|
|
||
|
|
| |
|
| ||
 |
  |
 |
 | ||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
  |
 |
||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
| WEB SITE-INGS
8.22.00 BABY-BROWSIN’ Are you pregnant? There are lots of sites you’ll want to know about to help you get ready for the big day. Here are some of my favorites… http://www.epregnancy.com/ This site is designed for women who are trying to conceive, pregnant women, and new moms. ePregnancy provides articles and interactive features to keep you informed. They feature a slide show that illustrates how your baby develops during the first trimester of pregnancy as well as the changes that occur in the first weeks after conception. You can also enter your due date, and get a customized web page showing you what’s happening developmentally with your unborn baby every day! There are pregnancy journals written by women currently going through their nine month journey, and birth stories written by the women who know. http://www.babynames.com"/ When you’re ready to start coming up with that list, don’t bother with all the books, just log on for thousands of name ideas from A to Z. Not only will you find lists of names, you can also find out what their origin is and how they translate. If you still need help, they will help you come up with a customized list of names for a fee. Once you’ve settled on first and middle, create some “name art” and check out their picture of the month. http://www.babypressconference.com/ Your baby is big news! BabyPressConference.com helps you bring your bundle of joy to family and friends across the country and around the world. When your baby is born, emails go out announcing news about your little one’s arrival: including birthdate, time, name and weight. Another great feature to this website is a members-only webcast that your friends and family can watch and listen in on! No matter where they live, your loved ones will be able to log on at a scheduled time and see you at the hospital with the guest of honor. http://www.e-stork.com/ Not so techno-savvy? This site will create a webpage for you when you use their “New Baby Web Site Kit.” Save time and money with their email birth announcements, which you can send to friends and family with the click of a mouse. The website is ready in a few days, you just need to supply the baby statistics and pictures. This service costs $39.95 for a three month service. http://www.growthspurts.com/ Curious to know how your bundle of joy compares to other children her age? This free service has many features that allow you to share and monitor your child’s growth and development on his or her own website. Chart your baby’s growth month-by-month using their growth chart. Then, use the statistical database to see how your child compares to the national averages for developmental milestones… first smile, first tooth, first steps. Family and friends can log on using the family password and watch as your new baby grows. http://www.register.com/ Finally, a great baby gift for the cyber-savvy - go to a site like www.register.com and register the child’s name as an official dot-com. Create a webpage - then you’ll have an easy way to update relatives with the latest pictures and baby stats. Do you have any sites you’d like to share with us? Let me know: mailto:novotny@msnbc.com WEB SITE-INGS 8.21.00 Travel gripes? These sites can help… www.PassengerRights.com For no fee, this site offers complaint forms for you to fill out that are forwarded to the appropriate airlines, hotels, tour operators, and members of Congress. There is a section here on researching your rights for car rentals, hotels, cruises, and of course airlines. You’ll also find information on travel secrets, horror stories, and whistleblowers. And if you’re searching for a more in depth look at your rights and the secrets of the travel industry, you can subscribe to their monthly newsletter. TravelProblems.com offers to be your “complaint management service.” The people behind this site want to resolve your travel-related complaints with airlines and cruise lines. If you don’t want to deal with the aggravation of trying to handle the complaint on your own… this site charges a flat fee of $30.00 for claims of up to $200.00. This includes all correspondence, telephone calls, faxes and e-mails. If they accept your claim, they will attempt to negotiate a settlement on your behalf. But if they are unable to reach a settlement that you agree to, they say they will refund your fee. WEB WATCH 08.04.00 DNA.COM There’s a new website that wants your dna.... Launched tuesday, “www.dna.com” is recruiting people to donate their dna in an effort to find the genes that cause twenty different diseases ranging from alzheimers to colon cancer. The company behind the site is hoping to compile the genetic information of at least 100,000 people into a huge “gene trust” in an effort to help scientists develop tests and drugs that will more successfully fight genetically inherited diseases. How will it work? Log on, fill out a detailed application that includes your medical history, and if you’re accepted, send a blood sample. So far more than 300 people have reportedly signed up. E-COMMERCE In “e-tail” news... According to a report this week by internet security and privacy company, interhack... http://www.toysrus.com/ is one of four different websites that has allegedly violated their own privacy policy by selling customers’ personal information to a marketing company. Toys r us vigorously denies the claims... But a class action lawsuit against the toy e-tailer was filed this week, claiming a “gross abuse of the trust parents and their children have placed in toys r us”... The u.s. postal service (new.usps.com) wants your e-mail business... Plans are reportedly in the works to assign email addresses to each of the nation’s 120 million residential street addresses... Giving consumers the chance to voluntarily sign up for a service which would include package notification, mail forwarding, and the ability to send emails to a post office for printing and first class snail mail delivery. The three year test comes on the heels of predictions that by 2003, the use of first-class mail will dramatically decrease... Thanks to the popularity of e-mail. Finally... If you find yourself spending more time online than you used to... You’re in good company. Recent measurements - which compare the habits of internet users worldwide, have found that americans spend more hours plugged in than any other country in the world. According to the study, the average american spends more than 13 hours online per month... Followed by Japan, Canada and Australia. And just where are we spending so many of our surfing hours? According to tracker, “media metrix”... Playing internet-based games! GOP Convention Online The 1948 political conventions marked the beginning of an era… when television first brought pundits and politicians into our homes. But 2000 is the year of dot-com- coverage, and this, is the political process - plugged in. There are dozens, even hundreds, of convention-related sites that have taken up residence online… serving up a potluck of political coverage… C-span.org lets you sit in the director’s chair… and customize your view of the live proceedings by choosing from one of eight different convention cameras.And, if you missed anything, this site has “video-on-demand” …view what you want…when you want it. Another site promising a bird’s eye view from the comfort of home… “Pseudopolitics.com” equipped with five cameras that you control… just point and clickTo check out this 360 degree view from the pseudo-skybox!! Be a part of the action by signing up as a “dot-com delegate” at “Gopconvention.com”… read about governor bush’s position on important issues like crime and family health care.And.. The buck stops here, at “open-secrets.org”. See how much money each presidential hopeful has raised, spent… and what’s left! This site also has a “money map”…just click on your home state to see how your donations compare… dollar-for-dollar… with the rest of the country’s.And if you feel like doing a little digging… the “federal election commission’s” official website (fec.gov) shows you just who’s filling each candidate’s war-chest. Learn where campaign cash comes from by city, zip code or donor name. Looking to put your own two cents in? “Speakout.com” … in conjunction with “MSNBC”… takes polling to the next level with “instant response technology”. Here you can rate a candidate’s speech, as it’s happening … and then watch as the site tracks audience responses… second-by-second. Finally… if you haven’t registered to vote yet, “Beavoter.org” is one of many websites that just might save you a trip… they’ll take your information online.. And get you ready to cast your ballot, come election day. FRIDAY 07.14.00 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: OJP.USDOJ.GOV The Office of Justice Programs in the U.S. Department of Justice is an excellent resource which gives extensive information about many aspects of the problem and its working solutions. This site provides tips on what various state and local communities can do to help victims of domestic violence. There is a list of state and local hotlines, coalitions, and advocacy groups that can help victims. Sponsored by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, NCADV.ORG, provides articles about the problem of domestic violence and how to get help and support. The Web site lists organizations near you where you can go to find help. You will find links to other sites with valuable information about domestic violence. WEDNESDAY 07.12.00 GET THE BEST AIRFARES ONLINE: Expedia.com Submit your travel information (departure and arrival dates, times and locations) and within minutes, the site finds you a list of the best fares from various airlines that fit your designated plans. Travelers are not obligated to pay for these flights, and they are not required to submit a credit card number or register in order to conduct the search. Other unique features of this Web site include the latest news and advice on air travel and a calendar which gives upcoming rates and special deals. Cheaptickets.com You’ll need to fill out an online registration form before you get started. Once you do, this site will find you some of the lowest airfares. You can find out what other people have to say after using this site. Just go to the section “What People Say About Cheaptickets.” Travelocity.com It offers a similar best-fare-finding service as both expedia.com and cheaptickets.com. You will need to register and obtain a login name and password in order to use the service. There’s a fare watcher section on the main page that lists some of the best flight deals the site has to offer. You can also contact a customer service representative 24 hours a day. TUESDAY 06.27.00 DOT-COM FAILURES: Before you invest in an internet business, you may want to go to Dotcomfailures.com . The Web site lists internet companies that have shut down. There’s also a rumor section about other companies that are reportedly having trouble. But remember these are just rumors and they are often disputed on the message board. In case your dot-com failed, you can find a list of technology
recruiters on this site: Startupfailures.com |
||||
| |
|||
 Click here to go BACK to the
HomePage front page BROWSE THIS! More
Web/Technology news from HomePage Internet editor Monica
Novotny |
|||
| |
|||
|
|
 | |||||||||||||||
  | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Cover | Headlines | News | Business | Sports | Local | Technology | Living & Travel | Health TV News | Opinions | Weather | Shop@MSNBC | MSN | Comics | Find | About MSNBC | Help | Index News Tools | Jobs | Write Us | Advertising on MSNBC | Terms, Conditions, and Privacy | |||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||
