26 - Wednesday, September 8, 1999 — North Shore News I always value reader feedback. And as the new school vear gets under way, this comment trom J.E. is particularly rele- vant. While there are many ways to teach youngsters about managing money, the best approach is to teach by example. “My father tried to teach me many things — ‘You are a young lady now, you must behave like one’ really sticks in my memory — bur] do not recall qne verbal comment on finances,” said J.E. “My father, a frugal man, never thought that simply by his example he was teaching financial Knowledge to his chil- dren and grandchildren.” JE. said she and her hus- band sold a small business and retired before age 60. “We now live in the basement suite of our paid-for home, with tenants on the main floor. We are free to come and go as we please. “I smile when I see my adult children handle their money. No project is under- taken without a written esti- mate of costs and expected income, There is always a cushion of moncy for unex- pected expenses. And they never exceed their financial limits.” Commenting on recent columns about the pros and cons of involving adult chil- dren in elderly parents’ finances, A.G. wrote: “Iam a widow, 78. My sons know about my financial affairs and I presume so do their wives and families. MORTGAGES | WHEN THE BANKS SAY “NO” Financial Services Lid. VISIT OUR WEBSITE www.instafund. .com Lender Broker fees may apply north shore news [IGH TECH “My sons have joint pow- ers of attorney — neither would accept the responsibility alone. They both live fairiv close so it works fine. When I travel with one or the other, we leave a cheque behind in case of necessity, to be destroved when the trip is ended.” PF. is 70 with an annual income of $20,000. Her $35,000 (non-registered) GIC has matured and she wonders ifan annuity would be a good idea, rather than accept the lower GIC renewal rate. An annuity appears to yield a higher rate because each pay- ment includes not only inter- est but also part of your capi- tal. And with a prescribed annuity, special tax treatment further increases the yield. ‘The annuity — like a pen- sion — locks in today’s inter- est rate for the rest of your life. That’s great news if rates drop and/or if you live longer than your normal life expectancy, but bad news if interest rates swing up again and/or you die early. If you do die early, once any guaranteed payment peri- od ends, the balance of your money goes to pay annuity holders who live longer. A similar argument holds for RRSP money you put into an annuity — although no special tax treatment is avail- able. Mike Grenby is a columnist and independent personal financial adviser. . Come see our great selection of shoes, purses & bags! . BLUE-BAG-IT. You'll always save a bundle! 241 LONSDALE AVE, NORTH VANCOUVER 980-4413 Hours: 10:00 - 6:00pm (9:00 Thurs & Fri) From page &3 locations had been established, linking universities in Los Angeles, Stanford, Calif., Santa Barbara, Calif. and Utah. This network called RPANET grew into the Internet as more networks were added and applications were created. The rest, as they say, is his- tory. The part of the Internet that most of us are familiar with today is called the World Wide Web, a system of Internct-based servers (com- puters) that respond to and support documents formatted in a special language called HTML (Hypertext Markup Language). Tc was this specially created authoring language that enabled the average Web surfer to navigate the Internet by clicking on a continuous series of active links to other documents. Typically we move around the Web using an application called a browser, the two most notable being Netscape’s Navigator and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. At a special meeting at Harvard fast week, convened to celebrate the birth of the Internet and explore its future, a theme emerged. It was argued that the increasing complexity of appli- cation software has discour- aged many new users who have begun to suffer from “feature shock” — a hesitancy to fearn fancy new software programs every year. Freeze this frame as we dissolve to a stage setting not to far from the original networking fab at UCLA 30 years ago. On this stage, Sun Microsystems president Scott MeNealy is aunouncing plans to resurrect its “network com- puter,” a very cheap, scaled- down computer that relies on the Internet to access most of its software. This strategy is often referred to as the “thin client” environment. It’s a popular buzzword now because it serves as a symbol dividing the PC industry in two camps. On one side is a group led by Sun and Netscape advocat- ing thin clients running on network computers. On the other is Microsoft and Intel fighting vigorously to protect their vested inter- ests, developing ever larger and some would say feature shock-laden software applica- tions run locally on desktop computers. According to Sun, the rules have changed and there is no going back. Under the old rules, you had to buy software in a shrink-wrapped box, install the application, mess with a complicated and some- times erratic instal] routine and just when you got comfortable with the application features it was time for an upgrade. More money, more recon- figuring and ongoing compati- ie Net can provide own applications Father led by exampt bility issues. Under the new rules, software is part of a net- work service. Leave the instal- lation, the maintenance and the complexity to an Internet- based server. Ob, by the was, under the new rules it’s free. That's a definite ouch to Microsoft! I don’s suspect Bil! Gates will lose any sleep how- ever. Like many things, it’s not as simple as it sounds. One major impediment is what I. have previously reported as the lack of “big pipe,” or broad- band Internet access that could handle the demands of all chis Web-centric activity. But the prospects for provid- ing greatcr empowerment to you and me as users has never looked better. For a taste of what’s to come, go to our featured site of the week: . This site can scan your computer, diagnose trouble spots, recommend updates and supply you with download links. This is a sweat-free maintenance site, which elimi- nates the need to worry about what upgrades, patches, dri- vers, and fixes you might need. Tt works, And it’s free. layne Hunter is president g the Noble Pacific Group, a me chant capital and financial ser- vices company, He bought. his first computer in 1988 and isan experienced “cybernaut’, His e- mail address is . 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