Each weekend we highlight the most relevant stories Wired News has covered during the last seven days. To find out what's coming up, jump to The Week Ahead.
The road to nowhere: The recording industry is prepared to use money and muscle to win with its Secure Digital Music Initiative. Tech interests want to cash in immediately on consumer-friendly software and hardware. See why those privy to recent closed-door talks say a consensus on the delivery of digital music appears all but impossible?
Amazon dot g-r: Hundreds of cybersquatters have registered leading American e-brands on the 243 country-level domains outside the United States. The Greek version of Amazon is just one example. And there's enough wiggle room in the law for the strategy to be worth the risk.
Book 'em, Steve-o: Twenty percent thinner and down to a mere 5.9 pounds. That's the skinny on Apple's soon-to-be released PowerBooks, just one goodie that Interim CEO Steve Jobs showed off at the developers shindig in San Jose, California. Another was an updated OS.
Sounds about right: A new TV movie on the Gates-Jobs rivalry, due out in June, depicts Jobs as a brilliant, charismatic freak. And Gates? A brilliant, awkward freak.
Fraud watch: There's hope that online credit-card security will be tightened up. Falcon, whose software analyzes most off-line purchases for fraud, is coming to the Web. The biggest benefactors could be merchants, who currently pick up the tab for bogus charges.
Tube tie-in: America Online announced a partnership with Hughes, Philips Electronics, and Network Computer to combine regular television broadcasts with Internet services delivered by satellite or telephone lines. It's part of the "AOL everywhere" strategy, and a particularly urgent one as the company chases AT&T in the race to provide high-speed Internet services.
Cashing in: TheStreet.com gave institutional investors another big pay day, bouncing from an initial offering price of US$19 to a high of $75 during its first day of trading. Now we'll have to wait a few months to see whether the financial-news site does a lucrative "follow-on sale," like so many Web companies these days.
Hair to bridge: "This planet sucks!" For 49 bucks American you can send a photo, written message, and 6 to 10 strands of hair into deep space. Why should you do this? In order to give extraterrestrials a sampling of your DNA, of course.
War, 1999-style: Bomb 'em. Starve 'em. Cut off their fuel supply. But don't take away their Internet. Uncle Sam has decided not to sever Yugoslavia's ISP line, in hopes Serbs will read "the truth" about Milosevic.
Games spies play: That long-rumored, US-led global anti-crime eavesdropping effort apparently does exist, but not in the form we thought. A new report says Echelon doesn't scan millions of phone lines and faxes. Instead, the system targets specific individuals -- diplomats, criminals, industrialists, and the like.
A good candidate for Echelon tracking, in fact, might be Richard Tomlinson. The sacked British spook has been posting sensitive info about MI6, England's international intelligence arm. He's been shut down in Switzerland and by GeoCities, but continues to raise havoc elsewhere.
Edsel in orbit: Six months after launching its satellite phone service, Iridium is almost out of cash. What to do with all those satellites if the company goes under? We know.
Windows view: Is Linux showing Microsoft the light? Sort of. Consider this from Steve Ballmer, Bill's right-hand man at Microsoft: "There are parts of the [operating] system where, if they had the source code, people would think they'd be able to be more effective."
Pause before you post: That court ruling that made it all right to post strong crypto? Won't kick in for at least 45 days. In the meantime, don't be surprised if the Clinton administration seeks a new hearing.
Radiation Q-Tip: We still don't know for sure if cell phones can cause long-term health problems, but a new chip claims to neutralize radiation emissions, just in case. It's going into phone batteries, not the phones, because manufacturers insist that their devices cause no harm.
Steady now: Better home movies may be on the way, courtesy of scientists at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. They're about to patent technology that uses an imaging algorithm to eliminate shaking, adjust for inadvertent zoom, and brighten dark areas.
The bucks be with him: In a shocking display of commercial exploitation, the Lucas folks said they will spin four videogames from Phantom Menace. The first comes in just days -- it's based on the "pod racing" scene in the new movie.
Thanks, pardner: Webcasters who buy RealNetworks' expensive servers were aghast to discover the company was promoting online ad-blocking software. Ads, you see, are how webcasters make their money.
Images of war: "A normal person in an abnormal situation, and nothing more spectacular than this." That's a Belgrade filmmaker's self-description, but his digital dispatches -- words and video, too -- have provoked much discussion.
Misinformation: Sounds very government-like, but the Internet Fraud Council is in fact the work of a PR firm hired by a for-profit company. The FBI and nonprofit consumer groups, sensing more than a little confusion, want you to be very clear on that.
Love stinks: Turns out the pheromone molecule found in rats is nonfunctional in humans. That could debunk the idea that the chemical plays a role in our sexual behavior. Or maybe we just process pheromones differently?
Orange power: At Microsoft, permanent employees wear blue badges, temporary employees orange. More than a fashion statement, it's a form of corporate apartheid, and a federal appeals court said that, and the denial of employee benefits, is no good.
Tomato, tomahto: New surveys show that most Web sites are upfront about how they'll use your personal info. Industry groups say that's proof self-regulation is working. Opponents, in spin mode, said that a closer look at the numbers revealed why legislation was necessary.
Curating online: Museums, always hard up for funds and searching for new audiences, met to talk about how they might use the Web as a distribution tool. Hopeful but vague ideas, met by skepticism.
Bought and sold: Nerve, the highbrow online erotica publisher, purchased Web-pioneer Bianca. And PointCast went to Idealab at a bargain-basement $7 million. THE WEEK AHEAD
16 to 18 May, Squaw Valley, California: Mary Meeker will be at Red Herring's Venture '99, but you won't. Not unless you got an invitation, that is.
18 May: Lycos, a free agent again after its USA Networks deal fell through, announces its earnings.
19 May: Critics -- including ours -- have already panned it. But zillions will go see Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace anyway. You can bet on it.
20 May, Cape Canaveral, Florida: Space Shuttle Discovery is scheduled to go up. Nerves are sure to be on edge as it does, what with all those launch mishaps of late.
20 May, Washington, DC: Smart cards have been slow to gain acceptance in the United States, but don't be fooled. They're coming. The Smart Card Forum is sure of that.
21 to 22 May, New York City: More than $100,000 will be on the line when the AMD Professional Gamers' League holds its Spring '99 finals.
