TECHNOLOGYDo Not Store With Kryptonite

Addicted to portable electronics but hate adding to the 60 billion or so alkaline batteries that get tossed every year? New research from Israel may help ease the guilt. By replacing the standard manganese cathode with a compound called “super-iron,” Stuart Licht and his team squeezed up to 200 percent more energy from AAA-type cells. Super-iron can also boost the output of rechargeables and watch batteries, the researchers say. And when the stuff finally does end up in the landfill, it breaks down into harmless rust.

MUSICSinging the Blues

Last Tuesday, Microsoft entered the online music wars with Windows Media Audio, a secure music format aiming to replace MP3. Just one day later, hackers released a new program named unf—.exe that lets you capture the WMA audio stream on its way to the speakers and re-save it as an unprotected file. “This isn’t a [WMA] security issue,” claims Microsoft spokeswoman Sara Murphy. “It’s really an OS [operating system] issue.” And who makes the OS again? That’s right, Microsoft.

SITE SPECIFICWhen You Care to Send the Very E-Best

Lovers of schmaltz, take note: electronic greeting cards have arrived. Coming to an in-box near you, cards like this Blue Mountain Arts one help the occasion-impaired say anything. An overview:

Blue Mountain Artswww.bluemountain.com

LOOKS LIKE A 6-year-old’s art project. Pastels, lots of flowers, cute animals with big heads. WHAT’S THERE Horoscopes, sonnets and record-your-own voice messages AIMED AT Everyone. With 65% of the market, Blue Mountain is the Wal-Mart of e-greetings.

Yahoo! Greetingsgreetings.yahoo.com

LOOKS LIKE A graphics studio. Clean images, with professional art, photographs and cartoons. WHAT’S THERE The most commercial site, with tie-ins to brand names like Comedy Central’s ‘South Park’ AIMED AT Users who trust the Yahoo! brand name and the corporate partnerships that come with it

Activegramswww.activegrams.com

LOOKS LIKE Fun, quirky cartoons pinned to the wall of a doodler with a dark sense of humor WHAT’S THERE The usual, with a subversive twist. These aren’t your grandma’s Hallmark cards. AIMED AT Young, edgy customers who want to send interesting visuals with bite