NATION

NATION
Laptops' dollar salessurge over desktops'
NEW YORK -- Laptop computers for the first time have surged ahead of traditional, bulkier desktop computers in U.S. retail dollar sales, apparently driven by price, convenience and new services such as wireless Internet access.
In May, U.S. retail sales of laptop computers accounted for more than 54 percent of the nearly $500 million dollars spent on personal computers bought in stores, said NPD Group, a retail sales tracking service in Port Washington, N.Y. Over the past three and a half years, laptops have more than doubled their percentage of total retail PC sales dollars.
There actually are three desktop PC models sold for every laptop that is purchased, but the higher prices for laptops tends to skew the dollar sales comparison in favor of the portables.
Battle of the hackers
WASHINGTON -- A battle among hackers erupted on the Internet Sunday as some factions disrupted a loosely coordinated "contest" among other groups trying to vandalize thousands of Web sites around the world.
There were no reports of vandalism involving flagship Internet sites most consumers would recognize, a testament to improved online security over the past decade inside large corporations, government agencies and organizations. Some of the relatively unknown Web sites vandalized were converted into reporting mechanisms for identifying other hacked sites.
From wire reports