Web Shorts

Napster initiates first-ever mass firing
Fallen music-trading service Napster has laid off 16 people, or 15 percent of its workforce. The firings mark the company’s first-ever layoffs, and they happen as Napster struggles to transition from being a rebellious file-swap site to a law-abiding online music vendor. Napster was more or less shut down after the five major record labels sued it for facilitating copyright violations. The company ceased file-sharing operations entirely in July as it began remaking itself into a fee-based service that pays royalties to artists and labels. With the backing of Bertelsmann, which has licensed some Napster technology for its own music service, the service is supposed to launch this fall. But that hasn’t happened yet, and the layoffs suggest that the relaunch is not going smoothly and could be delayed yet again.

Computer virus preys on interest in bin Laden
A new internet worm named "Toal" is wreaking havoc by piquing people’s interest with subject lines referencing terrorist leader Osama bin Laden. The latest web vermin comes in an email with an attachment called binladen_brasil.exe. Computers using older versions of Microsoft's Outlook and Outlook Express may become infected when the message is viewed, as the virus takes advantage of a security flaw in Internet Explorer that automatically launches the message. Once run, the worm logs on to the address book of AOL's ICQ chat network and propagates itself to the emails it gathers. The bug may also create a "back door" on infected computers by renaming the hard drive "BinLaden" and making it available to anyone on the internet. The virus will be sent in emails that bear bin Laden-related subject messages in various languages. Subjects include "Bin Laden toillete paper," "Sadam hussein & BinLaden IN LOVE," and "Is Osama Bin Laden BAD-LOVED?" among others.

Sega: Pay to play games on our site
Electronic game company Sega next month will start charging people to play games on its web sites. For $9.95 a month, users will have unlimited access to its multiplayer video games. Sega’s web site, SegaNet, allows people who have the now-discontinued Sega Dreamcast video-game machine to play against one another online. The site will also accommodate other companies’ game consoles. Once SegaNet starts charging, it will also offer some new features such as instant messaging, game tournaments and member-profile web pages. About 300,000 people play Sega’s most popular online game, “Phantasy Star Online.” Because the game runs on a separate computer server, these players will not have to pay the new fee.

Beauty e-commerce site Gloss.com is resurrected
Online beauty boutique Gloss.com is back in the saddle after a prolonged absence. The site, which is the online storefront for several different major cosmetics brands, has been beset by months of delays and tests. Gloss.com, which is a joint venture of Estée Lauder, Chanel and Clarins, will peddle some 5,000 different beauty products, including cosmetics and lotions. Seven of Estée Lauder’s brands will be available, in addition to those from Chanel and Clarins. Estée Lauder originally conceived Gloss.com as a way for the company to reduce its dependence on department stores for distribution. While the new Gloss.com will serve that function, industry observers note that it could serve mostly as a marketing tool. The cosmetics colossus acquired Gloss.com in Spring 2000; its relaunch has been in the cards ever since.

Register launches online fee-based TV-style series
U.K. technology-news web site The Register has launched an original, television-style series, “Salmon Days.” Comedy series abound on the web, so the unusual thing about this one is that The Register plans to charge for it. Viewers must cough up 20p, or roughly 30 cents, every time they view the show. “Salmon Days” is based on The Register’s “Bastard Operator From Hell” fictional weekly column. The show is a satirical take on the life and work of techies. Each episode will be about five minutes long. The Register, which gets about 1.6 million visitors a month, predicts that people will be willing to pay, based on the popularity of the “Bastard Operator From Hell” columns.

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