Apple eyes iPod royalties

Apple Computer is seeking as much as 10% of wholesale costs from third-party iPod accessory vendors, reports CIO-Today.com.

In exchange, the vendors will have the right to use the Made for iPod logo certifying that an accessory has passed muster with Apple.

The program will help consumers choose iPod accessories that work properly with the digital music device, says Apple.

Apple will also provide guidelines and technical specification to vendors to develop their products.

More than 400 iPod accessories are on the market, including add-ons for turning the device into a portable voice recorder, laser pointer and flashlight.

Domestic Israel spy agency Shin Beth has developed a Web site to lure new recruits, reports AFP.

The Hebrew-language site offers employment in everything from intelligence to security to logistics. There are openings for students to work part-time on two-year contracts for at least 100 hours a month.

Israel`s overseas intelligence service Mossad launched a similar online recruitment drive last year.

IBM has developed technology to stop spam by identifying the Internet domain it comes from and can help spot online scams, reports PC World.

The technology, the Fair use of Unsolicited Commercial E-mail (FairUCE), is designed for its alphaWorks program.

IBM researchers acknowledge that FairUCE is not a fully blown anti-spam product, only an early version of technology that could one day be used in the marketplace.

FairUCE pulls the Internet Protocol address out of e-mail messages, then compares those against one or more databases of known spammers.