Tehnički fakultet „Mihajlo Pupin“ Zrenjanin2007/08.

Engleski jezik 4

1. Tenses2. Conditionals3. Translation

Dr Tobolka Erika

1. Tenses

Potrebno je znati sledeća vremena:1. Present Simple Tense2. Present Continuous Tense3. Past Simple Tense4. Past Continuous Tense5. Present Perfect Tense6. Past Perfect Tense7. Going to(Gradivo je obradjeno u Engleskom jeziku 1.)

2. ConditionalsKondicionalna rečenica je složena rečenica koja se sastoji od zavisne pogodbene rečenice

i glavne rečenice. Postoje tri tipa kondicinalnih rečenica:1. relana kondicionalna rečenica,2. potencijalna kondicionalna rečenica, i 3. irealna kondicionalna rečenica.

1. Realna kondicionalna rečenica – predvidja se buduća radnja ukoliko se uslovi ispune, tj.postoji mogućnost da se radnja ostvari. Realna kondicionalna rečenica se gradi:

U zavisnoj rečenici se koristi prosto sadašnje vreme (present simple tense), a u glavnoj rečenici prosto buduće vreme (future simple tense):

If I have time, I shall come. I shall come if I ahve time.If he studies hard, he will pass his exam. He will pass his exam if he studies hard.

2. Potencijalna kondicionalna rečenica – predvidja se manje realan, manje verovatan dogadjaj, radnja najverovatnije neće se dogoditi. Potencijalna kondicionalna rečenica se gradi:

U zavisnoj rečenici se koristi prosto prođlo vreme (simple past tense), a u glavnoj rečenici should/would i infinitiv glagola:

If it snowed, we should stay at home.If he studied harder, he would pass his exam.

3. Irealna potencijalna rečenica – odnosi se na prošlost i izražava samo teorijski uslov. Irealna potencijalna rečenica se gradi:

U zavisnoj rečenici se koristi pluskvanperfekat (past perfect tense) a u glavnoj rečenici should/would + have + particip prošli glagola:

If he had had enough time, he would have visited us.If I had travelled to Australia, I should have drunk Australian wine.

ExercisesType 1 1) Complete the main clause of the sentences1. If the whether is nice on Saturday, they .................... football. (play) 2. If we take a taxi, we .................... the train. (catch)3. If you read the Guardian, you .................... well informed. (be).4. If she wants to play basketball better, she .................... more. (practice)5. If Ann breaks her promise, nobody .................... never .................... her. (trust)

2) Complete the subordinate clause of the sentences1. You will ask the way, if you .................... yourself in a big city. (lose)2. We shall have a rich vocabulary, if we .................... a lot. (read)3. They will see the Eifell tower, if they .................... to Paris. (go)4. Ann won’t go to Italian restaurants, if she .................... Italian food. (like)5. Your friends will come to the dancing party tonight, if they .................... dancing. (like)

3) Complete the missing part of the clause either main or subordinate1. If grandmother .................... after her grandchildren, parents will go to work. (look)2. I will finish typing the letter if you .................... an hour. (wait)3. If you are kind to me, I .................... good to you. (be)4. If you .................... Marry, tell her I’ll come to see her. (meet)5. Tom .................... the invitation if we invite him to the party. (accept)

4) Complete the sentences1. If she .................... to buy some fresh rolls, she .................... to the baker’s. (want, go)

2. I .................... food for 2 weeks if I .................... to the shopping centre. (buy, go)3. If it ...................., children .................... snowmen. (snow, make)4. They .................... an extra prize if they .................... the tournament. (win, get)5. If I .................... Ann, I .................... her everything about Tom’s problem. (see, tell)6. You .................... everything the latest news if you .................... to the BBC news (know,

listen)7. If Jim .................... Mary out to supper, she .................... it with pleasure. (ask, accept)8. You .................... your health if you .................... a lot. (damage, drink)9. If he .................... the book so much, I .................... it to him. (like, give)10. She .................... a party if she .................... the first prize. (organize, win)

Type 21) Complete the main clause of the sentences1. If he changed his job, he .......................... harder. (work)2. If Tom won the competition he .......................... famous. (be)3. They .......................... safe if they had a dog. (feel)4. I .......................... some stocks if I were you. (buy)5. They .......................... in Australia if they knew much more about this beautiful country.

(live)

2) Complete the subordinate clause of the sentences1. If you .......................... fat food, you would be much healthier. (give up)2. He would go to hospital if he .......................... another stroke. (have)3. If I .......................... to listen to Pavarotti, I would go to his concert. (want)4. If you .......................... recommend me a good doctor, I would appreciate it. (can)5. We would see how intelligent they are if we .......................... them better. (know)

3) Complete the missing part of the clause either main or subordinate1. If he .......................... hard, he would be an excellent student. (study)2. I .......................... some flowers in front of the house if I were you. (plant)3. If only a small amount of power was generated by the wind, it .......................... more

economical. (be)4. The whole would fall into pieces if you .......................... that screw. (remove)5. If I lived nearer to my office, I .......................... on time every day. (arrive)6. I would not drink that beer if I .......................... you. (be)7. All the steam .......................... out if you removed the cover. (come)8. If I .......................... money, I would travel around the world. (have)9. The workers .......................... more if they worked overtime. (earn)10. If I had a computer I .......................... a connection to the Internet. (have)

4) Complete the sentences1. More tourists .......................... to this historical place if it .......................... a better hygienic

conditions. (come, have)2. If I .......................... you, I .......................... these mushrooms. (be, eat)3. I .......................... to the States if I .......................... chance. (go, have)4. If the manager ..........................the e-mail, he .......................... answer to the customer

immediately. (receive, give)5. If the wind .......................... so hard, we .......................... to the open air ice-rink. (not blow,

go)6. She .......................... with us to the cinema if she .......................... time. (come, have)7. If we .......................... out with him he .......................... very happy. (go, be)8. I .......................... Russian if I .......................... more time. (study, have)9. If she .......................... him better she .......................... out with him. (know, go)10. We .......................... for the excursion if they .......................... us earlier. (go, tell)

Type 31) Complete the main clause of the sentences1. If I had been hungry, I ....................................... the state bread. (eat)2. If the road hadn’t been wet, he ....................................... the animals crossing it. (avoid)3. If George had known Mary’s address, he ....................................... it to us. (give)4. If I had had a bit more time, I .......................................more for the exam. (study)5. If the tourists had taken the guide’s advice, they ....................................... themselves in the

city. (loose)

2) Complete the subordinate clause of the sentences1. If she ....................................... seat belt, she wouldn’t have been injured. (fasten)2. If I ....................................... the necessary qualifications, I would have got the job. (have)3. If I ....................................... your address, I would have written an e-mail to you. (loose)4. If we ......................................., the problem with the car, we wouldn’t have missed the

speech. (have)5. If I ....................................... that you were ill, I would have visited you. (know)

3) Complete the missing part of the clause either main or subordinate1. I shouldn’t have let him to swim in that dangerous rapids if I ....................................... that he

couldn’t swim. (know)2. If the lecturer had spoken more slowly, the audience ....................................... him.

(understand)3. If the tourists ....................................... the directions, they wouldn’t have lost their way.

(follow)4. The children wouldn’t have had any troubles if they ....................................... their parents

advice. (take)5. If our basketball team had practice more, we ....................................... the championship.

(win)6. If I ....................................... the gas before I started, I would have realized that there wasn’t

enough to get to the seaside. (check) 7. If you had asked his permission to borrow his car, he ....................................... it to you.

(give)8. The roses wouldn’t have faded so quickly if she ....................................... them into fresh

water every day. (put)9. If my car hadn’t broken down, I ....................................... on time for the lectures. (arrive)10. If you ....................................... a plumber to fix the water pipes, we wouldn’t have had so

many problems with the plumbing. (find)

4) Complete the sentences1. If I ....................................... in such a hurry, I ....................................... the lights on. (not be,

leave)2. You ....................................... an engineer now if you ....................................... all your

exams. (be, pass)3. If Tom ....................................... Ann before, he ....................................... her. (meet, marry)4. I ....................................... the exam if you ....................................... me. (pass, help)5. If I ....................................... the eight o’clock news, I ....................................... everything

about the earthquake. (watch, know)6. They ....................................... him on a business trip abroad if he .......................................

English better. (send, speak)7. If I ....................................... came, I ....................................... pictures of the beautiful

countryside. (have, take)8. There ....................................... so many mistakes in your essay if

you ....................................... harder. (bee, study)

9. If he ....................................... me, I ....................................... my work. (help, finish)10. He ....................................... his essay better if he ....................................... a lot. (write, read)

Mixed types: 1. Will you help her if she ......................... you to? (need)2. We ......................... around the World if we had had enough money.(travel)3. If she works hard, she ......................... a lot of money. (earn)4. If the student ......................... late, the teacher would not let him in. (come)5. I .........................you if I have more time. (visit)6. I should have run away if I......................... a group of thieves. (meet)7. If you ......................... this dress, I would show you another one. (not like)8. We ......................... the plane if we take a taxi. (catch)9. Peter would wear the suit if it ......................... him. (suit)10. If you eat too much fat food, you......................... ill. (be)11. If my parents......................... me some money, I shall go to Egypt. (give)12. We ......................... her the news if we meet her. (tell)13. If the child ......................... a cap and scarf it wouldn’t have caught a cold. (wear)14. What would you ......................... if you had been at the top of the World. (do)15. What would happen if the bridge .........................? (break)16. If the driver had seen the traffic light, there ......................... (crash)17. If the elevator ......................... we wouldn’t have come up the stairs. (work)18. Ann ......................... pleased if she meets her old friend. (be)19. I wouldn’t have been late for work if I ......................... the ring clock. (hear)20. I should be pleased if you .......................... (come)21. You would sleep much better if you ......................... a lot for supper. (not eat)22. If they ......................... the taxes, they wouldn’t have been in trouble today. (pay)23. We shall visit The Browns if they ......................... at home next Saturday evening. (be)24. If it ......................... too foggy I shall drive my car. (be not)25. If it ........................., the children would go skiing. (snow)26. I would have got the well paid job if I ......................... the necessary qualifications.

(have)27. If John ......................... Jane, he would be happy. (marry)28. We were very pleased if our school ......................... the tournament. (win)29. If the cook ......................... some species into the meal, it would taste much better. (put)30. If it had rained yesterday, we ......................... indoors. (stay)

3. Translation

Text 1MY COMPUTER, MY SELF

Of all the ridiculous ideas that come down the information highway, seat belt off, drinking heavily, veering into the sparse traffic moving in the opposite direction, there's none I find more ridiculous than this one: "The computer is our friend."

The computer is not our friend.True, the computer is a lot of things. It's a tool, for one. But so is a hammer. Is a hammer

a friend? No. It's a hammer. We use it to pound nails, and then put it away, or leave it to rust on the patio, depending on our personal skills as handy-persons. We don't have personal, deep feelings about our hammers, unless we hit our thumbs.

The computer is also, of course, the gateway to the future. That doesn't necessarily make it our friend. How many friends do you have that you can truly call "gateways to the future?" I'm betting zero, unless you've had a couple drinks, and your friend has expressed some bizarre insight into the nature of time that you'll both have forgotten by morning.

Even if you did know somebody whom you felt was a genuine gateway to the future, he or she would not be your friend. They would be your cult leader. Is the computer our cult leader? Sometimes I wonder.

The San Francisco Chronicle (a personal friend, by the way) informed me this summer that an "elite group" had gathered in San Jose for the seventh annual "New Paradigms for Using Computer Workshop." (I know it's a foolish dream, but wouldn't we have lying around, before tackling new ones?) They had gathered, it seems, to find ways to "give computers a human face." Ted Selker, an IBM fellow, said: "Computers will know us better than we know ourselves and will make the best decision for us. It's already starting to happen."

Is the computer my mom? I read on.Selker, according to the Chronicle, "...envisions a personal computer that knows when

you're happy or sad." Is the computer my therapist? I read on.Rosalind Pierce, conference presenter and professor at MIT's Media lab, said a computer

should "act like a dog." When you come home, it should wag its tail (virtually) and drop bones of data at your feet. Pierce calls this the "illusion of empathy and sympathy," which a computer will eventually give.

So the computer could be our love slave? Wow.Scientists at IBM are working on an intelligent system called Simple User Interest

Tracker (or Suitor) that tracks where a user has been on the Internet, and (using a webcam) studies the user's eye movements to determine his or her interests, needs, and impossible desires. The system is called BlueEyes.

So the computer is a sociopathic, needy lover who needs our approval to survive?The relationship is already dysfunctional, and we don't even have the bandwidth to

stream movies yet!I think we're going about this the wrong way. Maybe we should be getting emotional

input from our computers. We need to learn a little bit more about their needs and wants. I'm not talking about peripherals and add-ons, but about the soul of the machine. Who's looking to that?

And if it turns out that computers are in fact doglike in their essence, that could work to our benefit. When the screen freezes in the middle of a project, we can shake our finger at the webcam, and say in a gentle but firm tone: "Bad computer! Bad! Give me back my document or no more upgrades for three months!

Of course, we'd have to discipline ourselves as well. No upgrades for three months? Paradigms lost! But that's the price we have to pay. We must show them who's boss.

Text 2Computers Make the World Smaller and SmarterThe ability of tiny computing devices to control complex operations has transformed the way many tasks are performed, ranging from scientific research to producing consumer products. Tiny computers on a chip are used in medical equipment, home appliances, cars and toys. Workers use handheld computing devices to collect data at a customer site, to generate forms, to control inventory, and to serve as desktop organizers. Not only is computing equipment getting smaller, it is getting more sophisticated. Computers are part of many machines and devices that once required continual human supervision and control. Today, computers in security systems result in safer environments, computers in cars improve energy efficiency, and computers in phones provide features such as call forwarding, call monitoring, and call answering.These smart machines are designed to take over some of the basic tasks previously performed by people; by so doing, they make life a little easier and a little more pleasant. Smart cards store vital information such as health records, drivers’ licenses, bank balances, and so on. Smart phones, cars and appliances with built in computers can be programmed to better meet individual needs. A smart house has a built-in monitoring system that can turn lights on and off, open and close windows, operate the oven, and more.With small computing devices available for performing smart tasks like cooking dinner, programming the VCR, and controlling the flow of information in an organization, people are able to spend more time doing what they often do best – being creative. Computers can help people work more creatively.Multimedia systems are known for their educational and entertainment value, which we call edutainment. Multimedia combines text with sound, video, animation, and graphics, which greatly enhances the interaction between user and machine and can make information more interesting and appealing to people. Expert systems software enables computers to think like expert. Medical diagnosis expert systems, for example, can help doctors pinpoint a patient’s illness, suggest further tests, and prescribe appropriate drugs.Connectivity enables computers and software that might otherwise be incompatible to communicate and to share resources. Now that computers are proliferating in many areas and networks are available for people to access data and communication with others, personal computers are becoming interpersonal PCs. They have the potential to significantly improve the way we relate to each other. Many people today telecommute – that is, use their computers to stay in touch with the office while they are working at home. With the proper tools, hospital staff can get a diagnosis from a medical expert hundreds or thousands of miles away. Similarly, the disabled can communicate more effectively with others using computers.Distance learning and videoconferencing are concepts made possible with the use of an electronic classroom or boardroom accessible to people in remote locations. Vast databases of information are currently available to users of the Internet, all of whom can send mail messages to each other. The information superhighway is designed to significantly expand this interactive connectivity so that people all over the world will have free access to all these resources.People power s critical to ensuring that hardware, software, and connectivity are effectively integrated in a socially responsible way. People – computer users and computer professionals – are the ones who will decide which hardware, software, and networks endure and how great an impact they will have on our lives. Ultimately people power must be exercised to ensure that computers are used not only efficiently but in a socially responsible way.

Text 3

Network Communications

The application layer is the only part of a Communications process that a user sees, and even then, the user doesn't see most of the work that the application does to prepare a message for sending over a network. The layer converts a message's data from human-readable form into bits and attaches a header identifying the sending and receiving computers. The presentation layer ensures that the message is transmitted in a language that the receiving computer can interpret (often ASCII). This layer translates the language, if necessary, and then compresses and perhaps encrypts the data. It adds another header specifying the the language as well as the compression and encryption schemes.

The session layer opens Communications and has the job of keeping straight the Communications among all nodes on the network. It sets boundaries (called bracketing) for the beginning and end of the message, and establishes whether the messages will be sent half-duplex, with each computer taking turns sending and receiving, or full-duplex, with both computers sending and receiving at the same time. The details of these decisions are placed into a session header.

The transport layer protects the data being sent. It subdivides the data into segments, creates checksum tests - mathematical sums based on the contents of data - that can be used later to determine if the data was scrambled. It can also make backup copies of the data. The transport header identifies each segment's checksum and its position in the message.

The network layer selects a route for the message. It forms data into packets, counts them, and adds a header containing the sequence of packets and the address of the receiving computer.The data-link layer supervises the transmission. It confirms the checksum, then addresses and duplicates the packets. This layer keeps a copy of each packet until it receives confirmation from the next point along the route that the packet has arrived undamaged.

The physical layer encodes the packets into the medium that will carry them - such as an analogue signal, if the message is going across a telephone line - and sends the packets along that medium.An intermediate node calculates and verifies the checksum for each packet. It may also reroute the message to avoid congestion on the network.At the receiving node, the layered process that sent the message on its way is reversed. The physical layer reconverts the message into bits. The data-link layer recalculates the ckecksum, confirms arrival, and logs in the packets. The network layer recounts incoming packets for security and billing purposes. The transport layer recalculates the checksum and assembles the message segments. The session layer holds the parts of the message until the message is complete and sends it to the next layer. The presentation layer expands and crypts the message. The application layer converts the bits into readable characters, and directs the data to the correct application.

Text 4Safe Data Transfer

Secure transaction across the internet mve three goals. First, the two parties engaging in a transaction (say, an email or a business purchase) don't want a third party to be able to read their transmission. Some form of data encryption is necessary to prevent this. Second, the receiver of the message should be able to detect whether someone has tampered with it in transit. This calls for a message-integrity scheme. Finally, both parties must know that they're communicating with each other, not an impostor. This is done with user authentication.

Today's data encryption methods rely on a technique called public-key cryptography. Everyone using a public-key system has a public key and a private key. Messages are encrypted and decrypted with these keys. A message encrypted with your public key can only be decrypted by a system that knows your private key.For the system to work, two parties engaging in a secure transaction must know each other's public keys. Private keys, however, are closely guarded secrets known only to their owners. When I want to send you an encrypted message, I use public key to turn mz message into gibberish. I know that only you can turn the gibberish back into the original message, because only you know your private key. Public-key cryptography also works in reverse – that is, only our public key can decipher your private key's encrypton.

To make a message tamper-proof (providing itegrity), the sender runs each through a message-digest function. This funvtion within an application produces a led a message-authentication code (MAC). The system works because it's almost for an altered message to have the same MAC as another message. Also, you can't take a MAC and turn it back into the original message.

The software being used for a given exchange MAC for a message before it's encrypted, Next, it encrypts the MAC with the sender's private key. It then encrypts both the message and the encrypted MAC with the public key and sends the message.When the recipient gets the message and decypts it, they also get an encrypted MAC. The software takes the message and runs it through message-digest function that the sender used and creates its own MAC. Then it decypts the sender's MAC. If the two are the same, then the message hasn't been tampered with.

The dynamics of the Web dictate that a user-authentication system must exist. This can be done using digital certificates.A server authenticates itself to a client by inencrypted ASCII-based digital digital certificate. A digital certificate contains information about the company operating the server, including the server's public key. The digital certificate is 'signed' by a trusted digital-certificate issuer, which means that the issuer has investigated the company

operating the server and believes it to be legitimate. If the client trusts the issuer, then it can trust the server. The issuer 'signs' the certificate by generating a MAC for it, then encrypts the MAC with the issuer's private key. If the client trusts the issuer, then it already knows the issuer's public key.The dymanics and standards of secure will change, but the three basic tenetsos secure transactions will remain the same. If you understand the basics, then you're already three steps ahead of everyone else.

Text 5COMPUTER VIRUSESComputer Virus is a program that “infects” computer files (usually other executable programs) by inserting in those files copies of itself. This is usually done in such a manner that the copies will be executed when the file is loaded into memory, allowing them to infect still other files, and so on. Viruses often have damaging side effects, sometimes intentionally, sometimes not. A virus that propagates itself across computer networks is sometimes referred to as a “ Worm”, especially if it is composed of many separate segments distributed across the network.

Computer viruses are mysterious and grab our attention because every time a new virus hits, it makes the news if it spreads quickly. On the one hand, viruses show us how unknowingly vulnerable we are, but on the other hand, they show how sophisticated and interconnected human beings have become. For example, the "Melissa" virus, which became a worldwide phenomenon in March 1999, was so powerful that it forced Microsoft and a number of other very large companies to completely turn off their e-mail systems until the virus could be contained. The "ILOVEYOU" virus in 2000 had a similarly devastating effect. That's pretty impressive when you consider how simple the Melissa and ILOVEYOU viruses are!

Viruses in general are on the wane, but occasionally a person finds a new way to create one and that's when they make the news!

Computer viruses are called viruses because they share some of the traits of biological viruses. A computer virus passes from a computer to a computer like a biological virus passes from person to person. At a deeper level there are similarities as well. A biological virus is not a living thing. A virus is a fragment of DNA inside a protective jacket. Unlike a cell, a virus has no way to do anything or to reproduce by itself - it is not alive. Instead, a biological virus must inject its DNA into a cell. The viral DNA then uses the cell's existing machinery to reproduce itself. In some cases, the cell fills with new viral particles until it bursts, releasing the virus. In other cases the new virus particles bud off the cell one at a time and the cell remains alive.

A computer virus shares some of these traits. A computer virus must piggyback on top of some other program or document in order to get executed. Once it is running, it is then able to infect other programs or documents. Obviously the analogy between computer and biological viruses stretches things a bit, but there are enough similarities that the name sticks.

Traditional computer viruses were first widely seen in the late 1980s, and they came about because of several factors. The first factor was the spread of personal computers (PCs). Prior to the 1980s, home computers were bon-existent or they were toys. Real computers were rare and they were locked away for use by "experts". During the 1980s real computers started to spread to business and homes because of the popularity of the IBM PC (released in 1982) and the Apple Macintosh (released in 1984). By the late 1980s PCs were widespread in business, homes and college campuses.

The second factor was the use of computer "bulleting boards". People could dial up a bulleting board with a modem and download programs of all types. Games were extremely popular, and so were simple word processors, spreadsheets, etc. Bulleting

boards led the precursor of the virus known as the Trojan Horse. A Trojan horse is a program that sounds really cool when you read about it. So you download it. When you run the program, however, it does something uncool like erasing your disk. Trojan horses only hit a small number of people because they are discovered quickly. Either the bulleting board owner would erase the file from the system or people would send out messages to warn one another.

The third factor that led to the creation of viruses was the floppy disk. In the 1980s programs were small and you could fit the operating system, a word processor (plus several other programs) and some documents onto a floppy disk or two. Many computers did not have hard disks, so you would turn on your machine and it would load the operating system and everything else off of the floppy disk.

Viruses took advantage of these three facts to create the first self-replicating programs!

Text 6

Developments in IT

Licence to chill

Barcodes in the packaging of groceries will soon be replace with radio-frequency tags that can be read at istance and with greater reliability. As well as indicating what thc product is, the data in the tags will include additional information such the 'best before' date and even nutritional data. Now, imagine that a fridge could read these tags and keep track of the items placed there.

If an item is about to exceed its 'use by' date, the fridge tells you, and you can either use it or throw it out. Fancy something different for dinner? No problem, ask the fridge to suggest some menus based on the ingredients it knows you have in stock. Or tell the fridge the menu you require it will provide you with a shopping list of the items you don't have or order the items via email. This is the Screenfridge from Electrolux.

But why 'Screenfridge'? On the door is a touch-sensitive panel or screen that provides a means of communicating with the users. For many households, life revolves around the kitchen. This is the assumption Electrolux made in designing the Screenfridge. The same screen is a messaging centre. Since the fridge is equipped with a microphone, speaker and video-camera, you're not limited to textual information. The fridge is connected to the Internet, so it can be used to send and receive email or you could surf the Web to find a new recipe.

Many people have a TV in the kitchen, but if you already have a screen on the fridge, why clutter up the work surface with a TV? Call the Screenfridge's TV mode and watch your favourite programme on the fridge. The Screenfridge can be interfaced to a surveillance camera to check out visitors or to keep an eye on the children. Finally, the Screenfridge can perform some of the household management tasks normally associated with a PC. For example, it has a diary, address pad and a notepad.

Talking to the washingA washing machine that can communicate with the Internet using its own built-in

mobile phone has been launched Ariston. The marg herita2000.com washing machine will be able to send breakdown reports

for repair and download new washing cycles from its own website, And the householder will be able to control the washing cycle remotely using a mobile phone or by logging on to the machine's own website.

But the importance of the machine is that it is line-up of Web-connected domestic appliances thlat will be able to talk to each other using new open communication system called WRAP-WEB-Ready Appliances Protocol. Ariston will be launching a dishwasher, fridge and oven uing WRAP early next year according to Francesco Caio, head of

Ariston's parent company Merloni Elettrodomestici. Eventually it will be joined by Leon@rdo, a touch-screen kitchen computer. All the machines will communicate through the house's ring main, and to the Web through the washing machine's mobile phone.

Mr Caio believes he can sell 30 to 50,000 washing machines each year in Europe. But he must leap some big hurdles before the system can become widely accepted. WRAP is a proprietary Merloni standard, and people are unlikely to buy if locked in to Ariston for other networked appliances. Caio claims the standard is open to other manufacturers to adopt but so far none have signed up, whereas the huge Japanese manufacturers are adopting rival systems. The main obstacle is the cost - the margherita2000.com will cost much more than a traditional washing machine.

Dawn or me cyberbabesStratumsoft are developing the first electronic virtual assistant, or EVA. If EVAs live up

to the developers' claims, they could provide the illusion of personal service without the cost. Call centres, online advertisers and Internet service providers are among the initial targets. Eighty per cent of all centre requests could, Stratumsoft argues, be dealt with by an EVA. E-commerce is another application. 'The best experience you can have as a shopper is personal contact, and EVA is designed to give that', says Stratumsoft's director of marketing.

The technology behind EVA combines two lobal trends in website design. One, developed out of the computer animation and gaming idustry, is the ability to give Web images the impression of three dimensions. The other is the use of dynamic database skills and artificial itelligence-style searching to retrieve informationfrom data banks.Each EVA can be programmed with information such as a product catalogue, answers to frequently asked questions or an online encyclopaedia. It is also equipped with a search engine to interpret customer requests made in colloquial language. Queries are typed in and answered via on-screen text boxes.

If the EVA does not have an answer, it will interrogate the questioner, record the response, and add the answer to its database for future enquiries. EVAs are not fully animated to imitate human features but they can be programmed to gesture and imitate different moods. An EVA is run via a Java applet - a small, self-contained program coded to download on to any type of personal computer rather than being transmitted over the Internet.

Ananova

Ananova is the world's first digital newsreader. She as created to front an Internet 24 hours a day news service by Digital Animations Group, a Scottish 3D digital entertainment company and PA New MediaMark Hird, Director of PA New Media said, We have given her a full range of human caracteristics after researching the personality most people want to read news and other formation. Ananova has been programmed to deliver breaking news 24 hours a day via the Internet, and later on mobile phones, televisions and other digital devices.'The Ananova character fronts a computer system which is constantly updated with news, sport, share prices, weather and other information. This is converted into speech while another program simultaneously creates real-time animated graphics. This ensures that the virtual newscaster can be on top of the news as it breaks, with very little delay at all. People using the service can also tailor their own news bulletins by using search words to hear the latest information on their chosen subjects.Mr Hird believes the invention will dramatically change the role of the traditional newscaster, 'In 20 years time we could be seeing that type of job being replaced by computer-generated images.' But not evervone agrees. Professor Bili Scott said that people prefer people to teach them things and in a world where information was increasingly important, an established face was important in terms of public trust. 'You don't get that confidence with computer characters.'

The rise of the robotsJapan produced the first commercially available robotic pat, called Aibo, a small electronic dog that several owners on Aibonet.com describe as part of the family. Aibo is not alone. Dr Thomas Consi of MIT has oroduced the 'robolobster' which is capable of imitating lobsters' abilities to sense chemicals in the water surrounding them. Researches at Edinburgh's Mobile Robot Group have made the world's first cyber-cricket. These machines are important because they simple processes can result in complex behaviours. The robots use 'neural nets', connected processors that have an input level associated with each processor. When an input signal exceeds certain value, the processor 'fires' a signal tp other processors as output. Because neutral nets can recognise patterns in data, they can be trained with samples of data which are then revised to improve the response. The most important crossover, however, is not between animal and robot but between man and machine. Quadriplegics and paraplegics have been testing computer connections for some time to bypass injured nerves, but Professor Kevin Warwick, head of the Department of Cybernetics at the University of Reading, is currently conducting experiments which could lead to more of us becoming cyborgs.Professor Warwick has previously had a chip fitted into his arm vvhich could activate sensors in doors and computers as he approached. He will soon have another transponder surgically implanted in his arm to rccord electrical signals controlling his movements, which can be played back so that he is then controlled by a prerecorded self. He predicts that such a technology could, one day, enable us to interact with machines in a completely different way. For example, we could soon be driving cars without steering wheels.

Sporting robots

Each year teams take part in an international foottball competition. The teams are organised into five leagues and the prize is a cup. Not just any cupp, but the Robocup, for the players are all robots. They don't play on turf but the objective is the same, to hit a ball into a goal. The aim behind the Robocup is to promote the development of robots which can work together. Football is a test of co-operation for any team and the robots are no exception. Although robot footballers are poor competition for a human team, each year their performance gets better and each year the standards expected are raised so that competitors must constantly develop better hardware and software.

The top league is the Sony legged robot division. They use modified versions of the well-known Sony robodog AIBO. A humanoid league will start as soon as there are sufficient two-legged players. The organiser of the Robocup is confident in the future of robotics, 'By mid-21st century, a team of fully autonomous humanoid soccer players will win a soccer game, complying with the official rules of FIFA, against the winner of the most recent World Cup.'Other sporting events for robots exist. For example, The British Association for the Advancement of Science organises a two-a-side event called Robot Volley Ball. The players' task is simply to return a ball within 60 seconds of its being served. The objective again, is to promote the development of robots which can work co-operatively. The advantages of having robots which can tackle a range of tasks together rather than constructing single expensive robots designed for one task only are obvious.

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HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED!10 years ago...An application was for employment.A program was a television show.Windows were something you hated to clean.A keyboard was a piano.A cursor used profanity.Memory was something you lost with age.A CD was a blank account.And if you had a 3 ½ floppy you hopped no one found out Compress was something you did to garbage.If you unzipped in public you went to jail. Log on was adding wood to a fire.A hard drive was a long trip on the road.A mouse pad was where a mouse lived.And a backup happened to your toilet.Cut you did with scissors. Paste you did wtih glue.A web was a spider’s home.An a virus was the flu!!!.WOW HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED!

HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED!10 years ago...An application was for employment.A program was a television show.Windows were something you hated to clean.A keyboard was a piano.A cursor used profanity.Memory was something you lost with age.A CD was a blank account.And if you had a 3 ½ floppy you hopped no one found out Compress was something you did to garbage.If you unzipped in public you went to jail. Log on was adding wood to a fire.A hard drive was a long trip on the road.A mouse pad was where a mouse lived.And a backup happened to your toilet.Cut you did with scissors. Paste you did wtih glue.A web was a spider’s home.An a virus was the flu!!!.WOW HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED!

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VON NEUMANN, JOHN(1903-1957)

1. The following puzzle was put to von Neumann, who had a reputation for calculating fabulously quickly: two cyclists are cycling toward each other, starting twenty miles apart, and cycling at a steady 10 m.p.h. A fly meanwhile starts from the nose of one cyclist, flies at steady 15 m.p.h. to the nose of the other cyclist, and then back to the first, and so on, until the cyclists meet. How far does the fly travel? Von Neumann gave the correct solution instantly, whereupon the poser said, in a disappointed tone of voice, "Oh, you know the trick!" Replied von Neumann, "What trick? I just added up the infinite series!"The 'trick' to which the poser referred is to argue that the fly is flying for the whole of the one hour before the cyclists meet, and so it flies a total of 15 miles. No further calculation is necessary.2. Von Neumann supposedly had the habit of simply writing answers to homework assignments on the board (the method of solution being, of course, obvious) when he was asked how to solve problems. One time one of his students tried to get more helpful information by asking if there was another way to solve the problem. Von Neumann looked blank for a moment, thought, and then simply answered, "Yes". 3. The noted mathematician John von Neumann was an incurable practical joker. During World War II, when he constructed his famous electronic brain for the government, he identified it on delivery as Mathematical Analyser, Numerical Integrater, and Computer. Scientists worked with it for several days before they realized that the first letter of the name its inventor had given it spelled MANIAC.4. At the age of six, he was able to exchange jokes with his father in classical Greek. The Neumann family sometimes entertained guests with demonstrations of Johnny's ability to memorise phone books. A guest would select a page and column of the phone book at random. Young Johnny read the column over a few times, then handed the book back to the guest. He could answer any question put to him (who has number such and such?) or recite names, addresses, and numbers in order. 5. Johnny was the only student I was ever afraid of. If in the course of a lecture I stated an unsolved problem, the chances were he'd come to me as soon as the lecture was over, with the complete solution in a few scribbles on a slip of paper. 6. Driving isn't rocket scienceVon Neumann liked to drive, but he didn't do it well. There was a "von Neumann's corner" in Princeton, where, the story goes, his cars repeatedly had trouble. His explanation for such crack-ups was like this: "I was proceeding down the road. The trees on the right were passing me in orderly fashion at 60 miles an hour. Suddenly one of them stepped in my path. Boom!"7. Absent-mindedAccroding to von Neumann's wife Klára, he left their Princeton house one morning to drive to a New York appointment and then phoned her when he reached New Brunswick to ask: "Why am I going to New York?"Paul Richard Halmos, von Neumann's assistant relates a story about one afternoon when he drove von Neumann to his house. "Since there was to be a party there later, and since I didn't trust my self to remember exactly how I got there, I asked how I'd be able to know his house when I came again. 'That's easy,' he said; 'it's the one with that pigeon sitting by the curb.'"8. Priest for a mathematicianDying from cancer in the hospital, von Neumann requested a priest but "one that will be intellecutally compatible."