R.I.P.

* Ricochet wireless data network operations are morte, announced parent Metricom Inc.

The company has filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in San Jose, and shut down its Ricochet.net service on August 8.

Subscribers should contact the company at info@metricom.com for details.

* Standard Media International has suspended publication of The Industry Standard, the once-vibrant and huge weekly magazine that chronicled the Internet economy's wild ride.

The company says it will continue to publish its Web site, TheStandard.com, and retain a small editorial team, while it seeks a buyer.

It expects to file for bankruptcy protection, and pink-slip most of its 180 employees.

* Egghead.com Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 protection, also in San Jose, and has announced an agreement to sell its assets to Fry's Electronics, a popular chain of electronic superstores, also based in San Jose.

Egghead cited "dramatic and unexpected decline in sales.

Source: Internet.com.

* America Online Inc. is preparing to lay off as many as 1,000 employees in its online division. Cutbacks would represent about 7 percent of the 16,000 workforce.

Cuts, which may be compined with an early-buyout (and vesting speed-up) program, could affect the company's brand-marketing employees in Dulles, as well as staff at Netscape Communications, in Mountain View, Calif.

Source: mywashingtonpost.com.

* Bad news, good news, for the Apple Cube: Cupertino's Apple Computer Inc. advertised its G4 Cube with the line, "True, it looks like it belongs in the Museum of Modern Art."

But less than a year after it debuted, the Cube is in the junk pile, abandoned by manufacturer.

But ironically, the square supercomputer was indeed selected for inclusion in New York's Museum of Modern Art, as part of its Workspheres exhibit.

It's not the first time MoMA has eyed Apple: it also showcases an original 1984 Mac, a 1987 SE, and a 1004 QuickTake digital camera.

Source: The New York Times.