THE FIRST terrestrial 鈥渓ife form鈥� to escape from our Solar System may be a
computer virus.
One of Feedback鈥檚 colleagues was trying to open an electronic press release
last week when his virus scanner began to bleep madly. No great surprise there.
Press agents often seem blissfully unaware that macro viruses might be lurking
in the documents they send out. But this press release came from encounter2001,
a Texas company that promises to send your 鈥渄igital presence鈥� to the stars in a
space probe that will travel beyond the Solar System.
The idea is that someday in the distant future, alien beings might encounter
the spacecraft鈥攕o your hair sample or digital photograph could make the
fabled first contact with an extra terrestrial. But if encounter2001鈥檚 press
release is anything to go by, first contact could be made by a computer virus
that had stowed away on board the spacecraft. Won鈥檛 those aliens be pleased?
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TALKING of viruses, another of Feedback鈥檚 colleagues was recently struggling
with a new laptop and called in a friend for some expert help. After
reinstalling some software, the friend suddenly stopped tapping on the keyboard
and stared at the screen in horror. A tiny magnified area had appeared near the
bottom left-hand corner.
鈥淰irus,鈥� was all he said. Feedback鈥檚 colleague felt that horrible spine
prickle when you know your files are going to be gobbled up.
The pair sat back waiting for the inevitable. But after several minutes of
agony, nothing else had happened鈥攏o other magnified areas, and no messages
announcing wiped hard drives. Feedback鈥檚 colleague took a closer look at the
laptop鈥攁nd let out a sigh of relief as he realised the magnified area was
simply a drop of spit.
So much for expert friends.
RUMMAGING through some old copies of Condor, the American
ornithology magazine, Andrew Ferguson came across a paper by M. E. Heitmeyer
entitled: 鈥淏ody-composition of female mallards in winter in relation to annual
cycle events鈥�.
For a giddy moment, he wondered by what possible means bicycle races such as
the Tour de France could influence the weight and shape of female ducks. Then he
realised that perhaps the author should have used the word 鈥渃yclical鈥� instead of
鈥渃测肠濒别鈥�.
READER Martin Haswell recently spotted an ad in The Guardian for the
British government鈥檚 laudable new Information Society Initiative, designed to
help businesses 鈥渢ap into the huge market on the Internet鈥�.
Unfortunately, they omitted to print the initiative鈥檚 website address. So for
all those who want to know more, but can鈥檛 be bothered to phone the 0345 number
and wait for snail mail to deliver the ISI鈥檚 free advice pack, here it is:
www.isi.gov.uk/isi/.
Feedback is proud to do its bit for an administration that so wholeheartedly
embraces the information age.
PERHAPS someone similarly public-spirited could lend a helping hand to the
organisers of Mobicom `99, next week鈥檚 international conference on mobile
computing and networking in Seattle.
To register for this cutting-edge conference, all you have to do is go
to the registration page on the web鈥攚here you are told: 鈥淥n-line
registration is not available for this conference. However, you can fill out
this form on-line, click on `View Summary鈥� below, print the subsequent summary
page, then simply mail or fax the print out to the address below鈥︹��
AUDIO CDs and MiniDiscs you can record on are widely advertised, but none of
the firms making the discs or recorders has yet had the courage to say what they
are really for. Scared of upsetting the record companies, they pussyfoot around
with promises that 鈥渆very copy is as good as the original鈥�. But every copy of
what? Baby鈥檚 gurgles, the first cuckoo in the garden, Dad鈥檚 bathtime
crooning?
This means that lots of people still do not realise that it is now possible
to clone a music disc at home, or make a compilation of their favourite tracks
from several different records.
Memorex wants to change all that. The company is promoting an 80-minute blank
CD which, for less than 拢2 or $3, is cheaper than the 74-minute
blanks other companies sell.
Memorex is calling a spade a spade: 鈥淚t鈥檚 the optimum length for creating
music compilations. The product has been designed for hi-fi enthusiasts and
users who want to save their old LPs by creating CDs from their vinyl
肠辞濒濒别肠迟颈辞苍蝉.鈥�
Now that Memorex has finally come out and said it, we await the reaction of
the record companies with interest. You had better block your ears. There鈥檚
going to be an explosion.
READER Sarah Sholl picked up two yo-yos in her local shop recently. They were
the same brand but differed in price by about 拢1.50. The packaging on each
was exactly the same, with one difference. The more expensive yo-yo included a
鈥渂uilt-in auto-return system鈥�.
叠耻迟鈥�