Name Dropping (2)

There she was, sandwiched between a towel-clad desperate housewife and a teen movie starlet with a wardrobe malfunction. Sharon Reed's bare-it-all performance on WOIO's Nov. 16 late newscast had Web surfers burning up search engines looking for the footage of the CBS 19 "Action News" anchor in the buff as she participated in Spencer Tunick's photo shoot last summer. By Nov. 19, "Sharon Reed" was Netscape's second-most-popular search for the day. Actress Nicollette Sheridan's pseudo-nude "Monday Night Football" introduction was first and "American Pie" actress Tara Reid's inadvertent red-carpet flashing sat at No. 3. Still, not all Web surfers were satisfied that Reed's report was worth all the hype. On www.medialine.com, a television talent Web site, several message-board visitors complained. "This was by far the worst excuse for a sweeps story I've ever seen," wrote one. "Boy, what a letdown," carped another. "She made nudity boring."

Like Wildfire

Now, you can get wired while going wireless. Owners of Wi-Fi-enabled notebook computers can connect to the Web at a growing list of local Starbucks locations, a service sure to have more than one caffeine hound reaching for that second latte. (Would-be Web surfers do, however, have to first purchase T-Mobile's "Hotspot" service, which runs $30 a month for unlimited use.) Four Cleveland locations are already outfitted with the technology: 200 Public Square, 11501 Clifton Blvd., 1400 Euclid Ave. and 1374 W. Sixth St. Suburban Starbucks locations are in on the act, too. Log on in Beachwood, Chagrin Falls, Brooklyn, Cleveland Heights, Independence, Mentor, South Euclid, Strongsville, Lyndhurst, North Olmsted and Woodmere. Check www.starbucks.com/hotspot for more information.