microprocessor in exchange for cash and calling off the legal dogs. [Wired News] Annotated Reality - Look at a restaurant and read the reviews beamed to your smart glasses before you sit down. Welcome to the future, where wearable computers "augment" reality. By Chris Oakes. [Wired News] Gates: Settlement Would Be Nice - Microsoft chief Bill Gates says his company is talking with the Justice Department about a possible settlement in the antitrust trial. [Wired News] Exhausted Dow Takes a Rest - Blue-chip shares cool their heels after this week's record-setting run-up. Fresh hopes for the PC business, plus a trio of Net-related IPOs, keep the focus tight on tech. By David Lazarus. [Wired News] Scans: Barter for Banners - With the Web's largest ad network, LinkExchange's banner-swapping program helps smaller sites generate more traffic at no cost. Potential investors are taking notes. [Wired News] After Hundt, a New Cast for the FCC - The Chairman's departure paves the way for more shuffling; by the end of the year, four out of five members of the powerful commission will be new in their jobs. [Wired News] Step Two for Encryption Bill - A measure to relax encryption exports clears the House Judiciary Committee, which rejected an amendment to require "back door" access by law enforcement. [Wired News] Shooting AOL's Messenger - While the world concentrates on Windows 2000, Microsoft is focusing on another strategic product: an instant-messenger client. It might be Microsoft's last chance to counter America Online's dominance. Chris Stamper reports from Seattle. [Wired News] Motion-Simulator Merger is Very Real - A merger of two bigger-screen biggies will create a stronger competitor in an increasingly cutthroat theater. [Wired News] 'Twas a Dark and Storied Fright: My '97 Nightmare - Cultural-demise hysteria is made real when Gates, Rossetto, Bennett, and Dogg rule - in Jon Katz's bad dream. [Wired News] Microsoft Offer 'Inadequate' - State officials shoot down Redmond's proposed settlement, aimed at ending the thorny antitrust trial. A federal official says it may be no more than a public relations ploy. [Wired News] EBay Shapes up Shipping - EBay will ship with Mail Boxes Etc. Also: iShip.com.... Sony, Matsushita ready to battle on new CD format.... China inches online, with US firm's help... Matrix rakes in US$22 million more. [Wired News] Japan Unprepared for Tide of Junk PCs - In a country where there's already more trash than they know what to do with, a massive switch to Windows boxes could leave the roadsides and sidewalks littered with old technology. [Wired News] FCC Nominee Gets Earful from Senate Panel - William Kennard is still on track to follow Reed Hundt as the agency's chairman. But members of the Senate Commerce Committee made it clear they think the FCC should be doing more to speed up implementation of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. [Wired News] Don't Cry For Bill, Argentina - Microsoft cuts a deal with Argentine President Carlos Sa l Menem. The company will promote the software economy in the South American country if the Argentines crack down on software piracy. By Polly Sprenger. [Wired News] Compaq Stock Pummeled - Shares of the computer maker take a nosedive after the company warns of an earnings shortfall and analysts lower performance expectations. [Wired News] Net Surf: Microsoft Charity - The $150 million to Apple - roughly the equivalent of what Bill Gates earns in interest in the time it takes to launch and crash IE 4.0 on a Mac - was last week's loudest sneeze. [Wired News] FCC Praises Ameritech Filing, Then Buries It - After complimenting the local phone company's effort to meet the spirit of the Telecom Act, regulators pointed to a few more hurdles it wants Ameritech to cross. [Wired News] Overheard at the Trial - Lawyers say the darnedest things. They sure have at the Microsof trial -- and so have a few other characters. Compiled by Joe Nickell. [Wired News] Goldman Raises IPO Price - After watching the stock value of rival investment banks surge, Goldman Sachs notches up the price of its shares in an upcoming initial public offering. It now expects to reap nearly US$4 billion next month. [Wired News] Japan's Computer Makers Mount PC Sales Blitz - Playing up multimedia capabilities, as well as interconnectivity with TVs and digital cameras, Sony, Toshiba, and others aim to boost global market share. [Wired News] Texas ISPs Face Republic Fallout - Eight Internet service providers are catching flak for going along with a state request for information about subscribers involved in the secessionist Republic of Texas group. [Wired News] US Arming for Y2K - Gun dealers are thriving on fears about Y2K. First-time buyers are leading a strong surge in sales, and some dealers predict panic as 2000 draws near. Declan McCullagh reports from Washington. [Wired News] Stocks Rebound From Compaq Mess - The PC maker's forecast of sharply lower profits knocks the market for a loop. But investors gradually realize that they overreacted by dumping all available shares. By David Lazarus. [Wired News] Paul Allen Ventures into Seattle Election - In a special vote on a new stadium for the Seattle Seahawks, the Microsoft co-founder angers many by paying $5 million on a pro-stadium campaign - on top of $4 million to stage the election itself. [Wired News] He Tries to Draw Legal Borders in Cyberspace - Jeremiah 'Jay' Nixon, Missouri's attorney general, says he's defending his state's sovereignty by going after online beer sellers and casinos. His targets say he's stumping for office. [Wired News] Mitnick's Judgment Day at Hand - A judge will consider the plea entered last week by Kevin Mitnick, the cracker's poster boy. Regardless of how she rules, he's not out of the legal woods yet. Douglas Thomas reports from Los Angeles. [Wired News] Stock Markets Ready for Y2K - The National Association of Securities Dealers says a month-long simulation of trading a few days before and after 1 January 2000 turned up no glitches. The financial markets are ready for Y2K. By Joe Nickell. [Wired News] Oracle Nabs NC Deal With 1-800-FLOWERS - Its first shipment of 2,000 network computers pushes the company out front, and puts networked computing to the test. [Wired News] Sans Drama, Unabom Opener's a Dud - Day One's festivity - the jury selection that focused on potential panelists' opinions on the death penalty - is remarkable for its lack of electricity. [Wired News] The Bill Gates Road Show - On an East Coast swing to trumpet his latest book, Microsoft's pooh-bah stops in at Georgetown University. He avoids any mention of his antitrust troubles, but leaves 'em laughing with a videotape showing the wacky side of Redmond's mandarins. Declan McCullagh reports from Washington. [Wired News] Freeserve May Go IPO - UK retailer Dixons may sell a portion of Freeserve, its free online service, to investors in an initial public offering. [Wired News] Street Cred: Economic Espionage - In John Fialka's new book, the Cold War is alive and well. [Wired News] Blazing the Trail to the New Economy - John Doerr and Jim Barksdale, made men in Silicon Valley, kick off a postmodern political-action committee that puts education and litigation reform at the top of its agenda. [Wired News] Citizens Report from the Front - An Orthodox monk writing from the 'pulpit of his keyboard' sends news of the Kosovo crisis from a 663-year-old monastery, filling the void left by professional journalists. By Leander Kahney and James Glave. [Wired News] Amazon Buys LiveBid.com - Moving to beef up its auction unit, Amazon.com said it will acquire LiveBid.com, the site that hosted live bidding on O.J. Simpson memorabilia, among other things. [Wired News] NBC Jacks into City-Guide Fray - The broadcast giant says its brand can help set its online city guides apart. Some wonder whether the move is an attempt to mollify irked affiliates. [Wired News] ACLU Takes on Virginia Net Decency Law - Expanding its campaign to shoot down state and local censorship statutes, the civil liberties organization targets a law that makes it illegal for some professors to check out risqu Victorian poems. [Wired News] MS, Antitrust Lawyers to Meet - Microsoft and government lawyers are set to meet next week to talk about the antitrust case. Even though the parties are far from an agreement, Microsoft shares rise in anticipation of a possible settlement. [Wired News] Cheaper PCs Ahead? - Compaq's warning of an earnings shortfall may spell trouble for the computer manufacturing industry. It could also drag PC prices even lower. By Joanna Glasner. [Wired News] Happy Puppy Snaps Up Games Domain - Moving toward world conquest, the biggest gaming site acquires the second-biggest. [Wired News] Out of the Basement, on to NPR! - Jon Katz begins his book tour and faces talk-show hell when he finds all issues are debated on either the left or the right. [Wired News] Bill Swats Millennium Bug - An industry-backed bill limiting Y2K liability lawsuits clears the Senate Judiciary Committee. The measure caps punitive damages at US$250,000. [Wired News] Blue Chips Defy Compaq's Woes - The Dow rockets to yet another record high, shrugging off a profit warning from the computer sector. Tech stocks eventually limp into positive territory. By David Lazarus. [Wired News] Amazon.com Upstages Barnes & Noble - "Earth's biggest bookstore" slashes prices and adds titles before "the world's largest bookseller" gets online. [Wired News] Suit Asks US Info Agency to Cough It Up - Several Nader groups are suing to force the United States Information Agency to make government foreign-policy information available to Americans. [Wired News] Do-it-Yourself News - The expulsion of foreign journalists from war-torn Yugoslavia hasn't stopped the flow of news from the region. Far from it. First-hand information about the Kosovo conflict is widely available on the Internet. By Declan McCullagh. [Wired News] The Fed Is Ready for Y2K - Money in the bank will mean something when the new millennium dawns. A new GAO report says the nation's Federal Reserve System is 98 percent Y2K-compliant. [Wired News] Alsop Takes a Seat on Firm's Board - The Fortune magazine columnist and venture capitalist now wears a third hat: Software industry executive. Conflict of interest? Apparently not. [Wired News] Brouhaha Erupts at Book Signing - Jon Katz visits Princeton with an idyllic image of the Ivy League. What he finds instead is some poisonous people itching to attack the author and each other. [Wired News] Net Dispatches from Kosovo's War - An Orthodox monk, writing from the "pulpit of his keyboard" in a medieval monastery, provides eyewitness accounts of NATO air strikes in Kosovo to the world. Civilians are being hit hard. By Leander Kahney and James Glave. [Wired News] Auctioneers Chip In for Kosovo - EBay, Yahoo, and other online companies help out the Kosovo relief effort by holding special auctions. [Wired News] Intel Stock Spirals Downward - The king of microprocessors, facing growing competition for its Pentium II, warned Wall Street of a drop in revenues. Wall Street wasn't pleased. [Wired News] Net-Regulation Laws Ruled Unconstitutional - New York state's legislation to protect kids from Net smut is overturned as a violation of the Constitution's commerce clause. In Georgia, a federal judge issues a preliminary injunction blocking a law that seeks to make online anonymity illegal. [Wired News] ICANN Extends Testbed Deadline - The Net's new regulator loosens its deadline for testbed applicants for the new domain name registration business. [Wired News] Analysts Rip Network Solutions - When Network Solutions shut down Aberdeen Group's Web site, it stepped on the wrong toes. The market-research firm publishes a nasty report slamming Network Solutions' "sloppy" service. By Craig Bicknell. [Wired News] CMP Takes Beating on Internet Performance - As the rest of the market took off Tuesday, the Long Island trade-mag publisher paid the price for less than rosy news about its Internet business. Also: Jobs' friends say Jobs isn't interested in Apple job. [Wired News] Feathers Fly on Bird Chat - Blocking software catches bird-lover using Latin! Jon Katz has all the shocking details. [Wired News] India Loosens Telecom Policy - Indian broadcasting could get a boost from private and foreign investment as the government hold is broken on telephone and satellite competition. New legislation goes into effect 1 January 2000. [Wired News] Microsoft's Audio Future - Microsoft prepares to release its own audio format, Cisco spends $2 billion for GeoTel, and Disney's Net dilemma. [Wired News] CompuServe, Time Settle Lawsuit - The two kiss and make up after an ugly dispute over whether Time's content is a poor investment for the online service. [Wired News] Culture Crisis Part II: Media Won't Save You - Sex, race, and gender meltdowns flummox the media. Jon Katz looks on. [Wired News] China Regulates Internet Calls - Telecommunications firms will have to endure a six-month trial period before receiving a permit from the Chinese ministry for Internet phone calls. [Wired News] Internet Turbo Boosting Airlines - An influential aviation analyst says the Internet is the best thing to happen to the airline industry since the jet engine. [Wired News] AOL Adds CBS Sports to Content Team - The deal provides more bench strength to AOL's sports channel, which already carries content from CBS' rival, ABC Sports. [Wired News] Without Incentive, It's Just Hot Air - Getting people to embrace alternative energy sources and devices is the biggest challenge in the effort to slow global warming, a conference of scientists and policy-makers says. [Wired News] Sweeping UK Net Libel Decision - A British court rules that Internet service providers can be held responsible for libelous messages posted through their servers, casting a pall over the industry. By James Glave. [Wired News] Bloomberg Sues Over Bogus Site - The business news and information company sues the unidentified creators of a site that cloned its site to hype a stock. But first it needs to find them. By Joanna Glasner. [Wired News] Drops Heard 'Round the World - A by-the-numbers look at global stock market activity during the past three trading days. [Wired News] Oppressors, Beware! Net Fights for Rights - Human rights groups show that getting wired can work wonders. Some like Amnesty International are finding new ways to use the Net in protecting human rights. [Wired News] Email Assist for Yugoslavs - An anonymous forwarding service sets up a special filter to help safeguard the identity of those filing unofficial and uncensored email reports from the NATO strike zone. By Leander Kahney. [Wired News] Revived RealNetworks Buys Xing - The purchase of an MP3 software developer widens RealNetworks' reach and strengthens its position in the digital audio distribution market. By Jennifer Sullivan. [Wired News] AOL's Profit: How Long Can it Last? - Analysts taking a close look at the company's recent earnings report tell Ned Brainard they see one-time slight-of-hand deals bolstering the bottom line. [Wired News] Questions at the Close of the O. J. Saga - Jon Katz on O. J. Simpson and the death of justice. [Wired News] Yugoslav Net at the Brink - As missiles fall around him, the man in charge of keeping Yugoslavia's Internet together is doing his best. But the vital communications link might just fall apart. By Leander Kahney. [Wired News] Zapata Tries, Tries Again - The Texas-based fish-oil firm with Net ambitions files to spin off its Zap.com subsidiary in a US$109 million offering. That's a lot of money for a business that has no assets. By Craig Bicknell. [Wired News] CompuServe Heads to the Web - With a seemingly half-hearted approach, the proprietary online service opens its doors to professionals on the Web. [Wired News] Invitation to a Beheading - Katz is asked to join world titans talking about information-age power shifts. [Wired News] Keeping the FCC's Mitts Off Net - New legislation introduced Friday will end the Federal Communications Commission's policy of charging for metered Internet connections. Or will it? Declan McCullagh reports from Washington. [Wired News] Early Stock Rally Loses Steam - Wall Street is back near where it started as investors pocket some cash from recent record-setting gains. Tech shares are adrift as all eyes turn to Intel. By David Lazarus. [Wired News] IBM to Beef Up Global Services Division - The move is part of Big Blue's transformation from a rigid giant to a company more attuned to the Internet. [Wired News] Web Watchers Track, Trip Up Parolees - A New York anti-crime group's Web site reports the parole status of violent prisoners - but civil liberties groups say the data lacks depth. [Wired News] Closing the Window on the War - After Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic pulled the plug on satellite transmissions from his country, TV networks have nothing to show but talking heads. [Wired News] Privacy and Purchasing Power - Step aside, Yellow Pages; it's time for a new kind of phone book. Novell is trying to forge ahead of IBM and AT T with a multilevel Web directory. [Wired News] Apple Dismisses Layoff Reports - For Now - Reports say 2,600 workers will be given pink slips. Apple says it's all speculation. A restructuring announcement is expected Tuesday. [Wired News] Reversal of Fortune - Clinton administration's possible CDA flip-flop: Typical, says Katz. [Wired News] States Seek OS Surrender - Nineteen states that have accused Microsoft of antitrust violations want to force the company to auction off its Windows operating system. There's still no hint of what the feds want. [Wired News] Dow Climbs as Techs Sputter - A mixed day on Wall Street. Blue-chip stocks advance deeper into record territory, while tech shares succumb to anxiety over weak earnings. The spotlight shifts to Intel. By David Lazarus. [Wired News] Web Ads Hit the Auction Block - Adbot conducts its first telephone bidding to sell Internet advertising. [Wired News] Web Anglais? Non, S'il Vous Plait - A Canadian Web site owner runs up against a Quebec language law that requires that content in all media be available in French as well as English. Beyond the inconvenience for one site, the case raises questions about trying to enforce linguistic purity in an age of globalization. [Wired News] Did Russians Get Whitehouse.gov? - Anti-NATO crackers claim credit for an all-day outage at the official White House Web site. Sources call it a hardware problem. Declan McCullagh reports from Washington. [Wired News] Intel Earnings Defy Expectations - At 57 cents a share, Intel's first-quarter earnings were higher than expected. But the company predicts that earnings for the second quarter will be lower. [Wired News] DC Dream Job: Project Associate - Open Studio wants to teach the arts community a new way of thinking. [Wired News] The New Censorship - Jon Katz muses on the price of freedom, eternal vigilance, and Larry Flynt. [Wired News] Jesse Jackson's New Campaign - The civil rights leader says he'll fight to bridge the so-called digital divide between some minorities and the upper echelons of the technology industry. By Joseph Rose. [Wired News] Editors Confront 'The Beast' - Newspaper editors from around the country take advantage of their visit to San Francisco to drop in on Silicon Valley. Will technology spell their doom? And other items from the ASNE convention. By Chris Oakes. [Wired News] MCI, BT Set Sights on Latin American Market - Soon to be a massive merged entity, the two companies announced plans to link with Portugal Telecom and expand services in both Europe and Latin America, particularly Brazil. [Wired News] Privacy Implications of Hedy Lamarr's Idea - Net activist David Hughes sought honor for the actress who invented frequency hopping, but he doubts that the full meaning of the technology is appreciated. [Wired News] US v. Microsoft: Timeline - From the first rumblings in Washington almost a decade ago to the biggest -- and perhaps dullest -- antitrust trial of the decade, here's how we got to where we are. [Wired News] Grove to Newsies: 'Get with It!' - Chip kingpin Andy Grove tells an audience of newspaper editors that the blinding light in front of them is an oncoming train. Chris Oakes reports from San Francisco. [Wired News] Tech Exec Dream Job: Business Gaming - Thinking Tools, a developer of business-management simulation software, is looking for a director of engineering. [Wired News] The Things That Unite Us - Jon Katz offers some observations about post-political thinking. [Wired News] Freedom Helps, Not Harms, Kids - Cyber-rights supporters defend online freedoms at the Cyberspace 1999 conference at the University of Leeds. Alan Docherty reports from York, England. [Wired News] IBM Exec to Head Symantec - The software maker tabs IBM lifer John Thompson to replace Gordon Eubanks. Also HP chief Lewis Platt's bad day on Wall Street, Sina.com sees IPO later this year, and Warren Buffett still hasn't gotten tech-savvy. [Wired News] Dell Soars to Record Earnings - The mail-order computer-maker saw sales increase by 61 percent - four times the growth rate for the rest of the PC industry. [Wired News] V-Chip Redux? - According to Jon Katz, the technology that the president loves has always been both a fraud and a joke. [Wired News] Know Your (Customer) Rights - The defeat of far-reaching bank monitoring regulations won't protect individual accounts from surveillance. Privacy advocates of all political stripes mount protests online. By Declan McCullagh. [Wired News] Microsoft Trumpets Audio Player - Microsoft launches its new MP3 competitor at a glitzy event in LA. The audience hands MS Audio 4.0 a split decision. By Christopher Jones. [Wired News] Apple Sued over Chip Licensing - Exponential Technologies, once a favored future vendor of new high-end chips for the Macintosh, says Apple's clone pullout has effectively killed markets for its X704 processor. [Wired News] Duke Nukem Targeted in Patent Infringement - Strange but patented: An Illinois man says that by incorporating video playback of 'living beings,' the popular shoot-'em-up game infringes on his 1987 patent. [Wired News] RSA Lands on British Shores - Three months after opening an Australian development house to bypass crypto export regs, RSA Data Security opens a European office to sell software from Down Under. [Wired News] Techs Still Eating Dow's Dust - Blue-chip stocks remain in high gear, but investors feel wary about the mixed messages from Intel, and are keeping their distance from most PC-related shares. By David Lazarus. [Wired News] Your Name Here - Beyond mass production, beyond even niche marketing. MySki produces its goods for a market of one: you. [Wired News] German Hemp Partisans Long to Inhale - Germany lets its citizens wash their clothes with hemp soap and sip hemp beer, but a throng that turned out in Berlin this weekend wants the plant put to more recreational uses. [Wired News] MS, Government Back at Table - Microsoft and the Justice Department sit down for settlement talks. Will the discussion end the trial, or hit the same walls as a year ago, before the whole mess began? Declan McCullagh reports from Washington. [Wired News] Tech Stocks Crash and Burn - Investors search in vain for reasons to embrace their former favorites. The Dow barely scores another record high amid an ugly last-minute selling spree. By David Lazarus. [Wired News] Tripod Gets $US10 Million Boost - A group of ad agencies and venture capital firms are making the investment to gain access to the coveted under-30 market. [Wired News] He's Mad as Hell, and Telling the Web - Something about a recent stadium vote seems fishy to San Francisco Net consultant Ken McCarthy. He says the city's media has fallen down on the job, so he's publishing his own 'expos ' online. [Wired News] NetSol Spams Name Holders - The company in charge of all things .com, .net, and .org emails an unsolicted marketing message to thousands of domain-name holders. Network admins cry spam. By Leander Kahney. [Wired News] Impressive Earnings From Apple - The revived computer maker reports solidly better-than-expected earnings. The number of Macs shipped in the quarter jumps 27 percent. [Wired News] Dow Jones Shutters Its Investor Network - Subscribers logging in were told simply that the site had ceased operations. [Wired News] Digital-TV Donnybrook Reaches Final Round - After months of posturing, a decision is expected this week on how soon digital broadcasts will begin in the biggest US markets. [Wired News] Y2K Won't Tie Up the Line - As Americans buckle down for Y2K, the Federal Communications Commission has some good news: The nation's phone system should be up and running. Most of it, at least. By Joanna Glasner. [Wired News] Mom and Pop Storm Boardroom - Investor conference calls used to be closed to all but Wall Street elite. But streaming media is changing the rules. Now everyone can be an insider. By Joanna Glasner. [Wired News] Scans: The Data Chase - Corporations under subpoena often have the seemingly insurmountable task of tracking intangible digital evidence. The data miners and packet sniffers at EDD are fast on the trail. [Wired News] Name Truce in the Offing? - The two-day Forum on Internet Domain Names heard lots of talk about the future of Net self-governance and the distribution of decision-making power. Some consensus was reached, though: Much more talk is necessary, and Uncle Sam has a big role to play for now. [Wired News] MS Trial Resuming in May, Maybe - The judge presiding over the Microsoft antitrust trial says things won't start up again until 10 May. Meanwhile, Microsoft and government antitrust lawyers continue looking for a settlement. [Wired News] Telcos Want More Time - Bell Atlantic and GTE want to take another crack at their proposal for handling GTE's long distance and Internet businesses. So they ask the Feds to delay a review of their wedding. [Wired News] Net Becomes Bank's Newest 'Region' - Cyberspace will be treated the same as Huntington Bank's six other geographic zones, making the Net the fiscal equal of Ohio and Florida. [Wired News] A New Crypto Furor - The President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection has spoken: Among other things, it says, the nation needs to give government access to citizens' encrypted data to remain really secure. [Wired News] Cable-TV Rates Free to Rise - The FCC's jurisdiction over cable-TV prices is ending. The price of cable service is rising at four times the rate of inflation. Are even higher rates ahead? By Joanna Glasner. [Wired News] The Sordid Saga of Sex.com - Stephen Cohen built a US$100-million porn empire on Sex.com. There's just one problem. The two-time convicted felon stole the name, foes say. By Craig Bicknell. [Wired News] Lucent, Philips Merge Consumer Units - The new company is expected to generate $2.5 billion in revenue next year, and could be on a footing to compete with giants like Motorola. [Wired News] Crypto Liberalization Bill Crippled - The House National Security Committee performs radical surgery on a bill intended to get the federal government out of the business of regulating encryption exports. As amended, the bill now gives the feds a stronger say than ever on what can be sold abroad. [Wired News] Expecting a Miracle Cure? - A chilling new statistic from the nation's hospitals: Only 13 percent are Y2K-compliant. No problem, says an industry survey. Not so fast, say consumer advocates. Declan McCullagh reports from Washington. [Wired News] Participation or Exploitation? - A handful of America Online's 10,000 volunteers say they're being exploited by the nation's largest Internet service provider. A federal agency is investigating. [Wired News] Tax Wonk Comes to CompuServe's Aid - The silver lining of the service's woes is beginning to shine thanks to an additional $70 million from parent H R Block related to CompuServe's $120 million loss. [Wired News] Close Encounter at ABC News HQ - Jon Katz sights Roone Arledge. Life will never be the same. [Wired News] Tobacco Industry's Smoking Gun - Millions of pages of tobacco industry strategy documents are laid bare on the Net. Among other things, they reveal plans to subvert anti-smoking legislation in California. [Wired News] Key Cisco Exec Stepping Down - Start-up legend Bill Carrico is expected to announce his exit as head of one of the company's key business units. Also the airline industry says safety won't be an issue come 1-1-2000, and big computers drive Unisys earnings. [Wired News] BT Eyes Network Computers - Cautiously - Working with the Acorn Group, the UK phone giant is asking a sample group whether anyone would want such a thing. [Wired News] Cyberlaw's Deep Thinker Wins Big - Pamela Samuelson has been there on many of the big software copyright cases, often fighting for the little guy. And now the UC Berkeley prof is getting her due: A $295,000 MacArthur "genius" award. [Wired News] McCain Offers Crypto Compromise - The chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee has a new plan to appease law enforcement and protect the US software industry. It may be a sign that the encryption tide is turning. Declan McCullagh reports from Washington. [Wired News] Tech Stocks Keep Tumbling - Tech? We don't need no stinking tech! Or so investors think as they continue shifting money out of the sector. After an early rally, blue-chip shares slide as well. By David Lazarus. [Wired News] IBM's Deep (Blue) Coverup - Ned Brainard tells a sordid little tale of the paranoiac behavior of IBM's public-relations hordes. Plus: Will heads soon roll at MSN? [Wired News] Dole Opens Email List to GOP Allies - Two staffers from Bob Dole's successful '96 presidential campaign Web site are using email addresses gathered from 85,000 supporters as a tool for other Republican candidates. [Wired News] Canada Rolls into Fiscal 2000 - As the Canadian government begins fiscal year 2000, an army of bureaucrats keeps a sharp eye on Ottawa's mainframes. Matt Friedman reports from Montreal. [Wired News] EBay Teams Up with Butterfield - EBay will offer antiques from Butterfield & Butterfield in a new auction category. Through the partnership, the online auctioneer will also receive authentication services. [Wired News] UUNET Confirms New Fees for ISPs - The world's largest Net access provider says it's purely a matter of economics to force smaller companies to sink or swim. [Wired News] Censorship Isn't What It Used to Be - Jon Katz begins a series on the new censorship and the censor in all of us. [Wired News] Casting a Wider Net for Learning - An international project to set up educational resource centers that provide Net access in developing countries hopes to foster cultural and political awareness. By Christopher Jones. [Wired News] Dreamcast Coming in September - Sega's next-generation bad-ass machine, Dreamcast, is set for a US release on 9 September, the company says. Expect to pay about US$199. [Wired News] Landi Adds to Exodus at Apple - The former chief operating officer surprised few people by leaving Apple after Amelio shifted power to a new cadre of executives. [Wired News] ACLU: Labeling May Lead to Lost Liberty - Condemning both feel-good government and compliant industry forces, the free-speech champion declares that self-ratings will diminish the victory born from the CDA's death. [Wired News] MS to Gorton: Clam Up - Microsoft is quick to back away from its home-state supporter when Senator Slade Gorton insults the judge presiding in the company's antitrust trial. [Wired News] Employers Read Workers' Email - Almost half of major US firms monitor employees' phone calls, email, and computer files, according to a survey. The most common form of surveillance: storing and reading office email. By Joanna Glasner. [Wired News] TotalNews Settles with Media Giants over Links - TotalNews can continue to link to news sites owned by the plaintiffs, but only if it signs "link licenses." [Wired News] Campaign-Finance Documents Going Electric - A survey of states shows that although the pace is slow, the idea is spreading. [Wired News] Melissa Maker Nabbed - New Jersey State Police, along with the FBI's new infrastructure defense division, on Thursday arrested a man they say is the author of the Melissa virus. [Wired News] Late Rally Salvages Nasdaq - Blue-chip stocks rebound from earlier declines to nail another record, and the turnaround helps tech shares find their way back into the light. Now can they stay there? By David Lazarus. [Wired News] PointCast Heads to Oval Office - Barely in the door at the push-media company, new CEO David Dorman has been appointed to a presidential advisory board on high-tech issues. Also: CNET snuggles up to Borders. [Wired News] Congress Does the Net - A quick look at major Net-centric and techno issues the people's representatives will wrestle over this fall. [Wired News] Yugoslavia's B92 Goes Dark - In a dawn raid, Serbian police shut down Yugoslavia's last independent news outlet. A few overloaded Internet links now supply the last source of unbiased news inside Yugoslavia. By Leander Kahney. [Wired News] Arrest Made in PairGain Rumor - Authorities arrest a 25-year-old man in connection with a fake news story posted on the Web last week that sent PairGain's stock soaring. [Wired News] CompuServe Legal Battle Grows Nastier - A former content provider files a new complaint in an ongoing dispute stemming from an alleged breach of contract. [Wired News] Library Tries Critical Porn-Blocking Approach - The library board in Virginia's Loudoun County voted last week to keep pornography off the system's Net terminals. The twist: It's trying to do so by blocking only what would be deemed obscene under Supreme Court precedent. [Wired News] 'Melissa' Police Work Lauded - Officials heap praise on investigators from a special division of the FBI created specifically to fight cyber crime. Their nimble footwork leads to the arrest of a suspect in the "Melissa virus" case. Deborah Scoblionkov reports from Trenton, New Jersey. [Wired News] IBM, Sony Join Forces for SDMI - The two superpowers marry their technologies to try and secure digital music downloads for the big music labels. [Wired News] IBM, Banco do Brasil Brew Some Serious Java - A $180 million deal between Big Blue and Latin America's biggest retail bank sets the stage for one of the largest client investments in Java and OS/2 technology yet. [Wired News] Who Needs Crypto? Paging Bill Clinton ... - The Clinton administration, in the midst of a fight to limit the availability of strong encryption, has come face-to-face with an embarrassing example of what can happen when its own communications go unprotected. [Wired News] Justice Department Appeals COPA - With only hours to spare, the Justice Department appealed its loss of a lawsuit that restricted online erotica in the name of protecting children. Declan McCullagh reports from Washington. [Wired News] Lycos Embraces Open Web Index - The portal licenses Netscape's Open Directory Project, a massive index of Web sites built and managed by volunteers. Backers say it's the only way to keep up with the Net's growth. By Chris Oakes. [Wired News] Berkeley Buy-Out Brings Layoffs - CUC's acquisition of the wacky game-maker means a management shake-up and staff cuts. [Wired News] Pentagon's Landmine View Called Overblown - The United States' policy on landmines in Korea is based on the flawed results of computerized Pentagon war games, a report charges. [Wired News] Shaping Online Privacy - Cypherpunks meet senators and lawmen meet libertarians at an international conference on Internet privacy. They'll have plenty to talk about. Declan McCullagh reports from Washington. [Wired News] Investors Endure Bumpy Flight - Wall Street runs into some big-time turbulence as the market undergoes a particularly volatile session. Has the Dow's record run finally hit a wall? By David Lazarus. [Wired News] AMCY on the Spot, Files for Chapter 11 - With its president already removed, American Cybercast lays off 25 of its remaining 40 employees. [Wired News] Free-Lancers Have Just Begun to Fight - After losing an important court decision on electronic copyrights, the lead plaintiff for free-agent scribes suggests that the battle will be rejoined both in the courtroom and in Congress. [Wired News] Big Brother Taps the Bitstream - Attendees at the Computers, Freedom, and Privacy conference delve into how governments are listening in on their people in Russia, Austria, and yes, the United States. Declan McCullagh reports from Washington. [Wired News] Meet the New Net Stocks - A bunch of new tech stocks will hit the market next week. Not surprisingly, analysts expect they'll do quite well. But watch out -- with scores of Net start-ups launching IPOs in the next few weeks, investors will inevitably become choosier. By Joanna Glasner. [Wired News] Editors Reject News Site Ratings - A group of news executives agree that content filtering should be left up to the browser makers - and the users themselves. [Wired News] New FCC Chief Confirmed - William Kennard wins a 99-1 Senate vote, but gets reminders that Congress is unhappy with the agency. [Wired News] Yugoslav Dissident Lauded - The man who strung the Internet into embattled Yugoslavian broadcaster Radio B-92 won a Pioneer Award from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. And he's there to claim his prize. Declan McCullagh reports from Washington. [Wired News] AltaVista Hazy on Sold Searches - Some AltaVista search results will be soon be generated by money, and some by machine. The ad agency says we'll be able to spot the difference. Critics aren't so sure. By Polly Sprenger. [Wired News] Excite Reports Loss for Quarter - The earnings announcement follows news that the online directory is partnering with WhoWhere to offer free Web-based email. [Wired News] Pete du Pont's Pit Stop - When the politician-turned-publisher idles his PR hot rod at the Wired News HQ, sifting through the exhaust is a wild ride in itself. [Wired News] Ballmer: Linux Is Threat to MS - In a speech at a Windows hardware conference, Microsoft President Steve Ballmer noted that the underdog operating system may not stay that way for long. [Wired News] IMall Busted for False Claims - The Federal Trade Commission fines iMall for making false claims through infomercials. Also: America Online plans to provide access through non-PC devices. [Wired News] Consumer Groups Seek ATT Rate Hike Warning - Re-classification as a dominant carrier would require the long-distance providers to give notification prior to rate changes. [Wired News] Rebuilding a Broken Society Online - As Bosnia's tenuous peace continues to hold, a group of wired US legal scholars tries to use the Net to help reconstruct the country's shattered legal system. [Wired News] House Member Preps Privacy Bill - Representative Ed Markey says he is putting the final touches on legislation that aims to give consumers broad control over how their data is collected and used online. [Wired News] Tech Stocks Resume Slide - In an unusually turbulent session, blue-chip stocks manage to eke out a fifth-straight record high, while tech shares continue their adventure in deep-sea diving. By David Lazarus. [Wired News] AOL Brings Instant Messaging to Lotus - The online service is spreading its popular service via tech companies. Also: Sony is looking for a piece of the data-over-cable action and is sidling up to Cisco to get it. [Wired News] Crypto Confab: Talking Code with No Consensus - A group of encryption experts gets together in New York to discuss whether US national policy has reached a crisis point. Agreement? Your cat has a better shot at breaking 128-bit code. [Wired News] MP3 Foes Cussing Out in DC - Stick MP3s loudest cheerleader up on a stage with a music industry lawyer and you end up with flared tempers and plenty of four-letter words. Declan McCullagh reports from Washington. [Wired News] The Wired News Week - The sordid saga of Sex.com unfolds.... AltaVista starts selling search results.... IBM and Microsoft enter the e-music game... Red Hat sends Linux-heads to the beach... And more news and goings-on. [Wired News] IBM Takes a Wrecking Ball to Net 'Mall' - Big Blue will shutter its year-old World Avenue "shopping mall" next month, a grim reminder that if you build it, they won't always come. [Wired News] Southern Africa Trying to Climb Online - Generally considered the poorest region of the poorest continent, sub-Saharan Africa is getting wired. And although technology is not making poverty go away, it may be planting the seeds of a new order. [Wired News] Crypto Cabal: Make Code Not Guns - Crytographers and civil-liberties activists grouse about the privacy threats of a new arms-control treaty. A US Commerce Department official says they're missing the point. Declan McCullagh reports from Washington. [Wired News] Fund Giant Trims Tech Holdings - The largest US mutual fund sells off some overvalued big-name tech stocks. It could be a warning sign for investors. [Wired News] The Street Strikes Back - When Dow Jones Company instituted a subscription fee for The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition, many new-media savants predicted its patrons would jump ship. They were wrong. [Wired News] Corporate Censorship, Part II: Chilling Effect - The government is doing relatively little institutionalized censoring these days, Jon Katz says. [Wired News] MS Wags the Privacy Awards - The Big Brother Awards chide companies that threaten civil liberties, and reserve an especially grim gift for Redmond. But Microsoft plays it up, and comes off unscathed. By James Glave. [Wired News] Boeing Passes Y2K Test - The world's biggest airplane maker says that its jets won't fall out of the sky on New Year's Eve 1999. [Wired News] Net Surf: Crashing Online - As the market did its spectacular face-plant on 27 October, you could almost hear Jerry Seinfeld's trademark sneer: "This is going to be a shame." [Wired News] Security Experts Bound for Cyberterra Incognita - The Manhattan Cyber Project might be better named Virtual Lewis and Clark as corporate, university, and government officials set out to explore the wilds of private and public network security. [Wired News] Miffed Judge Subpoenas AOL - A Pennsylvania judge, the subject of a hit piece on a muckraking Web site, subpoenas the online service to surrender the name of her anonymous accuser. Civil liberties groups rally to the writer's defense. By Declan McCullagh. [Wired News] Internet Stocks Soar Down Under - Australians flock to Internet offerings -- everything from blue chips with online operations to pure Internet plays to tiny start-ups looking for venture capital. [Wired News] Mpath Teams with Electronic Arts - An exclusive licensing and minority investment deal will deliver EA titles to the Mplayer network - and strikes a blow against gaming rival TEN. [Wired News] That Reeking Smell? It's Journalism, not Chicken - The Food Lion-ABC News case smells sickeningly familiar to Jon Katz. [Wired News] MS Targets Trademark Abuse - Microsoft pursues a German Web site for using the popular Linux call to arms, "Where do you want to go tomorrow?" It claims the slogan violates its trademark. By Polly Sprenger. [Wired News] Compaq Execs Abandon Ship - A stunning weekend announcement from the world's No. 1 computer maker: Its CEO has resigned and so has the company's chief financial officer. [Wired News] Street Cred: Nice Pants - Searching for the perfect fit? A Levi's store in Sacramento uses its computer network to offer custom-tailored jeans, factory direct. [Wired News] Lobbying on Eve of Clinton Net Summit - The president and his Number Two man will preside over a three-day session on keeping kids safe online. Today is preview day. [Wired News] Can Media Make a Killer? - What causes a good geek to go very, very bad? A new federal lawsuit blames videogames, erotic Web sites, and a violent movie for the deaths of three Kentucky high-school students. By Declan McCullagh. [Wired News] In Vegas, Everyone's a Visionary - High tech and Hollywood converge at the National Association of Broadcasters to hash out the next big thing in digital entertainment. Hooray for HollyWeb. Joanna Glasner reports from Las Vegas. [Wired News] Web Proves Costly to Financial Firms - Institutions are spending as much as US$23 million to switch from purely promotional sites to more complex online offerings. [Wired News] Net Decency Law Looks Like Dead Meat - In a tough hearing on one of the crucial free-speech cases of the century, some savvy-sounding justices question the sweep of the Communications Decency Act. John Heilemann reports from the high court. [Wired News] The Spam That Started It All - Five years ago, a pair of lawyers pushed an advertisement out onto the Internet. Big deal? Actually, it was. That crack in the dam unleashed a cataclysm. Perspective by Ray Everett-Church. [Wired News] Salon.com Going Public - Salon.com files for an initial public offering. Also: Go2Net buys auction site. [Wired News] Net Surf: Odd Business Tactics - The world of new-product development owes a massive debt to the peanut-butter/chocolate mathematics wrought by Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. [Wired News] CDA Victors Celebrate with an Eye on Act II - The coalition of civil and Internet liberties groups that beat back the Communications Decency Act say its important that the effort to protect children from online smut focus on education and providing good filtering tools. [Wired News] Congress Wants Broadband Study - After much prodding by America Online and ISPs, lawmakers say they want the FCC to study the way cable-TV companies are hogging the high-speed Net access business. [Wired News] BellSouth Buys Chunk of Qwest - BellSouth, looking to beef up its business-oriented, high-speed telecom services, buys about 10 percent of Qwest for US$3.5 billion. [Wired News] Reuters, CheckFree to Link Quotes, E-Commerce - The partnership is a shrewd move for the two companies, allowing each to make inroads into the other's area of expertise. [Wired News] Katz's Communications Decency - In which the Media Ranter DIYs a more realistic CDA. [Wired News] Porn Industry Knows Its Worth - Boosters do the math for California state legislators in a play to stave off regulation. Its contribution to the economy? US$875 million from the Net alone, they say. Heidi Kriz reports from Sacramento. [Wired News] Blue Chips Surge, Techs Tank - While the Dow climbs amid fresh merger activity and upbeat earnings, a boardroom coup at Compaq sends tech stocks plunging. By David Lazarus. [Wired News] Intel, Infoseek Post Mixed Results - In a week filled with earnings reports, the chipmaker reports a decline in quarter-on-quarter earnings, while the directory service posts another quarter of losses. [Wired News] Pretty Good Privacy Not Looking So Great - PGP's new owner supports key recovery - the very issue that crypto company founder Phil Zimmermann has been fighting for years. So where does he go from here? [Wired News] Web Tax Fight Warning - City and county leaders threaten a lawsuit unless Capitol Hill ensures the objectivity of a Web tax panel. It's the second warning. Looks like they really mean it. [Wired News] Tech Stocks Get Butchered - The Nasdaq plummets more than 5 percent as a boardroom coup at Compaq sparks a massive sell-off. The Dow's streak of record closes comes to a crashing halt. By David Lazarus. [Wired News] Scans: Connecting to Cambodia - CamNet, Cambodia's first Internet service provider, is struggling to connect the rising nation to the global community. [Wired News] Site Wages Fight for Breast-Cancer Bills - Two congresswomen who have so far been unable to get a hearing for legislation that would require insurance companies to cover a wider range of breast-cancer treatment try to stir some grass-roots support on the Web. [Wired News] Take My Email, but Not My Data - What kinds of information are people willing to share online? A new study purports to tell us. By Chris Oakes. [Wired News] After the Fall, a Rebound - Tech and Internet stocks are warily returning to life following Wall Street's bloodbath a day before. Will it last? Don't hold your breath. By David Lazarus. [Wired News] US Robotics Offers X2 Customers Free Upgrades - The move signals that the war among competing 56-Kbps modems is shifting from technologies to market share. [Wired News] Kerrey's Crypto Bill: Spies Like Us - The Nebraska Democrat's draft bill looks a lot like one put out by the White House nearly two months ago. Privacy activists see a lot of Cold War thinking in the proposal. [Wired News] Reefer Madness in Illinois - A bill that makes it a crime to send information about marijuana over the Web is advancing through the state legislature. Opponents expect it to go up in smoke. By Craig Bicknell. [Wired News] 'Net No Threat to Broadcasting' - The FCC's top man says outfits like Yahoo and Broadcast.com have a long way to go to snag the audience and the reach of traditional broadcasters. Joanna Glasner reports from the broadcasters convention in Las Vegas. [Wired News] Sun-Newton Purchase: The Logic of It - An operating system written in Java is about to be released for the CPU inside the top-end Newton. [Wired News] Word's Out: Time to Change Domain-Name System - The hundreds of comments submitted to the Commerce Department are sometimes boringly practical and sometimes wacky, but the consensus from netizens and Net commerce is that the system must change. [Wired News] China's PM: Trade Gap Is Good - Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji told an MIT audience that the trade deficit between his country and the United States can only spell good news for China's tech development. Jill Priluck reports from Cambridge, Massachusetts. [Wired News] Tech Stocks Come Roaring Back - The silicon bunch stage an impressive rally following Wall Street's bloodbath a day earlier. The entire market advances as investors find new reserves of confidence. By David Lazarus. [Wired News] AOL Posts Sentry against Viruses - With more of its members downloading Trojan horses, the service is introducing an automatic warning system to keep enemies at bay. [Wired News] You've Got Mail - from the Judge - Tradition-bound Western courts recognize a changing world and begin issuing orders over the Internet. [Wired News] Free Speech on Trial in Tacoma - Carl Johnson didn't stop ranting about the US government until it landed him in jail. Now the nation's most outspoken crypto advocates are in court to defend him. Declan McCullagh reports from Tacoma, Washington. [Wired News] Microsoft Profits Up 43 Percent - The world's biggest software company says strong sales of its Windows and Office products result in another solid quarter. But Microsoft warns of a possible slowdown as customers spend available money on Y2K fixes. [Wired News] Japanese Animator Buys into DirecTV Unit - The parent company of Japan's hottest animation producer will take a 10 percent stake in DirecTV's Japanese subsidiary as the satellite broadcast market in Japan gears for takeoff. [Wired News] Telcos Attack FCC's School-Wiring Order - Telecom giant SBC has gone to court to overturn last month's Federal Communications Commission order to set up a $2.25 billion yearly fund for wiring the nation's schools and libraries. GTE has filed a separate suit, and other companies' suits are expected to follow. [Wired News] Y2K Brings Open Skies to Mideast - Egyptians and Israelis compare notes on how their airports are progressing on the Y2K readiness front. Chalk up another one for the peace process. Tania Hershman reports from Jerusalem. [Wired News] Compaq Bites the Bullet - New chief Ben Rosen calls US$281 million profit on $9.4 billion revenues unacceptable. Also Borders CEO resigns, and Sprint PCS hands Lucent another huge contract. [Wired News] Qwest Set for Fiber-Optic Expansion - Sinking about $375 million into the expansion of its high-capacity network into California, Texas, and the Southeast, the company is especially keen to sign up Silicon Valley firms. [Wired News] Who Says Air Force Jet Is 'Lost?' - A pilot familiar with the terrain in which an Air Force attack jet vanished earlier this month takes a sober look at the circumstances. Plus, NORAD on alert. [Wired News] Report: Feds Need Privacy Lesson - As the US government places pressure on Internet companies to be upfront about personal data collection, a new report suggests Uncle Sam should get his house in order first. Declan McCullagh reports from Washington. [Wired News] Stocks Trading Through the Night - Nasdaq is considering setting up an evening stock trading session for all those day traders who have day jobs. If Nasdaq gets the approvals, evening trading could happen as early as this summer. [Wired News] Intel Views NC as Its Theater of Operations - With a parade of multimedia business applications, the chipmaker's approach is clear: Turn up the hype. [Wired News] CDA Fate? The Un-Justices Have Already Ruled - Bill, Antonin, and the rest of the Supremes can take it easy - a law prof and his students have written an opinion on the Net decency law. [Wired News] Supreme Court Setback for Annoy - The Supreme Court upholds a remaining strand of the CDA that makes it illegal to communicate with intent to annoy. It's a setback for free speech crusader and annoy.com editor Clinton Fein. [Wired News] 'Must Click TV' Ready to Roll - Interactive TV isn't exactly a new concept, but backers say services that will energize couch potatoes are now there. Two-way TV is no longer an if, but a when. Vince Beiser reports from Las Vegas. [Wired News] Java Fund Roster Grows by One - The Kleiner keiretsu adds a distribution and service firm to its exclusive list of Java startups. [Wired News] Senate Bills Challenge Clinton on Crypto - Two bills, including a new version of the Pro-CODE bill, hit the Senate floor. Both try for a compromise between privacy and security concerns. [Wired News] How to Fight a Cyberwar - A think tank has some bizarre ideas for foiling tech-savvy terrorists -- ideas like itsy-bitsy aerial spies programmed to read "computer emanations." [Wired News] Broadcasters at Play - This year's broadcasters' convention had the usual back-slapping for the unrivaled power of television, plus a little slapstick. Joanna Glasner reports from Las Vegas. [Wired News] US Companies Agree to Divvy up Airwaves - The deal, expected to be approved by the FCC later this year, means that ISPs will not have to rely on local phone access in order to provide Net access. [Wired News] Pockets of Secrecy - Senator Mitch McConnell is invoking disclosure as a panacea, the way some fitness gurus talk about vitamin C. [Wired News] Canada Aligns with EU on Privacy - While the United States resists the European Data Privacy Directive, Canada declares its support for the law aimed at giving consumers more control over their personal information. Matt Friedman reports from Montreal. [Wired News] Who's King of the Domains Now? - Will throwing open domain-name registration change the Net at all? Or are new domains, such as .store and .law, needed for real competition? By Chris Oakes. [Wired News] Copyrighted Goods to Carry Photocopy Fee - New software will help collect royalties - and may help stem fears of litigation. [Wired News] Fears, Assurances Orbit Around Cassini Study - NASA takes a new look at the risks of launching a space probe carrying plutonium and concludes they are negligible. But critics see an opening in their fight to change the mission plan. [Wired News] You? A Terrorist? Yes! - If you've paid cash for a last-minute airline ticket and have a rental car waiting at your destination, you might fit the FAA's new definition of a terrorist. Airline computers know more about you than you think. Declan McCullagh reports from Washington. [Wired News] Tech Stocks Continue Recovery - Just a bump in the road? Monday's carnage quickly fades in the rear-view mirror as investors hit the gas pedal and steer back into favorite technology and Internet shares. By David Lazarus. [Wired News] Get Yer Info-Nuggets - A research company has a survey on the most popular business directories on the Web. Paying customers only. [Wired News] For Venture Capitalists, Australia Is One Big Outback - Money people say that capital-gains taxes Down Under are a key factor in driving investment and intellectual capital away from what on paper ought to be an information-technology powerhouse. [Wired News] TalkCity.com Taken to Task - A California chat site could be a test case for the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. A trade group says TalkCity.com isn't protecting the privacy of minors. Declan McCullagh reports from Washington. [Wired News] Healtheon Makes First Big Buy - Healtheon uses some of its high-flying stock as currency to buy a rival, MEDE America. The acquisition will beef up Healtheon's reach into doctors' offices. [Wired News] Informix Tries to Sort Out Losses - The database software maker blames accounting errors for a US$120.5 million setback in the latest quarter. Hundreds of employees will pay for the mistakes with their jobs. [Wired News] Senate Spam Bill Proposes Filters, Not Bans - Suddenly, fighting spam is a legislative priority in Congress. A bill introduced by Alaska Republican Frank Murkowski takes a different approach than a House proposal. [Wired News] US, EU Still Stuck on Privacy - The latest draft of a US plan to sidestep Europe's data privacy rules reveals the two approaches are still an ocean apart. By James Glave. [Wired News] Tech Stocks Lead Broad Rally - Wall Street once again is in fine fettle as investors kiss and make up with their old buddies in the tech 'n' Net club. For its part, the Dow's back to its record-setting ways. By David Lazarus. [Wired News] So Low It's Insanely Great - Nanoscale commerce? Micropayment service providers, such as Digital Equipment Corp., are first trying to figure out how to minimize overhead costs. [Wired News] To Be Continued: TV Ratings Far from Settled - Everything from this point on will depend on which side lobbies the loudest and the best, Michael Grebb says. [Wired News] Log On, with a Note from Mother - You say you're a grown-up? Prove it. New rules regulating the online privacy of children say email verification doesn't go far enough. Declan McCullagh reports from Washington. [Wired News] Big Blue's Big Surprise - Whoever said IBM is a dinosaur is right: It's a badass T. rex. The world's biggest computer company reports first-quarter earnings far above Wall Street expectations. Stock surges in after-hour trading. [Wired News] Milking the WebTV Cash Cow - A leading Wall Street analyst says Microsoft's acquisition of WebTV could pay off big, but it may take some patience. [Wired News] Mutant Ruling Down Under - An Australian appeals judge, in an apparently inaccurate reading of US case law, ruled recently that words suggesting a crime are themselves criminal. Net activists see the ruling as a chilling precedent and are going all-out to overturn it. [Wired News] Guilty Verdict for Cypherpunk - A federal judge rejects arguments that newsgroup rants against Bill Gates and the IRS were expressions of free speech. Carl Johnson is convicted of threatening public officials. Chris Stamper reports from Tacoma, Washington. [Wired News] Hot IPOs Are Flaming Out - Want to get in on an exciting Net company the first day it hits the market? Bad idea. Most new Net stocks are trading far below their IPO highs. By Craig Bicknell. [Wired News] Quiet Blankets Apple Death Watch - Thousands of people are expected to be struck from the 13,000-position payroll, but staffers won't learn until next week whether they'll be keeping their jobs. [Wired News] Network Solutions to Keep Hold on Names, for a While - A Commerce official tells a House panel there simply isn't enough time to get a new domain-name system in place before the government's contract with the exclusive regi