Home Computer: Electronic mailbox

I am a student of ergonomics, psychology and computers at Loughborough University. I am curious about the way in which young children seem to be instantly able to tell their parents what to do when the parents are completely flummoxed by the computer. This is at least partially true with my father and me - and I am 20 years old. Why does this happen and where does the borderline fall?

Phil Jones

Information Technology and Human Factors

Loughborough University.

At the risk of sounding pedantic, a megabyte is not 1 million bytes (as suggested in today's page, 4 June). It is rather 220 or 1,048,576 bytes. This follows from the fact that 1 kilobyte is 1,024 bytes or 210 bytes.

Nigel J Stock

id Crowe

ing 1990-91 I was a contractor at City Road, working with Dwight Ernest, then technical systems co-ordinator. From discussions between ourselves and interested parties amongst our friends in the computer industry several meetings were held in the operations training room, to discuss ways of improving the then non-existent Internet connectivity in the UK.

From these meetings emerged the UK Internet Consortium, pressure from which resulted in the formation of Pipex, the main commercial provider now operating, and the rapid upgrading of UKnet, an already-existing quasi-commercial provider. People like Demon, dealt with in your article, are customers of one or other of these companies.

Keith Oborn