Friday, May 8, 2009

WHO: Swine Flu Cases Top 2,000

The World Health Organization says the swine influenza A-H1N1 virus has infected more than 2,000 people worldwide.

The WHO says the swine flu has spread across 23 countries, though most of the cases have been reported in Mexico and the United State

Earlier Thursday, the WHO's acting director-general Keiji Fukuda told Asian officials in Bangkok by videolink that the WHO does not know how severe the swine flu outbreak will become. He warned the virus could get more virulent later in the year during the northern hemisphere's flu season.

If it turns into a pandemic, he said one third of the world's population - up to two billion people - could end up infected.

The United States has confirmed nearly 900 cases of swine flu, while Mexico has reported more than 1,000.

The acting director for the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Richard Besser said officials expect to see far more cases in the U.S., as well as more deaths. Two fatalities have already been confirmed in the U.S. state of Texas, which borders Mexico, while all 42 other deaths from the virus occurred in Mexico.

Mexican businesses and schools began reopening Wednesday and Thursday after officials said the virus was spreading more slowly in the country.

Other countries have also been easing measures to control the disease.

China on Thursday lifted a seven-day quarantine for passengers who arrived in Shanghai on a flight with a Mexican man who was later found to be infected with the virus.

Also Thursday, Russia announced it was lifting a ban on meat imports from five U.S. states, but added another - Illinois - to its list.

At a Congressional hearing Thursday, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said he is disappointed that Russia and China have imposed restrictions on U.S. imports.

Vilsack stressed that U.S. pork products are safe, saying there is no evidence the swine flu virus can be transmitted through food. He said the agriculture department is working hard to reach out to the Russians, the Chinese and other governments to reopen international markets.


07 May 2009

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Bunyi Modem

Jika kita menyalakan modem analog, kita selalu mendengar bunyi yang keras ketika modem tersebut memutar nomor dial telepon. Kenapa demikian?

Modem adalah singkatan modulator-demodulator dimana sebuah modem analog dapat mengubah sinyal digital ke dalam sinyal suara secara analog (modulasi) kemudian memproses sinyal yang datang tersebut dengan cara demodulasi. Sedangkan bunyi suara yang ditimbulkan dari modem tersebut disebut juga dengan suara pengenal. Kemudian data disimpan secara digital manakala dihubungkan dengan line telepon. Selain itu, suara pengenal tersebut harus dikirim dengan frekuensi 1300 hertz dan dengan panjang waktu tertentu, sekitar 0,6 detik tone dan 1,9 detik pause.
Tips: Beberapa modem bisa dimodifikasi pada bagian pengatur suara kemudian meminimalisasi suaranya.

Sumber: Computer Easy Mei 2004

Monday, May 4, 2009

Prosesor 64 Bit

Apakah sebenarnya pengertian dari Prosesor 64 Bit dan apa saja manfaatnya?

Prosesor 64 Bit adalah suatu prosesor generasi baru setelah generasi chip 32 Bit. Dengan menggunakan chip 64 Bit ini mampu mentransfer data sampai dua kali lebih cepat dibandingkan dengan pendahulunya. Namun, Prosesor Intel telah lebih dulu menjual chip 64 Bit dengan nama Itanium 2, yang bisa mentransfer data sampai dengan 6,4 Gigabytes per detik. Sedangkan pesaingnya Intel, yaitu AMD mampu mentransfer data sampai dengan 19,2 Gigabytes per detik. Namun, AMD sendiri juga mengumumkan untuk mengeluarkan chip "Opteron" pada pertengahan tahun 2003.

Dengan prosesor baru yang telah melampaui batas dari kapasitas memori yang ada saat ini, prosesor ini mampu memproses kecepatan data lebih dari 4 Gigabytes. Dari segi kinerja, Prosesor 64 Bit ini bisa digunakan dengan software dan sistem operasi yang telah diprogram.

Sumber: Computer Easy Mei 2004

Friday, April 24, 2009

Ask2link

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Saturday, March 28, 2009

Idiom

What is an idiom? According to Wikipedia, an idiom is a phrase whose meaning cannot be determined by the literal definition of the phrase itself, but refers instead to a figurative meaning that is known only through common use. In linguistics, idioms are widely assumed to be figures of speech that contradict the principle of compositionality; however, this has shown to be a subject of debate.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Eyeglasses from Zenni Optical

It was a surprise for me to find Zenni Optical in the New York Times?! The New York Times suggested that the readers try Zenni Optical if they want cheap eyeglasses. Zenni Optical offers various eyeglasses. For example, complete single vision eyeglasses starts at $8.00. Yes, you can get prescription eyeglasses for only $8! It’s cheap, isn’t it? Seeing straight without breaking bank is the appropriate words for this.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Auld Lang Syne

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and old times since ?

CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And surely you’ll buy your pint cup !
And surely I’ll buy mine !
And we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have run about the slopes,
and picked the daisies fine ;
But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine ;
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

And there’s a hand my trusty friend !
And give us a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

This song is usually heard or sung in New Year's Eve. Actually, what does this song means and where do the words come from? I have tried to find some information from Wikipedia and the result is as follows.

"Auld Lang Syne" is a Scottish poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the tune of a traditional folk song. It is well known in many English-speaking countries and is often sung to celebrate the start of the new year at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day.

The song's (Scots) title may be translated into English literally as "old long since", or more idiomatically, "long long ago" or "days gone by". The phrase "Auld Lang Syne" is also used in similar poems by Robert Ayton (1570–1638), Allan Ramsay (1686-1757), and James Watson (1711) as well as older folk songs predating Burns. In his retelling of fairy tales in the Scots language, Matthew Fitt uses the phrase "In the days of auld lang syne" as the equivalent of "Once upon a time." In Scots syne is pronounced like the English word sign.