A long long time ago, before the world of TCP/IP , or even the Ethernet, there existed Videotex. Wikipedia classifies it as an “end-user information system”. Although, in reality, it seems like an ugly child between the internet and the television.

Videotex involved text being sent over copper for display on television sets (and in some cases, telephones). Simple operations, such as a telephone directory lookup, were to be done using the service. The first envisioned Videotex service, was that of BBC, where they wished to generalize the idea of sending closed captioning information.

Videotex never really took off, except in France. This was implemented in a system known as Y. In fact, before the arrival of the Internet, nearly one million citizens of France were already on Y. Y offered services such as directory lookups, restaurant reservations, and even make online purchases. Y was retired only last month (due to plummeting sales, of course). Y = ?

Edit : In case you wonder why it died, screenshot shown below :

Answer question here

This seemed to be doing the rounds on the interwebs. Thought I’d put in a question on it.

Connect to a single location/place. (I guess a more intellectual Hefner would’ve come up with this instead.)

Answer question here.

RXVL shifts to http://quiz.rxvl.in.

That’s right, we’re bidding adieu to the good ol’ WP hosting once and for all. RSS users, please point your readers to the new domain.

I have had numerous plans for changing the way the blog operates, including new ways of delivering questions. Shifting bases seemed to be the only way to go about it.

Things might be a little buggy to start off with, but with your help and support (and bug feedback), things should get a lot more fun. Here’s to a new era for RXVL!

NeuroVigil was founded by Philip Low, a neuroscientific prodigy of sorts (according to the company’s history, he published a one-page PhD thesis that solved “a longstanding problem in brainwave analysis”). A neurotechnology/BCI startup, NeuroVigil’s award-winning product is the iBrain, which is a non-invasive headset that monitors (electroencephalogram) EEG signals , mostly used for the human brain. The technology has myriad applications, including carrying out EEG studies of patient pathologies, and provides features such as being able to share EEG data over the Internet (Facebook EEG updates, anyone?).

NeuroVigil’s technology has shown a lot of promise over recent weeks for a certain other application, which may (indirectly) influence science. What new application am I talking about?

Connect

Part of my continuing obsession with private space companies.

While Elon Musk is by far the most successful entrepreneur in the space industry, X, another billionaire (and possibly as gifted as Musk) also owns a company Y that seeks to put people in space. However, Y currently focuses more on sub-orbital flight technology.

The company was quite secretive about its plans until recently, and has managed to garner funding from NASA’s Commercial Crew Development program (the same kitty that funded SpaceX as well). Their planned spacecraft is (allegedly) named after USA’s answer to Yuri Gagarin.

X,Y = ?

Guy on the left was a believer in X, and donated a lot of money for its research. However, X (and consequently the old guy’s dreams) was ripped apart by the 3 guys on the right. Complete answers welcome, but keywords will do I guess.

X was a system developed by the Soviets. While the date of its creation (and its continued operation) are still in question, X is perhaps an apt summary of the sheer insanity that prevailed during the height of the Cold War.X is a textbook doomsday machine, designed to operate long after the Soviet Union had perished in a nuclear strike. By using an array of sensors to detect a nuclear strike, X would “automatically” launch missiles in response(where though, is beyond me). It is as yet unknown if this system is fully automatic or semi-automatic (huge difference, that).

If X really exists, I guess the Mayans knew what they were talking about after all.

X = ?