1.  Among those who found it too tough was IBM, which last year pulled the plug on its Ambra direct sales company.

2.  Direct broadcast companies argue that the ruling puts them at a competitive disadvantage because cable companies pay much lower rates to air the exact same programming.

3.  Gateway and Dell Computer Corp., the two top direct PC companies, have taken opposite approaches.

4.  GenesisIntermedia began as a direct marketing company, but has entered into the technology realm with Centerlinq.

5.  Intellipost, the outgrowth of a university business project, is an on-line direct marketing company that pays points to people who agree to accept targeted e-mail advertising.

6.  Napa direct marketing company Ambrosia jumped into the growing market for Internet wine sales Tuesday, launching an e-commerce site, www.ambrosiawine.com.

7.  New York City Ballet alumni dispersed to direct companies all over the world.

8.  Pre-Christmas catalog orders have not been shipped, and direct marketing companies are losing millions of dollars a day and laying off employees.

9.  Starlight International, whose products Berryman uses, is a direct marketing company with headquarters in Monterey, Calif.

10.  The company so far has three corporate clients, including San Francisco-based Intellipost Corp., an on-line direct marketing company.