Techwatch: Feb. 16, 1998

Report From American International Toy Fair N.Y, N.Y. 1998

TINKERING WITH TOYS

They're still soft and cuddly, but now stuffed animals have a mind of their own. The plushest offerings at this week's International Toy Fair in New York City are interactive dolls that can giggle, talk and make faces at kids. "Kiss me, rub my tummy," whimpers OddzOn's e.Baby Bear, right, when you touch him. Given the success of Tickle Me Elmo and Microsoft's Barney, don't be surprised if these equally annoying creatures prove just as popular.

CYBERVALENTINES: LOVE TIPS FOR THE WEB WEARY

Chatting online may be o.k. for most winter nights, but the touch of the keyboard can feel a little hollow come Valentine's Day. Happily, some sites are prepared to help the lovesick pursue a relationship based on more than just text. At secretadmirer.com shy surfers can send anonymous E-mail to find out if their object of affection feels the same way, while directreach.com offers untraceable 888 numbers that can be given out to cyberstrangers without fear of being stalked.

WHO'S IN BILL GATES' FACE

TV loved that pie in Bill Gates' face, but last week brought the usual dose of serious Microsoft news as well. An appeals court agreed to hear the reasons Microsoft thinks "special master" Lawrence Lessig is too biased to review the federal antitrust case against the software giant and halted Lessig's investigation, pending an April 21 hearing. Eleven state attorneys general, meanwhile, filed subpoenas for their own antitrust suit, as Beltway gossips hinted that the Department of Justice may be preparing even broader antitrust action. Pie in the face indeed!