Ancient Greece Technology

Logicworks Digital Media Series Presents “Just Say No To SQL: The Where and ...

The New York technology community is abuzz with five letters that seem to have revolutionized the web: “NoSQL.” What is NoSQL? It’s a group of free open-source database platforms that take their names from movie theater wizards, ancient Greek prophecy, and acronyms containing words like “unreliable.” This Wednesday night some of the biggest names in New York Tech including Gilt Groupe, Foursquare, and Mashable will converge for an invitation-only event at The Standard Hotel sponsored by Logicworks with the goal of unraveling the mysteries of NoSQL.

Since the invention of databases, the primary goal has been consistency of data. Data consistency means that all the data in the database is in sync and transactions are only applied to an up-to-date set of records. Imagine a world without data consistency: Two people could be issued the same social security number! Your teenage daughter could simultaneously max out your credit card at a dozen different websites! Companies like Oracle, Microsoft, and IBM all produce mainstream database platforms designed to prevent this type of catastrophe. And so why on earth would anyone want a database that doesn’t guarantee consistency?

The answer is that social media has a very different set of priorities than traditional businesses like banks and retail stores. The key for social media is to handle massive amounts of data. With millions of users posting tweets, comments, and viral content like images, documents, and multimedia, consistency takes the back seat to performance and flexibility. Tools like “Cassandra,” named for Apollo’s unrequited love who could predict the future, “Project Voldemort”, “MongoDB” and “CouchDB” which stands for “Cluster of Unreliable Commodity Hardware,” provide lesser degrees of consistency but can easily scale across huge amounts of servers and handle massive peaks in traffic.

“The technology requirements of social media websites are staggering and continue to grow exponentially,” says Logicworks President and Chief Operating Officer Kenneth Ziegler. “This year we witnessed our first client to hit over ten billion impressions in a single month.” According to Ziegler, Logicworks’ clients are increasingly depending on the scalability features of NoSQL databases to handle this growth while maintaining the fast responsiveness that users expect from their favorite websites. Ziegler adds “Logicworks is sponsoring this series of Digital Media Publishing events including tonight’s NoSQL forum so that successful technology pioneers can share their trials, tribulations, and accomplishments with the broader community.

Science and Technology in Ancient Greece” Exhibition Opens June ...

The Department of Alexandria organized a conference and exhibition on ”Science and Technology in Ancient Greece”, on Wednesday, June 8, 2011 at 19:00.

The Associate Professor at the University of Athens Xenofon Mousas will give a talk on ”Antikythera Mechanism, the First Mechanical Universe and Computer”.

Nefertiti Megahed, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cairo will talk about ”Maths in the Mediterranean: Egypt and Greece”.

Dr. Flora Vafea will focus on  Αstrolabe (astronomical instrument that locates and predicts the position of stars  and planets).

The exhibition will contribute in a more global presentation of the topic, which  designates the relations between Greek and Egyptian civilizations; two  civilizations that were developed around the Mediterranean Sea.

At the end of talks, another topic related to the photograph exhibition will be inaugurated. The presentation includes photographs of the Antikythera Mechanism, accompanied by short texts in Greek and Arabic.

The Antikythera Mechanism, is one of the most globally important discoveries of the Antiquity. It is the oldest known complex scientific calculator, as well as astronomical clock and planetarium. It is considered to be one of the most advanced astronomical clocks discovered in Europe, especially after the 14th century.

It was maintained for 23 centuries at the bottom of the sea and was discovered in a shipwreck, in Antikythera by Symian divers around 1901-1902. The ship carried priceless treasures from Greece to Rome. Today, the Antikythera Mechanism can be found in the Archaelogical Museum of Athens.

The exhibition was designated by Xenofon Mousas, Member of the International  Mechanism Study group, the results of which are based the reconstructions in computers and cartoon films, as presented in the exhibition.

The exhibition presents the evolution of Greek astronomy and astrophysics, which became a real science in Greece due to the use of appropriate maths and physics that allow the comprehension, interpretation and prediction of astronomics through evolving mathematical models.

The exhibition will be presented in Greece, Cyprus and many more countries around the world.

Dates of exhibition: June 8th to September 30th, 2011

Hours of visit: Monday to Thursday, 9.30  – 21.00

Friday, 9.30 – 15.

Technology of Ancient Greece

The Technology of Ancient Greece

Ancient Greek Technology, Trojan Horse, Astrolabe, Crane, Diolkos, Automaton, Ancient Greek Technology, Wheelbarrow, Kyrenia Ship

Ancient Greek technology, replicas and models : an approach to the marvels of the ancient Greek masters

On Heidegger's Nazism and philosophy