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[] They say that all good things come to an end...
1998 was certainly no exception. So, since this happens to be the last week of a year in which we experienced some bad times, some good ones and not a few bizarre ones, we thought we'd break away from our usual format, and give you a quick run-down on the year that was.
[] Here then, are the events and news stories that shaped 1998...in no particular order:
Q. How many perverts does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A. One... but it takes the entire staff of the emergency room
to remove it.
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There are quite a few people out there - and their number is growing by the day - who believe that only Linux has the wherewithal to challenge the ubiquitous Windows platform. A year ago, these doomsayers would have been laughed out of court by the geeks at Micro$oft - this year, no one dares to even giggle. After all, Linux was the *only* operating system to gain market share in 1998 - pretty impressive for a "hack", don't you think ?!
[] We've covered Linux in detail in a previous issue of this newsletter - you can read it at http://www.bigfoot.com/~hitg/dec98ra.html
You can read the Wired! Article at http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/5.08/linux_pr.html
[] And here are a few more articles on just why Linux is so cool - read them at your leisure :-)
An Interview With Linus Torvalds:
http://www.linuxworld.com/linuxworld/lw-1998-10/lw-10-torvalds.html
Linux Vs. Windows - Who Will Win ?:
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/tech/DailyNews/linux981014.html
Why People Don't Hate Linux:
http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9809/22/linuxlove.idg/
How Linux Got So Hot:
http://cnn.com/TECH/computing/9808/22/danglinux.idg/index.html
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Detailed contest information may be obtained by sending us email at hitg@usa.net with a subject line of CONTEST RULES.
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[] After being written off as a failure by industry pundits last year, Apple bounced back in 1998 with a new CEO, a new marketing strategy and a slew of new products. Spearheading this reversal of fortune - the iMac, easily one of the most innovative and original products to spring from Steve Jobs' fevered imagination !
More a fashion statement than a computer, the iMac sports a translucent surface, an elongated monitor, a round mouse and more curves than the entire cast of Baywatch ;-) Little wonder that it's been disappearing off the shelves faster than you can say "Profits, baby !"
[] Take a look at Steve Jobs' futuristic vision at http://www.apple.com/imac/
Or read more about it in MacWorld at http://macworld.zdnet.com/pages/july.98/Column.4357.html
[] The Asian economic crisis notwithstanding, consumers spent a lot of money in 1998 - and quite a lot of it found it's way into cyberspace. 1998 was also the year that Internet commerce finally took off, with online merchants like Amazon.com and Egift posting record sales, particularly over the festive season.
Amazon.com is available at http://www.amazon.com
Egift is available at http://www.egift.com
And you could also check out http://www.webreference.com/ecommerce/ and http://www.ibm.com/e-business/
I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception.
- Marx
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GeoCities is available at http://geocities.datacellar.net
Ebay is available at http://www.ebay.com
[] Micro$oft rolled out a new version of Windows this year - it was christened Windows 98, and amidst the hype and hoopla that always accompanies a Micro$oft product launch, company spin doctors heralded it as "the friendliest, most advanced operating system yet" !
Discerning users [and we're proud to include ourselves in this select group] begged to differ.
Many of them found Windows 98 to be nothing more than a collection of bug fixes...and slow too ! The close integration of the operating system with the Internet Explorer Web browser failed to impress, and quite a few people switched back to Windows 95 out of frustration with the eccentricities of the "most advanced operating system yet" ;-)
If you would like more information on Windows 98, try the Micro$oft Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/windows
Ankur Puranik is an 18-year-old student with a diploma in electronics and telecommunications. He's also the Managing Director of the Spacelink Research Center...not to mention it's only qualified Mission Controller, Flight Director, Electronics and Telecommunications Engineer, Scientist and Astronomer :-)
His tastes are eclectic: astronomy, computer programming, music, driving and swimming. He inhabits a building scheduled for demolition 20 years ago, and he's been a HITG subscriber from way, way back :-)
You can find out more about him [and the Spacelink Research Center] by sending him email at srcb99@hotmail.com, or by visiting his Web site at http://www.radiolink.net/srcb/
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[] And Micro$oft found itself a new enemy this year too - the US Department of Justice, which dragged it into court on charges of stifling competition [read Netscape :) ] by bundling the Internet Explorer browser with the Windows 98 operating system. Micro$oft's defense: the two could not be separated, as they had been integrated to a point that one could not work without the other.
And this time, the court begged to differ. Testimony by the CEOs of Apple Computer, Sun Microsystems and Netscape Communcations [among others] painted a picture of Micro$oft as a ruthless competitor willing to do *anything* to get ahead, and Bill Gates as a modern-day robber baron ;-)
Who will win this game of trust and anti-trust ? Don't hold your breath...it looks like we'll be well into the next century before a winner is crowned ;-)
Curious ? Read more about the latest development in the anti-trust lawsuit at http://www.wired.com/news/news/antitrust/
fissiparous [fis.sip.a.rous, adjective]
1: producing new biological units or individuals by fission
2: tending to break up into parts
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And what happens when the clock strikes midnight on December 31, 1999 ? Well, that incredibly expensive and powerful number-cruncher you're using to read this will incorrectly identify the year 2000 as the year 1900, instantly turning the clock back a hundred years. The result: scrambled bank records, airplane navigation systems, traffic signals, electricity grids, satellites - pretty much everything that's controlled by computer, actually ;-)
We'll be covering the millennium bug in The HITG Report soon...in the meanwhile, you can educate yourself at http://www.y2ktoday.com or http://www.year2000.com
[] America Online purchased Netscape Communications for a cool US $4.2 billion, immediately catapulting it into the realms of the big online players - not to mention giving it overnight control over the thousands of eyeballs that visit the Netscape Web site every day.
America Online is available at http://www.aol.com
Netscape Communications is available at http://www.netscape.com
Formula for success : Underpromise and overdeliver
- Tom Peters
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Take a look at the Iridium Web site at http://www.iridium.com
Or read about the technology and the vision behind it at http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/6.10/iridium.html
[] In the gaming world, Id released Quake 2 [smarter monsters, better network play], quickly supplanted by Unreal [gorgeous landscapes, interesting storyline, novel weapons] as the hottest game of the year.
Quake is available at http://www.idsoftware.com
Unreal is available at http://www.unreal.com
[] Digital cameras entered the mainstream, with everyone and his mother carrying one. We tried one out and couldn't understand what the fuss was all about - our battered old Canon does a far better job ! ;-)
[] The Starr Report [no relation] hit the Internet, and every Web server with a copy was swamped with hits from the curious, the lascivious and the just plain bored ;-)
[] Geri Haliwell left the Spice Girls...one down, four to go, say we ;-)
Hiro Music House, one of Bombay's oldest music stores, has a a massive selection of music and music systems. They'll let you listen to a cassette before you buy it...and they live by the term 'service with a smile' !
Their showrooms are at 23C, Sir P. M. Road, Mumbai 400 001 and 68, Hill Road, Bandra, Mumbai 400 050, or call them on (91)-22-287 0062 and (91)-22-642 1904.
<>--------------------- b r e a k ------------------------<>
[] France beat Brazil to win the World Cup, and a haughty nation allowed its reputation for superciliousness to be destroyed in the mad exultation of the winning goal.
[] India and Pakistan conducted underground nuclear tests [we still can't figure out why ;-) ]
[] A diamond-shaped blue pill named Viagra hit the market, kick-starting a new sexual revolution and causing Pfizer shares to rise...and rise...and rise :-P
[] A sitting US President was impeached for the second time in history.
[] A movie about a sinking ship bagged 11 Oscars.
[] Australia voted to become a republic.
[] Sinatra died.
[] And we thought we'd add a personal note to this issue, and tell you a little bit about our 1998 [we hope you don't mind us stroking our own egos here...surely we're allowed to do it *once* a year :-) ]
One of us graduated from college with honours. The other one of us is well on his way to doing the same :-)
One of us got his license to kill. The other one of us has been driving like a maniac for years without one ;-)
One of us found that young love ain't all it's cracked up to be. The other one of us already knew that ;-)
Both of us found fame in the local newspapers - next stop, fortune ;-)
One of us grew up. The other one of us is still trying to come to terms with the concept ;-)
[] We hope you had a good 1998. If you did, here's hoping 1999 is even better...and if you didn't, remember that the line about good things coming to an end applies to bad things too :-)
Till next time...stay healthy !
- Vikram and Harish
During the Turkish stampede in Thrace, a small detachment found itself confronted by a wide and deep river. However, they discovered a boat in which two children were rowing about. It was so small that it would only carry the two children, or one grown person.
How did the officer get himself and his 357 soldiers across the river and leave the two children finally in joint possession of their boat? And how many times need the boat pass from shore to shore?
Write in and tell us what *you* think the solution is. We will provide you with a correct solution in our next issue, together with the names of everyone who got it right. When you write in, do tell us how much information you would like us to disclose about you.
And the solution to last time's puzzle :
The cannonball in the boat displaces an amount of water equal to the MASS of the cannonball. The cannonball in the water displaces an amount of water equal to the VOLUME of the cannonball. Water is unable to support the level of salinity it would take to make it as dense as a cannonball, so the first amount is definitely more than the second amount, and the water level drops.
Our congratulations to Deviprakash Seksaria for getting it right, and our commiserations to Dhaval Udani and Vipluv Aga for their valiant attempt - better luck next time :-)
----------> L S D f o r t h e b r a i n <--------------
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The content in this newsletter is copyright Vikram Vaswani and Harish Kamath, collectively knows as HITG, Inc. !
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© 1998 HITG Inc.
I wish you humans would leave me alone.
