Imagine being overseas and your identity being available for the taking–your nationality, your name, your passport number. Everything. That’s the fear of privacy and security specialists now that the State Department plans to issue “e-Passports” to American travelers beginning in late August. They’ll have radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and are meant to cut down on human error of immigration officials, speed the processing of visitors and safeguard against counterfeit passports. Yet critics are concerned that the security benefit of RFID technology, which combines silicon chips with antennas to make data accessible via radio waves, could be vastly outweighed by security threats to the passport holder.

You know we bring you all the latest news, all the important happenings in the tech world. Well, what could be more important than this? Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis are back. Yep. Tayla and that freak Ronin, Samantha Carter and that dude from Farscape. Plus, MacGyver might be back. Maybe we’ll even luck out and the chick who played Aeryn Sun will be back full time. Who knew she could be funny? For you geeks out there (and, if you’re reading this, that means you, bucko), go program your Tivo before it gets too late. It’s all happening tonight (SciFriday) on the Sci Fi network. Does anything else matter? Really, next to Stargate being back, does anything else matter? Yeah, okay, it could have been BSG (whimper)…

At a trendy bar filled with gamers and video game press, Microsoft unveiled its lineup of retro hits like “Pac-Man,” “Galaga” and “Frogger” as part of its new Xbox Live Arcade Wednesdays program. Under the program, Microsoft will be rolling out at least one new arcade-style game every Wednesday. The list of games will include established hits and new efforts by unknown game developers.

Palm announced it has forged a new relationship with Vodafone targeted at expanding the adoption of wireless push email in Europe. The Palm Treo smartphone that will result from this collaboration will represent an industry first by operating on Vodafone’s 3G/UMTS network and delivering the hallmark Palm experience on top of the Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system. The new Treo smartphone will be available first to Vodafone customers in multiple European countries, including the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy and Netherlands, before the end of the calendar year.

We interrupt your cell phone call with this important announcement: The government will soon be sending warnings of national emergencies on wireless phones, Web sites and hand-held computers. The new digital system will update the emergency alerts planned–but never used–during the Cold War in the event of a nuclear strike. More likely, these 21st-century technologies will carry warnings of natural disasters and terrorist attacks.

Adobe Systems joined Microsoft on “Patch Tuesday” and delivered fixes for two security flaws in the ubiquitous Adobe PDF reader software. The vulnerabilities affect Adobe’s Acrobat and Reader software for both the Windows operating system and Apple Computer’s Mac OS, Adobe said in two separate security advisories. If left unpatched, the flaws could put Windows and Mac users at risk of a cyberattack.

Palm has discretely released a stand-alone version of VersaMail 3.5 for all OS 5 Palm devices. Both Windows and Mac OS installers are now available for download from PalmGear. Note that VersaMail 3.5 is indended for use and installation with the Palm Treo 650 smartphone, TX handheld, and LifeDrive mobile manager only. No other Palm devices are supported. VersaMail 3.5.1 currently ships with the new Treo 700p.

Hack&Dev has released a new free screen whine treatment utility for Palm handhelds. Over time, some Palm models can develop a rather annoying, high-pitched hum when turned on. Most of the time this noise is unnoticeable, but some devices can get quite loud. According to Palm support, this is caused by the transflective TFT display amplifying the vibration of electronic components within the device. Palm claims this is “normal and expected behavior”, and does not provide repairs for products exhibiting the buzz. The utility from Hack&Dev is meant for Intel XScale based Palms (Tungsten T3, T5, LifeDrive and Palm TX).

Sony announced the launch of the new 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo. Sony Memory Stick media are available in capacities ranging from 128MB to 4GB depending on their format (Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, Memory Stick PRO High Speed and Memory Stick Micro) and are easily identifiable through a revitalized Sony packaging design, incorporating color coding for easy identification of the different format line-ups as well as the different capacity. In addition, all Memory Stick Duo and PRO Duo media now come complete with a standard size Memory Stick adapter to enable use with standard size Memory Stick compatible devices–as well as the Duo size compatible products.

Dell plans to announce a major pricing initiative for consumers and small business customers on Thursday, it said in a press release distributed Monday. Further details were not immediately available, but Ro Parra, senior vice president and general manager of Dell’s new Home and Small Business Group, will lead a conference call. Dell has been looking to jump-start its consumer business this year. Although enterprise customers account for 85 percent of its business, the company has sought ways to expand its presence among home users of technology.