Brand Noise

Boutique Airlines

A new generation of boutique airlines is taking flight, serving a minimum of cities with a maximum of style. Upping the ante on exclusivity, they offer business-class-only flights, concierge services and a members-only booking policy...

Business-jet provider Privatair began operating private-label flights for Lufthansa, Swiss and KLM four years ago, but the first full-fledged airline, Eos, took off last fall from New York City's J.F.K. to London's Stansted. Its customized Boeing 757s have just 48 "suites," including lie-flat bed seats. Eos partners with London-based concierge firm Quintessentially to offer services to passengers from boarding until 24 hours after returning home, and its frequent-flyer points have a fixed cash value. Eos will even book customers on other airlines, paying for tickets with points from their accounts—a first in the history of the business.

Joining Eos at J.F.K. and Stansted is MAXjet, which offers 767s outfitted with older, reclining business-class seats and real meals for a rock-bottom fare of $1,500.

But leave it to the Italians to reinvent the cabin as a clubhouse. MiMa—an abbreviation of Milano-Manhattan—will soon begin service between Milan and New York City. Partly owned by Alitalia, MiMa will screen passengers for chic quotient as well as weapons, enrolling those who pass as "members." The $4,000 fare will include sleek transport to and from Milan's Linate Airport and concierge service in both cities.

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Knightley Enters Roaring 20s

Keira Knightley. The stunning Hollywood startlet disguised herself as a farmyard animal to leave her 21st birthday bash. She chose the Roaring Twenties as the theme, and emerged from her West London home having achieved the Flapper look to perfection. Her normally-flowing hair was tightly curled and her glittering golden low-waisted gown was set off by a white furry stole.

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Mob: Downshifting Compacters

It began as a simple — or simply terrifying — pledge taken by a small group of friends feeling overwhelmed by all the things in their lives.

During a potluck dinner two years ago in San Francisco, they made a pact: Buy nothing new except food, medicine and toiletries for six months.

The effort lasted a year before falling victim to the demands of modern life. But the commercial craziness of the Christmas season brought the group back together a few months ago.

Only now, they're not toiling in relative anonymity. A whiff of recent media interest has turned their tool-sharing, library-going, thrift-store-shopping band into a full-fledged cultural phenomenon with more than 700 members joining through their Yahoo Web site. Groups are meeting in Maine, Alabama, Texas, Oregon and Wisconsin, while consumers in Japan and Brazil are making inquiries.

The original group named itself the Compact after the Mayflower Compact, a civil agreement that bound the Pilgrims to a life of higher purpose when they landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620.

The goal of the members wasn't so much to save money, or even the environment, as much as it was to simplify their lives.

Read more, and check out their blog.

Logitech Ponders, Why Advertise?

"Breakup," a 75-second clip that appeared on video-upload site YouTube.com a week ago, has logged more than 210,000 page views. Bowiechick, the filmmaker's YouTube username, does little more than discuss a recent breakup with her boyfriend. But as the self-described video blogger speaks, she simultaneously changes her on-screen appearance so that she looks like she's wearing Clark Kent glasses, or has strapped on a gas mask, or has transformed into a cat.

After Bowiechick posted a second video, it was revealed that she shoots her clips with Logitech's Quickcam Orbit MP, which retails for about $100.

Two Logitech Webcams were among Amazon's 100 best-selling electronics items on Friday, according to  Amazon spokeswoman Stephanie Mantello. On Monday, a week after "Breakup" first appeared on YouTube, two more of the company's cameras broke into the top 100, including the Quickcam Pro 5000.

The Quickcam Fusion, which sells for $85.49 on Amazon, was ranked No. 95 on Friday but by Monday had jumped to No. 38. The Quickcam Pro 5000 hit No. 97 on Monday afternoon and within hours rose to No. 67.

"Maybe we don't have to do any more advertising," joked Nancy Morrison, Logitech's director of corporate communications.

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Video Games to Strengthen Lazy Eyes

Recently published findings in Eye Journal suggest that 3D video games may actually work faster than traditional therapy for  amblyopia. The Virtual Reality Applications Research Team from the University at Nottingham in the United Kingdom recently finished trials on patients using virtual reality games to exercise and strengthen weak eyes.

The experimental treatment appears to work in just one to three hours, while patients using eye patches usually do not experience results until they have worn the patches up to 400 hours -- usually over the course of several months.

The news is not likely to boost sales of video games among eye patients. According to Nottingham University Research Orthopist Paula Waddingham, the therapy only works with specially designed video games and videos.

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Whole-House Audio: Owners Recommend, But Don't Use to Its Fullest

Owners with state-of-the-art multi-room audio systems are more satisfied and likely to recommend the systems to others than those with less superior systems, according to a study recently released by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). The new "Multi-Room Audio Systems: A Detailed Look at Owners and Prospects" study also found that 72 percent of multi-room audio system owners would recommend them to their family and friends and that 81 percent of owners would re-purchase them if they moved.

The study was conducted among 480 owners of multi-room audio systems and 530 non-owners who are likely to purchase a multi-room audio system in the next 12 months. For this study, a multi-room audio system was defined as a system that allows home occupants to play and control audio from a central source with output in at least three rooms in the home.

The study found that the vast majority of owners use CDs and broadcast radio with their audio systems and more than half will transmit their television and DVD sound through their audio systems. Most users' systems reside in family rooms, master bedrooms or kitchens. The study showed that almost half the owners use their systems daily, but many do not utilize the full functionality of the multi-room audio system.

Buy the report.

Teens, Naturally Late Sleepers

"Only 20 percent of children are getting optimal sleep, and nearly half are getting insufficient sleep," said Christopher Drake, a clinical psychologist with the Henry Ford Hospital Sleep Center in Detroit and a member of the board of directors of the National Sleep Foundation (NSF).

The revelations come courtesy of the annual Sleep in America poll released Tuesday by the National Sleep Foundation. The poll is part of the NSF's ninth annual National Sleep Awareness Week campaign, held March 27 through April 2, 2006. The campaign coincides with the return to Daylight Saving Time on the first Sunday in April.

Much of the problem lies not with teens but with society. Adolescents naturally feel more alert later at night and wake up later in the morning. More than half (54 percent) of high-school seniors go to bed at 11 p.m. or later. Yet those same adolescents have to wake up at around 6:30 in order to get to school.

"It is the natural tendency of adolescent to go to bed later because of their body clock," confirmed Perez-Guerra. "There is some bias."

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Profanity: Generation/Gender Divider

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Profanity seems to divide people by age and by gender.

Younger people admit to using bad language more often than older people; they also encounter it more and are less bothered by it. The AP-Ipsos poll suggested that 62 percent of 18 to 34-year-olds acknowledged swearing in conversation at least a few times a week, compared to 39 percent of those 35 and older.

More women than men said they encounter people swearing more now than 20 years ago -- 75 percent, compared to 60 percent. Also, more women said they were bothered by profanity -- 74 percent at least some of the time -- than men (60 percent.) And more men admitted to swearing: 54 percent at least a few times a week, compared to 39 percent of women.

Wondering specifically about the F-word? Thirty-two percent of men said they used it at least a few times a week, compared to 23 percent of women.

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Sites for Planners: DerelictLondon.com

A collection of excellent images connected with the lifestyle known as Urban Exploring.

derelictlondon.com

Party at Your Place?

From former industrial lofts in Brooklyn and Queens to stylish pads in Manhattan's meatpacking district, living quarters are being used as cash-producing spaces for under-the-radar parties.

Given the high costs and stringent laws governing licensed night spots — from no-smoking ordinances to laws regulating closing hours, alcohol sales and dancing — underground parties, where guests can smoke, boogie and drink as long as they like, seem to have an increasing appeal, in no small part because they are illicit.

"It feels super-sneaky," said Solana Larson, 26, a Brooklynite who went to a party in an apartment in the meatpacking district. "I brought some friends, and they were like, 'Wow, this is so underground.' You can't help but feel like it's kind of a select crowd."

Organizers employ various tactics to avoid attracting police attention, including checking guests' identification to make sure they are 21 and asking them to sign a release form. Shadi Shahrokhi, a host of parties in his loft in the meatpacking district, puts his neighbors in the expensive Maritime hotel for the night to avoid having them file noise complaints with authorities.

Read more in the NY Times.