Some people love them. Some people hate them. Most people don't understand them, yet many people use them anyway.
While this could describe cellphones, I'm actually talking about emoticons. Even this program thinks it's a misspelled word. Fortunately, there is plenty of information online to give you the background on these wacky characters.
The only real surprise in the latest Census Bureau report regarding the Internet is the fact that the information is probably already out of date. Then again, that's probably not even a surprise.
If you are one of those people who have trouble of digging out of messy areas (and you aren't in the construction business), you may want to check out FlyLady.net. The site is dedicated to helping people learn new cleaning habits and generally ridding themselves of clutter.
Determining what a computer is seems like a fairly simple thing. A laptop: yes. A piece of chocolate cake: no. A PC: sure. Sean Connery: probably not, but it's not out of the question that he could be a robot.
Then again, comparing what we know as a computer and an analog computer is a bit different. An analog computer, according to the Wikipedia, is a form of computer that uses electronic or mechanical phenomena to model the problem being solved by using one kind of physical quantity to represent another.
Apple seems to have released enough stuff in October that it's hard to put my finger on what to highlight. There's the iPod with larger capacities and video capabilities, iTunes 6 (a free download for Mac and PC), the new iMac G5, the list goes on. If you're interested in any of these items, or possibly something I didn't mention (there's a lot!), check out apple.com for more details.
Google is surely near the end of cataloging every book known to man, including those manuals that come with VCRs, because The Developers has finally made the list. Google Print is nice because it allows you to review portions of the book and perform searches throughout. However, not all of it is searchable, so you won't be able to see the ending.
Have you ever noticed how rumors can become fact if they continue to be peddled as the truth? While there are numerous email and online scams that still permeate the Web, one of the greatest scams has been the aluminum can pull tabs one.
You might even be one of those people who are positive those pull tabs are redeemable for extra time for dialysis machines, or that they contain more aluminum than the rest of the can. Guess what: You're wrong!
If people are really starting to get on your nerves (I mean, come on, how can they not?), and you are a great babbler, there is finally a simple alternative for you. And as always, that alternative can exist at your very own home, assuming you have a computer, Internet access and time to waste.
Many people in Western culture are starting to take search engines for granted. I'm not talking about just having a computer and having access to the Internet. I'm speaking of what you can and cannot find in some of the top engines themselves.
While I'm a big fan of Google and self-fulfilling prophecy, I never imagined the two could exist within the same realm. But according to what I've read recently on multiple websites, the online giant is taking aim potentially at connecting web users through an Internet portal similar to the one I've described in my latest novel, "The Developers."