ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, May 2, 1996 TAG: 9605020010
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Computer Bits
THOSE WHO FOLLOW the first lady's changing hairstyles via the Internet are finding her dos have been done in by ads for Tecnotes, a company that makes clocks, coasters and clipboards out of salvaged circuit boards.
Mitch, why do I get promotions for Tecnotes products when I want Hillary's dos?
"I swear on my life here, I have the same question," replied Mitch Davis, president and owner of Tecnotes Inc.
No matter how many times the first lady changes her hairstyle, it won't be as drastic a redo as what has happened to http://www.hillaryshair.com/.
Something slipped - or was nudged - in the cyberworld and Tecnotes, a Sag Harbor, N.Y., company, seems to have usurped the site to display its own wares, which are made from "reutilized" circuit boards and recycled plastics.
Davis couldn't say if this glitch was the work of a clever sales staff, although he confessed that Tecnotes is "fairly aggressive" at marketing. High on its list of products these days are business gift items such as clocks, coasters and clipboards made from old circuit boards. The company previously was part of a cybermall, but should have its http://www.tecnotes.com/ address by now. If not, go for the hair site or call (800)331-2006.
Food allergies
If you or someone you know is among the 1 to 2 percent of the population that suffers from food allergies, you may want to check out the Food Allergy Network's Web page at http://www.foodallergy.org/.
The network, a nonprofit organization that works to increase awareness of food allergies, initiated the page in November and received close to 3,500 hits in the first two months.
Much of the site is devoted to answering questions and debunking myths about food allergies, with sections geared toward consumers, health professionals, manufacturers and educators. FAN also posts product alerts, seasonal tips and monthly allergy news updates on the page, which is sponsored by Kraft Foods Inc.
Home buying
Thinking about buying or building a new home? The National Association of Home Builders has set up a Web site - http://www.nahb.com - dedicated to taking some of the mystery out of the process for consumers. For builders, the NAHB site also features legislative updates and new products news.
The site provides the trade association's answers to questions including: How do you choose a builder? What is an FHA mortgage? What are closing costs? It also includes inspection checklists to as a guide when you walk through homes.
The mortgage calculator offered on the computer site can help figure out how much you can afford to pay for a new home based on how much your monthly payments will be. You even can apply for a mortgage on-line from American Finance and Investment, one of the site's sponsors. Eventually, the page is to include new home listings; this section is still under construction.
Q: Why doesn't my old sound card work in my Windows 95 PC? - Earstrain.
A: You seem to be laboring under the misapprehension that Win95 automatically welcomes all new hardware into its dysfunctional little family.
Go to the Add New Hardware program in the Control Panel. You can either let Windows try to find the new stuff, or you can tell it what you have.
If it's still not working, Windows may have picked the wrong interrupt request, input/output range or direct memory access number. Or some matters that no normal human should be forced to understand. You can change the settings on your card or in the Device Manager (click the System icon in Control Panel). If you mess it up, you didn't hear that here.
Lewis-Gale Medical Center in Salem has a home page at http://www.lewis-gale.com/ providing information ranging from breast-feeding and newborn care to volunteering at the hospital or helping build a house with Habitat for Humanity. The center and Lewis-Gale Clinic, which shares its site, are putting up the house, so it's a chance to meet the medical folk on neutral ground. The page also is linked to the hospital's parent, Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp., and to pages at its sister facilities in Blacksburg and Richlands.
Can't remember the name of the mouse in "The Rescuers''? Not sure who played the chimney sweep in "Mary Poppins''?
Don't let your ignorance cost you another free order of french fries. At http://www.storms.com, you'll find the answers to all 3,328 questions in McDonald's Disney trivia game. Either you can browse the entire Q-and-A list, or you can type in keywords and a search engine will pull up all the answers that match.
Answers are readily available because the fast-food chain's contest is officially over, and McDonald's isn't giving away any more game pieces. Players can redeem the tickets they're still holding until May23.
The site isn't, of course, an official McDonald's-sanctioned Web page, but don't let that stop you. As the home page says, "It is just a game, you know."
This column is compiled from staff and wire reports. To comment or to contribute, call 981-3393 or 981-3237 or send E-mail to skelly2180@AOL.COM.
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