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Alright... Here's as much detailed a description of the specifications of my computer as it can get ...BRAND: Compaq Deskpro ENHard-Disk Driver:ST38421A - 8.1 GBDisplay Adapter (VGA Card):ATI Technologies Inc. 3D Rage PRO - AGP 2XCD-ROM Driver:Compaq CRD-8322BFloppy-Disk Driver:Standard Floppy Disk DriverIDE ATA/APAI Controllers:Intel 82371AB/EB PCI Bus Master IDE ControllerKeybaord:Compaq 101/102-KeysMouse:Compaq PS/2Monitor:ACER AcerView 34eLNetword Adapter (NIC):RealTek RTL8139(A) PCI Fast Ethernet AdapterSound:ESS1869 Plug'n'Play2 USB openings

That was a fascinating, very well-written study, CaptainRon ... The concept of Neural Networks has been a truly interesting concept in the world of logic and computer programming for quite some time now. Unfortunately, I never had the time to delve deeply into it, but the little basic information I knew about it made seem like a very promising approach to things. I think Microsoft had this move in mind for a while now. Those of us who saw the movie The Island, will perhaps remember a scene where the hero of the movie goes into a cabin in the street with the visible label of MSN on it to do a very dynamic, very thorough search. Personally, I thought it was a magnificently powerful, yet subtle advertisement for MSN. And now, in retrospect, I suppose it was also a hint for what Microsoft had in mind for its Search Engine. I suppose many Search Engine, especially Google, are actively researching the Neural Networks approach. Perhaps they're trying to catch up with Microsoft's research but can't, and perhaps they're actually equal or even superior to Microsoft's and are very good at keeping it under wraps... either way, we're going to have to wait and see where all this goes. But all in all, I'd have to say that this will most certainly be a gigantic step along the way of enhancing the Internet as a whole, and the Searching industry in particular. Thank you very much for such a wonderful post, CaptainRon .

Hello, m^e... Well, as a matter of fact, I hadn't thought such genetical information was even available to such a great extent that Google could classify them and use them for whatever purpose. But I suppose they are! Actually, Google has been accused of too many privacy-invasion issues that it's becoming a Holy Grail for the justifiably paranoid and Conspiracy-Theory buffs. It seems like they're trying to literally build a database of Humanity. As for your question, I can't be sure at this point. I still don't have enough information to go by. But if I'm to judge by previous matters, I'll say yes, this certainly is a severe invasion of privacy. Of course, it could be of such immense help that we'd approve of it, but I wonder whether the gains are worth the risky sacrifice!

Hello szupie ... You know, that's exactly the reason I said we should try to participate actively in the BETA testing. So the auto-completion engine can learn more about the searching habits of users and correct itself accordingly. I mean, Google uses a very complex PROLOG implementation for its search engine, and PROLOG is basically an artificial intelligence programming language, so the more it learns, the better it becomes .

Yes, you have a point there m^e, and I agree that Google Desktop Search is currently better than the online Suggest version, but the Desktop applet sometimes becomes too irritating. I know I turned it off after giving it a couple of days trial . It can come really handy, but at least the online version can be used by a much wider variety of users. Plus, it was inevitable that Google would incorporate in their Website sooner or later . Fantastic insight, kaputnik... seriously, it is. Thanks for pointing that out; I didn't notice it at all. Of course I agree with you that it's not a bad thing. A company has got to make some money. And the great thing about Google is that you make their solutions so valuable and so unobtrusive that I find myself wanting to use them anyway. A win-win situation . Very ture, Jeigh. That happens to me a lot. Since I'm dental student, and a lot of times I find myself searching for a latin phrase or something but am not sure of how it's spelled, and sometimes I spend really long time looking it up. This could prove to be a real time-and-effort-saver. The reason I wanted more people to know about this is that Google Suggest is still in a BETA stage. So I was hoping that, as more people get to use it, evaluate it, and comment on it, Google can fix whatever bugs there might be and add whatever features people might ask for sooner. I suspect they'll implement it on their Homepage after the BETA testing phase is over.

Lucky you ! Sometimes, it takes me a while to know exactly how I'm going to perform a certain search. Plus, it comes handy when you, for example, looking for an actor whom you know his first name but can't remember his last name, don't you think? Kinda gives you an idea about what searchers are really interested in, doesn't it? You're very welcome, KazDoran.

Lately, Google has been producing so many useful tools and utilities, not to mention its amazing search capabilities. Many of those new tools pass through a long phase of BETA testing to ensure that they reached their optimum usefulness and are ready to be put to use by the masses. So now, Google has released a BETA version of one more tool, called Google Suggest!... You know how many of today's Web browsers have an auto-complete feature, where you type a few letters and that application tries to recognize the phrase you're typing and complete it for you? Well, this is just that. Now, you type a word into the usual search box, and Google tries to figure out what you are searching for, based on the popularity of the search keywords. It's still not perfect, I admit, but it has great potential. Perhaps, if many people get involved in the BETA testing, which doesn't require signing up or anything, this service will be greatly enhanced and ready soon. Check it out on the link below, and tell me what you think ... Google SUGGEST Beta

Now, that is something I haven't seen in a while . A great idea, really. I've tried out a couple of keywords, and got some unexpected results. I even made tried mine and my best friend's real names, and even though they're extremely rare - since they're arabic and meaningless in the first place - and I'm proud to announce that I whipped his butt. . Thanks for a nice, fun Website.

Well, I suppose most of us have some sort of Word Processing software (e.g.: Microsoft Word, Quark XPress, Office.Org suite, etc.) that has built-in spelling and grammatical checking. Perhaps it might be a good idea to write whatever we want using these applications and then 'copy'n'paste' it afterwards. But that's not the only way. For people who don't have this sort of software, or don't want to be bothered with it, I believe Google's Toolbar has a spell-checking module. It's fast and simple and, as far as it seems to me, accurate. It has no grammar-checking, though. For those interested, here's where you can know more about the Google Toolbar... Google Toolbar Webpage Good luck, cyborg. Hope you do just great .

Personally, I don't have a big problem with using slang or short-hands in oline conversations in general, as long as they are widely known and 'standardized'-like. I don't commonly use them, but still I don't mind others using them.But yes, I do have a problem with people who make it a consistent style of writing. It can get pretty annoying.And as for spelling and grammatical mistakes, I can live with them as long as they're not intentional. I mean, I usually re-read whatever I write before I post. Not only it's a good way to correct the mistakes I invariably make, but I also get some new ideas and better ways to formulate what I have to say.I'm going to keep an eye on this thread, since I have a special interest in this subject. I hope we can come up with some nice, applicable ideas .

I can't be sure if the fix I'm proposing is available to Windows XP or not, but still it might be worth a shot. Try booting up the computer using a Bootable System Disk from any Windows version (floppy, CD, whatever). When you reach the prompt, type: FDISK /mbr I tried this a lot in the days of Windows 98 and Windows Millennium editions, and it restored the Master Boot Record (MBR) like a charm. Give it a try, perhaps it still works :smile2:.

I myself am all for complying with Web standards. I've always thought that the Internet was the perfect medium for global interaction, and standards are a wonderful way to realize this goal. That said, I don't believe that sticking to these standards will, at least at this point in time, make a difference in SE Ranking. I mean, sny Website that's not standard-compliant but renderable by a browser is invariably guaranteed to be indexed and treated the same by SEs as another one that is fully compliant. And that's a good thing, from the perspectives of Web surfers and SEs. I mean, SEs are not into the business of enforcing standards. They're into the business of providing Web surfers with Websites that has the information they're searching for. They don't really care if those Websites comply to the standards or not. Yes, I agree that a compliant Website might have a slight edge to one which isn't. But that edge is really, really slight, that it isn't enough incentive. Of course, that doesn't mean standards are worthless. Quite the contrary. I think standards can actually make it easier for Webmasters to make their Websites more SE-friendly. Anyway, to sum up, although I don't believe standards-compliance makes much of a difference to SE Ranking, I still firmly believe that it's a great thing to keep in mind nonetheless.

I personally haven't tried the IE7 Beta yet, and probably never will. I can't say I'm a big fan of IE6, either, but I have to admit that I think its down-sides are highly over-rated. It fixed many of the previous problems, and its rendering engine is decent. Not perfect, mind you, but decent. And I agree that Microsoft's products have always been notoriously famous for their bugs. But since this post is about IE7, I feel that we shouldn't judge it so harshly. After all, it is a Beta version. It's supposed to have bugs. If we don't want to deal with them, then perhaps it's best if we don't test this version at all. I just want to make it clear that I'm in no way a Microsoft fan. But still, lately it seems that everyone is bashing it for everything that's wrong with the world. I wouldn't be surprised if someone came and told me that Microsoft was responsible for World War II. A bit of anachronism, I realise, but still.... Anyway, I wouldn't judge IE7 until it's, at least, in the RC (Release Candidate) stage. And even then, I'd wait before I bring my wrath on it, just for the sake of being fair and objective.

Since I haven't had enough time to play too many games lately, I'd have to say that my most addictive game is Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2. I know, I know, it's ancient, but what can I say... If you love it, you love it! A friend of mine though has been playing an online multiplayer game called something like World War II. I remember the Website's name was Sepica, but that's about all I can remember about it. I watched him play it sometimes, and I thought it was sort of nice... engaging, if you're into this kind of games. Anyway, fortunately I recently got myself a new PC, so I think I might come back to the gaming arena. If I find a new favourite, I'll let you know about it.

What a lovely job, finaldesign! Seriously, man, kudos on a job well-done . The layout looks very pleasing to me, and the colours are really nice. I especially liked the main logo of your Website... simple, but very stylish. But there seems to be something not quite right in the Webshop section. The left-side navigation bar is pushed so far down the screen. I think it's because the table on the right-side - the one with the apparels, housewares, and the like - is over-flowing. You might wanna take a look at that. Otherwise, I really have nothing to say, except that I think your project has got definite potential to be something really big. Good luck, and keep us posted .

Hey Josh ... Actually, I don't think there's a better free piece of software than GIMP. At least, I've never heard of it. Hey, good luck with your image-editing. You're right, you will learn more and more with each new image. It's all about experimenting, really . By the way, I took a look at your blog-type Website. I liked it. Perhaps it could use some other colour scheme, but still, I thought it was pretty friendly and nice. But I couldn't find any pictures, though. Perhaps I missed them. Anyway, thank man .

Hello there... Well, people have been talking about GIMP for ages now, so I wouldn't think that another thread about it would be necessary, unless it was perhaps a guide or a tutorial. But thank you, regardless . I took a look at the images you posted, and I think most of them are pretty ordinary. Nothing new here. I liked the rippled book one, but I think the ripple went beyond the boundaries of the book into the background, almost nullifying the intended effect. If you could fix that problem, I think it'd be a nice image, though. Good luck, and thanks

I'd personally choose Google's AdWords program everytime. Of course, this is my personal opinion, but I think that Google's AdWords is basically the best, most decent, most straight-forward program there is at the moment. I'm assuming, of course, you're talking about pay-per-click advertising here. Because if we're going to discuss other ways of advertisement, it'll need an exhausting discssion. Plus, I'm sure these subjects are covered on other threads. Anyway, I'm keeping an eye on this thread, and I'll try to help as much as I can. And good luck with your website.

Since I'm joining so late in the discussion, I first have to say "Good God, that's a lot of space!" Of course, since the manufacturer already announced that this kind of storage is expected in 4-5 years, I supposed I shouldn't compare it to todays' requirements. I mean, yes, today even a TB Hard-disk may sound gigantic to some, but it really isn't. It's futile to imagine what kind of storage we will need in 2-3 years from now. But still, I suppose that a PetaByte Hard-disk will be directed at the business sector first, since businesses are in real need for this kind of space. It doesn't mean that the public sector won't find it a yummy deal, either. I personally will most certainly get myself one of those bad boys. And about the partitioning, I might as well do what I do now. A partition for each of my operating systems, and another partition having all the space left. I assume of course that in 4-5 years, processors won't have a problem dealing with such a huge partition, especially since the File Allocation System will most likely be updated to suit the new trend. Anyway, if I'm to say only one thing about this new PetaByte Hard-disk, it'll be: "Baby, Come to Papa!"

Hello CrazyPensil, Well, your idea sounds like a good one to me, but I think there is so much to discuss before it can be implemented. For instance, you posted this thread in the PHP section, so does this mean that the Programmer's Association is going to be PHP-exclusive? And where do you think the conversations will take place? Here on Xisto, or perhpas you have another place in mind? Besides, there are many Websites that provide a similar service, and those Websites are already well-established, so is there any original feature you have in mind that would make the Programmer's Association special? Well, these are some questions off the top of my head, and I might have some more if others are interested in this. Thank you, and good luck!

I believe I agree that GIMP as a perfect choice if you're looking for a freeware, non-commercial photo-editing program. It has a plethora of features, basically everything you might ever need. Its user-interface is very decent, I think. It's said to consume little system resources and to cause few, if any, system crashes. I admit that, for some reason or another, I think its learning-slope is a tad steep, but not too much. You'll certainly know what each tool does, but it might take some time to get the hang ot where everything is... not too much time, though. Just give its Help section a once-over, and use it whenever you're stuck at something. It's not perfect, but it's accessible and understandable. I hope that might help. Good luck!