High definition images of the Codex be available online by the British Library
July 21, 2008
The Codex Sinaiticus, a complete transcription of Christian scriptures written by scribes around 350AD, is in Greek. Along with the Codex Vaticanus, it is believed to be the oldest known Bible version in the world.
High definition images of the Codex are going to be available online from July 24 to all as the first part of a web-based project initiated by the British Library. According to the British Library, the Codex is undoubtedly ‘a treasure beyond price’.
It adds: “The earliest surviving copy of the complete New Testament as well as the earliest and best copies of some of the Jewish scriptures is there within its beautifully handwritten Greek text.”
Within a year more pages will be added on to the Codex website. This will become possible as digitisers are able to scan more of its very intricately inscribed vellum sheets. St Catherine’s monastery in Sinai, Egypt holds the remainder of it.
Now, according to Leipzig’s library curator, Ulrich Johannes Schneider “67 from the British Library and well over 100 pages, those from Leipzig are going to be available online at www.codex-sinaiticus.net.”
A broad, global online charter in London for children and internet usage
July 18, 2008
Children from all over the world are going to meet in London for discussing how they can safeguard themselves from the ‘unsafe’ use of the internet. The conference aims at working out a broad, global online charter that is to be presented to the UN.
Well over 150 teenagers from close to 20 different nations are participating in the five-day conference.
Jim Gamble, the chief executive of Ceop, stated: “We will not be patronising them (the children). They will (on their own) engage law enforcement, industry, government and others; they will ask the questions themselves and deliver the challenges.”
The conference comes as a new survey indicates that most of the parents polled as part of it had not bothered to check their child’s online history, but 26 per cent of those who had done so had indeed found something they were not happy with.
Dr Tanya Byron, the TV psychologist, who contributed to the report, stated: “I think the key is for (new-age) parents to treat the issue in the same way that they would approach other potential concerns!”
A microchip helps the Dog reunite with owner after three years
June 22, 2008
It was in September 2005, when Brambles was taken away from the garden in Dorchester, resulting in painful separation from his loving master. RSPA on receiving a tip of about a dog being mistreated by some boys near Cribbs Causeway, acted promptly and rushed to rescue the dog.
RSPA inspector, while scanning the ill-treated dog’s fur for the possible microchip, found in the database that the dog was stolen three years ago. Brambles was lucky to be reunited with Thornewill who lives with her boy friend Richard Sherive in Blandford, Dorset.
An Overjoyed owner said: “It is brilliant to have Brambles back. When we saw him again, Richard had a tear in his eye .Brambles looked at Richard and could tell she knew it was him. It was an emotional moment all around We feared the worst by passage of time Thanks to the worthy chip, the slim chance of locating the pet yielded result.”
Imagine just a cup of water sufficient to wash your linen
June 14, 2008
Salute the British Scientists, who have developed a new technology, which uses merely a cup of water to wash clothes in a washing machine. The day is not far off, when you will own a washing machine that washes clothes almost without water; certainly a kind of green revolution as water is and will certainly be a precious commodity in times to come.
The new system developed by the British Scientists at Leeds University, uses less than 2% of the water and also the energy of a conventional washing machine. The new method washing machine was patented and developed at Leeds. Almost 35kg of water and considerable amount of energy is consumed to wash about a kg of clothes. The new developed system will reduce the amount of water and energy consumption by as much as 98 per cent.
Plastic granule usage process removes most of the stains and leaves clothes as fresh as normal wash. Besides, the clothes emerge almost dry there by reducing tumble-drier operations. Stephen Burkinshaw, Leeds professor and an international acclaimed expert in the science of textiles and dyeing, said: “The performance of the Xerox process in cleaning clothes has been quite astonishing. We have shown that it can remove all sorts of everyday stains including coffee and lipstick whilst using a tiny fraction of the water used by conventional washing machines.” Mr. Stephen is founder director of Xerox. Xerox, is commercialising the technology, and the wander invented machine is to hit the UK markets as early as 2009. It will be affordable in comparison to conventional washing machines.
Dr Rob Rule, MD of Techtran Ltd, IP Group’s Leeds business as well as director of Xerox, commented: “This is one of the most surprising and remarkable technologies I have encountered in recent years.”