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Popsci brings you up-to-the-minute science news

Posted on February 14th, 2008 in Learning, e-zines by admin

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From cars to gadgets, DIY to aviation, from the military to the environment, and plenty of entertainment and gaming, popsci.com offers “the future now”, and all the science information that you need in a nutshell.

The images are superb too – see what happens when you create lightning-like effects in a block, see pictures taken on the ground on Mars, and take a look at possible warships of the future. Popsci’s extensive Photo Galleries give some intriguing vistas onto the technology of the future, cutting edge research, and micro- and nano-scopic images.

You can read about Richard Branson’s attempts to create space tourism, about issues concerning how science is funded, and about the latest scientific research.

Popsci is the website of the magazine Popular Science, and the site makes a highly engaging browse for those interested in science, the gadget geek, gamers and those who just want to be better informed on issues relating to science and technology.

Jon Chase’s “The Grouse” is a great column for if you want to enjoy a right good rant about the cost of inkjet refills, social networking sites, batteries that cannot be re-charged, and other stuff.

There are some interesting points made in the environment section too – like how it might be better to just take shorter showers than invest in those eco-friendly light bulbs that give off about as many photons as a glow worm.

Popsci is definitely a site that I will be coming back to – it doesn’t just inform, it entertains.

BBC Languages - helping you towards fluency

Posted on December 6th, 2007 in Learning, Audio & Visual by admin

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Do you dream of learning another language, but never seem to find the time? Would you like to get the basics of a language before you visit the place where it is spoken? Want to brush up on a language you learned in school, but which you are now a bit rusty at? Perhaps it is time that you took a look at some of the resources that are available on the web, and one resource I find indispensable is the BBC Languages website.

Here you can find beginners’ lessons in French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Greek. Having tried out these beginners’ courses for French, Spanish and German, I found them to be fun, interactive, and you hear plenty of the language as spoken by native speakers. The courses take you through basic sentence structures, and you learn loads of new words. There are also intermediate courses available, again with plenty of listening to the language as it is spoken.

As an avid language learner, I find these interactive website-based courses more motivating than teaching yourself from a textbook and tapes, and also the courses are very easy to just dip into in any odd moment, such as your lunchbreak, coffee break, or whenever you have a spare five minutes.

The site also includes learning resources for Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, English for Speakers of Other Languages, Polish, Urdu, Japanese and Mandarin Chinese.

If you are a bit of a languages anorak, you can have a great time at this website.