Vol. 2, No. 16 -- Week of April 30, 2000

-----------------------------------------------------

Welcome to Learn the Net News.

With the stock market dominating the headlines and a record number of people investing in public companies, some people may still be waiting on the sidelines. Why? One reason is that they only have small amounts of money to invest. But new Web services make it possible to establish a modest, low-cost investment program, even for your kids. Find out how at the site.

As an ex-art historian, I enjoy visiting museums. But I certainly don't have the luxury of traveling the world to enter these temples of culture. So when an art attack strikes, I visit a virtual museum. This week's Web Tour takes you to some of the best Museums on the Web. Price of admission--free!

A new month brings a new Factoids.Net--the numbers behind the Internet. How many e-mail messages will be sent this year? What's the most wired city in America? Find out here.

------------------------------------------------

"Top Ten Things You Can Do on the Net This Week" include:

------------------------------------------------

To read it, you have to subscribe to the New York Times site. It's free and gives you access to a wealth of information.

The article goes into great detail about how every click we make online is captured and stored. The questions become, what kind of picture does this data paint about you and what are the consequences? Information taken out of context can be a dangerous thing.

Here's an example: A friend asks you to order a book about new cancer treatments. You do this from your office computer. Your company monitors all employee Internet activity, which is perfectly legal in the U.S. Your book order information makes its way to your boss. Does she now think that you have cancer? Will this affect your career? What if this information makes its way to your health insurance company? Will it affect your premium? You get the picture. Frankly, it's chilling.

-----------------

If you like Learn the Net News, please forward it to your friends and ask them to subscribe.

Michael Lerner

Publisher

-----------------------------------

To unsubscribe, please send an empty e-mail to: