February, 2009

Apparently the oldest English words (according to Reading University researches) are “I”, “we”, “two” and “three”  dating back tens of thousands of years, (40,000)…

Also they claim words such as "squeeze", "guts", "stick" and "bad" as likely to be extinct before others…

What the researchers found was that the frequency with which a word is used relates to how slowly it changes through time, so that the most common words tend to be the oldest ones.

For example, the words "I" and "who" are among the oldest, along with the words "two", "three", and "five". The word "one" is only slightly younger.

The word "four" experienced a linguistic evolutionary leap that makes it significantly younger in English and different from other Indo-European languages

The article on the BBC web site BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | 'Oldest English words' identified is very interesting for anyone interested in languages

Rob

My Colleague Chris has just told me that we have updated the Microsoft Store (AKA MSStore) to allow you to buy Windows Anytime Upgrades.  These upgrades allow you to move one version of Windows Vista to higher spec one without having to buy the full product, and you  get DVD Media, product key and instructions in the box.

So for example you can go from Home Premium to Ultimate for £144.99*

Windows Vista: Windows Anytime Upgrade: Overview

The available options are

	Home Premium to Ultimate: You've experienced Windows Vista Home Premium and you're ready for the best of everything Windows Vista has to offer! With an upgrade to Windows Vista Ultimate, you'll have all the capabilities you enjoy in Windows Vista Home Premium-plus all the power and convenience of Windows Vista Business. PRICE: £144.99* Buy
	Business to Ultimate: When you purchase Windows Vista Ultimate with Windows Anytime Upgrade, you get the single most powerful solution for home, work, and everything in between. With the acumen of Windows Vista Business, plus the fun of Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Ultimate simply has it all. PRICE: £109.99* Buy
	Home Basic to Home Premium: Windows Vista Home Premium is simply the best system for giving you everything you need to enjoy home entertainment, with easy ways to manage your photos, videos, music, and even TV and movies. And all within a brilliant new interface that makes it fun to use. PRICE: £79.99*   Buy
	Home Basic to Ultimate: Windows Anytime Upgrade is the most affordable way to get Windows Vista Ultimate, the best of everything Windows Vista has to offer. From the stunning entertainment features that help you enjoy everything from photos to live TV, to essential work features like data protection and easy networking, Windows Vista Ultimate has it all. PRICE: £199.99* Buy

*= Prices do not include shipping  and handling or applicable taxes.

If you are not sure which version of Vista is the one for you then I can recommend Comparing Windows Vista editions as a good place to start

If you are not sure which version of Vista you are currently running then check out this very short article

Rob

Remember Kylie and Alexa and their demonstrations of how easy it is to use Windows Live products, well there now is an extension to this with them taking on some more senior citizens and seeing if they can beat them in using the products:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/rookies/

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/rookies/8v80/

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/rookies/9v90/

thanks to the LiveSide for the tip

Rob

Ok so all the talk is about Windows 7 and Windows Phone and other latest and greatest technology bla bla bla

But if you are looking for a bit of nostalgia mixed in with your current phone (if it is a Nokia N95) then check this out

‘If these screenshots are to be believed, then an ironic hacker has successfully installed Windows 3.1 onto a Nokia N95 handset. Marchin-PRV used DOSBox to emulate the x86-class processor on the Symbian handset in order to install Microsoft's 1992 OS. Totally useless, yes... and totally badazz’

Windows 3.1 running on Nokia N95 is both awesome and depressing – Engadget – check out the comments as well

Rob

The Oscar’s passed me by as usual but this article didn’t

And The Oscar For Best Search Engine For Oscar Winners Goes To … Microsoft Live & Ask.com

Nice work and kudos tot eh Windows Live Search teams

as Danny Sullivan points out ‘…these type of specific answer searches can be a habit breaker when you know to expect them consistently.’

For other smart Windows Live Search answers try

• Windows Live Search features maybe you didn’t know about
• Weather on Windows Live Search
• Cricket Scores on Windows Live Search

Rob

On Saturday morning I came across this article in the Saturday Independent discussing how the Cornish language had been declared extinct by the UN, and a couple of quotes caught my attention

‘Unesco’s director general, Koichiro Matsuura, said: “The death of a language leads to the disappearance of many forms of intangible cultural heritage, especially the invaluable heritage of traditions and oral expressions of the community that spoke it – from poems and legends to proverbs and jokes.”

There are thought to be just 300 fluent speakers of Cornish left and Jenefer Lowe, development manager of the Cornish Language Partnership, says reports of its extinction are premature. “Saying Cornish is extinct implies that there are no speakers and the language is dead, which it isn’t,”’

UNESCO say this about Cornish language:

Name of the language: Traditional Cornish (en); cornique traditionnel (fr); корнский традиционный (ru)

Vitality: extinct

Number of speakers: 0 (the death of the last speaker of traditional Cornish probably took place in 1777)

Location(s): Cornwall, England; the entry deals with traditional Cornish; Cornish is currently being revived and exists in three different versions; revived Cornish cannot be regarded as endangered as the number of users seems to be constantly growing

So it look like there may have been a little confusion here, but it is good to read about how small languages can survive and even grow even in today's generic society.

The article goes on to mention other British languages such as Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Manx and it reminded me of Microsoft's Unlimited Potential web site which is well worth checking out for its Local Language Program that ‘…represents the Microsoft commitment to helping more people worldwide benefit from technology, while striving to preserve local languages and cultural identities. This means making software available in as many languages as possible.’

Microsoft actually provides a Welsh LIP (Language Interface Pack) which can assist the over 500,000 Welsh speakers use Windows in there their chosen language, you can download the pack here (Pecyn Rhyngwyneb Iaith Windows Vista)

You can read more about UNESCO’s Atlas of the worlds Languages in Danger and view the world map in pdf and use an interactive map using Google maps to search for languages and there vitality, and read about details of each language.  Which are all pretty good resources if you are interested in this topic.

Rob

Currently I am having my kitchen refitted and today I was chatting with the electrician and he handed me his business card, which i thought was a wonderful piece of design.

I always love smart bits of marketing and I like how the idea of a business card over a standard plug works so well for his line of work.

Rob

Following on from the translation in Wales that went bad is this story being reported on the bbc

The mystery of Ireland's worst driver

It would appear that police officers where getting confused with the Polish wording for Driving License  (Prawo Jazdy), and had written tickets over 50 times to a Mr Prawo Jazdy , rather than to the real person

‘It was discovered that the man every member of the Irish police's rank and file had been looking for - a Mr Prawo Jazdy - wasn't exactly the sort of prized villain whose apprehension leads to an officer winning an award.

In fact he wasn't even human.

"Prawo Jazdy is actually the Polish for driving licence and not the first and surname on the licence," read a letter from 2007 from an officer working within the Garda's traffic division.

"Having noticed this, I decided to check and see how many times officers have made this mistake.

"It is quite embarrassing to see that the system has created Prawo Jazdy as a person with over 50 identities." ‘

Rob

I have recently been playing around with the new Windows Live Group feature and have found it very easy to use.

But first you may be asking what a Windows Live Group is…

Well it enables your selected group of contacts in Windows Live Messenger to have a group conversation with and also you get your own mini website for just your contacts to share photo’s and files, a calendar and even have your own mini discussion forum…

Setting up your group couldn’t be simpler, start by logging into Windows Live Messenger

1. From your messenger window, choose the menu option on the right hand side and select Contacts – and the Create a Group  to start the process off
2. Choose a name for your group, remember to make it obvious so that everyone in the group knows what it is for.  Press Next
3. Enter in the contacts you want to join your group, either there email addresses, or far easier is to choose Select from your contact list  , which lets you choose who from your current contact list you want. They will appear in the bottom of the window and press OK. Then I strongly suggest you add a message to include in your invitation, describing why you want them to join and what you will share.  Press Next Note you can only have 20 members in any one group
4. and that's pretty much it for getting it setup, your contacts will get an invite via email and hopefully they will accept.  Done
5. Now you should be able to see the group in Windows Live Messenger, and who has joined and there status
6. Getting to you group web site is simple as well.  Right click your group and select Go to group website

Hopefully i will write up another entry on doing things such as adding photo galleries etc

Rob

Following up on Juju’s adventures in France it would appear that he has a cousin in India

Thanks to Eileen Brown for the tip

Rob