ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, December 26, 1996 TAG: 9612260093
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Computer Bits
SOURCE: MEGAN SCHNABEL STAFF WRITER
COLUMBIA HOUSE will let members order tapes and CDs, decline or accept offers and pay on line.
If you're planning a trip to an unfamiliar locale - or if you're going home for New Year's Day and just want to find a better traveling route - check out the free TripQuest and MapQuest services on the Internet.
Rick Jefferson, a former Virginian living in Omaha, Neb., raved about this site via e-mail. He said he has used it for planning trips and has been pleased with the results.
The service, which uses the University of Michigan geographic name server and a database of world cities, will calculate mileage between cities and even give you city-to-city directions. Within metropolitan areas, you can get directions to go from one street address to another.
For example, a request for mileage from Roanoke to Chicago produced within seconds a map of the Eastern half of the U.S., plus smaller ones of the Roanoke and Chicago areas. The trip is 519 miles as the crow flies, the computer said.
But since that measurement doesn't do much good - considering my wings are in the shop - I requested highway directions and mileage. This time, I got a detailed set of directions, taking me from Interstate 581 to Chicago, a trip of 726.8 miles. The service told me which highways to take and in which direction, as well as how many miles I'd drive on each road. It even warned me of toll roads, although it doesn't include toll amounts.
I also was able to look at detailed maps of both Roanoke and Chicago - street by street - by zooming in and out of the two maps. The service will locate points of interest, including restaurants and hospitals and shopping centers.
If you become a MapQuest member, you can personalize maps to include your own points of interest. Registration is free; all you have to do is enter your name and e-mail address. The disclaimer says the company won't sell its membership list or use it for marketing purposes. If you're not comfortable about sharing your address, though, you can get just about all the features you'll need simply by using the service as a non-member.
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As if you didn't have enough trouble making sure your kids return the cards that comes with its monthly mailings, Columbia House, the mail order music company jointly owned by Time-Warner and Sony, has launched an interactive Web site to make it easier to order from its catalogs of 10,000 music and 7,000 video titles.
Columbia's Video Library of documentaries and classic TV series, Laserdisc Club and CD-ROM Direct club also are accessible through the site. Coming soon are a Canadian music club, audiobook club and a music subscription series.
Members, who already receive the company's mailings, can respond to them, either declining or accepting offers, on line. Or they can search for a music product by the artist or title.
On-line credit-card transactions are protected with encryption software, but payment is not required at time of purchase. Orders are billed with the shipment.
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The Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. says it's sponsoring a grass-roots national effort on the SeniorNet Web site to seek solutions to critical national issues. Three six-week sessions will be featured in the first half of 1997, beginning with a forum on Medicare reform and the family that runs from Jan.13 through Feb.24. Check the Web site for information.
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Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke, said he opposes the Department of Commerce's proposed rules for the export of advanced data-scrambling computer encryption software. The rules will "violate the privacy of U.S. citizens, cost Americans jobs and kill the ability of U.S. software companies to effectively compete abroad," he said.
The rules would require companies that produce encryption software to give the government a decoding key rather than making a key available if the government showed a need for it. Unless the department changes its mind, he will reintroduce his Security and Freedom through Encryption Act when Congress convenes in January, Goodlatte said.
The act would prevent the government from requiring that it be given a key to the back door of people's computers, make it unlawful to use encryption to cover up a crime, continue the right of Americans to choose any security system for their computers, and allow U.S. software companies to export hardware and software if a similar product is available from other countries.
Staff writer Greg Edwards contributed information to this report.
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