Internet Trivias

1. Who coined the phrase 'World Wide Web'?

Tim Berners-Lee in 1990. He's also considered by most people as the person who started the whole thing rolling.

2. How did the Internet Start and Why?

It all started with the time-sharing of IBM computers in the early 1960s at universities such as Dartmouth and Berkeley in the States. People would share the same computer for their computing tasks. The Internet also received help from Sputnik! After this Russian Satellite was launched in 1957, President Eisenhower formed ARPA to advance computer networking and communication.

3. Who was J.C.R. Licklider?

Licklider is often referred to as the father of the Internet because his ideas of interactive computing and a "Galactic Network" were the seeds for the Internet. His ideas would be developed thru DARPA,(Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) in 1962. Later he would help form ARPANET and the Internet was on it's way.

4. What was ARPANET?

ARPANET stands for 'Advanced Research Projects Agency Network' Came about in the arena of Sputnik and the cold war. The militaryneeded a method of communicating and sharing all the information on computers for research and development. It would also be a handy communication system if all traditional ways were wiped out in a nuclear attack!

5. What was the First long distance Connection?

In 1965 using a low speed dial-up telephone line, MIT researcher Lawrence G. Roberts working with Thomas Merrill, connected the TX-2 computer in Massachusetts to the Q-32 in California. The phone lines weren't quite up to the task!

6. When was the first mouse introduced?

The first computer mouse was introduced in 1968 by Douglas Engelbart at the Fall Joint Computer Expo in San Francisco.

7. Country with the highest percentage of net users?

Sweden at 75%.

Losing Your Temper....

It's really painful when our friends or colleagues at business places shout at us for unnecessary reasons. Its mainly due to the fact that people who lose their temper feel that they are not being respected or their opinion is being flatly brushed aside. Among friends, one starts shouting at other because the other dint listen to his orders or did something he wanted. This often occurs when one of the friends is so dominating over others. Many think that showing a dominating character is a "virtue", but the truth is that it may land them into a land of troubles. Peers don't respect them and also their opinions and move with them for the sake of that association that they had with those short tempered people.

The general principle is that, try to respect the other person's needs and wishes and behave accordingly. True friendship lies in sacrificing at times our own wishes and trying to get the wishes of our friends' satisfied. We must be able to observe our friends' behaviour and be able to identify the way they adjust with us even though we are so rude at them and do something that is not desirable to them. When our friends are ready to bend their wishes for us, then it becomes a duty for us to reciprocate atleast some amount of this kind hearted behaviour if not fully.

Do not burst at your friends since because they say something against your opinion. Take time to analyze whats that so good in their view that it makes your's a little lower in grade. If you still feel your's is still better, then try to convince your friend politely by highlighting the inherent good qualitites of your idea. Even at work places, do not dominate or over power your team mates with your solutions. Ask your team members for their views and try to incorporate your proposals along with theirs. Be it friends or colleagues, respect to human stands tall amongst all vital characters for human beings.

Cold War Among Friends... The worst of all!

Everyone of us in our life through our school to college must have experienced or at least witnessed the sort of misunderstanding that exists among friends termed as "Cold War". When friends are in cold war, they don't face each other face to face, they don't talk with each other. But, the most amazing thing is that they don't attack each other explicitly and also deliberately. This sort of bitterness goes on and on between them unless either of the two friends breaks the ice and speaks out.

The common problem among friends is that they think that they don't do any mistakes and any problem that occurs in the relationship is purely due to the other person. Everyone is liable to err and every single person must know this fact. When the other person does some mistake, it is the beauty of friendship that one must notify it to the other person rather than rebuking him severely. Think for a minute why the other person is not speaking out to you. Don't always look for the other person to satisfy your desires. Take some pain in getting done the things the other person likes to enjoy.

True friendship is when both the persons know each others' strengths and weaknesses and try to help each other in overcoming their weakness. When someone stops communicating with the other just because of some minor misunderstanding, then its not at all termed "friendship". There is selfishness creeping in here. Friendship is that where there is no selfishness and sacrifice is the most valuable gift that one can give to one's friend. Finally, don't forget your friends for what they are and also learn to rate your friends according to the care that they show to you. Showing similar reaction to all your friends may not sound well all the times. Cheers to friendship......

Good Friends...What it takes....?

This article will surely be an eye opener for all those who fall under the category of people whom am going to describe. This world does not have friends who have the same attitude towards towards friendship always. One of them values the other greatly but the other may be of a cheap character like using his comrade. This is worst as slavery and leaves a tarnished feeling in the friend's heart.

If this is not clear, let me dwell deeper in to this. Some people make friends with other people just because they have got something to complement them(the self). Of course, friendship is complementing what the other has not got with him/her, but making friends for the sole purpose of it, is something that is rancid. The other person utilizes the other's potential and doesn't even bother to ask about his problems or not even cares to complement his weakness. This is not friendship, I guess! The irony is that the person who utilizes the other does not realize that the other party clearly knows the attitude of the other most of the times. So, those who belong to this category please beware, because you can be fired anytime!!

Friendship is a mutually beneficial behaviour and to one extent can be symbiotic, where one person benefits and the other, neither benefited nor harmed. But, the problem is that people tend to be parasitic and try to suck most of the resources from the other. There are also kind of people belonging to parasitic category but still produce an image that they are very friendly, which is a hilarious comedy for those who know them deeply!

Friendship does not lie in roaming with and chatting together. Its Tete-a-Tete feeling one has with the other. Good friends can read each other's mind and can heal each other's mental wounds just by good thoughts. This is called telepathy and it surely works among good friends and only pure friends can realize this mystical power. Money doesn't matter among friends but the timely help and the open mindedness are the most wanted attributes for great friendship. Don't be egotistic with friends and good manners is in not letting down your friend when in public and not in all those high-fi behaviours.

To give that final touch, always help your friend achieve his/her dream. Enjoy with your friend but never leave him gasp for breath to come up in life after that hourly enjoyment. A good friend is the one who is a strict teacher at times and a gentle comrade at the other. Prestige is not a issue in making friends. Even the son/daughter of your house maid can be your best comrade, provided you both decide to hold that thread of good friendship forever. Remember, friends acquired for the sake of status and pride will leave you off when the both leave you. Don't have a perception about people without ever having a word or two with them. Finally, try to estimate the amount of care the other person shows on you and rate your friends accordingly, because every one cares for you but with a different gradient....

Ferrari Returns...

After the retirement of Michael Schumacher, Ferrari hadn't had any graceful races that gave them a neat podium finish. But, this season of Formula-One has been a great one so far for the Ferrari team. The race at Manama, where Felipe Massa clinched the top spot with Kimi Raikonnen in the second place pushed Ferrari to the second spot with BMW still in the first spot. But, Kimi leads the drivers' Championship table. Lewis Hamilton, the British rookie last year, who threatened to take the drivers' title last season was out of the podium in this race. To sum up, Ferrari is back with a bang and more action is on the go.

The Problem Of Stuffing Too Much...

It is a usual event in engineering colleges in India to conduct repeated tests for students not bothering about their interests. In their first year, students simply do what they are told to for the fear of being punished was always there. Here again the goal of education fails, instead of imparting quality education to the students, it imposes a mere fear of the professors and the assignments are completed not due to interest but due to pressure.

As years roll on, students mature by mind and realise what's going on around them. What the industry needs from them. Is it the ability to merely fill the papers is the need of the corporates?? Or the ability to solve problems with common sense? Definitely the latter. But, what's that our college education providing us with? Loads and loads of subjects, totally of no hint to students as to where these are leading them into. Students get lot of things into their minds and finally fail to figure out what is the ultimate benefit of learning such subjects.

Stuffing too much into a young brain diminishes its ability to think on its own and imparts the habit of total dependency, wherein the mind expects someone to guide in solving any problem. We lose our originality and our productive power is almost gone. Once we dwell into the thought of whats the subject is all about, the semester exams sound an alarming bell and we are doomed to prepare for those "Discuss the foll..." stuff questions, which purely represent the author's view and the exam gives no freedom for us in proving our skill. Professors argue, when students continually complain that the subjects are theory oriented and when the question paper contains a problem, they fail to solve although they said they needed problems in it. The reality is the student is accustomed for theory papers that he must learn only those paragraphs from the book and the same old examples when certain questions are asked. But, when suddenly a problem comes in the paper, he is not prepared for this and the result he succumbs to this unexpectedness!

"Artificial Intelligence" is a subject wherein the student learns how to impart thinking ability into a machine artificially. But the exam tests actually the "author's intelligence", how well he has written the book, because the questions demand the students to reproduce whats given in the text book rather than asking them to think rationally. This is not the aim of education. All this type of learning will vanish from the student's mind once the exams are over. As Einstein has once said "Education is one that remains after he has forgotten all that he has learned". How much you retain is what that determines the success of an educational system. But, its otherwise here.

I usually stand amazed at the way students present their paper during semesters and the happiness they get out of it. The happiness of having decorated the paper thoroughly. Its a utter shame to do this at the engineering level. This occurs because, the student has been over stuffed with the subjects and he is unable to find the one that suits him the best and starts embarking on those semester and scoring in the same, which amounts to nothing to the outsiders. When there is a gap between the teaching period and the exams, when the student is allowed to experiment on his learnings, that is the period when engineering achieves its mission. Till then it is still a "Vision".

Mission 2020...Is it tangible....????

The voice of our dear former president and a great educationist, Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam is still echoing in the hearts of every youth in India. The voice that assured that India would be a super power by 2020. The dream of every individual who contributes for the Nation's growth is this!! Everyone is striving currently to make our India the Super Power in another 10 years. Its the dream that is being cherished by all the leaders of India who truly have interest in this Nation's development.

But wait!! Are we on the right road towards achieving that dream?? I fear We aren't. The trouble starts right at the top. The people ruling this country. Every politician who is elected is concerned very much in securing his post and to loot as much as possible during his tenure. The allocated funds for development activities are spend in the Minister's personal development. The usual note that these people sound is "Lack of Fund". But, when all the money is swallowed by these ruthless rulers, from where does one get money to bring a suitable change??

The next major issue is population. India has a commanding lead in this area and is on a flying start to beat China soon. Lots of campaigns, lots of awareness programs on television and radio, but the masss pay no heed for all the announcements and continue increasing the population and thereby inviting more trouble for the nation. The villages, where birth control is considered an offence, are the areas of primary concern where the population growth is exponential. They consider children as their asset and any damage to this ritual is subjected to severe punishment. This prevents even the Government to interfere and bring about any useful measures. The immediate task is to put a check on population growth in rural areas first.

The next area, obviously is to bring a sea-change in the educational system. Why is a contry like India, where education is given a top priority does not succeed at the corporate level? The reason is that we concentrate much on imparting education to children but fail to illuminate with the thought as to why they study and what changes that they can bring to our country. This is what the distinction between the education in India and the Foreign Nations. US and countries like France and Germany have got many inventors but we Indians, whom we call ourselves as the Brain-Factory of the World have produced only a few people who changed the way the World sees them. Ofcourse, am not here to blame the whole system of eucation here.. I have a valid explanation for this too. Read on....

Poverty... The unconquerable evil in India is a major hindrance for education in our country. A family where there are no scholars, when a child of theirs becomes the First scholar, the family wants him to capitalise on his learning and earn more for the family, rather plunge into research. In our country, as a general tone, research is set aside for people who have a good financial background. We are not talking of the middle and upper middle class as poor here. Peopl who can't afford food for atleast two times a day are the major concern. Ironically, in our country 75% of the population is under this category!!! Now this is what preventing our human resource to produce high quality research products. Well, India too had people from very poor background like, Dr. Ambedkar, Sir.C.V.Raman, Ramanujan, Dr.Abdula Kalam and a very few. This list of people, of no doubt have made the World to notice India as a emerging super power.

Now, the problem with our country is very clear. The rich gets richer and richer and the poor, poorer and poorer. When and only the wealth of the Nation is equally distributed among the masses, people start working with passion rather for those high salaries!! This one is a bit difficult in the current scenario. But, we as Engineers have a considerable role to uplift or forge our nation into a land of burgeoining technologies. Well, how are we going to do it? As it is well said, "Knowledge gets improved when shared". This also means that we can travel places for getting what we need. We must travel all around the World, learn the techniques that have made the respective nations the fore-runners in their World. The next step is to analyze the current situation here and adopt the policies that one has learnt around the World. Not clear, we must become Business-tycoons or to put it in a simple way "Entrepreneurs". If and only if we take the torch in our hand we can guide people better. By working under an employer for some period of time, we gain certain experience in us and must make the best of it when we become the leaders of a firm.

So, Engineers, the goal is set. The tasks made clear. Only remaining activities are commitment from us and the most important "taking the initiative". Once these two are done, then there must be no looking back. Lets join hands to bring out that New India which our Student-friendly scientist wanted.... India The Super-Power.. Isn't awesome to hear...