Golf comes to cell phones; carriers see games’ profits

Bored with playing Snake and chasing the black dot on your cell phone? Try a combat game called Gladiator. Try a round of golf instead.

No longer a simple, gimmick feature, cell phone games have become serious business for wireless carriers.

Eyeing a potential new revenue jackpot, many major U.S. carriers are expanding their wireless gaming options. Analysts think a new technology known as the BREW platform will help stir up the market by providing for more entertaining games.

The platform, developed and launched by Qualcomm Inc. a year ago, lays a software foundation that makes it easy for carriers to build game portfolios. The package also makes for flexible billing customers can pay by the download, pay to play, or get monthly subscriptions.

Interference more likely as wireless devices increase

Gary Oglesby thought it was odd that his wireless network at WorldCom Inc. got unusually congested early each morning and again just after quitting time.

Turns out a security gate at a parking lot just outside his group’s offices shared the network’s frequency. To reduce interference, Oglesby had to move an antenna away from the window.

As more people go wireless to access the Internet, it is only a matter of time before these kinds of conflicts abound.

“The frequency is getting a lot more crowded,” said Oglesby, a managing engineer with WorldCom’s Internet architecture and technology group near Washington, D.C.

Congestion is likely to become more noticeable as devices proliferate. Cahners In-Stat Group projects that Wi-Fi sales will hit $5.2 billion by 2005, up from $2.4 billion this year and $660 million in 2000.

Biometrics puts better security at users’ fingertips

For years, government agencies and private companies have turned to science fiction-inspired technology to protect their most precious secrets. Today, home PC users have access to the same kind of high-tech protection for their notebook and desktop computers.

For about $100, people who want to keep personal information personal or more easily manage passwords on multiple Web sites can get help at the touch of a finger or more precisely, a fingerprint.

Several manufacturers offer fingerprint readers that guard access to computers. Some are stand-alone units, while others are built into mice, PC cards and other dual-purpose gadgets.

New Netscape browser offers revised features

Long after Microsoft’s Internet Explorer won the browser wars, AOL’s Netscape Communications division is launching another volley in its battle to stay relevant.

Netscape 7, now available for downloading as a preview release, is more defensive than offensive: It fixes the bugs and the speed of its predecessor while adding features others already have.

That’s not to say that Netscape has nothing new to offer. Like no other browser can, it closely integrates with services and content from the AOL Time Warner conglomerate, including instant messaging.

The Netscape 7.0 preview, a free download that works on Windows, Mac and Linux systems, looks like version 6.0 but fixes bugs, starts faster and renders pages more accurately than its predecessor. A final version is expected this summer.