Safe Gadgets

In World in Conflict: Soviet Assault, "players take on the role of field commander, leading the era's most powerful military machines in the campaign to retake America's cities and suburbs."

The RTS gameplay features completely destructible 3D battlefields, aggressive team-based multiplayer action and a focus on fast, hard-hitting battles. This console edition has also been enhanced with additional content -- the entire World in Conflict: Soviet Assault expansion is included on the disc as well as the original World in Conflict game.

Source- http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/world-in-conflict-soviet-assault-ps3-xbox-360-red-menace-trailer

PS3 Laptop auction ends today, want to just remind you in case you've forgotten. Ben Heck's masterful machine is up for grabs to the highest bidder, and yes, 100% of the proceeds will go to National Cancer Coalition. Head over here for all the rules and regulations, and place your bid.

Source- http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/25/reminder-ps3-laptop-charity-auction-ends-today/

The number of Internet users in the Chinese countryside surged 127.7% last year, thanks to double-digit economic growth and fast expanding rural network construction, state media said Friday.

The number of rural Internet users, most of them boys in middle or high school, grew to 52.6 million in 2007, the Xinhua news agency said, citing the China Internet Network Information Centre, a government think-tank.

Due to lower incomes and less education in the countryside, rural users still only make up a relatively small proportion of China's total online population.

China now has 221 million people online, more than in the United States, according to recent reports in the local media.

Among rural residents who have yet to go online, 53.3% do not know how to use computers or the Internet, while 23.1% lack Internet facilities, the centre said.

Source- http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080425/tc_afp/lifestylechinainternetitusers;_ylt=Aj8BEAlYz1SpeWkJnxjohuwjtBAF

Still in Belgium—hurrah!—let us segue from sticky ponchos to stickiness of another kind. Notorious sexylady Tanya Devereaux says that she is turning virgin surgeon in order to divest any nerd of his cherry—provided that they support a free web. One of the terms and conditions states that the act must not last for more than 30 minutes.

No anal sex without prior negotiation. Condoms must be worn, unless the nerd-gin wishes to release his manfat on Tanya's body. No under-18s. Proof that the victimrgin supports net neutrality must be provided (a black tee-shirt with "I Support Net Neutrality" emblazoned on the front won't cut it, sorry.) Finally, Tanya "may deny service for hygiene reasons."

This is not the first time that Ms Devereaux has offered up her orifices for a good cause. Last year she put 40,000 blowjobs on the negotiating table when she ran for a seat in the Belgian senate, as a protest against other politicians' claims that they would create 400,000 jobs. Clearly she thought that sucking on a pencil would get voters putting a XXXX in her box.

Source- http://gizmodo.com/383944/sexy-lady-offers-to-harvest-virginity-of-net-neutrality+supporting-nerds-nsfw

Whether your passion is modding or playing the Xbox 360, these custom gadgets combine the best of both worlds, aside from the PC. Continue reading to see them all. Check all images:-


Want an easier way to increase your Gamerscore without having to put in hours of play time? Look no furthur than the xBot, an automated device that "utilizes two rotational solenoids driven by a TTL (Transistor to Transistor Logic) controller." If only this robot worked for all the Xbox 360 games, unlocking achievements would be as simple as the push of a button.


Xbox 360 owners who have a broken system(s) laying around rejoice; the console can be used not only as a tissue box alarm clock, but also as a functional PC. It features an Intel P4 processor (3.0-GHz), 512MB of memory, 60GB HDD, and 8 x USB ports. By cutting out the rear panels and using the original disc drive cover, this creation seamlessly integrates the Xbox 360 with PC goodness.


The SIXAXIS and Wiimote aren't the only controllers with integrated tilt functionality. In a nut shell, Ben Heck basically "stripped the innards from a PS3 controller, worked his PCB-bending magic, and somehow ported the functionality necessary for gaming on a PlayStation 3 into an Xbox 360 controller."

Xbox 360 Elite Laptop

Why settle for a standard Xbox 360 Elite when you could build a portable, Halo 3-inspired version? That's exactly what Ben Heck did. This masterpiece features a 17-inch widescreen LCD display, 120GB HDD, HDMI port, integrated speakers, keyboard, and two USB ports. Though not very practical, it would definitely come in handy when encountered with televisions sporting no A/V input (hotels, etc.).

Source- http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/feature-gamers-get-creative-with-the-xbox-360-build-custom-gadgets

The 3 years old social networking phenomenon Facebook, worth more than $15 billion by many estimates, got a good deal on going global.

Its users around the world are translating Facebook's visible framework into nearly two dozen languages — for free — aiding the company's aggressive expansion to better serve the 60% of its 69 million users who live outside the United States.

The company says it's using the wisdom of crowds to produce versions of site guidelines — especially terms specific to Facebook — that are in tune with local cultures.

"We thought it'd be cool," said Javier Olivan, international manager at Facebook, based in Palo Alto, Calif. "Our goal would be to hopefully have one day everybody on the planet on Facebook."

Coolness aside, and many users are embracing the idea, other social networks aren't "crowdsourcing" translation. The move is generating mounting criticism online, where some users question whether amateurs can produce good translations. Critics complain of sloppiness and skimping, even as Facebook says it is improving service in an innovative way.

The concept of collaborative translation is familiar in open-source programming communities. But Facebook's effort — as it builds sites in Japanese, Turkish, Chinese, Portuguese, Swedish and Dutch to join versions in Spanish, French and German that launched this year — is among the highest-profile attempts to harness users' energy to do work traditionally handled by professionals.

The Spanish-language version has taken a particular beating for grammatical, spelling and usage problems throughout.

Ana B. Torres, a 25-year-old professional translator in Madrid, Spain, called the translation "extremely poor," citing "outrageous spelling mistakes" such as "ase" instead of "hace" (for "makes" or "does") and usage of the word "lenguaje" for "language" rather than the correct "idioma."

Other critics say Facebook just wants free labor.

Valentin Macias, 29, a Californian who teaches English in Seoul, South Korea, has volunteered in the past to translate for the nonprofit Internet encyclopedia Wikipedia but said he won't do it for Facebook.

"(Wikipedia is) an altruistic, charitable, information-sharing, donation-supported cause," Macias told The Associated Press in a Facebook message. "Facebook is not. Therefore, people should not be tricked into donating their time and energy to a multimillion-dollar company so that the company can make millions more — at least not without some type of compensation."

Facebook points out that it has spent considerable resources building the translation program. Olivan said it's not soaking users but including them in the growth of the network — and possibly attracting new ones.

"If the goal is to save money, we're doing the wrong thing, because we are basically spending our most valuable asset, which is engineering time," he said.

He said that Facebook relishes being different from competitors and that users are helping the company produce versions in numerous languages as quickly as possible.

Just one-fifth of the world's Internet population actively manages profiles on a social network, said David Jones, vice president of global marketing for Friendster Inc., which has recently shifted its focus to capitalize on its strength in Southeast Asia.

"It's still a bit of a land grab," he said. "So there's plenty of growth to be had in the world, and we're focused on that, and certainly other social networks I'm sure are as well."

Friendster recently launched a beta version in Vietnamese, adding to its lineup of versions in Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Indonesian. It plans to keep introducing a new language every month or two.

Setting the pace, however, is industry leader MySpace. The News Corp. subsidiary has 200 million registered users worldwide and 29 country-specific and regional sites and more on the way.

Its global push, which began in early 2006, appears to be paying off. Between June 2006 and June 2007, its number visitors worldwide age 15 and older jumped 72% to 114.1 million, according to Internet research firm comScore Inc.

In the same period, however, Facebook's global traffic surged 270% to 52.2 million users, according to comScore — even though it had yet to launch its first foreign-language site.

As it enters each market, MySpace hires a dedicated team, said Travis Katz, international managing director. Contractors perform the initial translation, which the local MySpace team tweaks to ensure it fits the market, he said.

"The translation in and of itself is not very expensive," Katz said. "The thing that's challenging is getting the cultural aspects right and making sure that the site is culturally relevant and doesn't feel like an invader from Silicon Valley landed."

Friendster's Jones said his company also uses third-party translators.

"As interesting as it might be to get your users to chip in and help out on that, we could do it faster ourselves and very consistently, quite frankly, across the language, across the entire site," Jones said.

More than 100,000 users have installed Facebook's translation application. Nearly 10,000 helped translate the French, Spanish and German sites — the Spanish version in less than four weeks and the German one in two weeks.

The process involves translating a glossary of basic Facebook terms, translating text strings throughout the site, voting on each translation and then "testing and verification."

Some users, like Murat Odabasi of London, are spending hours each day translating Facebook. Responsible for 14,910 winning words and 1,938 winning phrases, Odabasi held the No. 2 spot among 391 translators on the Turkish leaderboard as of Wednesday.

Odabasi, 24, a software developer and native Turkish speaker, said the volunteer arrangement is good for users as well as Facebook.

"We come up with the words and phrases that will ... eventually become a part of the Turkish language itself," he said in an e-mail in English. "It feels good to be creating something that will in time be seen and used by millions of people."

Collaborative translation is an increasingly important tool for businesses, said Renato Beninatto with the Massachusetts consulting firm Common Sense Advisory. But he said companies may need professional services to finalize translations.

"The traditional wisdom is that if you have fewer translators, you generate a better product," said Beninatto, also a spokesman for the Globalization & Localization Association.

If managed well, however, crowdsourcing can result in a good translation, he said.

Among the hottest debates so far has been over "poke" — Facebook's term for giving someone a playful nudge. In Spanish, it became "dar un toque." In French, "faire un signe." And in German, "anstupsen."

Japanese translators couldn't find an equivalent so they decided to go with the original English.

Source- http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Facebook/photo//080418/481/4e4ca191e8e14d0d8d06c3f0c1a55174//s:/ap/20080419/ap_on_hi_te/translating_facebook;_ylt=AkRoPCiwY6p0AvMRn0U3pMpk24cA

Unlike its predecessors, the "Xbox 360 version of Unreal Tournament 3 will have split-screen play for online, local versus, and co-op as well as five new maps, two exclusive characters and all of the Epic-created DLC the other versions have seen."

Source- http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/unreal-tournament-3-xbox-360-gameplay-footage

Asus's bigger, badder Eee PC would be getting an early launch next month in Asia but it looks like the US won't have to wait very long either. Crave's Asus sources are telling them it'll launch stateside on May 12 for $549. That's definitely a bit more than the long-rumored $500 pricepoint.

You're getting a pretty significant spec and comfort upgrade for the money—but breaking the $500 mark pushes it past super cheap, and very possibly out of the category that the original Eee helped to create. So tell you what you guys think about it....

Source- http://gizmodo.com/381768/asus-eee-pc-900-hits-us-may-12-for-549

Microsoft Research is expecting not, as it's already working towards integrating force-sensing technology that will enable gestures to twist on-screen imagery without crafting UMPCs out of flexible material. Essentially, the gurus behind the idea feel that implementing said tech would "turn an otherwise passive component that just holds the device together into an active input surface."

In the future, it's likely that auditory cues would enable users to know when they've applied enough pressure to cause a change, and of course, they expect it to work hand-in-hand with existing human-computer interfaces. Yeah, who needs keypads these days, anyway? Share your comments....

Source- http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/19/microsoft-adds-twist-to-handhelds-with-force-sensing-technology/

Midway provides us with a first look at their upcoming Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe mashup for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms.

Source- http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/mortal-kombat-vs-dc-universe-xbox-360-ps3-debut-trailer

Some days before when we last checked in on super shady Mac cloner Psystar's gridskipping ways, they'd supposedly somehow managed to land a $6 million pad—a little fishy, given their brief history. A ZDNet reader on the ground got up close, reporting that there's definite activity at the location, though no hard confirmation it's Psystar that's the busy bee.

More importantly, Psystar claims they're "up and running" and have started shipping orders placed the week of April 7, with orders from last week going out on April 21 from their new shop.

Source-http://gizmodo.com/381819/latest-in-psystar-saga-mac-clones-supposedly-shipping-right-now-%252B-new-facility-up-close

There's a clip-on display for gaming on-the-go made for basically every console out there, but for whatever reason, Sony's PlayStation 3 just doesn't lend itself to being the perfect candidate the way Nintendo's Wii does. Who knows, maybe it's that curvaceous design or something.

Anyway, Clearvision is hoping that you don't much care how unsightly your console becomes when strapping its PS3 gaming monitor on, which adds a 7-inch LCD, a pair of speakers and little else. Unfortunately for those actually interested in picking one up, it seems you'll have to put in an inquiry with one Shenzhen Madcow Digital Technology Co., Ltd.

Source- http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/19/clearvisions-clip-on-display-makes-your-playstation-3-weep/

Why Nintendo's releasing a new wired controller after they discontinued the wonderful wireless WaveBird is unknown to us, but Japan will be able to get a brand new white gamepad for about 2000 yen, or $20 this month.

Like most things Nintendo, it'll take a few months to get to the States (if it even does). Looking at the sales numbers of Smash Bros. Brawl makes it seem likely that it will.

Source- http://gizmodo.com/377807/nintendo-releasing-new-white-gamecube-controller

The Dumb Little Man blog posts a condensed wealth of tips and tactics for getting yourself up and at 'em, including a tip that might make you reconsider that toast-and-coffee morning routine. Guest-poster Alex Shalman notes that eating a bigger breakfast gives you energy that burns off all day, while a lighter meal at night has its own benefits:

Eating like a pauper, meaning small light meals, in the evening allows us to go to sleep on an empty stomach. If your body is functioning normally, and you don't have stomach ulcers, going to sleep on a mostly empty stomach will allow you to sleep better. This nightly fast allows your body to take its focus away from digestion and put it towards repair and rejuvenation of the body's cells.

Check out our Top 7 Ways to Sleep Smarter and Better for more eating-for-sleep tips. How do you slot your food and resting hours for maximum energy and rest? Let gadgets watch people know other details..

Source- http://lifehacker.com/377752/eat-heavy-at-morning-light-at-night-to-sleep-better

Microsoft announces the availability of the Legendary Map Pack for Halo 3, set for launch on April 15th.

I can't promise these 27 screen shots of the new Legendary Map Pack will convince you to drop the Microsoft Points on new multiplayer arenas, but I'm pretty sure fans of scaffolding and planks will be pretty darn excited.

Source- http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/halo-3-to-get-legendary-map-pack-next-week

It turns out that last week when Bill Gates was quoted as saying that the release for Windows 7 would come “sometime in the next year or so” he was not entirely accurate.

According to a Microsoft spokesperson, Windows 7 is still in the “planning stages” and is on track for a January 2010 release. Further comments speculated that Bill Gates may have been referring to early trial versions, but not the general release.

So it looks like Windows 7 is going to remain on the original schedule, which means all you Vista haters will have to continue to use XP for a little while longer or just learn to deal.

Source- http://www.gadgetell.com/tech/comment/windows-7-not-coming-in-one-year-bill-gates-just-loosing-his-mind/

At least four Indonesian firms providing Internet services have blocked access to the YouTube Web site for carrying a Dutch lawmaker's film that accuses the Koran of inciting violence, an information ministry official said on Tuesday.

The move follows a government ban on broadcasts of the film by Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch anti-immigration Freedom Party, which alternates images of the September 11, 2001 attacks and other Islamist bombings with quotations from the Koran.

Titled "Fitna," a Koranic term sometimes translated as "strife," it also shows an image of the Prophet Mohammad primed to explode and says the rising number of Muslims in Europe threatens democratic values.

Sukemi, the information ministry spokesman, said telecommunication firms PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom), PT Telekomunikasi Selular (Telkomsel) and PT Exelcomindo Pratama Tbk, and Internet provider Indonet had blocked access to YouTube.

Telekom had also blocked social networking site MySpace and is still looking for other sites and blogs that have posted the film to block them, Eddy Kurnia, vice-president for public and marketing communication, said in a statement.

Wilders' film urges Muslims to tear out "hate-filled" verses from the Koran and starts and ends with a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad with a bomb under his turban, accompanied by a ticking sound.

The film has sparked protests in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation and a former Dutch colony.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has urged his predominantly Muslim nation not to use violence in protests against the film.

The Dutch government has distanced itself from Wilders' views, and the Dutch upper house of parliament has condemned what it called efforts to denigrate Islam and promote hatred.

Source- http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080408/wr_nm/indonesia_youtube_dc;_ylt=Aixf2y19iVyWxvRsQDyJHpwjtBAF

Microsoft Corp said on Tuesday it has posted online more than 14,000 pages of preliminary versions of technical documentation for underlying software code in its software programs.

The underlying code, or protocols, are built into Microsoft Office 2007, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Microsoft Exchange Server 2007.

In February, the world's biggest software maker, faced with regulatory concerns in Europe and customers struggling with complex computer systems, said it would publish information so rival programs can work better with Windows, Office and other major products.

With Tuesday's disclosures, Microsoft said it will have published more than 44,000 pages of underlying code documentation to which it had been committed.

Source- http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080408/wr_nm/microsoft_protocols_dc;_ylt=Au4TGyZrXSsJjFHxlQmkSFEjtBAF

What would it be like if you could combine the best of an Xbox 360 and the best of the Nintendo Wii? Gamers may soon find out if the latest rumors are true.

Citing anonymous sources, MTV News reported Microsoft will soon launch a Wii controller clone for the Xbox 360. It's part of a reported strategy to cash in on Nintendo's market differentiation.

"[Microsoft] marketing just want it so they can match the Wii point for point," MTV's source said. "The biggest parts of their marketing materials outline how easy it would be for third parties to port their Wii games to the 360."

Microsoft's Avatar Concept

According to MTV, the controller isn't much different in functionality or design from Nintendo's Wii remote, but comes with four face buttons, an analog stick and a microphone. There are also plans for the controller to interact with the Xbox Live Vision Camera, the source said.

In addition to designing the interface for the controller, Rare, the Microsoft-owned studio that developed Perfect Dark Zero, has also fleshed out Microsoft's take on Nintendo's Mii avatars, the source said.

Microsoft's Miis are designed to be associated with any game that incorporates the controller and create a standard look for the games. The avatars aren't tied to a controller when in use, as Xbox Live profiles currently are, MTV reported. Microsoft is reportedly hoping to release the controller before the end of the year, despite development delays.

Testing Gaming Theories

Yankee Group analyst Mike Goodman said a Wii-like controller seems like a good idea for Microsoft. To Nintendo's credit, he said, the Japanese firm identified a market need and exploited it. The Wii controller is indeed Nintendo's differentiator, making it easier for a novice or a nongamer to play games, Goodman said.

"If Microsoft develops a controller like this, it will test a couple of theories," he said. "Microsoft has done a good job in positioning itself for casual gamers. In some ways Microsoft has a better lineup for casual gamers than Wii does. Theoretically, the drawback has always been the input device. You've had to use the traditional game controller. It will be interesting to see, if Microsoft does roll out this controller, if it improves the value proposition for the casual market."

For the core market, the Wii remote controller does not work as well as the traditional game pad, Goodman said. Nintendo's Wii has done well with games like Wii Sports, but has not performed as well with traditional games like Madden and other third-party titles.

"This controller would be giving consumers an option for what they want to use," Goodman said. "But it sets up an interesting proposition for developers, because now the question becomes which input device do you develop for?"

Source- http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20080408/bs_nf/59164;_ylt=At26FufdMMjyOFUcAFB..jcjtBAF

Apparently, when CERN isn't colliding particles (and ripping massive holes in the space-time continuum), it's busy working on a new "internet" which will be 10,000 times faster than our current version.

The project -- known as "the grid" -- is built atop completely fiber optic networks, and utilizes modern routing centers. By keeping traffic out of our current phone and data systems, the researchers have been able to achieve speeds heretofore unseen on previous networks. The system connects from CERN to 11 centers around the globe, and will be switched on when the Large Hadron Collider is activated, on what the group is calling "Red Button Day."

Project heads believe a network with this speed will lead to all sorts of futuristic innovations -- like true cloud computing, holographic video conferencing, and really, really fast pirating of the entire Nightmare on Elm Street series.

Source- http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/07/cern-creates-a-new-super-fast-internet-invites-tons-of-people-t/

Apple's iPhone is in short supply at many of its U.S. stores, which could indicate a component shortage or a clearing of shelves for a new model, analysts said on Wednesday.

Bernstein Research said its iPhone supply checks showed that the multifunction device appeared to be out of stock at Apple's U.S. stores and its online store, which could lead to lost sales of up to 40,000 units a week in the event of a prolonged shortage.

Sacconaghi said the impact so far was limited, estimating the average Apple store was out of stock for only a few days during the March quarter, and that supplies appeared to be fine at stores of wireless carrier partner AT&T Inc.

"In our view, the most likely explanation for this unusual situation is a production shortfall, possibly due to a component shortage," analyst Toni Sacconaghi wrote in a note.

Apple declined to confirm if there was an iPhone shortage, but spokesman Steve Dowling said: "We are working to replenish iPhone supplies as quickly as we can and our stores continue to receive shipments almost every day."

Recent reports of iPhone shortages have fueled speculation that Apple is readying a new version of the device that will run on faster 3G wireless networks.

Apple could introduce a new iPhone in June or July, about three months earlier than previously expected, said American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu, citing checks with unidentified supply chain sources.

"What gives us higher conviction in the accelerated timetable is that iPhone inventory levels appear fairly lean, which is consistent with Apple's tendency to wind down inventory ahead of an update," Wu wrote in a note.

Wu forecast Apple would sell 11 million phones by the end of 2008, 10% more than the company's stated goal, thanks to a new model, wider adoption among businesses, and price cuts.

Apple shares fell 1.4% to $147.38 in early afternoon trading on Nasdaq. The stock is up 19% over the past month but is still nearly 25% below its level three months ago amid concerns that a slowing economy will dampen consumer spending.
Source- http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080402/wr_nm/apple_iphone_dc;_ylt=Auu398nP9FzpR_fXsh4EuLojtBAF

The DualShock 3 rumbling PS3 controller might have had an April 15 release date on it, but Sony says that units will be shipping out this week to hit stores by next week. If you see it in stores, buy it. Here's a list of games that will support rumble, with an asterisk after the ones that need an update to do so.

Update: SteTo at MTV just reported that the non-rumbling motion-sensing SIXAXIS has been discontinued.

- SCEA - Formula One Championship Edition* (PS3) - SCEA - MotorStorm* (PS3) - SCEA - PAIN (PSN) - SCEA - High Velocity Bowling (PSN) - SCEA - MLB 08: The Show (PS3) - SCEA - Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3) - SCEA - Resistance: Fall of Man* (PS3) - SCEA - Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (PS3) - SCEA - Go! Sports Ski* (PSN) - SCEA - Folklore* (PS3) - SCEA - Heavenly Sword* (PS3) - SCEA - Warhawk* (PSN / PS3) - SCEA - Super Stardust HD* (PSN) - SCEA - Snakeball (PSN) - SCEA - Toy Home (PSN) - SCEA - PSOne Emulation (PSN) - SCEA - Piyotama (PSN) - SCEA - PixelJunk Monsters (PSN) - SCEA - Blast Factor* (PSN) * Sega - Condemned 2: Bloodshot (PS3) * Ubisoft - Lost: Via Domus (PS3) * Ubisoft - Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2* (PS3) * EA - Burnout Paradise (PS3) * KOEI - Dynasty Warriors 6 (PS3) * Capcom - Devil May Cry 4 (PS3) * Atari - Dragon Ball Z Burst Limit (PS3) * Disney Interactive - Turok (PS3)

Source- http://gizmodo.com/375158/playstation-3s-dualshock-3-controller-coming-next-week-sixaxis-discontinued

Fees for using two of the most common suffixes for Internet addresses are going up for a second consecutive year.

VeriSign Inc., the company that keeps the master list of domain names ending in ".com" and ".net," said that effective Oct. 1, the annual fee for ".com" names will go up 7% to $6.86 and the ".net" fee will increase 10% to $4.23.

The fees are what VeriSign charges companies that sell domain names on its behalf, and those charges are generally incorporated into the prices that companies, groups and individuals ultimately pay to register names.

VeriSign could make up to $37 million a year from the increase, with some 75 million ".com" names and 11 million ".net" names in use. The price hike, however, applies only at renewal and to new registrations, and many resellers offer discounts on multiyear deals.

VeriSign recently announced plans to further improve security and increase capacity for the servers that keep track of ".com" and ".net" names. Computers from around the world check them continually to find out how to reach ".com" and ".net" Web sites and pass along e-mail.

The price hike, disclosed in a letter to the Internet's key oversight agency, does not require any regulatory approval.
Source- http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080402/ap_on_hi_te/techbit_domain_name_fee;_ylt=AokKcZWmkfA3c4sfUsiCS3wjtBAF