Technologies

Computing’s Top Prize Goes to Ethernet Creator Bob Metcalfe

The network technology first linked the computers of schools and offices. Now it connects us all to the internet.

Bob Metcalfe has won the 2022 Turing Award, the computing industry’s top prize, for creating the Ethernet standard that today connects billions of devices to wired and wireless networks.

The idea behind Ethernet emerged in a May 22, 1973, memo Metcalfe wrote to his bosses at Xerox PARC, the Palo Alto Research Center famous for a series of seminal computing inventions. Fifty years later, Ethernet connects virtually every laptop and smartphone to the internet.

The Turning Award, named after pioneer and famed World War II code-breaker Alan Turing, is bestowed by the Association for Computing Machinery and comes with a $1 million prize. It’s often referred to as the Nobel Prize of computing. Previous Turing Award winners include dozens of luminaries who invented chip designs, encryption, programming tools, the web, the internet, and the AI technology that’s become so hot today.

Metcalfe also founded 3Com, a company that profited greatly from the commercialization of Ethernet, and worked as a columnist, professor and venture capitalist, among other careers.

«It’s my sixth career,» Metcalfe said in an interview. He’s writing software to try to use computers to simulate geothermal energy plants and other complex real-world systems. «My attitude is I want to do simulation not to optimize things, but to discover them.»

Metcalfe’s law

Metcalfe also is famous for Metcalfe’s Law — an idea he had, though not a title he came up with. The law states that the value of a network increases proportionally to the square of the number of devices that can use it.

«It was a good way to make a sales pitch at 3Com,» Metcalfe said of the idea. Later, though, he validated the idea by connecting Facebook’s membership total with its revenue. «For the first 10 years of Facebook, there’s a perfect fit.»

Ethernet speed boosts

Wired Ethernet began at Xerox PARC with data transfer speeds of 2.94 megabits per second. Now it’s reached 800 gigabits per second — about 272,000 times faster. Another doubling is in the works, to 1.6 terabits per second.

Wired Ethernet ports have faded from laptops and never arrived on phones. But the technology was adapted to the Wi-Fi standards, bringing new convenience and ubiquity to the internet. (Metcalfe prefers Wi-Fi’s original name, Wireless Ethernet.)

Token Ring grudge

Today, it’s nearly universal in digital devices, but Ethernet had stronger competition in its early days. The top of the list of rivals was IBM’s Token Ring.

«Token Ring was a 20-year pain in the neck. Finally, we killed it,» Metcalfe said.

He’s still sore about it, he said in a half-joking tone.

«I’m only human. I bear a grudge against those bastards,» Metcalfe said. «It’s been 50 years. You’d think by now I would have forgiven them all, but the Token Ring people are not invited to my dinner parties.»

Technologies

Facebook Brings Back Local Job Listings: How to Apply

One of Facebook’s most practical features from 2022 is being revived by Meta.

On the hunt for work? A Local Jobs search is being rolled out by Meta to make it easier for people in the US to discover and apply for nearby work directly on Facebook. The feature is inside Facebook Marketplace, Groups and Pages, Meta said last week, letting employers post openings and job seekers filter roles by distance, category or employment type.

You can apply or message employers directly through Facebook Messenger, while employers can publish job listings with just a few taps — similar to how you would post items for sale on Marketplace.

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Facebook offered a Jobs feature before discontinuing it in 2022, pushing business hiring toward its other platforms. Its return suggests Meta is attempting to expand Facebook’s usefulness beyond social networking and to position it once again as a hub for community-driven opportunities.

«We’ve always been about connecting with people, whether through shared interests or key life events,» the press release states. «Now, if you’re looking for entry-level, trade and service industry employment in your community, Facebook can help you connect with local people and small businesses who are hiring.»

How to get started with Local Jobs on Facebook

According to Meta, Local Jobs will appear as a dedicated section in Facebook Marketplace starting this week. If you’re 18 or older, you can:

Tap the Marketplace tab on the Facebook app or website.
Select Jobs to browse available positions nearby.
Use filters for job type, category and distance.
Tap Apply or message the employer directly via Messenger.

Businesses and page admins can post jobs by creating a new listing in Marketplace or from their Facebook Page. Listings can include job details, pay range, and scheduling information and will appear in local searches automatically.

The Local Jobs feature is rolling out across the US now, with Meta saying it plans to expand it in the months ahead.

Technologies

Tesla Has a New Range of Affordable Electric Cars: How Much They Cost

The new, stripped-back versions of the Model Y and Model 3 have a more affordable starting price.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 22 #598

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 22, No. 598.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a fun one — I definitely have at least two of these in my house. Some of the answers are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Catch all.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: A mess of items.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

BATE, LICE, SLUM, CAPE, HOLE, CARE, BARE, THEN, SLAM, SAMBA, BACK

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

TAPE, COIN, PENCIL, BATTERY, SHOELACE, THUMBTACK

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is JUNKDRAWER. To find it, look for the J that’s five letters down on the far-left row, and wind down, over and then up.

Quick tips for Strands

#1: To get more clue words, see if you can tweak the words you’ve already found, by adding an «S» or other variants. And if you find a word like WILL, see if other letters are close enough to help you make SILL, or BILL.

#2: Once you get one theme word, look at the puzzle to see if you can spot other related words.

#3: If you’ve been given the letters for a theme word, but can’t figure it out, guess three more clue words, and the puzzle will light up each letter in order, revealing the word.