Author: Roan Yboa

Interesting story on the Today Show this morning with the announcement of new search engine Wolfram, which is touted by some to be a rival to Google.

Wolfram is definitely a useful tool, but unlike Google or Yahoo it doesn’t send you to websites, but gives you practical answers to objective questions. It was originally designed for mathematicians and scientists and tries to give answers based on facts. It does so by searching the web for exact answers.

I have found that when asking a question such as the “world’s tallest building” it answered the question, no problem. Not only did it give me the list of the five tallest buildings, and their height, it gave me the option to find out more information. However, when I asked it for the world’s oldest man, it could not answer the question – probably because there are too many aspirants to the title.

To be fair, the man who developed the programme – Stephen Wolfram – calls the service a computational knowledge engine, which it probably a more accurate description of the software.

Eventually I can see this being a very useful tool for school kids and university students who want exact answers to questions when researching projects – not only because it gives the correct answers, but goes beyond that with providing ancillairy information.

Is it a super intelligent version of Google? No. But it will certainly find a niche in the cyberspace landscape.

Great story out of Israel this morning about an entrepreneur starting up an online university. Nothing new about a university going online – most tertiary education institutions have some sort of online presence, but this is the first one to offer a tuition-free service.

Shai Reshef says his university is aimed at poorer people who can’t afford to go to university, or live in isolated areas, or just don’t have the resources to get a better education.

In an interview with AP, Reshef says he is taking social networking to the next level by applying the same principles – people getting together over common ground – and then adding an educational dimension to it.

This idea struck me a good one, because it shows how technology, and the Internet, can spread its wings and offer tangible educational solutions for people who are disadvantaged. My only concern about this kind of exercise is how recognised the degree will be once it is finished. Reshef has the business registered in California, US and is seeking accreditation in that country. He already has 150 students signed up, and is initially offering undergrad courses in computer science and business administration.

One of the biggest problems in the third world is that lack of education leads to ignorance, and the social problems associated with it, so if the Internet can provide a cost-effective means of educating people, then I’m all for it.
Will it succeed? Who knows, I certainly hope so. This kind of entrepreneurship should be encouraged, and if Reshef’s online institution doesn’t meet the standards of the Californian education system, then I sure hope they try and steer him in the right direction.

Growing up back in the ’70s and ’80s the only thing I had to think about with regard to televisions was the screen size. CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) was what powered televisions back then – a cumbersome technology, which although still around, has been surpassed by LCD and plasma.

What they have brought to the television marketplace are clean, crisp pictures, a cleaner refresh rate, and the ability to take up less space in your living room.

Now a couple of new players are about to put their mark on television land – LED (Light Emitting Diode), and its more expensive cousin OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode).

So what do these units offer up that you can’t get out of your plasma or LCD? Well, LED televisions are super-thin for a start because they use LED backlights instead of fluorescent lamps like LCDs. They also use less energy, offer deeper blacks, and therefore an even sharper picture.

The cousin, the OLED, offers even deeper blacks and faster refresh rate, which means you see the picture ‘quicker’. OLED is seen as the top dog as far as technology goes, but there are two prohibitive factors that come with it – the lifetime of the polymers that make up the lighting aspect of a screen is lower than traditional LCD and plasma screens, and the cost. Sony have an OLED TV out at the moment that is an 11-inch screen and sells for a huge $6,999.

Also thrown into the mix is the wireless television from the likes of Sony and Toshiba and other vendors, and suddenly consumers are spoiled for choice. The most obvious benefit of wireless technology is you can put your gigglebox anywhere in the house without having to run cords all over the place.

Of all the technologies available, I think the LED units will stand the test of time as it is the one being embraced by most