ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, October 10, 1996 TAG: 9610100049
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Computer Bits
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
THE LATEST WEB SITES include a home page for plastic surgery, a service for absent-minded Web surfers and a reporting center for Internet fraud.
A new site on the Web is raising a few eyebrows - quite literally.
FacialSurgery.com, a site designed by Omaha plastic surgeon Dr. Steven Denenberg, is a gallery of more than 400 before and after pictures of his patients.
All the major facial surgeries are here: rhinoplasty (nose work), skin peels, full face lifts, eyelid surgery, otoplasty (protruding ears). You can view the photos in several sizes - all the way up to a screen-filling, pore-magnifying, larger-than-life-size format - and the site offers several views of most patients.
Rest assured, there's nothing grotesque here. The photos are all of patients who chose plastic surgery because they wanted it, not because they needed it after a mutilating accident. And all the patients gave their permission to have their photos displayed in cyberspace.
The site, according to Denenberg, is intended to give people who are contemplating facial plastic surgery an idea of what to look for in a good surgeon.
If you're actually considering facial surgery, you can get more detailed information about the various procedures from several Q-and-A pages. Denenberg includes tips on how to find and interview a plastic surgeon. And just in case you're taken by his own handiwork, Denenberg also tells you how to arrange a visit to his clinic in Nebraska. You can even order a CD-ROM version of FacialSurgery.com for $20.
The site even lists basic price ranges. A full face lift will cost you $4,500 to $6,000, plus an additional $1,500 to $2,000 for anesthesia, lab work and other costs.
Electronic memory
You forgot your last doctor's appointment, and the birthday card you sent your sister was two days late.
If you're one of those folks who needs to be reminded to take off your shoes when you go to bed, you might want to register with Never Forget, the cyber equivalent of a string around your finger.
This free e-mail reminder service, which is sponsored by various advertisers, will notify you of obligations up to 10 days in advance. All you have to do is register, then list up to 12 events you need to remember: birthday, bar or bat mitzvah, exams, graduation, wedding, doctor appointment and more. You also can choose how far in advance you want to be reminded, from one to 10 days. The service will then automatically send you an e-mail reminder
In addition to the 12 custom notifications, you also can request reminders - which come a week in advance - for a whole list of holidays, including Valentine's Day and Boss's Day.
Net watchdog
As Internet commerce expands, so does the potential for on-line fraud. If you think you've spotted a scheme - Internet, telephone or otherwise - you can file a report electronically at the National Consumers League Internet Fraud Watch site.
The site, launched in February, has received more than 300,000 hits so far. It includes an e-mail report form, as well as toll-free telephone numbers if you'd rather talk to a counselor one-on-one.
Fraud Watch includes an archive of the NCL's news releases and consumer alerts from the past year, as well as shopping tips and a summary of the Federal Trade Commission's Telemarketing Sales Rule. The site also offers a page devoted to senior citizens, including tips on how to say "no" to telephone solicitors.
The NCL shares Internet Fraud Watch data with local, state and federal agencies, including the FTC and state attorneys general.
The NCL, founded in 1899, is a private, nonprofit membership organization that represents consumers on issues including fraud, food and drug safety and telecommunications.
PLASTIC SURGERY http://www.FacialSurgery.com
NEVER FORGET http://www.neverforget.com/
FRAUD WATCH http://www.fraud.org
You can contribute to this column or just comment by sending an e-mail to biznews@roanoke.infi.net or by calling 981-3393 or 981-3237 in the Roanoke Valley, or (800) 346-1234, ext. 393, outside the Roanoke area.
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