Windows Media Center

Windows Media Center is an application with a 10-foot user interface designed to serve as a home-entertainment hub for the living-room TV. Windows XP Media Center Edition, premium editions of Windows Vista (Vista Home Premium and Vista Ultimate) and Windows 7 (all editions, except Starter and Home Basic) comprise it. The Media Center is controlled by special remote controls or remotes. At the same time it can be operated with a mouse and/or a keyboard, too. The Media Center plays the computer user’s pictures, videos, and music from local hard drives, optical drives, and network locations. All this is then categorized by name, date, tags, and other file attributes.

Media managed through the Media Center can also be relayed via a home network to standard TV sets via the specially designed Windows Media Center Extender or the Xbox 360. This allows to use the Media Center and its features (such as view photos, videos, listen to music, watch live television, watch recorded TV, etc.) on the television set or other display device.

The advantage with these devices is that the household’s primary computer (hosting the Media Center) can be physically set up in a location more appropriate for its role, instead of being in the living room. Furthermore, the Media Center with an Extender can be accessed at the same time by several users. The Xbox 360 gaming console is a very popular example of a Media Center Extender. By the way, Xbox 360 is the only device that can work as an extender with both Windows XP Media Center as well as Windows Vista Media Center.

Windows 7 Media Center comprises all prosperous characteristics of its forerunners and brings new possibilities. Thus the performance improvement on Extenders is immediately apparent especially with the play functions like fast forward, rewind, and skip. The menus are also more manageable. The other big improvement concerns EPG (Electronic program guide), which makes utilities like Guide Tool possible. The Guide Tool is a Windows Media Center guide management application, which apart from other things enables local and remote guide management and other funny functions (see Guide Tool).

The new guide is visually better, it includes images throughout, as well as provides new ways to navigate. Moreover, all the tuners can be combined per channel to help resolve conflicts and give you control over which tuners are used for which channels. Additionally, new APIs (Application programming interface) are available there which permits to inject logos for each channel and create utilities to edit the line-up. Further, it offers the best of all around DVR (Digital video recorder) solution available today. It is even possible to import custom data, but regrettably you can´t easily backup them. At the same time it is actually extremely stable. (See for more details Windows 7 Media Center review ).

The Windows 7 Media Center undoubtedly exceeds the Vista Media Center. Microsoft has again raised the bar and has manufactured something which moves everybody beyond, even if the competition is still exists. Nevertheless, unluckily this Center isn’t for everyone. The upfront cost with the potential maintenance expenses is the most outstanding barrier to overcome.

For all that, the extant experience with Microsoft products make us believe that prices will come down and common people will afford to have Windows 7 Media Center.  

 

Windows 7 Media Center miniguide

 

References

http://www.engadget.com  (Windows 7 Media Center review )

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7

Story of cloning

Composed by P. B                    

We study English discussing actual professional problems

Scientists and researchers have been working on cloning for above 100 years only. Below the short history of cloning is depicted.

1894     The first interesting research – Hans Dreisch isolated blastomeres from 2- and 4-celled sea urchin embryos and observed their development into small larvae.

At the beginning of the 20th century the German embryologist Hans Spemann was the leader in the field of the investigation:

• 1901 Spemann split a 2-celled newt embryo into two parts, resulting in the development of two complete larvae;
• 1902 Spemann split a 2-celled salamander embryo and each cell grew up on an adult, providing proof that early embryo cells carry necessary genetic information;
• 1914 and 1928 Spemann conducted an early nuclear transfer experiment (the second one was successful);
• 1938 Spemann published the results of his 1928 primitive nuclear transfer experiments involving salamander embryos in the book “Embryonic Development and Induction”.

1950     First successful freezing of a bull semen at -79°C for later insemination of cows was accomplished.

1952     First animal cloning: Robert Briggs and Thomas J. King cloned northern leopard frogs in the Institute for Cancer Research in Philadelphia.

1970     Howard Temin and David Baltimore from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), USA independently of each other isolated the first restriction enzyme. This capability led to the future manipulation of DNA.

1973     Stanley Cohen and Herbert Boyer of the University of California at San Francisco created the first recombinant DNA organism using recombinant DNA techniques.

1977     Karl Illmensee and Peter Hoppe at Jackson Laboratory in Maine, USA created mice having had only a single parent.

1978     A well respected science fiction writer David Rorvik published the novel “In His Image: The Cloning of a Man”. It was about a millionaire who had let him clone.

1979     Karl Illmensee at Jackson Laboratory in Maine, USA claimed to have cloned three mice.

1983     The first human mother-to-mother embryo transfer was completed. This procedure was performed at the Harbor Medical Center of University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

1984     Steen Willadsen in the Royal Veterinary College of Copenhagen cloned a sheep from embryo cells, the first verified example of mammal cloning based on nuclear transfer.

1986     Steen Willadsen in the Royal Veterinary College of Copenhagen cloned a cow.

1993     Human embryos were first cloned by a team at Newcastle University.

1996     Dolly, the sheep, the first organism cloned from adult cells was born. Ian Wilmut and Keith Campbell at the Roslin Institute in Scotland created the world first ever cloned mammal. They announced the birth in the following year, on February 23, 1997, and the worlds press beat a path to their door since then.

1997     President Clinton in the USA proposed legislation to ban the cloning of humans for 5 years.

1997     Thousands of biologists and physicians signed the voluntary five-year moratorium on human cloning in the United States.

1997     Richard Seed intended to clone a human before federal laws could effectively prohibit the process.

1998     19 European countries signed a ban on human cloning.

1998     Ryuzo Yanagimachi, Toni Perry, and Teruhiko Wakayama from the University Hawai announced that they had cloned 50 mice from adult cells since October, 1997.

During the last decade many animals (mammals) were cloned:

2000     Researchers working together in Japan and New York reported that they had cloned a pig named Xena;

2001     The first cloned cat in the United States (name Little Nicky);

2003     The Utah State University research team is the first worldwide to clone a member of the horse family, a mule;

2004     Researchers in Japan announced that a bull was cloned from a previously cloned bull – serial cloning;

2009     Camels joined the list of cloned mammals – in Dubai.

Despite a success rate in most experiments makes less than 5 percent, I think the progress is very fast and every year the result will be better and better.

References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

 

History of Microsoft Windows

                                                        Composed by G. Vitkova using Wikipedia, the free enciclopedia

 1983 – Microsoft announced the development of Windows, a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for its own operating system (MS-DOS), which it had shipped for IBM PC and compatible computers since 1981. Since then, Microsoft has delivered many versions of Windows, and the product line has changed from a GUI to a modern operating system.

1985 – The first independent version of Microsoft Windows, version 1.0, was released, but achieved little popularity.

1987 – Microsoft Windows version 2 came out, and proved slightly more popular than its predecessor. Later, two new versions were released: Windows/286 2.1 and Windows/386 2.1.

1990 – Microsoft Windows scored a significant success with Windows 3.0. Its user interface was finally a serious competitor to the user interface of the Macintosh computer.

1992 – In response to the impending release of OS/2 2.0, Microsoft developed Windows 3.1 , which included several minor improvements to Windows3.0 (such as display of True Type scalable fonts, developed jointly with Apple), but primarily consisted of bugfixes and multimedia support. Later Microsoft also released Windows 3.11, a touch-up to Windows 3.1 which included all of the patches and updates that followed the release of Windows 3.1 in 1992.

1992 July – Windows NT 3.1 arrived in Beta form to developers. Its features made Windows NT perfect for theLAN server market Windows NT version 3.51 was Microsoft’s entry into this field, and took away market share from Novell (the dominant player) in the following years.

1995 – Windows 95 was launched. After Windows 3.11 Microsoft began to develop a new user oriented version of the operating system. The system was designed to have support for 32-bit multitasking like OS/2 and Windows NT, although a 16-bit kernel would remain for the sake of backward compatibility. The Win32 API first introduced with Windows NT was adopted as the standard 32-bit programming interface, with Win16 compatibility being preserved through a technique known as „thunking“.

Microsoft released Windows NT 4.0, which features the new Windows 95 interface on top of the Windows NT kernel.

1998 – Microsoft released Windows 98. It included new hardware drivers and better support for the FAT32 (File Allocation Table) system, which allows support for disk partitions larger than the 2 GB maximum. The USB support in Windows 98 is far superior to the token, unreliable support provided by the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) editions of Windows 95. It also controversially integrated the Internet Explorer browser into the Windows GUI and Windows Explorer file manager. This act prompted the opening of the United States vs. Microsoft case. It dealt with Microsoft abuse of its hold on the PC operating system market to unfairly compete with companies such as Netscape.

1999 – Microsoft released the Windows 98 Second Edition, an interim release whose most notable feature was the addition of Internet Connection Sharing, which was a form of network address translation, allowing several machines on a LAN (Local Area Network) to share a single Internet Connection. The Second Edition was also much easier to use and much smoother than the first edition of Windows 98. Hardware support through device drivers was increased. Many minor problems present in the original Windows 98 were found and fixed which make it the most stable release of Windows 9x.

2000 February – Microsoft released Windows 2000. It was successfully deployed both on the server and the workstation markets.

2000 September – Microsoft introduced Windows ME (Millennium Edition), which upgraded Windows 98 with enhanced multimedia and Internet features. It also introduced the first version of System Restore, which allowed users to revert their system state to a previous “known-good” point in the case of system failure. System Restore was a notable feature that made its way into Windows XP. The first version of Windows Movie Maker was introduced as well.

2003 – Microsoft launched Windows Server 2003, a notable update to Windows 2000.

2006 – Microsoft released a thin-client of Windows XP Service Pack 2, called Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs (WinFLP).

2007 – Windows Home Server was announced by Bill Gates. It is a server product based on Windows Server 2003, designed for consumer use. This Server can be configured and monitored using a console program that can be installed on a client PC. Such features as Media Sharing, local and remote drive backup and file duplication are all listed as features.

2006 – Windows Vista was released on November 30 to business customers, following by user versions on January 30, 2007. Windows Vista intended to have enhanced security by introducing a new restricted user mode called User Account Control, replacing the “administrator-by-default” philosophy of Windows XP.

2008 – Windows Server 2008 was released on February 27. It builds on the technological and security advances first introduced with Windows Vista, and is significantly more modular than its predecessor, Windows Server 2003. This year later Microsoft announced Windows Server 2008 R2 as the server variant of Windows 7. Windows Server 2008 R2 will ship in 64-bit (x64x and Itanium) only.

Windows 7 ships in six editions:

• Starter (available worldwide with new PCs only)
• Home Basic (only available to emerging markets)
• Home Premium
• Professional
• Enterprise (available to volume-license business customers only)
• Ultimate (available to retail market with limited availability to OEMs)

Microsoft focuses on selling Windows 7 Home Premium and Professional. All editions, except the Starter edition, are available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

Windows 8 – Development of the planned Windows 8 is secret detailed in public, although job listings have mentioned improved functionality for file access.

References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7

 

Windows 7

                                                        Composed by G. Vitkova using Wikipedia, the free enciclopedia

Windows 7 launched

Windows 7 is the latest version of Microsoft Windows produced for use on home and business desktops, laptops, netbooks, tablet personal computers and media center of personal computers. Windows 7  was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009. General retail availability was announced on October 22, 2009, less than three years after the release of its predecessor, Windows Vista. 

Unlike Windows Vista, which introduced a large number of new features, Windows 7 is intended to be a more user focused, helpful upgrade to the Windows line. As a result Windows 7 is fully compatible with applications and hardware with which Windows Vista is already compatible. Some applications that have been included with prior releases of Microsoft Windows, including Windows Calendar, Windows Mail, Windows Movie Maker, and Windows Photo, are not involved in Windows 7. Several of them are instead offered separately as a part of the free Windows Live Essential Suite.

Goals

Earlier in 2007 Bill Gates in an interview with Newsweek, insinuated that this version of Windows would “be more user-centric”. Later he added that Windows 7 would also focus on performance improvements. Steven Sinofsky, the new president of the Windows division at Microsoft, responsible for the Windows, Windows Live, and Internet Explorer, afterward expanded on this point in the Engineering Windows 7 blog. He explicated that the company was using a variety of new tracing tools to measure the performance of many areas of the operating systém. The tools help locate inefficient code paths and prevent decrease of performance effectiveness.

The Senior Vice President Bill Veghte stated that Windows Vista users migrating to Windows 7 would not find the kind of device compatibility issues they met migrating from Windows XP. As early as in October 2008, the Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer confirmed compatibility between Vista and Windows 7, pointing out that Windows 7 would be a refined version of Windows Vista.

New and changed features

Windows 7 includes a number of new features, such as advances in touch and handwriting recognition, support for virtual hard disks, improved performance on multi-core processors, improved boot  performance, Direct Access, and kernel improvements. Windows 7 adds support for systems using multiple heterogeneous graphics cards from different vendors, a new version of Windows Media Center, the XML Paper Specification (XPS) Essentials Pack. Windows Power Shell, and a redesigned Calculator with multiline capabilities. Many new items have been added to the Control Panel, such as the Clear Type Text Tuner, Biometric Devices, System Icons, Display, etc. Windows 7 also supports Mac-like Raw image viewing plus full-size viewing and slideshows in the Windows Photo Viewer and Window Media Center.

Windows 7 includes 13 additional sound schemes, titled Afternoon, Calligraphy, Characters, Cityscape, Delta, Festival, Garden, Heritage, Landscape, Quirky, Raga, Savanna, and Sonata. A new version of a Windows Virtual PC Beta is available for Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions. It allows multiple Windows environments, including Windows XP Mode, to run on the same machine, requiring the use of Intel Virtualisation Technology for x86 (Intel VT-x) or AMD Virtualisation (AMD-V). Windows XP Mode runs Windows XP in a virtual machine and redirects displayed applications running in Windows XP to the Windows 7 desktop. Furthermore, Windows 7 supports the mounting of a virtual hard disk (VHD) as a normal data storage, and the bootloader delivered with Windows 7 can boot the Windows system from a VHD. The Remote Desktop Protokol (RDP) of Windows 7 is also enhanced to support real-time multimedia applications including video playback and 3D games.

The taskbar has seen the biggest visual changes, where the Quick Launch toolbar has been replaced with pinning applications to the taskbar. Buttons for pinned applications are integrated with the task buttons. The revamped taskbar also allows the reordering of taskbar buttons. To the far right of the system clock there is a small rectangular button that serves as the Show desktop icon. This button is a part of the new feature in Windows 7 called Aero Peek. Hovering over this button makes all visible windows transparent for a quick look at the desktop. In touch-enabled displays such as touch screens, tablet PCs, etc., this button is slightly wider to accommodate being pressed with a finger. Clicking this button minimizes all windows, and clicking it a second time restores them. Additionally, there is a feature named Aero Snap, which automatically maximizes a window when it is dragged to either the top or left/right edges of the screen. This also allows users to snap documents or files on either side of the screen to compare them.

Windows 7 taskbar includes a new networking API – Application Programming Interface for developers. It supports building Simple Object Access Protocol based (SOAP-based) web services in machine code, adds new features to shorten application installing time, reduced User Account Control (UAC) prompts, simplified development of installation packages, and improved worldwide support through a new Extended Linguistic Services API. As early as in 2008 Microsoft announced that colour depths of 30-bit and 48-bit would be supported in Windows 7. The video modes supported in Windows 7 are 16-bit  class=”hiddenSpellError” pre=”16-bit “>sRGB (standard Red Green Blue colour space), 24-bit sRGB, 30-bit sRGB, 30-bit with extended colour gamut sRGB, and 48-bit scRGB. Microsoft is also implementing better support for solid-state drives, so Windows 7 will be able to identify a solid-state drive uniquely. Microsoft is also planning to support USB 3.0 in a subsequent patch, although support would not be included in the initial release because of delays in the finalization of the standard.

Users will also be qualified to disable more Windows components than it was possible in Windows Vista. New additions to this list of components include Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, Windows Media Center, Windows Search , and the Windows Gadget Platform.

“The launch of Windows 7 has superseded everyone’s expectations, storming ahead of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as the biggest-grossing pre-order product of all-time, and demand is still going strong,” claimed managing director Brian McBride, Amazon UK on October 22, 2009.

References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7

Genetics for common people

Composed by G. Vitkova using Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Dear coleagues,

About two – three weeks ago ethical problems around cloning aroused my student’s interest in the topic. We began to study it within our lesson of technical or professional English. However, we very quickly found out that basic knowledge of genetics is quite necessary to be able to understand the essence of the problem. So, the text below has appeared. I hope the text will launch the the discussion the issue that concerns everybody. Thank you in advance for your contribution.   G.Vitkova

 

We learn English studying and discussing real issues

 

Basics Genetics studies genes, their function, structure and interaction. Genes enanle living organisms to inherit features from their ancestors. Genetics attempts to identify which features are inherited, and explain how these features are passed from generation to generation. In genetics, a feature of an organism is called a “trait“. There are many trait types, and these range from aspects of behavior to resistance to disease. Traits are often inherited, for example tall and thin people tend to have tall and thin children. But the interaction between inherited features and the environment may influence the final result. For example a child might inherit the tendency to be tall, but if little food is available and the child is poorly nourished, it will still be short. Genetic information is encoded via a long molecule called DNA which is copied and inherited across generations (see the picture above). Traits are transferred in DNA as instructions for creating and operating an organism. These instructions are contained in segments of DNA called genes. The order of genes in DNA makes up the genetic code. This is similar to the sequence of letters forming words. The organism “reads” the sequence of these units and decodes the instruction. Different forms of one type of a gene are called alleles of that gene. As an example, one allele of a gene for hair color could comprises the instruction to produce a lot of the pigment in black hair. Another allele could give a garbled version of this instruction, so that no pigment is produced and the hair is white.

Genetics glossary     DNA A long molecule that looks like a twisted ladder. It is made of four types of simple units and the sequence of these units carries information, just as the sequence of letters carries information on a page (see picture on the left). Nucleotides They form the rungs of the DNA ladder and are the repeating units in DNA. There are four types of nucleotides (A, T, G and C) and it is the sequence of these nucleotides that carries information. Chromosome A package for carrying DNA in the cells. They contain a single long piece of DNA that is wound up and bunched together into a compact structure. Different species of plants and animals have different numbers and sizes of chromosomes. Gene A segment of DNA. Genes are like sentences made of the “letters” of the nucleotide alphabet, between them genes direct the physical development and behavior of an organism. Genes are like a recipe or instruction book, providing information that an organism needs so it can build or do something – like making an eye or a leg, or repairing a wound. Allele The different forms of a given gene that an organism may possess. For example, in humans, one allele of the eye-color gene produces green eyes and another allele of the eye-color gene produces brown eyes. Genome The complete set of genes in a particular organism. Genetic engineering When people change an organism by adding new genes, or deleting genes from its genome. Mutation An event that changes the sequence of the genes in DNA

Genes are copied

Genes are copied each time a cell divides into two new cells. The process of copying DNA is called DNA replication.

DNA can be copied very easily and accurately because each piece of DNA can direct the creation of a new copy of its information. This is because DNA is made of two strands that pair together like the two sides of a zipper. The nucleotides are in the center, like the teeth in the zipper, and pair up to hold the two strands together.

When DNA is copied, the two strands of the old DNA are pulled apart by enzymes which move along each of the two single strands pairing up new nucleotide units and then zipping the strands closed. As a result two new pieces of DNA appear. Each of them contains one strand from the old DNA and one newly made strand. This process isn’t perfect and sometimes the wrong nucleotide may be put into the new strand. It causes a change in the sequence of the gene. These changes in DNA sequence are called mutations. Mutations produce new alleles of genes. Sometimes these changes stop the gene from working properly. In other cases the mutations can change what the gene does or even let it do its job a little better than before. These mutations and their effects on the traits of organisms are one of the causes of evolution.

Genetic engineering

Since traits come from the genes in a cell, putting a new piece of DNA into a cell can produce a new trait. This is how genetic engineering works. For example, crop plants can be given a gene from an Arctic fish, so they produce an antifreeze protein in their leaves. This can help prevent frost damage. Other genes that can be put into crops include a natural insecticide from the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis. The insecticide kills insects that eat the plants, but is harmless to people. In these plants the new genes are put into the plant before it is grown, so the genes will be in every part of the plant, including its seeds. The plant’s offspring will then inherit the new genes, something which has led to concern about the spread of new traits into wild plants.

The kind of technology used in genetic engineering is also being developed to treat people with genetic disorders in an experimental medical technique called gene therapy. However, here the new gene is put in after the person has grown up and become ill, so any new gene will not be inherited by their children. Gene therapy works by trying to replace the allele that causes the disease with an allele that will work properly.

Talking Glossary of Genetic Terms

The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) created the Talking Glossary of Genetic Terms to help people without scientific backgrounds understand the terms and concepts used in genetic research. Simply click on the term of interest to open a page with a wealth of information, including the term’s pronunciation, audio information, images and additional links to related terms. Students, teachers and parents will find the glossary an easy-to-use, always available learning source on source on genetics. For more information go to the Guide to the Talking Glossary:

http://www.genome.gov/10002096

Nuclear power revival

Compiled by Galina Vitkova

Discussing this precarious issue we study Technical English!

People need to be persuaded in safety of NPPs (Nucler Power Plants) in order to be convinced that all plants, worldwide, are safe.

New conditions

• Warming of our planet. Finally, governments worried about climate changes and energy security have noticed that nuclear plants emit no carbon dioxide. Moreover, the raw material for their fuel, uranium ore, can be provided by reputable and reliable suppliers.

• Ricing of oil and gas prices. The recent jump in oil and gas prices, has compeled many governments to reappraise their opinion about nuclear power. In February of this year Italy and Sweden announced plans to start building nuclear plants again. Most of the 40 or so plants now under construction are in Asia (many in China) or Russia. Furthermore, countries in Latin America, the Middle East and Africa are also either building or planning reactors. Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and Belarus are intending to erect their first reactors.

• Raising to higher level nuclear plants safety. WANO – the World Association of Nuclear Operators has been monitoring safety at nuclear plants for 20 years. IAEA – the International Atomic Energy Agency has developed safety rules, which are voluntary till now. The agency’s experts are invited in to look at nuclear reactors around the world. But governments decide which plants to show, and when.So, last year in November the European Commission proposed making the IAEA’s safety rules obligatory within the European Union. It hopes other regional blocks, such as those of South-East Asia and South America, will follow suit. WANO is considering making their peer review compulsory for each new plant opened by one of its members.

Declining resistence against NPPs

Due to increasing NPPs safety the nuclear industry has had a better safety reputation since Chernobyl. The design and monitoring of many reactors has significantly improved. Even though plenty safety incidents have occured, no big accidents resulting in deaths have happened.

Yet public fears about the safety of nuclear power could still divert its revival. In many countries, majorities oppose building new reactors. People are afraid nuclear accidents, terrorist attacks, the long-term risks of storing radioactive waste and possible divertion of nuclear fuel being to make weapons.

Concern about climate change has softened opposition a little. According to a survey by the European Commission last year, 44% of people in the European Union now broadly support nuclear energy, up from 37% in 2005; and 45% oppose it, down from 55%. In America, about 80% of Americans think that nuclear power will be “an important future source of energy”.

A new reactor being built at Olkiluoto in Finland is one of only two under construction in western Europe. The Finnish government gave the local community a large say in choosing the site of a radioactive-waste depository at Olkiluoto. Switzerland and Canada have taken a similarly democratic approach to nuclear power.

This is a welcome contrast to the secrecy that characterised much of the nuclear industry’s interaction with the public in the past. In some countries that secrecy comes from the military uses of nuclear fission.

Prospects for nuclear power future

The extent to which public opposition can block or reverse the building of new nuclear plants will vary between countries. In any case such plants need “a solid political and social base” in order to survive changes of governments. The simplest way how to get permission for building new reactors is to erect them at existing nuclear sites, e.g. in America, 14 of the 21 applications to start building are for existing sites. Germany faces disputatious energy choices. The fate of its 17 nuclear power plants, which provide almost a quarter of the country’s electricity, is the main point of the discussion. Any renewables are not able to replace electricity generated by these nuclear plants.

Developing-country governments are less likely to care whether the public support of nuclear power. China has 11 nuclear-power reactors already and plans another 20. Companies from the rich world – such as France’s Areva and America’s GE – will find it far easier to build nuclear power plants in the developing countries than at home. Nonetheless, steps must be taken to ensure that less-developed nations run their reactors safely. Last year France created an agency to help newcomers design nuclear laws and set up independent regulators. Unfortunately, there is an irresistible shortage of qualified nuclear engineers, after the three-decade pause in building new plants (see also Are you afraid of nuclear energy?). Actual information about Nuclear Power Plants has just been published on  Statistics on nuclear power. Enjoy reading it.

Reference: Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/, http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject

About renewables position just now

Compiled by Galina Vitkova

Renewable sources of energy are a hot problem till now. Many specialists, politicians and common peoples discuss advantages and drawbacks of alternative sources of energy. Especially solar, wind and water energy attract debatersˇ attention.

 Since 2004 several international organizations dealing with renewables have been established. The Political Declaration of the International Conference for Renewable Energies in Bonn, Germany in 2004 – initiated the establishment of a global policy network. One year later, in June 2005, the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) was officially launched in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The strategy of the Network is directed by the Steering Committee of REN21 comprising eminent and prestigious specialists. The Steering Committee members work for various governments, private sector, and civil organisations over all the world. The Secretariat of REN21 is located in Paris, France, and is supported by the IEA.

REN21 strives to encourage the ideas and actions aimed at advance of renewable energy exploitation. Linking participants from the energy, development, and environment communities, REN21 sustains their successes and activities for the rapid expansion of renewable energy worldwide.

 In 2009 REN21 updated the Renewables 2007 Global Status Report, published in March 2008. The updated Report covers the most important changes in renewables worldwide between late 2007 and early 2009. The original 2007 report is available at www.ren21.net.

See below the aggregated data about the state-of-art in this industry

 

From the report we see that even if the renewable sector driven by policy has been expanding, its share in the worldwide energy production is insignificant. I wonder how this energy will be able to substitute in the near future the energy, which is produced by coal- or oil-fired power plants,

What about you dear colleagues? Does the problem concern you?

 

See Renewable energy – our downfall? By Ralph Ellis for more information

 

Reference: Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ , www.ren21.net

 

 

iPhone

We study English discussing practical problems

 By P.B.

I have my mobile iPhone more than 4 years and I need a new one. The problem is – which one. I have the Nokia 95 and I like Nokia devices, but I am afraid there are no good Nokia on the market now. I use my mobile phone (like everybody) every day for calling and sending sms but not only for that. It is very important for me – maybe necessary – to receive and send emails with attachments and to have connection to the Internet. On the other side, I don´t need to have applications such as games etc.

 

Many friends recommend me to buy the iPhone. I think it is a very modern phone but I see some problems concerning it. The first one is that if a user wants to backup files, contacts etc., he must use an iTunes application – and it is not very comfortable. The second problem emerges when a user wants to send a business card – in many mobile phones users don´t have any problems with it, but the iPhone doesn´t support it – only between iPhones through Bluetooth when devices are very close to each other. The third problem is that the iPhone doesn´t know the commands copy/paste. The fourth main problem for me is that even though it´s possible to view excel and word documents, you can´t edit them. The fifth problem might be that a slot for a memory card isn´t included.

 

Finally, few lesser problems – the iPhone doesn´t have a radio, on the Internet you aren´t able to view flash and java, there are some problems with MMS and videos (you have to have a special application). Moreover, when you use the Edge for connection to the Internet and somebody call you, the call falls down into the voice box.

 

In my opinion – the iPhone has surprisingly more problems than I expected and I can´t accept this device. Now the Apple has issued a new one – iPhone 3GS – I´m not sure but maybe some problems are solved bythat model.

 

What do YOU think about it?

 

Does anybody have real experience with iPhone and can advise me?

 

 

Hanhelds and English learning

By Galina Vitkova

Introduction

Nowadays communication and computing technologies are converging. So, simpler user-friendly interfaces of high-quality, low-cost solutions, which function across platforms, processors and operating systems, are offered. Technological advances within the miniaturization of computing and communication devices have made possible the highly effective usage of mobile devices in language learning. While the global economy becoming bound together more and more, English has become an essential tool for communication with the world, and also a key to find a better job. Hence in the following text we will chiefly concentrate on learning English.

The early projects of this kind (at the beginning of this century) having used mobile devices involved Spanish study programs, which consisted of vocabulary practice, quizzes, and word and phrase translations. Soon after, mobile phones were used to teach English at a Japanese university. A similar program was created for learning Italian in Australia. By 2005, the connection between learners and a teacher was accomplished via SMS. ^[4].

In 2007, USA-based company Moka LCC (Company Overview) started offering mobile multilingual communication and learning products. In these systems translation was one of primary functions. The products utilized the SMS and SKYPE as the means of multilingual communication. Moka currently supports English to Chinese and English to Spanish translation, and plans to introduce additional language pairs. In the same year the Bulgarian company Interlecta commercially released machine translation software for handheld devices that in addition to SMS and email involved speech synthesis and “image translation”.^[6]

The number of translation applications, including text-to-speech and speech-to-speech capabilities, available for various mobile platforms has continuously increased since 2007, and has featured products such as the LingvoSoft Full-text Translation Software ^[7], the SYSTRAN Mobile Translator ^[8], or Transclick’s translation applications for mobiles^[9], or Phonix Speech Group. As a rule the systems have capabilities for learning languages.

Gradually handhelds competences for language learning have been refined into the powerful means of active language learning. These sophisticated flexible devices enable learning and teaching functions as follows.

Vocabulary building, including creating your strong professional vocabulary with connections to the main dictionary

• Dictionaries containing hundreds of thousands of entries in the general dictionary (up to 1,000,000 words, sometimes more) as well as including specialized terminology make excellent conditions for language learning and building your own vocabulary.
• Professional add-on dictionaries, e.g. telecommunications and computers, business, finance provide a basis for constructing your professional vocabulary.
• You can create your own customized editable dictionary, which automatically links to the main dictionary.
• Learner’s cards, which are provided by some models, make memorization tasks easy and work to quickly enrich your vocabulary.

• Vocabulary practice, quizzes, and word and phrase translations help you to learn the language quicker than by current means.

Making easier comprehension tasks

• The dictionary and translator capabilities enable much better comprehension when studying texts. At the same time the capabilities help to improve your reading skills.
• Handheld electronic dictionaries enable individuals to speak a word in their native language and have the text read back to them in English.

Refining pronunciation

• Speech capabilities help you to improve your pronunciation and let your speaking sound just like native speakers´. Furthermore, speech capabilities enable you to perfect your pronunciation continually.
• Advanced English speech synthesis delivers the pronunciation of any text, not only dictionary entries. Together with a full set of enjoyable games and exams, it enables you to improve your language speaking and pronunciation skills naturally and intuitively.
• Accent correction function will coach you and help you to perfect your English pronunciation with native speaker sound. Furthermore, you can always test yourself.
• Speech-to-speech electronic translators understand what you say in your own language and immediately repeat the same in English.

English grammar and exercises

• Some models of handhelds provide a complete guide to English Grammar, Vocabulary, and Phonetics.
• Step-by-step lessons conduct you comfortably from beginner to advanced learner.
• English grammar resources are usually accompanied by standardized testing references. Equipped with fast and powerful search functions they provide everything necessary for instant communication.
• Some models offer i personal programs for English study depending on the level of the language knowledge. The level for Beginners comprises 230 lessons, whereas the level for Intermediates contains 190 lessons. You yourself prepare the timetable of your study. The method involves: study of reading rules, study of the grammar and spelling, pronunciation drilling and comprehension of the spoken language and active building of your vocabulary. There are tests of your knowledge after each lesson. Depending on the results you are recommended to pay more attention to certain parts of the studied material.

Language Tutor

• Interactive English language tutor, which mostly is a part of dictionary and translator devices, provides a rapid language learning solution and helps users express themselves in day-to-day life.
• The Language teacher system you are well on your way to complete control of a new language within minutes. It employs the advanced True Voice and Speech Recognition modules and step-by-step lessons to guide you comfortably from beginner to advanced speaker. With a full set of enjoyable games and exams, you improve your language skills naturally and intuitively.
• Some advanced models include the so-called Car Tutor. It lets you study hands-free and eyes-free to make use of every spare moment to improve your language skills. Moreover, when starting an application, a memorizing splash screen shows you an appropriate word or phrase, a translation and a corresponding picture. It’s a superior way to improve your vocabulary and master a foreign language.

Good luck to everybody who is going to study English with the help of handhelds!

PS: See for details Talking handheld dictionaries and Electronic dictionaries .

References: http://en.wikipedia.org, http://www.ectacoinc.com/, Ectaco Russia Ectaco Inc. , LingvoSoft , Fonix Speech Group – http://www.fonixspeech.com/

Talking handheld dictionaries

By Galina Vítková

We have already discussed the importance of the good dictionary in studying foreign languages, in our case Technical English (see Dictionary – your best helper in mastering English words and Electronic dictionaries). Modern technologies have brought new possibilities in application of dictionaries making it more comfortable and effective. First of all, it is connected with occurrence of talking mobile dictionaries. Talking dictionaries are produced to translate in 2 ways individual words, phrases or entire sentence, full text (in this case besides they pursue a function of translators).

Talking handheld dictionaries use several technologies. They are as follows:

TTS (Text-to-Speech or speech synthesis) technology enables the conversion of the computer readable text into the audible speech. The speech synthesis technology comprises a) taking any ordinary text, b) analysing it by means of a speech synthesis engine, c) processing the information, and finally d) transforming it into human speech () in a voice stream form. The transforming is performed by a computer, which renders the voice of a native speaker of a target language. The voice stream form can be stored in several audio file formats.

Speech Recognition technology allows applications to “understand” voice commands, i.e. the user may talk to the device, which provides a translation based on this input. The quality of speech recognition is chiefly influenced by a) speed of speaking, b) correctness of pronunciation, c) male, female, child voices. Hence software affords initial voice recognition training. Then it is able to choose a translation that matches the input from a set of possible meanings of words or phrases. There are systems that don´t need voice recognition training.

Machine Translation tools apply computational linguistic analysis of source documents to prepare draft translations of the input. Even though the prepared translation is illegible sometimes. Some phrases require more accurate human translation.

The technology of image translation enables the user take a picture (using the device camera) of some printed text (a secret code, a restaurant menu, a page of a document etc.), and then translate it into the chosen language.

These technologies are used in:

• Dictionaries – talking and non-talking applications provide translation from pre-installed databases
• Phrasebooks – include talking and non-talking translation of travel or professional related phrases
• Picture Dictionaries – provide translation of words based on picture selection
• Flashcards – collections of learning games to improve vocabulary and memorization
• Language learning

Supported languages. All talking dictionaries support the English language. Most dictionaries support other European languages, mostly Spanish, French, German, sometimes Russian. Due to a remarkable increase of the number of modern mobile devices with advanced features, the number of language pairs presented by talking dictionaries grew too. Many producers propose translation from and into over 20 languages, or over 200 language pairs, including most Latin languages. Japanese and Chinese service providers commonly offer cross-translation for Japanese, Chinese, English and Korean.

There are a lot of producers of talking dictionaries. Many of them use advanced technologies, which is especially important for the speech synthesis and speech recognition. Ectaco, Inc., a New York-based company, designs and manufactures handheld talking devices. Its software division LingvoSoft develops and releases software for more than 40 languages and for most major operating systems and platforms including Palm OS, Windows, and Symbian. LingvoSoft applications usually contain a combination of the company’s own technology and technologies of other companies. Fonix Speech, Inc. offers very interesting “voice technology solutions”. These solutions are based upon the Company’s proprietary artificial neural network-based automatic speech recognition (ASR) and Fonix DECtalk, a text-to-speech system (TTS). Fonix speech technology is user-independent, i.e. no voice training is needed. The Company is much engaged on the emerging international market of electronic dictionaries and cell phones, especially in Asia. Its main partners in Asia are Casio, Canon, Seiko Instruments. Find more information about other producers in the list Electronic Dictionary from other manufacturers

References: http://en.wikipedia.org, http://www.ectacoinc.com/, Ectaco Inc., LingvoSoft , Fonix Speech Group – http://www.fonixspeech.com/