The Buzz: December 17, 2001

GAO Hackers Protesting War

Hackers who defaced the Web site of the U.S. General Accounting Office last week said they were protesting the U.S. war in Afghanistan and the plight of Palestinians and Kashmiris.

A group claiming to be part of a large hacker organization known as the Alqaeda Muslim Alliance compromised a server belonging to the GAO.

"They can bomb and destroy a whole country or a whole nation, which is actually killing people who cant even afford to buy new clothes for themselves, and we cant even protest? ... It wont harm humans, it wont be as bad as killing the innocent. It shouldnt be considered as a terrorism act," said someone claiming to be one of the attackers in an unsigned response to an e-mail.

WWF in Palm of Your Hand

The World Wrestling Federation is going wireless.

The entertainment company is teaming with chip maker Qualcomm to develop applications that will give wrestling fans access to such things as games, instant messaging, interactive trivia and real-time polling via wireless devices.

Users will also be able to personalize their ring tones to sound the noises and music heard at WWF matches.

The applications will use Qualcomms Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless, or BREW, a thin environment in handsets.

Yahoo Offers to Buy HotJobs

Yahoo is making a bid to buy HotJobs, the online job site that is already in an acquisition deal with Monster.com.

Yahoo is offering $436 million, or $10.50 per share, for HotJobs. In June, TMP, the parent company of Monster, offered $12.20 a share.

In a letter sent to HotJobs executives last week, Yahoo CEO Terry Semel said Yahoos deal was a better value for HotJobs shareholders and could get done more quickly because there would be fewer regulatory hurdles than with the TMP deal.