Computer Chronicles
Season 19
TV-G
The most popular television program about consumer technology during the rise of the personal computer revolution from 1983 to 2002. Episodes featured interviews with luminaries from the tech industry.
Where to Watch Season 19
16 Episodes
- Easy WebcamsE19
Easy WebcamsWe get down to the fundamentals of how to buy and install a web cam and the associated software in this episode of Computer Chronicles. [Episode #1919, First broadcast: 01/22/2001] Larry Magid, syndicated columnist for the LA Times, begins by giving us a lesson on the hardware basics of web cams. He introduces us to web cams from Logitech and Creative Labs plus tells us what we can expect in various applications of web cams. Lisa Pollock then unveils new features from Yahoo! that utilizes web cam technologies. She shows us how you can connect with friends and families with web cams and Yahoo! instant messenger watching each other while you have a conversation. You can also add audio so you can do PC-to-PC voice chat. And, Pollock also explains how the newest element to Yahoo! email easily attaches a piece of video to an email using a video composer feature. We also get a tour through some of the current web cam sites on the Internet with Betsy Malloy from About.com. She shows us some of the more whimsical sites like Peter's and Debbie's cam attached to their car and some of the more useful ones such as travel and weather cams. http://archive.org/details/EasyWebC2001 - Medical Technology: Part 2E20
Medical Technology: Part 2In our second episode concerning the technologies behind medicine, we learn about some of the advances that are being made to tackle diseases and improve health care. [Episode #1920, First broadcast: 1/29/2002] First, Sharon Nunes explains how IBM is using computer modeling to simulate human organs. The merger of the information technology in an IBM supercomputer and the biology know-how of Johns Hopkins creates not just visual, but also functional models of organs. Nunes demonstrates how medical researchers use a complex artificial heart model to explore the data and electrical impulses in the heart. This allows researchers to determine the beneficial and adverse effects of various drugs on organs resulting in a speedier process of discovering and approving new drugs. Next up, a group called BABEC that helps students in the San Francisco Bay Area understand DNA shows us how DNA data applications are being explored in the lab and in classroom. Octavio Rodriguez and a high school student Austen Chin perform a typical lab procedure used to extract and analyze DNA samples. They also explain how DNA is used to make insulin for humans, modify genes, and identify criminals. Then, we find out how a genetic modification experiment on a Rhyseus monkey will help us understand the causes of diseases and allow us to test innovative therapies that can eradicate them. Researchers Dr. Gerald Schatten and Dr. Anthony Chan from the Oregon Health Sciences University explain how they genetically engineered a monkey to carry a gene normally found in jellyfish. If the experiment is successful, the monkey will produce a protein that will make him glow in the dark. Nanotechnology, the manipulation of matter at the atomic level, is explored with Dr. Stan Williams from Hewlett-Packard Labs Quantum Science Research Center. Using slides taken through a tunneling microscope, he shows us how certain heated chemicals naturally react on a silicon surface to build nanoscale objects. - Computers and the 2002 Olympics Special: Part 2E25
Computers and the 2002 Olympics Special: Part 2In this second half of a special series, Computer Chronicles continues to reveal the high-tech innovations that were behind the gold winning technology performance at the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. - Online Travel TipsE27
Online Travel TipsOnline travel is the most successful e-commerce product on the Internet and Computer Chronicles shows you how to find the best deals when purchasing this hot travel commodity. [Episode #1927, First broadcast: 3/19/2002] A leader in the online travel marketplace, Expedia.com contains large amounts of travel information and Mitch Robinson shows us how to sort through it using various criteria. You can use Expedia to sort options by shorter flights or departure times and you can also find a hotel based on the specific neighborhood for your travels. Robinson also explains how you can put together a customized travel package in real-time as you choose the accommodations and travel arrangements. He says that the large number of people using Expedia allows them to negotiate easier with airlines to get better deals for their users. Independent online travel expert, Ed Hasbrouk, gives us tips from his recently published book "The Practical Nomad Guide to the Online Travel Marketplace". Hasbrouk explains the difference between fares and prices and helps us understand how consolidators negotiate with airlines to set their own prices. One of his biggest tips is to research many sites to get the best airfares because no single place can promise the best prices. He discusses sites Orbitz.com, jetBlue.com, AirTreks.com, SideStep.com, Qixo.com, FareChase.com, and Farebeater.com on OneTravel.com. The site that claims to have more total bookings than anyone else online is Travelocity.com and CEO Terrell Jones discusses the benefits of using this online travel-booking giant. Jones explains how e-tickets work, how you can obtain updated flight information better online than over the phone and how to compare various vacation packages side by side on the site. To find out the secrets to getting your bid on travel auction websites, we go to Mike Dougan, the Sensible Traveler columnist at the San Francisco Chronicle. Dougan explains how Priceline is not really a place to bid - High-Tech Singapore - Part OneE39
High-Tech Singapore - Part OneA look at innovative technologies and companies in one of Asia's major technology centers. Stories include using cell phones for commerce, computerized systems for schools, libraries which use SMS for checking out books, automated in-town rental car services, virtual online visits to prison inmates, and a personal massage module for the Handspring Visor.
