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What is a market cap? Abbreviation for "market capitalization." The market cap is the value of an entire company as determined by the market at any given time. You can caculate this by multiplying the price per share by the number of outstanding shares. Because this value is set by the stock price per share, it fluctuates daily along with the stock price.

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If someone steals my credit card and uses it, am I responsible for the charges? Generally, no. Most credit card companies are very forgiving when this happens and will reverse all the charges once you report the theft to them. That said, if you start making a habit of this, they may be more reluctant. Credit card companies put a lot of effort into spotting fraud, so don't think you can get away with it. ; )

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Is it possible to rotate balances from one credit card to another so I don't pay interest? This used to be possible, but almost all balance transfer offers now charge a fee (around 3% of the transfer amount,) so this is really no longer feasible because the fees are prohibitive. However, it is possible -- and I would highly recommend -- to transfer your balance using a low-interest balance transfer offer and then, when that offer expires, look for another low-interest transfer...

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What's the catch with those "2.9%" credit card balance transfer offers? When considering doing a balance transfer, watch for a couple of things: 1. The transfer fee - most balance transfers charge a transfer fee which is often 3% of the transfer amount or some maximum amount. If the new interest rate is much lower than your old one, this 3% is probably worth paying because of the finance charges you'll avoid with the lower interest rate. Sometimes, if you...

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What is an "activity disorder?" An activity disorder affects someone's overall activity level. Hyperactivity disorder, for example, means that someone is over-active, they are constantly moving and doing various things, and it is probably hard for them to concentrate on a single task for an extended period of time. If a child is hyperactive, it will probably be difficult for their parents to control, discipline, or...

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What is an equinox? An equinox is a day that has equal daytime and night-time (12 hours each, naturally.) This happens twice each year when the sun crosses the equator, during the vernal equinox on March 21 and the autumnal equinox on September 23.

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What's the difference between interlaced and progressive scanning? Interlaced scanning shows half of an image (on the odd rows of pixels) every sixtieth of a second, and then it shows the other half (on the even rows) the next sixtieth. Therefore, it takes one thirtieth of a second to show a complete frame, giving a framerate of 30 frames per second. Progressive scanning shows the entire image every sixtieth of a second, so the framerate is twice as high -...

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What is interlaced? Interlaced scanning is a method of displaying an image on a cathode ray tube like a standard television (not an LCD or plasma screen.) An interlaced system alternates every sixtieth of a second between showing the odd and even horizontal scan lines. First it will show the odd lines, and then one sixtieth of s second later it will show the even lines, so every thirtieth of a second a complete...

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What is a progressive scan? Progressive scan is a method of displaying an image on a cathode ray tube like a standard television (not an LCD or plasma screen.) A progressive scan system displays the entire image once every sixtieth of a second. The true framerate is therefore 60 frames per second.

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What is a HDTV? A standard for digital television signals that features a higher resolution than standard, analog television signals. The HDTV standard specifies three different video formats: - 720p (1280x720 pixels, progressive scan) - 1080i (1920x1080 pixels, interlaced) - 1080p (1920x1080 pixels, progressive scan) All three of these resolutions have a 16:9 "widescreen" aspect ratio. ...

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How long does it take light to travel to Earth from the Sun? Approximately eight minutes. So, if the Sun were ever to blow up, we wouldn't know until eight minutes later...

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What is a GPRS? General Packet Radio Services. GPRS is a wireless communication service based on GSM that features packet-based communications (like Internet communications.) Its data transfer is rated between 56 Kbps to 114 Kbps. GPRS also supports IP and X.25, a European protocol.

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What is a EDGE? Enhanced Data GSM Environment. EDGE is a cell phone system that is faster than standard GSM, and it is supposed to be able to transfer data at 384 Kbps. Its higher data transfer rate makes it more suitable for multimedia applications than GSM.

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If I change services, can I keep my cell phone number? In the US this is possible.

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What is roaming? Roaming is the term for when you use your cell phone outside of the area covered by your service carrier. Your phone will automatically "roam" or look for the next available carrier, and it will use that one. Because you are using a third-party carrier, roaming charges are usually quite expensive.

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What is a GSM? Global System for Mobile communications. This is a digital mobile phone system that is the standard in Europe and Asia, and it is currently more widely used than CDMA and TDMA. It is based on TDMA, and it utilizes the 900Mhz and 1800 Mhz bands.

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How high is a regulation basket in the NBA? 10 feet.

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What is a polish? Polish actually cleans your paint, unlike wax that just protects it. All polishes are abrasive to some extent, so they help loosen dirt and other pollution from your paint, and they restore the car's natural shine. After polishing is a perfect time to wax the car.

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What is a wax? A layer that protects your car's paint from the elements. Can help create shine, but polish is more effective for that.

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What are the real dimensions of a 2-by-4? 1.5" by 3.5".

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What is a server? A server is a computer that "serves" or gives files or services to other users or computers. An example would be a "web server" which gives web pages to users who request them. File servers work similarly. Print servers control the printing queue for a specific computer, so any computer on the network can use that printer. There are countless types of servers these days...

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Are LCD screens better for your eyes than normal monitors? Yes, they are. LCD screens have no refresh rate because each pixel is constantly illuminated, so LCD screens have no flickering. Many people complain that monitor flickering gives them headaches.

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What is a resolution? The sharpness, or pixel density, of a screen or an image on a screen. Resolution is usually expressed as horizontal pixels by vertical pixels, like 1600x1200 or 640x480.

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What is a pixel? The smallest point on a monitor screen that can be illuminated. A pixel may only be one color at any given time, so the total image you see on the screen is the sum of all the pixels on the screen. A monitor with more pixels than another (assuming the same screen size) is said to have better "resolution" because it can show images more sharply.

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What is a CRT? Cathode Ray Tube. This is the traditional monitor type, as opposed to the newer LCD and plasma screens.

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What is a 401(k)? 401(k) programs help people save for their retirement. They allow you to put money into an account that has been designated for 401(k) purposes. These deposits are made through work-related programs, and they are *tax free.* That's right - no state or federal taxes are taken out, and that money is dropped right into your account. What's the catch? You can't withdraw this money...

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What does a 401(k) program do? 401(k) programs help people save for their retirement. They allow you to put money into an account that has been designated for 401(k) purposes. These deposits are made through work-related programs, and they are *tax free.* That's right - no state or federal taxes are taken out, and that money is dropped right into your account. What's the catch? You can't withdraw this...

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What is a mutual fund? A mutual fund is a fund that is run by an investment company and which individuals may invest in. In return for their investment, these individuals then own equity in the fund. The fund will consist of stocks, bonds, or other money market instruments, so investors will, in essence, own equity in each of these instruments. The point of a mutual fund is that individual investors can easily...

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What is a SBA? Small Business Association

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What is a decibel? Abbreviation for "decibel".

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What is a SPL? Sound Pressure Level. This is the "loudness" of a sound, measured in decibels.

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What is a decibel? The decibel is a unit of measurement for how "loud" a sound is. In the world of acoustics, decibels are used to measure sound pressure level (SPL) as compared to a reference pressure, but for layman's purposes, "loudness" is a sufficient definition. Decibels are measured on a logarithmic scale.

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What is the Doppler effect? The Doppler effect, in general terms, describes the change of pitch that is observed from a sound source that is in motion. The classic example of this is a siren - sirens seem to have a high pitch as they are approaching us, and then a lower pitch as they get farther away. The cause of this is the motion of the sound source relative to to observer (you.) Sound travels in waves that travel...

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What is an undergrad? Term for someone who is taking classes to earn their bachelor's degree, someone who is not in a graduate school like business school or medical school. Like: "The undergrads live in the dorms." Or, it can also be used to refer to a program for undergrads. Like: "He just started the undergrad program."

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What should I look for when buying an MP3 player? Here are a few things: 1. Built-in memory. This is a big deal, especially for MP3 players without the ability to add more memory. 2. Expandability. Let's say you bought an MP3 player with 64MB of built-in memory, and it fills up. Many players have slots that allow you to expand their memory many times over. Sometimes this may be more cost-effective than buying an MP3 player with...

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What is a WML? Wireless Markup Language: a simplified version of HTML that is built for portable Internet-enabled devices. WML is built to simplify navigation for users with small screens and limited input devices (probably not a mouse.)

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What is WAP? Wireless Application Protocol - a protocol that defines how applications on wireless devices, such as cell phones, can transfer information across the Internet. It consists of several sub-parts including WML (like HTML for cell phones), WMLScript (like JavaScript), and WTAI, the Wireless Telephony Application Interface.

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What is WAP? WAP, the Wireless Application Protocol, is the current standard for information services on cell phones and other wireless devices. Web browsers on these devices typically read code written in WML, the Wireless Markup Language, which is a version of HTML that is pared down and tailored for wireless devices that have small display screens.

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Can you play Sony PS2 games on a PS1? Sorry, no you can't.

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How do stock options work? Here are the basics for stock options as they are granted to employees: Some companies, particularly startups, will offer stock options to their employees. These options will typically come with a strike price and a vesting schedule which you will need to pay close attention to. The vesting schedule determines how quickly you earn your options. Most companies will have a schedule that...

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What is Kobe beef and why is it so expensive? Kobe beef comes from Kobe, Japan. And if cows in Japan weren't rare enough for you (so to speak), these cows are regularly massaged by their handlers to make sure their meat stays tender. Kobe beef is widely known as some of the best and most tender you can buy, so vendors know they charge steep prices.

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What is software? Software are programs that run on computers. This could include your web browser, your instant messenger, or even your operating system (Windows, MacOS, etc.). The computer itself, the hardware, could do nothing without the programs, the software, that run on it.

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What webservers will run on Windows 2000? Apache (http://www.apache.org) is an Open Source webserver that has ports for Windows and is very reliable. Also, Microsoft's Internet Information Server (IIS) will allow you to serve web pages from a Windows machine.

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Is MySQL strong enough for high-traffic, commercial applications? In general, yes. Many large companies rely on MySQL for mission-critical applications, and it does scale.

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What is a stored procedure? A stored procedure is a piece of code that operates on a database when it is triggered by a certain event. Typical trigger events would be the insertion, update or deletion of a record. The procedure itself, for instance, may then update other tables to reflect the changes made to the first table, or it may perform virtually any other data manipulation functions.

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What is a join? A "join" is a concept within SQL queries. If you want to draw related data out of two (or more) different tables and you want to link them based on a common field, it is called a join. You can use "inner" or "outer" joins, depending on which records you want to retrieve in each table.

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What is a table? A structured collection of data within a database. At its simplest, a table is a grid with columns ("fields") and rows.

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What is a SQL? Structure Query Language. Relational database programs, such as Oracle or MySQL, recognize this language. A user can write SQL scripts that create databases and tables, insert data into databases, and draw that data back out. Each database program utilizes a different version of SQL, but most are very similar, so once you learn SQL on one database, it is not difficult to use it on others.

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Which operating system is the fastest? There is no correct answer to this. It depends entirely on what you're trying to do with the computer. First, you must figure out what applications you want the computer to run, then you'll need to determine which operating systems those applications can run on. Do some research on the web, and you can find out which operating systems are most suitable for specific applications.

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In Windows, where are all the places to look for programs set to launch on startup? The two easy ones are in your Windows Startup group, and in your Services list. The Startup group can be found in your Programs list, under the Start menu. Most third-party programs that launch when Windows starts will be found there. The next place to check is your Services (if you have a version of Windows in the NT family, like Win 2000 or XP.) You can find this list by going to...

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What causes hangovers? From what I understand, dehydration causes hangovers. Alcohol is a diuretic (it makes you urinate), so each drink dehydrates your body, throwing off your body chemistry. When you wake up in the morning, your body is severely lacking in water, and that causes the symptoms of a hangover. The best way to avoid them is to drink a lot of water in between alcoholic drinks. Incidentally, this...

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What's the difference between a laser printer and an inkjet printer? In general terms, laser printers have higher resolution so they have better print quality. Inkjets create images by spitting out tiny droplets of ink, so their resolution is lower. If you look closely at a page printed on a laser printer and the same page printed on an inkjet, you will be able to see that the laser has smoother edges to the fonts. Inkjets are the way to go (as of 2003) for...

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My printer has a parallel cable, but my new computer doesn't have any parallel ports. How can I use the printer? What you can use is a parallel card - this is a card that you can put into the computer just like a sound or video card, and it provides a parallel port. I've seen ones that work in ISA or PCI slots, and they should be available at most computer hardware stores, but probably not at consumer electronics stores. The card should come with a CD with drivers for your operating system....

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I have an IBM Thinkpad laptop (circa '99) with no OS and no OEM floppy/cd. The BIOS starts fine, but it won't boot/install from Win98SE CD or Win98 start up floppy. Any help? I assume that even though you have no OEM floppy/CD drive that you have an external third-party floppy and CD-drive... I would try poking around in the BIOS to see what devices your laptop is allowed to boot from. Make sure that the floppy drive is the first thing it tries to boot from, and if that doesn't work try putting the CDROM drive in the boot sequence before the hard drive as well.

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How can someone be known as a guru? I would say this term is highly subjective, like the term "expert." Anyone can claim they are a "guru" or an expert in a subject, but for people to believe a claim like this they would usually need to have some significant, concrete achievements under their belt. Some examples in the business world may include: - Writing a book on a topic (that is respected by other...

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What does HTML stand for? HyperText Markup Language. Text with "hyperlinks," such as a webpage, is considered "hypertext."

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What are cascading style sheets? Cascading style sheets (CSS) offer a way to format HTML documents. One major advantage is they let you specify styles in one (or more) documents that can be used in many other documents. For example, you can specify a class of text "my_text" in the CSS document and you can say that you want it to be bold and italicized. Then, you can use a tag like: <font...

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Is PHP a hard language to learn? These questions are always subjective, but I would say it is one of the easier languages to learn. Certainly it is easier to learn and read than PERL or C/C++. It is very similar in style to ASP or JSP. If you have done programming in other languages, PHP should be very easy to pick up. If you are a first-time coder, PHP would be a good place to start because it is fairly straightforward in...

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Is there an easy way to install PHP with MySQL and Apache all at once? Yes. There is an open source project called PHP Triad that will help install all three programs *under Windows.* It can be found here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/phptriad/ I don't know of any programs to do this on Linux or Unix environments.

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Is it better to run PHP as a CGI program or as a module under Apache? As a module. This will save you the overhead of Apache having to start and stop the CGI interpreter every time a PHP file is requested. The interpreter is always avaiable if PHP is run as a module, so this method is much more efficient, especially for high-load applications.

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Is PHP object-oriented? Yes, recent versions of PHP support object-oriented programming structures.

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What does PHP stand for? As programmers like to say, the acronym itself is "recursive." It stands for PHP Hypertext Processor.

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What is the fastest jet plane? The fastest jet plane is the SR-71 Blackbird, which, according to official records, goes "Mach 3+". It is widely suspected that the plane goes significantly faster than that, but that the government doesn't want its exact capabilities divulged. The X-5 experimental plane was faster and went approximately Mach 5, but this was more of a rocket with a pilot than a plane. It had...

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What is Harrison Ford's middle name? Trick question! He actually has no middle name. During his early career, he was credited as Harrison J. Ford to avoid confusion with a silent movie actor named Harrison Ford, but the J. was not part of his given name.

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Who was George Lucas' second choice to play Han Solo in Star Wars? Christopher Walken was second choice, and Nick Nolte was also on the list, but Harrison Ford walked away with it.

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What nationality is Salma Hayek? Her father is Lebanese/Jordanian, and her mother is Mexican. She was raised in Mexico.

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Who founded Pixar? Steve Jobs (of Apple fame), John Lasseter, Ed Catmull, and Loren Carpenter.

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How does a shn file compare to a 320kbit mp3? Can you hear the difference? If there is a difference, I can't tell, and the space you save by storing MP3 files instead of SHN files is truly worth any difference to me, especially if you have a large collection.

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What book is Kevin Smith's "Clerks" loosely based on? "The Divine Comedy" by Dante, which also inspired the name of the main character in the movie. Also, the movie is broken up into nine parts to signify the nine rings of hell, as described by Dante.

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What is The Rock's real name? Dwayne Johnson

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What software can I use to create an animated gif? Banner Maker Pro is a fairly good utility for making the individual images in an animated gif. It's especially good for people who really don't know how to use graphics programs, but the UI is a bit confusing. GIF Construction Set is good for putting those images together and compressing them. Adobe ImageReady can also be used for all of the above. (Thanks trhaynes for the...

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Can domestic hamsters survive in the wild? It's not likely, especially in any sort of urban environment, so please don't just release them thinking they'll be set free! Hamsters are sensitive to exposure to sunlight, and cannot survive extreme heat or cold for very long.

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Are there wild hamsters? Yes, there are. They live on the steppes in Russia. No joke.

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What should I do to prepare for a job interview? 1) Research the company. If they are a big company, read through their recent press releases to see what they've been up to. Read their recent financial statements, which should be available in their "Investor Relations" section, to get an idea of how they're doing financially. If you can, find a website that covers that company industry and look for recent articles that...

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What are some ways to purify water while camping? You can also use water purification pills, aka iodine pills. This is a nice solution for long camping trips because the pills are light and don't take up too much room in your backpack.

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Where do I find the latest updates and patches for Windows? Head over to http://www.windowsupdate.com, and that page will automatically update your installation of Windows for you.

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Do all football fields have the same dimensions, high school, college, and NFL? The NFL field looks wider. NFL football fields are indeed wider. They are 160 feet wide, while NCAA fields are only 100 feet wide. (NCAA dimensions can be found here: http://www.ncaa.org/champadmin/football/football_field.html ) All other major dimensions are the same, with 100 yards from goal line to goal line, 10-yard deep end-zones, and goal posts that are 18.5 feet spart. I'm not positive about high-school...

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What is "fantasy football"? Fantasy football, similar to fantasy basketball or fantasy baseball, is a game where people "draft" NFL players to create teams. Then, each week they compare the cumulative statistics for their team to determine whose team is winning. These fantasy football "leagues" usually allow player trades, as well. Overall, it's meant to allow people to act like the General...

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When watching DVDs, I've noticed a short pause most of the way through each movie. What is that? That is the layer change. DVDs have information recorded on two "layers", and there is a short pause on most DVD players when they switch from the first layer to the second.

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What is an aspect ratio? The aspect ratio expresses the proportions of the width and height of a screen or a signal. It is expressed as [width]:[length], and is usually either 4:3 (for traditional NTSC televisions) or 16:9 for widescreen DVDs or HDTV signals.

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Can weather affect my satellite signal? Usually it will not, but very heavy rain or snow can degrade the signal. Signal may also be affected by wet snow sitting on the dish itself, so try to clear snow off the dish if it starts to accumulate.

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Do satellite systems provide HDTV signals? Yes. However, you may need a special dish for HDTV, and you will probably need a special receiver as well. You will have to consult with the specific vendor for details.

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Do I really need a satellite receiver for every television in the house? Only if you want to watch different channels on the different televisions. : ) For each television that you want independent control over, you will need a satellite receiver. This is also the case with digital cable.

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Can I install my dish indoors? Yes, as long as it has a view of the southern sky through a clear glass window.

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Do plasma televisions need to be recharged regularly? No, they do not. The phosophors on the glass may degrade over time, especially if you allow the screen to get burned in, but the plasma never "runs out" or needs to be recharged. If a salesman tells you this, leave immediately.

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What is a DVI? Digital Visual Interface. Some monitors will have DVI inputs, and DVI output can be found on some computers, but it may become common in other devices as well. A DVI connection transfers a digital signal to the monitor without converting it to analog, thereby (in theory) making sure that no information is lost or garbled in the digital-to-analog conversion and following analog-to-digital...

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I've heard that plasma TVs shouldn't be used at high altitude. Is this true? Yes. Most plasma TV manufacturers only recommend to use their televisions at elevations under 5000 feet. To be sure if a TV will work at high altitude, check the specifcations in the manual before you buy.

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What is a native resolution? Plasma TVs and LCD screens have a "native resolution." These screens will give you the best results if you have an input signal at the same resolution. If the signal is at the native resolution of the screen, each pixel will be given its own information in the signal, making for a very clear picture. If the input signal is at a different resolution, the screen will need to...

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What is a resolution? The sharpness of a picture, usually expressed in horizontal pixels by vertical pixels. Some sample resolutions for plasma TV would be 1024 x 768, 1365 x 768, 852 480. The higher these numbers are, the more total pixels the television has, the higher the resolution, and the sharper the picture.

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How do I know if a plasma TV will show high-definition (HD) signals? All plasma TVs will at least "show" HD signals in that you will be able to see the signal. However, if the television's native resolution isn't high enough, it will have to convert the HD signal into a lower resolution signal that it can display. To make sure a TV will show HD signals without losing quality, make sure it has a native resolution of at least 1080i.

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Do plasma TVs come with a tuner? Usually they do not. Most plasma TV's are just monitors, so you will need something else to help you receive signals and change th channel. You can use a VCR, cable box, digital cable box, DVR (like Tivo), or satellite receiver to fill this function.

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What is a "plasma" television? A plasma cell in a plasma television is a small field of rare gas in which the electrons have been separated from their nucleii, creating a field of electrons and ions. When an electric charge is applied to this field (when the TV receives an input signal), it generates UV light which, in turn, excites phosphors that are attached to the TV's glass, causing them to emit light. There are...

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What is the "aspect ratio" of a television? The aspect ratio expresses the proportions of the screen width and height. It is expressed as [width]:[length], usually either 4:3 (for traditional NTSC television signals) or 16:9 for widescreen DVDs or HDTV signals.

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What is an exposure? Common use of the word refers to a single picture on a roll of film. You'll see film boxes say "24 exposures" or something like that. The technical definition is the amount of light that is allowed to hit the film for a single photograph, which is a function of the shutter speed and the aperture. Slow shutter speeds and large apertures make for high exposure levels, while...

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What is an aperture? The size of the opening of a lens. You will usually hear aperture given as an "f-stop", like f/11 or f/8. The larger the the f-number, the smaller the opening is and the smaller the aperture is. You can find the actual aperture by dividing the focal length of the camera by the f-number - e.g. a 110mm camera with an f-stop of 5.6 would give you an aperture of about 19.6mm.

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What is the Advanced Photo System? APS is a system that was invented to simplify camera usage and to add a few extra features. It is also known as "Advantix" or "24mm," and cameras that are build for APS can only use APS film. 35mm cameras, of course, can only use 35mm film, and cannot use APS film. APS film pops right into a camera, and does not require much interaction from the user. No more fiddling...

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Will the X-ray machine at the airport damage my digital camera? No, not at all. Fly to your heart's content.

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What is the relationship between ASP and JScript or VBScript? JScript and VBScript are two scripting languages that can be used within an ASP page. ASP pages are unique to websites that are served by Microsoft's Internet Information Server (IIS), and can be identified by their .asp extension. These languages can also be used outside of a web page context, in environments that support them like the Windows Script Host, but the rest of this answer...