News Briefs:

CheckFree E-Bill is a web-based service which allows consumers to both receive and pay bills electronically through a personal computer. (Now if they can only figure out a way to eliminate bills!)

Information Technology Association of America warns in a report that one out of every 10 jobs requiring information technology skills is going unfilled due to the shortage of qualified workers. For a copy of "Help Wanted: The IT Workforce Gap," check out http://www.itaa.org

"Small processing fees" should never be involved when it comes to finding college money, warns the Federal Trade Commission, which recently prosecuted five scholarship organizations for scamming students.

And speaking of college money, check out FINAID at http://www.finaid.org/ which is run by Mark Kantrowitz, who's considered the top expert. For a database of over 180,000 private sector scholarships, see http://www.finaid.org/finaid/fastweb.html