In Brief

By Lev Grossman

GEEK GRUB Already a cult figure among geeks for his Dilbert comic strip about office life in a high-tech world, cartoonist Scott Adams has decided to capitalize on his fame by creating the Dilberito. It's an all-in-one microwaveable meal-in-a-pocket aimed at the laptop-and-modem crowd. Bland but basically edible, the Dilberito comes in four flavors, all vegetarian and all stuffed with vitamins and protein. Is the Dilberito for everyone? "Some people care about efficiency," Adams says. "Some people don't. We'll get them last."

THE UNDERDOG SNAPS BACK The Netscape browser may be on only 40% of all PCs now (in contrast to the 90% Microsoft's is on), but don't count it out just yet. Released last week, Netscape 6.0 is chockablock with handy features like instant messaging, an automatic language translator and an all-in-one mailbox that lets you view your AOL and Web mail in one place. But the coolest feature is My Sidebar, a window that opens next to the browser to give you a quick view of your stock portfolio, customized news and weather. The browser will also be included in AOL's upcoming web appliances.

THE SKY IS FALLING Iridium was the world's first truly global communications system, providing wireless phone service anywhere on Earth via an orbiting network of satellites. When the service didn't catch on, the company went bankrupt, and Iridium announced it would allow all 66 satellites, launched at a cost of $5 billion, to burn up in the sky. Now a group of enterprising technophiles called Save Our Satellites is attempting to buy the satellites, on the ground that they constitute one of history's greatest engineering feats. If you want to help raise funds, sign up at saveiridium.com

--By Lev Grossman