Visit the Super Bowl Sunday on the Web

Jan. 26, 1997

By JIM BROOKS

After an long absence, the Green Bay Packers have returned to the Super Bowl to face the New England Patriots in today's game. And for some of the best coverage on the Internet, Superbowl.com is place for Packers and Patriots fans.

You can check out the schedule of events for today's Super Sunday events and read the latest news about the teams and the players.

Using RealAudio technology, you can hear audio clips from the coaches at their last press conference before today's match, even review the postseason brackets that made up the road to the Super Bowl XXXI.

While most of us won't make it the New Orleans Superdome for the game, thanks to the Internet, you can see what the dome looks like by taking a virtual tour.

If you have a multimedia-equipped PC, you can check out audio and video from coaches and team members during the march to the Super Bowl.

The Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots both have their own pages on superbowl.com, with analysis of their strengths and weaknesses, and even flashbacks to previous trips to Super Bowls of the past.

Point your browser to www.superbowl.com.

TV GUIDE. For additional Super Bowl content, try the sports section at TV Guide's Web site, Fox Sports Online.

Besides daily updates on the Super Bowl, you'll find great content covering your favorite sports, including hockey, soccer, and yes, basketball.

SI ONLINE. Another killer site for Super Bowl coverage is SI Online from Sports Illustrated.

You'll find a complete analysis of each team, status, reviews of past playoffs and lots more.

Point your browser to www.pathfinder.com/si/superbowl/ for more information.

BUSY SIGNALS. America Online is still in the news as it grapples with handling the avalanche of new users coming to its service.

As mentioned recently in this column, 20 attorneys general from a cross-section of states met on Thursday to discuss consumer's problems accessing the AOL system.

According to a report on CNBC, the chief of special prosecutions for the Florida Attorney General's office expects the attorneys to take action to satisfy frustrated AOL users.

In the meantime, other Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are profiting from AOL's problems:

AT&T Worldnet reported double the number of new subscribers so far in the month of January, with reports from many of those users that they were frustrated with AOL.

In a Reuters story Thursday, Tom Evslin, vice president of AT&T Worldnet Service, said the information came to light from interviews the service conducted with some of its new subscribers.

"We did a survey of people who are calling 1-800 WorldNet and 44.5 percent of the 1,000 people we interviewed were AOL customers," he told Reuters.

AT&T's subscribers currently number just more than 500,000.

The company is currently testing ads that will promote its reliability, Evslin said.

An America Online spokesman said any gains AT&T has made in light of AOL's troubles are insignificant in comparison with the growth of the eight-million member service.

Columbus, Ohio-based online giant CompuServe will run its first-ever Super Bowl ad today, following up with print ads focused around the same theme -- the ability for users to reliably connect.

It's an awareness issue, according to Scott Kauffman, CompuServe vice president of Interactive Services.

The ads will stress that CompuServe's capacity planning, and record of avoiding the problems of its competitors -- meaning AOL.

LOCAL CONNECTIONS. InfiNet users have experienced some of the problems associated with keeping up with the growing popularity of the Internet in Hardin County.

Some users trying to connect during peak evening hours have had to deal with busy signals or sudden disconnects.

But according to recent e-mail from InfiNet, relief is in sight.

An upgrade set for February was moved to Monday, InfiNet said.

For more information, call InfiNet's technical support department.

WOMEN ON THE WEB. Yahoo! and Wire Networks have joined forces to offer Beatrice's Web Guide, found at www.bguide.com.

Wire Networks publishes Women's Wire, an interactive magazine for women on the World Wide Web. Creating a specialized Web directory aimed at women was a natural move for the company.

The site's host, Beatrice shares timely and useful reviews and tips about Web sites for women.

The site features hot lists of new sites, news of what's going on, as well as feature articles about useful aspects of the Web.

FREE CREDIT REPORTS ON THE WEB. If you've ever financed a home or other major purchase, you're all too familiar with how important a good credit rating can be.

And if you've ever wanted to request a copy of your credit report -- but wanted to avoid a fee -- now's your chance.

Experian, a company that used to be a part of TRW, has announced it is offering complimentary credit reports through March 1.

For details, you can surf to Experian's Web site at www.experian.com.

To get your free credit report from Experian before their offer ends on March 1, dial 1-800-682-7654 for instructions on how to order the report.

Or write to Experian Complimentary Report, PO Box 8030, Layton, Utah, 84041-8030. You'll need to include your full name, current address, previous address if you've lived at your current address fewer than five years, Social Security number, year of birth, signature, spouse's first name and a photocopy of some document, such as a utility bill or driver's license, that shows your name and your current address.

The other two credit reporting companies, Trans Union Corporation, and Equifax also have Web sites you may want to check out.

Point your browser to www.tuc.com and www.equifax.com respectively.

Comments and questions about this column may be sent to jbrooks@myoldkentuckyhome.com, or visit www.myoldkentuckyhome.com on the World Wide Web.

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