Have You Thought of Verifying Your Broadband Speed? Wednesday, Feb 10 2010 

Any user of a broadband supplier will tell you that their broadband speed is in all probability the greatest piece of the provision. Yet many internet providers do not furnish users with instruments to test your speed. The saving grace is there are some web sites online that will allow you to verify your broadband speed. When examining your broadband speed it’s fundamental to get a application that is custom-made to your country, there is no point performing a trial using a checker placed in China when you are trying to do a internet speed test in India. A test will give you your upload speed as well as your download speed. Upload means speed between your computer and the Net, so should you send off a lot of files then upload is all-important to you. Download speed is how fast you can get data files from the net to your PC. Download speed is ordinarily a lot speedier than upload and this is natural. Most users are a good deal more curious in their download speed rather than their upload speed as users usually pass very much more time downloading. When you have discovered the speed of your broadband connection what are the options if you are not satisfied? The most obvious option is to call up your service provider and let them know that you think your speed is unacceptable. You may also do things at your property to make sure that your connection is running as best it can. Always make sure that any integral phone cabling is in tiptop shape and do not use bad quality extension lines. Ensure your laptop anti-virus software is up to date. When doing a internet speed trial forever check that you are not carrying out any other activities that will be causing the connection to be used such as downloading email or watching video.

Can You Produce Transparent Language when You Speak? Sunday, Jan 24 2010 

Speaking clearly is tricky (as long as those duties are not crucial to the job, an available place for the member of staff to go to be alone for quiet time to help relieve the difficulties of the job, rest breaks to prevent stimulus overload and exhaustion, job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, reassignment to a different position, acquisition or modification or workplace equipment or devices, training materials or policies in baille or a simplified language, provision of readers or interpreters (disability rights center). Often times, an agreement is reached which will allow the individual to return to work on a gradual basis as their strengths and abilities increase. To increase the individual’s rate of success, the professional staff continues to follow them and provides assistance to the employer and employee as barriers and/or weaknesses are identified. For example, if the individual is having a tough time remembering what tasks to do, it may be recommended that they carry a notebook to write down what is asked of them.

Clear Speech: Practice

  • Talking well is often more clever than talking cleverly. Unfortunately well-established, poor communicators legitimise bad communication. Poor communication in high places is copied by less experienced communicators who think that what they hear and see is “best practice”
  • Two other processes can result in indistinct speech. With many of these examples, if you comprehend the cause, you can appreciate the solution and master the ability to converse well

Tense Voice, High Pitch

  • The other end of the spectrum is a distressed voice. Some have developed a habit of speaking in a distressed voice as part of their normal conversation. It is hard to describe but when you hear someone do it, you will know it.
  • What does it sound like? What does it feel like? That is a distressed voice. The solution is simple, just breathe. Breathe adequate for your speaking. Clear speech requires adequate lungs
  • Speaking too fast could likewise result from nervousness or from habit. It will make speech difficult to grasp. Unlike playing a recording at a faster speed, it inhibits the ability to enunciate the words and speak clearly.

Virtual Humans in a Virtual Real World Tuesday, Jul 1 2008 

Virtual Real Worlds define a new interface for networked multimedia applications. The experience of ‘being there’ in the Virtual Real World is a necessary requirement for collaborative activities involving multiple remote users working with social interactions. Using virtual actors within the virtual environment is necessary to for the feeling of ‘being there’.

Software technology and the increasing performance of hardware and networks enable the establishment of more and more complex interfaces for networked multimedia applications. A networked Virtual Real World provides a natural shared environment, by supporting interactive human collaboration and integrating different media in real-time in a 3D surrounding. Its strength comes from the fact that it aids awareness of and interaction with other users; and it also provides an appropriate mechanism for interaction with the environment by aiding the visual and audio mechanisms for information sharing and protection.

Team MellaniuM has developed a system which supports a networked shared virtual environment (Virtual Real World) that allows multiple users to interact with each other in real time. 3D virtual human actors can represent the users, to serve as agents to interact with the environment and other agents. The agents will be of similar appearance and will have a behavior similar to real humans, this will enable the sense of ‘being there’ to the users in the virtual real world.

The Virtual Real World will incorporate different media; namely sound, 3D models, facial interaction among users, images represented by textures mapped on 3D objects, and real time videos. Instead of different windows or applications for each medium, the Virtual Real World will integrate all tasks in a single 3D surrounding, therefore it provides a natural interface similar to the real world. The Virtual Real World will work as a general purpose stream, allowing the usage of various models for different applications.

Virtual Real Worlds are the new media by which we will all have to except in the future (resistance to change will be enormous). Those who choose not to accept change will be left behind. This new media will affect everyone and change the way we live; entailing changes to culture, working practices, entertainment, etc.

Ken has been working in this area since leaving the aerospace industry were knowledge is predominately 2D.

See Web site http://mellanium.com/ for more information.