August 25, 2003

Fast-dropping price of Wi-Fi and its ability to convey large volume of digital data wirelessly over short distances have enabled variety of businesses to improve sales and profits, while better serving customers face to face; standardized Wi-Fi systems are far cheaper and are more reliable than proprietary wireless technology long used to track inventory and speed shipping; photos (M)

News analysis of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's attempt to revamp school system, which will be carefully scrutinized when school opens on Sept 8; says Bloomberg has staked his reputation and mayoralty on schools, setting high bar for himself, one no other mayor has had to reach (M)

Actor Brad Garrett fails to appear for taping of season's first episode of Everybody Loves Raymond in bid for higher salary, and CBS orders episode rewritten and shot without him; executives say that number of noshow actors has risen this year and that networks, which have generally prevailed in such confrontations in past but are now desperate to retain increasingly rare hit comedies, are being more accommodating to demands of some actors and their agents; photos (M)

Hundreds of overweight women, and some men, are sharing detailed reports of their calories and cravings on self-created online journals known as Web logs or blogs; especially for severely overweight, Web journals are serving as unlikely grass-roots support system; their collective readership appears to number in tens of thousands; dieters say online forum provides rare opportunity to publicly unburden themselves about stimatized subject that some are ashamed to share with family or friends; blogs feature short, frequent updates arranged chronologically, format that lends itself to long-term weight-loss projects; photos (M)

Jon Drummond makes lengthy and dramatic scene upon disqualification for false start at world track and field championships 100-meter quarterfinals; Drummond protests new and controversial rule that gives entire field one chance for false start and then disqualifies any runner who subsequently is guilty of false start; photos (M)