A bulletin board system or BBS is a computer system running software that allows users to connect to the system, typically over an analog phone line, to perform various social and recreational tasks, and communicate with others on the system. Using a terminal program, remote users can perform functions such as downloading software and data, uploading data, playing games, reading news, and exchanging messages with other users. During their heyday (from the early 1980s to the mid 1990s), many BBSes were run as a hobby free of charge by the "SysOp" (system operator), while other BBSes charged their users a subscription fee for access.

In current usage (primarily in Taiwan, Japan and China) the term BBS may be used to refer to any online forum or message board. See Internet forum.

Bulletin board systems were in many ways a precursor to the modern form of the World Wide Web and other aspects of the Internet. BBSes were a highly social phenomenon and were used for meeting people and having discussions in message boards as well as for publishing articles, downloading software, playing games and many more things using a single application.

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NPR Topics: Technology

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Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0500
At the 2009 International Genetically Engineered Machine competition, undergraduates from all over the world unveiled the living machines they'd created with snippets of DNA, from bacteria that change color when they detect pollutants to ones that secrete non-toxic superglue.
Building A Better Lightbulb
Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0500
The U.S. Department of Energy is offering $10 million to the first individual or company to develop an energy-efficient LED replacement for the standard 60-watt incandescent bulb. DOE lighting program manager James Brodrick discusses the L Prize, and what makes a better bulb.
How Do You Find A Job? Ask The Algorithm
Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:01:00 -0500
The state of New York is looking for ways to reduce the time the unemployed spend looking for jobs, and it's turning to a mathematical formula for help. Using an algorithm developed by a Boston technology company, the program directs resumes to the employers most likely to make a hire.

L.A. Times - Technology News

Say goodbye to rattle and hum
Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800
The Sunda family and their Orange County Speaker repair business have been making beautiful music together since 1968. The way we listen to music has changed dramatically in the last 15 years -- earbuds instead of headphones, digital tracks instead of cuts on vinyl. But the basic design of an audio speaker, says Eric Sunda of Orange County Speaker, is the same as it was a century ago.
IPhone sales in China are nothing to call home about
Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800
Only 5,000 of the Apple phones have sold since the Oct. 30 launch. High prices and a lack of Wi-Fi capability are blamed, especially with a thriving gray market in iPhones. Apple Inc.'s iPhone has been a ringing success wherever it has been launched. But in China few are picking up the buzz.
Windows 7 tops Vista in early consumer sales by more than 200%
Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800
Aggressive pricing and relatively positive reviews are key factors. But the discounts and specials may have crimped Microsoft's revenue from the product. It wasn't a high bar, but Windows 7 cleared it.

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