By Isla Campbell
Recently, a leading UK business website revealed that they now have to spend over 25% of their online search marketing budget to cater for misspelt words, hinting towards a worrying trend in today's society and suggesting we may have become too reliant upon technology, while our language skills suffer as a result.
With over 50% of English school leavers failing to grasp even the most basic levels of spelling and grammar there is an argument for closer monitoring on the country's education system and how technology is impacting upon the country's young minds.
Perhaps the finest example of how the English language is being "dumbed down" can be seen through the ever popular SMS messaging service where there is a tendency to use abbreviated or phonetically spelt words to increase the speed of communication. This development is also evident in instant messaging conversations, with users of MSN or Yahoo! Messenger shortening their words using "expressions" and emoticons to communicate their message. With over 70% of Europe's online population using instant messaging (IM), this issue is not going to go away; speed, it seems, is more important in today's society, than the quality of the message itself.
As our children use the internet more - as opposed to libraries for their source of knowledge, they are recycling information found through search engines and new authority sites such as Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia which is free for anyone to add content to.
If our young are using these portals as the oracles of truth, then any poor grammar or misspelled words found in such sources, such as the word mannequin, will not help the education of the children in the UK and can even have worldwide ramifications.
Also quite concerning is the growth in misspelt or abbreviated words being used in the naming of children. Recent research from Australia revealed an increase in the multiple spellings of names such as Aiden, which were found to be spelt in nine ways, and Amelia and Tahlia in eight ways. Errors such as this can not be easily corrected and parents of this future generation are damming their children to a life with a misspelt name because they wanted an individual looking name, or just couldn't be bothered to get it right.
Generations before us would have had language issues with their predecessors, however the staggering advancement in technology is having such a dramatic and potentially wide scale damaging effect on this generations' ability to communicate. We are creating a situation where the youth of today can communicate amongst themselves, but not with their grandparents.
We could well be facing a communication divide that we may find hard to bring together in the future.
Isla Campbell writes on a number of topics on behalf of a digital marketing agency and a variety of clients. As such, this article is to be considered a professional piece with business interests in mind.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Isla_Campbell
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
Will Green Hard Drives Go the Distance?
By Sandy Cosser
As Joel Hruska from Ars Technica says, green is the new black in the IT industry. Everything is going green, from data centres to hard drives, and IT companies are doing their utmost to be seen as part of the environment solution and not part of the problem. Hard drive manufacturer, Western Digital, got into the game a while ago with its line of efficient GreenPower hard drives. They have recently extended their range with the launch of the new enterprise storage division: RE2-GP. The RE2-GP drives come in three sizes: 500GB, 750GB and 1TB.
With all the hype and activity surrounding the rush to go green, Hruska questioned whether all developments were effective and delivered on their promises, or whether companies were simply climbing on the bandwagon and sticking a "green" label on their products. Happily, in Western Digital's case, it appears as though they are the real deal.
Western Digital's new drives make use of three different systems, which work in conjunction to make the RE2-GP up to 40% more efficient than their competitors, without sacrificing performance or reliability. They also claim that while in use, the RE2-GP uses 4 to 5W less power than competitors' hard drives.
The three systems which make up the RE2-GP are: IntelliPower, which manages the transfer rate, spin speed and caching algorithms; IntelliPark, which controls the drive heads, and reduces drag by moving them off the disk while the entire system is idle; and IntelliSeek, which calculates exactly how fast the drive heads need to move for the system to function continuously. The drive heads then move at the optimum speed and no faster, which reduces power consumption.
Western Digital estimates that the biggest power savings will be seen in data centres, where companies can expect to save $10 (R70-80) per RE2-GP drive installed. In sum, large companies that make use of multiple hard drives can save tens of thousands of dollars per year (or hundreds of thousands of Rands).
Western Digital's GreenPower drives and RE2-GP systems were reviewed by The Tech Report, which reported that they are as power efficient as they claim to be. This is good news for green computing endeavours on the whole, as various companies' efforts are vindicated and technology is proved to work just as well as traditional computing methods. It also encourages other companies to give green a try, which is essential in driving competition and the evolution of technology. Only time will tell if these efforts stand up to the demands of consumers in the long-term, but the important thing is that, for the moment, steps are being taken to address a pressing environmental problem.
Recommended site:
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071125-western-digital-bills-its-new-re2-gp-drive-as-the-greenest-ever.html
Sandra wrote this article for the online marketers Data Detect data salvage and recovery one of the most experienced and expert providers of data recovery services in South Africa
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sandy_Cosser
As Joel Hruska from Ars Technica says, green is the new black in the IT industry. Everything is going green, from data centres to hard drives, and IT companies are doing their utmost to be seen as part of the environment solution and not part of the problem. Hard drive manufacturer, Western Digital, got into the game a while ago with its line of efficient GreenPower hard drives. They have recently extended their range with the launch of the new enterprise storage division: RE2-GP. The RE2-GP drives come in three sizes: 500GB, 750GB and 1TB.
With all the hype and activity surrounding the rush to go green, Hruska questioned whether all developments were effective and delivered on their promises, or whether companies were simply climbing on the bandwagon and sticking a "green" label on their products. Happily, in Western Digital's case, it appears as though they are the real deal.
Western Digital's new drives make use of three different systems, which work in conjunction to make the RE2-GP up to 40% more efficient than their competitors, without sacrificing performance or reliability. They also claim that while in use, the RE2-GP uses 4 to 5W less power than competitors' hard drives.
The three systems which make up the RE2-GP are: IntelliPower, which manages the transfer rate, spin speed and caching algorithms; IntelliPark, which controls the drive heads, and reduces drag by moving them off the disk while the entire system is idle; and IntelliSeek, which calculates exactly how fast the drive heads need to move for the system to function continuously. The drive heads then move at the optimum speed and no faster, which reduces power consumption.
Western Digital estimates that the biggest power savings will be seen in data centres, where companies can expect to save $10 (R70-80) per RE2-GP drive installed. In sum, large companies that make use of multiple hard drives can save tens of thousands of dollars per year (or hundreds of thousands of Rands).
Western Digital's GreenPower drives and RE2-GP systems were reviewed by The Tech Report, which reported that they are as power efficient as they claim to be. This is good news for green computing endeavours on the whole, as various companies' efforts are vindicated and technology is proved to work just as well as traditional computing methods. It also encourages other companies to give green a try, which is essential in driving competition and the evolution of technology. Only time will tell if these efforts stand up to the demands of consumers in the long-term, but the important thing is that, for the moment, steps are being taken to address a pressing environmental problem.
Recommended site:
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071125-western-digital-bills-its-new-re2-gp-drive-as-the-greenest-ever.html
Sandra wrote this article for the online marketers Data Detect data salvage and recovery one of the most experienced and expert providers of data recovery services in South Africa
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sandy_Cosser
Going Digital - Today's Step Up in Printing
By Paul Mcindoe
The world is going digital in every way possible, including printing. Technology is changing, as is personal requirements with how prints are produced. However, this has led to more importance in choosing the right printer that will achieve the results you require.
Many individuals and organisations will have more than likely experienced the same printing problems of having to wait long periods of time to receive one sheet of paper, in black and white. Times have changed and expectations have also exceeded; there is no time to waste from using a slow printer for it only to produce mediocre quality. The introduction of digital printing has brought positives for industries in the form of print quality of the highest standards, with results available in a much shorter duration. It also provides the added bonus of allowing you to select what you need printed, and with many individuals attempting to become more environmentally friendly, this encourages the elimination of waste in resources such as chemicals and paper.
There are now printers available for purchase, which have a printer, scanner, copier and fax all in one. Choosing the right printer will possibly come down to your requirements for the quality of the print. There are many uses nowadays for digital printing including commercial use such as publications and posters, and also producing pictures taken with a digital camera. The type of printer that may suit one type of individual or business may not suit another, and the normal considerations of cost, time and use of resources will be contributory factors. The type of paper you choose will also be an important factor in how your print will appear. However, with digital printing you can you can choose from any type of material to use for printing your text, pictures or graphics material.
Therefore, if you want to produce important commercial information or remove those memories from the camera, then photo printing may be worth considering. There are online printing services also available, which offer storage of your digital images after you have correctly uploaded your photos online. The photos are then produced and sent back within a few days, which can be a useful option should you require a service that is cost effective, and not to mention saving your own personal time. However, online services do have a time lag in terms of the arrival of photos because of the waiting required in having them delivered to your doorstep.
Whether it is for commercial or personal use, digital photo printing has the ability to meet all your requirements to the highest quality standards. Printers have proved their place in society, making a strong impact on how businesses and individuals alike present their own material. The important point to remember is that with the selective option digital printing provides, then the only possible difficult decision required to make is "to print or not to print".
Paul McIndoe writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_Mcindoe
The world is going digital in every way possible, including printing. Technology is changing, as is personal requirements with how prints are produced. However, this has led to more importance in choosing the right printer that will achieve the results you require.
Many individuals and organisations will have more than likely experienced the same printing problems of having to wait long periods of time to receive one sheet of paper, in black and white. Times have changed and expectations have also exceeded; there is no time to waste from using a slow printer for it only to produce mediocre quality. The introduction of digital printing has brought positives for industries in the form of print quality of the highest standards, with results available in a much shorter duration. It also provides the added bonus of allowing you to select what you need printed, and with many individuals attempting to become more environmentally friendly, this encourages the elimination of waste in resources such as chemicals and paper.
There are now printers available for purchase, which have a printer, scanner, copier and fax all in one. Choosing the right printer will possibly come down to your requirements for the quality of the print. There are many uses nowadays for digital printing including commercial use such as publications and posters, and also producing pictures taken with a digital camera. The type of printer that may suit one type of individual or business may not suit another, and the normal considerations of cost, time and use of resources will be contributory factors. The type of paper you choose will also be an important factor in how your print will appear. However, with digital printing you can you can choose from any type of material to use for printing your text, pictures or graphics material.
Therefore, if you want to produce important commercial information or remove those memories from the camera, then photo printing may be worth considering. There are online printing services also available, which offer storage of your digital images after you have correctly uploaded your photos online. The photos are then produced and sent back within a few days, which can be a useful option should you require a service that is cost effective, and not to mention saving your own personal time. However, online services do have a time lag in terms of the arrival of photos because of the waiting required in having them delivered to your doorstep.
Whether it is for commercial or personal use, digital photo printing has the ability to meet all your requirements to the highest quality standards. Printers have proved their place in society, making a strong impact on how businesses and individuals alike present their own material. The important point to remember is that with the selective option digital printing provides, then the only possible difficult decision required to make is "to print or not to print".
Paul McIndoe writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_Mcindoe
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