List of 'selected signers' of ScienceDebate2008's call for a science-based debate in the upcoming election
Binging on bytes of knowledge
This is the third in a 10-part series of DID YOU KNOW questions that could change your life, big time. If you have a great DID YOU KNOW question, leave in in the comments.
DID YOU KNOW:
… that the word “byte” is a contraction of “by eight”? Well actually, the origin of the word byte is a bit more ambiguous than that. A byte - “a unit of computer information or data-storage capacity that consists of a group of eight bits” according to M-W.com - can be combined with other bytes to make megabytes, gigabytes, petabytes, and on and on and on.
Other possible origins for the word byte include:
- Byte is sometimes considered a contraction of BinarY digiT Eight (source)
- The term byte is of less certain origin, but probably was coined by someone at IBM (perhaps a Dr. Werner Buchholz) around 1964. The word byte is a play on bit. (source)
- IBM used to teach that a Binary Yoked Transfer Element (BYTE) was formed by a series of bits joined together “like so many yoked oxen.” (source)
So many bytes but I’m still so hungry. Know of any other words that have ambiguous origins?
This band from San Jose, California, was formed in 1994. They’ve gone through three different drummers, had a song featured in Shrek, and are forever going to be associated with the ’90s because of their one hugly successful song.
If you want to know who the band is, please visit the comments. Also, if you’d like me to email you the MP3 file, let me know in the comments.
Very recently, the blogosphere and Congress have been talking all about the proposed telecom immunizations from the many lawsuits they are facing. Senator Chris Dodd successfully pushed the decision to next year, but it is still disturbing how close it came to passing.
Threat Level had a great sum-up piece on this issue, and friend and blogger Kevin Donovan posted a video on his blog of Dodd making an impassioned speech about the proposed immunitity.
Please take some time to embed the above image in your blog, put in on your website, or even write about this issue. It’s an important one - one worth reading about.
TechCrunch's "Tech President" current results
Honestly, I wish Ron Paul was not on the list. It is obvious that he is the most supported on the internet, but it is also obvious that he is not a major player in the overall race. I’d rather see who, of the candidiates with a hint of a chance, has the most tech support (pun intended). (This is not to say I don’t like Ron Paul. I very much enjoyed watching the talk he gave at Google’s headquarters.)
UPDATE: I voted for Mike Gravel; click here to see his interview with Mike Arrington of TechCrunch. He’s got about 3% right now.
Thomas Hawk’s photo. Rob La Gesse said he liked the photo (click it for a bigger version), and his friend made a t-shirt for him in under two weeks. I was actually directed to this whole affair after reading the TechCrunch article about the Infamous Bubble Video Ordeal of 2007 and seeing Mr. Hawk’s comment (#46).
He’s a guy who’s made thousands of dollars off his photography, yet has no problem letting someone make a shirt. That’s cool. However, here’s an important question: What if that shirt became a bestseller on Cafepress? I wonder what Mr. Hawk would do then about asking for some payment.
Let me know what you think he’d do in the comments.