NewsScan Daily, 15 November 2004 ("Above The Fold")

NewsScan Daily, 15 November 2004 ("Above The Fold")
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"ABOVE THE FOLD"
        New Ad Service Tracks Surfing Habits, Maintains Privacy
        Telecommuting Takes Off at Tech Firms
        Universal and Snocap Make Music Together
        Hello, I'm a Dog Lover, Too!
        Four in Court Over SQL Theft

FEATURES
        Flash Card
        Honorary Subscriber: Emily Sartain

NEW AD SERVICE TRACKS SURFING HABITS, MAINTAINS PRIVACY
      Tacoda, based in New York, is touting its new online marketing 
service, which directs ads to Web site visitors based on their surfing 
history. No personal information is sought or collected -- AudienceMatch 
simply traces the path of a single computer through its network of 60 Web 
sites, using a cookie. "This is different than what DoubleClick was trying 
to do," says Tacoda CEO David Morgan. "This system uses no personally 
identifiable information, and no data is shared between publishers. Privacy 
is one of the biggest issues that will drive the success of this." Tacoda's 
Web network comprises 60 publishers that are visited by some 100 million 
people monthly, or about 75% of the U.S. Internet audience. Morgan compares 
AudienceMatch to Google's AdSense program, which allows marketers to bid 
for the right to position their text messages next to stories that have a 
related "theme." With AudienceMatch, however, advertisers bid not on 
keywords, but on preset groups, like "gadget geeks," or "car buyers." 
Gartner analyst Denise Garcia says AudienceMatch "enables advertisers to 
reach a lot more people with targeted ads, which, for them, is the next big 
wave." (New York Times 15 Nov 2004)
<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/15/technology/15ecom.html>

TELECOMMUTING TAKES OFF AT TECH FIRMS
      Thanks to better technology, such as collaborative software 
applications, a number of technology firms are giving more workers 
flexibility in how -- and where -- they do their jobs. When set up 
properly, telecommuting and flextime are good for both employers and 
workers, says Ellen Galinsky, president of the Families and Work Institute: 
"Providing flexibility isn't a perk. Flexible work (options) are part of 
effective companies." In fact, studies on telecommuting show that it 
increases workers' average productivity by 5% to 20%, says Jack Nilles, 
president of telecommuting consulting firm JALA International. "Most 
offices are dysfunctional. Interruptions are unbelievable," says Nilles, 
who adds that the number of people who work at least one day every couple 
of weeks away from the office is about 30 million this year, up 10% from 
last year. IBM is a case in point: In 2001, about a third of IBM employees 
worked outside the office at least some of the time. That figure has 
climbed to 42%, says Maria Ferris, manager of work/life and women's 
initiatives at Big Blue. Still, there are challenges to overcome: Top on 
the list is ensuring that company data isn't at risk when employees work 
from home, followed by convincing managers to supervise based on results 
rather than face-time, and ensuring that remote employees feel connected. 
(CNet News.com 15 Nov 2004)
<http://news.com.com/At+tech+firms%2C+time+again+for+flextime/2100-1022_3-5448994.html>

UNIVERSAL AND SNOCAP MAKE MUSIC TOGETHER
      Vivendi Universal has agreed to license its catalog of 150,000 songs 
to Snocap, a new venture headed up by Napster founder Shawn Fanning. It's 
unclear how Snocap's peer-to-peer service will work, but people close to 
the deal say one possibility is that the service would allow users to share 
a low-quality copy of a licensed song for free but would require a fee for 
access to a high-quality version. The other three big labels -- Warner 
Music, EMI Group and Sony BMG -- all are seeking ways to license legitimate 
copies of their songs to peer-to-peer network, but Universal's move marks 
the first such partnering deal. (Wall Street Journal 15 Nov 2004)
<http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110030801621473060,00.html> (sub req'd)

HELLO, I'M A DOG LOVER, TOO!
      Schmoozing at big corporate events can be painful for the socially 
challenged, but now there's the nTAG -- an electronic name tag that beams 
messages to fellow conventioneers like, "Hi, Jane, I like strawberry ice 
cream, too." The device uses infrared sensing and radio frequency 
identification to communicate with other tags and it lights up in the dark 
for those who do their networking at the bar. "People want a reason to 
interact," says nTAG inventor Rick Borovoy. "They need help. This gives 
them a powerful nudge in that direction." Meeting participants have given 
the nTAG high marks for being an icebreaker that helps them circulate 
beyond their usual pool of friends or colleagues, and meeting planners use 
the data collected to evaluate session popularity and exhibit attendance. 
(Boston Globe 15 Nov 2004)
http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2004/11/15/breaking_the_ice_20/

FOUR IN COURT OVER SQL THEFT
      Four former Microsoft employees have been charged with stealing $32 
million worth of software and selling it on the side. According to a 
complaint filed by Microsoft, the workers ordered software available to 
Microsoft employees for free to use for business purposes, then sold it to 
online software retailers. The complaint said the employees blocked 
managers from getting routine email notification that the workers were 
ordering the software. The software the four are accused of stealing 
included the SQL Server 2000, which normally sells for $15,000, and the SQL 
Enterprise Server 7.0, which sells for $29,000. (The Australian, 12 Nov 
2004) Rec'd from J. Lamp
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,11363324%5E15306%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html

*****

FLASH CARD
      "Art is not about thinking something up. It is the opposite -- 
getting something down." (Julia Cameron)

HONORARY SUBSCRIBER: EMILY SARTAIN
      Today's Honorary Subscriber is the artist and educator Emily Sartain 
(1841-1927), who was instrumental in elevating public appreciation of 
commercial art by her insistence that it should be judged by the same 
aesthetic principles as fine art.
      As principal of the Philadelphia School of Design for Women that 
Sarah Peter founded in 1848, she raised the standard of instruction at the 
school to the level of French academic training. Previously she had 
promoted the aesthetic value of commercial art in her position as art 
editor of the popular Philadelphia magazine called Our Continent. Besides 
her own excellent background in the fine arts, her voice carried authority 
by virtue of critical acclaim for her own works, such as the medal she 
received at Philadelphia's 1876 Centennial Exposition for her portrait of 
Mlle. Del Sarte, a painting initially accepted by the prestigious Paris 
Salon. In 1881 and again in 1883 she won the Mary Smith Prize for best 
picture by a woman at the annual Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts exhibit.
      Born in Philadelphia on March 17, 1841, Sartain was the daughter of 
John Sartain, a well-known artist, engraver, and publisher.  She began the 
study of art under her father, who taught her the mezzotint technique of 
which he was then the outstanding exponent and of which she was reputedly 
the only woman practitioner. From 1864 to 1870 she studied at the 
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and for the next four years she worked 
in the Paris studio of Evariste Luminais. Two winters spent copying 
paintings in Spanish and Italian galleries rounded out her training.
      She was the U.S. delegate to international congresses on commercial 
art instruction in Paris in 1900 and in Berne in 1904. Additionally, she 
was a founder of the New Century Club in Philadelphia in 1877 and of the 
Plastic Club for women artists, of which she was president in 1899-1903 and 
1904-1905. She retired as principal of the School of Design for Women in 
1920 and lived thereafter in California and Europe.  She died in 
Philadelphia on June 17, 1927.

[To find a library copy of a biography of Sartain by Rochelle Rocchi, visit 
RLG's RedLightGreen.com: 
<http://www.redlightgreen.com/ucwprod/servlet/ucw.servlets.UCWController?ACTION=EDITION&WORKID=22325366&> 
-- or to purchase a copy of "Learning to See: Historical Perspective on 
Modern/Popular Commercial Arts," go to: 
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0879721839/newsscancom/ref=nosim> 
Note: We donate all revenue from our book recommendations to adult literacy 
programs.]

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