Star Tribune from Minneapolis, Minnesota • Page 47

MONDAY, JUNE 81998 STAR TRIBUNE PAGE E9 Variety A dalfy guide to technology news, views and user tips With mom dying, she urges smokers to quit Mm mm mm Wi 91 I i ft WWW. Ann Landers the coupons. I just smile and compliment him. I wish the women who are having problems with their re- tired husbands would realize that their men need something to do. Sitting around doing nothing does little for their self-esteem.

They need to feel important and in charge. Let them. View it as an opportunity to have a little more free time for yourself. F.H. in Salem, Ore.

Ann says: What a wise woman you are. Your letter is a blueprint for peace and harmony in the post-retirement years. Thank you. Gem of the Day (Credit The Prairie Rambler): The man who claims he is the boss in his own home will probably lie about other things, too. Ann Landers is a columnist for Creators Syndicate; her column appears every day.

Letters should be addressed to Ann Landers, P.O. Box 11562, Chicago, IL 60611-0562. For a personal reply, enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope. cigarettes, and don't bum 'em off people with whom you work or socialize. It cannot help but put you down a notch or two in their eyes.

Take-charge guys Dear Ann: I've been reading with interest the letters from women whose husbands have retired. All of them were complaining. I know where they're coming from because I was one of them. When my husband retired, he had no hobbies, either. Neither of us were ready to be together 24 hours a day.

Whenever we had an argument (and there were plenty), one of us would go for a walk. The time alone helped clear the air and cool tempers. One day when I was cooking, he started to taste a few things and suggested that I put a little more salt in the stew and add more carrots. That did it. I took off my apron, handed it to him and said, "From now on, you are going to do the cooking around here." Well, today he is a better cook than I ever was.

He also does all the marketing and brags about how much money he saves with Dear Ann: As I watch my mother struggling for breath, dying a horrible death from emphysema, I feel resentment and rage. Though she's in and out of a morphine haze, my mother still manages to sneak cigarettes. She has an oxygen tube in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Meanwhile, she is choking to exhaustion. I know what it takes to stop smoking.

I was a three-pack-a-day smoker myself and quit cold turkey when I became pregnant. I have not had a cigarette since 1978 and am still tempted, so I understand addiction. No one else can quit for you, or make it easier, but it will never be easier than it is today. 1 also know that love for yourself and commitment to others you care about is all that is needed to quit smoking. There are no magic formulas or easy shortcuts.

The only way to quit is one cigarette at a time. Some will write me off as just another former smoker on a soap box, but I hope maybe someone who needs just a little encouragement to quit will take heart and choose health over emphysema, cancer and the other scourges of Entrepreneurs turn Internet usert typos into opportunities Washington Post nicotine. I don't have all the answers, but I pray that something said here may serve to prevent some other mother from dying slowly in her daughter's arms, choking and drenched in tears. Sad in Rhode Island Ann says: You've written a powerful letter, but I can tell you that people have written to say it is easier to get off cocaine than cigarettes. Nicotine addicts say they find substitutes helpful in their struggle to quit.

Gum chewing and mints help, and so do fake cigarettes made of plastic. There are now new prescription drugs to help smokers kick the habit. A final suggestion: Don't buy Everybody makes mistaeks. Especially when keyboarding in those pesky Internet addresses. Now some companies are turning your gaffes into gold.

Sav vou want to order a book from She can't get close to man who needs space ed by all the "to do" lists running through my mind to look forward to a sexy evening. By chance, I started reading romance novels. Suddenly my sex drive increased dramatically. Some of them are very descriptive, and they caused me to think about sex throughout the day (something my husband says he's always done). The result is, come bedtime, I've been mentally preparing for lovemaking all day long.

Sometimes I'm even the initiator. My husband and I are happier and more satisfied. Been There, Doing That Abby says: I almost ripped my bodice when I read your solution. Now why didn't that occur to me? Abigail Van Buren is a columnist for Universal Press Syndicate; her column appears every day. Letters should be addressed to Dear Abby, P.O.

69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069. For a personal reply, enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope. the isolation and loneliness of men kill them before their time. Fast Eddie, Garden Grove, Calif. Abby says: That's a keen observation.

What's astonishing is how easy it can be to reverse those unhealthy habits. Following a regular program of moderate exercise and relieving stress by communicating with others in a social environment should not only add years to men's lives, but make those years more enjoyable. Books an aphrodisiac Dear Abby: I may be able to help "Frustrated Husband," whose wife's sex drive was decreasing while his seemed to be increasing. My husband and I were in the same situation. I was tired after working all day, then caring for our daughters and trying to keep the house straight.

Sex never crossed my mind unless my husband mentioned it. I was usually too tired or distract Dear Abby. I'm 32 years old and in love with a man I met six months ago. The problem is that I'm not sure he cares about me. He recently went through a tough divorce that hurt him deeply.

His ex-wife was the only relationship he ever had. Things were going well for us until a few months ago, when he told me he "needed his space." We got back together, and then about a month after that he began to slowly slip away from me again. Each week he would distance himself more, until one day I received a letter from him stating that he felt we were not meant for each other. I love him so much and I don't want to lose him forever. I keep hoping he'll change his mind and come back, because at work he still has a picture of the two of us on his desk.

Does this mean something? Please help? Heartbroken in Vermont Abby says: I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but the timing couldn't have been worse for the two of you to have met. A man who is fresh out of a tough divorce from a wife who was his first and only love has many issues to work through before he settles down to another serious commitment. The fact that he still keeps a Dear Abby photograph of the two of you on his desk means that the association is a pleasant one for him. But you're ready to get serious and he's not, so keep looking. Don't sit out senior years Dear Abby: I'm in my 70s, and I have a theory about why women outlive men.

At any senior center that has exercise, line dancing and aerobic classes, you are lucky to see one or two men participating. The women are as happy as hens in a barn yard dancing, exercising and giving each other hugs. I am one of the few men in the classes, and at times I'm the only man. As I leave the classes, I notice men in the reading room sitting a mile apart with their noses buried in a book, while their wives help each other stay healthy both physically and mentally. I think Camera salutes the Spice Girls Whether you love them or hate them, there's no denying the Spice Girls have gained worldwide notoriety.

Capitalizing on that popularity and targeting teens and young adults, Polaroid has just released Spice-Cam, which it says is the first instant camera to be named after a pop group. However, like the fun-loving group, SpiceCam has more style than substance. Modeled after Polaroid's newly restyled OneStep, SpiceCam is highlighted in the Spice Girls' "Girl Power" colors of pop purple, hot pink, neon orange and touch-of-class silver. It's packaged with Spice Girls portrait stickers including departing Ginger Spice GeriHalliwell to allow users to customize and personalize it. The multihued SpiceCam accepts Polaroid 600 instant film, including Platinum and the new Alterlmage, a matte-surface film that invites after-exposure artistic expression with pens, paint and markers.

The suggested retail price is $39.99. Cox News Service The Net Online today Musician Morty Ferber plays live at the BlueNote Jazz Club. 8 p.m. on the Internet. URL: http: www.

broadcast.com concertsbluenote. Jonathan Gaw Web hits prlceline.com It's an old sales The salesman sidles up as you ogle that new car. Great car, he says. Yeah, you say, but it's too expensive. Well, he says, how much did you want to pay? Well, like, next to nothing, naturally.

That's the concept behind this site, billed as "the buying service where you name the price." For example, travel at the price you want to pay. Want to go to Iowa City for your brother's graduation but don't want to spend $400? Post a request onPricelineforan airline ticket, state the price you want to pay (after comparing what most airlines are charging) and secure it with a credit card. Within an hour (24 hours for international flights), the service will search for a seller who decides whether to fill the request. There's no guarantee you'll get the ticket at your price, but it can't hurt to try. Tribune Media Services Comments? Do you have a question, comment or story idea for Tech Today? If so, please call our voice-mail line at 673-9089 or e-mail us at techtoday startribune.com.

Amazon.com, the online bookstore. You log onto the World Wide Web and type the bookstore's address into the box at the top of the screen. But by accident you write "Amazom" instead of "Amazon." Sure enough, a bookstore's page appears. At least it looks like a bookstore's page. Search the Book Stacks, it says.

You can type in the name of the book or author "tN you're looking a for. The search, however, doesn't Web take you to seat-wanderings to the site of Books.com, a rival outfit in Cleveland that's been on the Internet in one form or another since 1991. All around the Web, sites are springing up that make hay of human errors. Usually, a Web address is preceded by three W's to tell the machine to go to the World Wide Web. That is where most folks foul up, said Robert Hoffer, founder of Typo.Net of Mountain View, which is built around people's typing errors.

"For someone who is a touch typist, or someone who's not," Hoffer said, "the construct 'www' misfocuses your energy and attention so that the next thing you type after that will be a mistake." Companies such as Barnes Noble (http:www.barnesandnoble.com) ask for trouble, he said, because their Internet addresses are so long. Often people who bang in the wrong address wind up with a "404 Object Not Found" page. This tells you there's no such address. If, however, the mistaken page has been commandeered by Hoffer and Typo.Net, the person who screwed up will be whisked first to some ads, then to the correct page in a wink, he said. Hoffer and his partner, Timothy L.

Kay, have registered domain names about 80 that are close to the real things, including Micorsoft.com and Yaho.com. So if you enter "yaho" instead of "Yahoo," you are transported to a Typo.Net page for a few moments, then to the page that presumably you Wanted in the first place. While you're on the Typo.Net page, you stare at an ad or two. "The only way we could figure out how to pay for the service," Hoffer said, "was by advertising." Industry of errors Hoffer added that lots of companies are snarfing up snafus. "The industry of typographical errors has grown up," he said.

One titan of the industry is Eugene Goland, 28, president of DataArt, a New York City-based Internet consulting group. His company, he said, owns more than 200 near-miss addresses, including Yyahoo.com. By roping in errant surfers, Goland promotes an online personal organizer. The ploy works pretty well, he said. "We have a million visits per month overall." Another company that owns a lot of mistaken identities such as Anazon.com and NYTims.com calls itselfABCSearch.com.

On the face of it, it's a small search engine. Closer looks reveal advertised links to adult-oriented sites. When asked about the link from Amazom.com, lack Bashan of Books, com explained that his company refuses to deal with companies that pro- miclonrlina information tO CUS- mil BKr Book helps ease pain of Gen-X women at 30 Book review law girlfriends in New York went crazy when they turned 29. That's when I decided I was the best qualified to write it." The bottom line of her book? "Turning 30 is the best thing that can happen to a girl," says Tilsner. "They couldn't pay you to be 22 again." Contemporary Books Place your FREE personal ad with Get Acquainted online at www.startribune.com and click your way into someone's heart.

StarTribune It's where you live. SAN FRANCISCO The Gen-X woman fears little. Get fired? Get over it. Get stood up? Get a new boy toy. Bad hair day? Whatever.

But turning 30? Now that's scary. Author Julie Tilsner explains why in her newly released book, "29 and Counting: A Chick's Guide to Turning 30" (Contemporary Books). Turning 30 is the age by which every Gen-Xer expects to have done something with her life, made her mark somehow, at least have a steady date. But just as sure as that first gray hair and the ticking of her biological clock, most female Gen-Xers are not where they expected to be when their fourth decade is upon them. "We've had more choice than any other generation, so naturally we're paralyzed from making any choice at all," says Tilsner.

"No wonder we feel like losers when we hit 30 no matter what we've done." Few Gen-X women realize how much life improves once they hit the big three-oh, says Tilsner. "You start to get the respect you deserve professionally, you start to figure out the stuff that's really important in life, and you finally accept yourself for who you are, not who you think you should be. Plus all that stuff about your sexual peak? It's all true." "There were hundreds of books about women turning 40 and 50," she says. "But there was nothing about turning 30 and believe me, every one of my power-chick Announcing a special way to make an announcement. HAPPY GRADUATION TO YOU! Congratulations to Sarah! i Congratulate your graduate with a "Stars Tribute" ad.

This great feature appears every Thursday in the Variety section of the Star Tribune newspaper. To place your ad, call 6734219 at least one week before you want your message published. Love, Mom V1UV HllkHl-UUHitj tomers. He said thatAmazom.com, an independent company, has added a disclaimer at the top of its page. Sure enough, in fine print, Amazom.com protests that it is unrelated to Amazon.com.

So, Bashan said, Amazom.com will continue to be a "links partner" with his company and will earn a 12 percent commission on every Books.com sale it generates. Fixit StarTribune It's where you live. Fixit is on vacation and Is expected to return next Monday. i.