Want to go party hopping all night long New Year's Eve, without having to dodge drunken drivers or worry about how long the kids have been home alone? Ring in the New Year in cyberspace from the comfort of your own home.
All it takes is a home computer, modem and access to the Internet or a commercial online service.Several online services will herald 1995 with special New Year's Eve celebrations - the electronic version of Times Square or Salt Lake City's First Night at the Gallivan Center.
No fighting crowds trying to find parking. No jostling for a good view. And unlike real live guests, cyberspace friends won't spill food on your carpet in the excitement of toasting a new year.
On Compuserve, the California Forum plans to count down the New Year with games, prizes and good conversation beginning at 3 a.m. Dec. 31. The forum will track midnight around the world and expects people from around the globe to drop in to welcome 1995.
For America Online users, choosing the key word "holiday" will give them access to online celebrations. The service will post New Year's resolutions, provide decade-by-decade glimpses of the past and list trivia about New Year's celebrations around the globe.
Computer users also can drop into the Other Side Cosmic Cafe in Boston, which plans to offer "Cyberfoo: First Night in Cyberspace."
"Cyberfoo: First Night in Cyberspace is our way of inviting the public into our electronic neighborhood to experience it for themselves," the cafe said in a release posted on the Internet.
The Cyberfoo festivities begin at 5 p.m. (Eastern time). Visitors can see graphics, videos and still photos sent to the cafe from New York, San Francisco, Rome and other cities. Visitors will also be able to join chat groups, play games, explore graphical garden spots, collaborate on digital art and post New Year's resolutions, hopes and dreams.
Travel directions: By Internet, telnet to "echonyc.com". Login as "fnight". To reach Cyberfoo via the World Wide Web, use "gopher://echonyc.com:70/
11/EEvents/Fnic" or "http://www.well.com/
conferences/cyberfoo."