Book publishers take steps
to electronic distribution
1NEW YORK (AP) — Three
book publishers announced
electronic distribution ventures
on Tuesday, a sign the industry is
getting serious about making
books available digitally for per
sonal computers and handheld
devices.
Random House Inc. made best
selling author Michael Crichton’s
novel “Timeline” available for free
online at barnesandnoble.com but
only to users of handheld comput
ers with a Microsoft operating sys
tem.
Also teaming up with Microsoft
is Simon & Schuster Inc., which
saw about half a million down
loads when it released a short sto
ry by Stephen King online two
months ago. On Tuesday, it re
leased 15 Star Trek titles, saying
the books would appeal to the
“early adopters” of technology.
Separately, Time Warner said it
had formed an electronic publish
ing division. It will solicit manu
scripts for books and shorter
pieces at a Web site that the com
pany hopes to launch early next
year. The site will also sell online
versions of the books.
Two recent developments are
pushing the publishing industry
to move toward online distribu
tion, analysts say.
One is the success of King’s
electronic book, the first online
release by a big-name author,
which demonstrated there is a
market for e-books. The second is
the growing online exchange —
and piracy — of music, made easy
by file-sharing programs such as
Napster.
The new electronic books use
encryption technology from Mi
crosoft and Xerox aimed at pre
venting copying and printing.
fiffilllS I
SJ? ■ v^V.,
tmmmm
—
;
..
Western Kentucky town hit
by tornado Tuesday
2LEITCHFIELD, Ky. (AP) — A
storm that spawned three tor
nadoes ripped through this small
western Kentucky town Tuesday,
damaging homes and buildings,
knocking out power and injuring
at least 11 people.
The midafternoon storm hop
scotched across town, hitting an
industrial park and residential
neighborhoods. At least five facto
ries sustained heavy damage.
“Portions of buildings have
been pretty well demolished,”
said city public works director
Darrell Harrell.
The storm demolished one cor
ner of a factory that produces office
furniture, said William Thomason,
mayor of this town of 6,500. Em
ployees had about five minutes
warning and reached shelter be
fore the storm struck, he said.
Elsewhere in town, the storm
upended mobile homes, toppled
trees and power lines and dam
aged roofs on many houses.
Web ticket seller refunds
late or canceled flights
3 DALLAS (AP) — An Internet
travel agency is hoping to gen
erate ticket sales by offering par
tial refunds to airline passengers
whose flights are late or canceled,
whose luggage gets lost or who
don’t get the meal they wanted.
The offer was announced Tues
day by biztravel.com. It applies to
flights on American, Continental,
US Airways, British Airways and
Air France. Continental and
British Air are minority investors
in biztravel.
Biztravel promises $100 re
funds for flights that arrive more
than 30 minutes late, $200 for de
lays of an hour or more, and full
refunds for delays of more than
two hours or flight-day cancella
tions because of something other
• than mechanical problems.
It also promises smaller refunds
for lost luggage, for seat assign
ments that are not honored or if a
passenger doesn’t get his choice
of entree in first- or business class.
Customers will have 24 hours
to file by phone or over the Inter
net for their refunds.
Analysts called the promotion
as a huge gamble. They wondered
how the company will make
money with a refund offer far
more generous than those offered
by the airlines themselves.
Airlines rarely compensate trav
elers for weather or traffic-control
delays, though passengers who are
bumped from a flight are some
times given a free hotel room.
“It’s a pretty bold move,” said
Tom Parsons, editor of Best
fares.com, an online discount
travel agency. “When you get into
the busy summer season and the
airlines are packing those planes
pretty full, all it takes is one little
storm to put all kinds of delays
throughout the system.”
The man behind the promo
tion, Hal Rosenbluth, is chief ex
ecutive of Rosenbluth Interna
tional, a $4.5 billion travel agency,
which bought a majority interest
in biztravel last summer.
Up to 100 killed as ethnic
fighting rages in Nigeria
4 LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) —
Christians and Muslims
clashed for a second day Tuesday
in the northern city of Kaduna,
burning homes and places of wor
ship. Officials said the death toll
climbed to 100 despite a heavy
presence by security forces.
After the second day of fighting
in Kaduna, hundreds of residents
fled south, carrying their belong
ings in bundles on their heads.
Others took refuge in police and
army barracks as homes and
places of worship were torched
and went up in smoke, witnesses
said.
Kaduna State Governor Ahmed
Mohammed Makarfi imposed an
8 p.m. to 8 a.m. curfew in a bid to
contain violence, and an uneasy
calm returned to the city shortly
before the curfew took effect.
The fighting was a revival of bit
ter religious bloodletting touched
off in Kaduna in February by plans
to implement Islamic law, or
sharia, in some northern states. Up
to 2,000 died in the earlier fighting,
many of them in Kaduna.
The clashes broke out Monday
after some residents in a predomi
nantly Christian neighborhood
blamed Muslims for an earlier
killing of a local man, police com
missioner Mohammed Shehu
said. Armed with clubs, stones
and machetes, they attacked and
burned homes of Muslims, who
quickly launched reprisals.
UNIVERSITY
Part I: May 18, 25, June 1@ 7
May 20, 21,27, June 3@ 1
Part II: May 19, 20, 26, 27 &
ZZi June 2, 3 @7 - r>
r2M May 28 @1
UT Box Office: 346-4191
EMU Tickets: 346-4363
Hult Center- 682-5000
look into
OPE CjPCj)
Classifieds! 346-4343
P.O. Box3159, EugeneOR 97403
The Oregon Daily Emerald is published daily Mon
day through Friday during the school year and
Tuesday and Thursday during the summer by the
Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing Co. Inc., at the
University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon. A member
of the Associated Press, the Emerald operates inde
pendently of the University with offices in Suite 300
of the Erb Memorial Union. The Emerald is private
property. The unlawful removal or use of papers is
prosecutable by law.
NEWSROOM — (541) 546-5511
Editor in chief: Laura Cadiz
Managing Editor: jack Clifford
Community: Darren Freeman, editor. Andrew Adams, josh Ryneal,
reporters.
Freelance: Eric Pfeiffer, editor.
Higher Education: Ben Romano, editor Adam Jude, Serena Mark
strom, reporters
Perspectives: Bret Jacobson, Laura Lucas, editors. Jonathan Gruber,
Beata Mostafavi, Whit Sheppard, Mason West, columnists.
Pulse: Jessica Blanchard, editor. Rory Carroll, Joe Walsh, reporters.
Student Activities: Jeremy Lang, editor. Emily Gust, Simone Ripke,
Lisa Toth, reporters.
Sports: Mirjam Swanson, editor. Matt O’Neill, Scott Pesznecker, Jeff
Smith, reporters.
News Aide: Lorraine-Michelle Faust.
Copy: Monica Hande, Molly Egan, copy chiefs. Jonathan Allen,
Michael Kleckner, Tom Patterson, EricQualheim, Heather Rayhorn,
Jamie Thomas, copy editors.
Photo:Catharine Kendall,editor. Kevin Calame, Azle Malinao-AI
varez, Ryan Starkweather, photographers. Hiroshi Nakamura, Katie
Nesse, Tom Patterson, Lindsey Walker, photo technicians.
Design: Katie Nesse, editor. Katie Miller, Melissa O’Connell, Russ
Weller, designers. Bryan Dixon, Giovanni Salimena, illustrators.
On-line: Jake Ortman,editor. Timur Insepov, webmaster
ADVERTISING — (541) S46-S712
Becky Merchant, director. Melissa O'Connell, Van Nguyen, advertis
ing assistants. Rachelle Bowden, Doug Hentges, Nicole Hubbard,
Jesse Long, Adam Rice, Amy Ruppert, Hillary Shultz, Chad Verly,
Emily Wallace, Lisa Wood, advertising sales representatives.
CLASSIFIEDS — (S4l) 346-4343
Trina Shanaman, manager. Erin Gauthier, Lauren Howry, Tara
Rothermel, staff.
BUSINESS — (541) 346-SS12
Judy Riedl, general manager. Kathy Carbone, business supervisor.
Sarah Goracke, receptionist. Il-ju Chang, John Long, Sue Ryan,
Gretchen Simmons, distribution.
PRODUCTION — (541) 346-4381
Michele Ross, manager Tara Sloan, coordinator. Laura Lucas, Katie
Nesse, Melissa O’Connell, Laura Paz, Ross Ward,addesigners.