Help!

THERE'S NO SHORTAGE OF TECH NEWS out there. The Internet is lousy with computer news sites, most of which parrot the same stories. 

I'm here to report news you won't find on the other sites. I'm always on the lookout for unusual, funny and amazing new developments in technology that don't get the press they should. And you can help! 

Here's how you can help me make the Mike's List a better newsletter: 1) Send me stories, links, rumors, gossip and other tidbits when you hear about them; 2) if ever I cover a story that you've seen elsewhere, tell me where you saw it!; and 3) share the Mike's List newsletter with people you know who might be interested - the more subscribers I have, the more eyes and ears will be on the lookout for hot news. 

Dial-A-Dog
Two computer-game companies said this week that they're working on "Wireless Pets" - virtual animals that live on the Internet and are cared for via WAP phones - which they'll make available later this year. The first version of Wireless Pets includes an alien, a cat, a dog, a dinosaur and other creatures. Like the Tomogochi craze from a few years ago, you "adopt" Wireless Pets, then care for them by phone. If you neglect them, they die. Now THAT'S entertainment!

Island Getting Rich From 'TV'
Ever heard of the South Pacific nation of Tuvalu? Neither had I. But now the country, which has a population of just 10,000 (roughly equal to the population of the U.S. 101 in Silicon Valley between Sunnyvale and Palo Alto at rush hour) is putting itself on the dot-com map by selling domain names that end in the island's country code: .tv. A U.S. company called DotTV is selling the domain names for Tuvalu. The nation will earn more than $50 million over the next 10 years. The government of Tuvalu also owns 20% of DotTV. Some of the domain names are worth more than others. For example, the company reportedly sold the URL "www.free.tv" for a cool $100,000. 

Cam Watch
Sick of those boring web cams? Here's one that features some very arresting images: The Maricopa County Jail Cam. Four cameras let you watch perps get printed, searched and booked - live. 

This Just In: PCs Stress You Out
A new study from ICL shows one out of every eight people surveyed find PC failure more stressful than being dumped by a partner. The study also showed that one out of four of the respondents waste between 30 minutes and an hour waiting for slow computers. (For this they had to do a study?)

Mickey Mouse Phones
If you get annoyed by the sound of people's cell phones ringing with those annoying, electronic versions of "Ode to Joy," "Piano Concerto" and "Grande Valse" make sure you don't go to Japan. It's even worse there. NTT DoCoMo's i-Mode subscribers can sign up to download a new Disney song every day into their phones, which they can play any time or use as the ring. i-Mode is the most widely use wireless data service anywhere, with 10 million users in Japan. 

Pill Takes 'Incredible Journey'
An Israeli company has created a "video pill," which tapes its journey through the stomach and intestines of patients. The inch-long M2A Swallowable Imaging Capsule also features a flashing headlight, battery and microprocessor. Rather than recording video, the pill is actually a camera and transmitter; it zaps digital video to a recorder on the outside of the patient's body. Once the capsule completes its miraculous voyage, it has to be fished out of the toilet. The pill is currently being tested and could become available to doctors early next year for about $300 each. 

Student Uses Talkabout Instead of Talking
In the latest shameless technology publicity stunt an 18-year-old swing-dancing college student named Brett Banfe has taken a vow of silence, promising to not speak for a year. He'll communicate only with a Motorola Talkabout T900 Personal Interactive Communicator, which is a fancy two-way pager with a keyboard. It's all part of Motorola's apparent belief that the world would be a better place if everyone would just shut up and buy a pager. 

Nannies Get Stock Options
Here in Silicon Valley, good help is hard to find. Burger flippers make $15 an hour. Every building has huge, permanent "Help Wanted" signs. And some businesses hire anyone who walks in the door. The local paper recently featured a story about a nanny who was offered a job by a Silicon Valley venture capitalist for $48,000 per year, a health-club membership and global first-class travel - an offer she rejected. But once the deal was sweetened with an undisclosed number of stock options from one of the companies backed by the V.C.'s firm, she accepted.

Wacky Web Site of the Week
eCRUSH is a web site that unites shy people who secretly like each other. Here's how it works. You register, and give the name and e-mail address of a person you secretly admire. That person gets an anonymous note, inviting them to - what else? - register and list all the people *they* have a crush on. If you're on the list of crushees, you're notified so you can proceed without caution.

Follow-Up
In the last issue of the Mike's List newsletter, I invited subscribers with web sites to send me links. Well here they are! If you'd like to get YOUR web site featured, drop me a line at [email protected].