InformationWeek

The Leashed You Can Do To Avoid Theft

Kensington Technology Group last week announced the Leash, a security lock and cable designed to deter the theft of laptops and computer peripherals.

The Leash is a 6-foot galvanized steel cable. It weighs only 5 .5 ounces, costs $29.95, and is sold through computer retailers.

The Leash wraps around the laptop and its lock is inserted into the security slot built into most notebook computers, or into the retrofit kit provided for laptops that do not have a built-in slot.

Safeware, a company that insures computers, reports that computer thefts have increased with the proliferation of notebook and subnotebook computers. One recent study conducted by Safeware estimates that as much as $2 billion in hardware and data are lost annually due to computer equipment theft in the United States. On average, 2,000 computers are stolen daily, two-thirds of which are laptops.

Crackdown Caravan

U.S. companies trying to crack down on software piracy in the Middle East have turned to a reliable form of coercion: money. The Business Software Alliance, which represents American software companies, has posted rewards of up to $1,362 (U.S.) in the United Arab Emirates for information leading to convictions of high-tech criminals.

The plan appears to be having an effect. The alliance has a hot line, managed by a local law firm, that has already initiated cases against 400 companies. The violators face fines of up to $13,600 and as much as three years in prison.

Hack For $

Who says hackers are motivated only by ego? Network Engineering Technologies in San Jose, Calif., will pay $10,000 to the first person to penetrate the firewall protecting its corporate server between May 1 and May 31 and retrieve information about paper currency stored there.

Individuals must register first, then break into NET's secure transaction server and retrieve the number, denomination, and serial numbers of the bills. Naming the treasury secretary who signed the bills is optional.

A Hot Read

Looking for the latest sports scores or UFO sightings? Yahoo! Inc., maker of the popular Internet search tool, has added four live-feed services to it s Internet guide: Yahoo! Quotes (stocks), Yahoo! Weather, Yahoo! Scoreboard (sports), and Yahoo! Whirled News.

Whirled News will offer categories such as "Hard To Believe" and "UFO & Paranormal" news. Another new feature, Yahoo! People Search, will let users look up E-mail and postal addresses, Web page locations, and telephone numbers.

Hyundai Gets An Earful

A Eugene, Ore., neighborhood is up in arms over noise from a $1.3 billion computer chip factory being built for Hyundai Electronics.

Hyundai has asked the local government for permission to run heavy equipment at night for the duration of the 18-month project. But neighbors object to the constant "beep-beep-beep" emitted by heavy equipment when backing up.

Could the noise really be that bad? "Imagine someone in the next apartment with 80 alarm clocks going off at all hours of the night," says one complainant.

Millions Of Mice Served

It may never approac h the billions served by McDonald's, but mousemaker Logitech reached its own milestone last week-the manufacture of its 100,000,000th mouse at its SuzHou, China, factory. Logitech, of Fremont, Calif., claims a 40% share of the worldwide mouse market.

Although the mouse did not gain significant commercial acceptance until the mid-1980s when Macs and GUIs came into popular use, it revolutionized the way humans interact with their desktop computers.

Douglas Engelbart invented the mouse at Stanford Research Institute (SRI) in 1963 and holds the original patent on the device. "It's been exciting to watch the evolution and growing popularity of the mouse over the years," says Engelbart. "For one company to reach [such] a milestone means that users have understood the benefits of interacting with their computers using a tool that matches the way their sensory and motion machinery work." Engelbart also pioneered the concepts of windows and hypertext.

Site Names For Sale

Nee d a unique domain name for your Web site? Or perhaps you want to get rid of one? The Virtual Broadcast Network brokers deals for unique names, some of which come complete with Web site content. Bids for the names start as low as $100, and both the seller and buyer have to pay 7.5% of the selling price to VBN as a commission.

At last check, names still up for grabs included accordions.com, undertakers.com, and venereal.com

Web Site Of The Week

The PC Crisis Line is a telephone support service for PC users. Its goal is to provide friendly and affordable service-$3 per minute for most calls, $1 per minute for calls of more than 10 minutes. If they can't answer your question, there's no charge. Check out their Web site at http://www.netbox.com/pccrisis

Illustration by Rob Westerberg

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