NTP Inc. has settled its wireless email push patent disputes with Research In Motion Ltd. and Good Technology Inc., but that doesn’t mean the licensing battle is over. NTP is in discussions with several other wireless email push players, according to attorneys for the Arlington, Va., patent holding company.

A thief recently walked into a University of California, Berkeley office and swiped a computer laptop containing the personal information of nearly 100,000 alumni, graduate students and past applicants, highlighting a continued lack of security that has increased society’s vulnerability to identity theft. University officials waited until Monday to announce the March 11 crime, hoping that police would be able to catch the thief and reclaim the computer. When that didn’t happen, the school publicized the theft to comply with a state law requiring consumers be notified whenever their Social Security numbers or other sensitive information have been breached.

U.S. physicians are five times as likely as general consumers to use handheld computers, but less than a third of physicians who have mobile electronic medical records actually use them. That’s the conclusion of a new report by Forrester Research. Fifty-seven percent of surveyed doctors reported using some sort of handheld computer, such as a PDA or tablet PC. Doctors were less likely to use such devices if they were women, older, surgeons, or employed at small practices.

At RoboGames, 650 participants compete in a number of categories, from combat to sumo. For each event, Robots must have different specialties, which take time for their builders to learn and hone. By combining sets of skills, robots can be programmed to react to completely new situations and physically respond. Ultimately, the goal is to create robots that can do more tasks that normally, only humans can do.

Thanks to a software upgrade, traders using the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s Galax-C handheld trading devices now can trade options on futures for any options contracts currently listed on CME Globex, the exchange’s electronic trading platform. Handheld trading was launched at the CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) in 1999, and by January 2004, about 31,000 contracts per day were being traded wirelessly. That number increased to 120,000 contracts per day in February 2005, nearly 5 percent of the CME Globex volume.

Suits and ties are back. So are hard copy resumes and thank you notes. As the job market recovers, IT job candidates are sobering up to the new realities of job hunting. Forget the flash — and stick with the firm handshake. In this market, everything old is newly appreciated.

The candy market’s best-known handheld device, the iconic Pez dispenser, is about to go digital. Under a recently granted licensing agreement with Pez Candy, gadget design company Lincoln West Studios will soon begin selling MP3 players modeled after the big-headed plastic treat sleeves. The Pez MP3 player will look exactly like a traditional Pez dispenser from at least two sides and will come in a variety of colors.

LandWare announced the availability of the latest update to Leonard Maltin’s 2005 Movie Guide for Palm and Windows Mobile handhelds and smartphones. Included in this update are over 100 new movies with full reviews, including all the 2004 Academy Award Winners, and a new “top list” of the most popular movies of the year 2000 as voted by over 100,000 regular movie-goers.

MCI has nearly doubled its global footprint of wireless Internet access by expanding an existing deal with Wi-Fi service provider Boingo Wireless. The new deal will help the carrier, which has 6,200 hot spots spread over 23 countries, add an additional 1,300 Wi-Fi access points in European and Asia-Pacific countries, and another 3,400 in the United States.

Microsoft’s MSN and Sprite launched a music site targeted at teens. The site, dubbed The Scenario, features work from 10 hip hop DJs, including Big Tigger, DJ Spooky and Tony Touch. People can listen to recommended songs and mixes from these DJs as music samples, as well as download full songs and mixes from MSN Music.