Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe NEW ULTRA-THIN COMPUTER ANNOUNCED The push since the beginning of computers has been to make smaller and smaller units. Young people today, accustomed to "having the world in the palm of their hand," may find it impossible to believe that the first computers literally filled rooms. They were powered by tubes, not transistors and integrated circuits. When one of the major television networks borrowed an early computer to help total up election results in 1952 it had to being in tons of dry ice to keep the equipment from overheating. Advertisement Today, though, there is more brainpower in a digital wristwatch than in many of the early computers. Now the Sharp electronics people say they have come up with a new technology that lets them etch the entire "motherboard" of a computer onto a thin piece of glass that measures some 15 millimeters square and only a millimeter thick. Although slow by modern standards -- they calculate at 32-bit speed -- they are the smallest "think machine" ever developed. Sharp says the technology will take about three years to get to consumers. Advertisement RECORD MONIES AVAILABLE FOR STUDENTS Even though a new report from the College Board shows that student fees and tuition are rising at record rates, so is the amount of money available to deserving students in the form of scholarships. The organization reports that tuition and fees are up by an average of 5.8 percent at four-year private schools and nearly 10 percent at public institutions. But, at the same time, a record $90 billion was available in student aid, in one form or another, in just the last year. In making the announcement to national media, the president of the College Board, Gaston Caperton, noted that the increase in student loan availability is remarkable in light of the recent downturn in sectors of the national economy. By the way, if Caperton's name sounds familiar, it should. He's a former governor of West Virginia and has for years been seen as a leading advocate of better schools and national funding for students. WOMAN NARROWLY ESCAPES DEATH BY FIRE When bandits left a Sydney, Australia, office building recently, they decided the best way to hide their deeds was to set the building alight ... with a secretary in one of the offices tied to a chair. But, according to published reports, in the style of a real "cliff-hanging serial," the woman managed to free herself and get out .. just in the nick of time. Advertisement The woman had been left tied up on the eighth floor of a building in Sydney's Martin Place office enclave. That's in the heart of the city's financial district. As flames closed in she managed to get free and go to the basement of the building, where firefighters had already arrived, responding to an automatic alarm. The full motive for the incident remains a mystery. The investigation continues. The woman was treated and released at a Sydney hospital. NHL OFFERS FANS A CHANCE AT A 'SHOOT OUT' In the 11 NHL markets in the United States, hockey teams will be offering rabid sports fans the chance to participate in a national shoot-out of sorts. The league, in conjunction with Nextel, says that it will be holding the three-month competition along with a national sweepstakes. A fan from each city will be selected to go one-on-one with an NHL goalie. The initial stand-off, to be held in Tampa Bay, will feature Lightning goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin. The contestant could win a quarter of a million dollars. Nextel tells United Press International that some of the profits from the contests will be going to charity. Patrons of the games will be asked to bring outdated cellular phones to the event, with the proceeds going to a charity called Hockey Fights Cancer. Advertisement By the way, hockey legend Phil Esposito will serve as master of ceremonies and will act as unofficial coach for the finalists at local competitions.
