Welcome to edition 12 of the Post.

This week, having been 'out of England', I was interested to read that British Telecom was disrupted on Friday when two of its' computers crashed. The fault hit calls to the National Health Service help-line, the Samaritans, two motoring rescue organisations (just as well I managed to change the flat tyre I found on my return without too many problems!), gas companies, banks, and rail inquiries. So... if you were in despair over your health, bank account or lack of utilities, you couldn't even phone for comfort. Engineers had to work through the night to correct the situation.

Further afield, cyber vandals hit the FBI's web address this week. The bureau, which is currently investigating the disruption of other Internet sites recently, itself became the victim when the hackers shut down its' site for three hours during the week.
Let us hope that they can sort out the problem soon!

On a more promising note, the creation of new magnetic microchips is predicted to lead to more efficient computers and other electronic devices. Cambridge University's new chips store data through tiny magnetic fields, and test versions are up to 40,000 times more efficient than the current chips! Most existing chips can store up to
6.6m transistors in a square millimetre, but this could rise to 250,000m in time.

Another advantage is that magnetic models use far less energy during use. Sounds good to me!

On with the Post then!

shazzPRME

• 1-2-1



Another look into the life of one of the h2g2 researchers. This week we've picked on Joanna.

• Take 5



The pick of this week's batch of new Guide entries.

• Agony Aunt



h2g2 is not a 'normal' community, it doesn't have 'normal' problems, therefore a 'normal' Agony Aunt would be useless. Ours is far from 'normal'.

• Wowbagger





The 'Fab' four get Wowbaggers treatment this week.

• h2g2 Life




Cats and computers. They don't mix.

• Week In, Week Out



A cynical look at current affairs brought to us by an h2g2 researcher.

• Animal Antics


Strange stories about animals that have been appearing in the press this week.

• h2g2 Site of the Week


There are some really good user pages in h2g2.

We're going to start pointing some of them out.

• Furry Stories




The BooK NooK returns! In the first part this week

the team look at books about rabbits.

• Best Sellers


In the second part of this week's BooK NooK we bring you

the best sellers throughout the globe

• Nuts, Doughnuts!


I think there's an obsession starting here.

• Freebies!


In the name of research, we tried to make a bit of money

from surfing the net. Here's what we found.

• Wait a Minute



Do you have an article awaiting approval?

One of our reporters had a look into the

current average waiting times.

• Field Critic Fun Run


Take part in the latest Fun Run and tell others what you think of their work.

• Rejection Slips


A guide to the world of h2g2 rejection. Useful stuff.

• The Think Tank



A central point to exchange ideas on articles. Whether you're
writing a future Guide entry and want some help with spelling, grammar
or content, or you have a few moments to spare and wish to proof read
for a fellow researcher, this is the place.