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Inc. Technology readers react to articles from Inc. Technology #1, 1999, including "Sharer Beware," by Thea Singer and "Looking for Mr. Site," by Mie-Yun Lee.

Music to Dreese's Ears

Your recent cover story [" Sharer Beware," by Thea Singer, 1999, No. 1], on data sharing in the retail- music industry, was first-rate. The net-net, I gather, is that Newbury Comics CEO Mike Dreese wants a two-week window during which he can break new talent without having to share that data with Wal-Mart and other mindless box pushers. I can't say for sure whether it would work, but the practice of selling (or giving away) "delayed data," usually 20 minutes old, has been standard in the financial-services industry for a long time.

One gets the impression that SoundScan has take-it-or-leave-it bargaining power, but the emerging trend is to price information according to what it's worth.

Also, it would be straight-forward of SoundScan to hire an impartial statistical-analysis firm to look at the leading and lagging sales of various bands to determine which outlets are generating the valuable data, since those are the signals that the labels and rackjobbers are paying for. Then if Wal-Mart started posting leading-edge indicator sales of hot new groups, its data value would go up accordingly.

Frank W. Sudia
Partner
Secure Investments LLC
New York City

Lip Disservice

You've probably heard this before, but at least an "equal-opportunity mouth" would have been appropriate for your cover illustration. I've had confidential assignments all of my career, and I'd have to say that the people who've crossed my business path who've had the most difficulty keeping a secret were not necessarily female.

Phyllis M. Whittington
Administrative Assistant
Consolidated Freightways Corp.
Portland, Oreg.

Site Specifics

" Looking for Mr. Site," by Mie-Yun Lee [1999, No. 1], is loaded with great ideas but leaves out some criteria for crafting an effective Web site:

• Don't keep me waiting. Some sites are so loaded with clever graphics that the viewer may sit for most of a minute looking at a blank screen. Design the site so that the viewer is reading while the graphics are downloading.

• Watch the games. Programs running in Java or ActiveX can enliven a Web site--or kill it. Don't overdo the goodies.

• Careful with the colors. When you fine-tune a Web page, you are seeing colors generated by the analog signals that your video board is sending to your monitor. Viewers may have a different system that will convert those commands into other colors.

Harry Pottol
Sunnyvale, Calif.

I was very disappointed with your story " Looking for Mr. Site." After looking at P.W. Campbell's site, it's obvious that the company found Mr. Wrong. The site lacks any design whatsoever. Next time you do a story about Web design, make sure the finished product demonstrates competence. Otherwise, you do your readers a disservice.

Bill Donabedian
President
Active Inc.
Cincinnati

Crossed-Wires Department
A number of readers wrote to tell us that they couldn't find the article on digital modems that we listed on the cover of our last issue. The article, " It Takes the Cake," appeared on page 85. We apologize for any confusion. We will be running a more in-depth story on digital modems in the September issue of Inc. Technology.

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