New Portal All About Headlines. It's one thing to launch a Web site in these troubled times for dotcoms, it's another to launch a portal. Internet pundits have
declared portals, or collections of links to other places online, wouldn't last because visitors don't stick around - and that's not too enticing for potential advertisers.
However, a recently-launched ad-driven portal may be helpful to headline-scanning publicists looking to see if their client made the paper in Topeka. HeadlineSpot.com links to
hundreds of local papers, magazines, and radio and TV stations around the world. A search box lets you find news based on geography or publication title, and the site's main page
lists breaking news in the media's pre-eminent publications. Marketing director Stephanie Benes calls the site the "ultimate bookmark" for publicists doing media research. She
also says that low overhead and a tiny staff (HeadlineSpot.com is part of StartSpot Mediaworks, which has 10 employees) will help it survive the Web shakeout. StartSpot runs 14
other portals on subjects ranging from government resources to Web-based reference materials. (Stephanie Benes, 303/455-5223.)
PowerPoint Powers Up. PowerPoint
presentations just got, well, more powerful. Software developed by the Santa Clara-based CrystalGraphics boasts more than 10,000 new "professional-quality backgrounds, templates
and more," according to a press release. (We hope the "more" means we get "more" goofy little guys in funny hats and "more" ducks smashing their PCs. Those are some of our
favorites.) CrystalGraphics account manager Rick Sandlas says the software is "a one-stop shop of high-quality images and backgrounds for presentations and Web design." Priced at
$299, Sandlas says it's affordable compared with other packages. (Rick Sandlas, 310/787-1940.)