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From the Wall Street Journal, 3/2/00:

Watching the Web

By ANDREA PETERSEN
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Featured in:
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Taxes

Bloomberg Tax Guide
www.bloomberg.com/tax/

With just six weeks until tax day, financial-news company Bloomberg LP has teamed with the Internal Revenue Service to produce this helpful tax guide. For a quick rundown on what is new this year, check out the article "Highlights of Tax Law Changes for 1999." There are also stories concerning how big of a bite taxes can take on stock investments and individual retirement accounts, and tips on how to cut taxes when selling your house. But the site doesn't have many of the helpful worksheets and tools that some other tax sites do. You can, however, download and print dozens of different tax forms.

Cell Phones

MyRatePlan.com
www.myrateplan.com

There seems to be an endless array of wireless plans -- flat rates, long-distance included, and those offering off-peak rates. This site claims to make sense of it all. To search for a wireless plan, click "Find MyRatePlan," and the site will take you through a questionnaire about your cell-phone habits, such as how many minutes a month you use your phone, how much time you spend calling long distance or receiving incoming calls. The site then spits out what it thinks is the best plan for you. I also got nine suggested runners-up, and the prices ranged from $50 to $76.54 a month. The site, which claims to be unbiased, also offers similar tools to find long-distance plans, Internet access -- even airline tickets.

Yoga

The Yoga Site
www.yogasite.com

Yoga has reached pop-culture-fad status. It has seeped into the morning routines of celebrities and into Banana Republic ads. Yoga Site is basically a portal for all things yoga. Those new to the practice may be a little mystified by stories with titles such as "Core Strength through Mulabandha" and "Introduction to Pranayama ..." So you may want to turn to more accessible pieces such as "Why do yoga?" or the slightly goofy "Will yoga make me taller?" The site includes explanations of basic yoga postures (with stick-figure drawings.) and different descriptions of various styles of yoga, such as Ashtanga and Kripalu. There is also a searchable list of yoga teachers and schools from around the country. Still stressed? There is also a directory of yoga retreats where you can zone out for days or weeks.

Yoga Class
www.yogaclass.com

If you're not psyched about bending and contorting yourself in front of a bunch of strangers (not to mention a mirror), this site offers a virtual yoga class. It goes through such yoga basics as using a mantra in meditation, beginning stretches and relaxation exercises. If you're just doing yoga to loosen up your supertight hamstrings, you might not be into the site's New Age musings such as "So strap yourself into the divine and enjoy the ecstasy of freedom from pain and ignorance." The site uses photos and streaming audio -- though my RealPlayer software was on the fritz so I couldn't hear anything.

A Closer Look / OpenTable.com & Foodline.com

If you live in a big city, you know that trying to get restaurant reservations on a Saturday night often means enduring surly hostesses, endless hold music and constant rejection. A few Web companies want to change all that.

I checked out two of the leaders, OpenTable.com (www.opentable.com), based in San Francisco, and Foodline.com (www.foodline.com) in New York. Both allow users to make restaurant reservations online. While both are fairly straightforward, I found OpenTable.com easier to use, while Foodline.com has more colorful content.

© 2000 The Wall Street Journal



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