~e; news, electromagnetic

[human being <human@electronetwork.org>]

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# this is the supercomputer that was in the news a few weeks back.

U.S. Gains in Supercomputing but Loses Top Spot
Patricia Daukantas
Government Computer News
Thursday, June 20, 2002; 11:39 AM

"The new Earth Simulator system in Yokohama, Japan, packs more 
computing speed than the next 12 fastest computers combined, 
according to the new list at http://www.top500.org ."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17717-2002Jun20.html



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# on cochlear implants

Static: The New Hearing Aid
By Patrick Di Justo
http://wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,53298,00.html


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# wacky economics... consumers paying for old profit-models...

Fees on horizon for electronics recycling
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-938746.html?tag=dd.ne.dtx.nl-sty.0


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  # thanks for the forward. one pager, yet has an interactive piece also.
  # about lissajous figures. it's also spelled another way, if searching.

"Jules Antoine Lissajous was a French physicist who lived from 1822 
to 1880. Like many physicists of his time, Lissajous was interested 
in being able to see vibrations. He started off standing tuning forks 
in water and watching the ripple patterns, but his most famous 
experiments involved tuning forks and mirrors. For example, by 
attaching a mirror to a tuning fork and shining a light onto it, 
Lissajous was able to observe, via another couple of mirrors, the 
reflected light twisting and turning on the screen in time to the 
vibrations of the tuning fork. When he set up two tuning forks at 
right angles, with one vibrating at twice the frequency of the other, 
Lissajous found that the curved lines on the screen would combine to 
make a figure of eight pattern."

http://www.abc.net.au/science/holo/liss.htm



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# op-ed from the NYTimes on weather patterns. in the .us right now
# there are huge fires in arizona and elsewhere (not sure if colo-
# rado is still burning. yet, in extreme heat, a lot of places be-
# came habitable with e-powered airconditioning and pools, other-
# wise they are desertlands. so saw one image of huge firestorms
# and powerlines, and wondered about melting the e-network/grid,
# which is likely, and if a major interstate line, that would have
# an impact in several ways. another, being that lightning which
# also can spark wildfires, natural process, and to be expected,
# as there are fire seasons (in .calif e.g.) just as with tornados.

How Hot Is Too Hot?
By BOB HERBERT

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/24/opinion/24HERB.html?todaysheadlines



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  news in passing, PDA's were explored as alternative to computers
  for schools. missed the article, but the thought stayed with me,
  and have been reading about how calculators are trying to become
  more like PDAs, and yet, PDAs are trying to be more like mobile
  phones/internet clients, and yet also have graphing calculator
  functions. then, began wondering about the keyboards that can be
  collapsed and typed with on a PDA these days, rechargeable batteries,
  form factor (small, lightweight, durable cases, less energy) and
  that most larger computers are not used fully to the maximum, the
  comparison to a newest/fastest chip running a small business account-
  ing program (unless using Enronomics) is probably wasted resources.
  and, PDAs can be programmed, or used to learn programming, which
  may be more inviting to younger children who may need basics but
  not the full regimen, and also, that laptops or whatever else may
  be worthwhile for highschool. it is the sense that it would be a
  huge waste of money to purchase laptops for schooling when PDAs
  could do almost all functions, without losing the importance of
  a real human teacher in a classroom, and focussing on learning,
  and not on tech-troubleshooting, which is everpresent w/computers.
  opinion of bc only. just some thoughts. PDAs could do a lot more,
  especially with removeable storage, and wireless networks/modems.


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