The Kindle 2: Bentuk buku masa depan

The Kindle 2: the ebook could be the future of books
The Kindle 2 is thin, fast, and far better than reading from a computer screen but does Amazon's new eBook beat a real book? Tom Leonard beats the crowds in New York to have a look.

If this is the future of literature, then I can only say I'm very glad I didn't drop it. More illuminated medieval manuscript than airport novel, the wafer-thin Kindle 2 sits in your hand like a small, fragile bird. Wrap this one up in your beach towel and forget about it at your peril.
Amazon calls the flat panel its "purpose-driven reading device" but it's hard to work out whether it's really a book designed by a computer lover or a computer designed by a book lover.
In its monochrome simplicity – white surround, grey screen, black text – seems to be saying that it wants to be a book. But its technical wizardry – the 60-second internet synching and built-in dictionary - speaks instead of its computer aspirations.
Fans of iPods, iPhones and BlackBerrys will be reassured by the tininess of the buttons and the six-inch diameter screen. The keyboard appears to have been designed for a dormouse.
But it is quick. I was able to download (for the price of $9.99) a copy of the popular novel The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society in about 30 seconds. If I wanted to break off and, say, peel potatoes, the Kindle could read to me in a voice like a speeded up Stephen Hawking. Fine for a text book, maybe, but not Gone With The Wind.
The page turning button works smoothly but, personally, I'd rather see more than four paragraphs on the page at a time. The literary experience becomes something like reading a rather long text message, and then another, and another.
But – and it's an important but – it is much more pleasant than reading from a computer. There is virtually no screen glare and there are 16 shades of grey for background.
Optimistically for publishers and writers, you can see why fans say it has encouraged them to read more widely. For those who won't miss the feel, the weight and – of course – the smell of a book, Kindle may do the trick.

Bocah 8 Tahun Menjadi Professional IT Termuda

Marko Calasan, from Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, has become the world's youngest certified computer system administrator.

"I'd like to be a computer scientist when I grow up and create a new operational system," he said.

Marko, whose favourite subject at school is mathematics, learnt to read and write at the age of two, which was when his interest in computers began.

The news of his achievement has turned him into a celebrity in Macedonia.
His mother Radica, 37, said that her son displayed "exceptional learning abilities at a very early age" and that she and her husband, who run a computer school, call on Marko to help solve technical problems when they crop up.

"He is obviously extraordinary gifted, but children above the age of six could learn much more about computers than generally assumed," she said.

Marko is also fascinated by physics and astronomy and struggled to sleep the night before the launch of the Big Bang experiment at the underground facility of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research in Switzerland.

Marko said: "The media said it could cause the end of the world, but there was never any danger of that."

Seorang bocah berusia delapan tahun telah menjadi profesional IT termuda sepanjang sejarah setelah melewati ujian untuk mendapatkan sertifikasi Microsoft. Marko Calasan dari Skopje, ibukota dari Macedonia telah menjadi administrator sistem komputer bersertifikat termuda di dunia. Marco mengatakan bahwa ia "ingin menjadi ilmuwan komputer saat saya besar nanti dan membuat sebuah sistem operasi baru," katanya. Marco yang gemar pelajaran matematika di sekolah, sudah belajar membaca dan menulis pada usia dua tahun, di mana ia pertama kali mulai menunjukan minatnya pada komputer. Berita pencapaiannya telah mengubahnya menjadi seorang selebriti di Macedonia. Ibu Marco Radica, 37, mengatakan bahwa anaknya telah menunjukan "bakat belajar yang luar biasa sejak kecil" dan ia bersama suaminya yang menjalankan sekolah komputer sering meminta bantuan Marco saat mereka mengalami masalah teknis. "Ia jelas sangat berbakat, namun anak-anak yang berusia di atas enam tahun sudah dapat mempelajari komputer lebih cepat dari asumsi sebagaian besar orang," katanya. Marco juga tertarik dengan pelajaran fisika dan astronomi dan mengalami kesulitan untuk tidur di malam sebelum diluncurkannya eksperimen Big Bang di fasilitas bawah tanah dari European Organisation for Nuclear Research di Swiss. Marco mengatakan bahwa "media mengatakan bahwa ini dapat menyebabkan akhir dari dunia, namun rasanya hal tersebut tidak berbahaya." Klik di sini untuk sumber artikel.

Ilmuwan Australia Buat Internet 100 Kali Lebih Cepat

COMPUTER users frustrated by slow internet connections could soon be surfing the web 100 times faster, all thanks to new Australian technology.

University of Sydney scientists say they have developed a new technology that could speed up the internet - and not cost users an extra cent.

Described as "a small scratch on a piece of glass'', the university's photonic integrated circuit boosts the performance of traditional optic fibres, Professor Ben Eggleton said.

"This circuit uses the 'scratch' as a guide or a switching a path for information - kind of like when trains are switched from one track to another - except this switch takes one picosecond to change tracks,'' Prof Eggleton said of the technology developed over the past four years.

"This means that in one second the switch is turning on and off about one million times.''
"Currently we use electronics for our switching and that has been OK, but as we move toward a more tech-savvy future there is a demand for instant web gratification.''

Prof Eggleton said initial testing of the technology showed it was possible to achieve internet speeds 60 times faster than the current Telstra network.

But if developed further, the circuit could reach speeds 100 times faster, he said.
"This is a critical building block and a fundamental advance on what is already out there,'' Prof Eggleton said.

"We are talking about networks that are potentially up to 100 times faster without costing the consumer any more.''


Pengguna komputer yang frustasi dengan koneksi internet lambat sebentar lagi dapat menelusuri web 100 kali lebih cepat berkat teknologi baru dari Australia. Ilmuwan dari Universitas Sydney mengatakan bahwa mereka telah mengembangkan teknologi baru yang dapat mempercepat internet tanpa membebankan biaya tambahan kepada pengguna. Digambarkan sebagai "retak kecil pada sebuah gelas," sirkuit photonic yang terintegrasi ini meningkatkan kinerja serat optik tradisional, kata Profesor Ben Eggleton. "Sirkuit ini menggunakan retakan sebagai pedoman atau jalur informasi, mirip seperti kereta yang dapat berpindah dari satu rel ke rel lain, tetapi perpindahan ini hanya membutuhkan waktu satu picodetik. Ini berarti dalam satu detik tombol ini aktif dan non-aktif sekitar satu juta kali." Prof Eggleton mengatakan bahwa teknologi ini telah dikembangkan selama empat tahun terakhir. Saat ini kita masih menggunakan elektronik untuk switching yang bekerja cukup baik, tetapi dengan majunya kita menuju masa depan berteknologi tinggi, pemakai menginginkan internet yang memuaskan. Prof Eggleton mengatakan pada pengujian awal teknologi ini menunjukkan kemungkinan memperoleh kecepatan internet sampai dengan 60 kali dari jaringan Telstra yang ada sekarang. Jika dikembangkan lebih lanjut, sirkuit ini dapat menghasilkan kecepatan sampai dengan 100 kali, katanya. "Kita berbicara mengenai jaringan yang memiliki potensi peningkatan kecepatan sampai dengan 100 kali tanpa membebankan pelanggan dengan biaya lebih."