[MyAppleMenu] Nov 21, 2000

[applesurf at myapplemenu.comapplesurf]

MyAppleMenu Newsletter

== AppleSurf (Top Stories) ==============

Should Apple Think Retail? (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/0,5859,2656390,00.html>
There's the question of how thin the company can stretch itself in the endless quest for vertical integration.

Resellers Skeptical, Curious Of Apple Retail Stores (MacCentral)
<http://www.maccentral.com/news/0011/21.resellers.shtml>
"For Apple to make this a reality and not even tell local dealers near Palo Alto it is coming, is just plain unpressional. Period."

Netscape Goes Bonkers (Joel On Software)
<http://joel.editthispage.com/stories/storyReader$257>
The biggest single complaint about Netscape 6.0 revolves around the way they reimplemented every UI widget from scratch. Indeed, they felt that this was the only way to get cross platform compatibility.

== AppleSurf (News) ==============

Heavyweight Lawsuit Looms For Apple (Macworld UK)
<http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/main_news.cfm?NewsID=2133>
Apple is facing a legal challenge from a seven-strong industry group claiming the company has infringed a video-compression-technology copyright.

Should Apple Think Retail? (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/0,5859,2656390,00.html>
There's the question of how thin the company can stretch itself in the endless quest for vertical integration.

Resellers Skeptical, Curious Of Apple Retail Stores (MacCentral)
<http://www.maccentral.com/news/0011/21.resellers.shtml>
"For Apple to make this a reality and not even tell local dealers near Palo Alto it is coming, is just plain unpressional. Period."

Where Next For Corel? (The Register)
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/1/14873.html>
A smarter bet for Corel could be to go back to basics, and capitalise on its foothold in the creative content business.

Apple Slices Price Of Dual-Processor PowerMacs (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-3786715.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
Apple Computer launched another set of rebates Monday, this time shaving up to $500 off the cost of its dual-processor PowerMacs.

Apple Ad Plays Off Florida Ballot Design (MacCentral)
<http://www.maccentral.com/news/0011/20.ballot.shtml>
You gotta love the folks who design Apple ads.

Mac OS X Could Take Apple 'Places It's Never Been' (MacCentral)
<http://www.maccentral.com/news/0011/20.m4internet.shtml>
"Most Unix workstations aren't fun to use. iMacs running Mac OS X are."

== AppleSurf (Opinions) ==============

No Intel On OS X Part I: Economics 101 (The Mac Observer)
<http://www.macobserver.com/editorial/2000/11/21.1.shtml>
For the fact of the matter is that Apple makes its money selling hardware.

Chip Chat (MacEdition)
<http://www.macedition.com/op/op_chips_20001120.shtml>
To many of us, it looks as though Motorola is pushing Apple over the edge and into the abyss, hence the hue and cry for Apple to seek processing power from another vendor.

OS X Is A Big, Scary, Unknown Beast (Low End Mac)
<http://www.lowendmac.com/techref/2k1121.html>
Why does OS X scare me? Probably most importantly, it's still very unfamiliar.

Fud! (osOpinion)
<http://www.osopinion.com/Opinions/Sibn/Sibn2/>
"The Mac press is spreading FUD on the subject of Mac OS X. Members of the PC press seem enthusiastic about the OS, and isn't that exactly what Mac supporters have been waiting for? But as soon as PCers start gushing about it and Apple seems to be looked at with renewed interest from the real world, then the Mac Press starts dumping on OS X with uninformed and sometimes just plain unresearched nonsense." 

The Windows 9x Witch Is Dead (Almost!) (eWEEK)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/0,5859,2654028,00.html>
Microsoft's move to the NT code base is important, but this doesn't mean that the company faces clear sailing; there's a huge installed base of Windows 98 out there, and the transition will not be without challenges.

Resellers Should Embrace Apple's Retail Foray (Right On Mac!)
<http://rightonmac.com/articles/00/11/20-applestores.html>
Increasing sales channels and boosting the Mac's profile through an Apple store will be a boon for all existing resellers. Some sales might be lost in the near term. But in the long run, everyone will benefit.

== AppleSurf (Reviews) ==============

LaCie PocketDrive (allUSB)
<http://www.allusb.com/reviews/PocketDrive18.html>
The PocketDrive excels in the details. From the well conceived power supply to the anti-skid outer covering, the PocketDrive includes many small features that make the user's life simpler.

Netscape 6 (MacWEEK.com)
<http://macweek.zdnet.com/2000/11/19/1121netscape6.html>
I'm disappointed that AOL chose to release as final a product that is so obviously not a final release.

Netscape Goes Bonkers (Joel On Software)
<http://joel.editthispage.com/stories/storyReader$257>
The biggest single complaint about Netscape 6.0 revolves around the way they reimplemented every UI widget from scratch. Indeed, they felt that this was the only way to get cross platform compatibility.

Browsing Made Beautiful: IE 5 Refines Tools (Los Angeles Times)
<http://www.latimes.com/business/cutting/20001116/t000110165.html>
If you aren't using Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 as your Web browser, you should be. IE 5 is as near-perfect a browser as you'll find on the Mac or Windows.

How Steve Jobs Came Back From The Brink (Knight Ridder Newspapers)
<http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/SeattleTimes.woa/wa/gotoArticle?zsection_id=268448455&text_only=0&slug=book20&document_id=134248368>
Although "Second Coming" focuses on the life of one extraordinary, visionary and quirky person, it also offers valuable insights into the culture of the computer industry, the kinds of beyond-the-envelope thinkers who are involved in it and how they are changing the way the world works.

Optical Mice (MacNN)
<http://reviews.macnn.com/reviews/mouse/mouse.phtml>
Because the core technology is identical, performance of each mouse is very similar. What distinguishes one from the other are the design, plastics, buttons, software, and price.

== The Wintel Empire (Top Stories) ==============

P4, What's It Good For? (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/special/stories/sc/desktops/reviews/0,12492,2655741,00.html>
So what does all this mean to you? Well, on the most widely-used applications, probably very little.

Intel Swats Pentium 4 Bug (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2656725,00.html>
Chip maker delivers a fix before processor ships in PCs, tweaking a glitch related to how the chip handles certain instructions.

Intel's Pentium 4 Had Early Glitch (Bloomberg)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-3793674.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
Intel's early shipments of its Pentium 4 chips contained the wrong piece of software code, though it was corrected before the chips reached consumers, according to a report citing the company.

The Fallacy Of Moore's Law (Upside)
<http://www.upside.com/Richard_Brandt/39f9e0022.html>
We want software that actually runs on our machines. We want computers that do not crash every time we hit the left mouse button too quickly. I'm telling you, we're mad as hell and we're not going to reboot anymore!

Pentium 4 Fails To Outpace Athlon, Testers Say (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-3783641.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
Intel's initial Pentium 4 chips released Monday don't provide a real performance advantage and are often slower when compared with the fastest Athlon chips from Advanced Micro Devices, benchmark testers and analysts say.

Pentium 4 Computers Hit The Market (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-3731393.html>
But just as important as new PCs is that Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel, along with several review sites, will release performance benchmarks for the chip that should keep analysts and computer enthusiasts busy for weeks.

== The Wintel Empire (News) ==============

European Commission To Merge Microsoft Investigation (New York Times)
<http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/21/technology/22CND-MSOFT.html>
A consolidation would not only speed up the legal process, it would also strengthen the commission's case against Microsoft, competition lawyers said.

P4, What's It Good For? (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/special/stories/sc/desktops/reviews/0,12492,2655741,00.html>
So what does all this mean to you? Well, on the most widely-used applications, probably very little.

Intel Swats Pentium 4 Bug (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2656725,00.html>
Chip maker delivers a fix before processor ships in PCs, tweaking a glitch related to how the chip handles certain instructions.

Who Will Be King Of The Game Consoles? (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-3785988.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
As Sony scrambles to ramp up production of the PlayStation 2, two new combatants in the game console wars are wooing software developers to lay the groundwork for an assault on the market next year.

Microsoft Bids For Entry Into Games Market (Meta Group)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-201-3799579-0.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..sf>
While at first glance Microsoft's entry into the game market with its Xbox console may seem to have little significance for corporate users, the Xbox will have important, long-term implications for the corporate and home pervasive-computing environments and for organizations marketing to those environments.

"Romeo And Juliet" Bug Spreads On Outlook (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-3802629.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
A new virus dubbed "Romeo and Juliet" is attacking computers in Europe and America, but it is not as dangerous as the romance-themed "I Love You" virus, say computer experts.

Early P4s Contained Software Glitch (Wall Street Journal)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2656400,00.html>
Intel admitted that early shipments of its brand new Pentium 4 chip contained the wrong software code forcing a recall of those chips.

Intel's Pentium 4 Had Early Glitch (Bloomberg)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-3793674.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
Intel's early shipments of its Pentium 4 chips contained the wrong piece of software code, though it was corrected before the chips reached consumers, according to a report citing the company.

The Fallacy Of Moore's Law (Upside)
<http://www.upside.com/Richard_Brandt/39f9e0022.html>
We want software that actually runs on our machines. We want computers that do not crash every time we hit the left mouse button too quickly. I'm telling you, we're mad as hell and we're not going to reboot anymore!

MS Responds To Europe's Move To Open Up Windows (The Register)
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/1/14868.html>
Microsoft filed its response to the European Commission's "statement of objections" on Friday, but both sides are keeping quiet about the case, and it could be months before the next move is made.

Browsing Made Beautiful: IE 5 Refines Tools (Los Angeles Times)
<http://www.latimes.com/business/cutting/20001116/t000110165.html>
If you aren't using Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 as your Web browser, you should be. IE 5 is as near-perfect a browser as you'll find on the Mac or Windows.

The Windows 9x Witch Is Dead (Almost!) (eWEEK)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/0,5859,2654028,00.html>
Microsoft's move to the NT code base is important, but this doesn't mean that the company faces clear sailing; there's a huge installed base of Windows 98 out there, and the transition will not be without challenges.

Microsoft Dot 'Nyet' (PC Magazine)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/0,5859,2655779,00.html>
Does anyone actually understand the Microsoft .Net initiative? The idea came out of left field at Microsoft, and it's surrounded by too many buzzwords and generalities to be understandable. I'm not sure the company knows what .Net is, or whether anybody does. It has the onerous smell of failure about it already.

Pentium 4: New Chip, Old Problems (ZDNet UK)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2655957,00.html>
With the Pentium 4, Intel has made the biggest update to its IA-32 processor line in many years. In some ways, this is good -- the PIII design is running out of steam rapidly -- but Intel's slavish devotion to ever-increasing clock speeds has resulted in some trade-offs that will disappoint the raw speed addicts.

Security Problem Found In Microsoft Software (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-3786758.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
Microsoft's Web browser has a security vulnerability that lets malicious programmers find temporary Internet file folders and take over a target computer, a security expert reported Monday.

Pentium 4 Fails To Outpace Athlon, Testers Say (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-3783641.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
Intel's initial Pentium 4 chips released Monday don't provide a real performance advantage and are often slower when compared with the fastest Athlon chips from Advanced Micro Devices, benchmark testers and analysts say.

Pentium 4 Computers Hit The Market (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-3731393.html>
But just as important as new PCs is that Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel, along with several review sites, will release performance benchmarks for the chip that should keep analysts and computer enthusiasts busy for weeks.

== Breaking Barriers (Top Stories) ==============

Meltdowns Always Happen (Fool.com)
<http://www.fool.com/portfolios/rulebreaker/2000/rulebreaker001121.htm>
In our quest to answer why Pets.com and dozens of companies like it are dying so very quickly, the answer we find today is somehow reassuring: That's the system. Meltdowns must occur. The system has worked this way several times in the past 100 years, and it will continue to work this way.

A Star Wars Defense To Hackers (Wired)
<http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,40297,00.html>
Basing their strategy on a grad student's work, a new Internet security company has begun beta-testing its solution to Denial-of-Service attacks on the high-speed experimental Internet2 backbone.

Dotcom Closures Hitting One A Day (ZDNet UK)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2655945,00.html>
Someone has probably gone out of business while you are reading this sentence, as the failure rate for Internet companies is gaining steam.

Security Problem Found In Microsoft Software (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-3786758.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
Microsoft's Web browser has a security vulnerability that lets malicious programmers find temporary Internet file folders and take over a target computer, a security expert reported Monday.

== Breaking Barriers (News) ==============

Yahoo Disputes French Judge's Ruling (San Jose Mercury News)
<http://www0.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/front/docs/yahoo112100.htm>
A French judge upheld a landmark ruling Monday that had ordered Yahoo Inc. to block French Web surfers from accessing its auction sites that hawk Nazi memorabilia, but the Santa Clara-based Internet company said it has no intention of immediately complying.

Final Hurdles For AOL-Time Warner (San Jose Mercury News)
<http://www0.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/top/docs/earth112100.htm>

Meltdowns Always Happen (Fool.com)
<http://www.fool.com/portfolios/rulebreaker/2000/rulebreaker001121.htm>
In our quest to answer why Pets.com and dozens of companies like it are dying so very quickly, the answer we find today is somehow reassuring: That's the system. Meltdowns must occur. The system has worked this way several times in the past 100 years, and it will continue to work this way.

A Star Wars Defense To Hackers (Wired)
<http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,40297,00.html>
Basing their strategy on a grad student's work, a new Internet security company has begun beta-testing its solution to Denial-of-Service attacks on the high-speed experimental Internet2 backbone.

Yahoo Shares Drop To Two-Year Low (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-3800261.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
Yahoo's stock plunged to its lowest level in two years Tuesday after investors reacted to analyst reports reiterating concerns about weakness in the Internet advertising sector.

Netscape 6 (MacWEEK.com)
<http://macweek.zdnet.com/2000/11/19/1121netscape6.html>
I'm disappointed that AOL chose to release as final a product that is so obviously not a final release.

ijustgotfired.com: Your Inbox To Go (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2656343,00.html>
Misery has plenty of company in the Web world: A new site helps displaced dot-commers stay in touch.

Netscape Goes Bonkers (Joel On Software)
<http://joel.editthispage.com/stories/storyReader$257>
The biggest single complaint about Netscape 6.0 revolves around the way they reimplemented every UI widget from scratch. Indeed, they felt that this was the only way to get cross platform compatibility.

Thousands Of Sites Spared By Decision On .web Suffix (Los Angeles Times)
<http://www.latimes.com/business/cutting/20001120/t000111465.html>
While the Internet Corp. for Assigned Names and Numbers made news last week for approving seven new suffixes that will join the ubiquitous .com, the Los Angeles-based group also gained attention for some of the suffixes it didn't OK.

Time Warner Makes Access Deal With Earthlink (New York Times)
<http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/21/technology/21TIME.html>
Time Warner agreed to allow Earthlink to offer Internet access over Time Warner cable systems if the government approves Time Warner's proposed merger with America Online.

Life, Death And Everquest (Salon)
<http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/11/21/virtual_suicide/index.html>
A virtual suicide in the popular online mutliplayer game is making some fans queasy about their favorite addiction.

Browsing Made Beautiful: IE 5 Refines Tools (Los Angeles Times)
<http://www.latimes.com/business/cutting/20001116/t000110165.html>
If you aren't using Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 as your Web browser, you should be. IE 5 is as near-perfect a browser as you'll find on the Mac or Windows.

Retail Battle Returns To The Bricks (New York Times)
<http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/20/technology/20ECOMMERCE.html>
Even though traditional retailers were first to try the twin "clicks-and-mortar" approach, analysts said it might be easier for Internet and catalog merchants to open stores than it is for bricks-and-mortar merchants to sell directly to consumers online.

Dotcom Closures Hitting One A Day (ZDNet UK)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2655945,00.html>
Someone has probably gone out of business while you are reading this sentence, as the failure rate for Internet companies is gaining steam.

eBay, Amazon Avoid French Knot (ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2656250,00.html>
Unlike Yahoo!, eBay and Amazon have eluded nasty lawsuits over sales of Nazi items in France. What's their secret?

Security Problem Found In Microsoft Software (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-3786758.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
Microsoft's Web browser has a security vulnerability that lets malicious programmers find temporary Internet file folders and take over a target computer, a security expert reported Monday.

== PenguinSurf (Top Stories) ==============

There's Plenty of Life Left In VA Linux (BusinessWeek)
<http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/nov2000/nf20001121_337.htm>
Though its stock is in tatters after a revenue shortfall, the company still has a pile of cash and the hope of luring big customers away from IBM and Sun 

Digital Music Company Sings A New Tune: Linux (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-3799265.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
MusicMatch, which makes programs for creating and organizing digital music, released on Tuesday a beta version of its Jukebox software for Linux.

MusicMatch Releases Linux Jukebox (Reuters)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2656421,00.html>
MusicMatch is the first major company to offer a mainstream jukebox for Linux.

Where Next For Corel? (The Register)
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/1/14873.html>
A smarter bet for Corel could be to go back to basics, and capitalise on its foothold in the creative content business.

Corel Looks At Selling Linux Operation (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-3785993.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
Corel stock dropped Monday on news that it could sell its Linux software operation, once hailed as a new strategy that would rescue the company from its financial woes.

== PenguinSurf (News) ==============

There's Plenty of Life Left In VA Linux (BusinessWeek)
<http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/nov2000/nf20001121_337.htm>
Though its stock is in tatters after a revenue shortfall, the company still has a pile of cash and the hope of luring big customers away from IBM and Sun 

Digital Music Company Sings A New Tune: Linux (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-3799265.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
MusicMatch, which makes programs for creating and organizing digital music, released on Tuesday a beta version of its Jukebox software for Linux.

MusicMatch Releases Linux Jukebox (Reuters)
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2656421,00.html>
MusicMatch is the first major company to offer a mainstream jukebox for Linux.

Where Next For Corel? (The Register)
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/1/14873.html>
A smarter bet for Corel could be to go back to basics, and capitalise on its foothold in the creative content business.

Corel Looks At Selling Linux Operation (CNET News.com)
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-3785993.html?tag=st.ne.1430735..ni>
Corel stock dropped Monday on news that it could sell its Linux software operation, once hailed as a new strategy that would rescue the company from its financial woes.

== The AppleSurf Reader ==============

The Real Flaw In Hand Counts: They're Too Accurate (Slate)
<http://slate.msn.com/HeyWait/00-11-20/HeyWait.asp>
Such microscopic recounts, uniformly applied, would cause vast swings in results simply because small variations yield digital differences.

Life, Death And Everquest (Salon)
<http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/11/21/virtual_suicide/index.html>
A virtual suicide in the popular online mutliplayer game is making some fans queasy about their favorite addiction.

The New Journalistic World Order (San Francisco Examiner)
<http://www.examiner.com/001119/1119salter.html>
Many of us have long dreamed of being part of a print media enterprise that matches the San Francisco Bay Area in sophistication, intelligence, diversity, quirkiness, good humor and generosity of expense account.

== SingaporeSurf (Technology) ==============

Li's Exit Hits MediaRing Share Price (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/money/story/0,1870,5041,00.html?>
"It is hard to build a financial model for MediaRing because its business model and hence its revenue streams have been changing for the past 12 months."

OCBC Gets Back Use Of Domain Names (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/money/story/0,1870,4993,00.html?>
It has won back the domain names www.ocbc.com and www.bankofsingapore. com from an unnamed American cybersquatter by donating 'a nominal sum' to his favourite charity - the Red Cross.

Damaged Cable Leaves Singapore Net Links Unscathed (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/money/story/0,1870,4928,00.html?>
A damaged undersea cable is wreaking havoc on Internet traffic in Australia - but Singapore has managed to escape unscathed.

SingTel, Indosat To Repair Dmaaged Undersea Cable (CNET Singapore)
<http://singapore.cnet.com/news/2000/11/21/20001121ae.html>
The damage was found closest to Indonesia and Singapore. SingTel is Singapore's biggest phone company and Indosat is Indonesia's dominant international call operator.

M1, Nokia In S$500M 3G Deal (ZDNet Asia)
<http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/dailynews/story/0,2000010021,20157918-1,00.htm>
Partnership involves the deployment of 3G technologies, as well as the creation of GSM1800 network and service creation plant.

Damaged Undersea Cable Cuts net Traffic (ZDNet Asia)
<http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/dailynews/story/0,2000010021,20157881,00.htm>
Internet traffic piled up yesterday as a 39,000km undersea cable linking Asia and Europe was damaged.

== SingaporeSurf (Entertainment) ==============

SPH Wants Half Of TV Ad Pie Here (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/primenews/story/0,1870,4956,00.html?>
For a start, instead of charging fixed rates, MediaWorks will offer a flexible price scale tied to viewership of its two channels, the English-language TV Works and its Chinese counterpart, Channel U, which are due to be launched in the middle of next year.

Stages In Singapore Theatre (Straits Times)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/primenews/story/0,1870,5034,00.html?>
A book chronicling the history of English theatre in Singapore will be launched early next year, together with results of the inaugural Life! Theatre Awards.

Singapore Prepares For Big Fashion Bash (Project Eyeball)
<http://eyeball.asia1.com.sg/Eyeball/Story/1,1381,8439,00.html?>
Singapore as the region's fashion capital? Uh-huh. Bury cynicism six feet under and take a deep breath. For that's what this little island is poised to be, if Fashion Festival 2001 takes off as planned.