139) Special guest of the Minister of Tourism

The Ministry of Tourism HQ in Putrajaya

 Our super memory champion, Lim Teck Hoe

 With the RM 500,000 painting

The Minister of Tourism, Dr Ng Yen Yen admiring the art collections

138) The invention of the telephone, the radio and the fax machine

Which is older?

The telephone, the radio or the fax machine?

If you had guess anything but the Fax machine, you're wrong! 


Hard to believe, that the fax (facsimile) machine is the oldest ? Yes, it is older than the telephone (Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray in the 1870s) and the radio (Guglielmo Marconi in 1899)

The history of the fax machine goes back over 168 years. Alexander Bain is credited with inventing the first fax machine patented in England in 1843. "Bains Telgraph" was simply two pens attached to pendulums connected by a telegraph wire. The pendulums passed over chemically treated paper and made stains when an electrical charge was sent down the telegraph wire.

The next major advancement in fax technology occurred in 1848 when Frederick Bakewell invented a conducting roller. Revolving drums covered with treated tin-foil were used to transmit and receive recorded images. Amazingly, this technology was widely used into the 1960's.

In 1860 Giovanni Caselli patented a "Pantelegraph" in France which eventually became the first commercial fax machine. A fax service was established between Paris and Lyon and was used from 1865 to 1870. Reportedly the service transmitted over 5000 faxes per year.

American inventor, Professor Elisha Gray founded Gray National Telautograph Company in 1888 which later became Western Electric Company. Gray had patented a process whereby handwriting could be transmitted between distant points over a two-wire circuit. Gray's Telautograph was the first fax machine that used standard stationary paper. Incidentally, two years earlier Elisha Gray lost out to Alexander Graham Bell by three hours for the patent on the telephone.

During 1902, Dr. Arthur Korn from Germany developed a photoelectric process for telephotography which broke down and sent still photographs over telephone lines. From 1907 to 1910 Korn established a major commercial enterprise which linked Berlin, London and Paris thus becoming the world's first facsimile network.

Edouard Beeline from France made the next major contribution to the fax machine in 1913. His "Belinograph" incorporated the use of photoelectric cells that could convert light into electrical transmissions. This technology is still in use today.

The first transatlantic fax services

The 20's and 30's saw the continued advancement and use of the fax machine. In 1922 the first transatlantic fax services were provided by RCA. In 1925 AT&T introduced the wirephoto. RCA followed up with the radiophoto in 1926.

The first major users of fax services were newspapers that transmitted and received photographs from around the world. The next major users were weather services that faxed weather charts around the world. Leading up to World War II, fax services were also used by the military to transmit maps, orders and weather charts.

Fax machines are still in use today

For many years fax machines were expensive, large and difficult to operate. Their use was primarily limited to large business and government. By the 1980's however, fax machines were being designed that were smaller, faster and easier to use. They could just be hooked up to existing telephone lines. The use of fax machines by small to medium enterprises (SME's) increased greatly during this period. It has been estimated that there were approximately 50 thousand fax machines in the USA in 1970. By the end of the 1980's there were over 4 million fax machines in use.

The use of fax machines has greatly impacted the history of the world over the last 160 years. Their use has been credited with the downfall of governments, including Communism in Eastern Europe. To calculate the impact on business locally as well as internationally would be impossible. New innovations in fax technology continue to emerge. Internet or IP fax is rapidly becoming part of our everyday lives at home as well as in business.

137) AIM / MACRI Forum at Cyberjaya

AIM / MACRI Forum on Nurturing Indigenous Ideas

Date: 24 Sept 2011, Saturday

Venue: Level 2, Quill Building 3, 

Jalan Teknokrat 5, 63000 Cyberjaya.

Theme of the day: Nurturing Indigenous Ideas

3 of the 'oldest' inventors of Malaysia, Dato' Hew Ah Kow, Paul Chang and RobestYong

Lim Nam Aik with his robots

Paul Chang's Cal-Lab Lightning Isolator

Dato' Hew Ah Kow's Antimos and the Smart Sockets

Dr Wan, Lim Nam Aik and Dato Dr Mazarina

Ritz stretching his points

Hussein, the moderator of the day... a great one too

Mr Lee Yee Dian, VP of MACRI giving his closing remarks

136) Featured in the STAR

‘Letterman’ Yong relives past

The STAR

Date: 15th September 2011

PETALING JAYA: Memories come flooding back for Malaysian inventor Robest Yong as he reads old stories in The Star.

Of particular interest to him is the Letters section as he has been a contributor to the section since he was 13 years old.

At that time, in the early 70s, it was known as The Star's Live Letters.

“It brings back many memories when I would write to the newspaper each week and wait for it (the letter) to be published.

“My first letter to The Star was in 1973, and I still keep all the letters.

Love for writing: Yong showing his collection of letters published in The Star.

“I am also a loyal reader who grew up with The Star and have seen many changes in the newspaper,” he said yesterday.

Yong said he came from a poor family and writing became a form of escapism for him during his school years.

“I have 11 siblings and we lived in a small village in Nibong Tebal.

“With the RM5 I got each time I contributed to the Live Letters section, I did not have to ask my parents money for my personal expenses.

“Writing has always been my passion and I am now writing my autobiography, which will be published soon.

“Sometimes, I write to the Letters section but I now focus more on innovation and science topics,” he added.

Yong was named the 1994 National Inventor Of The Year, 1994 Gold Medal winner at the Geneva International Invention Exhibition and 1997 National Youth Of The Year (Innovation & Creation).

He also scored a gold at the London International Inventions Competition in 1998.

Yong, a father of one, was also appointed as a consultant for the Special Innovation Unit under the Prime Minister's Department to draft the new National Innovation Policy.

He said The Star was very interactive and had improved significantly throughout the years.

“The content of the newspaper has changed tremendously, especially with a special section for inspiring stories.

“I believe our children and students should have a local hero or heroes to inspire them,” he added.

Read it from TheStar: 

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/9/15/nation/9504330&sec=nation

135) Be Inspired.....

The Star


Failure in school becomes inventor
By: Yuen MeiKeng
Date: 20th August 2011

I had been asked many times over, "How come you are smart enough to invent new things and not smart enough to pass your school exams?"

Hmmm.... good question.

Failing the examinations doesn't mean I am stupid eh? After all, I was the school Chess champion  even during my lower secondary school days. I also good in Scrabbles and other mental games as well.

I sat for my Form 5 exam when I was only 16 years old. 

Did I fail in school? I would say that the education system failed me....

http://www.apanama.com.my/