21h42 2008 15/09

Det är inte hela världen

... säger man ibland när man vill understryka att "det är lugnt". Fast i en bok som heter Inte hela världen, är det inte lugnt. Och det är hela världen som står på spel. För så säger Gud och Timnas pappa, Noa.

En enorm flodvåg är på väg. Endast de rättfärdiga skall räddas - alla andra är syndiga och skall dö för att sona sina brott. Noa är säker: han bygger en enormt stor ark och pressar in hela sin familj och så två djur av varje ras.

Känner ni igen historien? Den står i Bibeln. Fast där nämns bara Noas tre söner: Sem, Ham och Jafet. Det står ingenting om att han hade en dotter också. Tur att det har kommit en hel bok om dottern nu, hon hette Timna. Geraldine McCaughrean har också skrivit Det vita mörkret, som jag hyllade i februari. Inte hela världen är minst lika bra, fast förstås på ett helt annat sätt.

Jag gillar beskrivningen av hur trångt och äckligt det är på arken, det känns precis som att jag är där själv. Och FY, det är inte kul, vill jag lova. Alla är ständigt sjuka, men det är inte det värsta. Det värsta är att pappa Noa tvingar Timna och de andra att slå bort (och därigenom döda) alla människor som ber om hjälp.

Fattar ni - plötsligt måste Timna göra tvärtemot allt det hon tidigare lärt sig (bl. a. Älska din nästa såsom dig själv).

Det är inte lätt. Särskilt inte när ...

Nej, det berättar jag inte här, förstås.

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Rechercher

European university networks interconnect

To simplify a complex network architecture, the MUPBED project is initiating a vertical system. The objective: to allow users to exchange a maximum of data.

Sharing information within European university networks can be complex, especially when it comes to large data sets, such as VOIP or video. "Someone in a European university has to go through different networks and technologies before they can reach a colleague in another institution," says Jan Spaeth, coordinator of the MUPBED project. "And the problem is that often the quality of the connection does not allow them to share as much information as they would like." To find a quick and easy way to share data at these different levels, the MUPBED project was developed. The solution: find a way to vertically connect these networks. Because in order to connect researchers and professors to each other, there is a three-tiered architecture, which makes interconnectivity more difficult.

Creating links between tiers

The first tier is the network that connects a campus by linking the various research buildings and departments together. The second level is the network that connects each university network on a national scale. Finally, the highest level is the European level, which groups all the national ones. MUPBED has developed the following system: when a user does a research on a specific subject, he uses a particular bandwidth, and then an automatic connection is established between the network levels. The latter then communicate with each other, and provide the result to the user. At the heart of the solution is a network resource optimization system that ensures that bandwidth is only activated when it is needed.

Optimal capacity

The researchers tested the system by conducting video conferences between several participants spread across Europe, requiring high bandwidth. Another test was to send large data from one network to another, among the three different levels. And according to them, the results were conclusive. In each case, the applications established the links between the necessary networks using all the bandwidth they needed. Once the task was completed, the bandwidth returned to its optimal capacity and the links were broken.

iTunes U : American universities share their knowledge

Apple's iTunes Store now offers the possibility to improve one's knowledge thanks to the courses taught in the most famous American universities.

Innovating can mean creating a new product, but it can also mean finding other uses for a pre-existing product. This is the second solution that Apple has chosen with the iTunes Store, its famous music and video download catalog. The latter has been transformed into an e-learning system by integrating a new free section, iTunes U. Among other things, it offers the possibility of downloading courses from major American universities.

The university as if you were there...

iTunes U(niversity) offers users educational programs, laboratory experiments and campus visits from the largest American universities, such as Stanford, Berkeley, Duke and MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT Open Learning). But for now, all of this content is only available in English.

"The iTunes U makes it easy for anyone to access educational materials from many prestigious colleges and universities in the United States. Education is a lifelong process and we are pleased to make it possible for everyone to download courses, speeches and other academic content for free," said Eddy Cue, vice president of iTunes.

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universitets och internetteknik : våra bästa råd

The Open University creates an online environment for students with Moodle

university

Det är inte hela världen