Lansing State Journal from Lansing, Michigan • Page 44

in fill lit: Gadgets, gizmos, software and more bovines that taunt the photographer with a flickering tail or a peek over a barbed wire fence, but never provide a full view. The artist dodges the question of why he spent several years abroad capturing live cow parts on film, saying, "If you need to ask that question, mate, you would never understand the answer anyway." Check it out at wwwJialf a cow.com Fore your computer A lot of golfers get cabin fever in the winter because the cold weather keeps them off the links. With Microsoft Golf 1999 Edition, there's no more waiting. The game features 99 holes from six courses, including Medalist Golf Club in Florida, Bay Harbor and Boyne Joystick joy QuickShot Technology has introduced a new joystick, the GenX 700K, with all the bells and whistles. The joystick includes the BioThrottle, which sits to the left of the joystick proper and slides back and forth along the joystick base.

For games that use a throttle, such as racing simulators, you can set up the BioThrottle to accelerate and decelerate your vehicle. It also features a 3-D handle that gives rotational and side-to-side movement The GenX 700K retails for about $50. For information, visit www.quickKhot.com Bovine art Cows don't always get the respect they deserve, but at one Web site, they're the stars of the show. The site features "Around the World With Half a Cow," a gallery of pictures of faraway It combines 3-D course graphics, animation and sounds to create a complete gaming experience. Golfers with Internet access also can challenge virtual golfers around the world through the MSN Gaming Zone.

Microsoft Golf 1999 Edition should be in stores next week and will retail for about $45. Written and compiled by Catherine Serrin. Highlands. Lansing State Journal I jw1 pkii.cimt4p-. Screen shot from Microsoft Golf 1999 Edition It won't just affect computers -phones and more may go down Where the Y2IC glitch may be hiding Computers are the chief concern.

The rule of thumb is that any computer with a Pentium chip, or a chip of comparable age, is safe. I f'TV phones and J' IV answering machines iSST SoJ Electronic fAWT clocks X'i PhJ Timers for lights, iTl sprinklers, 4 sfurnace Older electronic devices such as VCRs could have problems, but it's not likely, since less than 10 percent of chips used in consumer electronics have date problems. Comnuter Friday October 30, 1998 On the Web Want to learn more about Y2K? Check out these sites: www.year2000.com www.y2k.com www.bog.frb.fed.usy2k are out of the woods, said Mike Rogers, vice president of com-1 munication for the Small Busi- i ness Association of Michigan, i "The real issue is are your; vendors compliant, are your suppliers compliant?" Rogers said. "Do they have a plan?" The cost of becoming bug- free is difficult for many com- panies to estimate because up- i grades and new equipment often are done for a variety of reasons, not only to become compliant. Some estimates have placed the cost of updating computers for U.S.

companies at $300 bil- i lion and $600 billion for compa- nies worldwide. While businesses are pour- i ing money into fixing the prob- lem, some people, known as survivalists, are taking the min- imalist approach. They are stockpiling food and supplies and planning to live off the land until the chaos they think is certain subsides. I Unfortunately, there's no I way of telling if the prepara- tions people are taking will I make for an entirely smooth transition to 2000. In fact, one of the only things I that is certain about the Y2K problem is the deadline.

If you need help with that, pick up a Millennium 2000 Countdown Clock. It tracks the exact number of 1 days, hours, minutes and sec- onds until the new millennium and it's guaranteed to work. Who's talking on the Internet this week America Online Keyword: Center Stage Christopher Lee, the star of such films as "Dra-cula," chats live on Entertainment Asylum, 8 p.m. Friday. Chat live with the Mistress of the Dark, Elvira, Entertainment Asylum, midnight Saturday.

Join Barbra Streisand in her first-ever online to promote "Get Out The Vote" for the '98 Streisand election on AOL Live, 9 p.m. Monday. Compuserve Live Halloween seance with medium and psychic Alex Palermo, (www.compuserve.com cir), 9 p.m. Friday. Jennifer Carter, the first woman to dive down to the Titanic, and husband Joel Hirschorn, discuss the recovery of artifacts from the wreck of the Titanic, (www.compuserve.com cir), 7 p.m.

Wednesday. MSN Chat with author Michael Gelb about his book, "How to Think like Leonardo Da Vinci: Seven Steps to Everyday Genius," The Books Reading Community, 9 p.m. Friday. Join Josh Kulp, Director of the Conservative Ye-shiva in Jerusalem, to discuss the development o1 Jewish marital law from the time of the Torah to the Talmud, The Jewish Community, 11 p.m. Monday.

Come back Monday: Business Extra carries technology news. Wednesday: Web site suggestions run on -the Today cover. If you want to contact us with your ideas: Call: Robin Swartz at 377-1018. E-mail: Our online address is LSJ.news intemetmci.com Kamali was born and raised in Manhattan. She graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 1964.

She opened a Kamali shop on East 53rd Street in midtown Manhattan in 1968. Her first designs featured elaborate appliques, lizard and leather patches, snakeskins and T-shirts with rhinestone studs. After reinventing herself over and over again, changing her customer base completely and getting involved with huge companies and licensing, "I really feel this 'direct to the client' is really the way I want to go," Kamali said. Alarm SrJi I "Cl system jJ-v. Microwave y' oven VCR smaller number.

The problems start when computers start adding and subtracting dates. There are steps you can take to reduce the impact of the Y2K problem in your house, however. Start with your home computer. It's the item most likely to be affected. Generally, any computer with a Pentium chip is safe.

Furthermore, if you have an Apple computer, you should be OK. Apple computers generally are considered immune to the millennium bug. To determine your computer's status, visit the manufacturer's Web site or call and ask. When it comes to other equipment in your house, it's harder to determine which pieces are potential problems. Many household items, such as timers, garage-door openers and microwaves, contain embedded computer chips.

Not all of them track the date, however; many items track only the day. Again, the best bet is to contact the manufacturer. While you work to solve potential problems in your home, area businesses and city governments also are working to become bug-free. This, in turn, minimizes the effect on you as a consumer. At Capital City Airport, all the systems that need to be updated have been identified, said Joe Micale, deputy executive director of finance and administration for Capital Region Airport Authority.

By Catherine Serrin Lansing State Journal If you believe the hype, the world will come to a screeching halt at midnight on Jan. 1, 2000. In the midst of the party to end all parties, ATMs will stop working. VCRs won't record. Elevators won't run.

While much of the focus of the Year 2000 computer bug Y2K for short has been on attempts by businesses to prepare for it, there is also a very real effect on individuals. The phone company, for example, might have trouble figuring out your bill. A bill paid on time could be interpreted as 99 years late. Home security systems and personal finance programs on home computers might not work because they won't recognize the date. In fact, any device with a calendar function is at risk.

VCRs that track the year may not record because they think it's 1900, when televisions weren't even around. So much for Must-See TV. The problem exists because of the way years are coded in computers. To save space, original computer programmers used only the last two digits to stand for a year. For example, some computers read 1989 as 89.

So, when the clock strikes midnight on Jan. 1, 2000, computers will read the year as 00. Instead of recognizing 2000 as a larger number than 1999, computers will interpret it as a A Jv I It didn't have to replace its old computer equipment, said Rod Taylor, information systems manager for the city, because it hadn't developed technologically until recently. "The city is in a unique position, because most of the computerized equipment has been purchased in the last two or three years," Taylor said. Sparrow Health System established a committee to oversee the Y2K process and hired consultants, said Robert Gla-ser, vice president of information systems.

The organization divided its Telephones shouldn't have problems, but phone networks could cause calling delays. The Web should work surprisingly well. The Y2K bug shouldn't interfere with the movement of data "packets" through the network. Since most Web servers are less than five years old, the vast majority should work. Source: GNS research "We think that by January, we should be all set for Y2K," he said.

Once the new systems are installed, tests are planned to make sure they work, Micale said. The situation is similar at Capital Area Transportation Authority. "We were already scheduled to replace our mainframe with a new PC network," said Bob Zolkowski, assistant executive director of CATA. "We're going to be in really good shape." The city of East Lansing was even better off. Norma Kamali has her collections on a cutting-edge site By Carol Deegan Associated Press Designer Norma Kamali would rather read e-mail than put on a runway show.

"Everybody loves a show, and then with the celebrities' infusion into it, it became another layer of theater," said Kamali, referring to New York-based designers and the semiannual runway shows coordinated by 7th on Sixth. ook Gannett Graphics Network Y2K concerns into three areas: information systems, facilities and biomedical equipment. Each area has programs or equipment that need to be altered in some way. For example, 7 to 8 percent of about 8,000 pieces of biomedical equipment will require some sort of mediation, said Kathy Smith, Year 2000 project manager. The process has had "no small impact on either manpower or dollars," Glaser said.

Small businesses should not assume that because their computers are compliant that they ie than put on another runway show. "After 30 years in this business, I cannot, under any circumstances, do the same thing over and over again," Kamali said. "I had to do something else, absolutely." That "something else" is Ka-mali's Web page www.omo-norma-kamali.com where customers are invited to "shop like a celebrity" 24 hours a day. By going to the Web site, consumers can shop from anywhere in the world. They can view online the latest Norma Kamali designs in swim, gym, evening and sportswear.

Photos and videos keep cus online for a peek at designer clothes 'ujpjmuM m. ji.ii 4 wwuiw Pi I I T' iiiiiin "iiiith mil 1 1 mm mnr- tomers updated on new merchandise. Here's how it works: A personal stylist selects each customer's size, color preferences and special needs. Then a selection of clothing is sent to the customer's home or office against her uncharged credit card. Customers have 48 hours to ship back any clothing they do not wish to purchase.

Her Web site includes an online catalog, toll-free telephone number and e-mail address. If a consumer doesn't have access to online services, Kamali will send a video tape and photographs of the collection. Don't look for Kamali when the tents go up at Bryant Park in midtown Manhattan for Fashion Week. "Fashion shows? How prehistoric is that?" she said. "When we have all kinds of great media and we have fashion shows? It's like Carnival.

I just stopped doing them. I couldn't do them anymore." Kamali isn't the only designer who won't be sending models down the runway for the spring 1999 collections. Hal-ston pulled the plug on its show. Todd Oldham, who is focusing on his jeanswear, was quoted in Women's Wear Daily as saying he'd rather do a mov IL iU Associated Press Designs online: Norma Kamali has her own Web site. I iMaMi8' nmmmi ImimM Wmimirl mi MmttMl rrniiiiTi ml innmiiW Tiiiirfi frrtnnr-f irhi-mf wraiiiiiMl 1 i mti CW 233 MHz Pentium Processor wMMX Technology i 32 MB RAM.

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