Egghead.com cans a third of its staff
Internet software retailer Egghead.com has laid off 178 members of its staff, which accounts for roughly 29 percent of its workforce. The company claims that the layoffs will reduce its expenses enough to help it reach profitability this year. Twenty-one workers in the company’s Menlo Park headquarters lost their jobs, as did 157 workers in the company’s Vancouver, Wash., branch. This marks the company’s second round of mass firings in the span of about one month – it laid off 12 percent of its workforce, or 77 people, on March 5. At about the same time, its senior vice president of sales stepped down. The company lost $62.2 million for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31.

On this web site, Pig Brother is watching
Reality TV and European agriculture are hot topics these days. So Austrian farmers have capitalized on both issues by launching a web site called Pig Brother that webcasts, 24-7, the deeds of Juri, Lulu and Junior, among others --all porcine residents of a pigsty. The site, www.pig-brother.at, is a venture of the Austrian Young Farmers’ Association. None of the pigs will win millions or get voted out of the sty, however. Pig Brother is an attempt to drum up some good PR for European animal husbandry, which is plagued by fears about mad cow disease and the foot-and-mouth epidemic. Pig Brother’s underlying goal is to convince activists that conditions on farms are neither inhumane nor environmentally destructive. So in addition to showing the pigs rooting, sleeping, rutting and eating, the site is packed with agricultural FAQs aimed at squeamish city folk. The site is in German, but curious English speakers can plug the URL into any online translator.

 At last, a site for the lonely hearted
People often try to sell themselves or their souls on eBay -- but the auction site forbids that. With LoveBid.com, lonely hearts can bid on or sell romance. The founders of the auction-style personal-ad site say they intend to introduce an element of fun into the tedious task of scanning the personals. Romance seekers can either post their photos online and wait for beaux to bid or actively place bids on members who have put themselves up "for sale." Bidders try to prove their interest by outbidding other suitors. But a high bid does not obligate a seller to date the buyer. The service has listings for gay and straight men and women, and for people who want friends and pen pals. As of Friday afternoon, the site had just 291 members, who come from all over the world.

Webcaster sues to broadcast McVeigh execution
 Tampa, Fla., webcaster Entertainment Network has sued the government for permission to webcast the execution of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. Entertainment Network, which runs Voyeurdorm.com, says that the American people have a right to observe McVeigh’s death by lethal injection. McVeigh’s bombing, regarded as the most heinous terrorist act ever to take place on American soil, killed 168 people and gutted a federal building in Oklahoma City. Entertainment Network complains that prison officials at the Terre Haute, Ind., federal prison where McVeigh’s life will end won’t let them place a webcam in the death chamber. As a result, the company is seeking a restraining order and injunctions against the prison warden, the head of the federal prison system, and U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft. If the company wins the right to webcast the execution, it will charge $1.95 to watch McVeigh die.

New.net will promote new domain name suffixes
A startup called New.net has forged deals with software companies that will advance its new internet domain name suffixes, including .kids, .xxx and .travel. Under the agreements, the software companies will include a browser plug-in with their software that will make it possible for users to access the new domains. The companies, GoZilla, iMesh and BearShare, offer popular free software applications. The deal will make web sites that use the domain names visible to 20 million additional people. Currently, about 16 million people can access the new domains through ISPs EarthLink, Excite@Home and NetZero. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers does not sanction the new domain names, which has led experts to question the viability of New.net’s enterprise.

April 9, 2001 © 2001 Media Life


Send to a Friend| Printer-Friendly Version
Cover Page | Contact Us