ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, November 7, 1996 TAG: 9611070013
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Computer Bits
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
HOT NEW INTERNET SITES offer Worldwide Web surfers advice on raising children, booking airline flights and basting Thanksgiving turkeys.
Time Warner Cable and Procter & Gamble Productions Inc. have teamed to provide a new resource for parents on the Internet.
The service is called ParentTime and its designed to provide customized information to parents based on the ages of their children, from newborns to 18-year-olds. The information a visitor to the Worldwide Web site receives also can be further personalized to match the interests and lifestyles of parents and children.
Plans are to improve the service constantly by adding information, the sponsors said. Because it's a new service, most of the information available now is for newborns and kids up to age 2.
The site offers data on child development, health, entertainment, activities, relationships and family finance. For information, the service draws from Time Warner editorial products such as Parenting magazine, Time-Life Books, Little, Brown and Co., Sports Illustrated for Kids and Baby Talk.
Child development experts available on the service include: Dr. Nancy Snyderman, medical correspondent for ABC's Good Morning America; Dr. Benjamin Spock, well-known pediatrician and author of Baby and Child Care; and Dr. William Sears, another well-known baby doctor.
The service is free and available 24 hours a day. A person doesn't have to register at the site to visit but registration is necessary to receive the personalized services. It can be reached directly or through Time Warner's Pathfinder site and Road Runner, the company's new high-speed on-line cable service.
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Looking for a new way to cook that Thanksgiving turkey to perfection? You might want to check in at Butterball Online, Butterball Turkey's homepage on the Web. Here you'll find recipes, carving tips and suggestions for grilling the fowl. Included are some practical advice called "Ten Steps to a Picture Perfect Turkey." There's even information on cooking chicken for those with smaller families or budgets.
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The Southwest Virginia Internet Society will hold its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday at the Hollins Library, 6624 Peters Creek Road. The speaker will be Karen Kapesser, who has been using the Internet for genealogical research for several years.
The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. for newcomers, with the regular meeting starting at 7 p.m. For more information, e-mail JPFxc2RBnet.com.
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Business travelers who use the Internet might want to check in with a new Web site, sponsored by TranspoNet Inc., RLM Software Inc. and TheTrip.com, which integrates executive sedan and limousine reservation service; real-time flight tracking information; and air, hotel and car reservation services.
The service, which is accessed through TheTrip.com's Web address, features travel tips and advertising targeted to the business traveler. Information about cities, airports, hotels and local weather is also available. One disappointment is that Roanoke was not listed on the service's city directory.
It is fascinating, however, to type in a request for information about flights between particular cities and see the flights' identification numbers, estimated times of arrival, positions and speeds appear on the computer screen.
Websites in today's column
PARENTING
http://www.parenttime.com
TURKEYS
http://www.butterball.com
INTERNET SOCIETY
http://www.icnz.com/swvis
BUSINESS FLYER
http://www.thetrip.com
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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