Start every day with a smile and get it over with.
~W.C. Fields

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TV's Top Stars strutted their stuff in a big, bare way as low-cut V-necks and halter tops dominated the red carpet at Sunday's 58th annual Primetime Emmy Awardsin Los Angeles. Other fashion flashes: purple, red and white were the top color choices; metallic beading drew eyes to all the right places; and soft, sexy, piled-high hairdos helped actresses keep their cool on an unusually hot night.

As I was watching the encore on Channel 5 at 10pm, I was simply mesmerised by all the beautiful dresses and matching acessories. Evangeline Lilly from " LOST" scored high marks from the fashion critics, She was stunning in a cross pleated purple dress which seemed to float dreamily to the floor.

Alright, enough on the fashion. Lets get down to business.

The idea that television is not the dominant entertianment medium that it used to be was acknowledged with a humourous look at the Internet, video games and other attention grabbers that have been taking growing numbers of viewers away from the network television. " At this very moment your kids are on YouTube watching a cat on the toilet instead of watching that footage where it belong: on the Fox network," Conan O'Brein, the host for the evening, said jokingly.

Since a new voting system determined nominees in particular categories (mostly lead acting and outstanding series categories) by a "blue ribbon" panel of judges, it resulted in the surprising exclusion of popular shows such as Desperate Housewives and Lost, and actors like Hugh Laurie from House. This caused major disappointment and shock to the “Lost” and “Desperate’ fans.

Anyway, for those who missed the show, here is the list of the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards Winners.

DRAMA SERIES - "24," Fox

COMEDY SERIES - "The Office," NBC

MINI-SERIES - "Elizabeth I," HBO

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE - "The Girl in the Cafe," HBO

VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SERIES - `The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," Comedy Central

REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM - "The Amazing Race," CBS

ACTOR, DRAMA SERIES - Kiefer Sutherland, "24," Fox

ACTRESS, DRAMA SERIES- Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," NBC

SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA SERIES - Alan Alda, "The West Wing," NBC

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA SERIES - Blythe Danner, "Huff," Showtime

ACTOR, COMEDY SERIES - Tony Shalhoub, "Monk," USA

ACTRESS, COMEDY SERIES - Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "The New Adventures of Old Christine," CBS

SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY SERIES - Jeremy Piven, "Entourage," HBO

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY SERIES - Megan Mullally, "Will & Grace," NBC

ACTOR, MINI-SERIES OR A MOVIE - Andre Braugher, "Thief," FX Network

ACTRESS, MINI-SERIES OR A MOVIE - Helen Mirren, "Elizabeth I," HBO

SUPPORTING ACTOR, MINI-SERIES OR A MOVIE - Jeremy Irons, "Elizabeth I," HBO

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, MINI-SERIES OR A MOVIE - Kelly Macdonald, "The Girl in the Cafe," HBO

PERFORMANCE, VARIETY OR MUSIC PROGRAM - Barry Manilow, "Barry Manilow, Music and Passion," PBS

DIRECTING, COMEDY SERIES - "My Name Is Earl," pilot NBC

DIRECTING, DRAMA SERIES - "24," "7:00 - 8:00 A.M.," Fox

DIRECTING, VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY PROGRAM - "78th Annual Academy Awards," ABC

DIRECTING, MINI-SERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL - "Elizabeth I," HBO

WRITING, COMEDY SERIES - "My Name Is Earl," Pilot, NBC

WRITING, DRAMA SERIES - "The Sopranos," "Members Only," HBO

WRITING, MINI-SERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL - "The Girl in the Cafe," HBO

WRITING, VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY PROGRAM - "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," Comedy Central

And check out all about the 58th annual Emmy's Awards news from world-wide newspapers and image editions at Newsbank eDatabase which can be found at www.nlb.gov.sg .

Direct Link: (1) '24' Is Among the Big Winners as Television Presents Its Emmy Awards, New York Times, The (NY)
August 28, 2006, Author: EDWARD WYATT, Newsbank database, image edition
(2) Picture taken from Morning Bulletin (Australia) , Image Edition, Newsbank Database.

Posted by digitalk team at 02:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk."
Thomas A. Edison

Posted by digitalk team at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The “4 Million Smiles” campaign was launched on the 11th June 2006 by Singapore’s Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong in conjunction with the Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group. This is just one of the smaller campaigns under the big umbrella of Singapore 2006 which is considered a mega happening in the nation.

Singapore is a hub for many major events. So why is everyone extra excited about Singapore 2006?

Singapore 2006 will be the single largest international event our country has ever organised. When Singapore won the bid to host it 4 years ago, it recognised that the magnitude and significance of this event would firmly establish Singapore on the world map as a global city. Many leaders from government, business and finance will be attending the Annual Meetings. Not only would they be exchanging views on the global economy, but also absorbing impressions about ASEAN and Singapore.

But why do the IMF’s and the World Bank Group’s impression on Singapore matters?

Here are some fast facts about these VIPs so you can have a better understanding.

1. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank were both conceived at an international conference convened in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, U.S.A. in July 1944. The 45 governments represented at that conference sought to build a framework for economic cooperation that would avoid a repetition of the disastrous economic policies that had contributed to the Great Depression of the 1930s.

2. The common goal of the IMF and the World Bank is to raise living standards in their 184 member countries.

3. The IMF focuses on ensuring the stability of the international financial system, while the World Bank concentrates on long-term economic development and poverty reduction.

4. IMF's main responsibilities are:
§ Promoting international monetary cooperation;
§ Facilitating the expansion and balanced growth of international trade;
§ Promoting exchange stability;
§ Assisting in the establishment of a multilateral system of payments; and
§ Making its resources available (under adequate safeguards) to members experiencing balance of payments difficulties.

5. The World Bank:
§ Its mission is to help reduce poverty.
§ Seeks to help those people through our support for social services like health, nutrition, and education as well as for infrastructure and policies to improve governance and fight corruption.
§ World’s largest external funder of education
§ One of the world’s largest external funder in the fight against HIV/AIDS
§ One of the largest international funders of biodiversity projects

This will be a wonderful opportunity for us to share with the world what Singapore is about - a people of many races and religions living together in harmony; a modern and cosmopolitan city; an energetic and forward-looking society; an open and vibrant economy. What we are today is a testament to how we have survived the storms since getting our independence in 1965.

In his speech for the launch of the “4 Millions Smiles” campaign, Lee Hsien Loong said, “Let us give a special welcome to our visitors in September. Let our smiles reflect not just our hospitality and friendliness, but also the spirit, warmth and unity of our people.”

So come on Singapore say “Cheese”!

Direct Links:
(1) Speech by Singapore Prime Minister during the launch of "4 Million Smiles" located at: http://www.singapore2006.org/sections/media/release_folder/speech/sp11062006.html
(2) International Monetary Fund website:www.imf.org
(3)World Bank Group website: www.worldbank.org
(4) Smiley picture taken from: web.njit.edu/~kxo5044/singapore/memoirs.html

Posted by digitalk team at 09:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"It's just the same as the real world" - is now a well-worn phrase with regard to cyberspace, the virtual universe or whatever you choose to call it. Well, of course it isn't the real world - but there are ways in which it can intrude into your real world which can be quite disturbing. This is raising concerns worldwide, particularly for parents, who want to be sure that their online offspring are as safe on the Web as they are in their home. But fear not! help is at hand for parents, sons and daughters- without the need for round-the-clock surveillance.

There are a range of options for younger children: whether it is Dongle the Rabbit helping you navigate the perils of the WWW to a hiphop beat and a scratching crocodile or, in a slightly more serious mode, ThinkYouKnow and Childnet's Kidsmart both show how kids can have fun and stay in control online while clueing you in on how to report when you feel uncomfortable with someone or something.
All of these sites cater for older kids too with lots of practical advice on how to cope with chatrooms and deal with online bullying. The BBC site helpfully splits its advice into lads and girls areas recognising the different situations which can occur. ThinkYouKnow has come up with a tips Top Ten for teens and tinies. Childnet draws the line between your life and your cyberlife suggesting you leave your cybermates in cyberspace - as the saying goes "on the Internet, no one knows if your a dog!" The BBC Webwise site offers golden rules for safe chatting

ThinkYouKnow and SUSI (in five languages) gets parents tuned in online safety issues so that they can offer balanced advice and not sound too fuddy-duddy. Childnet also have a section for teachers underlining the need for quality tutoring in schools promoting responsible use of computers and mobile devices. The Kid Smart site offers suggestions as to how libraries can play their part in bringing up the issues and encouraging positive cyberhabits. The Community Advisory Committee (CAC) which includes Parents Advisory Group for the Internet (PAGi) gives advice in Singapore although digi.talk was not able find an existing web address for them.

Currently education is the key to encourage people, old and young, to treat the Web as a part of their general social environment and to know that there are just as wide a range of choices and decisions to be made as in the everyday physical world. But, as with all things, more hi-tech solutions are being saught which strive to make our online lives more secure. Net-IDrefers to itself as "the first Internet Age and Identity Verification System" which validates the identities of individuals of all ages. Currently Net-ID itself is only available by subscription (around US$20) in UK, USA, Australia and Canada. It seems likely that the take-up will grow or other providers will come in with their own solutions to the burning ID question.

A safety-first approach to the Internet where especially, but not exclusively, young people know the risks and boundaries is becoming an integral part of Internet life. The message currently is not regulation and policing but awareness-raising and the promotion of responsible attitudes. After all the Internet is a astonishing phenomena and one of the great human endeavours perhaps if it can thrive through the common sense of its users the rest of the 21st Century "real world" will pick up a few tips!

Posted by digitalk team at 05:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This notion of self-publishing, which is what .....blogging [is] really about, is the next big wave of human communication. The last big wave was Web activity. Before that one it was e-mail. Instant messaging is an extension of e-mail.
Eric Schmidt- CEO of Google

Posted by digitalk team at 01:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Many of you must have been wondering what's the sudden fuss about blogs. Let us the enlighten you about the current buzz.

Definition of Blog
Blog, which is a shorter term for weblog, is basically a journal that is available on the web. It is also known as a frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts and Web links. The activity of updating a blog is "blogging" and someone who keeps a blog is a "blogger." Blogs are typically updated daily using software that allows people with little or no technical background to update and maintain the blog. Entries contain commentary and links to other Web sites, and images as well as a search facility may also be included. A blog with video clip entries instead of text is a "video Weblog". People maintained blogs long before the term was coined, but the trend gained momentum with the introduction of automated published systems, most notably Blogger at blogger.com.
Source: Google’s Web Definition of Blogging

How has blogging affected our lives?
A blog is often a mixture of what is happening in a person's life and what is happening on the Web, a kind of hybrid diary/guide site, although there are as many unique types of blogs as there are people. Blogs are often (but not always) written on a particular topic. There are blogs on virtually any topic you can think of. From photography, to spirituality, to recipes, to personal diaries to hobbies - blogging has as many applications. Whole blog communities have sprung up around some of these topics putting people into contact with each other in relationships where they can learn, share ideas, make friends with and even do business with people with similar interests from around the world. Even some government bodies have started blogging about their services.

Singapore’s Prime Minster Lee Hsien Loong, in his National Day Rally speech, emphasized the need to embrace and take full advantage of the digital technologies. He was even pleased to showcase some of the interesting blogs that he came across.

Taking a cue from him, the local newspapers highlightedgovernment agencies that have adopted the blog to communicate with customers. NLB’s very own blogs are in the spotlight in yesterdays’s newspapers (check out the article at Newsbank where digital versions of international newspapers are updated daily).

Looks like blogging is the way to go! (until some other wonderful innovation takes its place, of course).

Direct Links: (1) Goh Chin Lian,Blogging: Govt agencies getting into the act, Straits Times, The (Singapore)
August 23, 2006, Newsbank Database.

Posted by digitalk team at 03:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The gift of a common tongue is a priceless inheritance and it may well some day become the foundation of a common citizenship.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill, speech at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, September 6, 1943.-Winston S. Churchill: His Complete Speeches, 1897-1963, ed. Robert Rhodes James, vol. 7, p. 6825 (1974).

Posted by digitalk team at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We've been using it for a few years but now - it's official! - Google is a verb - whether that is in the lower case preferred by the Merriam Webster Dictionary where it is a transitive verb meaning "to use the Google search engine to obtain information about (as a person) on the World Wide Web."
or you go with the Oxford English Dictionary where the capitalisation is retained: " To use the Google search engine to find information on the Internet. or {trans.) To search for information about (a person or thing) using the Google search engine.

Google follows a minor tradition of trademarks turning into everyday words:
Aspirin has its earliest beginnings in the Ancient Egyptian recognition of the usefulness of willow bark for the treatment of rheumatism. In 1921 it became a U.S. trademark after it was determined that the abbreviation for acetylsalicylic acid had become a generic term. In modern times it has perhaps been overtaken by phrases such as "take a painkiller" but aspirin still has a large degree of public recognition

Band Aid (1)its roots were based in an idea from Earle Dickson, a cotton buyer for the Johnson & Johnson Group in response to his wife cutting her fingers in the kitchen while preparing food. Band Aid has US roots, the UK equivalent being Elastoplast but it's use has moved into the language as a euphemism for a temporary solution
Hoover this one started life in 1908 as a "first commercial bag-on-a-stick upright vacuum cleaner" in Ohio, USA. We are used to a sleek design(2) these days earlier model was the size of a modern day SUV and required four people to run it

Kleenex
was invented as a means to remove cold cream. Early advertisements linked Kleenex to Hollywood makeup departments and sometimes included endorsements from movie stars (Helen Hayes and Jean Harlow) who used Kleenex to remove their theatrical make-up with cold cream.

Rollerblade (3)
Started by two Minnesotan brothers, Scott and Brennan Olsen, by adapting in-line skates for hockey. Hockey players were followed by alpine and Nordic skiers and eventually Rollerblade skates have become ubiquitous on our streets and have evolved into the challenging and street credible skateboards(4)

Xerox(5)
Although these days it has been superceded by buzz word "zap" for a time this word was synonymous with photocopying, borrowing from the Xerox Corporation brand.

and and by the way there's an earlier use of google as a verb. In the early 20th century, the OED has this definition:

verb intr. Of the ball: to have a ‘googly’ break and swerve. Of the bowler; to bowl a googly or googlies; also (trans.), to give a googly break to (a ball). Hence googler, a googly bowler

DIRECT LINKS:
(1) Title: "The Band Aid."
"Pediatrics", 1 July 2006,
[from Factiva]

(2) Title: Designed For Living by Cathleen McGuigan,
Source: "Newsweek" (Atlantic Edition); 6/12/2006, Vol. 147 Issue 24, p8-8, 1/3p, 1c
[from EBSCOHost research databases]

(3) "roller-skating." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006. [from Encyclopædia Britannica Online]

(4) "Parks can't stop skaters on a roll - Some look elsewhere for tougher challenge"
Chicago Tribune (IL) - July 31, 2006

(5) Interview: Robert Alexander talks about his book "Fumbling the Future: How Xerox Invented, Then Ignored, the First Personal Computer"
NPR: All Things Considered, 24 October 2000
[from Factiva]

Posted by digitalk team at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

INVENTION offers many benefits as a unit of study. It teaches valuable process, subject integration, and critical thinking skills. It is the ground floor of an economy, and as such, offers a great way to teach about the intimate relationship between technology and our standard of living.

Teaching about invention often produces remarkable results and enthusiasm. This article provides some ideas for introducing invention into your classroom.

Writing It Down for Posterity
The fundamental bedrock for every inventor is the inventor's logbook. The logbook provides a running chronological compilation of the evolution of the inventor's creative insights, illustrative diagrams, and key conclusions. It documents the inventor's work and persistence in solving the problem at hand.

The logbook is also a legal document, recognized by the courts, that demonstrates that the inventor took an idea and reduced it to practice. This is why the chronological nature of the log is so important. It establishes the specifics of how and when an inventor reduced an idea to practice. From the logbook, a patent is ultimately written. The inventor's logbook plays as important a role as a scientist's laboratory notebook.

Start by having your students jointly identify and select a problem that needs an inventive solution. Next, have students research how inventors keep a logbook, including such concerns as what to record; the necessary diagrams and drawings; dating work; and having it witnessed and countersigned (in this case by the teacher).

Pay particular attention to your students'

• Understanding and grasp of the problem.

• Ability to clearly express their thoughts, ideas, and conclusions.

• Neatness in drawing figures, diagrams, and charts that enhance their work.

• Recording of work in chronological order with daily entries.

• Identification and documentation of new insights and ideas.

• Awareness of how the original design evolves through continuous thinking.

At the end of this design exercise, students can compare their logbooks and see:

• How they may have had similar insights and ideas (a very common occurrence).

• How similar their thinking processes may have been.

• Who best explained and captured their ideas and creativity.

• Who had a unique way of approaching the problem.

Remind students that the whole purpose of invention is to create something suitable for commerce and marketing. Inventors are business people. They sell their inventions to make money to continue their work as inventors. The more well defined the invention, the better its chances of being marketable. This is an excellent opportunity to show how our economy works, and how it depends on new ideas coming to market in the form of products and services that consumers will purchase.

Marketing the Invention
The quantification of the market for an invention is often the inventor's greatest challenge. It should be addressed as early as possible to ensure that a real portion of the buying public has an interest in a proposed invention. The act of inventing does not exist in isolation. It has a purpose. Invention plus marketability equals innovation.

Many inventors are very good at developing the technical aspects of the invention but fail when they try and assess marketability. If an invention cannot be made and sold at a reasonable price to a segment of the buying public, the inventor will not make enough money to support a development lab. The market drives the invention process. Inventors are risk-takers and investors in their own ideas and abilities to satisfy customer needs.

Return to the invention your students were working on above. This time, have them keep a logbook that details how they will market their invention. In the real world, the marketing of an invention would probably proceed in parallel with the invention's development and refinement.

In this second logbook, students will record:

• How they envision their invention being introduced into the market.

• Who they would try and sell it to (the market sectors).

• What selling features they would emphasize.

• Their selling price.

• Information sources they have consulted to determine marketability.

• Information about competing products already on the market.

• What stores or catalogs could carry their product.

• What their expected sales might be in the first year and over the next five years.

• How much money they will need to bring in to break even with their costs.

The real challenge here is for students to quantify these activities-not just speculate or make guesses. Serious research must be conducted before launching an invention in the market. Students should come to appreciate the quantification of facts and justifications involved.

Have students study recent products introduced into the market to gain insights about how they might have been evaluated. They can also look at products that did not succeed and try and understand what made them fail.

Once again at the end of this exercise, the students should compare their logbooks to learn from each other.

Ideas and Creativity
Creativity and brainstorming are the hallmarks of invention and the subject of much recent discussion in popular business magazines. First pioneered by Alex Osborn in the late 1940s and later articulated by modern-day Edward de Bono, creativity and brainstorming provide ways to generate lots of raw initial ideas when trying to invent possible solutions to a pressing problem.

Challenge your class to develop possible solutions to a specific problem. It helps if the problem hits close to home, if it is one they can readily appreciate and identify with.

This exercise will show how fast students can generate the raw ideas they will later distill down to a few serious ideas that may lead to a bona fide invention. This is the first step in the invention process.

Separate the class into two groups: students working alone and several teams of three to five students working together. Without stopping to judge or critically analyze them, have the students generate as many ideas or solutions to a problem as they can in 15 minutes. They should write their ideas down. The teams may talk and exchange ideas among themselves.

At the end of the 15-minute period, compare what the individual students produced in raw ideas with the ideas produced by the teams.

Who had more ideas?

Who had a wider variety of ideas?

Who had more complex ideas?

Who had more unique or paradigm-busting ideas?

Generally speaking, teams can produce 10-12 times more ideas than individuals because team members feed off of and improve each other's ideas. They also intermingle concepts and tend to generate hybrid solutions. When it comes to brainstorming, two heads are indeed better than one!

Many companies recognize that brainstorming and creativity are essential to the invention pool. They also acknowledge the unforgiving nature of the marketplace. The experience at Du Pont, for instance, makes this case very strongly--only about 4 ideas out of 160 initially generated at the company end up seeming good enough to succeed commercially.

My own reading of the literature indicates that, in general, only 1 new product in 50 succeeds. That means that for every item you see on the store shelf today, 49 items failed. Invention is a risky business! The U.S. Patent Office confirms this, too. Only about 1 or 2 percent of all patents succeed in the marketplace.

Inventors need to work with many ideas and concepts, because most will not survive to become full-fledged products. Just as flowers and trees scatter many seeds, only a few take root and grow to maturity.

Challenge your students to make and scatter creative seeds. Use their natural enthusiasm as fuel. Young people can be fearless and unfettered in generating raw ideas--characteristics that typify many successful inventors.

If you really want to have some fun, let the student teams compete against some teacher teams to come up with creative solutions to problems. Every time I have done this, the teachers lost big time!

Turn your classroom into a creative beehive. Unleash the inventor inside every student-doing so will energize students and teacher alike!

Direct Links:
Roman, Harry T. htroman49@aol.com, Tech Directions; Aug2004, Vol. 64 Issue 1, p17-19, 3p, 2c
EBSCOHost Academic Search Premier, &db=aph&an=14247431">Invention in the Classroom.

Posted by digitalk team at 05:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Innovation Resource Guide

Innovation is often touted recently but what is innovation exactly? Traditionally, it is commonly associated with inventors and their inventions. We would like to invite you to think otherwise. Seen from a broader perspective, a lot of things can be considered as candidates of innovation: from changing to a new work process, to writing a new book, painting a new perspective and even cooking a new dish.

At its heart, innovation is a process and a journey. NLB has specially produced this guide just for you, hoping to highlight the various milestones and pit stops that populate the landscape for people who undertake such journeys. Yes, it is possible for everyone to embark on such a journey and become an innovator – we also hopes that this guide could serve as a good starting point for your voyage.

You can get a hardcopy of this resource guide at all the library counters from the 16th August onwards. But if you are in a hurry to get on your research you can read and print out the resource guide here.

Posted by digitalk team at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"The most attractive sentences are not perhaps the wisest, but the surest and soundest."
Thoreau, Henry David (1817 - 1862), US writer, Journal, 1842