What is Novell Netware?

A local-area network (LAN) operating system developed by Novell Corporation. NetWare is a software product that runs on a variety of different types of LANs, from Ethernets to IBM token-ring networks. It provides users and programmers with a consistent interface that is independent of the actual hardware used to transmit messages.

VOIPCC Training Video - Creating a new campaign

In this video I will show you how to create a standard campaign with questions and script.…

CallCopy intros VoIP call recording solution

CallCopy has introduced CallCopy Essential, the company's new VoIP call recording solution. CallCopy Essential helps small businesses quickly and easily capture and archive inbound and outbound calls. It was developed specifically for small offices to help companies improve customer service, increase productivity and meet compliance regulations. CallCopy Essential comes with a host of features, including a server-based architecture, which is easy to use and administer and doesn't require installation at agents' desks. Recorded calls can be easily saved by administrators as WAV or MP3 files and exported via email, hard disk or FTP. Essential also allows agents and administrators to flag public calls and add personal bookmarks to calls that can be used for training purposes and to help customer service improve response time

ACN VOIP

VoIP phone service is the newest advancement in telecommunication tools. It uses the customer's broadband computer connection to channel telephone calls. ACN Digital Phone Service utilizes VoIP technology and saves customers money with free calls to the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada for a low monthly rate. Each customer has their own phone number, which can be the same one they've already got if they switch to ACN Digital Phone Service.



This cutting-edge service is built on ACN's own state-of-the-art network with features not offered with traditional telephone service, including:

* Video Phone Technology

By adding a Video Phone, customers can enjoy face-to-face communication with close friends and family.

* Family Plan Lines for Video Phones

With Video Phone Family Plan Lines, customers can add up to four relatives or friends to their account for a low monthly cost per line. Those new customers can then call anyone on the ACN network for free.

* Great International Calling Rates

ACN offers three International Calling Plans to save customers even more on the places they call the most. Each plan includes 300 minutes to top calling destinations for that region.

ACN Digital Phone Service is currently available throughout the U.S. and Canada. The launch of Puerto Rico marks an exciting time for ACN representatives as the company begins its expansion into the Latin America market, offering this life-changing technology throughout the country as well as the ability for entrepreneurs there to begin their own ACN home-based business.

"We are happy to welcome Puerto Rico to the ACN family," said Greg Provenzano, ACN President & Co-Founder. "We know that family is important within Latin America. That's why we are offering this revolutionary service, which will forever change the way people communicate."

Customers can sign up or find more information on VoIP and ACN Digital Phone Service with Video Phone by using the web portal, www.myacn.com.

About ACN

Founded in 1993, ACN has become one of the fastest growing companies in the world by providing customers with leading edge services such as digital phone service and video phones as well as providing a better alternative for services they need and use everyday like local and long distance calling, wireless, satellite TV and internet access. ACN operates in 19 countries with offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Digital voip training

Vadivelu Comedy - Nesam Puthusu

Winner Comedy

How VoIP / Internet Voice Works

VoIP services convert your voice into a digital signal that travels over the Internet. If you are calling a regular phone number, the signal is converted to a regular telephone signal before it reaches the destination. VoIP can allow you to make a call directly from a computer, a special VoIP phone, or a traditional phone connected to a special adapter. In addition, wireless "hot spots" in locations such as airports, parks, and cafes allow you to connect to the Internet and may enable you to use VoIP service wirelessly.

IP-Enabled Services

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), is a technology that allows you to make voice calls using a broadband Internet connection instead of a regular (or analog) phone line. Some VoIP services may only allow you to call other people using the same service, but others may allow you to call anyone who has a telephone number - including local, long distance, mobile, and international numbers. Also, while some VoIP services only work over your computer or a special VoIP phone, other services allow you to use a traditional phone connected to a VoIP adapter.

World's biggest inventions fair features self-making bed


Enrico Berruti poses with his invention, a self-making bed during the 36th International Exhibition of Invention in Geneva. More than 700 exhibitors from 45 countries attend the world's largest exhibition devoted to innovation.

GENEVA — If you are allergic to pollen, too lazy to make your bed or annoyed to learn that the pretty woman in the Web chat is really a man, a solution might be at hand from the world's largest inventions fair.
More than 700 of the world's most creative minds have set up stands at the International Exhibition of Inventions to show off brainchildren ranging from heavy-duty engineering feats to wacky little gadgets like the running alarm clock that will make sure you get out of bed in the morning.
The fair, which runs until Sunday, features 1,000 new inventions of all kinds by companies, independent researchers, universities and just people with a good idea to remedy smelly feet or prevent hotel staff from stealing money out of room safes.
Labor-saving devices for people averse to exercise are a recurring theme at this year's 36th edition.
One notable invention is the self-making bed which spreads the linen at the push of a button. The bed sheet is rolled out by two fasteners moving along metal bars on each side of the bed. Once the sheet is spread over the bed, the two bars are automatically lowered.

Earlier Inventions


Television was first invented in the 1920s.

Can you imagine a world without airplanes? Or without television? In 1899 the commissioner of the U.S. Office of Patents said, "everything that can be invented has been invented." If he had been right, today there would be no television, computers, space shuttles, or popsicles! Everything new or unique that has been made by people is an invention. People have been inventing since the human race began and still continue to invent today. August is National Inventors' Month. Throughout this month people can learn lots more about inventors and all types of inventions!
The Idea
How do people form ideas for inventions? There is an old saying that "Necessity is the Mother of Invention." This means that people often see a need for a certain item or process and decide to invent something to fill that need. Inventors need to plan for a long time and have to try many times before they can get their invention to work properly.
For centuries, people had been trying to build a machine that could fly. Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright spent many years building balloons and kites before they built the first airplane. Their invention was very special because it was the first flying machine that was heavier than air and could be controlled by the pilot. The first flight took place on December 17, 1903 and lasted 12 seconds. The Wright Brothers’ plane, the Flyer, was an important invention because it marked the beginning of human flight.


Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Glass negatives from the Papers of Wilbur and Orville Wright (reproduction number LC-USZ62-6166A)

The first airplane flight, December 17, 1903.
Not all inventions are planned. Some of the most useful products in the world today were created accidentally. In 1928 Alexander Fleming discovered the mold Penicillium notatum. By accident, he had left a sample of bacteria open, and the mold contaminated it. Fleming noticed that the bacteria surrounding the mold had died. He called the new substance penicillin. Several years later, some scientists discovered that they could use penicillin to treat bacterial infections. Fleming’s accidental discovery led to the beginning of the use of antibiotics (a type of medicine to treat infections), which are still an important part of medicine today.
The Patenting Process
When people have designed a new product or process, they want to make sure that no one else can copy it. In order to do this, inventors in the United States can apply for a patent to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. A patent grants an inventor exclusive rights to make and sell the invention. This means that no one else can use your new product or process without your permission. If someone wants to use your patented invention, they will have to pay you a permission fee to do so. A patent lasts for up to twenty years. After that, anyone can use your invention without your permission or paying a fee.
In order to apply for a patent, the inventor has to do some research to make sure that the invention is new and unique. After that, the inventor sends an application to the Patent Office explaining the invention in detail. An examiner at the Patent Office will carefully look through the application to make sure that the invention is new and useful. This can take a long time, and it is usually several months before a patent is issued to the inventor. Thousands of patents are issued every year. The very first patent was issued in 1790 to Samuel Hopkins for a new way of making soap!
Amazing Inventions!
We use thousands of inventions everyday. The following are some of the most popular inventions developed recently:
World Wide Web
Millions of people use the World Wide Web (WWW) every day at home, at school, and in the office. Tim Berners-Lee came up with the idea for the WWW while working at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. While at CERN, Berners-Lee found it difficult to share information with other scientists, and created the Web as a new way to share information. This new graphical system was very easy to use and allowed information to be shared all around the world using the Internet. The World Wide Web was first introduced in 1991, and is the fastest growing part of the Internet today.
DVD
A company named Matshusita first introduced Digital Video Disc (DVD) in 1995. It can store more information than a compact disc (CD), and has already begun to replace VHS videotapes. There are two main types of DVD: DVD-Video and DVD-Audio. DVD-Video is the disc that many people are familiar with from watching movies in their homes. DVD-Audio is similar to a music CD. Both types can also be used on a computer and will probably gradually replace CD-ROM. DVD allows a large amount of high-quality information to be stored at little cost.
Cellular Telephones
If you look around, you will see many people having conversations on cellular telephones or cell phones. Cell phones were first introduced in 1947. AT&T and Bell Labs came up with the idea for certain radio frequency areas to be divided into "cells" to allow more phone service. In 1973 the first cell-phone call was made. In 1977 AT&T and Motorola started to build a cellular telephone market. It took many years before cell phones reached the high level of service that exists today. There are now more than 100 million cell phone users in the United States.
Thousands of creative people come up with ideas for new inventions every year. There are so many new and interesting products that each year a famous American magazine votes on its favorite inventions. In 2002, the "phone tooth" was chosen as a favorite. This is a tiny device placed in a person’s tooth so that they can receive telephone calls in secret. The device converts information into vibrations that travel from the tooth to the ear. Only the person with the "phone tooth" can hear the information! What will be the next exciting invention? Only time can tell!

Sony's SDR-4X robot

Japan's latest inventions get jiggy with it
TOKYO — Japan's top technology companies have been cooking up some weird and wonderful things — robots that sing and dance, toilets that check your blood sugar and a computer mouse that sees beneath your skin. Who knows if anybody will buy this stuff? But Japanese companies have a reputation for cool tech. Among their latest inventions:

Sony has a home entertainment robot called SDR-4X. This two-legged creature can sing and dance, its 38 body joints giving it the flexibility to boogie. The robot also can be programmed to recognize and respond to 10 faces with personalized greetings. Sony is still tinkering but says it will be able to track its interactions with different people and change its behavior to match, based on previous exchanges. If you've been nice to SDR-FX, for instance, it will greet you warmly. If you've abused it, it might respond with sadness.
SDR-4X, almost 2 feet tall, can haul. On a flat surface, it covers 55 feet a minute. On irregular surfaces, 16 feet a minute. Sony hopes eventually to sell SDR-4X as an entertainment device. But Sony hasn't figured out how to price it or where to sell it.

Matsushita is displaying a house of the future at its Panasonic showroom in Tokyo, filled with innovative gadgets.
A special recycling unit automatically separates trash. A "clothing server" helps you pick outfits that match for special occasions and even dusts pollen off your jacket if you have allergies. A special washing machine can analyze your laundry, automatically adjusting the cycle for the dirtiness of your clothes.
The "Healthy Toilet" analyzes your excrement to measure your blood sugar and body fat and sends worrisome results to your doctor via the Internet. The "3D Ergo Bed" makes sure you get a comfortable sleep if you drift off while sitting up watching a movie. The bed detects when you fall asleep and automatically reclines.
Fujitsu has come up with what it calls the "world's first eco-friendly notebook computer."
Using starch from corn, potatoes and other plants, Fujitsu developed a biodegradable plastic that encases the new laptop. If the computer winds up in a landfill, microorganisms break down the plastic into carbon dioxide and water. The biodegradable plastic is eco-responsible in other ways, too. It doesn't emit dioxins or other harmful chemicals if incinerated.
Manufacturing the special plastic requires half as much energy as conventional plastics, making the production process more environmentally friendly, Fujitsu boasts. Plus, the biodegradable plastic is just as strong as the plastic used in regular laptop computers. But Fujitsu spokesman Scott Ikeda cautions: "Don't leave it out in your yard too long."
Also from Fujitsu is a computer mouse that can verify your identity by recognizing the pattern of veins in your hand.
The identification process works like this: An infrared light on the mouse lights up your palm. Your skin emits a black reflection, producing a picture of the veins in your palm. The souped-up mouse recognizes a pattern from this picture and checks it against other patterns stored in the system.
Fujitsu says it tested 700 people with 100% accuracy and figures it can achieve an error rate of 0.5% or less. The veins in your palm are useful for verification because everyone's are unique, and they don't change as you get older.
Fujitsu reckons the technology involved will be useful for identifying computer users before letting them log on; approving e-commerce transactions; authorizing access to restricted rooms; and checking attendance at online classes, seminars or meetings.

What is ITIL?

ITIL Definition
ITIL stands for Information Technology Infrastructure Library.
The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is a framework of best practice approaches intended to facilitate the delivery of high quality information technology (IT) services.
ITIL outlines an extensive set of management procedures that are intended to support businesses in achieving both high financial quality and value in IT operations.
These procedures are supplier-independent and have been developed to provide guidance across the breadth of IT infrastructure, development, and operations.
ITIL is published in a series of books (hence the term Library), each of which covers a core area within IT Management. The names ITIL and IT Infrastructure Library are Registered Trade Marks of the United Kingdom's Office of Government Commerce (OGC).
Importantly ITIL is also recognised as an international standard, namely ISO IEC 20000.
Download ITIL Essentials Study Guide click the Link
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What is C++?
Released in 1985, C++ is an object-oriented programming language created by Bjarne Stroustrup. C++ maintains almost all aspects of the C language, while simplifying memory management and adding several features - including a new datatype known as a class (you will learn more about these later) - to allow object-oriented programming. C++ maintains the features of C which allowed for low-level memory access but also gives the programmer new tools to simplify memory management.
download C and C++ E-book click the link
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UPSC Exam Question and Answers

General Knowledge
GK
HELP
INFO Tips & Tricks
Click this link to download
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BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY

Eighteen years have gone by since the Bhopal Gas tragedy. The victims of the biggest industrial accident are yet to receive succour. “The Bhopal Gas Tragedy “ has been lost in the collective consciousness of the nation. Yes, life has to go on - we must light candles and offer prayers for the victims of September, 11 2001 - but do spare a thought for those who lost their lives in their devotion to duty.
Details click link
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The Taj Mahal: Pollution and Tourism

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Pollution is turning the Taj Mahal yellow, despite efforts by the Indian government to control air contamination around the poignant 17th century monument and keep it shimmering white, a parliamentary committee has said.
In a report to parliament this week, the standing committee on transport, tourism and culture said airborne particles were being deposited on the monument's white marble, giving it a yellow tinge.
The monument, in the northern city of Agra about four hours drive south of the capital, was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz Mahal.
Authorities have made various attempts in the past to keep the area around the Taj Mahal pollution free, including setting up an air pollution monitoring station in Agra.
But the committee said that while air pollutants such as sulphur dioxide and nitrous oxide gases were generally within permissible limits, "suspended particulate matter" had been recorded at high levels except during the rainy season.
It suggested a clay pack treatment that is non-corrosive and non-abrasive be carried out to remove deposits on the marble. "The committee recommends that while undertaking any conservation activity at the Taj Mahal, abundant cautions should be taken to retain the original glory of the shimmering white marble used in this."
Attracting around 20,000 visitors every day, the monument was completed in 1648 after 17 years of construction by 20,000 workers.
Get case details Click link
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Effects of Soft Drink Consumption on Nutrition and Health

Effects of Soft Drink Consumption on Nutrition and Health:
A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Lenny R. Vartanian, PhD, Marlene B. Schwartz, PhD, and
Kelly D. Brownell, PhD they displace other foods and beverages
and, hence, nutrients; whether they contribute to
diseases such as obesity and diabetes; and
whether soft drink marketing practices represent
commercial exploitation of children.3–5
The industry trade association in the
United States (the American Beverage Association,
formerly the National Soft Drink Association)
counters nutrition concerns with several
key points: (1) the science linking soft
drink consumption to negative health outcomes
is flawed or insufficient, (2) soft drinks
are a good source of hydration, (3) soft drink
sales in schools help education by providing
needed funding, (4) physical activity is more
important than food intake, and (5) it is unfair
to “pick on” soft drinks because there are
many causes of obesity and there are no
“good” or “bad” foods. Similar positions have
been taken by other trade associations such
as the British Soft Drinks Association and the
Australian Beverages Council.
Legislative and legal discussions focusing
on soft drink sales often take place on political
and philosophical grounds with scant attention
to existing science. Our objectives were to
review the available science, examine studies
that involved the use of a variety of methods,
and address whether soft drink consumption
is associated with increased energy intake, increased
body weight, displacement of nutrients,
and increased risk of chronic diseases.
METHODS
We focused on research investigating the
effects of sugar-sweetened beverages; diet
and artificially sweetened beverages are
noted only in certain cases for comparison
purposes. We conducted a computer search
through MEDLINE and PsycINFO using the
key terms “soft drink,” “soda,” and “sweetened
beverage.” We identified articles that assessed
the association of soft drink consumption with
4 primary outcomes (energy intake, body
weight, milk intake, and calcium intake) and
2 secondary outcomes (nutrition and health).
We identified additional articles by searching
each article’s reference section and the Web
of Science database. Finally, we contacted the
authors of each included article with a request
for unpublished or in-press work, and
we asked each author to forward our request
to other researchers who might have relevant
work. Our searches yielded a total of 88
articles that were included in the present
analysis.
There is a great deal of variability in research
methods in this literature. Studies
vary in their design (i.e., cross-sectional, longitudinal,
or experimental studies), sample
characteristics (e.g., male vs female, adults vs
children), and operational definitions of independent
and dependent variables. Because
such heterogeneity of research methods is
likely to produce heterogeneity of effect sizes
across studies (an effect size represents the
magnitude of the relationship between 2 variables),
we took 2 steps to assess the impact
of research method on outcome.
Initially, for each primary outcome (energy
intake, body weight, milk intake, and calcium
intake), we assessed the degree of heterogeneity
of effect sizes by testing the significance
of the Q statistic, which is the sum of the
squared deviations of each effect size from
the overall weighted mean effect size. We did
not assess the degree of heterogeneity for
Soft drink consumption has become a highly
visible and controversial public health and
public policy issue. Soft drinks are viewed by
many as a major contributor to obesity and
related health problems and have consequently
been targeted as a means to help curtail
the rising prevalence of obesity, particularly
among children. Soft drinks have been
banned from schools in Britain and France,
and in the United States, school systems as
large as those in Los Angeles, Philadelphia,
and Miami have banned or severely limited
soft drink sales. Many US states have considered
statewide bans or limits on soft drink
sales in schools, with California passing
such legislation in 2005. A key question is
whether actions taken to decrease soft drink
consumption are warranted given the available
science and whether decreasing population
consumption of soft drinks would benefit
public health.
The issue is not new. In 1942 the American
Medical Association mentioned soft
drinks specifically in a strong recommendation
to limit intake of added sugar.1 At that
time, annual US production of carbonated
soft drinks was 90 8-oz (240-mL) servings
per person; by 2000 this number had risen
to more than 600 servings.2 In the intervening
years, controversy arose over several fundamental
concerns: whether these beverages
lead to energy overconsumption; whether
668

BAN ON SMOKING PUBLIC PLACE

INTRODUCTION
Ban on smoking in public place. The people comsme cigerte in public place. This habit follow thirteen or fifteen yearsthat this habit came from forign country.most of the forigncountrystates climates is tottaly coolsnow the peoplediscover the consuming cigerte,it spreads the whole weorldand once its mingle the human lifeandthen foolow the en numper peoplealso affect be the comsume cigertte.recently the Indian government banned smoking in public only its our research topic also particularly the contact madras city only then its me doctrine research
SCOPE OF THE STUDY and other details click the link
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Credit Card Awarness

ICICI Bank uses and keeps upgrading technology to enhance the security of your account, your funds and your personal information. At the same time, various types of frauds are known to have been perpetrated the world over. While you may not have fallen prey to any of them, thankfully, it's our responsibility to make you aware of them so that you are alert of how to protect your money.
Know more.... Click the following link
http://www.4shared.com/file/72073176/cbd5b07e/credit_card.html

India is Exploring the Moon

The MoonIndia launched its first unmanned spacecraft to explore the Moon on October 22, 2008.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) calls the Moon flight project Chandrayan Pratham, which has been translated as First Journey to the Moon or Moonshot One in ancient Sanskrit.

The 1,157-lb. Chandrayan-1 was launched on a two-tyear mission on one of India's own Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) space rockets from the Sriharikota Space Center in southern India.

The spacecraft circled Earth in a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) from where it flew on out into a polar orbit of the Moon some 60 miles above the lunar surface.

The Chandrayan mission will send back to Earth high-resolution 3-D images of the moon's surface including the shadowy polar regions. It is searching for evidence of water or ice. It also will try to identify the chemical breakdown of some lunar rocks.

Chandrayan-1 carries X-ray and gamma-ray spectrometers sending data to scientists on Earth for use in a high-resolution digital map of the lunar surface. Its remote-sensing instruments are sensitive to visible light, near-infrared light, and low-energy and high-energy X-rays.
Shar Space Launch Center on Sriharikota Island off India's east coast state of Andhra Pradesh is used by ISRO to launch spacecraft on PSLV and other rockets.Chandrayaan-1 has payloads from the United States and European countries Germany, Britain, Sweden and Bulgaria. India plans to share its Moon data with NASA and other space agencies.

The European Space Agency (ESA) provided three science instruments for Chandrayan-1. They are identical to those already in orbit around the Moon on ESA's Smart 1 spacecraft, which is surveying chemical elements on the lunar surface.

The Indian lunar satellite also houses a U.S. radar instrument designed to locate water ice.

Previously, India has launched weather and communication satellites to Earth orbit.

Why send a probe to the Moon? While the South Asian nation has the second largest population on Earth, it is not a rich country with millions of uneducated and even homeless residents.

Like all other nations sending machines and people to space, India considers funding of its space program to be a matter of prestige. In making the announcement in 2003, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said a Moon flight would showcase India's scientific capabilities.

A former science minster in the Indian government, physicist M.G.K. Menon told news media then that Chandrayan-1 would "excite the younger generation." Menon also said the Moon flight would have the effect of "enormously increasing the confidence of the nation.

" ISRO said Chandrayan-1 is the first mission in "India's foray into a planetary exploration era in the coming decades." Chandrayan-1 will be the "forerunner of more ambitious planetary missions in the years to come, including landing robots on the Moon and visits by Indian spacecraft to other planets in the Solar System."

Other nations have probed the Moon. The former Soviet Union and the United States conducted the earliest lunar exploration in the late 1950s and the 1960s. Soviet spacecraft were the first to fly by, then land on, and finally orbit the moon. The U.S. Apollo flights were the first manned missions to reach the moon, culminating with six missions that set down on the surface.

Much more recently, India's Asian neighbors, China and Japan, sent spacecraft to orbit the Moon in 2007.

Conspiracy of Science - Earth is in fact growing

Southern Railway:Fare

NT Bureau Chennai, Nov 30:
Southern Railway has released its new timetable, with effect from 1 December which will be in force upto 30 June, 2007.
According to a Southern Railway press release, the new timetable will be available for sale at all leading book shops at major railway stations from today. It is priced at Rs 25.
The details available at the timetable include the second phase of speeding up of trains (as many as 242 trains are being speeded up out of which 42 trains on Southern Railway).
New trains announced in the budget 2006 and introduced, trains announced in the budget and yet to be introduced, extension of trains, extension of trains after gauge conversion, increase in frequency of trains, augmentation of trains, gauge conversion works are listed out in the new timetable.
Speeding up and conversion as super fast express trains, change in train arrival/ departure information has also been given in the new timetable.
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New to Tivoli

What is Tivoli?
IBM Tivoli® software provides intelligent infrastructure management solutions that help customers understand and proactively manage the business value of their IT systems in an on demand world. Tivoli software goes beyond the individual components of customer systems to provide integrated views for managing and optimizing critical IT systems with policy-based resource allocation, security, storage and systems management solutions.
Tivoli software leverages open systems and automation technologies to enable on demand computing with quality, scalable and reliable systems management solutions.
http://www.4shared.com/file/71201830/2d0244cd/IBM_Software_Services.html

The Invention of Paper
Written communication has been the center of civilization for centuries. Most of our important records are on paper. Although writing has been around for a long time, paper hasn't.
In fact, putting thoughts down in written form wasn't always easy or practical. Early people discovered that they could make simple drawings on the walls of caves, which was a great place for recording thoughts, but wasn't portable.
Imagine spending hours scratching a message into a heavy clay tablet and then having to transport it. That's exactly what the Sumerians did around 4000 B.C. Although this form of written communication was now portable, it still wasn't practical because of its weight.
For centuries, people tried to discover better surfaces on which to record their thoughts. Almost everything imaginable was tried. Wood, stone, ceramics, cloth, bark, metal, silk, bamboo, and tree leaves were all used as a writing surface at one time or another.
The word "paper" is derived from the word "papyrus," which was a plant found in Egypt along the lower Nile River. About 5,000 years ago, Egyptians created "sheets" of papyrus by harvesting, peeling and slicing the plant into strips. The strips were then layered, pounded together and smoothed to make a flat, uniform sheet.
No major changes in writing materials were to come for about 3,000 years. The person credited with inventing paper is a Chinese man named Ts'ai Lun. He took the inner bark of a mulberry tree and bamboo fibers, mixed them with water, and pounded them with a wooden tool. He then poured this mixture onto a flat piece of coarsely woven cloth and let the water drain through, leaving only the fibers on the cloth. Once dry, Ts'ai Lun discovered that he had created a quality writing surface that was relatively easy to make and lightweight. This knowledge of papermaking was used in China before word was passed along to Korea, Samarkand, Baghdad, and Damascus.
By the 10th century, Arabians were substituting linen fibers for wood and bamboo, creating a finer sheet of paper. Although paper was of fairly high quality now, the only way to reproduce written work was by hand, a painstaking process.
By the 12th century, papermaking reached Europe. In 1448, Johannes Gutenberg, a German, was credited with inventing the printing press. (It is believed that moveable type was actually invented hundreds of years earlier in Asia.) Books and other important documents could now be reproduced quickly. This method of printing in large quantities led to a rapid increase in the demand for paper.
Click on a link below to explore the history of papermaking!

Marxism And The Modern World
“The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways — the point is to change it."
- Karl Marx, Theses on Feuerbach XI
In many ways this statement can be seen as the force behind Marx, his thought, and the communist vision. In it there is an expression not only of his personal conviction and commitment to the betterment of the human condition, but it is also expressive of an understanding of his position in a historical progression of philosophy. It resounds with defiance, a discerning perceptiveness, and faith in a ‘partisan truth’, which is admittedly relative. Using knowledge systems passed down to him by his historical and philosophical forbearers, Marx was able to grasp the spirit of the age. His breaking from the German idealist tradition comes precisely at the point at which he wishes to transform this spirit. His belief was that, “Knowledge is only true when it helps understanding and acting at the same time.” It is often said that ‘Marx stood Hegel on his head’. From Hegel he got the dialectic but not the belief in an ideal synthesis being the end of the dialectical process. Marx’s dialectical materialism is a method, at once theoretical and practical, of understanding the world as a concrete, continuous, contiguous historical process. In other words – he gave the Zeitgeist a material basis.

His analysis and exploration of modes of production and consequent social organisation – the material Zeitgeist – is the foundation on which he explains the class struggle, dissects the bearing the economy has on social relations, and advances his vision of revolution and a communist state. Marx sought to replace philosophical and economic conclusions – which took the shape of universal maxims (that were elevated to the status of inevitable natural or scientific laws) – with a premise that all the processes humans are subject to and take part in, are no more and no less than those of nature. Humans do not exceed nature; they are reliant on it and moreover a part of it. To understand how the world has come to its present state, it is necessary to look to the past. History is an evolution of contrary lines, and to understand its movement is to be able to see antagonistic lines dialogue and collide. Whether it is in terms of how people relate to and use nature or each other. The catch phrase being – always historicize.

The most important historical development to make its mark on the age Marx lived through was the advent of the Industrial Age. With it came new technology, a new social order, a renewed emphasis on utilitarianism, and the Faustian self-made man. This altered completely the landscape of the world, and ushered in the modern era, with its phenomenal increase in rate of change. The changes were all conquering – from production and demography, to ideology and conception of the world. The scope of human ability and need grew far beyond the capacity of old modes of production. Industrialism, capitalism and mass production entirely replaced independent peasants and artisans. They created the Bourgeoisie, a class of ‘the new society’ that owned the means of production. A class that sold its soul, only to replace everything with a check book. A class that created an epoch distinct because of a “Constant revolutionising of production, uninterrupted disturbances of all social conditions, everlasting uncertainty and agitation…”

Initially it is hard to fathom how Marx, being communist, is so full of admiration for the bourgeoisie. But on closer inspection it is no longer absurd. His admiration is an acknowledgment of the role of the bourgeoisie in the evolution of history. Its foremost achievement in the eyes of Marx is that it “put an end to all feudal, patriarchal, idyllic conditions.” It had also through, “it’s reign of barely hundred years, created more massive and more colossal productive power than have all previous generations put together.” The irony of the “bourgeoisie revolution” is that the processes and tools established by it can only realise their true potential, by those who overthrow the bourgeoisie. At the core of this irony is the Faustian developer who is both the chief creator and destroyer. Once the objective of the “revolution” is realised and the world is truly modern the capitalist will become his own biggest hindrance, and will be replaced. The inherent flaw in bourgeoisie production being that humans exist for the sake of development and not development for the sake of humans. Marx says in no uncertain terms that for all their innovation, and entrepreneurship bourgeoisie society is no more than an intermediary state before communism. As Marx describes it, "Modern bourgeois society, with its relations of production, of exchange and of property, a society that has conjured up such gigantic means of production and of exchange, is like the sorcerer who is no longer able to control the powers of the nether world whom he has called up by his spells.” They conjured above all else the proletariat – their gravediggers, and Marx does not forget the bourgeoisie for this.

“Capital consists of raw materials, instruments of labour, and means of subsistence of all kinds, which are employed in producing new raw materials, new instruments, and new means of subsistence. All these components of capital are created by labour, products of labour, accumulated labour. Accumulated labour that serves as a means to new production is capital.”
Marx held that it is wrong to look at economics as a system of codified rules, as capitalist scholars and ideologues have done, rather than as a system of social relationships of production. He established that “the existence of a class which possess nothing but the ability to work is a necessary presupposition of capital.” He exposed capitalisms inherent exploitation, showing that its vision of social production is based solely on profiteering. His analysis of capitalism deconstructed its illusory claims of building a successful and equitable society. Everything that a capitalist produces has a hidden cost. This hidden cost is labour power, and it is never fully accounted for. The worker never gets adequately compensated for the work put in to production. The difference between the actual worth of the labour power and what the labourer gets compensated for is the profit margin of the capitalist. The extraction of surplus value is the basis of capitalist exploitation. Thus Marx showed that there is a direct link between how little a worker gets and how much a capitalist profits, profit and wages are in inverse proportion. As only capital can generate more capital, wealth will increasingly get concentrated among an elite few. The capitalist pays the labourer a minimum wage to ensure that the labourer will be able to continue working. He will continuously try to expand production, while attempting to preserve the status quo. “To say that the worker has an interest in the rapid growth of capital, means only this: that the more speedily the worker augments the wealth of the capitalist, the larger will be the crumbs which fall to him, the greater will be the number of workers than can be called into existence, the more can the mass of slaves dependent upon capital be increased.”

Marx saw the liberation of productive forces, from the vice like grip of capital, as the key to the emancipation of the proletariat. The people who control capital have self-serving interests at heart, and these strangle production, and society as a whole cannot be successful without freedom from capital. Capital dominates life not only in terms of production and material wealth (the base) but also in terms of its super structures (society, politics, and culture). Although Marx saw capitalism as inherently self destructive, and as embodying a kind of positive nihilism, dialectically resulting in the establishment of communism, he believed the transition to a communist way of life would not be straightforward or simple. Various battles, democratic and otherwise would have to be fought and won. But he is vehement about its eventual success, one can see this confidence in the first line of The Communist Manifesto, through a threatening and haunting image, “A specter is haunting Europe — the specter of communism.”

“The proletariat will use its political supremacy to wrest, by degree, all capital from the bourgeoisie, to centralize all instruments of production in the hands of the state, i.e., of the proletariat organized as the ruling class; and to increase the total productive forces as rapidly as possible.” It is not entirely clear what the communist state would eventually mean in practical terms. The basis of communism is often described as a fusion of English Political Economy, French Socialism, and German Philosophy. But in terms of ideology what is possibly the most lucid statement on the aim of the communist revolution is, “In place of the old bourgeois society, with its classes and class antagonisms, we shall have an association in which the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all.” The communist vision is a vision of a true peoples power that is not patronising or sentimental, although Marx probably did have the noblest of intentions at heart. It is a power born of the course of history and not of a benevolent or benign benefactor. It is the power of the seemingly inevitable flow of history, captured at its turning point. The all-encompassing nature of this transformation he captures with a haunting almost supernatural image, “All that is solid melts into the air, all that is holy is profaned, and men at last are forced to face with sober senses the real conditions of their lives and their relations with their fellow men.”

It would be difficult to say that Marx did not to some extent see himself as a revolutionary ideologue. But Marxist thought seeks to prevent any sort of reification of its conclusions. True Marxism is never static; one of its staunchest beliefs is in a constantly progressing dialectical process. Any conclusion born of a truly dialectic understanding will be entirely dynamic, and will have to move onward from Marx’s writings, although they are remarkable in many ways. History adds another layer onto its self at every turn. Marx himself was possibly less of a Marxist than most Marxists.

Marx’s arguments were of course far more complex than I have made them out to be. But I think the real allure and power of the communist vision does not lie in its philosophical merits or demerits. It’s lies in its ability to establish unequivocally that “to give up the quest for transcendence is to erect a halo around one’s own stagnation and resignation (Marshall Berman).” Marx’s own vision of the communist state was achieved through a precarious dynamic balancing of the, “pessimism of the intellect, and the optimism of the will (Antonio Gramsci).” What he has given the people of the modern world, above all else, are his questions and the means by which to see the modern world in an unapologetically clear light, the way towards finding our own precarious balance. The power of his thought is in enabling someone like Ernesto Che Guevara to say, “I knew that when the great guiding spirit cleaves humanity into two antagonistic halves, I will be with the people.”

Some Interesting Facts Here are some interesting, but true facts, that you may or may not have known.
1. The Statue of Liberty's index finger is eight feet long
2. Rain has never been recorded in some parts of the Atacama Desert in Chile
3. A 75 year old person will have slept about 23 years.
4. A Boeing 747's wing span is longer than the Wright brother's first flight.(the Wright brother's invented the airplane)
5. There are as many chickens on earth as there are humans.
6. One type of hummingbird weighs less than a penny
7. The word "set " has the most number of definitions in the English language - 192
8. Slugs have four noses
9. Sharks can live up to 100 years
10. Mosquitos are more attracted to the color blue than any other color.
11. Kangaroos can't walk backwards
12. About 75 acres of pizza are eaten in in the U.S. everyday
13. The largest recorded snowflake was 15in wide and 8in thick. It fell in Montana in 1887
14. The tip of a bullwhip moves so fast that the sound it makes is actually a tiny sonic boom.
15. Former president Bill Clinton only sent 2 emails in his entire 8 year presidency
16. Koalas and humans are the only animals that have finger prints
17. There are 200,000,000 insects for every one human
18. It takes more calories to eat a piece of celery than the celery had in it to begin with.
19. The world's largest Montessori school is in India, with 26,312 students in 2002
20. Octopus have three hearts
21. If you ate too many carrots, you'd turn orange
22. The average person spends two weeks waiting for a traffic light to change.
23. 1 in 2,000,000,000 people will live to be 116 or old
24. The body has 2-3 million sweat glands
25. Sperm whales have the biggest brains; 20 lbs
26. Tiger shark embroyos fight each other in their mother's womb. The survivor is born.
27. Most cats are left pawed
28. 250 people have fallen off the Leaning Tower of Pisa
29. A Blue whale's tongue weighs more than an elephant
30. You use 14 muscles to smile and 43 to frown. Keep Smiling!
31. Bamboo can grow up to 3 ft in 24 hours
32. An eyeball weighs about 1 ounce
33. Bone is five times stronger than steel.