On the Net

with Chris Goh

Anything is possible

One of the difficult things that I'm often intrigued by in human behaviour is confidence. How an individual struggles with that in relation to their self often becomes a large catalyst for much of their behaviour, especially in their interaction with society. If you're human and you know you are, most of the time, you are frank about your own faults, but in a society where there is plentiful comparison and competition discovering where you are in the grand benchmark of society becomes a journey in itself.

We take too lightly the challenges that befall us on a regular basis and what a great feat it is to be human, to adapt to new aptitudes that society requires of us, like the use of technology and even trying to master human relationships. That is why people like Plato and Socrates, who are centuries old, still hold a place in our society - because the human issues of self then are the same struggles we face today.

When people ask me how I manage to operate computers, learn about how networks operate, or even how I can play the piano, my reply should be confidence. Confidence that I can do it with enough diligence, confidence in my ability to learn, confidence in my ability to practice and in many cases, to accept mistakes.

Most people go through a risk mitigation exercise before they even touch a computer, which in a child's eye never happens; everything is new, everything is possible. Be confident in your potential to do things.

Hotnews

At the University of Pittsburgh they have been able to translate electrical signals sent from the brain to allow a monkey to effectively use a motorised prosthetic arm. The hope is that this technology will be able to be translated for humans, for all types of nerve/spinal chord injury.

Macrovision has bravely gone out to the world and has said that its new product, called RipGuard, will stop 97 per cent of attempts to duplicate DVDs. Already approved by THX, the company's software specifically targets rippers that use the analogue outputs of a DVD/television.

www.australia.gov.au is about to get a facelift, with the Australian Government Information Management Office tendering the redevelopment of this website. With the closure date of application in mid March and an expected finish date of early May, it doesn't leave much time for a developer to do extensive re-tinkering. Looking at www.agimo.gov.au the latest media release was August last year. Content management might be the bigger issue.

Microsoft is recalling world wide all the power cords that it sold with an X-box pre October 2003, which adds up to some 14.1 million cords, after 30 instances where people incurred burns, including one in Australia. Call 1800 073 897.

GE has launched a HDMR, High Definition Magnetic Resonance system, which is a world first. Not only are pictures in high definition but the resonance scanning speed is exceptional, which particular allows patients such as those with Parkinson's disease to be easily scanned and diagnosed.

Thermal scanners once used to check the integrity of circuit boards are now being used by doctors to detect early signs of arthritis. These scanners have been identified to be 10 times more powerful than x-rays in detecting variations in temperature, which is used to detect arthritic activity.

Hotsites

www.artcyclopedia.com

The Artcylcopedia is one of the best art/picture sites available on the internet, indexing and making available the world's artwork, including detail on the painters that designed them.

www.rootssearch.net

One of the continually attractive aspects of the internet is using this information Super Highway to find out your ancestral origins. Genealogy continues to be a popular past time of web surfers and rootssearch is one of the best portals around to start and trace back your family, with links to medical institutions, news articles, message boards and more.

www.archpark.org.il

The Jerusalem Archeological Park is one of the best contemporary designed sites I have seen in awhile. It focuses on one of the world's most hotly contested pieces of land and looks at the complex history and findings of this ancient and wonderful city.