Day One: MediaPost's OMMA-West Conference and Expo is off and running in sunny, breezy San Francisco.

Frustrated fans of the Apple iPod are a little happier this week.

Yet another study stating that consumers are rejecting cookies has just been released. Burst Media reported today that 38 percent of consumers said in a recent survey that they deleted Internet cookies at least once a month. That finding is nearly identical to one by Jupiter Research, which reported in April that 40 percent of online users delete cookies monthly. Other researchers, including aQuantive's Atlas DMT and The Ponemon Institute also have found surprisingly high numbers of consumers who say they delete cookies.

Overall ad spending in the U.S. during the first quarter rose 4.4 percent to $33.5 billion compared to the same period a year ago, TNS Media Intelligence reported today. It's also the smallest increase since the end of 2003.

In a research note published this morning, financial analyst Piper Jaffray Co. forecasts that Google stock will continue its meteoric rise, based on the company's fast-tracked diversification. "We predict that by the end of 2006, Google will be seen as a full-fledged multi-application company," writes Piper Jaffray Senior Research Analysts Safa Rashtchy and Aaron Kessler.

A new survey finds that young adults are intrigued by the potential for commercial-free radio via wireless phones and downloadable music to mobile phones.

Some people are addicted to love, but most of us are addicted to e-mail. According to a new survey conducted by America Online, the average e-mail user checks e-mail nearly five times a day. Yes, that's right. AOL's E-mail Addiction survey examines our e-mail behavior and frankly, it's a little obsessive. The survey found that e-mail users rely on e-mail as much as the phone for communication, spend nearly an hour a day on e-mail, and that 77 percent of e-mail users have more than one mail account.

MSN says it has overhauled MSN Money with a few hefty sponsors helming the relaunch -- Citigroup, Scottrade, and Lending Tree. MSN Money has added new sections, including a News Center that includes financial news from the likes of Forbes, BusinessWeek,Financial Times, and Expert pages. MSN says it has improved navigation so that consumers can more easily find the latest market news, investing tools, and other resources.

Academic publishers are protesting Google's plans to scan library books into its Internet search engine index. In a letter to Google opposing the plan, the Association of American University Presses argued that the plan "appears to involve systematic infringement of copyright on a massive scale."

Sales via the Web continue to increase, according to a preliminary report released by the U.S. Department of Commerce, which indicates that first quarter online retail sales increased 23.8 percent to $19.8 billion from $16 billion a year ago. During the first quarter, e-commerce sales also rose 6.4 percent from the fourth quarter. The department's report shows that e-commerce represents 2.2 percent of total retail sales in the first quarter.