Kosmix

Kosmix is a new search engine that categorizes and displays topicwise results. Try the Kosmix health search. Read an article on Kosmix.

Google

Google agrees to censorship, won't provide Gmail and Blogger in China.

Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful by the 'Do No Evil' way. Are they going to forsake it for a (few) billion advertising dollars (Yuan)?

See examples of Google.cn (China) and Google.com results.

Reading

Essays by Scott Berkun

RSS2PDF Converter

Convert a RSS or an Atom feed to a PDF file with RSS2PDF converter.

Read my blog, Footsteps on Clouds, as a PDF. File size: 120KB.

Interesting

Companies paint rooftops for Google Maps.

Nice Read

From Paul Graham's essay, "What is Good Design?"

Good Design is

- Simple
- Timeless
- Provides answers
- Sometimes funny
- Hard but looks easy
- Usable
- Fast
- Accessible
- Uses symmetry
- Resembles nature
- Involves redesign
- Sometimes strange
- Happens in chunks
- Sometimes daring

Good design is Google.

- Simple
- Fast
- Easy/ Usable
- Accessible
- Uses white to its advantage

"Indians are known for *"

A Google India (.co.in) search for the phrase "Indians are known for *" gives the following traits.

"Indians are known for *"

- Tolerance
- Affection
- Patience
- Efficiency
- Analytical skills
- Loyalty
- Brilliance
- Passion

See the countrywise Characteristics or Traits Map on Google Blogoscoped.

Find Popular Links

Search for interesting reads, find new web sites, read informative articles, save links that you like, and share your favourite reads and bookmarks on Reddit and Digg.

Google Screensaver

Download Google Screensaver (filename: gbsaver.scr, type: .scr screensaver file, size: 636kb); paste it in C:\Windows (for Windows XP) or C:\WINNT (for Windows 2000) users.

Once you've installed the file, right click your mouse button on the desktop, select Properties and set the Screensaver to Google Pack Screensaver from the Display Properties window.

Select the Settings button of the Screensaver, choose the Picture Folder Settings tab to add folders with your favourite images.

From the Visual Settings tab set the Visual Effect to Collage to view your favourite images, with white borders for each photograph, on your desktop.

- Information via Amit's blog.
- Read from the original source.

Here's a screenshot of a collage of images from Google Screensaver. All images from Flickr.

Good Read

A good read on Web 2.0.

What signifies Web 2.0?

- Democracy and freedom
- Usability
- Ajax: The proof of a (combination) of technologies as the next development platform is when people start building things on it.

Read essays written by Paul Graham.

Related:
- Read essays from Adaptive Path.
- Read essays from Technicat.

Note: The above external links open in a new window.
Firefox users right click your mouse button on a link and select 'Open Link in New Tab' to view the Web page in a new tab.

Kanyakumari

Kanyakumari, a prominent pilgrimage and tourist attraction, is located at the southernmost tip of India. Enjoy views of sublime sunrises and splendid sunsets. Visit the Swami Vivekananda Rock Memorial and feel your spirit soar.

Click the image to view full size.

Nice Font

Download the above font (.zip file - 18kb) from 1001fonts.com.

Extract the font from the .zip file and paste it in the Fonts folder. Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Fonts or Win+R (Run) -> Fonts.

Cricket: Schedule of India v. Pakistan - Tests & ODIs

Schedule of India's cricket tour of Pakistan in Jan-Feb. 2006.

Three Tests

- Jan. 13-17, 1st Test, Lahore
- Jan. 21-25, 2nd Test, Faisalabad
- Jan. 29 to Feb. 2, 3rd Test, Karachi

Five ODIs

- Feb. 6, Peshawar
- Feb. 11, Rawalpindi
- Feb. 13, Lahore (d/n)
- Feb. 16, Multan (d/n)
- Feb. 19, Karachi

Motorola connects to Google

Motorola makes it easier for cell phone users to surf the Internet; plans to sell cell phones with a Google button on the keypad.

Style Guide

Reading and reference.

Style Guide from The Economist.

Quote

Good art is not what it looks like, but what it does to us.
~ Roy Adzak

Google Pack

What's new at Google?

- Google Pack* - a collection of software that includes Google Desktop, Google Earth, Picasa photo organizer, Google Pack Screensaver, Google toolbar for IE, Firefox browser, Adobe PDF reader, Norton antivirus, and Ad-Aware anti-spyware.

- Softwares provided in Google Pack.

* Note: Works only with Windows XP and IE6/Firefox 1.0 or above.

A Thought for Today

Take the attitude of a student, never be too big to ask questions, and never know too much to learn something new.
~ Og Mandino

Reading

To read
- Software essays

An interesting read
- Thoughts on project management

Personal: Trek in the Afternoon

Burnt calories this afternoon.

I went for a trek during lunchtime. I climbed the Baner hilltop.

- Turn left about a kilometre from Baner Telephone exchange (coming from Pune University) and climb the steps to reach halfway to the top of the first temple. Then it's a 5-minute uphill climb to the first small temple and a 15-minute moderate/gradual climb to the other small temple on the hilltop that overlooks Pancard Club and provides a bird's eye-view of the city.

Google logo in Braille

Google's logo makes for an interesting quiz question.

Identify the logo, on what occasion was it used, and can you match it to a date?

Retrievr - Search images by sketching

Draw a picture of an image that you want to find and let Retrievr Sketch search display images from Flickr with its pattern matching. Did you get the image you wanted?

Useful

The 10/20/30 rule for Powerpoint presentations.

Good rules to follow, more so for those seeking VC funding.

- A presentation should have not more than 10 slides
- Last not more than 20 minutes
- Use font-size not smaller than 30pt.

- Information via Satish's BombayLives.
- Read from the original source.

Light Colors for Web pages

Light colors for Web page backgrounds:

- Color Colorcode

- whitesmoke #f5f5f5

- aliceblue #f0f8ff

- azure #f0ffff

- mistyrose #ffe4e1

- mintcream #f5fffa

- honeydew #f0fff0

- lavenderblush #fff0f5

- linen #faf0e6

- seashell #fff5ee

- oldlace #fdf5e6

- snow #fffafa

- lightyellow #ffffe0

- ivory #fffff0

- antiquewhite #faebd7

- ghostwhite #f8f8ff

- floralwhite #fffaf0

- cornsilk #fff8dc

- lightgoldenrodyellow #fafad2

- lavender #e6e6fa

- lightgrey #d3d3d3

- lightsteelblue #b0c4de

- lightcyan #e0ffff

- beige #f5f5dc

- blanchedalmond #ffebcd

- bisque #ffe4c4

- moccasin #ffe4b5

- peachpuff #ffdab9

- papayawhip #ffefd5

Pandora - Music that you like

Listen to music that you like on Pandora.com. Click the Guide Us* button, at the bottom of the page, to search for an artist or a song on Pandora.

* For people surfing from 56kbps - Wait for the Flash file to load.

To Read

List of best books of 2005 from Amazon.com.

Happy New Year

Click the greeting to view full size.


Images from 123greetings and Funmunch.