From CNet: "CMGI chief executive David Wetherell said Monday that the company will take a $90 million restructuring charge and will sell or shut down its online entertainment service, iCast, because of heavy capital costs and an unclear date for profitability.

"Wetherell, speaking during the conference call, said the company would seek buyers for iCast as it 'winds down its operations.' If CMGI does not find a buyer, it will close the business by the end of January.

"Workers at iCast's offices in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco, about 75 employees in all, were laid off Monday, according to iCast spokesman Stuart Zakim. The estimated 150 staff members at iCast's Woburn, Mass., headquarters will stay on longer.

"iCast.com will be maintained for the next 30 days with content updated regularly, said Zakim, who added that the company will honor all its partnership commitments. The 'wind down' will probably take at least two months. 'In 60 days, iCast will cease to exist,' Zakim said...

"Shares of CMGI closed slightly higher Tuesday despite downgrades from Wall Street analysts over uncertainty about the company's future."

Read the CNet story here.

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From the Industry Standard's David Sims: "Web designers were practically ecstatic that the 'bad interface' issue of the Palm Beach butterfly ballot was getting so much attention. After all, for years they've been trying to get mildly distracted readers to click in the right place.

"Salon's Scott Rosenberg rounded up comments by a few of the gurus (here), including Jakob Neilsen, who attributed the confusion to 'the attempt to map a two-column set of labels onto a one-column action area.'"

From Rosenburg's Salon.com piece: "But, of course, it's the nature of design flaws that they introduce confusion around the margins of information, precisely where people aren't paying close attention. It's easy to look at a ballot, once you've been prepped to be on the alert for potential problems, and say, after the fact, 'This doesn't look too confusing.' It's when you're not on guard -- when you're just repeating a process that you've done many times before (for instance, elderly Palm Beach voters casting ballots) -- that a design flaw can lead you astray."

From DanBricklin.com: "We know from lots of examples of usability studies that errors on tasks arising from 'dumb mistakes' are very common, with rates of easily 5%, 10%, or more. Elections, even important ones like for President of the United States, are often decided by much slimmer margins than that.

"We should address this problem not just for the current election in Florida. In some areas usability should be given as much concern as voter and official fraud because it probably has a greater effect...

"I can tell you, regular people get tripped up by the simplest things. It is sobering to observe a test where a user repeatedly asks 'How do I go to the next step?' and you want to scream 'Click the "Next" button!' that they just somehow can't see. You thought the button was obvious, but, as anyone who's missed a highway exit learns, in the real world what's obvious to one person who knows the answer is not always obvious to a newcomer.

"People who are making fun of the voters who made mistakes should think about the obvious mistakes they've made in their lives. If 'most people' never have problems doing simple things why were there so many flashing 12:00s on old VCRs?"

Read Dan Bricklin (a software developer at Trellix Corp.) here.

...

... In the past few days in RAIN (here and here), we've addressed the possibility that apparent voter confusion in Palm Beach County, Florida, may have been the result of bad user interface design of the presidential election ballot. Regardless of the political issues, we can all probably agree that effective and clear user interface is critical, whether it be in the voting booth, or say, on a radio station's website. The importance of the careful design and testing of the "environment" in which visitors or customers navigate, participate, and shop can't be overstressed. Whether or not the election went one way or the other due to these matters is a discussion for another time and place. But it's in the interest of presenting more ideas on the importance and ramifications of user interface design that we point you to these articles. ...

Graphic design from Palm Beach County...
Finally, check out the ModernHumorist website (here). They call Palm Beach County the "graphic design capital of America," and have gathered and posted some actual local examples of really flawed design. Hilarious! For instance, if posed with the little restroom facility challenge below (your mind possibly clouded by a strained bladder!), how would choose?





From InternetNews.com: "EyeWonder Inc. this week introduces an online advertising campaign for HookMedia utilizing video and audio streaming in banner advertisements.

"EyeWonder's streaming video and audio is delivered instantly, eliminating the end-user need to download a player or plug-ins. The company's Java-based technology is platform and browser independent with a small decoder size, allowing for the delivery of streaming video and audio regardless of bandwidth or connection speed.

"HookMedia, Inc. selected top Internet sites on which to feature the debut of EyeWonder's interactive technology. The campaign features instant video and audio streaming within banner advertisements that will appear on sites including individual.com, Lycos.com, hotwired.com and webmonkey.com...

"EyeWonder streams over today's narrowband connections to the Internet, delivering a Java applet that takes up less than 25K for both audio and video. The applet is delivered at connection speeds as low as 28kbps, reaching more than 90 percent of Internet users.

Read the story here.

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MP3.com to pay Universal $53.4 MM
From TheStandard.com: "Online music service MP3.com will pay Universal Music Group $53.4 million for infringing on copyrights held by the world's largest recording company...

"While San Diego-based MP3.com has vowed to appeal a September ruling by Judge Jed Rakoff who found the Internet startup willfully violated Universal copyrights, Tuesday's decision brings some closure to the contentious case.

"MP3.com has spent an estimated $100 million on settling with the other four major recording groups and securing licenses to their copyrighted material.

"Rakoff had originally penalized MP3.com $25,000 per infringed disc. Both sides disputed the number of discs involved; Universal claimed there were 10,000 infringements, while MP3.com said the number was 4,700.

"Still, the amount is significantly lower than the $118 million MP3.com would have had to pay even if the court accepted its estimate."

Read the entire story here.



GlobalMedia to distribute Akoo's Kima
Akoo.com today announced it has signed a non-exclusive agreement with GlobalMedia.com to distribute Akoo's Kima, the wireless Internet audio device.

From Businesswire.com: "Akoo.com's Kima allows users to wirelessly access Internet audio -- including Internet radio, MP3 files and digital music -- away from their computers and on any stereo or portable radio up to 1,000 feet away.

"Under the terms of the agreement, all of GlobalMedia.com's broadcast properties, including the broadcast properties from the acquisition of 112 Magnitude contracts and 212 OnRadio contracts, will feature Kima in their online music stores. Additional cross-promotional and advertising efforts are also part of the agreement."



House of Blues launches new stations
From Businesswire.com: "House of Blues, the definitive home of live music, is introducing two new Internet radio stations on the Sonic Net platform. Both stations, "Noise Reduction" and "70s a Go Go," are programmed by House of Blues...

These two new stations are in addition to four HOB stations that are currently available on Sonic Net...

In addition to the stations listed above, House of Blues also programs eight stations that are only available at the House of Blues website and its affiliated sites.

Kurt Hanson is working from the Strategic Media Research offices today. To reach him, please call 312 726-8300 x. 4401, or e-mail him here.

Nov. 28-Dec. 1	Radio Ink Internet Conference, Santa Clara, CA,
February 1-4, 2001	RAB 2001. Details coming soon.