Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

Latest By
Category:


Armor
Artificial Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work

"It's also important to vary your stimuli. I always look for new things to shock the system. Just as you make muscles grow by shocking them, you make the mind grow by shocking it."
- Bart Kosko

Screening Software  
  Rules-based software trained to eliminate spam email.  

This idea is taken from a 1991 story, which seems very early for this idea. I couldn't find anything like it until at least 1998.

We used to get megabytes of automated invective via email, but that, at least, turned out to be easily fixed; we installed the latest screening software, and fed it a few samples of the kind of transmission we preferred not to receive.
Technovelgy from The Moat, by Greg Egan.
Published by Aurealis in 1991
Additional resources -

The first recorded instance of a mass-mailing (which was done by mistake) occurred in 1978 when a DEC marketer wanted to trumpet a new feature.

I used company email systems as early as 1986; I don't remember anything like this, because there was no problem. As far as I know, the first use of "spam" to describe repetitive, unwanted email occurred in 1993.

However, Egan is proposing an automated way to remove unwanted email by simply pointing out emails that you don't like. This sounds like "statistical filtering," a technique that was proposed in 1998 and, judging by how well PCs do it, still needs work.

Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |

Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from The Moat
  More Ideas and Technology by Greg Egan
  Tech news articles related to The Moat
  Tech news articles related to works by Greg Egan

Screening Software-related news articles:
  - Spam Kiwi Kings Of Spam Sent Third Of All Spam Emails

Articles related to Communication
Positioned Cybertrucks With Free Starlinks WiFi In LA
Will Whales Be Our First Contact?
NYC/Dublin Portal Fails To Meet 'Guardian Of Forever' Standards
Holobox? Who Doesn't Want A Home Hologram?

Want to Contribute an Item? It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add it here.

<Previous
Next>

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

 

 

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Science Fiction in the News

JAXA Int Ball 2 Coming Right Along As Star Wars Remote
'Hocus-pocus religions and archaic weapons are no substitute for a good blaster at your side.'

Robot Bricklayer Or Passer-By Bricklayer?
'Oscar picked up a trowel. 'I'm the tool for the mortar,' the little trowel squeaked cheerfully.'

Robot Gas Station Attendant Pumps Gas For You
'... he waited for the robotrix attendant to finish fueling up his ship.'

Engineer Creates Crazy Motorized Track Hospital Bed
The Roujin Z system provides care to fully bedridden patients - and then some!

Tiny Flying Robot Weighs Just One Gram
'Aerostat meant anything that hung in the air. This was an easy trick to pull off nowadays.'

Some Ringworld Configurations Are Stable
'The Ringworld had no horizon. There was no line where the land curved away from the sky.'

TRANSFORM Dynamic Furniture Concept Becomes What You Need
'An adjustment panel outside the door would cause it to extrude various appurtenances in memory plastic...'

Harvard Metamaterials Change Structure Instantly
'Annealed in any shape for a time, and codified, the structure of that shape is retained down to the molecules.'

SnapBot Robots - You Choose Their Legs And They Choose Their Gaits
It's not really polite to tear the limbs off robots.

Dino From Magical Toys An AI Companion To Children
'...the imaginary companions discovered by needful children.'

More SF in the News

More Beyond Technovelgy

Home | Glossary | Science Fiction Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.