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Techno Page - By Harendra Alwis 2003
special for Linux It is difficult
to predict how this phenomenon would affect the computing world.
It may help bring about a balance of power in the software industry,
yet some experts (who seem to sympathise with Microsoft) point out
that power without much control is as bad, citing that Linux will
be more vulnerable as there is no single moderator. Nevertheless, it is a challenge we will all have to face sooner or later and leave the decision in the hands of time. Happy new year to you all! Would
you have diamonds in your computer? Researchers
say diamond chips can work at a temperature of up to 1000 degrees
Celsius, while silicon chips stop working above 150 degrees Celsius.
This property means that diamond chips can work at a much higher
frequency or faster speed and be placed in a high-temperature environment,
such as a vehicle's engine. Diamond can
also resist voltages up to around 200 volts, compared to around
20 volts for a silicon chip. This means power electronics, such
as an inverter, can become much smaller in size. At present, a large
number of silicon chips are used together to handle high voltages
which makes devices large. Flat-panel display electrodes based on
diamonds can also release more electrons, and the life span of devices
using diamond electrodes can be double or longer than the equivalent
with silicon. However, diamond
chips are not expected to completely replace silicon chips for another
20 years because of two major bottlenecks. Although artificial diamond
for chips has been developed, it is still much more expensive than
silicon. A four-millimetre-square diamond substrate costs several
tens of thousands of rupees compared to virtually nothing for silicon. Another problem is that electricity cannot travel smoothly through diamond. Thus, engineers are seeking impurities that can be added to aid electricity flow. Some major Japanese electronics companies are already active in diamond chip development. Microsoft
.NET Framework The .NET Framework
is designed to fulfil the following objectives: * To provide
a consistent object-oriented programming environment whether object
code is stored and executed locally, executed locally but Internet-distributed,
or executed remotely. * To provide
a code-execution environment that minimises software deployment
and versioning conflicts. * To provide
a code-execution environment that guarantees safe execution of code,
including code created by an unknown or semi-trusted third party.
* To provide
a code-execution environment that eliminates the performance problems
of scripted or interpreted environments. * To make the
developer experience consistent across widely varying types of applications,
such as Windows-based applications and Web-based applications. * To build
all communication on industry standards to ensure that code based
on the .NET Framework can integrate with any other code. The .NET Framework
has two main components: the common language runtime and the .NET
Framework class library. The common language runtime is the foundation
of the .NET Framework. You can think of the runtime as an agent
that manages code at execution time, providing core services such
as memory management, thread management and remoting, while also
enforcing strict type safety and other forms of code accuracy that
ensure security and robustness. In fact, the concept of code management
is a fundamental principle of the runtime. Code that targets the
runtime is known as managed code, while code that does not target
the runtime is known as unmanaged code. The class library, the other
main component of the .NET Framework, is a comprehensive, object-oriented
collection of reusable types that you can use to develop applications
ranging from traditional command-line or graphical user interface
(GUI) applications to applications based on the latest innovations
provided by ASP.NET, such as Web Forms and XML Web services. The .NET Framework
can be hosted by unmanaged components that load the common language
runtime into their processes and initiate the execution of managed
code, thereby creating a software environment that can exploit both
managed and unmanaged features. The .NET Framework not only provides
several runtime hosts, but also supports the development of third-party
runtime hosts. Improve
your computer literacy Fractals are
used to compress images and even movies. Fractal compression is
so efficient that it can make it possible to transmit a full resolution
movie in real time (without any jerkiness) over a 33 kbps modem.
But this technology has not caught on (instead the MPEG and JPEG
format have dominated) due to copyright restrictions. Do you have
any information to share with us regarding fractals? If so, write
into technopage_lk@yahoo.com In the meantime, visit <http://www.shodor.org/master/fractal/> for a taste of what fractals really are. New
Sinhala website Processed
pop dominated the charts in 2002 By Pete
Harrison The year started
with top performers including Sir Elton John (news) lambasting processed
pop, but ended with a public vote of confidence, as identikit pop
groups took the top three spots. The result
reflected pop music's latest phenomenon: the TV-manufactured band
- a formula as much hated by music's cognoscenti as it is loved
by the millions of young fans tuning in weekly to vote their idols
towards stardom. At No. 1 last
Sunday, according to the Official UK Charts Company, was "Sound
of the Underground" by Girls Aloud, a product of the hit show
"Pop Stars: The Rivals." "Pop Stars"
is the latest in a string of hits for Britain's largest commercial
channel ITV1. With ITV's "Pop Idol," BBC's "Fame
Academy" and an earlier series of "Pop Stars" swamping
the small screen in 2003, critics say the public has grown bored
with this year's parade of made-to-order groups. This new cynicism
has helped take record sales to historic lows, they say. Close behind
Girls Aloud, at Nos. 2 and 3, were two other "Pop Stars"
products: the Cheeky Girls with "Cheeky Song (Touch my Bum)"
and the boy-band One True Voice with "Sacred Trust". By reaching
number two, the Cheeky Girls - Transylvanian twins Gabriela and
Monica Irimia - defied the "Pop Stars" judges who dubbed
them "the worst act ever." One of the harshest critics of manufactured music is Elton John, who in March launched a widely-reported tirade. "It is like packets of cereal," he said. "It is just fodder. There is too much, just too much of it." But indicating
either a vote of confidence or a change of heart, he has now collaborated
with boy-band Blue on "Sorry Seems the Hardest Word,"
which last week held steady at No. 4. The pop show
calendar kicked off in 2003 with ITV1's "Pop Idol," the
winner of which - Will Young - ended the year at No. 26 with "Don't
Let Me Down." His vanquished
rival, Gareth Gates, who has enjoyed equal stardom since the end
of the show, was at No. 16 with "What my Heart Wants to Say."
Other pop-show losers in the chart last week were Liberty X at 17
and Darius at 28. Critics say
traditional rock music has become virtually redundant in the face
of this new phenomenon, and last week's chart appeared to prove
them right. A collaboration between Death in Vegas and Liam Gallagher was the highest-ranking rock act - with "Scorpio Rising" at number 21. New
year resolutions do help Folks who make
them are 10 times more likely to make a desired change than those
who don't, says psychologist John Norcross, a pioneering change
researcher at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania. Forty per cent
to 45% of adults will make New Year's resolutions going into 2003,
Norcross says. Standard pledges include exercising, losing weight
and giving up cigarettes, goals that can bring significant benefits,
he says. These are health-enhancing and potentially life-saving
changes. Many resolutions
will crash and burn. But making a formal decision to modify behaviour
really does help, his research shows, although long-term change
requires a carefully thought-out plan as well as a pledge, says
Norcross, co-author of Changing for Good. As part of
his research on change, his team studied 159 'resolvers' and 123
who wanted to change but made no resolutions. About 46% of
the resolvers altered their behaviour during six months of follow-up
telephone interviews, compared with only 4% of those who also wanted
to change but didn't make a pledge. His research appeared in the
Journal of Clinical Psychology. Norcross and
others also say a pledge alone will not be enough to guarantee long-term
success. Norcross' earlier studies indicate 81% of resolutions are
broken within two years. Changing requires ''more than just the
desire,'' he says. ''You need to know how to execute a plan, how
to form the specific skills to keep you there.'' A plan, a commitment
to change, as well as ''a clear view of the benefits, what is gained
as well as what is given up, is needed," says William Knaus
of the Centre for Creative Change in Longmeadow, Mass., and co-author
of Overcoming Procrastination. And at the beginning, "you just
have to grind it out. Act differently, and practise, practise until
the new behaviour becomes part of what you do." |
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