PREVIEWS : Why is This Man Smirking? Ask the Counterfeiters
Today the Treasury Department hopes to put an end to the practice of making money-literally-with a personal computer. Thanks to advanced color scanners, powerful PCs and color ink-jet printers, hight-tech counterfeiters have managed to produce realistic copies of the greenback. The government is using technology to fight technology by introducing redesigned $100 bills.
The new C-notes are printed with ink that changes color when viewed from different angles and have security thread that glows red under ultraviolet light. They also feature a larger portrait of a slightly smirking Benjamin Franklin (the details in his face are said to be tough to copy) and a watermark image that’s supposedly impossible to duplicate.
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Blue Line TeleVillage: Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan and others will open a hight-tech cyberplex in the Compton Transit Center on Friday. The centerpiece of the TeleVillage-a collaboration between the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Drew Economic Development Corp.-is a computer center equipped with PCs and high-speed links to the Internet. There’s also a video teleconferencing center, and electronic kiosks to provide health-care tips and advice on job searches are under development. The Compton Transit Center is near Compton Boulevard at Willowbrook Avenue and East Palmer Street.
THIS WEEK
Today, 6p.m.: Live coverage of the Academy awards is hosted by Marilyn Beck, Michael Bolanos and Stacy Jenel Smith. CompuServe. Go AWARDS
Tuesday, Wednesday: Live coverage of the National Governors ASSN’s National Education Summit. https://www.summit96.ibm.com
Thursday, 6 p.m.:TV anchorman Dan Rather answers questions about his career in journalism. America Online. Keyword: Centerstage
Thursdays, 7 p.m.: Jon Lebkowsky reports live from sixth Conference on Computers, Freedom and Privacy in Cambridge, Mass. https://www.hotwired.com/club/
Friday, 5 p.m.-Sunday, 5 p.m.: Tune in to net.radio (http.//www.netradio.net) for the American Comedy Festival featuring Dan Aykroyd, Bret Butler, Whoopi Goldberg and others. Then go backstage with Improv Online on AOL (keyword:Improv) for interviews with comedians.
HOT SPOTS
If you still haven’t decided how to vote in Tuesday’s primary election, check out the 1996 California Online Voter Guide at https://www.webcom.com/cvf/ for comprehensive information on the races and ballot measures. Campaign finance information is available on the California Secretary of State Home Page at https://www.ss.ca.gov. Watch the returns come in on the 1996 California Primary Election Server at https://www.primary96.ca.gov
Vice PResident Al Gore has built a reputation as one of the most technology-savvy elected officials in Washington, and predictable, he counts the White House page (https://www.whitehouse.gov) among his favorite sites.
A far more interesting Gore choice, though, is the home page for Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment, or GLOBE (https://www.globe.gov), a worldwide network of students, teachers and scientists in more than 30 countries who collect and study data for projects ranging from climate change to soil quality.
Site suggestions can be sent to cutting.edge@latimes.com