 Chris Goh's "On the Net"
Congratulations to Adam Kerz from Lismore High (see last week's Echo). I wish him the best of luck in Finland. If you missed the story on Adam, he is representing Australia in the Informatics Olympiad in Finland.
This talented young man has also won a couple of national competitions recent years, and he has a bright future in front of him.
Next week, I'll give my annual review of computer systems - what to look for and what to ask for, so stay tuned.
And while you'll often hear Microsoft criticised in this column, I have to say that both Windows 2000 and Windows XP are the first Microsoft operating systems I have been quietly happy with.
It's the first time in my career that I've been able to run a Microsoft product from straight out of the box without it crashing in the first week. Aside from the stability, they both have some excellent features. But it might fall down for the gamers who require DOS compatibility (and a PIII with 128Mb of RAM is recommended). The larger install is due in part to Microsoft loading all the drivers on your machine instead of the ones you specify.
It's good for businesses but home users may have a different view.
Another development that has probably hurt HP more than anything else is Compaq literally giving the Alpha chip design to Intel for a stake in the Itanium race. The Alpha chip was the first to reach the 500MHz mark and mastered 64-bit processing long before its competitors.
Intel is now set to become for processing and hardware what Microsoft is for software.
Legitimately, Compaq also realised that the R&D needed to compete with Intel's new low cost Itanium would lead to a hard fought and resource intensive exercise. So they relented right at the beginning.
Now IT companies are being more prudent about their investments and cutting infrastructure costs where they can. There's an upside for consumers, since it means that electronic business solutions which only large corporations could afford only a couple of years ago, are now affordable enough for a one person business.
Hotnews
Spain has approximately 70 film festivals a year, but this year the Todo Film Fest is holding one specifically for Internet movies that are no more than 3.5MB in size. Filmmakers will have to find innovative ways to produce a digital masterpiece that will comply with the judging requirements, good luck. www.notodofilmfest.com
In the UK, where they're celebrating the centenary of the fingerprint database, the law enforcement agencies are wondering whether it's now time to make a DNA database a mainstream forensic science tool to help identify criminals.
Forsyth Country Day School in North Carolina is forcing students to purchase a palm pilot with a folding keyboard, arguing that it was cheaper than a laptop. Obviously the principal hasn't checked whether his students educational requirements meet the specification of the Palm, because it means they won't be doing heavy programming anytime soon (and incidentally they're getting older generation Palms - the Palm III). Hmm. I wonder how many shares he has in the company.
Microsoft has succeeded where IBM and Bell laboratories failed, in getting Judge Jackson removed from the bench. A multi-million dollar political lobbying effort from Microsoft has helped free it from anti-trust suits. The Texan in the Whitehouse probably has first hand experience of monopolies coming from the oil fields, so he has decided to allow Microsoft to continue its market domination. George can only be grateful he doesn't have Alan Fels and the ACCC on his case.
Hotsites
www.nida.com.au
Most budding actors dream of getting the chance to learn at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA).
www.afc.gov.au/
The Australian Film Commission has put together a reasonable site, with resources for Australian films and a list of the steps you have to go through to receive AFC funding.
http://www.whales.org.au/watch/
Okay whale watchers, it's that time of the year again. This is an excellent list of cetacean links, but my sentimental favourite is...
www.oceania.org.au
Trish and Wally Franklin launched this fine site in 1996. Since then it's had some great traffic and has been recognised on a number of portals for its excellent presentation.
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