117 Standards I n February 1997, I wrote a Computer column titled " Linking Computers and Consumer Electronics, " which described the IEEE 1394 networking standard, otherwise known as FireWire. FireWire was designed to link personal computers, digital cameras , televisions, DVD players, printers, and other home electronics equipment. In one sense, FireWire represented the technology behind all ...

Scholars and architects have long admired the urban structure of the five towns of the Oued M'zab Valley. Originally built by the Hybadites, a schismatic sect of Muslims, the towns con­ sist of stratified masses of houses on rocky peaks, each dominated by a mosque and minaret, elevated on the skyline like a divine finger. Many common points may be discerned between the tendencies of contemporar...