Smart Move: Iraq Wants .iq Domain Name Country Code
Iraq has petitioned the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to establish the country code .iq for all in-country domains. Mensa wants it, too.
New Software 'Locks Down' E-Mail Attachments, Recipients Can't Forward, Save or Print
New software called Essential Security Suite enables you to "lock down" the e-mail attachments you send, preventing recipients from forwarding, saving, printing or even screen-capturing them. You can also add "expiration dates to both e-mail messages and attachments, after which time they can no longer be viewed. The company, Essential Security Software, says it's the first-ever such software sold for individual PCs. The software costs $149 (discounted to $99 to the end of the month) and can be tried free here.
Embedded Electronics Enables First-Ever Cardboard Piano
The Swedish packaging company SCA has invented a cardboard piano that uses integrated circuits pressed directly onto the paper using the same technique employed for RFID tags. Listeners say it sounds just like a real artificial piano. The company does not plan to introduce cardboard pianos as a product. A few pianos were created to showcase advanced techniques for embedding electronics.
Sophos says new viruses released on the Internet in May hit a two and a half-year high last month -- a total of 959 never-before seen viruses, which is more than any month since December 2001.
Microsoft wants to transform how software is created by moving it from the "realm of craftsmanship into the realm of mass production," according to a CGN report.
The new Nokia 3220 lets you type out a message on the phone, then display that message in lights as you wave the phone around. Sensors in the phone cause lights on the back to blink just right to create the illusion that your message hovers briefly in the air. The phone also has a built-in camera.
Walkman Concept Creator Wins Sony Suit, Apple May Be Next
The German inventor who apparently created the idea of a portable music player has won a huge lawsuit against Sony, creator of the Sony Walkman. Now he's thinking about going after Apple over its iPod concept, which he also has claims on.
Everyone, it seems, is cutting or outsourcing technology jobs -- even the bloated and bureaucratic Internal Revenue Service, which may cut as many as 150 IT positions.
Dear Leader Changes Mind, Recalls All Cell Phones In North Korea
The North Korean government has recalled all mobile phones from the country just a year and a half after allowing them for the first time in the communist nation. They discovered that people were apparently using them to actually talk to each other, something Orwellian dictatorships tend to discourage. As of May 25, all cell phones in the country are banned, except as an emergency food source. Meanwhile, capitalist South Korea passed the 36-million cell phone users milestone this week.
"Overnight testing" of a flight data processing system caused widespread failures at airports across the UK, grounding flights. The software "upgrade" they were testing would cost some $1 billion.
Microsoft has been granted a patent for the double-click, according to an Australian news site. Once Microsoft gets a patent for the single click, all your base are belong to Microsoft.
Don't Try This At Home: First-Ever Private Space Flight June 21
The SpaceShipOne rocket plane, backed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, is scheduled for the first ever private space flight June 21. The airplane/spacecraft will soar 62 miles high, which translates to an altitude of 100 kilometers -- the de facto boundry between outerspace and the earth's atmosphere. The craft is being designed, built and tested entirely without government help or funding.
An enthusiast web site called All About Engage tells how to modify the case of a Nokia N-Gage game phone so you don't have to "engage" in "side talkin" -- holding the phone sidewise to put your head up to the speakers.
Private Data On 620,000 Travel Customers Stolen, Sold
Detailed private information on 620,000 Hankyu Express International customers in Japan have been stolen and sold to several businesses. The company started investigating the theft when customers complained of being spammed.
Your next iPod will have plenty of room for all the songs you can illegally download. Apple is reportedly planning a 1.8-inch, 60-gigabyte Toshiba hard drive in its next music player.
Chinese Government Bans Swedish Game That Clashes With Official Commie Propaganda
The Chinese government has banned a Swedish-made PC game because it doesn't pretend that official lies about Tibet, Manchuria and the Xinjiang are true. Called Hearts of Iron, the game is just the latest in a string of foreign games banned because they contain historical facts, rather than the Maoist-era baloney the current communist government still expects Chinese citizens to believe.
NYPD Building Giant Monitor System to Track All Crime in Real Time
The New York Police Department is now famous for transforming Manhattan into one of the safest places in America through a system that includes the computerized monitoring of criminal activity. But now they've decided that what they really need is a really huge monitor to track all the crime that happens in New York City. The monitor will actually be constructed from hundreds of large monitors stacked on top of each other and joined into a giant virtual monitor using software from Activu.
Scandal: Laptop Packed With DEA Informant Data Goes Missing
Federal investigators are trying to locate a notebook computer that contains details on some 100 major drug investigations, including secret information about informants.
The new Nokia 3220 lets you type out a message on the phone, then display that message in lights as you wave the phone around. Sensors in the phone cause lights on the back to blink just right to create the illusion that 
