A not-so Anonymous Coward asks: "After being on a rather slow PC for some time now, I have finally made the jump to a 1GHz+ PC. Being fairly new at having a rather fast PC, I am not very sure where to go for system performance tweaking. A few friends pointed me to Monroe World and TweakXP. Both are pretty good sites, however I find that my system still doesn't perform as well as it should when running a benchmarking test like 3dMark 2003. My score is just under 2000. I know people who have slower systems than mine and get a score around 5000. So I am turning to the Slashdot community to ask: Where do you go to find out the latest and greatest hardware and system tweaks? Do you have your own tweaks, and if you do would you mind sharing your secret tweaking tips?"

Jasin Natael asks: "What PDA's/Smartphones, etc. support complex languages in addition to more 'standard' languages? I'm a student of Japanese and am looking for a new PDA or smartphone that operates in English, but supports complex character sets. Input is a plus, but it's really needed for Contacts, Notes, Websites, and incoming E-Mail at a minimum. Would it be easy to add support to a Linux PDA (Zaurus) or Pocket PC for this? What about right-to-left languages, like Hebrew and Arabic?"

stewartj asks: "I finally got sick of manually updating my large bookmarks collection between the computers I use at work and home. I've got a permanent connection at home and a personal webserver running, so I thought I'd install a bookmark manager. Searches on SourceForge and Freshmeat have brought up too many options to consider, so I thought I'd ask Slashdot readers if they have any recommendations for a good web-based bookmark manager? Is there a better solution to making my bookmarks available everywhere (but still keeping them secure)?"

Sarreq Teryx asks: "I'm looking to buy a new case for my system, to fit in a particular space (20¼" tall x 11" wide), I've found plenty that fit the height (I personally like the Lian-Li PC-6089A out of that bunch), but all the cases I've seen are either the too-too narrow 7½" to 8¼" wide consumer tower cases (that Lian-Li included), or the super wide 13" to 20" wide server cases (which tend to be on the unbearably ugly side), both of which are the wrong width.Does anyone happen to know if any PC case company makes cases that are ~20" tall x ~10¾" wide, or of any company makes custom cases from the plate metal up? I've never done any metal working, so if I were to make one myself, it'd end up being made of wood, and I don't particularly like that idea."

Skinnytie asks: "I was recently asked by the CEO of the company for which I work to find a resource from which to better understand what to do in the event of a disaster. 'I'm on it, Sir' was my response, and I ran back to my desk and started writing contingency plans and trying to imagine what to do if a meteorite strikes our co-lo facility. I quickly came te realize that there is far more that *could* happen (the CTO gets hit by bus, or the in-house server room gets abducted by aliens...you get the point) than I am even prepared to write plans for. I thought I'd hit the Slashdot audience up for some ideas/horror stories regarding avoiding, dealing with and getting past whatever disasters that have occurred at your development houses. Have at you!"

zambuka asks: "Recently I was asked about pricing and availability of wireless microphones. What is needed are 15 wireless microphones, appropriate base units and the ability to record the signal from each microphone on a separate track. A session will last about 2 hours and the results need to be recorded to a CD. I have priced this at about $25000AUS probably less with bulk rates for the mikes and transmitters but still a big cost and not particularly portable for the base and recording units. The question I have regards alternatives. I have thought about using MiniDisc recorders, Nomad and Muvo. These are a much cheaper alternative and will suffice but require a major effort to transfer everything back to a PC and burn to a CD. I was also looking at wireless networks: 802.11a/b and Bluetooth and thought about how much cheaper and more suited to my needs this technology seems to be. Can these wireless systems cope with the constant throughput I need for this? And, is it possible (preferably with off the shelf components) to set up a wireless VOIP or similar network capable of dealing with this quantity of audio and recording the signals separately. Links to the tech would be welcome. Anyone living in Canberra who would like to take a shot at setting something like this up can feel free to contact me."

TheFr00n asks: "I recently managed to teach my ten year old son the hexadecimal number system, but he shot me back a question that has me stumped. How does one pronounce hex, after the first iteration? In decimal, we have nice words like 'fifty' and 'sixteen'. Is there an official way of pronouncing a hexadecimal number like CF9? 'See hundred and effty-nine'? (which is totally wrong anyway because a hundred is 64 in hexidecimal) Any thoughts?"

gordlea asks: "Has anyone ever had a gadget that has acted in a seemingly possessed manner, or that seemed to have a personality of it's own? We once owned a Panasonic fax/phone/answering machine. This thing was crazy, it would randomly call up people who had called our place recently and play back messages other people had left for us. Occasionally it would even record our conversations and play them back to people who called when we weren't around! So do you have any good anecdotes along similar lines? I'm looking forward to hearing them!"

An anonymous reader asks: "I have a steel frame road bicycle and recently began riding on a path that parallels high-tension power lines for several miles. My question is: Does my bike induce an electric current by passing through the electric fields from the power lines? I normally ride the section at about 18 miles per hour, estimate the distance to the lines at about 75-100 feet, and think they're 200KV lines."

Mad Dog Kenrod asks: "A recent ad campaign for a digital camera had the slogan (something like) 'imagine being able to take a picture from your head and show it to people' - it was basically showcasing how small the camera was. This got me thinking: most people simply want to 'snap what they see'. Given that the human eye already has a very workable lens, and a retina which (I assume) is similar in technology to a digital camera, how feasible would it be to 'tap into' the optic nerve (not the brain, because by then the 'image' is probably something else entirely) and turn the signals from all those rods and cones into pixels?"

Tadau asks: "Knowing not much of the low-level and molecular aspects of a hard drive platter, I'm wondering if it is possible to cause a weight change/imbalance on a hard drive platter by say writing solid 1's to approximately 1/2 of a side of the platter? If there is a weight change, then could that attribute to drive vibrations by an ever-so-slightly unbalanced platter, which may result in an eventual drive failure?"

chewedtoothpick asks: "How many of you have had dental work where they had to numb your tongue and everything? I did about six months ago and my tongue never became UN-numb. Aparently they hit a nerve, which seldom occurs and shouldn't happen according to a few dentists and a family member who is an oral surgeon. The dentist told me that it can take as long as six months to heal, but I have also heard from a few people which this has happened to; that if it's not normal within a couple of months that it will never come back. I know one lady who is a regular client at my shop who has had a numb tongue for almost 10 years! Luckily; in my case, this is only half of my tongue, so I am not completely impaired in speech or taste. What I do want to know is what would all or any of you do? Would you sue, and how much for? Would you demand a full refund for the dental work?"

oh the irony! asks: "The way the current legal/political/economic climate favors corporations and industry associations like the MPAA and RIAA in questions of intellectual property and copyright troubles me. But it has occurred to me that these tools could be used against the RIAA etc. The RIAA says peer to peer services like Napster were illegal because one person buys a CD and rips it so that a person who doesn't own it can listen to it. So...what if a Corporation buys a CD? Specifically, a corporation is legally a person and can own intellectual property as well as other property. If people are members of a corporation they can then legally use the corporation's property. I am not a lawyer but maybe Slashdot readers could tell me if my idea is legally possible or workable. It would be poetic justice to use Click through licenses and corporate law against the bad guys." Read on for more details on "The Idea".

bertok asks: "I have several spindles of CD-Rs of various brands that I use at home and work, and some of them have a very strong almond odour when opened. Does anyone know what causes that? I know that Hydrogen Cyanide has a distinctive almond odour, but so does a range of other organic chemicals. Can any Slashdot readers with a chemistry background enlighten us as to the possible source of the smell?"

Makin Waves asks: "Skeptics are very good at 'disproving' things that can't be proven in the first place, so, how about offering me a reasonable, rational explanation for all the cattle mutilations in Argentina instead? (200 at last count). A decent explanation must include the following...Where did all the blood go? What portable instrument does the cauterized cuts? Why won't scavengers touch the dead bodies? Why are there no tracks or blood around the bodies? Why do they take tissues that have a lot of nerves? Last but not least, if not aliens....then Who, Why and How? A Google search will get you all the info you need. For the lazy, this place has a lot of stories. C'mon skeptics, put your money where your mouth is. Maybe it was 'auto-suggestion' eh?"

miradu asks: "With the nation in such a serious mood in such dire times, what are we supposed to do for humor? April Fool's Day is just around the corner, but that's only for one day! Sites like The Onion will always be around to poke fun at things, but what are some other smaller sites that are writing some good satire/parodies of the current situations? I need to laugh!"

George Wright asks: "One of the missing links to make PPC Linux more complete is the lack of a MacroMedia Flash plugin. Several people have been caught out by this, but someone has (finally) decided to petition for it. For those people that don't know what Flash is, check it out here. How about some support?"

bilsaysthis asks: "Bill Kearney poses a really interesting question, one which I've been puzzled by for a while too: 'What's with prices on LCD displays? On one hand a laptop can be had with UXGA resolution display for $1000. Try buying that display alone and you'll find it's also around $1000. Then there's how much they're gouging for the same resolution in an LCD television.'" Sadly enough, as much as I want one of these for my wall, the market is willing to bear these prices. How long will it be before this hardware becomes affordable?

williwilli asks: "Musicians face a multitude of challenges in this day and age, yet there are a number of musicians also trying to work towards the future. One constant challenge in almost any profession in money. With CPU's continuing to advance at a rapid rate, many musicians are finding computer-based software synthesis to be much more cost effective than traditional hardware synthesizers. While some musicians are using portable systems, the lack of expandibility limits the systems capabilities in terms of synthesis, multitrack recording, etc. While one could always throw more computers at the problem, many users will no doubt find a rackmount system provides much more capability and expandibility. As such, what insights might the Slashdot crowd be able to provide towards building your own rack? Is shockmounting necessary? Are parts readily available, or are there any 'open-source' CAD files out there? Are there music-specific materials, designs, or tips to recommend or avoid?" Would rackmounts for a mobile musician really differ so greatly from rackmounts made for a small server cluster?

JBoelke asks : "I currently teach science fiction at the high-school level, this is my first semester teaching the course and I have been shocked by the lack of resources available. The reference book I am using for story selection is Groking the Future, which was made in the 1970's. It has been rather difficult to get the selections of stories recommended. I did not take a science fiction literature course in college and I was wondering if anyone from the of Slashdot community had, and could recommend provide me with contact address of the professor and University, so I could ask for their curriculum? I know these books may be more complicated for high-school students but I can modify the curriculum." Similar to this thread from 2000, this question focuses more on the curriculum aspect, rather than book recommendations. While I'm sure recommendations not mentioned in the previous thread would be appreciated, actual lesson structure ideas would be better.