Question #474
A long long time ago, before the world of TCP/IP , or even the Ethernet, there existed Videotex. Wikipedia classifies it as an “end-user information system”. Although, in reality, it seems like an ugly child between the internet and the television.
Videotex involved text being sent over copper for display on television sets (and in some cases, telephones). Simple operations, such as a telephone directory lookup, were to be done using the service. The first envisioned Videotex service, was that of BBC, where they wished to generalize the idea of sending closed captioning information.
Videotex never really took off, except in France. This was implemented in a system known as Y. In fact, before the arrival of the Internet, nearly one million citizens of France were already on Y. Y offered services such as directory lookups, restaurant reservations, and even make online purchases. Y was retired only last month (due to plummeting sales, of course). Y = ?
Edit : In case you wonder why it died, screenshot shown below :
Question #473
This seemed to be doing the rounds on the interwebs. Thought I’d put in a question on it.
Connect to a single location/place. (I guess a more intellectual Hefner would’ve come up with this instead.)
Answer question here.
Question #472
Please post answers at the new page.
A New Home
Took a while to come up with a really cool way to announce it, but came up with squat. So here goes :
RXVL shifts to http://quiz.rxvl.in.
That’s right, we’re bidding adieu to the good ol’ WP hosting once and for all. RSS users, please point your readers to the new domain.
I have had numerous plans for changing the way the blog operates, including new ways of delivering questions. Shifting bases seemed to be the only way to go about it.
Things might be a little buggy to start off with, but with your help and support (and bug feedback), things should get a lot more fun. Here’s to a new era for RXVL!
Question #465
Answer
Cracked by Shrey Goyal, Mithilesh, Varun Karthik and Sri Bharath
Question #464
NeuroVigil was founded by Philip Low, a neuroscientific prodigy of sorts (according to the company’s history, he published a one-page PhD thesis that solved “a longstanding problem in brainwave analysis”). A neurotechnology/BCI startup, NeuroVigil’s award-winning product is the iBrain, which is a non-invasive headset that monitors (electroencephalogram) EEG signals , mostly used for the human brain. The technology has myriad applications, including carrying out EEG studies of patient pathologies, and provides features such as being able to share EEG data over the Internet (Facebook EEG updates, anyone?).
NeuroVigil’s technology has shown a lot of promise over recent weeks for a certain other application, which may (indirectly) influence science. What new application am I talking about?
Answer :
The hope is to enable Stephen Hawking to communicate using only his mind.
Some good answers, but Mr. Shrey Goyal is the lone ranger once again!
Question #463
Connect
Answer
(Quoting from Shrey) : “While JFK was serving in World War II, his boat was hit by a Japanese destroyer and his crew was stranded in the Solomon Islands. They were found by two natives, Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana, and Lieutenant Kennedy carved this Coconut shell with a message and gave it to them to deliver to the PT base at Rendova so he and his crew would be rescued. He later had the coconut shell encased in wood and plastic and used it as a paperweight on his desk in the Oval Office, and it can now be seen at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum”
