Bits and megabytes...

The new Homeland Security Department is getting more Net-expertise. President Bush plans to appoint a new cybersecurity chief. This position replaces an old "Internet Czar" position held by a special adviser-most recently Richard Clarke. The appointee will focus on hackers, terrorists, and other miscreants who threaten the Internet.... Napster is back. Under new ownership, the former pirates' den of the Internet has gone straight. The name will be used for a struggling online music service known as Pressplay, which was originally built by Universal and Sony. Napster once boasted some 60 million users who traded song files before the startup was bankrupted by copyright lawsuits.... Microsoft's Steve Ballmer made a rare move: He decided to dump some of his company stock. The CEO, who runs the software giant under the watchful eye of chairman Bill Gates, rarely unloads parts of his portfolio. Mr. Ballmer called this "a personal financial matter" and said, "I remain as committed to Microsoft as ever."... Iraq's POWs and former Baath Party members are being digitally logged by U.S. officials. Interrogators are storing fingerprints and other biometric identifiers in special databases controlled by the FBI, CIA, Homeland Security, and other agencies. The data will be used to catch potential terrorists trying to sneak across the American border.... Hitachi wants to make laptops as speedy as desktop PCs with a new-generation hard drive. The new 60-gig model runs at 7,200 rpm, much faster than most portable drives. Yet it measures only 2.5 inches and consumes less battery power with more shock resistance than today's laptop storage. It debuts this summer in high-end IBM ThinkPads.... Bogus printer toner is becoming the biggest counterfeiting scam since fake Beanie Babies and Gucci purses clogged America's flea markets. The Imaging Supplies Coalition (which includes Xerox, IBM, and Toshiba) says one in 20 cartridges sold in the United States is a fake, according to a PC World report. It claims counterfeits even fake lot numbers and little security holograms used to spot fakes. Beware of cheap toner sold online.