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Techno
Page We have discussed
on-line education at depth in the past. Now there is the startling
revelation that over the next 10 years, The Massachusetts Institute
of Technology (MIT) which is one of America's foremost universities
will move all its existing coursework onto the Internet. There will
be no on-line degrees for sale, just millions of pages of information,
available to anyone, anywhere, anytime around the globe at no cost,
as well as hours and days and months of streaming video lectures,
seminars and experiments. But it doesn't stop there. MIT wants to
start nothing short of a global revolution in education. Many have done
this before, to lure potential customers during the initial period
when the information is given out free, only to attach a gradually
accumulating price tag on it with time. Well, the skeptics who are
thinking that this is yet another such gimmick, should think again.
MIT are offering an eternal promise - rare these days on the World
Wide Web and that is the assurance that their information will be
accessible to anyone, anywhere for no cost whatsoever forever! MIT staff point out that if this initiative is successful, and other institutions follow, it will put the internet back on track towards its original goal of sharing information and knowledge around the world, rather than selling CDs or pestering people with adverts to pay and get access to their porn sites. Virus alerts Genuine virus
alerts won't ask you to participate in a chaotic e-mail distribution
scheme. Does the e-mail
offer a link to an authoritative details page? E-mail alerts
shouldn't go into detail about a computer virus. Rather, the alert
should summarise the threat and provide a link to a 'for more info'
page stored on a well-known computer security website. But beware!
Some hoax alerts include generic links to respected websites. The
hoaxster wants you to assume the website has important information
about the virus. The link to more information should take you directly
to more information about the threat. If it doesn't, then you should
chide the sender for failing to give you accurate information. Warwick's
research Warwick's first
implant in August, 1998 earned him the title of Cyborg, a person
whose physiological functioning is aided by or dependent on a mechanical
or electronic device. It also means being partly human and partly
machine, like sci-fi characters such as The Terminator. Warwick says
his research was presenting scientists with new opportunities. The
scientist, who has carried out extensive research in artificial
intelligence, robotics and allied areas, said his experiments could
lead to a breakthrough in treating patients with spinal cord and
eye injuries. Warwick acknowledged
robotic technology could be misused but said the medical gains would
silence the critics. He is looking forward to a time when computers
can be linked to human intelligence and thought process. Boolean logic History of
the @ sign Tomlinson,
using a Model 33 Teletype device, understood that he needed to use
a symbol that would not appear in anyone's name so that there was
no confusion. The logical choice for Tomlinson was the 'at sign'
both because it was unlikely to appear in anyone's name and also
because it represented the word 'at' as in a particular user is
sitting @ this specific computer. However, before
the symbol became a standard key on typewriter keyboards in the
1880s and a standard on Qwerty keyboards in the 1940s, the @ sign
had a long, if somewhat sketchy history of use throughout the world.
Linguists are divided as to when the symbol first appeared. Some argue
that the symbol dates back to the 6th or 7th centuries when Latin
scribes adapted the symbol from the Latin word ad, meaning at, to
or toward. The scribes, in an attempt to simplify the amount of
pen strokes they were using, created the ligature (combination of
two or more letters) by exaggerating the upstroke of the letter
'd' and curving it to the left over the 'a'. Other linguists
will argue that the @ sign is a more recent development, appearing
sometime in the 18th century as a symbol used in commerce to indicate
price per unit, as in 2 chickens @ 10 pence. While these
theories are largely speculative, in 2000 Giorgio Stabile, a professor
of the history of science at La Sapienza University in Italy, discovered
some original 14th-century documents clearly marked with the @ sign
to indicate a measure of quantity - the amphora, meaning jar. The amphora
was a standard-sized terracotta vessel used to carry wine and grain
among merchants, and, according to Stabile, the use of the @ symbol
(the upper-case A embellished in the typical Florentine script)
in trade led to its contemporary meaning of 'at the price of'. While in the
English language, @ is referred to as the 'at sign,' other countries
have different names for the symbol that is now so commonly used
in e-mail transmissions throughout the world. Many of these
countries associate the symbol with either food or animal names. Champion
and Deep Fritz equal The Russian
took an early lead in the tournament, but the computer managed to
catch up and level the scores. In the end
though, draws in the final two games were enough for Kramnik to
capture a prize of $1.2 million from Bahrain's King Hamad. In the battle
between man and machine, he fared better than his predecessor Gary
Kasparov, who was defeated by the supercomputer Deep Blue in 1997. Queen
gets a star The Star is
located opposite the Ivar nightclub on Hollywood Boulevard in Los
Angeles. Queen is one of those rare non US rock groups to receive
the honour. The band's two No: 1 Songs in the US were Crazy Little
Thing Called Love and Another One Bites The Dust in 1980. Queen is the
2207th act or artiste to receive a star on Hollywood's walk of fame. Radiohead was
named the Best Act In The World on Monday, October 21 in London
at the annual Q Awards. The band has won the award for the second
consecutive year. Coldplay won
the Q Award for Best Album for the second consecutive year. The group Oasis
was nominated for three awards but went home empty-handed. The rest of
the Q Awards went to Tom Jones - Q Merit Award, Sugababes, Freak
Like Me - Best Single, Pink, Get The Party Started - Best Video,
Moby - Best Producer, Depeche Mode - Q Innovative Award, The Hives
- Best Live Act, Echo And The Bunnymen - Q Inspiration Award and
veteran reggae artiste Jimmy Cliff - Q Classic Songwriter Award. Meanwhile it
is understood that Welsh star Tom Jones is having his next album
produced by Wyclef Jean. Nelly has rocketed
to the top of the UK singles chart this week with the song Dilemma.
The track is
a follow-up to the US rapper's previous release Hot In Herre, which
peaked in the chart at No. 7 in June. The song went on to remain
in the top 20 for a few weeks. Reports from
the US indicate that the public is beginning to turn away from manufactured
pop to what has been described as Street sound. Nelly, as it
appears, interprets the style, portraying a gansta like background
with a commercial and appealing formula. The style extends
his radius of opportunity thus giving him greater acceptance. On
Dilemma, Nelly raps at intervals while Kelly Rowland's mellow vocals
helps the song sustain its popularity on radio. Kelly Rowland
is a member of Destiny's Child. She is the second member from the
group to score a No. 1 in the UK outside the group. Beyonce Knowles
was the other Destiny's Child member to reach the No.1 position
with Work It Out a few months ago. Meanwhile there
was an incident at Nelly's concert over the weekend when one concert
goer was stabbed to death. Big Brovaz
is a hip hop group put together by Sony UK. The members from South
London comprise six youngsters - basically teenagers. Their debut
hit Nu Flow entered the chart as the second highest new entry at
No: 3. Nu Flow combines
rap and R&B, another good formula and a catchy song. Every member
of the group Big Brovaz either sings or raps on the song. Question
- will they last the next 12 months? Samantha Mumba
of Ireland is back in the chart after almost a year's absence with
I'm Right Here at No. 5. The song is the debut release from her
second album 'I'm Right Here'. Samantha has
notched up six top 20 hits. Five have peaked inside the top 5. Only
the track Lately peaked at No. 6. What she needs now is a No: 1
hit. During the
time she was out of the music scene, Samantha acted in the film
The Time Machine. Manic Street
Preachers, the Welsh rock band have a new entry called There By
The Grace of God at No: 6. The song is a new track on the Greatest
Hits album the group plans to release before Christmas. The Manics
were last in the top 20 at No: 19 with Let Robeson Sing in September
last year. The group has been churning out music since 1991. The
band's biggest and most successful release todate has been The Masses
Against The Classes! The song reached the top of the chart in January
2000. The group Hear'Say
has broken up. The five members decided to split up since they were
finding it difficult to retain public rating. The decision
to end was amicable. The end for HearSay came less than two years
after they became the Popstars winners. Their debut single Pure
And Simple was one of the fastest selling debut singles. But things
began to go wrong. Their second album was a flop. They were also
accused of rigging the auditions to replace Lym Marsh. Their last
hit Lovin' Is Easy peaked at No. 7 in August. A few months
ago, Ronan Keating told a UK tabloid - Hearsay will be finished
by the end of this year. How prophetic. He did also mention Atomic
Kitten would split by December 31. Well there's
two months more in the year left for the Kittens to decide their
future. |
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