I remember the good ‘ole days where you had two options when taking a trip. The first being to wing it and not plan at all; just hopping on the road and seeing where adventure took you. The other alternative that many of us more cautious people can relate to was a trip to our local AAA office. After some conversation, explanation, and the acquisition of a thick guide book and triptik, we could visualize our way to our destination.

However, that was all done assuming you knew destination. As long as you could find a cheap enough hotel room or conserve enough gas you were on your way!

Kayak took that predetermined trip planning idea and flipped it on its head. Now you can enter how much you want to spend and see where it is that you can go for that amount of money (depending on where you depart from). In playing around with it for a short while I have found many interesting results that I never would have considered by myself. The fact that I am choosing to investigate an option is more fulfilling as I do not feel as though I am responding to some marketing aimed at tourists.

With budgets tight and “staycations” becoming ever more popular, it is once again fun to see how far you can stretch a dollar and what trouble you can get yourself into!

However, a higher up court deemed Google to be relinquished of all liability due to the fact that 3^rd party stores may sell accessories for trademarked items so searching for “Louis Vuitton accessories” is an allowable search.

So, you may be asking yourself – why do we care?  It’s a European ruling and it pertains to a trendy segment hardly covering any of our demographic.

I choose to write about this topic because it reminds me of how vigilant we have to be when conducting business these days.  It especially raises concerns when I think of my parents who are amongst those in the most highly targeted group by scam perpetrators.  I believe that we babyboomers have an air of suspicion that the trusting generation of our parents do not.  Combine this with their relatively basic online skills (please forgive the gross generalization) and it becomes more important to stay informed and proactive.

I urge all of you to please use this as an opportunity to take the time to understand your relatives’ online habits and gauge their understanding of trustworthiness and then help lead them down a safe path!

Before I begin, I have to admit I laughed out loud when I was first reading about the product unveiling and someone had posted a comment online that said…”Hey look…they finally made an iPhone with buttons big enough for old people.”  It’s sad but true.  I have tried multiple times to convince myself to buy a touch screen device (phone), however I find the user interfaces to be frustratingly delicate and difficult when coupled with my tendentious.

The iPad is marketed as the portable multimedia end-all-be-all.  Frustratingly, it seems a lot like the iPod and the iPhone.  It plays TV shows, movies, music.  You can surf the internet, view pictures, and even use it as an e-book reader.  And of course it comes with free wireless internet through traditional 802.x access points, and the optional ($) connectivity to AT&T’s 3G internet through their cellular phone network is a nice upgrade.

To its credit, I admit its 9.7 inch screen is a welcome increase over the smaller screens of the iPod and iPhone.  But even as I write this article, I am having a hard time thinking of how I would actually use it. Simply put, the idea of it makes me feel awkward.  Its size makes it less portable than an iPod or iPhone; therefore as far as listening to music goes I think I’ll stick to my iPod.  I would never watch TV or movies on it while in my house as I have a nice 57 inch plasma hanging on the wall.  In terms of traveling, I suppose I could watch TV or movies on it but only when flying on a plane.  No need to buy one for long car rides as I’m usually the one that drives.  If my family members come over, the little ones already bring their Gameboys and PSPs so there is no need for them to play games on my iPad.  Mobile internet could be a selling point, but Apple still doesn’t provide a way to play flash on their devices, so flash enabled websites are out of the question.  And finally, all of the hype that I have heard about Amazon’s kindle e-book reader is that it is super easy on your eyes.  I attribute this to the fact that there is no backlight which reduces eye strain.  Most anticipate that the iPad will be much harder on your eyes due to its constant use of backlight…

My rant could go on and on for quite some time, but at the end of the day I feel that for any use I can think of, there is already a more reasonable solution to the need.  One can make the argument that it combines the best of all the other devices; however that is unsatisfactory as they are all provided with some level of compromise.  Think of a Swiss army knife…yeah it’s great that it has a screw driver in it, but wouldn’t you really prefer to use a real screw driver?

Additionally, the iPad does not make accomplishing routine tasks any easier for us boomers.  Maybe I would be more interested if it alerted me whenever new pictures of my grandkids were available and threw them into a slideshow automatically for me- but no, it does not.  I still need to perform my normal functions (check e-mail, login to facebook, etc) to keep up to date with my family.

What are your thoughts?  Am I being too hard?  Have you already placed your order for one? By some estimates Apple is selling 20,000-25,000 of these an hour.  Only time will tell if they managed to hit it out of the park once again but for now I’m keeping my credit card in my wallet…

A young female cable installer with two small children wants to get a college degree but cannot leave her children alone in the evenings to attend classes. A middle-aged construction worker wants to take college courses but there is no campus nearby. A female executive needs to get her master’s degree in order to get promoted, but is too overworked to attend a three-hour evening class two times a week. Are their educational goals out of reach

Not at all, according to D. Quinn Mills, Harvard University professor and chairman of New Promise, a Web site supermarket (www.newpromise.com) that helps people find the college courses they need on the Internet.

Cost, convenience and accessibility are driving a cyberspace revolution in education. Thousands of college courses are now being offered on the Internet, allowing people to attend class at home or while taking a break at work, at a very affordable cost.

Today, you can find more courses under more topics on the Internet than on any one campus anywhere, states Professor Mills. And new methods of Internet teaching are improving at a rapid pace, including perfect audio, real-time and 3-D images.

Soon course texts will include frequent updates from the author of the text, as well as the professor who is teaching the course, and you’ll be able to key in questions that come to mind as you’re reading the assignment. New software will immediately answer your questions as well as search the entire course reading assignments in search of possible themes.

Students across the nation are embracing education via the Internet. Eighty-five percent of the students taking classes on the UCLA Extension Internet say their learning experience is as good as or better than that of the on-campus classroom. Many prefer the e-mail chat groups with fellow students that help them explore assignments together, as well as the ability to view a lecture or a visual demonstration again and again. Many students also find it less intimidating to ask questions through e-mail than in a traditional classroom setting.

Online courses are also a great alternative for physically challenged students, traditional students who have a conflict in their class schedules, and individuals who simply can’t afford the usual tuition fees.

But, how do individuals who want to pursue their education locate and sort through the thousands of college courses being offered on the World Wide Web? This dilema prompted the creation of the New Promise Web site, which helps people carefully select the appropriate college courses by describing and rating them, then listing them by title, topic (math, economics, etc.), college or university, and degree program.

“We’ve positioned New Promise at the forefront of the coming revolution in cyberspace,” notes Mills. “It’s the portal to higher education on the Internet.” He adds that New Promise lists only fully accredited schools and is the only comprehensive source of its kind. Currently New Promise lists over 600 courses, including ones from Harvard, UCLA, and Michigan State University.

Certainly, online education is only expected to increase, as the quality of Internet education skyrockets and the cost of computers and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) continues to decline. Today there are more than 100 million users accessing the Internet; in the next seven to 10 years, experts predict the numbers will top one billion.

For more information on cyberspace education, contact the Carol Nashe Group at 888-562-2874, or visit the New Promise Web site at www.newpromise.com.

Courtesy of Article Resource Association, www.aracopy.com

Steve and Maureen Deyo turned to the Internet when they began to consider adopting a second child. The Deyos are both involved with the deaf community and were interested in adopting a two or three-year-old hearing-impaired child, from the U.S. The Deyos timetable called for them to adopt in a couple of years. Their son Christian had just turned two, and they wanted a second child to be about two years younger. But in February of 1995, less than a month after Steve began gathering information on the Internet, the Deyos received an e-mail listing of children in need of adoptive families from the Deaf Adoption News Service (DANS).

They were drawn to the description of a five-month-old from Colombia whose referral agency was Children’s Home Society of Minnesota, located in St. Paul where the Deyos lived. Setting timetables and considerations aside, the Deyos called the agency and set up an appointment. Four months later, they brought their son, Adam Martin, home from Colombia.

Steve and Maureen Deyo turned to the Internet when they began to consider adopting a second child.

The Deyos are just one of the thousands of families who have chosen the Internet to find adoption information. Over the past two years, news groups, chatrooms and adoption-related home pages have propagated. An adoption search under the DejaNews newsgroup search engine calls up more than 10,000 entries ranging from “Adoption in North Carolina” to “Failed Adoption Plan”, to “Adoption Success Stories.” A click on “My Adoption Home Page”, brings up a personal home page by a couple hoping to adopt and requesting help in locating a birth parent. The newsgroup “soc.adoption.adoptees” is widely used for discussion about searching for birth parents and/or adopted children.

Children’s Home Society of Minnesota, the agency who facilitated the Deyos’ adoption, has had a home page since last January. According to Margi Miller, International Adoption Program supervisor at Children’s Home Society of Minnesota, “We were using the Internet for e-mail to our out-of-state clients and to our international representatives, and as an informational source. With 15 adoption programs in Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America, there’s a big cost savings over sending faxes to communicate to our international representatives. We also have had several requests from adoption-related sites such as the DANS for information about our programs and the children we placed. Developing our own home page seemed like the logical next step.”

Since they went on-line, Children’s Home Society has had more than 7000 people visit its site. About one third of the requests for information about its international adoption programs come from the web site. The home page also includes information about Pregnancy Counseling and Open Adoption, Post Adoption Services, and Tour Korea, an adoption-focused tour offered each summer for children and their families who have adopted from Korea. There are plans to expand the site further by adding a “What’s New” section that will include upcoming events, new programs and resources and program updates.

The Internet also provides a forum for adoptive families to interact with each other. One popular site, http://www.pshrink.com/chinadopt, is a collection of personal opinions and information developed by Edward Hume, M.D., an adoptive parent. It provides answers to frequently asked questions for parents who have adopted from China or who are currently in the process.

However, Children’s Home Society adoption program director David Pilgrim cautions, “As useful a tool as the Internet can be, readers shouldn’t assume everything they read is gospel. Many news groups are unmoderated and uncensored. Anybody with access can claim to be an expert and report any information they care to– there is no way to distinguish truth from fiction, or to detect distorted information. We encourage our clients to verify information.”

As long as an adoptive family understands the caveats, the Internet can help provide invaluable connections. The Deyos used the Internet as a resource when they were looking for affordable accommodations in Colombia; families adopting from Colombia must travel to the country and stay there for a month to six weeks. Through the Internet, the Deyos arranged to stay with a missionary in Bogota at a much more affordable cost than the $75 per day hotel costs most families encounter.

An editor for a computer magazine, Steve was able to continue business as usual during his stay in Bogota by establishing an Internet account. He stayed in contact with his office through e-mail, and modemed the articles for his magazine, including edits and final layouts, back to his office. Steve has also started information gathering for the future possibility of adopting a third child, but he and Maureen insist, “It’s at least a couple of years away.” (ARA)

Courtesy of Article Resource Association; www.aracopy.com; e-mail: info@aracopy.com

It’s happening in Minneapolis, MN thanks to Pillsbury Neighborhood Services’ Community Barter Network (CBN), a computerized neighbor-to-neighbor exchange of services for credits.

Community bartering is the perfect solution for individuals like Mildred Wing, who is no longer able to be very active. Now a neighbor boy (the son of a CBN participant) walks her dog and other CBN participants deliver her food. In return, Mildred has assisted with a CBN telephone survey, allowing her to give back. Some of the credits she spends also come from a pool of credits donated by other participants.

In addition to assisting those in need, CBN is helping area residents build a strong sense of community. After CBN participant Molly Reinemann rejuvenated the garden of Meredith and Paul Falley, a disabled couple, their friendship developed to the point that Molly now house sits when Meredith and Paul are away.

The notion of community bartering has been on the minds of Pillsbury Neighborhood Services (PNS) leadership for several years, according to program coordinator Carole Broad. In 1995, the right pieces fell together; agency staff and community residents met to develop a barter program for a community where many individuals were short on cash, but long on talent.

In CBN, time is not money, but credits. An hour of service earns one credit in the barter system. Participants start with five credits so they can use the services right away. Every time a participant performs a service, s/he receives one credit per hour of work. Later that same participant can use the earned credits to receive an impressive variety of services from bike repair to massage therapy to tax preparation.

Everyone completes a satisfaction survey after each barter. Credits earned and spent are recorded on a data base. Members receive periodic reports of their status within the system, much like bank statements.

CBN welcomed its charter members in January 1996. Since its inception, CBN has grown to include 145 members – most of whom live in south Minneapolis. Joining CBN is simple; members must simply attend an orientation, the times of which are posted at Pillsbury House in Minneapolis and in the CBN newsletter.

CBN’s unique approach has attracted media attention and the program welcomes enthusiastic new participants every month, says Broad, so expansion and improvement are always on the minds of CBN participants. Current projects include creating a CBN web site and promoting youth employment by linking teens to seniors through bartering. Recruiting more members of color has been and remains a top priority.

For information on CBN, contact (612) 824-0708. Pillsbury Neighborhood Services is a nonprofit social service agency that serves more than 35,000 individuals annually. Programs ranging from early childhood education to senior transportation (and everything in between!) are housed at PNS’s community centers in north and south Minneapolis. Call (612) 827-5814 for information on programs and activities. (ARA)