Surf these sites: "Macspotting": The New Obsession -- What''s even crazier than celebrity spotting? Spotting celebrities using Macs. By Leander Kahney. [Wired News] ''Beatnik'' Tweaks David Bowie -- You think the vocals are too crisp, the bass line too faint on "Fame"? Thomas Dolby Robertson serves up a new toy that lets you play producer with a David Bowie song. [Wired News] ''Girly'' iBook Not Worthy of Men -- PC Magazine''s John C. Dvorak leads the charge against Apple''s new consumer portable, but critics say he''s out of touch. Let''s give men the macho machines they demand. A Wired News commentary by Polly Sprenger. [Wired News] ''Phantom'' of the Music Channel -- MTV releases a four-minute video teaser from the Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace soundtrack. Suddenly, the London Symphony Orchestra is hot. [Wired News] ''We Can Work It Out'' -- Someone else owns those words. In a nutshell, that''s the problem for the Swiss-based International Lyric Server in its faceoff with US-based music publishers. By Joe Nickell. [Wired News] ''Web Seance'' Summons Art -- The artists who created the Web''s first interactive art performance now conduct another creative experiment that brings people together, online and off. By Reena Jana. [Wired News] ''West'' Goes to Future Via Past -- Wild Wild West, the latest Will Smith movie, is a period sci-fi flick. Its futuristic look is framed in the American West of the late 1800s. And somehow, it works. By Andrew Rice. [Wired News] ''What Am I Bid for These Geeks?'' -- Ebay adds another oddity to its online auction inventory. Now you can bid on a complete team of network engineers and administrators. [Wired News] 3-D Imaging for the Rest of Us -- Imagine making a shoe on a computer. When computer-assisted design meets 3-D scanning and printing, it''s not such a wacky idea. Michael Stroud reports from Siggraph99 in Los Angeles. [Wired News] A ''Phantom'' Sneak Peek -- Over 8,000 people in six North American cities have already seen Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace. Would you like to know what they saw? [Wired News] A Benchmark for High-Tech Skill -- Students who boast both liberal-arts savvy and computing chops deserve their own standardized test, says a coalition of Virginia educators. By Steve Silberman. [Wired News] A Classic Gaming Weekend -- Intellivision, Atari 2600, Pong. Classic games are still so popular they warrant their own expo. It''s the 80s all over again. By Noah Shachtman. [Wired News] A Corporation of Thinkers -- A dozen Silicon Valley academics believe they can turn theorizing into a profitable business. So far, they''ve created surveillance systems and art. By Leander Kahney. [Wired News] A Day for Techies -- Tech workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your geeky image and a lack of competent colleagues. A special day will honor techies, and attempt to light a fire under the uninitiated. [Wired News] A Financial Portal for Gays -- The scion of an old Wall Street family brings timely money news to an eager niche market. By Steve Silberman. [Wired News] A Furby You Seek, Hmmm? -- As Star Wars prequel mania begins to crest, Tiger Electronics reveals it is prepping a Yoda miniature based on the eerie talking doll. [Wired News] A GLAAD Union -- Two gay advocacy groups combine their talents to reach more people with their message. The alliance may be a new model for online activism. By Theta Pavis. [Wired News] A Gamer''s Dream Comes True -- Sega releases its Dreamcast player in America, but it''s not for sale. A few lucky devils managed to snag copies, but they had to win them. Joyce Slaton reports from San Francisco. [Wired News] A Garden of Digital Delights -- The second Digital Living Room conference strives to give us a glimpse of a future where refrigerators dispense Internet access as well as ice cubes. Also: Drawbacks to the digital home.... Log on while you drive.... NPR opts for old-time coverage. [Wired News] A Grudge Match of Pong -- The creator of Pong and a former Quake champion square off at the Professional Gaming League tournament. Arik Hesseldahl reports from New York. [Wired News] A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Macworld -- Meet the characters who bring the annual Apple extravaganza to life. Polly Sprenger follows the dog-and-pony show. [Wired News] A Minister''s Curse-Free TV -- You want to watch South Park, but don''t like the swearing? A new language censor cleans up Cartman''s mouth, offering some accidental entertainment. By Chris Stamper. [Wired News] A Moment in Internet Time -- MIT builds a digital time capsule, enshrining flashes from the Net''s current cycle for posterity to unearth in five years. [Wired News] A New Meaning for ''Skin Flick'' -- Betcha can''t guess which supermodel has acne scars. Now you don''t have to. A dermatologist''s magnifying mirror reveals the flaws in famous complexions. By Joyce Slaton. [Wired News] A Plaintive Cry for New Words -- The Oxford English Dictionary wants to know your favorite slang expressions. If the editors like ''em, they may appear in the OED''s new online version. [Wired News] A Show of NetForce -- A computer geek is out to dominate the world with an ultra-powerful Web browser in Tom Clancy''s made-for-TV high-tech thriller. By Declan McCullagh. [Wired News] A Virtual Underwater Park -- In Italy''s first marine theme park, visitors will swim in VR waterbeds, use hand-held computers to learn about fish, and watch giant 3-D movies. Maria Cristina Valsecchi reports from Salerno, Italy. [Wired News] A Wired News Farewell -- After filing 800 stories for Wired News, Senior Culture Writer Steve Silberman heads into a bold new medium: print. [Wired News] AOL in Nonprofits Game -- This fall, America Online will roll out a new portal that connects individuals and investors with charitable organizations -- but nonprofit Guidestar may have beat AOL to the punch. By Oscar S. Cisneros. [Wired News] ARTISTdirect''s Middle Ground -- ARTISTdirect exploits the Net to give the Beastie Boys and other big-name acts a direct link to fans. But the company sees itself as an extension of today''s music business, not a replacement for it. By Chris Oakes. [Wired News] Achtung! No Piracy Here -- The German music industry puts pirates on notice: It plans to police the Web for copyright violators and has the tool to do the job. [Wired News] Activision Classics on the Web -- Activision, one of the biggest videogame publishers, plans to sell 50 downloadable titles on the Web. As if there weren''t already enough distractions. [Wired News] Adult Sites ''Get'' the Web -- Now you''ve got an excuse to visit Persian Kitty. New Media professionals meet in to discuss what adult sites know about making money on the Net. Heidi Kriz reports from New York. [Wired News] An E-Hurdle to Grad School -- So you want to go to grad school? Then you ought to know that you can only take the required Graduate Record Exam on a computer. Some prospective students long for the good ol'' analog days. By Kendra Mayfield. [Wired News] An MP3 Concept Album? -- The latest work from Mark Amerika, a digital artist and hypertext novelist, combines music, text, and visuals. It gains its inspiration from the artist''s experiences in the "electrosphere." By Reena Jana. [Wired News] An Old-Fashioned Online Romance -- A new novel explores its characters'' humanity by immersing them in the world of cyberspace. By Andrew Rice. [Wired News] And GOD Created a Games Fest -- The Gathering of Developers teams up with independent game creators to produce the game-scene equivalent of the Sundance Film Festival. By Ronald Warren Deutsch. [Wired News] Another Dimension in MP3 -- He''s so young that his mom accompanies him on business trips. But he''s already big in MP3 circles. Dimension Music''s founder has grand ideas for making the audio format pay. By Jennifer Sullivan. [Wired News] Another Newsie Goes Digital -- Hugh Downs will retire from ABC and join an Internet broadcasting network this October. The move lends more credibility to the new medium. [Wired News] Another Star Wars Spoof -- Look for a Troops II, a new episode of last year''s popular Star Wars and Cops rip-off. The short film sequel is reportedly in the works. By Arik Hesseldahl. [Wired News] Apple Recruits HAL 9000 -- The computer maker calls on the sinister computer to remind us that the Macintosh is Y2K compliant. By Heidi Kriz. [Wired News] Argentina Limps to E-Commerce -- The market is vast but Argentina has a long road to travel before it reaches the new economy -- one rutted with red tape and monopolies. A few more credit cards would help, too. Declan McCullagh reports from Buenos Aires. [Wired News] Ars Electronica Tries on Genes -- Artists, scientists, and scholars find inspiration in argument as they seek to define the ethics of biotechnology. Steve Kettmann reports from Linz, Austria. [Wired News] Ars Electronica Turns 20 -- The 20th annual festival devoted to the intersection of technology and creativity is heavy on the tech -- biotech -- this year. By Steve Kettmann. [Wired News] Art Auction Gold Rush -- Fine art and collectibles auctioneers flock online, hoping to cash in on Net auction mania. Of course, they''ve gotta get past Christie''s and Sotheby''s first. By Joe Ashbrook Nickell. [Wired News] Art That Makes a Stink -- A 19-year-old artist explores art for the senses. As if looking at art weren''t bad enough, now you have to smell it, too. Lindsey Arent reports from San Francisco. [Wired News] Art as Human Sashimi -- Once again the boundaries of art were pushed at Ars Electronica, where the Plastinator and fluorescent-dog man provoked thought and elicited stares. Steve Kettmann reports from Linz, Austria. [Wired News] Artist Has ''No Time to Lose'' -- Joachim Hamster Damm performs No Time to Lose, his latest multimedia, genre-bending work at the Theater of the World festival. David Hudson reports from Berlin. [Wired News] Athletes Take a Cyber Swim -- The whole point of a swim meet is to meet. Right? Not according to one coach who thinks swimming in cyberspace may be the wave of the future. By Siobhan Scarry. [Wired News] Atlantic Lets Hair Down Online -- The Atlantic Monthly finds a haven for fiction that can''t make it into the pages of the august magazine. [Wired News] AtomFilms Offers Oscar Shorts -- A new site shows little-seen Academy Award-nominated short films. If you like what you see, you can buy it. Michael Stroud reports from Palm Springs, California. [Wired News] Austin Powers Shagadelic Trivia -- Test your Man of Mystery knowledge while you wait for The Spy Who Shagged Me to open in US theaters. [Wired News] Austin Powers: Blech, Baby -- The International Man of Mystery -- secret agent and horny hero of geeks everywhere -- does what his fans asked him to do in his new movie. And that''s the problem. A review by James Glave. [Wired News] BS in Science Fiction, Literally -- Calling all Star Trek and Matrix fans. Hours and hours in front of the box may pay off: A British university is offering the world''s first degree in science fiction. By Leander Kahney. [Wired News] Bands Speak Out on MP3.com -- Format, schmormat. It''s all about the music, right? Just how are unsigned bands faring on the site? Hint: The No. 3 CD sold 600 copies. By Jennifer Sullivan. [Wired News] Barlow: Music Wants to Be Free -- John Perry Barlow, chairman of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, says music belongs to everyone. First and foremost, it belongs to its creators. Chris Oakes reports from the MP3 Summit in San Diego. [Wired News] Beastie Boys Hit MP3 Radio -- The hip-hop group takes advantage of the promotional value of MP3 and begins streaming high-fidelity tunes over the Net with Grand Royal Radio. By Christopher Jones. [Wired News] Belgrade''s Radio B92 Is Back -- Refugees and advocates of the former independent radio station regroup Saturday for a 24-hour webcast. They hope to rally support for free speech in Yugoslavia. Laura Martz reports from Amsterdam. [Wired News] Belle to Press: Talk to the Web! -- A notoriously taciturn baseball slugger now makes his thoughts available to sports media through his own Web site. By Steve Kettmann. [Wired News] Berlin Is Going to Pot -- They came, they saw, they got stoned. But Berlin''s third annual Hemp Parade was not without controversy ... some of it unexpected. Steve Kettmann reports from Germany. [Wired News] Berlin Rolls a Hemp Parade -- The annual political demonstration/weekend party begins Saturday. It''s about legalizing marijuana as much as it is about smoking it. Steve Kettmann reports from Berlin. [Wired News] Betting the ''Menace'' -- Will Episode I: The Phantom Menace beat Jurassic Park as the biggest box-office opener? Care to put a little money on it? Vince Beiser reports from Las Vegas. [Wired News] Bidding for Brains -- Teachers don''t get paid what they''re worth, so one aspiring educator in Sweden is trying to boost his paycheck by auctioning off his services. By Katie Dean. [Wired News] Big Blue Reinvents Internships -- Today''s interns want more from their summer program, and IBM is willing to supply it. The old-school company takes a lesson from new start-ups. Scott Kirsner reports from Cambridge, Massachusetts. [Wired News] Biz School Gets an Upgrade -- Colleges and universities across the country are beginning to offer specialized degree programs that prepare future grads to manage virtual storefronts. But will that MeBA really help you get a job? By Joe Nickell. [Wired News] Black Rock: Same As It Ever Was -- Freaks, geeks, and a week''s worth of play on the playa. A community springs from ashes and dust. Joyce Slaton reports from Burning Man. [Wired News] Blair Witch Casts Strong Spell -- The Blair Witch Project sets Hollywood on its heels with its blockbuster box office returns. Who needs a multimillion dollar ad budget when you''ve got a cult following on the Net? Michael Stroud reports from Los Angeles. [Wired News] Blair Witch Stuck at No. 2 -- The Sixth Sense keeps the low-budget cult hit out of the top slot. But The Blair Witch Project earns a respectable US$24 million in its second week. By Michael Stroud. [Wired News] Blair Witch a Scary Home Brew -- Two filmmakers whip up a frightening story by tossing their actors out into the woods with a video camera. Add the Internet, and you''ve got a real horror story. By Chris Stamper. [Wired News] Blasphemy or Divine Inspiration? -- A Swedish photographer raises religious hackles with the online presentation of a homoerotic depiction of Christ. It''s causing quite an offline stir, too. By Heidi Kriz. [Wired News] Blue Barn: Playing Perfect Hosts -- A Silicon Alley company finds a niche keeping online conversation humming on the e-commerce track. By Steve Silberman. [Wired News] Botticelli on Your PalmPilot? -- An Italian research team uses the basics of PDA networking and GPS tracking to create a virtual art docent that fits in the palm of your hand. Maria Cristina Valsecchi reports from Siena, Italy. [Wired News] Breaking Up''s Too Easy to Do -- Hundreds of British couples have opted to download their divorce papers and skipped the expense of seeing a lawyer. The Roman Catholic Church says the online law site makes breaking up too impersonal. [Wired News] Bright Kids with Bright Ideas -- An international contest for young Web developers encourages long-distance cooperation, and awards scholarships to the winners. By Katie Dean. [Wired News] Bringing Killers Alive Online -- Ayelet Sela brings creative talent and tech savvy to Second Shift, the companion site to the popular TV show Homicide. A profile by Dan Brekke. [Wired News] Brit Cops Post Informants List -- Eager to show they didn''t bungle the investigation of a racist killing, London police publish their inquiry on the Net. The report also discloses the names -- and addresses -- of police informants. [Wired News] Brit Popsters Tied to Porn -- With Angels Online, the BBC thinks it may have discovered the next Spice Girls. Too bad these teens can''t sing, spell, or hide the trail of their links to porn. By Polly Sprenger. [Wired News] Broadband Fit for a Ferrari -- An Italian firm decks out a Ferrari with the latest in satellite gear, including movies-on-demand and video conferencing. Hmm, is that such a good idea? Maria Cristina Valsecchi reports from Rome. [Wired News] Broadcast.com: MP3 Will Die -- Broadcast.com president Mark Cuban predicts the popular compression format will go the way of the eight-track tape in his keynote speech at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival. Judy Bryan reports from Austin, Texas. [Wired News] Buffy Goes Underground -- Determined fans use the Net to do an end run around the network decision to postpone the second part of Buffy the Vampire Slayer''s violent season finale. By Declan McCullagh. [Wired News] Build Your Own Babylon 5 -- A new site invites TV fans to erect Web shrines to their favorite programs. It''s good for marketing, but bad for the psyche. By Judy DeMocker. [Wired News] Building the Berlin Sound -- From "trash tekkno" to "plastic pop" to "strange creatures," a German Internet radio station encourages listeners to grow their own avant-garde playlists. By John Alderman. [Wired News] Burning Man or Bust -- The elaborate art installations that appear in the Nevada desert once a year don''t get there by themselves. It''s a long haul. Joyce Slaton reports from San Francisco. [Wired News] But Does Bluto Have Email? -- The creators of Animal House have a Web-only comedy network in the works. What''s next, animated pin-the-toga-on-Dean-Wormer games? Maybe. [Wired News] Can Post Office Stem Email Tide? -- With email flooding the nation, Canada Post will launch an ad campaign designed to resurrect a dying art -- letter writing. [Wired News] Can''t Teach Gamers New Tricks? -- Artificial intelligence could inject computer games with exciting challenges, but gamers and developers prefer to stick by their old role-playing guns. By Laura Martz. [Wired News] Carnegie Hall''s Digital Requiem -- The New York concert hall commissions an artist to create a Web version of a popular multimedia music production. Sound is optional. By Reena Jana. [Wired News] Cashing in on Net Radio -- Net radio operators discover ways to make money off music streams. Now, the recording industry wants a piece of the pie. By Jennifer Sullivan and Christopher Jones. [Wired News] Caste System of the Digital Age -- The Internet isn''t at all like a classless society. It''s more like a caste system, say the authors of an upcoming book that lays out the pecking order of the digital revolution. By Joanna Glasner. [Wired News] Chaos Around the Campfire -- Hackers embrace a new sport -- lock-picking ... Also: One hacker repents... Another pulls latrine duty ... Space waffles are campfire fare. Steve Kettmann reports from Berlin. [Wired News] Chaos in Berlin -- The Chaos Computer Club''s Communication Camp moves from Amsterdam to Berlin this year, where swimming and real lock-picking are part of the annual hacker holiday. Steve Kettmann reports from Berlin. [Wired News] Chicago Site Gets the Shaft -- A Spanish-language Web site didn''t pay its bills, so how did the ISP react? By redirecting browsers to, um, er, well, let''s just say to another location. By James Glave. [Wired News] Chuck D Keys on Notes -- The artist puts the recording industry''s fears about MP3 in perspective. Remember, the music mainstream had the same reaction to FM radio. Jennifer Sullivan reports from New York. [Wired News] Chuck D: MP3 Won''t Kill Labels -- MP3 is a great format for delivering music, but even its staunchest advocates admit that it doesn''t yet sell itself. David Kushner reports from New York. [Wired News] Cold, Hard Euro Cash -- A Web site invites artists to take a satiric stab at creating alternative designs for the as-yet-unminted European currency. By David Kushner. [Wired News] CompUSA Yanks Tech Satire Mag -- The computer retailer pulls copies of tech magazine In Formation from its shelves because the new mag just doesn''t jibe with the store''s corporate image. By Polly Sprenger. [Wired News] Conferencing Via BBS -- Participants in the online RE:PLAY gaming conference like the bulletin board format. And they don''t seem to miss the freebies. By Laura Martz. [Wired News] Creative''s New MP3 Genius -- The head honcho in the PC sound market is getting into MP3 players. Think tiny silver box, think big sound. Jennifer Sullivan reports from New York. [Wired News] Critiquing Digital Music -- As appetites for MP3 files grow, so does interest in the emerging industry and market. Online reviews and offline newsletters are beginning to take root and grow. By Theta Pavis. [Wired News] Crossing the Red C++ -- Religious laws make it difficult for ultra-Orthodox Jews to work in conventional office jobs. But a new software start-up is out to change that. Tania Hershman reports from Jerusalem. [Wired News] Crypto Creeps into MP3 Domain -- While the recording industry tries to come up with its own secure format for distributing MP3 files, several other companies are stepping up to the plate. By Christopher Jones. [Wired News] Cubans Embrace Email, Warily -- Email has recently appeared in one of communism''s last bastions, and Cubans are approaching it enthusiastically, but cautiously. Castro still has very long ears. Steve Kettmann reports from Havana. [Wired News] Cyber-School''s Never Out -- In the Information Age, you may graduate, but you''ll never stop learning. A leading authority on adult education predicts the classroom of the future will exist online. A Wired News Q&A by Lakshmi Chaudhry. [Wired News] Czechs Charge to Cash In on Net -- The Czech Republic is ever ... so ... slowly entering the technology age. Netrepreneurs take some flak, but they push on undaunted. Steve Kettmann reports from Prague. [Wired News] DPI: Enabling the Disabled -- Constant typing and clicking injure countless tech employees, but technology is helping the disabled get back to work. A Silicon Valley group helps to train them. By Karen Solomon. [Wired News] Deconstructing Austin Powers -- Why are geeks obsessed with a buck-toothed secret agent who wears Union Jack underpants? The appeal of what may prove this summer''s sleeper flick runs deep into the soul of the Internet economy. Perspective by James Glave. [Wired News] Deep Blue Sea Bites Hard -- Monster sharks fail to impress in Renny Harlin''s latest flick. Burdened by inane characters, bad special effects, and a thin plot, Deep Blue Sea hits rock-bottom. By Andrew Rice. [Wired News] Deep-Sixing Your Ashes -- Thinking about burial options? A Florida company offers a new kind of aquatic memorial: eternal interment in an artificial reef. By Joyce Slaton. [Wired News] Devising the Digital Dance -- Legendary choreographer Merce Cunningham creates a groundbreaking work that puts real dancers on stage with digital performers. One of his technical collaborators discusses the creative process. By Siobhan Scarry. [Wired News] Diamond Launches MP3 Portal -- A kiss on the hand may be quite continental, but Diamond''s new music portal may be a Web-music lover''s best friend -- and the recording industry''s worst enemy. [Wired News] Digital ''Menace'' Opens -- With the inception of Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace in digital, a new frontier in film is broached. [Wired News] Digital Artists Can Starve, Too -- Techno-savvy art school graduates have a variety of options that boil down to one hard choice: Make money, or make art? By Reena Jana. [Wired News] Digital Campfire Tales -- An artist wraps technology around the age-old practice of storytelling, in a performance benefiting a group for art and science. Paul Beddoe-Stephens reports from New York. [Wired News] Digital Darlings Bask at Webbys -- Virtual unknowns in the real world, webmasters enjoy a night of celebrity at the annual Webby Awards. Joyce Slaton reports from San Francisco. [Wired News] Digital Filmmakers Do San Fran -- Inspired by budget blockbusters like The Blair Witch Project, digital filmmakers crank out homemade movies in record numbers. Resfest aims to pick the best of the crop. By Joanna Glasner. [Wired News] Digital Music at the Crossroads -- The recording industry is slowly coming to grips with the inevitable transformation of music distribution. A wireless future and Net delivery mean hard choices for the Recording Industry Association of America. By Christopher Jones. [Wired News] Digital Music: No Time Soon -- A new report from Jupiter Communications concludes that digital music is a long way off as a mainstream music delivery vehicle. But in the meantime, labels should learn from MP3. [Wired News] Digital Wins at Sundance Fest -- The individual films may fade into the ether when the festival closes Sunday, but the digital format has made its mark. Jason Silverman reports from Park City, Utah. [Wired News] Digital''s Long, Winding Road -- Lack of consumer confidence, coupled with the industry''s sluggish developmental pace, means that the digital lifestyle predicted for most Americans will be slow in coming. Michael Stroud reports from Laguna Niguel, California. [Wired News] Distance Learning No Bargain? -- American university professors see distance learning as more of a bargain for universities than for students. By Lakshmi Chaudhry. [Wired News] Documentary Rides Star Wars Wave -- After two years in relative obscurity, a documentary about Star Wars fans is getting caught up in the Phantom Menace hype. By Joe Nickell. [Wired News] Dolby Says It''s Payback Time -- Musician Thomas Dolby Robertson says record companies are about to pay for decades of abusing their power over artists and fans. Matt Welch reports from The Digital Distribution and the Music Industry ''99 conference in Los Angeles. [Wired News] Don''t Bogart That Domain -- YaHooka.com, an index for marijuana-related Web sites, is getting bad vibes from search-engine giant Yahoo. By Steve Silberman. [Wired News] Don''t Kill Your VCR -- Digital video discs are gaining in popularity, but they won''t eclipse videocassettes for a while, say industry insiders. Michael Stroud reports from the Video Software Dealers Association''s annual convention in Los Angeles. [Wired News] Doom and Gloom at Ion -- The once-popular game company bares its teeth at a newspaper for publishing a story that depicts it as a washed-up has-been. By Heidi Kriz. [Wired News] Dr. Drew Goes 24/7 -- MTV''s popular Loveline talk-show host takes his radio and TV practice to the Web. By Heidi Kriz. [Wired News] DreamWorks Records Tries MP3 -- The rogue digital music download format gets a vote of confidence from a recognized name. The label tries out MP3 to promote a new band. By Jennifer Sullivan. [Wired News] Dreamcast Rocks Around the Clock -- Sega throws a bash for the launch of its game console that''s keeping retailers and workers going all night. Stores and the Sega Web site have a hard time keeping up with demand. By Andy Patrizio. [Wired News] Drudge: Don''t Fear the Internet -- In his Gavin Seminar keynote address, the infamous Net journalist tells radio and record industry pros the Internet is the great equalizer. Brian Alcorn reports from New Orleans. [Wired News] Dude, the X Games? Way -- Skaters might sound ultramellow, but some of them know a little bit about physics. They have to, to make a mountain out of plastic. Polly Sprenger reports from San Francisco. [Wired News] E-books Draw Crowds, No Converts -- Visitors to BookExpo America 1999 circle around the e-book booths. But few are buying -- yet. Regina Lynn Preciado reports from Los Angeles. [Wired News] E.T. Goes to College -- The University of California at Berkeley joins the search for intelligent life and names a SETI chair. [Wired News] EBay Hits a Homer -- The online auction house scores big time, snagging several home-run balls hit by Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa during their historic duel last season. [Wired News] EBay: The Magazine -- The auction site plans to launch a companion magazine about collectibles. What''s next: EBay: The Movie? By Joyce Slaton. [Wired News] EFF Tunes In to Digital Music -- The Electronic Frontier Foundation launches an effort to preserve open standards for digital audio and protect creative expression. The recording industry defends its right to prevent piracy. By Christopher Jones. [Wired News] EFF: Piracy Not the Problem -- The music industry needs to focus on making digital downloads easier, not harder, says the EFF''s executive director. Andrew Rice reports from the Digital Distribution and the Music Industry ''99 conference in Los Angeles. [Wired News] EMI: ''We Owe It to Our Fans'' -- The music industry giant gets a jump on the competition, hiring Liquid Audio to digitize its music libraries for online sales and distribution later this year. [Wired News] ET: You''ve Got Mail -- Why wait for your email to get lost in the ether, when you can have someone send it directly into outer space? Bentspace is the latest email gimmick. By Joyce Slaton. [Wired News] Emotions Over a Wire, Solved? -- You don''t need fat pipes to convey feeling over the Net, a Compaq researcher proposes. Instead, why not just send bits of data that bring disk-bound faces to life? Mike Stroud reports from Carlsbad, California. [Wired News] End of TV as We Know It? -- Snap.com''s Edmund Sanctis predicts that the days of families gathering around the telly are numbered. Move over TV, here comes broadband. Michael Stroud reports from the Herring on Hollywood conference in Los Angeles. [Wired News] Erotica USA: Hideous, Kinky -- Clublove.com throws a party at Erotica USA. It promises a carnal celebration but delivers something less. Craig Bicknell reports from New York. [Wired News] EverQuest: the Latest Addiction -- The hottest new MUD draws players of all ages. Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, they''re all losing their personal lives to EverQuest. By Noah Shachtman. [Wired News] Everybody Must Get Stoned -- Ken Kesey and John Perry Barlow speak out for psychedelics at the 11th annual Digital Be-In. Joyce Slaton reports from San Francisco. [Wired News] Extreme Venture Capital -- Just in time for the X-Games, a venture capital firm hosts the X-Deals, a contest to see how far and furious Net start-ups will go to get funding. Heidi Kriz reports from San Francisco. [Wired News] Eyes Digitally Shut -- Stanley Kubrick''s highly anticipated Eyes Wide Shut may let American audiences down. The steamier scenes have been digitally muted. By Andrew Rice. [Wired News] Family Circus Parody Folds Tent -- A Web parody of The Family Circus comic strip receives a cease-and-desist letter after running for five years. Fans bridle at the site''s belated shutdown. By James Glave. [Wired News] Feedback Loop -- Suck sits right down and writes itself a letter -- and makes believe it came from you. [Wired News] Femme Fraggers Take Aim -- Two women host a TV show geared to all gamers, but they''ve set their sights on girls. And they use big guns to hit their target. By Joyce Slaton. [Wired News] Few Buyers for Aged Apples -- An auction of vintage computers attracts more media than buyers. Of five lots, only one machine sold: to a buyer in London who bid by phone. Leander Kahney reports from San Francisco. [Wired News] Fighting Poverty with Music -- Rock artists harness the power of the Internet in a concert to help war refugees. Organizers hope it will be a lasting weapon in the battle against poverty. [Wired News] Film Festival Clicks Off -- Film festivals are coming to a computer monitor near you, featuring videos and films that don''t quite fit the offline mold. By Joe Nickell. [Wired News] Finally, a US Digital Museum -- The United States artfully enters the digital era -- at last -- with the opening this fall of the Beecher Center, dedicated to digital and electronic fine art. By Reena Jana. [Wired News] Fired Med Editor Lands on Net -- George Lundberg, canned by a major medical journal for running an oral-sex survey article during the impeachment trial, is named editor in chief of Medscape. [Wired News] Firefly''s Dim Light Snuffed Out -- Microsoft will close down what remains of the Firefly Network. It''s a small event in the larger scheme of things, but it also spells curtains for an Internet pioneer. By Chris Oakes. [Wired News] First-Rate Ed for Third World -- The poorer countries of the world discover that the initial investment in IT infrastructure can yield long-term gains: IT workers. By Lakshmi Chaudhry. [Wired News] Fishing for Talent -- Digitally -- Hollywood casting directors make their first tentative steps into the information age with services that help find new talent. Deb Monroe reports from Los Angeles. [Wired News] Foes With Grudge Sludge Drudge -- The same group that cracked the C-SPAN and ABC-TV sites now turns its attention to the king of online gossip. By James Glave. [Wired News] Follicles on the Final Frontier -- For just US$49, you can send your hair on an interplanetary journey. A planned commercial spaceflight will send millions of strands of DNA-rich human hair into space in search of intelligent life. By Joanna Glasner. [Wired News] Follow the Money: It''s Online -- A site that tracks the travels of currency as it passes from billfold to billfold turns one man''s curiosity into an addiction for thousands of users. By Joe Ashbrook Nickell. [Wired News] Food, Shelter, and the Net -- For a group of volunteers in Britain, the Internet will be the only lifeline for four days. [Wired News] Footlights to the Max -- Composer Philip Glass and director Robert Wilson needed some outlandish scenery for their new opera. They wound up ditching conventional notions of staging. By Nora Isaacs. [Wired News] Founder and CEO, Age 15 -- Cool -- The Internet music business is sprouting adolescent executives who can cut deals with the big boys, but who aren''t old enough to open merchant banking accounts. By Chris Oakes. [Wired News] Fragadelic Females Duke It Out -- Women from across America gather for Female Frag Fest ''99, the annual Quake contest for grrls only. Noah Shachtman reports from New York. [Wired News] Free Love and Free Speech -- A hardcore advocate for online privacy makes his first film, a porno movie with a cypherpunk theme. Sex. Geeks. More sex. And cryptograpy. By Jennifer Sullivan. [Wired News] French Artists Gear Up For x-99 -- Digital art, Net art. It''s all the same to some people. French digital artists prepare to celebrate both genres and set the record straight. By David Kushner. [Wired News] Fringe Culture''s Latest Bard -- That ancient provocateur, R.U. Sirius, returns to the fray with an in-your-face zine pitched somewhere between Hustler and Salon. [Wired News] From Comdex to Venice -- The creator of one of the world''s biggest computer-trade shows builds the world''s most high-tech hotel. Vince Beiser reports from Las Vegas. [Wired News] From Paper to Pixels -- A new program introduces fourth-graders to electronic books, hoping to replace old-fashioned textbooks. Critics say the eBooks will never catch on. By Lindsey Arent. [Wired News] From Silver Screen to PC Monitor -- A tiny Web site from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania wants to be the Blockbuster of the Web, but will Blockbuster (and Hollywood) let it? Michael Stroud reports from Los Angeles. [Wired News] Fund Gap for Public-Interest Net -- Deep-pocket benefactors like the MacArthur Foundation play leadership roles in boosting progressive media. The founder of New York''s Web Lab makes a pitch for the next round of R D. By Steve Silberman. [Wired News] Game Maker: Lara''s No Playmate -- A British court bans Playboy magazine from using pixel vixen Lara Croft''s name on its cover. Stickers must cover the offending bits. By Lindsey Arent. [Wired News] Games Beyond the Shoot-Em-Ups -- Wired News has seen the future of videogames, and it''s all about kicking, shooting, scratching, and shaking your booty. Vince Beiser reports from Las Vegas. [Wired News] Games Come Back to the Mac -- Apple mends fences with game companies and developers. Gamers wait with joysticks at the ready. John Alderman reports from San Francisco. [Wired News] Gay Palm-Reading? -- It''s yet another use for the PalmPilot: finding a date. Assuming, that is, that you''re looking for a gay man. [Wired News] Geeks Cruise Perl Harbor -- Next summer, 400 computer professionals will take a week-long crash course -- er, luxury cruise -- in Perl programming through Alaska''s Inside Passage. By Joe Nickell. [Wired News] Geeks in Tents = Chaos -- Veteran hackers at the Chaos Communication Camp try to convince young hackers that cracking is no longer sexy. Encryption-for-all takes center stage. Steve Kettmann reports from Berlin. [Wired News] Geekstock: German Hackfest -- Grab your tent, your mess kit, and don''t forget the insect repellant or your Ethernet dongle. Chaos Computer Club goes outdoors for its latest Berlin gathering. [Wired News] Germans Follow Moon Shadow -- Clouds blocking the view in southern Germany don''t stop 500,000 revelers from celebrating the last eclipse of the millennium. Ayla Jean Yackley reports from Stuttgart, Germany. [Wired News] Get Cranberries Tix Only Online -- The popular Irish band is back on tour, and the only way to get tickets to the show is through the group''s Web site. [Wired News] Glitzy Gizmos Hit Vegas -- The annual Consumer Electronics Show opens Thursday to a crowd hungry for HDTVs, DVDs, PalmPilot knockoffs, and a gaggle of other gadgets. Vince Beiser reports from Las Vegas. [Wired News] Gobbling Up a Pac-Man Record -- Practice makes perfect, and someone has reached the unreachable score on the popular Pac-Man arcade game. It only took Billy Mitchell 15 years to do it. By Leander Kahney. [Wired News] Good Deeds and Better Technology -- When it comes to the Net, a few nonprofit organizations rock the house. Most could use some help. Philanthropic tech experts have some ideas. By Oscar S. Cisneros. [Wired News] Good Vibrato Vibrations -- Researchers use digital biofeedback to help beginning violin students perfect their vibrato technique. By Joyce Slaton. [Wired News] GoodNoise Lands a Whopper -- Indie rock group They Might Be Giants teams with the online record label to sell its albums in MP3 format. By Jennifer Sullivan. [Wired News] Goosing Prices for the Juice -- Would you pay US$100,000 for O. J.''s Heisman Trophy? How about $50 for his golf umbrella? A Los Angeles auction house hopes online bidding will spur sales of Simpson''s sports memorabailia and personal effects. [Wired News] Graduates Go Digital -- You can lose the No. 2 pencils. Starting Saturday, students applying to graduate school will have to take a computer-based GRE test. By Joyce Slaton. [Wired News] Grammy Gives MP3 the Boot -- MP3.com says it got another dis from the recording industry when its ad was yanked from the magazine. By Jennifer Sullivan. [Wired News] Grammys Welcome Game Music -- Beginning with next year''s awards, musicians who write and perform music for videogames will be eligible to win Grammy awards. By Marc Saltzman. [Wired News] Grand Slam -- As society careens into niceness, it''s important to have a guy like Mike Tyson around to remind us the world can be a creepy place. Courtesy of Suck.com. [Wired News] Grrl Geeks Rock Out -- After a long day of colliding particles, CERN scientists get busy with a group of tech-savvy women musicians, who serve a "high-energy explosive cocktail." By Heather McCabe. [Wired News] Hacker Pundits Squabble -- A former hacker accuses one of the most-quoted voices on the computer underground of paying crackers to hit sites in exchange for the scoop. Hogwash, he says. By Polly Sprenger. [Wired News] Hackers Happy Campers -- Chaos Computer Club members pitch their tents on a farm on the outskirts of Berlin. They''re geared up for a weekend of hacking, networking, and swimming. Steve Kettmann reports from Berlin. [Wired News] Hackers Sack Competition Site -- After inviting hackers to crack a password competition and win a backpack, the manufacturer''s site has been hacked for real. Be careful what you wish for. By Leander Kahney. [Wired News] Hailing a Taxi Online -- A cabbie combines a made-for-media personality with a love of New York and a bit of tech savvy to produce the city''s first taxi-cam. Jeroen van Bergeijk reports from New York. [Wired News] Handheld: Taskmaster or Toy? -- Toymaker Hasbro produces games for Windows-based handhelds and email, just to be make sure you get nothing done at work or on the road. [Wired News] Hang Up and Drive -- Lawmakers in several states revive the proposal that phoning and driving don''t mix. Whether they can convince the public that a law is the answer remains to be seen. By Joe Nickell. [Wired News] Hang Up and Watch -- The world''s No. 4 wireless phonemaker says a public movie theater is no place for a private phone call in its latest ad campaign. [Wired News] Happy Birthday, Dear Arpanet -- True netizens pooh-pooh the people gearing up for millennium parties. For them, the real festivities come on 20 October, when the Internet turns 30. [Wired News] Happy Campers Feel the Force -- Critics give Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace mixed reviews, but the word on the street where fans camped out for the opening is that Phantom doesn''t suck. By Joyce Slaton. [Wired News] Heading Back to Cool -- Forget three-ring binders. Do you have your Palm, your cell phone, and your PlayStation? Gadgets are cool for back-to-school, and tech companies pursue students like never before. By Leander Kahney. [Wired News] Hello Digital, Goodbye Hollywood -- Remember the buzz about homespun digital films someday taking on Hollywood? That was s-o-ooo 1998. This year, it was a reality. Joanna Glasner reports from Resfest 1999 in San Francisco. [Wired News] Helping Kids Avoid RSI -- Parents and teachers can help children and teenagers avoid developing repetitive strain injury. Experts share some tips. By Katie Dean. [Wired News] Hey MS: What''d EDU Wrong? -- A college student caves in to Microsoft and alters his microsoftedu.com Web site. But the school project still lambastes the Redmond software giant. By James Glave. [Wired News] High-End Tech Company Perks -- You think you''re lucky because your employer gives you all the soda you can drink and free pizza on Friday? You ain''t seen nothin'' yet. By Joyce Slaton. [Wired News] Hip-Hop Awards Play on Net -- Artists get their props as Web innovators at the Online Hip-Hop Awards Show. David Kushner reports from New York. [Wired News] Hip-Hop Honors Online Progeny -- Artists who use the Web to advance the hip-hop cause bask in the klieg lights of the Online Hip-Hop Awards. David Kushner reports from New York. [Wired News] Hit and Run No. CLVI -- Universal Harmony Made Simple [Wired News] Hit and Run No. CLVII -- Suck peddles trinkets of the Lord.... Join a virtual frat house.... Pick your prosaic declaration of love.... And who''s weirder? Clinton or his detractors? [Wired News] Hitchcock''s E-Centennial -- A multimedia package is one of the many tributes designed to mark the centennial celebration of the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. By Louise Knapp. [Wired News] Holland''s ''UnReal World'' -- This goes beyond the MTV series: Big Brother brings together nine people who will have no outside contact for up to three months. Laura Martz reports from Amsterdam. [Wired News] Hollywood Awards Tech Oscars -- The Scientific and Technical Academy Awards ceremony gives techies a chance to shine. Polly Sprenger and Judy Bryan report from Beverly Hills. [Wired News] Hollywood Awards Tech Oscars -- The Scientific and Technical Academy Awards ceremony gives techies a chance to shine. Polly Sprenger and Judy Bryan report from Beverly Hills. [Wired News] Hollywood Discovers Digital -- It takes an award winner to turn heads in Hollywood. Two acclaimed digital films seem to have opened the door for the genre. Michael Stroud reports from the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival in West Hollywood. [Wired News] Hollywood''s Nasdaq -- In Hollywood, where fiction is the basis for truth, a fake stock exchange game is serious business. Movie stars and moguls are frantically clicking to see what they''re worth in "Hollywood dollars." [Wired News] Holy Y2K -- Rome opens a state-of-the-art control room to prepare for the Catholic Holy Year in 2000. [Wired News] Home Theater of the Absurd -- You want the very best toys on the block. Digital pictures. Digital sound. And you want to feel the action. Vince Beiser reports from Las Vegas. [Wired News] Hot Copy -- Originality is pass ; mimicry is au courant. We are entering the age of apes and parrots. Courtesy of Suck. [Wired News] Hot Talk on a Cool Medium -- The National Academy of Recording Arts Sciences conference on downloadable music offers predictable tooth-snarling, back-biting, and a few nuggets of inside information. Jennifer Sullivan reports from New York. [Wired News] How to Teach Tech? -- North Carolina is the first state to implement computer-literacy standards for students, but critics say the program just makes kids learn by rote. By Katie Dean. [Wired News] Humanity Safe from Cyberspace -- Yes, people spend too much time online, and yes, computers are getting smarter. But no, humanity is not in serious trouble. Judy Bryan reports from Paradox II at Arcosanti, Arizona. [Wired News] Hunters Blast Away at Videogame -- You think a videogame in which a deer shoots hunters is a witty parody of a best-selling computer game? Hunters don''t. By Pete Danko. [Wired News] Hunters Blast Away at Videogame -- You think a videogame in which a deer shoots hunters is a witty parody of a best-selling computer game? Hunters don''t. By Pete Danko. [Wired News] Hustling Fine Art on the Web -- The director of the Whitney Museum says that the Web is the key to making fine art more accessible. No word on how museums will profit. Paul Beddoe-Stephens reports from New York. [Wired News] Hyperlinked Hooker Arrested -- The Los Angeles Police Department has arrested a 41-year-old alleged madam with a bent for e-commerce. By Polly Sprenger. [Wired News] IEG to Sell Viagra over the Web -- The adult Web-site firm will add a new offering to its lineup of live sex-change operations and nude celebs. This one flogs Viagra. By Kristin Philipkoski. [Wired News] IMacs Spell Death to Beige Boxes -- The new colors are more than a marketing gimmick, designers say. They represent the beginning of a long-overdue renaissance in computer design. By James Glave. [Wired News] IMacs Spell Death to Beige Boxes -- The new colors are more than a marketing gimmick, designers say. They represent the beginning of a long-overdue renaissance in computer design. By James Glave. [Wired News] INET 99: Open Doors on the Net -- Panelists from the Far East, Russia, and other countries came to INET 99 to talk about the Internet. Word is that communication via the Net is opening doors for people whose voices are not usually heard. Heidi Kriz reports from San Jose, California. [Wired News] Ice T Goes MP3 -- The rapper joins the growing numbers of popular artists who embrace the digital file format. He offers a new single exclusively as an MP3. [Wired News] Ifilm.net: Kill Your VCR -- A new Web site wants to help independent filmmakers do an end-run around video stores and hand off their work to a worldwide audience. By Joe Nickell. [Wired News] In Step with Digital Dance -- Modern dance shares the stage with technology at the triumphant world premiere of choreographer Merce Cunningham''s BIPED. Siobhan Scarry reports from Berkeley, California. [Wired News] Intel''s Online Art Gallery -- Corporate art and fine art meet on the Web when New York''s Whitney Museum of American Art and Intel collaborate on an interactive exhibit. By Reena Jana. [Wired News] Interactive TV Goes Hollywood -- Tinseltown shows renewed interest in interactive TV. With better technology, broadband access, and growing consumer demand, television-on-demand may be right around the corner. Michael Stroud reports from the Herring on Hollywood conference in Los Angeles. [Wired News] Interactive TV Goes Prime Time -- WebTV enhances game show broadcasts to let viewers play along. People can now render their own verdicts alongside Judge Judy and interactively answer ''Who is Bill Buckner'' while watching Jeopardy! By Michael Stroud. [Wired News] Internet Love American Style -- A British man comes to America to wed his chat-room sweetie, sight unseen, but finds her more interested in his life savings than his marriage proposal. [Wired News] Invasion of the Saturn Winners -- Hollywood''s best science fiction, fantasy, and horror films get their due at the 25th annual Saturn Awards. Andrew Rice reports from Los Angeles. [Wired News] Iron Giant Walks Web -- Warner Bros. will webcast 10 full minutes of footage from its much-anticipated animated fantasy film The Iron Giant. Are you listening, George Lucas? Michael Stroud reports from Los Angeles. [Wired News] Is That a Rocket in Your Pocket? -- Networked Quake is fun, but LAN Quake is a riot -- sometimes literally. Geeks gather in basements and warehouses to go mano-a-mano face-to-face. By Noah Shachtman. [Wired News] Is There a Dialup in the House? -- The Silicon Alley 99 technology conference gets high marks for content, but not for its connections. Theta Pavis reports from New York. [Wired News] Italian Monument Gets the Vibe -- The Baptistery of Pisa -- one of the Leaning Tower''s lesser-known neighbors -- will be the site of a spectacular musical production that gives new meaning to the term "Rock the house." Maria Cristina Valsecchi reports from Pisa, Italy. [Wired News] Italian Smut Site Left Unzipped -- An adult site reveals the emails and credit card numbers of its members to the world. Meanwhile, the man behind the curtain -- the ex-manager of porn queen Cicciolina -- may be behind bars. By James Glave. [Wired News] Italy Soups Up Horse Race -- The centuries-old il Palio takes place again this year as always, but the ancient race will employ some new gadgets. Maria Cristina Valsecchi reports from Siena, Italy. [Wired News] Ivory-Tower Open Source -- Scholars at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are transforming the timeworn process of academic peer review. By Joe Ashbrook Nickell. [Wired News] JASON Explores the Amazon -- The scientist who discovered where the Titanic rested on the ocean floor takes students on a virtual expedition of the Amazon rainforest. [Wired News] Japan OK''s Pill, Cautiously -- Japanese women finally have access to the birth control pill as a contraceptive, rather than just as a treatment for menstrual problems. Drug companies aren''t expecting a rush anytime soon, though. By Debbi Gardiner. [Wired News] Japan Pays for Blasé Y2K Plans -- That bastion of the high-tech world hasn''t exactly approached the rollover into 2000 with alacrity. Some officials are getting antsy about it. By Debbi Gardiner. [Wired News] Jobs, Gates: Extreme Geeks -- Pirates of Silicon Valley is a fanciful tale of the rivalry between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. If even half of it is true, you''ll probably want to drop all your computer-science classes. Review by Michael Stroud. [Wired News] Journalism''s Unwritten Story -- African-Americans have made significant contributions to the journalism field since the 1950s. Now their history can be read online. By Neda Raouf. [Wired News] Juicing Up MP3 -- A new site joins the effort to market secure MP3 files. By Nora Isaacs. [Wired News] Kasparov Goes Bigger than Blue -- World chess champion Garry Kasparov -- famous for tangling with IBM''s Deep Blue supercomputer -- takes on the world. His latest game uses distributed computing to connect any challenger. By Joyce Slaton. [Wired News] Kid-Porn Vigilante Hacked Media -- A former hacker made headlines all over the world when he declared war on child pornographers. But his one-man campaign wasn''t all it was cracked up to be. By Steve Silberman. [Wired News] Kid-Porn Vigilante Hacked Media -- A former hacker made headlines all over the world when he declared war on child pornographers. But his one-man campaign wasn''t all it was cracked up to be. By Steve Silberman. [Wired News] Kidneys These Days! -- It''s better than peddling your body on the street, but not by much: An entrepreneur tries to auction vital organs on the Internet. EBay says, "Cut it out!" [Wired News] Klingons Take It Off -- Someone''s gonna get called to the bridge for sure: They may not be real Klingons, but they really are naked. By Denis Faye. [Wired News] Know Your Enemy -- Or Not -- A new gaming community lets you find formidable opponents and still keep your personal information private -- unless you engage them in combat. By Andy Patrizio. [Wired News] Knowles Gets Two Thumbs Up -- The webmaster gets the call he''s been waiting for all his life. The Ain''t It Cool News founder does a guest shot on Siskel & Ebert. By Chris Stamper. [Wired News] Ku Klux Klan Korrected -- If you tried to get into the KKK Web site recently, you may have been redirected to an anti-hate page. And that didn''t exactly please the anti-hate people, either. By James Glave. [Wired News] Labels to Artists: Weownyou.com -- The recording industry is trying to get new artists to sign over their domain names to a label -- for life. Don''t do it, says rapper Ice-T. Arik Hesseldahl reports from New York. [Wired News] Lando Versus Godzilla? -- A Seattle filmmaker scrambles the Star Wars iconography with Evan''s Star Wars Cinema, a collection of short films featuring those familiar action figures in not-so-familiar scenarios. By Joe Ashbrook Nickell. [Wired News] Lara Croft Comes to Life -- Tomb Raider heroine Lara Croft goes analog in a 10-day arts festival. Fans, VJs and chefs offer their separate interpretations of the beloved gun-toting babe. Laura Martz reports from Amsterdam. [Wired News] Law of the Jungle -- A new year means new laws. Suck takes a long, lewd look at the body politic and finds the fresh crop of legislation to be a dirty joke. [Wired News] Leading Women to Tech Fields -- A new program for mentoring women in science and engineering aims to bring more of them into the technology sector. By Lindsey Arent. [Wired News] Let the Games Begin -- The Electronic Entertainment Expo heats up with lavish parties, lip service to game violence, and an overwhelmed young Anakin Skywalker. Kourosh Karimkhany reports from Los Angeles. [Wired News] Life Is Faster, if not Better -- Technology allows you to do more things more quickly. But what happens to all that time? James Gleick offers a few theories in his new book, Faster. Review by Jennifer Sullivan. [Wired News] Life in the Menace Line -- Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace fans camping out in Los Angeles are soaked by rain and hounded by reporters. They''ve also got a DVD player and a DSL connection. By Joyce Slaton. [Wired News] Linux Fans Plan 24-Hour Book -- The European Linux community wants to write a book in less than a day. Will it be the fastest book ever written, or a monumental disaster? By Leander Kahney. [Wired News] Liquefying MP3 -- Liquid Audio shakes hands with former MP3 rivals in order to protect music with secure digital downloads. By Ronald Warren Deutsch. [Wired News] Literary Pioneer Enters New Era -- Barney Rosset''s Evergreen Review introduced America to Samuel Beckett and others. Now Rosset is bringing a half century of cultural provocation to the Web. By Steve Silberman. [Wired News] Live from the Locker Room -- Hidden cameras film hunky college wrestlers for display on Net pornography sites. The FBI is investigating. [Wired News] Local Bookshop Pedals Back -- A famed bookstore tries to combat Amazon.com with a charming idea: It delivers books by bike messenger. Dan Brekke reports from Berkeley, California. [Wired News] Look It Up, But Not On the Web -- Think of a synonym for gay. Carefree? Queer? Merriam-Webster responds to an online outcry by removing the word homosexual from its Web site. By Heidi Kriz. [Wired News] Looking for Something to Blame -- Speculation over the causes of the massacre at a Colorado high school has focused on the suspects'' fascination with guns, bombs, and violent videogames. We''ve been here before. Perspective by chief Washington correspondent Declan McCullagh. [Wired News] Looking for the Next Monet -- New online art dealer NextMonet.com wants to entice shoppers to buy art on the Net. The move can only be good for the artists themselves. By Reena Jana. [Wired News] Lucas Smiles on ''Phantom'' Fans -- Good news for folks who hate to wait: Lucas and Fox will allow limited advance ticket sales for Episode I: The Phantom Menace. [Wired News] Lucas: Net Piracy Is a Menace -- Lucasfilm asks the FBI to fight piracy of The Phantom Menace. Illegal distribution could cost the company a bundle. By Joyce Slaton. [Wired News] Lycos Gets Fast with MP3 -- The search engine company makes it easier to find MP3 files on the Web. What will the RIAA have to say about that? By Ronald Warren Deutsch. [Wired News] Lycos Gets Fast with MP3 -- The search engine company makes it easier to find MP3 files on the Web. What will the RIAA have to say about that? By Ronald Warren Deutsch. [Wired News] MIT to Unwire the World -- Wireless IT comes to Costa Rica when MIT Media Lab''s Unwiring the World project opens the country''s first wireless site Tuesday. Jill Priluck reports from Cambridge, Massachusetts. [Wired News] MP3 Artists Win an Award Show -- A Web site recognizes artists who use the popular music compression format by producing an awards show. Users can preview the work and will choose the winners. By Christopher Jones. [Wired News] MP3 Gets Crunchy -- UK start-up Crunch plans on taking on its US rivals by tapping into tunes from indie labels that have a cult following. [Wired News] MP3 Goes Mainstream -- Webnoize Inside releases a study that shows more people than ever know what MP3 is -- and they have the files to prove it. Chris Oakes reports from the MP3 Summit in San Diego. [Wired News] MP3 Hardware: Beyond the Rio -- Exhibitors show off new devices for playing MP3 files. And a well-timed federal ruling means the market''s wide open. Chris Oakes reports from the MP3 Summit in San Diego. [Wired News] MP3 Plays Silicon Alley -- Two big names in MP3, Chuck D and Michael Robertson, spread the word about digital download at the annual Silicon Alley conference. David Kushner reports from New York. [Wired News] MP3 Stores Branching Out -- What makes a successful MP3 music store? Right now, that''s anybody''s guess. Two new vendors try to carve niches in the marketplace. By Christopher Jones. [Wired News] MP3 Summit: It Ain''t Comdex -- Seen at the MP3 Summit: heads with logos shaved in, rappers sticking it to the record industry, over-eager attempts at public relations. A glimpse at the show where MP3 took its first mainstream turn. Chris Oakes reports from San Diego. [Wired News] MP3 in Your *Car.* Far Out. -- Unwilling to wait for commercial products, popular-music mechanics are taking MP3 player technology into their own hands -- and putting it into their rides. By Theta Pavis. [Wired News] MP3 to the Barricades -- You say you want a revolution? Net-based music proponents square off at a conference on downloadable music. Jennifer Sullivan reports from New York. [Wired News] MP3.com Scales Industry Summit -- The original MP3-centric music site holds its yearly summit this week in San Diego. The company has a big IPO on the horizon, but it''s not a clear path to the top. By Chris Oakes. [Wired News] MP3.com Signs Tori and Alanis -- The MP3 content distributor will announce agreements this week with divas Tori Amos and Alanis Morissette. MP3.com is said to be spinning more deals with major artists. [Wired News] MP3.com and Petty, Again -- Rocker Tom Petty is promoting his new album on MP3.com with free tickets and a cover contest. By Jennifer Sullivan. [Wired News] MP3: A Flash in the Pan -- MP3 and digital downloads may be stealing the headlines today, but visionary Jim Griffin says their impact is only temporary. He agrees music should feel free. That doesn''t mean it should be free. A Wired News Q A by Jennifer Sullivan. [Wired News] MSN Tells Women Where to Go -- The online offshoot of the software giant teams with Women.com Networks to dish up content for the growing female audience. [Wired News] MST3K Fans Dig in Heels -- Fans of the offbeat, Minnesota-born comedy are trying once again to save the television show from cancellation. They are probably headed for a defeat. By Polly Sprenger. [Wired News] MST3K, We Hardly Knew Ye -- After 10 years, the geek TV hit Mystery Science Theatre 3000 is switching off the lights for good. Eden Prairie, Minnesota, will never be the same. By Polly Sprenger. [Wired News] MacWeek Returns to Print, Kinda -- After a brief hiatus online, MacWeek revisits paper. Instead of being printed and distributed, the mag will be distributed and then printed. Welcome to print publishing, Web style. By Leander Kahney. [Wired News] Macheads Go for Fruity Cookies -- Oh, imagine the clash! Color sensitive iMac owners ask Apple-friendly webmasters to get with the fruit flavor scheme. At least one is happy to comply. By Chris Oakes. [Wired News] MailZone''s New MP3 Monitor -- New software can block MP3 file attachments in corporate email and tell the difference between legal and illegal music files. Skeptics abound. By Joe Ashbrook Nickell. [Wired News] Making It Big with MP3 -- Independent bands and artists promoting their songs on the Net make an end run on the established music industry. As this new paradigm takes shape, the playing field is leveled, and the rulebook is unwritten. by Christopher Jones. [Wired News] Making MP3 Music on the Mac -- Xing releases a Mac-compatible MP3 production tool, the first of its kind. Music makers say it''s high time. By Heidi Kriz. [Wired News] Man on Moon or Pie in Sky? -- It''s the 30th anniversary of Neil Armstrong''s first giant step. Or is it? There are a few folks on the fringe who insist that the whole thing was a fake. By Katie Dean. [Wired News] Mapping Humanity in 4-D -- The Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative hopes to build a map of world cultural characteristics -- not only in space, but also in time. By Joe Nickell. [Wired News] Memories of a Caged Past -- An art installation in Berlin evokes the memory of the Nazi book burnings and where they eventually led. Steve Kettmann reports from Berlin. [Wired News] Metreon, the Entertainment Mall -- San Franciscans are agog and aghast at Sony''s new Metreon entertainment complex. It''s no Golden Gate, but it''s going to shape entertainment for the city and its visitors. Joyce Slaton reports from San Francisco. [Wired News] Microsoft Wants the Last Word -- After successfully taking the encyclopedia electronic, the software giant plans to publish a dictionary -- in hardcover. By Chris Stamper. [Wired News] Mighty Rio Now a Two-Way Street -- Hackers in England and California have given the portable MP3 music player a new feature that its manufacturers didn''t want it to have. By Joe Nickell. [Wired News] Millions of Eardrums Go Digital -- A Media Metrix report shows a big jump in the use of digital music -- from a few hundred thousand users last year to four million this year. [Wired News] Minding Bits at the Ritz -- Globetrotting executives call the Web their home office away from home. And the Ritz-Carlton hotel chain hires "technology butlers" to keep guests jacked in. By Steve Silberman. [Wired News] Mixing and Scratching MP3s -- The sound of a vinyl record being scratched on a turntable could be replaced with a digital one. A new device from Amsterdam lets DJs "scratch" computer audio files. By Jennifer Sullivan. [Wired News] Monica''s Bio, Byte by Byte -- Monica''s Story, the Lewinsky memoir hitting bookstores on Thursday, will be the first book published simultaneously in e-book and paper form. By Steve Silberman. [Wired News] More Tales from Encryption -- Record companies may smile when the latest encrypted MP3 site hits the Web, but MP3 advocates aren''t amused. By Ronald Warren Deutsch. [Wired News] Morissette Gets a Toe Wet in MP3 -- A much-hyped agreement between Alanis Morissette and MP3.com falls short of expectations as the record industry stays in the shallow end of the online music waters. By Christopher Jones. [Wired News] Murder in Two Worlds -- Next month, Homicide detectives straddle the online and offline worlds when a high-tech storyline straddles the Web site and TV. By Dan Brekke. [Wired News] Music CEO: Save the Songwriter -- The digital music conference closes with a song and a few words of caution. Executives chide the Net music industry for benefiting from others'' work and for being exclusive. Andrew Rice reports from Los Angeles. [Wired News] Music Conference Sings New Tune -- The annual College Music Journal conference now includes tutorials for helping bands get noticed online. Noah Shachtman reports from New York. [Wired News] Music Licenser Shakes Down Web -- Should webmasters pay licensing fees for linking to radio stations? The American Society of Composers, Artists, and Publishers thinks so. By Polly Sprenger. [Wired News] Music, Violence, and the RIAA -- To address issues surrounding violence in society and music, the recording industry is sponsoring online chats between teens and rockers. By Christopher Jones. [Wired News] NFL 2K Kicks Off Sega''s Season -- Football fans who can''t bear the thought of a season without John Elway have an option. Sega''s Dreamcast game has super-smart players and bone-jarring realism. By Andy Patrizio. [Wired News] Neither Art nor Porn -- Skinonskinonskin, an online event spawned by the enigmatic Hell.com site, is soon to be available as a pay-per-view multimedia experience. But it''s not for everyone. By Reena Jana. [Wired News] Net Culture, the Digital Film -- A filmmaker documents the early moments of the Net and gets drawn into making his own homepage. The film is part of the digital buzz at Sundance this week. Jason Silverman reports from Park City. [Wired News] Net Films to Hit Broadcast.com -- Internet-based movie distribution firm Always Independent Films gets a leg up by streaming its motion picture product through Broadcast.com. [Wired News] Net Kosher With Talmud Scholars -- E-commerce can be conducted 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That brings it into conflict with strict Jewish law, which forbids merchants from doing business on the Sabbath. Or does it? By Tony Kontzer. [Wired News] Net Porn Does Not Amuse Royals -- While on a visit to South Korea, Prince Phillip speaks out against porn peddlers, crooks, and other evildoers on the Internet. [Wired News] Netomat: The Non-Linear Browser -- Software as artwork: An artist who doesn''t like to surf the Web in straight lines develops a browser that grabs information and delivers it creatively. By Reena Jana. [Wired News] Networking Everything -- Microwaves, furnaces, pianos, dogs -- all connected to the Internet. The networked home is a foreseeable future, Cisco''s president tells a crowd at CES. Vince Beiser reports from Las Vegas. [Wired News] New ''Star Wars'' Trailers on Web -- Two weeks before Episode I: The Phantom Menace opens in the United States, Lucasfilm releases four new Star Wars trailers on the Web. By Leander Kahney. [Wired News] New Chapter in Buying Textbooks -- Students can do the math: Textbooks are generally cheaper when purchased online. But price isn''t everything, and there are pitfalls as well as benefits. By Debbi Gardiner. [Wired News] New Gaming Kings Crowned -- The Professional Gaming League anoints two new champions in the Quake 2 and Starcraft tournaments, sending them home with US$10,000. Arik Hesseldahl reports from New York. [Wired News] New Media Boosts an Old Mural -- An important but nearly forgotten Diego Rivera mural is the center of a new multimedia project set to tour North America. Kendra Mayfield reports from San Francisco. [Wired News] New Media Sings Same Old Song -- BerlinBeta 2.0 offers new media navel-gazing for the terminally hip. But like everything else connected to multimedia and the Internet these days, the talk eventually turns to money. Ayla Jean Yackley reports from Berlin. [Wired News] New York in 3,600 Photos -- A photographer snaps a slew of digital and film photos of New York with an eye to assemble photomosaics of the city''s major landmarks. Paul Beddoe-Stephens reports from New York. [Wired News] News Site for Phantom Phans -- Zap Corp. launches a site to cover all the news that''s fit to print ... about Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, anyway. [Wired News] News for Nonprofits -- The Philanthropy Journal Online covers the tech-savvy portion of the nonprofit world. By Oscar S. Cisneros. [Wired News] No Email for Mormon Missionaries -- Focus, focus, focus. That''s what it takes to spread the Mormon word of God. And email? It only gets in the way. By Chris Oakes. [Wired News] No Shortage of Light Bulbs Here -- Pundits gather at the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose to celebrate how technology improves life. They see a bright future. By Heidi Kriz. [Wired News] Not-So-Privileged Info -- A New York theater group portrays how privileged information can become public knowledge in the information age. By Reena Jana. [Wired News] Not-So-Virtual Virus -- An outbreak of syphilis cases is traced back to a single Internet chat room, according to investigators from the San Francisco Department of Health. [Wired News] Old Brands, New Media -- Older is wiser, even if it isn''t techier, says the head of MTV''s new interactive unit. Michael Stroud reports from the Digital Coast conference in Los Angeles. [Wired News] Old Dictionary, New Medium -- Editors ready the Oxford English Dictionary for an online edition. Chief editor John Simpson discusses how the old schoolers are both embracing and resisting the new medium. By Siobhan Scarry. [Wired News] On the Verge of Convergence -- Showtime Networks says one in five US households is on the Net at the same time it''s watching TV. [Wired News] One Man''s Belgrade Diary -- Working on borrowed computers in the dead of night, a Serbian filmmaker spills his war experiences onto the Internet. By Michael Stroud. [Wired News] One-Armed Bandits Cash Out -- Out of nickels? No problem. You don''t need a pocketful of change to play the new electronic slot machines that are slowly catching on in casinos. Vince Beiser reports from Las Vegas. [Wired News] Online Student Loans Overnight -- Students tired of the endless paperwork required to fill out college loans will soon be able to apply online -- and receive approval within 24 hours. Also: Virgin Atlantic offers Web access. [Wired News] PBS, Digital-TV Pioneer -- The Public Broadcasting Service is betting that digital television will take off, and it has the programming to prove it. Next April, PBS will be all digital, all the time. By Katie Dean. [Wired News] PCs Show Their True Colors -- Computers may be getting more and more powerful, but most are still encased in dreary beige. Taking a cue from the iMac, computer makers get creative. By Joyce Slaton. [Wired News] PE Puts MP4 in the House -- As the recording industry continues its head-to-head battle with MP3, Public Enemy puts its stamp of approval on a controversial new system for online music distribution. By Christopher Jones. [Wired News] Papal Bull -- Pope John Paul II''s Culture of Death Tour ''99 -- with stops in St. Louis and Mexico -- rocked the free world. Courtesy of Suck. [Wired News] Party Down While Others Perish -- A healthy dose of cash and an unhealthy dose of fear could get you a luxurious, 90-day Y2K vacation, courtesy of a New Zealand entrepreneur. By Lindsey Arent. [Wired News] Paul Allen Restores a Relic -- The other Microsoft billionaire bought a classic Seattle cinema and had it restored, just in time to host Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace. Chris Stamper reports from Seattle. [Wired News] Peep Cams? Not in My Backyard! -- A Florida city says a group of college women can''t stream videos of themselves taking showers to the Web because they live in a residential area. They say they live on the Net. By Oscar S. Cisneros. [Wired News] Peep in at Sandler Flick -- Adam Sandler makes a goofy animated film about a guy who sneaks peeks through women''s windows. Coming soon to a browser near you. Michael Stroud reports from Los Angeles. [Wired News] Phantom MPEG Hits Net -- A student in Ireland isn''t waiting for the European release of Phantom Menace. He pulled it off the Net. [Wired News]