THE WHATIS.COM WORD-OF-THE-DAY March 3, 2003 brain dump
______________ TODAY'S SPONSOR: Free Enterprise Storage white papers Download the key papers you need today to make better-informed decisions. Get free papers from Hitachi, IBM, Computer Associates, Sun, EMC, HP, and more. >> Click here to access SearchStorage.com's white papers section... http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/whitepapers3/0,,sid5,00.html ________________ TODAY'S WORD: brain dump See our complete definition with hyperlinks at http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci883405,00.html A brain dump (sometimes spelled braindump, or brain-dump) is a complete transfer of accessible knowledge about a particular subject from your brain to some other storage medium, such as paper or your computer's hard drive. It is common for someone who maintains a blog (a personal journal that's shared on the Internet) to refer to the blog as a brain dump. The term brain dump can also be used in an educational context. For example, someone preparing for an exam might perform a brain dump by writing out as much information as they can remember about something they've studied. Brain dump Web sites for exam preparation purposes are fairly common, especially for computer-related certification programs. Someone who has taken an exam might perform a brain dump by writing out as many of the questions as they remember, for distribution as a study guide for other people who intend to take the same exam. However, the practice is not encouraged by authorities, who argue that studying for only certain questions within a subject area might yield a pass on an exam, but doesn't yield any real understanding of the subject matter. Furthermore, running that type of brain dump Web site is usually illegal. In January 2003, Robert Keppel was sentenced to 12 months plus a day in prison and fined $500,000 for maintaining a brain dump (cheatsheets.com) that sold Microsoft Certified System Engineer (MCSE) and Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD) exam questions. A more extreme interpretation of brain dumping involves the attempt to store all the knowledge in your brain on a computer. At present, this is an impossible task. However, some futurist theorists, such as Ray Kurzweil (co-developer of the first print-to-speech reading machine for the blind), believe that a post-biological age will dawn when humans cease to exist as mortal beings and live forever in virtual reality, after downloading their brains to computers. RELATED TERMS: blog http://searchwebservices.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid26_gci214616,00.html certification http://searchwin2000.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid1_gci784214,00.html Microsoft Certified System Engineer http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci214089,00.html virtual reality http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci213303,00.html ______________________ SELECTED LINKS: Win2000 News & Analysis has an expert commentary warning, "Stay away from brain dumps." http://searchwin2000.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid1_gci881217,00.html Ray Kurzweil's Web site features an article called "We are becoming cyborgs." http://www.kurzweilai.net/meme/frame.html?main=memelist.html?m=5#551 An InfoWorld article explores the practice of brain dumping. http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/01/03/030106opestrat_1.html _________________________________________________________________ CHALLENGE #28 | Know a good blog? This week, we invite you to share your favorite blogs. We'll start. Here's one of our favorite blogs for Photoshop tips and tricks: http://www.fjordaan.uklinux.net/moveabletype/fblog/archives/000057.html If we can get enough good IT-related blogs together, we can build a Fast Guide to IT Blogs. Want to help? Post a link to your favorite IT blog(s) in our discussion forum or e-mail us the URL at [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Thanks! >> Click to go to the discussion forum http://WhatIs.com/r/0,,10865,00.htm?x ______________________ QUIZ #36 (NEW!) | Linux Basics Take our latest quiz and see how much you know about Linux. 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Not to worry, with one click we'll activate your membership with your subscription! >> Click here to auto-activate your free subscription http://searchSecurity.techtarget.com/OptIn/1,290894,sid14,00.html?cid=&em=&tid=110&FE=1 ______________________________ RECENT ADDITIONS AND UPDATES [1] core dump http://search390.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid10_gci211844,00.html [2] Spoken Text Markup Language http://searchwebservices.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid26_gci883069,00.html [3] Bison http://searchenterpriselinux.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid39_gci882229,00.html [4] Bash http://searchenterpriselinux.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid39_gci882213,00.html [5] pizza pie server http://searchwin2000.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid1_gci882592,00.html ____________________________________________________________________ ::::::::::::::::::: WHATIS.COM CONTACTS ::::::::::::::::::: LOWELL THING, Site Editor ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) ____________________________________________________________________ MARGARET ROUSE, Associate Editor ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) ___________________________________________________________________ :::::::::::::::::::: ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER ::::::::::::::::::::: Published by TechTarget (http://www.techtarget.com) TechTarget - The Most Targeted IT Media Copyright 2003, All Rights Reserved. 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