secretary

Intelligence agency hosts kids' Web sites

It's never too early to know your organs of state. To this end, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence is hosting what it calls the Intelligence Agency Community Kids' Page.

The page offers roughly a dozen links to U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agency sites, where children can learn about the institutional layout and various skill sets of each department.

For example, the NSA offers a primer on cryptology, led by a collection of trademarked characters like Crypto Cat and Decipher Dog. Youngsters can race through timed puzzles and try their hand at photo analysis with … Read more

Commerce secretary nominee Gregg withdraws; Thompson in?

With Republican Senator Judd Gregg withdrawing his name as the nominee for secretary of the Department of Commerce Thursday, all eyes may turn to Symantec CEO John Thompson as a potential replacement.

Prior to Gregg's appointment, Thompson's name was cited in various publications as a potential nominee, given his strong technology background and his role as CEO of the largest security software company that has a global presence.

The role of the commerce secretary touches on industry and security; technology; intellectual property with the Patent and Trademark Office; and international trade.

Thompson has also held several fundraisers in … Read more

Report: Symantec CEO is top commerce secretary candidate

Updated 4:25 p.m. PST with reaction from tech industry representatives in Washington, D.C.

John Thompson, outgoing chief executive of security company Symantec, is being considered for the post of secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, according to a news wire report on Tuesday.

"He (Thompson) is the leading candidate," Reuters quoted an unidentified senior Democratic source as saying. "He is still being vetted."

Thompson, who announced in November that he would step down in April, held several fund-raisers for Obama at his Silicon Valley home.

"John has always kept his … Read more

Too limited to be useful

Designed to work in conjunction with the publisher's mobile phone data keeper, this desktop database creator offers little on its own. Mobile Secretary for Desktop's almost blank interface is designed to let the user handcraft all data fields and folders. Any user needing a Help manual will be sorely disappointed and quick to give up on this freeware app. Operation shouldn't vex experienced users, but they'll find the app too limiting compared with other common database programs.

Mobile Secretary for Desktop requires the Java Runtime Environment to operate, which means it doesn't actually install to … Read more