18 August 20092 responsesHasan
Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, is without a doubt accepted as one of the most amazing sources of information on the internet. This is where people turn to for any information they need. The English language version was brought out in 2001 and has experienced great popularity since then.
But over the years, Wikipedia has had its share of controversies. There have been academics who deemed suspect some entries, as it is an encyclopedia that can be edited by anyone. Many feel that just as too many cooks spoil the broth, too many contributors/editors can also confuse the information.
Wikipedia has fought many battles and the latest one is from Britain’s famous art gallery’s website, “National Portrait Gallery (NPG).” They have threatened to take legal action as they claim that images from their website have been uploaded to Wikipedia. In response to this, the online encyclopedia has accused the National Portrait Gallery of betraying its public service mission.
An image of the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth I looks on amusingly from the art gallery and now also the Wikipedia pages, as the two adversaries battle for rights hundreds of years after she was painted. The fact is that 3,300 high-resolution images from the gallery have been uploaded to Wikipedia in April, by a Ph.D. student and volunteer from Seattle, Derrick Coetzee, and the gallery is not too happy with that.
The gallery founded in 1856 said it needs to recoup the 1 million pounds cost of digitalization program and threatened legal action. The gallery has ordered a well-known law firm to sue Coetzee unless the pictures are removed. Gallery officials say that although, the portraits are not in copyright, the photographs are and that they spent around £1m to create high resolution images, which therefore require a license fee. They say Wikipedia has not responded to their letters.
Continue Reading →
04 August 2009no responsesHasan
In what way are bankruptcy and school textbooks related? In a big way, says the Governor of California.
Just the thought of our kids not carrying textbooks to school can be quite scary, as we have over the centuries, gotten used to associating textbooks with education. Textbooks are part of our lives and are considered indispensable – at least until now. Of course, for school-going kids, this could just be their dream coming true – NO MORE TEXTBOOKS!
Now, Arnold Schwarzenegger jokingly says, “I can use these for the (bicep) curls.” Announcing that California will initiate the process of going digital, he said, “Textbooks are outdated, in my opinion. For so many years, we’ve been trying to teach the kids exactly the same way.”
The excessive cost of textbooks is said to be a huge burden on a student who is already paying the cost of education. The average student spends hundreds of dollars on textbooks each year.
It is estimated that California spent about $350 million on textbooks alone last year. With California running out of cash with the $24 billion budget deficit, authorities figure this is one way of tackling the issue. The throwing away of textbooks might just be what the state needs to avoid bankruptcy.
California is the first state in the United States to begin using digital textbooks instead of the “paper” variety, and the Governor feels that this will save hundreds of millions of dollars. With the average cost of a textbook being anywhere from $75 to $100 each, their digital version is going to cost much less.
Continue Reading →
02 August 2009one responseHasan
The anti-virus market which started off slowly, has seen a remarkable growth in the past few years and gave rise to new technologies, to cater to the ever changing user needs. It has transformed into a multi-billion dollar industry with hundreds of companies making the foray into this market, and creating all types of anti-virus products.
The reason for this huge growth is the new threats and malware that keep cropping up on an almost daily basis. An anti-virus product of today may prove to be inefficient tomorrow, creating a new demand. In fact, most vendors find it difficult to keep up with the different viruses that keep surfacing.
This is very clear from the fact that in spite of the numerous anti-virus products out there, there still are so many security incidents that take place, including high-profile ones. The Identity Theft Resource Center, an organization that tracks incidents where confidential information has been compromised, recorded that these incidents have doubled in the first quarter of 2008.
It is also seen that the market that is most affected by these security issues is the small and medium business sector. The problem with these businesses is their small budgets. They cannot afford to have the resources needed to implement and manage a high-security environment, with intricate anti-virus systems in place.
Continue Reading →
02 August 2009one responseHasan
What if you could just type a question in the search engines and someone knowledgeable at the “other end” reads your question and provides the exact answer instantly?
I can sense the disbelief writ large on your face and I admit nothing like that is happening.
But we are almost there….
There is this revolutionary new software that has the capacity to understand questions and return specific, tailored answers in a way that was never done before. This software is promising to shake up the Internet.
Is this new software better than the search engine giant, Google? Well, some do go to the extent of saying that the new system may just put Google and the other search engines in the shade.
Harvard University has taken the first step towards what many consider the Internet’s Holy Grail – a global information store that can understand languages and responds to them just as a person does.
Computer experts are excited at the prospect of the new search engine being evolutionary. They are sure that Wolfram Alpha, as it is called, has the potential of becoming as popular as Google but serving a different purpose.
Continue Reading →
12 February 2009no responsesHasan
As per Microsoft website, Windows 7 makes performing tasks faster with a lot of new features. Microsoft seems to have learnt from the damage caused by Vista. The release date of Windows 7 has not yet been announced; although, it will perhaps be late 2009. This successor of Vista is going to be lighter and swifter than its predecessor minus all the issues.
“We have learned a lot over the years as we’ve released versions of Windows to the market. We spent a lot of time listening to customer and partner feedback,” said Microsoft.
Microsoft announced five versions of Windows 7 that it is all set to launch in the United States, as well as a sixth version, meant only for emerging markets.
Versions
• Windows 7 Starter (netbook-friendly)
• Windows 7 Home Premium (looks like a typical consumer grade offering)
• Windows 7 Professional (a host of networking add-ons)
• Windows 7 Enterprise (the corporate grade with bulk volume licensing)
• Windows 7 Ultimate (seems to be like Enterprise except that it is for single-users)
• Windows 7 Home Basic (sixth version-to be sold only in emerging markets)
Continue Reading →
04 November 20083 responsesHasan
Google has added millions of dollars in additional revenue to its already deep and sagging pockets. They have reintroduced gambling to Adwords! The search giant has revealed that it has now decided to allow licensed gaming operators to buy paid search ads.
Google used to allow gaming operators to place paid ads previously, but banned them as of 2007; if it can actually be called a ban. There is a reason for saying this. If someone typed “online gambling” it yielded no results because of the ban; however, a small typo, such as “gmabling” instead of gambling, and it is surprising to see the huge number of ads show up royally in the paid Google ads section.
Any small misspelling saw the gambling ads being displayed all through the ban period and as expected almost all the gaming operators took advantage of this open secret. If you look at the sponsored links section of Google, you will find more than 25 pages of such ads, which shows that wily marketers who are always on the prowl to find ways to get in, have managed to find this loophole long back – perhaps just as soon as the ban was implemented. These smart operators may not use the word “gambling” or related words in their ads; but they certainly leave nothing to the imagination. They make sure the message gets across in one way or the other. Example: “Take Advantage Of 100% Bonus On Your First Deposit.”
Continue Reading →
28 October 2008no responsesHasan
If you have seen serious gamers, you would notice they do not just play their games, gaming is a passion with them. They do everything possible to win their games, including using cheat codes. Now there are better and more powerful tools known as game controllers, which is the name given to a tool that lets the player control the game better and are proving to be invaluable. These tools have been created for fanatical gamers who would do anything to get closer to gaming glory.
Hook, Line and Sinker: The best part about games is that one can do everything they are not good at in real life, like fishing. Angling has its share of staunch devotees in the gaming world. Gaming accessory manufacturers have created controllers that look and function exactly like fishing rods. Sega’s version for the Dream Cast is multi-functional and can be used not just as a fishing rod but also for playing tennis games. This tool uses the latest technology and all the player has to do is wave the controller around and press the necessary buttons to get the rod moving on the screen.
Caged Fight: For intense gamers who find just moving their fingers for playing a game not exciting enough, the Dream Machine created by Robert James-Herbert is truly a dream come true. This is a computer game control simulation system that comprises of a steel cage with small points. Players have to stand inside the cage and use their bodies to control the action on the screen. For example, if the player tilts, the vehicle on the screen tilts. It is compatible with every platform. This is one of the most amazing tools a gamer can possess. The only drawback is the price, which is slightly on the higher side at $1,700. But it is certainly worth it for players who look for a real-life gaming experience.
Continue Reading →
25 September 2008one responseHasan
Facebook seems to land itself into trouble again and again, with lawsuits being filed against it from all corners.
The fight with 02138 ended in a fiasco with the ruling going against Facebook. Let us go back and see what happened. It all began with an article in 02318, an independent magazine geared towards Harvard alumni.
Mark Zuckerberg, as you would know, is the CEO of Facebook, which he founded in 2004. The controversy began when 02138 magazine published an article named “Poking Facebook,” giving a detailed profile of Facebook’s early days, which was the pet project of Mark Zuckerberg, who was then an undergraduate. The author, Luke O’Brien, who was also a Harvard alumnus, dug up old court documents, letters and web site content that painted a cold picture of Zuckerberg as arrogant and an individual with no qualms and willing to do anything to achieve his goals. The documents that were revealed to the public included a huge amount of personal information about Zuckerberg along with his parents’ address, his girlfriend’s address and his Social Security Number.
Even Zuckerberg’s personal journal was not spared. An excerpt from the journal that showed him in bad light was, “I almost want to put some of these faces next to pictures of farm animals and have people vote on which is more attractive,” wrote Zuckerberg, talking about some of the students’ pictures from Harvard. These comments showed him as harsh.
Continue Reading →
01 September 2008no responsesHasan
Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia and the name is a combination of “wiki” meaning “quick” in Hawaiian and encyclopedia. It is updated in more than 100 languages and the English version has nearly 2 million articles.
Initially, Wikipedia was just an extension of Nupedia but when Nupedia’s advisory board rejected the idea of a public edited encyclopedia, Wikipedia overtook Nupedia with the quality of content and the number of visitors. In two years time, Nupedia was abandoned and all the content from there incorporated into Wikipedia.
The most unique concept of Wikipedia is that anyone, even under the cover of anonymity can make changes to the content by clicking on the “edit” button, making it a good source of information as it is continually updated with the latest developments. This uniqueness is also what causes the controversies. Many people, including several educational institutions do not take into consideration any references from Wikipedia, as they believe that allowing people to edit the content, makes it an un-authoritative source of information with a huge possibility of vandalized content.
A scientific publication has reported to have done a comparative study of Encyclopedia Britannica and Wikipedia, and the result was that, while Britannica suffered from fact omission, Wikipedia is reported to contain inaccurate information.
Continue Reading →
29 August 20085 responsesHasan
They have proved again and again that they can be better than their adult counterparts in every way. They can be better than us and overtake us, yet make us feel good about being left behind.
They are our kids, who grow up fast enough to teach us things.
Computers are an integral part of a teenager’s life as internet existed when they were born. They live and breathe chatting, emailing and surfing the net.
Their opportunities online are the same as other age groups; in fact, they have more of an advantage due to all their friends being online and because of their capability of creating huge networks of friends in no time.
If you want to get your teenager started off with earning some money during their vacations or if you are a teenager looking to earn some pocket cash, there are many ways money can be made online. Let us take a look at a few:
Game Testing
The amount of time teenagers spend playing games online, they can earn from this passion. There are game companies that are willing to pay them for testing new games and giving feedback on the games.
Product Testing
There are many websites that sell products related to kids and teenagers. These websites take the help of teens to use their product and let them know if they liked it. This is the way these companies make sure the product is good for their target market. Teens enjoy doing this because they are allowed to keep the product in return for the favor.
Continue Reading →
