Life, The Universe and Everything

Lessons from Napster

2005-10-04T21:42:00.000-07:00

Here's a truly well-written post about what happened at Napster before it went bust. Written by Don Dodge, who worked a Napster and who is now with Microsoft, it's an insightful peek into a company that revolutionised the web and which was, perhaps, a bit ahead of it's time. As Don puts it, "Napster was a Web 2.0 company back in the 1.0 world". A highly recommended read.

Extra:

What is Web 2.0?

Om Malik

Tim O'Reilly

Sony's new iPod killer?

2005-09-19T05:05:00.000-07:00

Just found this page on News.com about Sony's new 20GB Walkman that's just been released in the Japanese market. When the iPod Nano was launched, David Pogue wrote that "Apple has mastered a lesson that its rivals seem unable to absorb: that the three most important features in a personal music player are style, style and style". This beautiful player seems to exemplify this! Will Sony manage to crank out true "iPod killers"? Wait and watch, I guess.

Here's the link to some photos:
Photo 1
Photo 2

Aww! Dubya needs to pee...

2005-09-15T23:44:00.000-07:00

Ever really, really needed to visit the loo, but had to ask someone for permission? You probably were in kindergarten and you asked your teacher if you could take a leak. Well, it turns out that if you're the President of the US, you need an all-clear too. Check out these pics of Bush writing Condi a chit... just a tad better than sticking out his pinky at her... or not.

According to the news report, " U.S. President George W. Bush writes a note to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during a Security Council meeting at the 2005 World Summit and 60th General Assembly of the United Nations in New York September 14, 2005. World leaders are exploring ways to revitalize the United Nations at a summit on Wednesday but their blueprint falls short of Secretary-General Kofi Annan's vision of freedom from want, persecution and war." Yeah, right.

Have you been touched by His Noodly Appendage?

2005-09-04T03:32:00.000-07:00

I found this hilarious new religion a few weeks back. Flying Spaghetti Monsterism was created by Bobby Henderson in response to the decision to teach "Intelligent Design" alongside evolution in Kansas schools. In the letter he wrote to the Kansas State School Board, he asks for "one third time for Intelligent Design, one third time for Flying Spaghetti Monsterism, and one third time for logical conjecture based on overwhelming observable evidence"! Since all natural disasters are the result of the fall in pirate populations worldwide, it is imperative that 'Pastafarianism' be taught to children everywhere. For starters, here's how He created the world:

Hey, it's disrespectful to explain His Noodly Appendage's teachings without wearing full pirate regalia. Just see the links for more... Arrrrr!

More links:

Boing Boing
Intelligent Design Challenge (also at Boing Boing)
The New York Times

WELCOME TO MY HOME PAGE !!!!!!!!! I KISS YOU !!!!!

2005-09-04T02:48:00.000-07:00

You just have to see a site that begins like this! Mahir, who lives in the Turkish town of Izmir, became an internet phenomenon when he created his website, and has even got a fan following! His crazy spellings and honest confessions ("I like sex") just can't be missed. And don't forget: He lives alone.

Colour Perception

2005-08-01T01:30:00.000-07:00

A very interesting site about how "our perception of colour is strongly affected by the surrounding colours". Amazing stuff!

Rodent's Yawning Animals page

2005-06-23T10:02:00.000-07:00

An unusual site I found at one of the sites mentioned in my last post. A person, aptly going by the name 'Rodent', has showcased pictures of all kinds of animals... yup, yawning! In the 'Gaping Maws' page, animals are classified under 'Felines' and 'Hooved', among many other categories. There's even an entire section for hippos! Worth having a look at...

"Never yawn in front of a lady." - Frank Sinatra

2005-06-23T09:53:00.000-07:00

But what do you do when it's a lady who's doing the yawning?

Well, you just keep watching and try not to yawn yourself. At least, that's what Emilie wants us to do. At her interesting website, you play Emilie's 'Don't Yawn Game', which can be damn hard! I kept getting this funny half-yawning feeling in the back of my throat when I tried it! What happens when you play the game? Let me know.

On a side note, here's a nice page about yawning being contagious, and another one about yawning in general.

Google vs. Yahoo

2005-06-22T02:51:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting article from Cnet's News.com about the corporate culture at two of the most widely followed internet companies, Google and Yahoo. Yahoo seems to be turning into a company that has tough "management discipline" and a numbers-driven approach. Google, on the other hand, is often referred to as an "intellectual playground", where super-smart engineers are encouraged to work on individual projects, which has led to Google services such as Google News.

The two companies seem to be headed for a showdown, especially in the online advertising business. As you might have noticed, Google's ads are all based on search and keywords, while Yahoo has more traditional ads, like banners. According to one analyst quoted in this article, brand advertisers would prefer Yahoo's offerings to Google's. But Google's ads, meanwhile, seem to be more consumer friendly, because of their relatively unintrusive nature. It'll be interesting to watch what happens in this battle.

Counter Strike: DAS FILM!

2005-06-13T09:06:00.000-07:00

This just HAS to be my first proper post... Linus, Peter, Schnopfen "ünd" Andorz, four guys who are presumably German, have made this hilarious film, in which they've enacted what happens in a typical Counter-Strike round. It's complete with suddenly disappearing corpses, connection problems and wheezing laughter in the background. Of special interest is the guy towards the right in the image above. The way he tries to mouth "Okay, let's go!" at the beginning of the round is totally tickling. He's arguably the funniest in the video. The video can also be downloaded from the site. It's worth it, especially if you're a CS player. Priceless.

Houston, we have a problem...

2005-06-11T10:02:00.000-07:00

Nope, nothing wrong, just getting your attention... no, seriously.

Well, here's the first post. As the blog description says, I love learning discovering new things, and I probably enjoy doing this the most online. I also like discussing issues and current events. For more of what I like, check out my profile.

I hope to blog more regularly this time around. Just to explain the last sentence... if you view my profile, you'll see that I've been a member of Blogger since April 2003 (can't believe it's been two whole years!). At that time, I started a blog called (not very creatively) "Malhaar's World". When I was just two posts down, I got busy with a whole lot of things and just never got back to my 'world'.This time, I've been a bit more creative with the name (thanks, Douglas Adams!) and it looks decent too (my first blog was almost entirely a lurid shade of orange).

So, here's to a new start! Do come back and have a look from time to time. You can check out some of my favourite links and my latest photos by clicking on the links alongside. You can also syndicate/subscribe to my feed. Comments are always welcome, and if you like what you see... tell a friend!

See you!