February 26, 1998

From: Circuits@nytimes.com Subject: Anything with a chip in it With this first issue of Circuits, the Times is expanding its coverage of the kind of technology that has already changed the lives of everyone who uses a computer or a cellular phone, everyone who uses a credit card or drives a car, everyone who has a Social Security number.

Some consumers say they are annoyed that advertisements are everywhere they look; tiny ads on apples and bananas are part of latest wave in onslaught of ads that accost Americans at every turn; commercials come at them from grocery store floors, airport baggage carousels and even from walls above urinals; Scenic America vice pres Frank Vespe says there are fewer and fewer places where you can look without seeing ad; adults often find it annoying to see ads everywhere, but younger people, nurtured on commercials, often find them entertaining; photos (M)

Herbert Muschamp reviews exhibition on the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto at Museum of Modern Art, organized by Peter Reed; photos (M)

Wynton Marsalis, artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, will mark his return from 33-city tour with Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with two concerts at Alice Tully Hall featuring his new work, Big Train; photo; Nuruddin Farah of Somalia wins 1998 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, widely regarded as most prestigious international literary award after the Nobel; Manhattan Assn of Cabarets and Clubs (MAC) will usher in Cabaret Month with announcement by Michael Feinstein and Joy Behar of 1998 MAC Award nominees; conference on art smuggling in Eastern and Central Europe will be held in June in Budapest, under auspices of Interpol (M)

Manhattan Mini Storage, which rents units to public, has become refuge for many New Yorkers short on space or others seeking solitude or privacy; units range in size from tiny lockers to capacious rooms 10 by 20 feet; photos (M)