Q&A
Pick a color and paint your home on a PC

By Kim Komando
Gannett News Service

Q. How can I virtually paint my house to see how colors will look?

A. Most stores that offer Glidden (www.gliddenpaint.com) paint have the Glidden Color Home II CD, at $5.95.

Benjamin Moore Paints (www.benjaminmoore.com) has a similar program. The Personal Color Viewer Professional ($10 if downloaded, $14.95 on a CD). Both programs allow you to import and paint pictures of your home.

Q. I have cable access at home. What is the best way to get on the Internet while on vacation?

A. Check with your cable company; many provide 800 numbers for dial-up access. Or use prepaid services at www.slingshot.com or www.netvalveusa.com. Juno (www.juno.com) offers 10 hours a month for free. Or use a local library or Internet café.

Q. I want to create my family tree. My mother is the only person still living who knows the history, and she's 88.

A. Videotape your mother talking about the lineage. You can later incorporate this into the family tree. Online resources include the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' databases (www.familysearch.org), Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites (www.cyndislist.com) and Ellis Island records (www.ellisislandrecords.org).