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WWWWWWWWWW Site Directory Tom's Inflation Calculator (free Java applet) Inflation Calculator FAQ Computer Dictionary Mini Movie Reviews Tom's Guitar Cheat Sheet Microprocessor Report (article index) BYTE Magazine Archive (article index) Unofficial BYTE FAQ ( R.I.P. 1975-1998 ) Shutterbug Archive (magazine articles) JSecure (free Java applet) ROTator (free Java applet) Tom's Oscar Contest Tom's Oscar Contest 2011 results Tom's Oscar Contest Hall of Fame Favorite Web Links Tools used to build this site About the Electric Brain Contact Me Who is Tom? Recent Movies The Iron Lady is an unsatisfying biopic of Margaret Thatcher, Great Britain's conservative prime minister from 1979 to 1990. Instead of focusing on Thatcher's remarkable rise to power and her reign as Britain's longest-serving P.M. of the 20th century, the movie wallows in her waning years of dementia. Flashbacks abruptly summarize her career—one moment, she wins her first election to Parliament, then suddenly she's a cabinet minister, and then suddenly she's vying for the top job. We get little insight into her appeal or political savvy. Conservative commentators blame the odd storytelling on liberal filmmakers, but actually the script does give voice to Thatcher's conservative philosophy on business, economics, terrorism, and the Falklands War. Put aside the shortcomings, though, because this film has one redeeming highlight: Meryl Streep's superb performance as Thatcher. It will be a crime if Streep doesn't win an Academy Award. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is best appreciated by fans of the John le Carré novel on which it is based. Others will likely find this Cold War spy thriller as convoluted as the Cold War and as difficult to follow as a well-trained spy. Gary Oldman stars as a high-ranking British intelligence officer in the 1970s who tries to root out a double agent working for the Russians. Critics have praised Oldman's performance, which isn't bad but consists mostly of stone-faced stares. Usually, viewers must read not only between the lines but also between the eyes. There are lots of characters and abrupt scenes, so pay attention. The conclusion is an anticlimax that hardly seems worth the preceding effort—but then, the Cold War ended that way, too. Young Adult stars Charlize Theron in a great performance as a slutty, alcoholic former prom queen, 20 years removed from her social triumphs in high school. But her flaws are so deep, and her self-delusions so comical, that it's hard not to feel a bit sorry for her. She's a train wreck waiting to happen. The collision looks inevitable when she returns to the small town of her youth to seduce her high-school boyfriend, now a devoted family man. Although the trailers portrayed this film as a light comedy, it's really a drama with rather dark humor. Screenwriter Diablo Cody (Juno, Jennifer's Body) dodges clichés and concocts an audacious conclusion that will dissatisfy some people but actually is perfect, in a real-life sort of way. The Artist took balls to produce—a silent film made in 2011. And black-and-white, of course. But the palette suits the subject. French actor Jean Dujardin is thoroughly convincing as a 1927 silent-film star loosely based on Rudolph Valentino. Even as he is idolized by a much younger actress (perfectly played by Bérénice Bejo), the advent of talkies threatens his stardom. This remarkable film expertly imitates a 1920s silent movie, complete with title cards, music, visual effects, art direction, characterization, humor, and plotting. It's not just a gimmick—it really works, and it's gorgeous. >> See more mini-reviews, including War Horse ... The Descendants ... My Week With Marilyn ... Contagion ... The Debt ... One Day ... Another Earth ... Cowboys & Aliens ... Super 8 ... The Tree of Life ... Midnight in Paris ... Bridesmaids ... The Conspirator ... Source Code ... Paul ... Rango ... The Adjustment Bureau ... and many more!

Inflation Calculator Tom's Inflation Calculator includes the latest U.S. government inflation data for 2011, plus four alternative data sets. This calculator is a free Java applet that automatically runs in your web browser by clicking on the link. It can adjust U.S. dollar amounts forward or backward in time for any years between 1666 and 2071 for retail price inflation, and between 1936 and 2012 for medical-cost inflation. You can view inflation rates for any intermediate range of years, too. In addition to using the U.S. government's official inflation data, Tom's Inflation Calculator has an alternative data set from ShadowStats, a private company. Computer Dictionary Common Terms Defined Are you baffled by a technical term or acronym you've never seen before? Or just curious about the latest techie slang? Tom's Computer Dictionary may have the answer. From "AAC" to "zoo virus," it defines more than 800 terms in plain language. Guitar Cheat Sheet Do you want to learn the most common major and minor guitar chords? Instantly transpose songs from one major key to another? Find out which major and minor chords go together? Play scales in any major key? Learn the notes on the fretboard? It's easy! And it's free! Just download and print Tom's Guitar Cheat Sheet.  Microprocessor Report   Index to Tom's Articles Here's an index to more than 340 of Tom's articles in Microprocessor Report, the insider's guide to microprocessor hardware. Learn about embedded processors, microcontrollers, digital-signal processors, and other chip-related topics. (Subscription required for most articles.) Test Your Java Security How safe is your system from hostile Java applets? Find out with JSecure, one of Tom's free applets. JSecure harmlessly tests the security manager of your Web browser or applet viewer by trying to access information from your computer's operating system and hard disk. Try it today! Scramble Text With ROTator ROTator is a Java applet that lets you encode and decode text in the popular Internet format known as "ROT 13." Lots of other programs do that, too, but Tom's ROTator applet goes further by allowing you to encode and decode text in any rotational letter-substitution format. With ROTator, you can shift the letters left or right, and you can shift them by any number of letters from ROT 1 to ROT 26. BYTE Articles Here is an index to more than 180 of Tom's computer articles from BYTE Magazine published from 1992 to 1998. (BYTE ceased publication in June 1998.) Most articles are still available online and include the original photographs, figures, and screen shots. And more stuff... Tom's Mini Movie Reviews. Snappy reviews of recent movies, like those in the blue column on the left. Reviews that scroll off the column end up on the Mini Movie Reviews page. Shutterbug Articles. More than a dozen of Tom's photography articles from Shutterbug magazine are now online. Learn how to personalize your film speed, banish dust from your darkroom, make professional-looking postcards, find the best deals on used cameras, create special effects with open flash, and more. Tom's Oscar Contest. An annual tradition for 25 years, Tom's Oscar Contest is both entertaining and challenging. Hundreds of people have tried to guess who will win an Oscar in each Academy Award category. Competing against them is the computer brain of Tom's famed OscarCalc program, which sometimes wins the contest and always places near the top. The Death of BYTE Magazine. In 1998, after 23 years of operation, BYTE Magazine was shut down by its new owner, CMP Media. A year later, CMP launched BYTE.com as a very different web-only publication. To learn the inside story about what happened to the world's second personal computer magazine, see Tom's Unofficial BYTE FAQ: The Death of BYTE Magazine. Tom's Favorite Web Links. Find information about personal computers, microprocessors, Java, and other technologies. There are quite a few photography-related sites, plus some offbeat places you've never been. Lots of new links! Tools for Web Builders. The hardware, software, programming tools, and books used to build this web site might be useful to you, too. Most of these tools are linked to their vendors' web sites so you can find more information. TOM'S HOT LINKS Cool hobbies:   Phil's Old Radios Buy hardware:   OsoSoft Mineral Collection My guitar teacher:   Dave Creamer Straight dope on PCs:   Jerry Pournelle's Chaos Manor Almost-forgotten history:   Commodore Computer Nutrition adviser for family health:   Marsha Kunz, M.S., Give Me Five ONLINE PUBLICATIONS World's foremost CPU authority:   Microprocessor Report Kick-ass info about PCs:   Maximum PC Magazine Online archive of tech articles:   BYTE Magazine Practical photography:   Shutterbug FEEDBACK Contact the webmaster:   Feedback page Visitors to this web site since August 29, 1966: Last site update: January 30, 2012 Hosted By