White House welcomes first blogger to briefing
Bloggers may have lost their outsider status after yesterday. Garrett M. Graff, who writes the web log Fishbowl D.C., became quite probably the first blogger to cover the White House daily press briefing. It took Graff a week to secure the pass. He decided to try for one after the controversy erupted over who deserves White House credentials. It started when Talon News reporter Jeff Gannon, whose real name is James Guckert, asked a question during a news conference last month. The now-defunct online news site was associated with the web site GOPUSA, and bloggers jumped on Guckert and the White House over the former’s question, which included a reference to Democrats “who seem to have divorced themselves from reality.” White House press secretary Scott McClellan said he thought the 23-year-old Graff was the first blogger to get such credentials. Said Graff on his blog, “All-in-all it was a very surreal day--anti-climatic almost even. Something similar happened to bloggers attending the conventions last year: There was a big to-do beforehand and then their writing all seemed sort of pedestrian after all the hype. They were the biggest news they came across.”

Brits wonder how new 'Dr. Who' got on the web
No matter how much the entertainment industry tries to guard its products, bootleggers always seem to get a hold of them. This time around it's the BBC that wants to know how a new episode of British TV sci-fi series "Doctor Who" was leaked on the internet. One of the 13 new 45-minute episodes of the classic show has posted in advance of its premiere. In the series, Christopher Eccleston stars as the time-traveling hero, and former pop star Billie Piper is his sidekick. The leaked clips show Piper's character working in a London department store when it comes under attack by evil aliens, the Autons. The Doctor defeats the creatures despite the fact that they take the form of plastic household objects. Right now the leak is linked to BBC’s co-production partner, Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

Yahoo goes mobile with hand-held game tools
Nintendo and Sony aren’t the only companies giving video game fans portable options. Yahoo now has technology to make its web-based parlor and card games available on mobile devices. Yahoo will integrate technology from New Jersey-based Stadeon, which it recently purchased, to permit multiplayer games across multiple platforms. That means someone on a cell phone could play a real-time game against another player on a cell phone or computer. Yahoo has the most gaming traffic of any web site. The company claims 12 million Americans used the feature in January. Currently, six games are available for Verizon Wireless customers, but Yahoo hopes to bring them to other major U.S. mobile carriers.

Online ingenuity: Self-diagnosing at home
And we once thought at-home pregnancy tests were advanced. Online startup companies have begun marketing home tests that can detect various ailments, some as serious as cancer. The simple, inexpensive tests usually just require a cotton swab inside the cheek, and the results are available online. That could cut out the doctor visits and the hefty bills that come with those tests, although the trustworthiness of such offers remains to be determined. An advantage to consumers is the test results are not documented on official medical histories, which insurance companies can access. San Francisco-based testing company DNA Direct offers genetic testing a la carte with prices ranging from $199 to $380, and doctors and genetic counselors are available for patients. The company plans to offer breast cancer tests for about $300 through Myriad Genetics, which launched its tests in 1996. Myriad's predictive medicine revenues have grown from $8.8 million in 2000 to $43 million through the 12 months that ended June 30.