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ANSWER KEY 1 Main idea Câu 1 và 3 không phải ý chính, cả hai chỉ trình bày các chi tiết của lịch sử pháỉ triển bộ nhớ, không nêu rõ các loại bộ nhớ khác nhau. 2 Understanding the passage 1. T 2. T 3. F Semiconductor or chip memory was developed after core memory and before the bubble memory. 4. T 5. T 6. T 7. F A chip is a piece of silicon used in transistors and computers. 8. T 9. T 10. F Bubble memories are not expensive, consume little power, arc small in size and are highly reliable. More research is needed in this field though. 3 Locating information 1.. 6 9 3 . .5 5 ..2 1 7 . . 6 8 2..21 2 3 4 . . 3 6 37 6. . 43 44 8. II. 35 36 4 Contextual reference 1. information 5. memory capacity of millions of bits 9. film 2. intersection 6. development 10. bubbles 3. core 7. chips 4. cores 8. chip 5 Understanding words 1. mentioned 4. retaining 7. passed through 10. consume 2. respective 5. suitable 8. reduced 3. advances 6. e ith e r... or 9. croo,; r
211 Exercise Giving a definition Complete the following table by referring back to the appropriate units and paragraphs as indicated in the table Hoàn chỉnh bảng sau cách tham khảo đọc đoạn văn thích hợp nêu bảng UNIT [PARA] TERM [2] GROUP CHARACTERISTICS computers • silicon [5] electronically processed by computers [1] [4] turnkey systems can simulate, or imitate different measurements, by electric means [2] semiconductor device [1] [5] 10 [3] 11 i l l • ALU bi-Stable devices expresses as quantities of K 212 ANSWER KEY Main idea Câu ý chính, hai trình bày chi tiết lịch sử pháỉ triển nhớ, không nêu rõ loại nhớ khác Understanding the passage T T F - Semiconductor or chip memory was developed after core memory and before the bubble memory T T T F - A chip is a piece of silicon used in transistors and computers T T 10 F - Bubble memories are not expensive, consume little power, arc small in size and are highly reliable More research is needed in this field though Locating information 1.// - //.2 - 3 /.5 / / - 37 /.2 // 43 - 44 //.6 -8 II 35 - 36 Contextual reference information memory capacity of millions of bits intersection development 10 bubbles core chips cores chip Understanding words mentioned retaining passed through respective suitable reduced advances e i t h e r or croo,;" r' film 10 consume 213 Word forms a alterations a electricity a reduced a creative b b b b alter electric reduction creation c altered c electrical c created Content review TYPE core chip bubble DEVELOPED SI7.F COMPOSITION large grid o f vertical and horizontal wires with small ferrite ring at intersection integrated circuits on non metallic element thin film over metallic alloys 1950s early 1970s tiny late 1970s extremely tiny MEMORY CAPACITY 80,000 bits millions greater than existing Focus review Focus G Time sequence PARA TIME SEQUENCE MARKER [2] The first computer [2] early computer [2] whereas now [2] Throughout the 1950s, 160s and up to the mid ‘70s In the 1970s [3] INFORMATION had memories made up a kind o f grid o f fine vertical and horizontal wires had a capacity o f around 80,000 bits it is not surprising to hear about computers with a memory capacity o f millions o f bits core memory dominated the market there was further development which revolutionized the computer field 214 Focus I Adding information further Moreover Another FOCUS J Giving an explanation or a definition Exercise that A^om puter^is a machine with an i operate switches or magnetize tiny metal cores (Unit I) A n^bacus)is a bead frame in which the beads are moved from left to right (Unit 2) (TnpuT) is the^information presented to the computer (Unit 3) The termCS o m p u ¿¿^includes those parts of hardware in which and other data manipulations are performed, and the high-speed interval memory in which data and calculations and stoi is (Unit 3) A^sy stem ^is a good mixture of integrated parts useful whole (Unit 5) L^rge computer systems, or ^n ain fram ep , as they are referred to in the field of computer science, are installations processing immense amounts of data (Unit 6) Although there is no exact definition for aÇ gijnicomputë?^) it is generally understood to refer to a computer whose fixed word length between and 32 central processor (Unit 7) Exercise Giving an explanation LINE TERM EXPLANATION MARKER EXPLANATION Memory refers to the internal storage locations o f a computer 10 Random access means any part o f the memory may be read equally quickly 215 a series o f tiny compartments, each having its own address the addresses o f houses 13 Storage locations like 14 These addresses like 21 used transiently which means program, or part o f its, is kept in internal storage while program is being executed 23 dedicated function referred to computer performs the same function Exercise Giving a definition [2] TERM computers GROUP devices [5] chip silicon [1] data 5(4] turnkey systems [2] analog computer pieces o f information hardware / software products types o f computer [1] (5 ] micro processor ALU 10 [3] registers 11 [1] memory UNIT [PARA] semiconductor device portion o f computer bi-stable devices internal storage location CHARACTERISTICS accept information in the form o f instructions 1/10 to 1/4 inch on a side, etc electronically processed by computers designed to answer a specific need in certain areas can simulate, or imitate different measurements, by electric means manufactured as a single chip performs arithmetic operations primary components o f the ALU expresses as quantities of K SECTION Input and output devices Thiết bị nhập xuất UNIT 13 Cards and card readers [ 1] An essential requirement for making good use of computers is the ability to put information into the machine Until the early 1960s, one of the most frequently used devices for providing input data to a computer was the punched card, a major storage medium for computer programs and data Most people are very surprised to find that punched cards were used as long ago as 1780 on textile machinery However, the first application of punched cards for the representation of large quantities of data was made by Dr Herman Hollerith in 1890 Working for the US Census Bureau, he realized that unless some means of speeding up the analysis of census data were found, it would take more than ten years to complete the job He recognized the value of the punched cards for this purpose, devised a code for representing data on the cards, and invented the necessary machines to m eet his needs Dr Hollerith went on to found a company to produce these machines, which in 1924 becam e International Business Machines, or IBM for short [2] The use of punched cards actually requires two separate pieces of equipment The first is a keypunch, which looks like a large typewriter and is not physically connected to the computer in any way Hence, it is said to be off-line The second is a c a rd r e a d e r which, as its name implies, reads the information from the card Unlike the keypunch, it is connected to the computer and is, therefore, said to be on-line [3] The most commonly used card has rectangular punches to record data (see Figure 13.1), although one major manufacturer uses circular punches The reason for one comer of a card being cut off is so that the user has a reference point in placing the cards in the card reader When a typist or keypunch op erator presses a key, which is labelled with a character, i.e a letter, number, or some special character, the machine punches a number of holes in one column of the card The card is organized into 12 rows and 80 columns For this reason the character is 219 changed into a 12-bit word which is represented by writing the holes as and the unpunched areas as Because most cards have 80 columns, no more than 80 characters can be punched on one card These columns are numbered from left to right, but the rows are numbered top to bottom as follows : 12, 11, 10 (or 0) 1, 2, 3,4, 5t 6, 7, 8, The top three rows are called punch rows Upptr right corner cut 12 punch 2on J lllllllll 111 or X punch punch#»\ lllllllll • I t # • • • • • • • • ► • • « • • f § • • I i I • • f I • • * # >•«• •• • « • • I I • • • • I I I I • • • • • i f • I I ••• • • I* Zont punching ir«a I I • • • • « • • « I I 11 • I I I I I I I I« 9;«9;»f »Vf I f»r 9j ; 11 I I I I I I l | l l I I I | l » l | « »I I I I I I I • I 1 t | j f » IJ J I > | l I I I H l | l I J 1 I I I I l | | | | I I »f I iI I I I I I I •••••! Ị)‘|g|'ị puncVeV .I*.' < • • • » » » • » « H M !•••••• 1111»11»1111111111 ft ititmliiUMniHlnM Digit punching arta Ỉ * I M 111 M f M • I f f " f 91 1 « ? I f 1 1 « • | | 111 f J 1 | 1 1 M t | Ỉ » t I I I I I I t I I I ( I M*I • • I I I I l i f t | | | • » I • • • I • • • • I I I « k l « I I I • • • • • • » I « I • • • t • | | I • I I M *1« • IIIM IIIM IM M IIIt I Column num btrt ^ lg lU J ^ Th« alphabet — — Figure 13.1 L Sp*ci«l J character» Punch Card [4] Each of the digits, letters, and characters is represented by the particular pattern of punches in a column Computer users can learn to read the patterns of the holes, but this is unnecessary since the characters can be printed at the top of the cards at the same time as the holes are punched Because of this feature, both computer and user can easily read a punched card [5] Obviously, a card is ideal for storing binary information, with a hole representing 1, and no hole, Information can be entered in this way, in which case the card is said to be a “straight binary” card But more often, information is entered in the Hollerith code or some other code Then each column is read and interpreted individually, with a combination of punches in that column representing a specific character [6] Once the information has been converted into holes in the cards, it is ready for juipthe^r pipce of equipment called a card reader This ✓Vvirv' k *rhir.Hy attached to the computer by a set of wires; A 220 hence, it is on-line A stack of cards, or deck, is placed in the card reader face down Cards are then exam ined on e at a time within the reader by means of a light source with photosensitive elem ents which determine the presence or absence of a hole This process is so fast that m odem card readers can read up 2,000 cards p er minute It should be noted that the card reader makes no use of the printed characters on the cards These are there only to help the com puter user interpret the cards, if necessary [7] In order to obtain still higher speeds, magnetic tape or disk is frequently used as an intermediate input medium This is done by punching information on cards and then transferring it from cards to magnetic tape or disk The information can then be transmitted to the com puter and stored in memory one word at a time by mounting the tape on a tape drive (or placing the disk on a disk drive) connected to the computer This process is known as spooling [8] Recently, more and more programming is being done by keying the instructions at a display and keyboard unit rather than at the keypunch, and the same holds true for data entry The programs and data then go directly to disk or magnetic tape, eliminating cards and card readers However, no data processing installation today is without cards or card readers, because cards are frequently kept as a backup system in case of loss of data Words and expressions p u n ch ed c a rd /pAnt/t ka:d/ card đục lỗ keypunch /'kiipAntf/ máy đục lỗ (máy xuyên phiếu) off-line /’DÍlain/ ngoại tuyến card -read er /ka:d 'ri:d3(r)/ đầu đọc card on-line /’Dnlain/ trực tuyến keypunch o p e r a to r /'ki: pAnự'Dp3reite(r)/ người xuyên card spooling /,spu:liiy đồng tác deck /dek/ backu p system /’baekAp ‘sistam/ bộ, tập hệ thốno riư nhùnơ 55 65 70 406 CÁC Dự ÁN Suốt ba mươi năm qua, ngày có phát triển công nghị lãnh vực máy tính đời Ngày nay, nhà có kích thước nhò mạnh nhớ trước đóỉ ví dụ, nhớ máy vi tính 16 bit có thị trường có đẩy đủ lực máy tinh mini gỉá rỉ Một ví dụ khác CPU mainframe thường thực vài trăm chu kỳ giây với khoảng thời gian đó, mainframe thực đến tỉ phép tính Hơn nữa, giá thành rẻ khiến cho nhiều người có hội xử lý liệu mainframe Thiết bị ngoại vi phát triển không Tất dẫn đến đâu? Chắc chắn máy tính r ỉ den mức người ứng dụng chúng vào hầu hết lãnh vực sống dại cho lớp học, nhà bếp hay văn phòng Roi dây, thật khó hình dung trường học máy tính hỗ trợ trình học tập Máy tính quà thực cổ mảy đa Đối với học sinh, máy tính sách tập thỉ nghiệm, gia sư riêng, thiết bị trình bày tượng khoa học, mô hình mô hệ thống thực, củng phương tiện giải trí chơi game đầy thú vị Đối với giáo viên, máy tính sổ điểm, tính điểm, cho lớp phân tích tiến cá nhân học sinh Đối với người phụ trách hành chánh nhà trường, dụng cụ vô giá việc đăng ký học sinh, lập thời khóa biểu cho lớp, lập báo cáo hàng tháng hay hàng năm, tính toán sổ sách cập nhật kỳ Cùng với lảnh vực truyền thông vệ tỉnh cải tiến, chương trình giáo dục chuyên ngành từ xa đỏ trở thành thực, không viễn cảnh tương lai nửa Tại tiểu bang California, thống đốc yêu c ầ u chương trình giảng dạy cho học sinh phải bao gồm "ba C" ( s dụng mày điện toán, tính toán giao tiếp công nghệ) thay "ba R" (đọc, viết làm toán) Ở Nhật, vi tính môn h ọ c bắt b u ộ c b ậ c trung học Những n c sản xuất chip đại trà, Singabore, đ a n g hướng xã hội điện tử tr o n g đ ó đ a s ố c ô n g v iệ c n ặ n g n h ọ c có tính c h ấ t lặp lặp lại đ ợ c th ự c h iệ n b ằ n g p h n g tiệ n đ iệ n t h a y c h í c ù n g đ ợ c c h ú n g hỗ trợ C h u y ể n n g â n , lê n lịch b iể u c c c u ộ c h ọ p q u ố c tế, thư tín điện từ, kiểm soát an ninh, đ iề u khiển đ ô thị v.v c h ỉ m ộ t v i ứ n g d ụ n g m y tính chip vi xừ lý Danh s c h d n g n h k é o d i vô tận 407 Nhưng kiện nêu ảnh hường đếĩí sống chúng ta? Rất khó trả lởi câu hòi này, tách rời khỏi thài độ chủng ta công nghệ Ngưởi ta tiên ¿toản ảnh hưởng chúng tương tự ảnh hưởng truyền hình mài đời Chầng nữa, người sờ hữu không loại máy tính loại máy tinh khác , cho dó người phục vụ nhà hàng, người dựa vào thiết bị giống máy tính bấm đề thông báo với đầu bếp chọn lựa thực đơn khách, cá nhân gia đình, dùng mày tính truy cập sở liệu đ ề nhận thông tin cập nhật việc đặt vé máy bay, vé xem phim, kịch, hẹn khám bác sĩ việc Do ứng dụng rộng rãi máy tính vào nhiều lĩnh vực khác sổng, nên trọng tâm chuyển từ chuyên viên sang người dùng Trong tương lai không xa, người dùng có thề xác định vấn đề hình CRT thông qua hệ thống mạng Họ giao tiếp với máy để tìm giải pháp cho vấn đề Từ ngừ trọng tâm lĩnh vực điện toán hóa ngày mai phân tán hóa chuyển hướng sang mạng xừ lý s ố liệu phân tán chuyên dụng 408 ANSWER KEY Main idea Câu Phòng xử lý liệu phải cổ cá người quán lý (tức giám đốc) ỉin nhà ỉập tìn h Vì vậy, ý cửa bái phái đẻ cập đếo cá hai vị trí C lu đáp ứng y6u cầu Understanding the passage T T F - The operator’s knowledge is mainly concerned with the hardw are not the software T T T 7.T F - New projects are designated to system analysts to work OD F - W hen the computer breaks down, the operator reports the problem to the mangager 10 T Locating Information 1.// 6 - 2.11 17- 18 II 35 - 36 / / - Contextual reference com puter operator multiprogramming environment em ergency situations // 57 - 58 malfunction m anufacturer problems jobs developm ents programs Understanding words copewith malfunction interact verbally modification responsibility expensive able success 10 active 409 Word forms a mixed b mixture b supervisor b supervising c supervision a trainees b training c training a modifications b modified • Content review keypunch operator system analyst com puter operator data processing m anager programmer system programmer d train 411 BÀI ĐỌC THÊM Personal computing Máy tính cá nhân In 1952, a major computing company took a decision to get out o f the business of making mainframe computers They believed that there was only a m arket for four mainframes in the whole world That company was IBM The following year they reversed their decision In 1980, IBM decided that there was a market for 250,000 PCs, so they set up a special team to develop the first IBM PC It went on sale in 1981 and set a world-wide standard for IBM-compatibility which, over the next ten years, was only seriously challenged by one other company, Apple Computers Since then, over seventy million PCs made by IBM and other manufacturers have been sold Over this period, PCs have becom e commodity items Since IBM made the design non-proprietary, anyone can m ake them The history of the multi-billion dollar PC industry has been one of mistakes Xerox Corporation funded the initial research on personal computers in their Palo Alto laboratory in California Howerver, the company failed to capitalize on this work, and the ideas that they put together went into the operating system developed for Apple's computers This was a graphical interface : using a mouse, the user clicks on icons which represent the function to be performed The first IBM PC was developed using existing available electrical components With IBM’s badge on the box it becam e the standard machine for large corporations to purchase When IBM were looking for an operating system, they went initially to Digital Research, who were market leaders in command-based operating systems (these are operating systems in which the 412 users type in commands to perform a function) W hen the collaboration between IBM and Digital Research failed, IBM turned to Bill Gates, then 25 years old, to write their operating system Bill Gates founded Microsoft on the basis o f the developm ent of MS/DOS, the initial operating system for the IBM PC Digital Research have continued to develop their operating system, DR/DOS, and it is considered by many people to be a better product than Microsoft's However, without an endorsem ent from IBM, it has becom e a minor player in the m ark et Novell, the leaders in PC networking, now own Digital Research, so things may change The original IBM PC had a minimum of 16K of m em ory, but this could be upgraded to 512K if necessary, and ran with a processor speed of 4.77 MHz Ten years later, in 1991, IBM w ere making PCs with 16Mb of memory, expandable to 64Mb, running with a processor speed of 33MHz The cost of buying the hardw are has come down considerably as the m achines have becom e commodity items Large com panies are considering running major applications on PCs, something which, ten years ago, no one would have believed possible of a PC In constrast, many com puters in people’s homes are just used to play com puter games The w idespread availability of computers has in all probability changed the world for ever The microchip technology which m ade the PC possible has put chips not only into computers, but also into washing-machines and cars Some books may never be published in paper form, but may only be made available as part of public databases Networks of computers are already being used to m ake information available on a world-wide scale New word mainframe computer : máy tính lớn đảo ngược reverse PC : personal computer world-wide S ta n d a rd máy tính cá nhân for IBM-compatibility tiêu chuẩn quốc tế đ ể tương thích với máy IBM commodity items mặt hàng thương mại non-proprietary khồng sở hữu độc quyền multi-billion dollar PC industry công nghiệp PC nhiều tỷ dô'la capitalize on sth thu lợi, khai thác lợi th ế từ điều graphical interface giao diện đồ họa mouse chuột icon biểu tượng electrical components linh kiện điện operating system hệ điều hành command-based sở lệnh PC networking mạng máy tính upgrade nâng cấp application trình ứng dụng computer game trò chơi điện tử microchip technology công nghệ public database sở liệu công cộng vi mạch 414 Portable computers Máy tính xách tay Delete Keys - Clipboard Technology FOR THE LAST GENERATION, Silicon V alley and Tokyo have bee working to design computers that are ev er easier to use T here is one thing however, that has prevented the m achines from becom ing their usei friendliest: you still have to input data with a keyboard, and that can requir you to a lot of typing and to m em orize a lot o f eláborate commands Enter the clipboard computer, a technology that has been in developm er for the last 20 years but took hold in the m ass m arket only this yeai Clipboard PCs - which, as their nam e suggests, are not much bigger than a actual clipboard - replace the keyboard with a liquid crystal display (LCD screen and an elecưonic stylus Users input data by printing individual lcttei directly on the screen There are two technologies at work in a clipboard PC : one allows rai data to get into the com puter and the other allows the com puter to figure 01 what that data m eans The first technology relies principally on hardw are an varies depending on the particular computer In one system , m arketed unde the nam e GRIDPad, the computer's LCD screen is covered by a sheet c glass with a ưansparent conductive coating Voltage is sent across the glass i horizontal and vertical lines forming a fine grid; at any point on the grid th voltage is slightly different When the stylus - which is essentially voltm eter - touches the screen, it informs the com puter of the voltage at thi point The com puter uses this information to determ ine w here the stylus and causes a liquid crystal pixel to appear at those coordinates H ie posjtic of the stylus is monitored several hundred times a second, so as the styli moves across the glass, whole strings of pixels are activated "What we is sort of connect the dots," says Jeff Hawkins, the creator c GRIDPad "Users can then write whatever they want on the sc re e n With kind of electronic ink." 415 Making that writing comprehensible to the computer, however, requires the help o f some powerful software When the stylus is being used, the com puter is programmed to look for moments when the tip does not touch the screen for a third o f a second or more Every time this happens - and it happens a lot when somebody is printing - the software assumes that one letter or num ber has been written The pixel positions of this fresh character are then pasted on to the computer's pattern recognition software, which instantly identifies the letter or number written The software does this by first cleaning up the character - smoothing out crooked lines and removing errant dots The remaining lines and curves are then compared with a series of tem plates in the computer's memory that represent hundreds o f thousands of different versions of every letter in the English alphabet and all ten numerals When the com puter finds the closest match, it encodes the character in memory and displays it on the screen as if it had been typed The entire process takes just a fraction of a second To delete a word, you simply draw a line through it To move to the next page, you flick the stylus at the bottom of the screen as if you're flicking the page of a book There are a handful of clipboard computers now on the market, including GRIDPad, which is sold in the US; Penvision, manufactured by NCR and sold around the world; and Sony's Palmtop and Cannon's A1 Note, both sold only in Japan IBM and Apple are also pouring millions of dollars into the technology In addition to this hardware, a variety of software is also making its way to the market Depending on the power of the computer and the sophistication of the software, clipboard systems can be programmed to understand the particular quirks o f a particular user's printing; this is an especially useful feature in Japan, where elaborate kanji characters make up most of the written language Improvements in software may soon allow machines sold in the US to understand not only printing but continuous script as well Given such flexibility, the designers of clipboard computers are predicting big things - and a big market - for their products "There's no doubt about it," says an optimistic Hawkins You’re going to own one of these things in the not-too-disant future." 416 General features of operating systems An operating system is a m aster control program which controls the functions of the com puter system as a whole and the running o f application programs All com puters not use the sam e operating systems It is therefore important to assess the operating system used on a particular model before initial com m itm ent because some softw are is only designed to run under the control o f specific operating systems Som e operating systems are adopted as "industry standards** and these are the ones which should be evaluated because they normally have a good softw are base The reason for this is that software houses are willing to expand resources on the developm ent o f application packages for m achines functioning under the control of an operating system which is widely used T he cost o f software is likely to be lower in such circumstances as the developm ent costs are spread over a greater num ber o f users, both actual and potential M ainframe com puters usually process several application programs concurrently, switching from one to the other, for the purpose o f increasing processing productivity This is known as multiprogramming (multi-tasking in the context o f microcomputers), which requires a pow erful operating system incorporating work scheduling facilities to control the switching betw een programs This entails reading in data for one program while the processor is performing com putations on another and printing out results on yet another In m ulti-user environm ents an operating system is required to control terminal operations on a shared access basis as only one user can access the system at any m om ent o f time The operating system allocates control to each term inal in turn Such systems also require a system for record locking and unlocking, to prevent one user attempting to read a record whilst another user is updating it, for instance The first user is allocated control to write to a record (or file in some instances) and other users are denied access until the record is updated and unlocked Some environm ents operate in concurrent batch and real-tim e mode This means that a "background" job deals with routine batch processing whilst the "foreground" job deals with real-time operations such as airline seat reservations, on-line booking of hotel accommodation, or control of warehouse stocks, etc The real-tim e ope rati''” rK~ 417 system interrupts batch processing operations to deal with real-time enquiries or file updates The stage of batch processing attained at the lime of the interrupt is temporarily transferred to backing storage After the real-time operation has been dealt with, the interrupted program is transferred back to internal memory from backing storage, and processing recommences from a "restart” point The operating system also copies to disk backing storage the state of the real-tim e system every few minutes (periodic check points) to provide a m eans o f "recovering" the system in the event of a malfunction An operating system is stored on disk and has to be booted into the internal memory (RAM) w here it must reside throughout processing so that commands are instantly available The operating system commands may exceed the internal memory capacity of the computer in which case only that portion o f the OS which is frequently used is retained internally, other modules being read in from disk as required Many microcomputers function under the control of a disk operating system known as DOS New word user-friendliest mQi ngudi de ddng sit dung input data dit li$u nhqp vdo keyboard ban phim typing vi$c go phim, ddnh mdy chit mass market thi trudng dai chung lyquid crystal display screen mdn hinh tinh the Idng electronic stylus but ve di?n tit raw data dit li?u tho, dit li?u chua xit ly hardware phdn ci^ng system h? thong conductive coating Idp bQC ddn di?n voltage di^n the grid bdng ke 6, ludi ke o voltm eter vdn ke pixel diem dnh ^ 418 coordinates cdc tqa assume gid djnh pixel positions v/‘ trl diem dnh pattern recognition software phdn m im nh$n dgng cleaning up tinh chlnh tem plate khudn mau, khudn dang version phiin bdn numerals cdc chit so (til den 9) the closest match phien bdn gdn gitfng nhdt encode md hda display hien thf, xutft mdn hinh fraction mQt phdn rat nhd, phdn so delete xda bd, huy move di chuyen, ddi flick khdy, iQt (trang) kanji chit viet Nh$t Bdn s& dung cdc ky tu cua Trung Hoa improvement cdi tien, cdi thi$n designer nhd thiet ke 419 Online services Các dịch vụ trực tuyến Online Services I'm frequently asked which online service is "best”, but the answer is there is no best Rating a particular service over another is entirely subjective Price is important to some people, while the num ber of files available for download is important to others Because of these and so many other different judgments, there can be no absolute It all com es down to individual needs and preferences Still, users tend to be fiercely loyal to their "home" online service - which is usually the first online service they ever used They tend to judge all other online services based on this first service - often preventing them selves from seeing the advantages of a specific service For my part, I like all the services I use and I'm on two dozen Each offers one or more products or features that either not exist elsew here or are superior to the same features on other services And I've a really subjective reason for being on one service - I use it to send monthly articles to magazines in Japan So, the real answ er to the question is simple : the best online service is the service that has what you want and is easy for you to use The point? Keep an open mind when checking out an Online service Judge it based on what it offers and how it m eets you needs - not in comparison to what you're used to using (It takes a couple of sessions to shake preconceived notions of what an online service "should" be.) Eventually, we're all going to be interlinked, no m atter which service we use, in what DIALOG'S Richard Ream call a "network of networks" Until then, most of us have to go to more than one service to find everything we need And now, the news 420 What’s new on-line BIX TAB Book clubs Online You’re probably seen m agazine ads for The Com puter Book club and The Com puter Professionals’ Book Society These are sponsored by TAB Books This division of M cGraw-Hill (B IX s parent com pany) is now online on BIX, taking orders and answ ering questions from m em bers and prospective members The club conference is m oderated by Tammy Ray and Jeanette Shearer You can check them out by typing JOIN TAB.BOOK.CLUBS C o m p u S erv e D ell Computer Forum Dell Com puter Corporation has opened a product support area on CompuServe The Dell area is part of the PC V endor D Forum Type GO DELL or GO PCVEND to take a look M in itel L ink to C om puS erve Com puServe bolstered its position in Europe by making some of its services available via F rances national Minitel system in July French M initel users have access to an extra-cost service that is essentially a ’’limited edition ”, English-language version of Com puServe Among the services available are software and database downloads E-mail and m essage-base posting are not available to Minitel users D ELPH I Hobby Group Expands: DELPHI'S Hobby Shop special-interest group continues to expand its areas of interest The most recent additions to the database and group topics are Antique Auto, which focuses on classic vehicles, and Autotech, where you can learn about new cars and technology Type Go GROUP