Andrew Carnegie's staff never had these problems, although this is a typical morning for many workers:

The lower-right corner of the personal computer has a nagging e-mail notice, while the long-awaited and supposedly vital audio-conference is just getting under way.

The Web-based Power Point presentation has cranked up on another browser window on the computer while the telephone "message waiting" light is blinking crazily on the telephone keypad.

Meanwhile, the coffee has just spilled, and the pager is humming "Battle Hymn of the Republic." It's a Monday.

Get me out of here.

In this brand-new era of business, less is always going to mean more, and more these days almost always brings with it a knot of competing technologies.

This new era of business and office communications brings with it some brand-new etiquette rules, too.

When it all breaks loose - starting with that confusing and fairly annoying and dull Power Point presentation - the temptation for many executives, project managers and account executives is to simply divert attention and put out some brush fires.

That is probably one of the worst things to do, says Kim Motter, a regional sales manager at Blue Ash-based Intercall, an international firm that focuses on video, Web and audio conferencing.

Ms. Motter advises clients that when it comes to meetings these days, people should pay attention to the task at hand, and for a while, forget about everything else.

The company has seen Web, audio and video conferencing gain momentum in 2002 because of the terror attacks Sept. 11, 2001, and the general business slowdown that forced many companies to slash travel budgets.

That comes as no surprise. It's amazing how much money can be saved in travel, time, lodging and food by conferencing," Ms. Motter said. "Usually the biggest hurdle to a Web conference is getting the first one under your belt."

What is surprising is the level of conference faux pas that still exist:

Forgetting to mute the phone during a conference call. Unmuted telephones will inevitably bring the speaker a few unforgettable moments of tapping, muted whispers, paper rustling and other distractions. "People just forget to mute their lines," she said.

Shifting your focus from the presentation in an audio- or a Web-conference to do a mundane task like answering e-mail. When you are tempted to do that, just imagine how you'd react if responsibility for the conference landed in your lap.

One more thing: "It's good for people to remember during any kind of conference that you should identify yourself," she said. "If you have a conference call of 20 people, they need to know who is talking."

Shopping - at work

Last-minute shopping these days means last-minute clicking in the cozy office cubical.

According to Pearl Software, a Philadelphia-based software company, half of all employees with online access plan to do holiday shopping from their company computer.

One-third who admit to shopping online will spend up to two days per week online, searching for a perfect gift:

Ho, Ho, Ho.

E-mail jeckberg@enquirer.com