Techwatch

By Daniel Eisenberg, Jon Goldstein, Tam Gray, Lina Lofaro, Jodie Morse, Michele Orecklin and Alain Sanders

TOILETS TAKE THE BACK SEAT IN THE THIRD WORLD

For developing nations in the info age, it's a question of priorities: Do you want a working toilet or do you want the World Wide Web? Many seem to be choosing the Web. Access to adequate sanitation facilities in Latin America and Asia is falling while Web use is growing geometrically, according to a new report from the Worldwatch Institute. In China, 4 million people are expected to be online by the year 2000, though not even half of them have a toilet. Africans get the worst deal--few toilets and even fewer PCs.

DRIVER'S ED: HOW TO BUY A CAR ON THE INTERNET

Who wants to haggle in a dealer's high-pressure showroom when you can take the pick of the lot in cyberspace? Some 2 million online shoppers--an estimated 15% of all new-car buyers--are flocking to a lengthening list of auto websites to compare makes and models, scout out the best insurance rates and find the nearest dealer with the car in stock. This week autoconnect.com a giant virtual warehouse for used cars, joins a growing pack that includes autobytel.com autoweb.com and Microsoft's carpoint.com

SHOOTING STARS: POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE

Given the delays and cost overruns, space junkies hoping to book a weekend flight to the International Space Station for those great views of the home planet may have to wait. Meanwhile, Kodak and NASA are offering the next best thing over the Web. Next month they will begin selling digital photos shot by real U.S. astronauts from space shuttles, like this one of Lake Michigan. Choose from some 500 images, $14 to $30 apiece, at earth.jsc.nasa.gov