This unwieldy looking object (left) being hauled into aeroplane is, believe it or not, a 5 MB hard disk, part of a 1956 IBM computer. It weighed over a ton and could remember less than four floppy disks
If you have a shelf of much loved, but no longer played, Vinyl LP's, this is for you. In the February issue of The Oldie I show you how to turn them into nice shiny CD's, and I've posted a much longer explanation on this site, with links to more help.
As I write this, the wind and rain are lashing against my windows, and the sky is black with menace. A few hours ago I thought I would check with the Met Office website to see the prospects - and, guess what, it's blown away.
If you buy or sell on eBay, you should know about this site, as it will save you a lot of grief.
Many thanks to an Oldie reader who sent me this one - an excellent online crossword site.
Have you ever seen anyone play Mozart on wine bottles by hitting them with special attachments on the side of their roller-blades? You haven’t?
Tom Lehrer in 1960
Tom Lehrer will be known to many Oldie readers - but for the others, suffice to say that he wrote some of the wittiest and sometimes unexpectedly dark songs in the 20th Century. Born in 1928, he started writing whilst studying Mathematics at Harvard and came to international prominence in the 1960's during the satire boom. During that time he inspired (and regularly quoted) the memorable review from the New York Times: "Mr. Lehrer's muse is not fettered by such inhibiting factors as taste."
This is a splendid version of one of his less controversial, but most ingenious songs. Make sure your loudspeakers are turned on before you click on the link - then when you are there, click on either "Broadband" or "Dialup", depending on which system you have, wait for it to load, and enjoy.
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In my December column in The Oldie I discuss the merits of online groups of like minded souls sharing information and experiences. There wasn't room in the magazine to give all the links I would have liked to, so here are a few crucial ones:
Yahoo Groups This is the main Yahoo Groups page, where you need to start if you are a beginner.
Google Groups This is the equivalent service offered by Google - very similar in style, and just as good. Some say it is easier to search and find the one you want.This is the equivalent service offered by Google - very similar in style, and just as good. Some say it is easier to search and find the one you want.
MSN Groups This is the Microsoft version - just as good if you can find the sort of group you are after.
Learn Italian Group This is the group for learners of Italian that I used as an example. I have a friend who uses it a lot, and thinks very highly of it - you have to skip past the men who insist on discussing Italian football at great length, and concentrate on the mutual support it offers members.
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I don't really approve of the Amercan habit of celebrating Halloween quite so determinedly, and especially not the commercial raping of it, but my wife does grow excellent pumpkins. We prefer to eat them than hollow them out and put candles in them, so here is a site that allows us to do it online:
Once there, use the tool to carve out the bits and when finished it, press "Done" and it will light the candle. Only a small thing, but worth five minutes of your time.
Very many thanks to one of my readers for providing this wonderful list of website names that should have been thought through more carefully. Any further contributions will be most welcome – just click on “Post a comment”, or send me an email.
As I said I would love to hear of more. Do you know one?
