OVER 2 YOU, 069 (19/02/02)

FIRST AND LAST PAGES

What was the first page on the Internet, and is it still there?

Des Peters, via email

You should find information about the first page on the Internet at:
http://weboffice-old.web.cern.ch/

WebOffice-Old/www0/Welcome.html
James Clay,

I don’t know about the first page but a Google search reveals several last pages….

http://www.1112.net/lastpage.html

http://www.shibumi.org/eoti.htm

http://www.shibumi.org/eoti.htm

http://www.pages2send.com/lastpage.htm

S. Leaford, via email

RECIPE DATABASE

I am looking to transfer all my recipes to my PC can anyone recommend any suitable software?

Ken Hewitt, via email

I have spent a long time evaluating recipe software – the one that came out nearest to my needs was Now Your Cooking.  You can input your recipes via the keyboard or by scanning and can import recipes from all over the web.  It is not expensive and you can try before you buy.  Best of all is that it comes with a lifetime upgrade guarantee! Download from http://www.ffts.com/

Ian Pollington, Loxwood, West Sussex

Schwartz the spice people has a very good application called World Cuisine Recipe Book that should fit the bill. It’s available from various Internet sites, including Amazon and Computermarket.com

Jim Concannon

GREAT WAR RESEARCH

I am attempting to research my father's service in the Great War but am hitting brick walls. My father was a retired regular soldier who re-enlisted in 1914 and went to France in 1915 with the 7th (Service) Royal Scots Fusiliers.  The Records Office at Hayes in Middlesex was bombed during the Second World War and many records, including my father's, were badly damaged. The Royal Scots Fusiliers' museum was moved from Ayr to Glasgow but before the RSF memorabilia had been catalogued the museum was set on fire by vandals and damaged by the fire or and water. Where else can I seek information?  Is it possible to gain access to the Great War medical records?

T. S. Leonard, via email

May I suggest the February-March 2002 issue of Legion, the magazine of the Royal British Legion. There is a four page Research Special entitled "Retracing lost trails" containing addresses, web sites, etc. and other pointers to the sort of information Mr Leonard requires.

Malcolm Wood,

PICTURE PERFECT?

I’m very pleased with the results from my new digital still camera but can anyone tell me how long pictures printed on my Canon printer are likely to last, before they fade, and is there anyway to preserve the original data indefinitely that will save it from the inevitable obsolescence of current recording media?

S. Richardson, via email

Images printed with original dye inks on an inkjet printer will only last for 2-3 years, even behind glass, before fading. Gasses and pollutants in the air affect the paper coating. Keep them out of direct sunlight. The latest machines use improved inks and paper that are supposed to last about 10 years. It also depends on which paper you use, gloss papers fade quicker than matt. You can buy inks from an independent supplier, such as Lyson (www.lyson.com), that last from 15-70 years and longer depending on the paper. These are test results, no one really knows yet.

To store digital images long term, you should use a simple universal form such as TIFF, preferably uncompressed, to be sure of recovery in the future. They can be kept on tape or CD-ROM disk but it must be a long-life type. Most cheap CR-R/RW discs are unlikely to last more than a few years so use gold or gold/silver coated disks for longer life. Duplicate everything and copy again every few years to be sure. They must be stored in warm dry shaded conditions or the recording layers will delaminate and deteriorate.
John Wright,

I have a Canon S800 and use their photo quality paper. Canon, are currently suggesting that we can expect a twenty year life from a print, which is mounted under glass. I don't know what is claimed for dye sublimation printers or professional print shops that offer a printing service for digital images.

As for archiving, it is anyone’s guess as to which format will survive the test of time. My suggestion is to use CD-R or CD-RW for now. Record images with the highest quality your supports. Since memory is so cheap now we can afford to do this, I have just bought a 128MB Smart Media card for under £50 including VAT and postage! For archiving try not to save images as JPEG files, any lossy compression will have a trade off against quality. Also in the future you may transfer your archive to another format and wish to avoid compression artefacts, which degrade the image. A 700MB disc will hold hundreds of images.
Bob Clegg, Plymouth, Devon

CALCULATORS IN SPACE

I’ve often read that there is more computing power in a modern pocket calculator than was available in the Apollo spacecraft that landed on the moon. Is that really true? If so, does anyone know the specification of those early computers, or relative speed, compared with today’s desktop PCs?

R. Silver, Huddersfield

In 1970 I was working for Xerox Data Systems, which as Scientific Data Systems (SDS) had started as a company around 1964 to design computers specifically for use by NASA.  By 1970, 60% of NASA's computers came from SDS.  These were not onboard computers, but ground based mission control systems designed for high-speed telemetry - the gathering of data from the computers and processing it rapidly so if there was a problem the launch could be shut down.  They probably had only 16k of 16-bit memory but did have extremely fast disks, which even now would have a competitive access speed to current hard disks. However the disks generally had less capacity than a floppy disk, occupied two computer cabinets and took about 15 minutes to get up to speed. 

There was an SDS 900 computer under every Apollo when it blasted off.  Supposedly NASA went round afterwards searching the ashes of the computer to reclaim the gold from the circuit board contacts.

Roger Stones, Dorking, Surrey

SITTING COMFORTABLY

My physio has heavily criticised my sitting posture - which has added to the strain on my neck and the deterioration of my cervical vertebrae.  He suggests that I find some way of regularly reminding myself to check my posture when operating the PC.  Can anyone suggest a way of "posting"
reminders to my screen at regular intervals, irrespective of software I am using at the time?
Tom Busby, via email

I use MS Outlook (not Outlook Express) to post reminders to me for all my tasks. Once you get used to it, it is very straightforward to use. Tasks (i.e. a reminder) can be set to occur once only or recurring daily, weekly or monthly. Once the reminder pops up it is a simple matter to set the next reminder to 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 1 hour etc.
David Alston, DCAlston@aol.com

I have exactly the same need, and have used the clock-chime facility to record my own message reminding myself on the hour to have a screen break and do some exercises.

This, on a Mac, is done in two stages. First, I recorded the message as a 'chime' through the Control Panels/ Monitors & Sound/ Alerts ('Add') menu. (NB, unless you want the warning every single time an alert may be played  - e.g. if you mis-key - do keep the alert selected in Monitors & Sound as something less infuriating, like a Quack.) Then I selected this new Alert as my hourly 'chime' through the Control Panels/ Date & Time/ Clock options, where you can choose which sound to have if you want one. I invented this all by myself, and feel rather proud because it perfectly does the trick. It operates, as Tom Busby requires, independently of any software. Caution: I now find myself unfailingly reminding me very loudly to take a break just as I am in the middle of a very important telephone call.
Ismene Brown, via email

CAN YOU HELP?

I have read that there is a site that lists the 20 million emigrants into the United States of America. Please can anybody come up with the address that my web search has failed to find?

Barry Hill , via email

Later this year I will be off on a sailing adventure lasting approximately five months. The accommodation on board will be fairly rough and ready, with a damp salty atmosphere. Can anyone recommend a laptop or portable PC that will be able to endure this kind of hostile environment?

Janet Leslie, via email

My wife and I are looking for help in learning western European languages, using PC software and the net. We want a reasonably high standard with lots of interactive help and as much contact with native language speakers as possible.

Gerald Griffiths, Newnham Bridle, Worcs.

Is there any software then would enable a PC or Mac to read floppy discs formatted for an Atari 520ST? I am planning to get a new computer but do not want to loose the files I have accumulated over the years.

David Lowe-Watson, London N6