On The Net - Computing News

with Chris Goh

I sat there, stunned and in awe. So many emotions came to the fore. Then realised how lucky I was, how lucky we are.

The multimedia age has delivered a level of awareness I don't think we readily appreciate. That's certainly true of me until now. Maybe it's because commercialism slews the benefits for people. Maybe it's because the mass media all-too-frequently bombards us with horrific images that desensitise us.

But after seeing Mel Gibson's film, The Passion of the Christ, I've never been so moved as I was after this movie. How fortunate we are that we have come so far that we can experience a story through film and understand its lessons, without the pain of first-hand experience. It's a film that brings you face to face with our humanity, our sense of truth and questions our existence in a way I never thought film could.

Just a century ago, that experience came from books. The first films startled audience who worried the train on the screen was about to run over them.

Now, the use of computers in cinematography can create a palpable past in graphic detail.

The real question is, given these powerful tools, will it help us learn from the past? Through the course of history, the real trials of humanity have remained the same. Our quest is always the same. Let us hope in the information age can help us on the path to enlightenment.

HotNews

DVD-Xcopy, which sent jitters through the movie industry because it can overwrite security, has copped a serious body blow after the Federal Court in California ordered the program's maker, 321 Studios, to remove its product from retail sale. 321's defence was that users should be allowed to duplicate DVDs, just as consumers burn CDs (which ignores the fact that the music industry has introduced Copy Control technology to stop it). 321 is planning an appeal.

Yahoo has now gone back to using its own search engine, Slurp, in a split from Google. Last year Yahoo, acquired Inkatomi, which ran search engines like Anzwers in Australia. After some tweaking, Yahoo is confident it has what it takes to knock off Google as the leading search engine. But it's amusing to note they've maintained the same colour scheme as Google for results - no doubt hoping that people won't notice the different.

A new virus, Netsky.D, is spreading at a high rate. The good news is it doesn't attack your PC directly like MyDoom, but make sure the patterns from your virus vendor are up to date.

Hotsites

www.goodquotes.com

I don't know about you, but I often wish I had a good quote handy - if only there was a neurosurgical procedure so I could download some little gems and quick quips straight into my brain. There are quotes to suit all occasions - captions from grave stones.

www.comics.com

I started reading the newspaper at a young age, and still read the comics section to this day. If you like those short comics then this is a great site. It's even categorised into demographics to help you find new things to your tastes to explore.

www.letssingit.com

Want to have a go at being the next Australian Idol, but just can't remember the words? Here's your site. This lyric portal of lyrics will stop you mumbling, but alas won't guarantee to make you a better singer.