MarvQuin Blog

10. Symantec

- Symantec Corporation was founded in 1982 and is an international corporation which sells computer software, particularly in the realms of security and information management. Headquartered in Silicone Valley, Symantec has operations in more than 40 countries and is part of the NASDAQ 100 and Fortune 1000.

9. Oracle

- Oracle Corporation is one of the major companies developing database management systems (DBMS), tools for database development, middle-tier software, enterprise resource planning software (ERP), customer relationship management software (CRM) and supply chain management (SCM) software. Oracle was founded in 1977, and has offices in more than 145 countries around the world. As of 2005, it employed more than 50,000 people worldwide.

8. Intel

-Intel Corporation is the world's largest semiconductor company and the inventor of the x86 series of microprocessors, the processors found in many personal computers. Founded in 1968 as Integrated Electronics Corporation and based in Silicon Valley, Intel also makes motherboard chipsets, network cards and ICs, flash memory, graphic chips, embedded processors, and other devices related to communications and computing.

7. Hewlett Packard

- The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly known as HP, is the world's largest information technology corporation (by revenue) and is known worldwide for its printers, personal computers, and high-end servers.

6. Cisco

- Cisco System,Inc. is an American multinational corporation with 54,000 employees and annual revenue of US $28.48 billion as of 2006. Headquartered in the Silicon Valley, it designs and sells networking and communications technology and services under five brands, namely Cisco, Linksys, WebEx, IronPort and Scientific Atlanta.

5. Adobe

Adobe Systems Incorporated is an American computer software company headquartered in the Silicon Valley. Since 2001, Fortune magazine has ranked Adobe as an outstanding place to work. Adobe was rated the fifth-best U.S. company to work for in 2003, sixth in 2004, and 31st in 2007.

4. Ebay

- eBay Inc. is manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website where people and businesses buy and sell goods and services worldwide. In addition to its original U.S. website, eBay has established localized websites in several other countries. eBay Inc also owns PayPal, Skype, and other businesses.

3. Yahoo

- Yahoo! Inc. is an American public corporation and global Internet services company. It provides a range of products and services including a web portal, a search engine, the Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, news, and posting.

2. Apple

- Apple Inc. (formerly Apple Computer, Inc.) is an American multinational corporation with a focus on designing and manufacturing consumer electronics and closely related software products.

1. Google

- Google Inc. is an American public corporation, specializing in Internet search and online advertising. The company is based in Silicon Valley, and has 13,748 full-time employees.

1. Their vs There vs They're

Their, there, and they're do not follow the rules regarding adding an apostrophe to make it possessive. Proper usage of these words is as follows:

Word - They're
Meaning - Short for "they are"
Example - They're using bad form.

Word - Their
Meaning - Possessive version of "they"
Example - I want to ride in their car.

Word - There
Meaning - Indication of location
Example - I am going over there.

2. You're vs. Your

This common mistake drives people crazy and the rule is as follows:

Word - You're
Meaning - Contraction for You are
Example - You're an idiot.

Word - Your
Meaning - Describes the owner as someone else.
Example - Your decisions are questionable.

3. It's vs. Its

It's and its break the rule of "add apostrophe s to make a word possessive." The correct usage of the two words are:

Word - It's
Meaning - Short for: It Is
Example - It is a common mistake.

Word - Its
Meaning - Possessive version of "it"
Example - Its operating system works well.

4. A vs. An

These two words are often misused because what may sound right may not be grammatically correct. The rule is as follows.

A - Use "a" when the following word does not SOUND like it begins with a vowel.

An - Use "an" when the following word does sound like it starts with a vowel.

The crux here is the sound of the word. In practice, therefore the word "honest" sounds like it begins with an "o" and therefore "an" should be in front of it.

Whereas "union" sounds like it begins with a "y" and therefore should have an a in front of it.

Word - a
Example - I really need a computer.

Word - an
Example - Why is there an apple on my desk?

5. Two vs. Too vs. To

The proper use of these words are as follows:

Word - Two
Meaning - The number "2"
Example - The family is selling two puppies.

Word - Too
Meaning - Excessive
Example - Some people have too much money.

Word - To
Meaning - functional word used to indicate relative position.
Example - On your way to the dance, stop and get some drinks.

6. Lie vs. Lay vs. Laid

Lie is what is called an intransitive verb, however lay is a transitive verb. Therefore this means, lie is something you do to yourself and lay is something you do to someone or something else.

Word - Lie
Example - I am exhausted and it is time for me to lie down.

Word - Lay
Example - Sometimes I must lay down my jacket over a puddle.

The past tense use of these words always causes a problem with people. This is because the past tense of lie is lay and the past tense of lay is laid.

Word - Lay
Example - As she lay on the bed, she began to doze of.

Word - Laid
Example - I laid my dog down in his bed.

Word - lay
Example - She lay in the shade, remembering her youth.
laid He laid the infant in the crib.

7. I vs. Me

How many times do we frustratingly hear "He is traveling with Scott and I." Bloggers and paid speakers alike frequently make this error.

Figuring out the correct usage is very easy. Simply leave out the other pronoun in the sentence and determine if it sounds right. Looking at the above example would yield "He is traveling with I." Obviously this is incorrect and therefore "me" should be in that sentence.

8. Effect vs. Affect

The proper use of these words is as follows:

Word - Affect
Meaning - To Act Upon
Example - Traffic affects the monetization of a website.

Word - Effect
Meaning - The creation an impression that is desired.
Example - The effect of an increase in traffic can have a positive effect on your website.

9. I.E. vs. E.G.

For some reason people think that they can just interchange these words. When read by someone that understands their correct usage, misusing them has an enormously negative effect. The rule is:

i.e. - means "in other words"
e.g. - means "for example"

Word - i.e.
Example - The athlete was convicted of a felony. (i.e., he will face at least a year in jail)

Word - e.g.
Example - The quarterback is highly paid. (e.g. he is generally has the highest salary on the team)

10. Irregardless

People use this word often to sound linguistically professional, however the word is generally reserved to formal and casual writing. Historically, the word is a rarely used combination of irrespective and regardless into a single word.

When people use this word, they use it mistakenly when they should be saying "regardless", not "irregardless.

Word - Regardless
Example - Regardless of what some people think, wine in moderation can be healthy for you.

Bonus

- alot

THERE IS NO SUCH WORD AS "ALOT!" It is two words "a" and "lot". A common homonym "allot" confuses many people. Allot means to distribute. E.g., A good leader understands how to allot responsibilities.

Phishing scams continue to rise throughout the internet on all types of websites. Overall, e-commerce and online banking services are extremely safe, however as an overall general rule, you must remain very careful when giving any personal financial information over the Internet. Reviewing several articles and news feeds we have gathered the eight effective methods to avoid Internet phishing scams.

1. Suspicious of Urgent Requests

Always be wary of all emails with urgent inquiries for personal financial information.

- look for emails that are digitally signed, because if the email is not, it may have been spoofed or forged.

- Information that is disappointing or exciting is often used by phishers to get peoples attention quickly, be aware!

- Always be alert for emails that seek passwords, usernames, credit card numbers, date of birth information, and social security numbers.

- If it claims to be an email from your bank, call your bank to verify. Phisher emails may be personalized and seem legitimate.

2. Don't Use Interior Links In Suspicious Emails

Never use links in a suspicious email, chat, instant message or web page, if you think the email source might not be authentic or you are unsure of the source.

- Call the company if you are unsure or log directly onto the company's webpage.

- Do not fill in information from a link inside an email, especially when it is asking for personal information.

3. Secure Websites

Only use secure websites or telephone calls initiated by you, when transmitting credit card numbers or any personal account information.

- Spoofing and forging have become common place techniques by phishers. Phishers can spoof and forge both the server and a legitimate looking address. The spoofer may then place both inside the link of the scam email. Always enter the name of any financial transaction, shopping, auction, or banking website into the url field and do not use the links provided in emails.

- Phishers are also able to forge and mimic trusted secure site icons and images. Always, click the image that is indicative of the site being a secure site. If there is an error message, do not use the site.

4. Always Check The URL

Many phishers will not use the url of the site you are attempting to put your information to, however the landing or homepage will look identical to the homepage of the real site.

- Make sure the url matches the site you are attempting to log into.

5. Install A Web Browser Protection Tool

Several sites offer toolbars that help protect you from fraudulent websites and will alert you

- Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox version 2 include a very useful protection tool

- You can download the EarthLink ScamBlocker for free at earthlink.net/earthlinktoolbar as well.

6. Check Your Accounts Often

Regularly log into your online accounts.

- Try to login and check your accounts at least once a month however more frequently is ideal.

- Always consistently check all credit, bank and debit card statements to make sure that all notations are accurate.

- Contact your bank, card issuer or financial institution immediately if you see a suspicious transaction or one that you do not recognize.

7. Updates

- Always make sure that your browser has up to date security patches.

- Internet Explorer, Firefox and Microsoft will consistently alert you of updates and security patches. Keep them updated.

8. Report Offenders

Always report phishing or spoofed e-mails or communications to these groups.

- Forward emails to reportphishing@antiphishing.org, spam@uce.gov, spoof@ebay.com (for ebay scams),

- When forwarding the spoofed messages, include the entire original message, with the header in tact.

Please Leave Additional Methods In The Comments Below.

Served as senator from Massachusettes as an Anti-Jacksonian and later Whig 1827-1841 and as a Whig 1845-1850

After a successful career as a lawyer (including several cases before the Supreme Court) and a short stint in Congress, Daniel Webster was elected to the Senate in 1828 by the Massachusetts legislature and quickly became embroiled in the tariff bill that South Carolina had nullified. Sen. John Calhoun, who supported nullification, Sen. Daniel Webster, who opposed it, and Sen. Henry Clay, who sought a compromise, became known as the great triumvirate and together they dominated the Senate for decades. Webster was appointed as Secretary of State by William Henry Harrison in 1841. Unfortunately, Harrison, a bit of a windbag under the best of circumstances, gave a 2-hour inaugural address in freezing weather on March 4, 1841, caught pneumonia, and died 30 days later. He was succeeded by John Tyler (remember Tippecanoe and Tyler too?), whose economic policies Webster disagreed with, so Webster quit and was elected to the Senate again in 1845. There he opposed the annexation of Texas but despite his Northern roots and hatred of slavery, he supported Henry Clay's compromise of 1850 that averted civil war for a time. He was much attacked by the abolitionists for this support, though.

Henry Clay (1777-1852)

Served as senator from Kentucky as a Democratic-Republican and Whig 1806-1807, 1810-1811, 1832-1842, and 1849-1852.

Henry Clay's most famous remark was "I'd rather be right than be president" but this didn't stop him from running--and losing--four times. He was a true enigma. He was a hothead who loved drinking and gambling but was viewed by his colleagues as a great statesman. He hated slavery, but was never an abolitionist. He was twice appointed to fill in vacant Senate seats, but chose not to seek reelection. While history records him as probably the best orator in the history of Congress (he was elected Speaker of the House on the first day of his first term there in 1811--imagine a freshman Representative pulling that off now), his real strength was forging compromises. In 1820, he played a major role in staving off civil war by brokering the Missouri compromise, which admitted Maine to the union as a free state and Missouri as a slave state. Later in 1833, he prevented the nullification crisis from leading to civil war by brokering the Compromise of 1833, which lowered the tariff South Carolina had nullified. Once again in 1850, he brokered the Compromise of 1850, which resulted in California being admitted to the union as a free state, letting New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah decide for themselves, and requiring free states to capture and return any slaves who escaped there. He almost single-handedly prevented the Civil War for 40 years, but after he died, there was no one great enough to fill his shoes and the country plunged into chaos.

Arthur Vandenberg (1884-1951)

Served as senator from Michigan as a Republican 1928-1951

Initially appointed to fill a vacancy in the Senate, Vandenberg quickly rose through the ranks, becoming Minority Leader in 1935. Throughout the 1930s, he was a strict isolationist, opposing U.S. involvement in world affairs. After the attack on Pearl Habor in 1941, he grudgingly accepted the need for U.S. involvement in WWII. After the war, Vandenberg concluded that isolationism was not working. From then on he was an internationalist and supported the founding the United Nations, NATO, and the Marshall Plan. None of these would have happened without his ability to rally the Senate to favor them. Such support from a long-standing isolationist led to an era in which foreign policy was conducted in a bipartisan fashion. Neither party tried to get partisan advantage from foreign affairs. Quaint as it may now sound, under Vandenberg's guidance the two parties in the Senate worked together in foreign affairs for the good of the country.

John Calhoun (1782-1850)

Served as senator from South Carolina 1832-1845 as a Democratic Republican and Nullifier, then again 1845-1850 as a Democrat

Many senators are colorful figures, but John C. Calhoun goes way beyond that. To say that he is controversial is a massive understatement and his inclusion in this list undoubtedly has to do with a compromise in the modern Senate since he is still revered in the South. Long before John Nance Gardner said that the Vice Presidency wasn't worth a pitcher of warm piss, John Calhoun demonstrated this by running for the Senate (and getting elected) while a sitting Vice President. Calhoun's odd move came because he and President Andrew Jackson didn't see eye to eye on a couple of issues. For example, he strongly believed in nullification, the idea that a state could declare void any federal law it didn't like, something Jackson abhored. In this case, South Carolina didn't like a federal tariff on imported manufacturered goods, which protected Northern factories from cheaper European goods, but simply raised prices in the factoryless South. When South Carolina refused to collect the tariff, Jackson sent in the navy to do it for them. Calhoun also gave a famous speech on the Senate floor in Feb. 1837 entitled Slavery a Positive Good. Suffice it to say, in his long career in the House, Senate, and cabinet, he was a staunch defender of states rights and slavery. To a large extent, his legacy is the Civil War.

Robert LaFollette (1855-1925)

Served as senator from Wisconsin as a Republican 1907-1925

Although he was a Republican, LaFollette pioneered many then-revolutionary ideas for a progressive government that served the people rather than big business. As governor of Wisconsin from 1900-1906, he introduced primary elections, got a civil service law passed to replace the patronage system, regulated the all-powerful railroads, supported a minimum wage, and taxed corporations. After his election to the Senate in Nov. 1906, he worked hard to implement many of these same ideas on a national scale, as well as fighting for women's suffrage, racial equality, child labor laws, civil liberties, and breaking up industrial monopolies. His one blind spot was foreign affairs. He strenuously opposed the U.S. entering WWI and voted against the declaration of war, which got him labeled as a tool of the enemy. Theodore Roosevelt said he was "a skunk who should be hanged." When the war was over, he opposed the Treaty of Versailles. In 1924, he ran for President on the Progressive ticket and got 17% of the popular vote.

Robert Taft (1889-1953)

Served as senator from Ohio as a Republican 1939-1953

Although a boring speaker, Taft had a successful career in Ohio state politics for two decades before being elected to the Senate in 1938. He was a traditional conservative and saw it as his mission to try to repeal Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. His greatest achievement was the Taft-Hartley Act, which greatly restricts the power of labor unions. President Truman called it the "Slave Labor Act" and vetoed it, but the Republican Congress overrode his veto. It is still in force and commonly invoked by presidents to stop strikes they deem against the national interest. Like LaFollette, with whom he had practically nothing else in common, he was an isolationist, opposing the U.S. entry into WWII and the draft. After the war he opposed NATO and did not see the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin as a threat to the United states. He ran for the Republican nomination for President three times, but never got it. During his years in the Senate, he was called "Mr. Republican."

Robert Wagner (1877-1953)

Served as senator from New York as a Democrat 1928-1949

His most important legislative achievement was the 1935 Wagner Act, which prohibited many common, but unfair labor practices, protected the rights of workers to join labor unions and to strike. Employers were enraged and ignored the law. In a celebrated case, Jones & Laughlin, then the nation's largest steelmaker, fired workers who joined a union. The fired workers sued the company, and the case made it to the Supreme Court, which ruled that the Wagner Act was constitutional and that such firings violated it. When the Republicans gained control of the Senate in 1946, one of the first things they did was pass the Taft-Hartley Act, which weakened many of the provisions of the Wagner Act. Wagner's other claim to fame was, together with Sen. Edward Costigan (D-CO), drafting the Costigan-Wagner bill. Had this bill been enacted, it would have made the lynching of southern blacks by mobs a crime and would also have penalized sheriffs who failed to pursue the perpetrators. The bill was violently opposed by southern senators such as Ellison D. Smith (D-SC) who said that lynching was necessary "to protect the sanctity of our womanhood" and never passed the Senate.

Honorable Mention

Ted Kennedy (1932-Present)

Served as senator from Massachusetts as a liberal from November 1962-present.

10. Nicolaus Otto

Nicolaus Otto developed the four-stroke or Otto-cycle engine and the first internal combustion engine, where fuel is burned directly in the piston chamber. The Otto-cycle is still used in the internal combustion engines that run all of our cars today. Despite developing the engine, it was Otto’s peers such as Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz who first apply it to locomotion, forever changing how people move around the world.

9. Archimedes of Syracuse

With Archimedes it’s difficult to separate the legend from the man. The engineering feats he is rumored to have accomplished include a mirror death-ray and a crane capable of lifting and smashing Roman ships, although they probably never existed. He did improve the catapult, develop levers and pulleys, and invent the Archimedean Screw, a device used to raise water for irrigation or mining. He also calculated pi and developed many mathematical insights without which modern engineering would be impossible.

8. Mikhail Kalashnikov

While much of Kalashnikov’s AK-47 was borrowed from other guns, his simplification of their designs to make a nearly flawlessly functioning rifle was his genius. The gun is cheap to manufacture, easy to use, and hard to break. It’s hard to argue with success, after 57 years the AK-47 is still in production, and there are dozens of different varieties from shotguns to sniper rifles and the familiar assault rifle. It is arguably one of the best guns in history, and definitely one of the most influential. After all, what other gun has African children named for it?

7. Alan Turing

Alan Turing developed the binary architecture now used in all computers, as well as much of the theory behind computers. He is regarded as the father of computer science. The computer you’re currently using would not exist without his contributions to the field. He also broke the German Enigma code during WWII, without which victory would have been far more difficult, if not impossible. After the war he made many other contributions to code making and breaking. While he never really built anything physical, his enormous influence in computer science earned him a place in the top ten.

6. Wilbur and Orville Wright

A clear indication of engineering brilliance is when you essentially invent your field. Other pioneers of flight came before them whose work was invaluable, but it was the Wrights who truly created aeronautical engineering. In a time when people thought of the mechanics of flight as ground locomotion in the air, the Wright brothers saw it as something wholly new. Their development of the three axis control system was necessary to fly controllably. They were also the first to really look at propeller design and aerodynamics. Their work profoundly changed the world.

5. Hero of Alexandria

This man could have started the Industrial Revolution in 50 AD with the invention of the Aeolipile, a form of steam or jet engine where jets of steam spin a ball. However, he failed to realize what the device could do, and thought of it as nothing but a toy. Some have speculated that the abundance of slave labor negated any need for a labor-saving device, so no one applied his device in the manner of the Industrial Revolution. Hero also wrote many works on subjects ranging from pneumatics to mathematics to physics.

4. James Watt

James Watt’s incarnation of the steam engine ushered in the Industrial Revolution. His centrifugal governor kept the engine running at the desired rate, and is a modification so simple and elegant that it may be one of the best ideas of all time. The governor was only one of his countless modifications to one of the most influential devices of all time. Watt’s perfection of one of the most important devices in history easily puts him in the top ten engineers.

3. Nikola Tesla

Nikola Tesla is perhaps the greatest electrical engineer of all time. His inventions include fluorescent lighting, the Tesla coil, the induction motor, and 3-phase electricity. He developed the AC-current generation system comprised of a motor and a transformer. Some have said that he “invented the 20th century.” Unfortunately, he became something of a mad scientist in his later years, and died in obscurity, but his invaluable contributions are remembered today.

2. Thomas Edison

Edison is the most prolific inventor in history, holding a record 1,097 patents. He developed the phonograph, incandescent light bulb, stock ticker, motion picture camera and projector, and hundreds more. He also created the first electrical plant and distribution infrastructure. Without these inventions, modern life is almost inconceivable.

1. Leonardo da Vinci

Perhaps the most visionary man of all time, Leonardo foresaw everything from the helicopter to the tank to the submarine. Modern engineers have proven that many of his designs, including bridges, hang-gliders, transmissions, parachutes, and more would have worked had they been built. There have been few individuals in the history of engineering who have designed so many revolutionary devices that actually worked. Leonardo is, by far, the greatest engineer of all time.

Honorable Mentions:

Eli Whitney – Cotton Gin and Interchangeable Parts

Rudolf Diesel – Diesel Engine

Wernher Von Braun – Rocketry

Enrico Fermi and Leó Szilárd – First Nuclear Reactor

1. Electricity

Scores of times each day, with the merest flick of a finger, each one of us taps into vast sources of energy—deep veins of coal and great reservoirs of oil, sweeping winds and rushing waters, the hidden power of the atom and the radiance of the Sun itself—all transformed into electricity, the workhorse of the modern world.

2. Automobile

When Thomas Edison did some future gazing about transportation during a newspaper interview in 1895, he didn't hedge his bets. "The horseless carriage is the coming wonder," said American's reigning inventor. "It is only a question of a short time when the carriages and trucks in every large city will be run with motors." Just what kind of motors would remain unclear for a few more years.

3. Airplane

Not a single human being had ever flown a powered aircraft when the 20th century began. By century's end, flying had become relatively common for millions of people, and some were even flying through space. The first piloted, powered, controlled flight lasted 12 seconds and carried one man 120 feet. Today, nonstop commercial flights lasting as long as 15 hours carry hundreds of passengers halfway around the world.

4. Water Supply and Distribution

At the beginning of the 20th century, in the United States and in many other countries, water was both greatly in demand and greatly feared. Cities across the nation were clamoring for more of it as their populations grew, and much of the West saw it as the crucial missing ingredient for development. At the same time, the condition of existing water supply systems was abysmal—and a direct threat to public health.

5. Electronics

Barely stifled yawns greeted the electronics novelty that was introduced to the public in mid-1948. "A device called a transistor, which has several applications in radio where a vacuum tube ordinarily is employed, was demonstrated for the first time yesterday at Bell Telephone Laboratories," noted an obviously unimpressed New York Times reporter on page 46 of the day's issue.

6. Radio and Television

In the autumn of 1899 a new mode of communication wedged its way into the coverage of a hallowed sports event. Outside New York's harbor, two sleek sailboats—Columbia of the New York Yacht Club and Shamrock of the Ulster Yacht Club in Ireland—were about to compete for the America's Cup, a coveted international trophy. In previous contests the public had no way of knowing what happened on the water until spectators reached shore after the races. This time, however, reports would "come rushing through the air with the simplicity of light," as one newspaper reporter breathlessly put it.

7. Agricultural Mechanization

You often see them from the window of a cross-country jet: huge, perfect circles in varying shades of green, gold, or brown laid out in a vast checkerboard stretching to the horizon. Across much of the American Midwest and on farmland throughout the world, these genuine crop circles are the sure sign of an automated irrigation system—and an emblem of a revolution in agriculture, the most ancient of human occupations. At the heart of this transformation is a single concept: mechanization.

8. Computers

You often see them from the window of a cross-country jet: huge, perfect circles in varying shades of green, gold, or brown laid out in a vast checkerboard stretching to the horizon. Across much of the American Midwest and on farmland throughout the world, these genuine crop circles are the sure sign of an automated irrigation system—and an emblem of a revolution in agriculture, the most ancient of human occupations. At the heart of this transformation is a single concept: mechanization.

9. Telephone

"The telephone," wrote Alexander Graham Bell in an 1877 prospectus drumming up support for his new invention, "may be briefly described as an electrical contrivance for reproducing in distant places the tones and articulations of a speaker's voice." As for connecting one such contrivance to another, he suggested possibilities that admittedly sounded utopian: "It is conceivable that cables of telephone wires could be laid underground, or suspended overhead, communicating by branch wires with private dwellings, country houses, shops, manufactories, etc."

10. Air Conditioning and Refrigeration

Which of the appliances in your home would be the hardest to live without? The most frequent answer to that question in a recent survey was the refrigerator. Over the course of the 20th century, this onetime luxury became an indispensable feature of the American home, a mainstay in more than 99.5 percent of the nation's family kitchens by century's end.

Bonus Engineering Achievements

- Highways

Sweeping visions were something of a specialty for William Durant, founder of General Motors, and he ran true to form in a 1922 interview. "Most of us," he said, "will live to see this whole country covered with a network of motor highways built from point to point as the bird flies, the hills cut down, the dales bridged over, the obstacles removed." Given the intensity of America's love affair with the automobile, his prediction wasn't so far-fetched.

- Spacecraft

The event was so draped in secrecy that, despite its historic nature, no pictures were taken. But no one who was there—nor, for that matter, anyone else who heard of it—would ever forget the moment. With a blinding glare and a shuddering roar, the rocket lifted from its concrete pad and thundered into the early evening sky, soaring up and up and up until it was nothing more than a tiny glowing speck. On the plains of Kazakhstan, on October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union had just launched the first-ever spacecraft, its payload a 184-pound satellite called Sputnik.

- Internet

The conference held at the Washington Hilton in October 1972 wasn't meant to jump-start a revolution. Staged for a technological elite, its purpose was to showcase a computer-linking scheme called ARPANET, a new kind of network that had been developed under military auspices to help computer scientists share information and enable them to harness the processing power of distant machines. Traffic on the system was still very light, though, and many potential users thought it was too complex to have much of a future.

1. Views - Views is probably the most essential module for Drupal. Views allows you to easily create unlimited page and block listings for your content. You can choose to show only certain node types, or only nodes with comments or whatever else you'd like and then you can order these listings however you would like. The views module is extremely flexible and powerful. It also provides a great API that allows other modules to hook into and share their content in views as well. Views can easily be duplicated and imported and exported to use on other sites. This module is a must have for pretty much any Drupal site.
2. CCK - Content Construction Kit (AKA CCK) is another extremely valuable module. CCK allows you to add fields onto your nodes. So lets say you want to have an Event node. You can create a new node type in the main core Drupal system and then extend it by adding a Date CCK field to it. Maybe you want to list a web site from each node. You can include the Link field on that particular node type. You can add as many different types of fields as you would like to any given node in Drupal. CCK allows for a great deal of flexibility.
3. Pathauto - Pathauto is another extremely valuable module for Drupal. With pathauto you are able to easily create custom URLs for nodes, users and taxonomy terms on the fly! You are able to basically use variables to use bits and pieces about the content and use that in the URL. You can have things like the title, date, author and type of content put in the URL automatically. The perfect module for any SEO!
4. LoginToboggin - LoginTobaggan is a great module that provides some very useful user features. With this module you can allow your users to login to your site with their email address or their username. You can also allow for various other options like allowing people to sign in automatically or choose their password instantly while signing up. Another very handy module.
5. Audio - The audio module takes care of everything audio related on your Drupal site. It provides an audio node which allows users to attach an MP3 file to their node along with information on the file. This is the best way to have people create and share any type of music or podcasts on your Drupal site. This module also provides a number of subscription feeds for people who use readers such as iTunes.
6. BBCode - BBCode is a pretty straight-forward and simple module that takes text input created by the user and does the required action for specific pieces of BB Code that are entered in. BBCode is a popular coding language used on forums such as vBulletin and PHPBB.
7. Buddylist - The buddylist module is essential for anyone looking to create a social networking site with friends. Buddylist allows users to create a friend list similar to those found on sites like MySpace or Facebook. You also have the options of allowing one-way buddies or requiring to have two-way buddies where both users must accept the buddy relationship. Another very useful module.
8. Codefilter - Code filter is a great module for technical web sites that often have programmers or developers posting code snippets. This module allows people to embed PHP code in <?php ?> tags and have the text render correctly with syntax highlighting. It also allows users to post other HTML and bits of code in the <code> </code> tags.
9. Date - The date module is a great module that provides a date field that can easily be integrated in with CCK. With this date field it is fairly easy to create various types of event nodes where certain days and timeframes are needed. With views it is also possible to list out everything as a calendar.
10. Devel
11. Diggthis - Diggthis is a small, handy module for web sites that are looking to have content easily published and voted for on Digg. The Diggthis module extends the Digg this widget that is provided by Digg. It allows any node to have a Digg this button on the top or bottom of that particular node so users can easily Digg an article.
12. Ecommerce - The ecommerce module is probably the biggest module Drupal has to offer. With about 30 submodules included in this package, it is almost in itself a mini-CMS. The ecommerce module has a number of useful shopping cart features one would expect to find on a shopping site. Some of these features include:
    • Taxes
    • Subscriptions and recurring payments
    • Donations module
    • Sell file downloads, shippable items and even collections of various products as a single item
    • Inventory management
    • Payment and shipping components are 'pluggable'. The system can use paypal, authorize.net, e-xact, C.O.D or you can roll your own.
    • Invoice generation and shipping notifications
    • Shopping cart and product 'look and feel' are themeable
    • Transaction reports and sales summaries
    • Transaction and payment workflow
    • Customers can review their order history
    • Dynamically adjust item prices for a given group of users
    • Run an auction site with the contributed auction module

    The ecommerce module is one of the most impressive modules and a must for anybody looking to sell products on their web site.

13. XML Sitemap - The XML Sitemap module creates a sitemap for the search engines according to the specifications set forth by sitemaps.org. This module is very useful as it will automatically take all the node types of your choice and include them in the proper format for the search engines. This can be very useful in getting pages indexed on Google.
14. Image - The Image module is just that - THE image module for Drupal. This module creates an image node type that allows users to upload various images and have these images created into smaller thumbnail versions. The administrator the site is allows to choose what size to resize the images to. One of the coolest parts about this module is that you can actually go back in and change your thumbnail sizes after they have been created and this module will go back through and resize these images off of the original image again. Super cool!
15. Javascript Tools - Javascript Tools offers a number of useful javascript widgets that can help speed up certain parts of Drupal. Some of these features are:
    • Collapsible Blocks
    • Expandable Menus via AJAX
    • Quick Commenting
    • Calendar Widget for Dates
16. Link - A fairly straight-forward module that allows for Link fields to be added to content types with CCK. The link field allows for various link options such as the url, title, and no follow attributes.
17. Captcha - Captcha is a great module that does a great job at preventing spam. This module allows users to provide a captcha in a number of places on your site such as comments, nodes and other commonly used forms. This module will show the user an image with random text to input or a question that they must answer in order to submit the form.
18. Organic Groups - Organic Groups is another monster of a module that allows for groups with Drupal. This is a great module for any social site that would like to allow users to have specific areas of discussion on the site. There are a number of features that users in each group can do such as have forums, events and subscriptions. This module also has a number of add-on modules which can open up even more features.
19. Poormanscron - Poormanscron is a fairly simple module that takes care of a common task. This module runs a Drupal cron job automatically after a certain number of minutes that you provide. This can be very useful for automatically doing tasks which need to be automated on the backend of Drupal.
20. Privatemsg - The Privatemsg module is very great for allowing users to interact on a site by sending private messages. These private messages are only seen between the two users interacting and allows for a quick way to contact somebody without having to know their email address. Privatemsg is an excellent module for anybody looking to create a social networking website.
21. Service Links - Service links is a very handy module that provides a number of social bookmarking links at the bottom, or top, of each node. Some of the sites include:
    • del.icio.us
    • Digg
    • Reddit
    • ma.gnolia.com
    • Newsvine
    • Furl
    • Google
    • Yahoo
    • Technorati
    • IceRocket

    This module also provides icons for each site which helps users quickly find the site of their choice.

22. Similar - Similar is a fairly powerful module that will go through your site's titles and body content to find relationships between nodes and their content. Based off these relationships this module will provide a block that lists out nodes that are similar to the node being viewed.
23. Smileys - Smileys is a solid module that changes normal text smiley faces to small little images of smiley faces. Things such as :) ;) :p will be converted to the proper image on the fly. These are very similar to the smiley faces that everyone has seen on various forums.
24. Tagadelic - Tagadelic provides "tag clouds" to your site by using your existing taxonomy. The module is very lightweight and simply finds the taxonomy terms in your category with the most nodes assigned to them and then gives these terms a larger font size on your site.
25. Taxonomy Theme - Taxonomy theme can be useful for sites looking to easily switch different themes based off taxonomy values or URLs. For instance, every page that is located in mysite.com/articles/ can be shows as one theme while the rest of the site uses another theme.
26. Thickbox - The Thickbox module integrates the jQuery ThickBox plugin into your Drupal site. This plugin allows you to have images and divs show up on the center of the screen with the rest of the site faded out. This can be useful for showing large images or for showing things like the user login screen.
27. Token - Token is required by a number of popular modules such as pathauto and ecommerce. If you are using a lot of modules, one of them will most likely require Token. This module works as an API for modules to store bits of text with placeholders.
28. Webform - Webform has to be one of the most necessary modules for any Drupal site. This module allows you to create a Webform node which enables you to add an unlimited number of form fields such as select drop downs, checkboxes, textareas and so forth. The data collected from this module is then emailed to an email of your choice. The data is also written to the database for referencing later as well. I would highly recommend the webform module!
29. Voting API -
30. Advanced Poll
31. Fivestar
32. Flag Content
33. FlashVideo
34. User Points
35. User Referral / Invite???
36. Vote Up/Down
37. Advanced User
38. Imagecache
39. Google Analytics
40. Nodetype
41. Actions
42. Workflow
43. Contemplate
44. Content Taxonomy
45. Adsense
46. Advertisement
47. Ubercart
48. Community Tags
49. Favorite Nodes
50. Forum Access - Forum Access provides the ability to have moderators for different sections on your Drupal forums. This module allows certain users to moderate posts in Forum A while other users can moderate posts from Forum B. This module also allows you to set certain forums as private where only certain roles can access the content of that forum.
51. Block Cache
52. Mass Contact
53. Double Click
54. Image watermark
55. Node Relativity
56. Accessibility
57. Calendar
58. Event
59. RSVP
60. Paging
61. Spellcheck
62. TinyMCE WYSIWYG Editor
63. Wordfilter
64. Location
65. Simplenews
66. Flickr
67. Image Exact Sizes
68. Image Assist
69. Video
70. Internationalization
71. Spam
72. Taxonomy Access Control
73. Comment RSS
74. FeedBurner
75. Content Recommendation Engine
76. FeedButtons
77. Leech
78. Site map
79. Category
80. Directory
81. Form Tweaker
82. Similar By Terms
83. curvyCorners / Rounded corners ???
84. Focus - Focus is a small module that automatically selects the first textfield on a form and puts the cursor there so the user can start typing immediately.
85. Diff - Diff is a module that shows different revisions done to a node in a very user friendly, easy to see fashion. It highlights certain parts that have been changed between revisions similar to that of sites like Wikipedia.
86. login_destination
87. Panels - Panels is another one of those extremely powerful modules that allows you to create pages that are divided in different ways. With the use of panels it is very easy to create sections on a site that may have two columns side by side or a number of configurations.
88. Case Tracker
89. Address Field
90. SimpleMenu ??? / Drupal Administration Menu ??
91. Embedded Media Field - This module allows site administrators to allow a number of various video, image and audio content providers such as YouTube, Flickr, Google and others to be easily added to a CCK field.
92. Amazon associate tools - This module hooks into Amazon's ECS4 REST interface which allows you to easily add a bunch of products from Amazon onto your site. This module creates two different node types, one for the amazon products and one for reviews. This module also provides a block displaying random amazon items.
93. Database Administration - This module allows administrators to go through and access the site's database right there on the site. This can be a good time saver for certain tasks as you can change the database right there on your Drupal site.
94. Accents - Accents is a handy filter that will go through and replace characters like "á â Å ã" with something more meaningful for search engines like "a".
95. Tweakbox
96. modr8 - modr8 allows admins to quickly go through and manage content that is in moderation.
97. Fasttoggle
98. Printer Friendly Pages - A very handy little module for any site that offers a lot of content that people will often want to print out to read later.
99. Trackback
100. Node Profile
101. Project
102. CVS
103. Adsense Injector
104. Feedback

categories:

the essentials

shopping sites

community sites

content

administration

Top SEO Modules for Drupal

Top Blog Modules for Drupal

javascript / widgets

The allofmp3.com Web site angered Western music companies by undercutting the price of downloads in deals they said breached copyright law.

Denis Kvasov, head of MediaServices which owned the site, was put on trial after entertainment companies EMI Group Plc, NBC Universal and Time Warner Inc. pressed for a prosecution.

"The prosecution did not succeed in presenting persuasive evidence of his involvement in infringing copyright law," said judge Yekaterina Sharapova.

A local official with the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), which is representing copyright holders in the case, said it would appeal the decision.

"We are disappointed with the verdict and will appeal," IFPI regional director Igor Pozhitkov told reporters.

The site has been a thorny issue in negotiations between Russia and the United States over Russia's accession to the World Trade Organisation, a key aim of President Vladimir Putin.

At the beginning of the year global credit card companies stopped allowing customers to pay allofmp3.com for music downloads and by July the Web site had quietly closed down.

Kvasov always said he was within the law because the site paid part of its income to ROMS, a Russian organisation which collects and distributes fees for copyright holders.

The judge agreed with his defence.

"Everybody who uses soundtracks has to pay a certain amount of their income to the rights holders and this company has done that," she said. "MediaServices has paid a certain amount of money to ROMS."

At the height of its popularity allofmp3.com attracted millions of bargain-hunting music lovers across the world. It would typically sell the world's most popular tracks at a huge discount to U.S. competitors.

Russian marketplaces and underground passes are full of cheap copies of music and film on DVDs and Russia's government has been accused of being too lax on protecting intellectual property rights, a basic principle of WTO membership.

But in July Russia's top negotiator on WTO entry said he thought a deal would be ready by the end of the year.

Although allofmp3.com has disappeared, another Russia-based discount music Web site has since emerged -- www.mp3sparks.com, also owned by MediaServices

10. Molecule Self-Configuring Robots

Daniela Rus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

This shape-changing bot is built of many simple modules which it can move around, allowing it to adapt to different tasks and build 3-dimensional structures.

9. Learning to Walk in 20 Minutes

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

This little guy can learn to walk in 20 minutes. Built by MIT, this robot learns with every step it takes, continually adapting to terrain. Learning technology potentially makes robots more practical for applications like prosthetics and exploration. Click to enlarge.

8. USC Humanoid Robot

Zina Deretsky, NSF

This freaky looking USC-built robot head can learn facial movements from human teachers and watches objects it finds interesting. This collaboration between neuroscience, robotics, and computer vision is the first step to building full-body humanoid robots.

7. Self-Assembling Robotics

Klavins Lab, University of Washington, 2005

This exhibit demonstrates 10 self-assembling robots that attach to each other to form larger structures. Each robot is 4 inches wide and weighs less than a quarter pound. Attendees are encouraged to play with the robots to figure out how they work.

6. Systems for Surgical Assistance

Computer Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology Engineering Research Center

This robotic surgeon, designed to assist in brain surgeries, has the steadiest hand in the business. The exhibit will also show two compact, image-guided robot systems developed for tiny operations such as prostate biopsy.

5. Solar-Powered Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (SAUV)

Autonomous Undersea Systems Institute

SAUV, weighing in at 370 pounds and 8 feet in length, is specially designed long-endurance underwater robot. It can spend several days on sensory mapping, security and environmental monitoring missions.

4. RHex/RiSE

Daniel Koditschek, University of Pennsylvania

The six-legged bug bot shows off remarkable speed, mobility and efficiency never before seen in the robotics world. It’s a joint project between Carnegie Mellon, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California, Berkeley.

3. COOL Aide: Robotics Assistance for the Elderly

Majd Alwan

The Co-operative Locomotion Aide (COOL Aide) – a passive, shared control, robotic walking aide – helps the elderly and injured get around by determining a user's intent and assisting them with movement.

2. COTS-M Scout Robot

Nikos Papanikolopoulos, University of Minnesota

Smaller than a soda can, the COTS-M Scout is loaded with sensors, including a camera. Researchers can toss the robot and ask it to drive to a particular location and transmit video to a handheld unit.

1. Aerial Robots

Paul Oh, Drexel University

The Drexel Autonomous Systems Lab is currently working on building sensor robots that can fly around on their own to explore forests, caves, and tunnels. These robots could also be used to fly above disaster areas and battlefields to locate casualties.