Your Technology

By Anita Hamilton

SURFER'S SPECIAL Leave it to Nike to develop a sports watch that's way cool but only halfway useful. Its new Typhoon watch ($135) gives daily high- and low-tide data for 175 of the most popular surf spots in the world, from Oahu to Okinawa. Nike claims the Typhoon will be accurate for 50 years, thanks to a special algorithm that considers everything from the moon's pull to the topographical nuances of each beach. Of course, surfers on a tight budget can always check the tide tables in the local newspaper instead.

ANNIE ONLINE Trying to happily match children with families looking to adopt can be a complex and emotionally charged process. But it may get a lot easier, thanks to a federal website announced last week. When it goes live in September 2001, the site will provide the first national listing to include photos and profiles of the more than 8,000 children in foster homes who are available for adoption. That number could triple by 2001 as new laws requiring permanent homes for foster children take effect. Among the many states that already post their own listings are Texas (www.tdprs.state.tx.us) and New York (www.dfa.state.ny.us).

WHITNEY'S WEB Can't make it to the Whitney Museum for its big retrospective exhibit of 20th century paintings, photographs, sculpture and crafts? Then log onto Intel's artmuseum.net to see 100 works by the likes of Georgia O'Keeffe, Jackson Pollock and Paul Strand. Online extras include a video of the famous 1923 boxing match between Jack Dempsey and Luis Angel Firpo that inspired George Bellows' Dempsey & Firpo. You can also create a custom tour by selecting your favorite images--shopping-cart style--and share them with friends.

--By Anita Hamilton