The deal between Napster and MusicNet pits three major record labels against two in the race to develop an Internet music system consumers will pay for.

The technology sector has recaptured Wall Street's attention – at least for now – as investors Wednesday weigh company forecasts for the rest of the year and reports of further job cuts.Early signs pointed to a modest advance at the start of trading. The Nasdaq-100 futures pushed ahead, indicating a positive open for the Nasdaq market. Standard & Poor's futures were little changed, hinting at a flat start for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrial average.

Real estate on your computer desktop is about to become a lot more valuable. “They [Microsoft] want to try to force consumers to use their stuff instead of AOL’s, EarthLink’s or anybody else’s stuff,” says Barry Schuler, chief executive of the America Online unit of AOL Time Warner Inc. “It makes it harder for consumers to find things that they want. We think they are going to hate it.”

Slowdown? What slowdown? Despite the massive layoffs and many high-profile bankruptcies, high-tech employment actually increased 4.6 percent in 2000, with manufacturing adding 18,000 jobs and computer software and services adding 145,900 new jobs, according to a report released Wednesday by the American Electronics Association.

Cisco Systems, best known for its networking equipment for businesses and service providers, is ready to take on the home market. The company announced today that it is teaming with a Southern California land developer and a small service provider to wire 13,000 new homes in Los Angeles with networking technology. As reported earlier, today's deal is part of Cisco's strategy for the emerging market for home networking, where dozens of companies, including 3Com, Intel, Motorola and start-ups such as 2Wire, are fighting for a piece of the action. At stake is a market that is expected to grow from revenues of $600 million in 2000 to more than $5.7 billion by 2004, according to research firm Cahners In-Stat Group.