The @ SIGN.
Used in every email message, the @ symbol derives from the Latin "ad" meaning 'toward' or 'at'. Here in the U.S., we call the symbol "at." In England it is known as "the cabbage", the "le petit escargot" or small snail in France and the "strudel" in Israel. German's refer to it as the "klammeraffe" or spider monkey.

Usage of the @ sign in email messages dates back to 1971, when Ray Tomlinson was writing the world's first email software program. He chose the @ sign to use between the name and domain address because it was a punctuation mark that would never appear in a person's name. (Source: CIO Magazine, 9/1/1999).

STORAGE MEDIA LIFE EXPECTANCY
Will corporations and library's be able to access today's electronic data a generation from now? Its not likely unless there are changes in what is used to store the data and the media used. High quality magnetic tapes can store data reliably for about 10 years, recordable CD-ROMs for 25-30 years and the common CD-ROM is good up for 5 to 50 years depending on the quality of the disk material used.

If history is any guide, the electric media is likely to last longer than the hardware or software needed to read it. Much of the pre-1979 Landsat satellite data is inaccessible because it was stored on computers that no longer work. The equipment used to store the 1960 census information was obsolete only sixteen years after the census was completed.

What about paper? Newspapers last 10 to 20 years, high quality paper 20 to 100 years and acid free archival paper can last as long as 100 to 500 years. Paper is not without its own problems. Just image the mountain of paper that we would have if all of today's data was stored on paper! Would there be any trees left in the forest? (Computerworld, 9/20/1999).

WEB SITE OF THE MONTH
This month's site, www.horology.com, is dedicated to the study of time, watches and clocks. The site's purpose is to provide a "a comprehensive Index and cross links to as much horological information on the WWW as possible." The site is very easy to navigate through and has extensive links to American and European sites such as the National Time-standard Authorities, watch and clock museums and educational programs on horology, watch making and repair. There is also has a link to the atomic clock should you need the correct time of day.
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Technology Tidbits is published monthly by Jerry Price, Eau Claire, Wisconsin © 1999 Jerry W. Price

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