Google blog

A Google blog. And while we’re on the subject, I’ve found Google labs’ glossary very useful. So are some Google applications based on their API. (Incidentally, their server is overloaded. I tried getting a key yesterday, put it politely declined.)

Google programming contest winner

The winner of the Google programming contest.

GoogleDance dates

I know – I’ve been talking too much about Google. Still, here’re the dates on which Google updates itself.

News puts hijacker in jail

This article mentions a Patrick Critton. Thanks to this innocuous reference, he ended up in jail.

Text-based games

Text-based games on the rise? Skotos’ site looks interesting anyway.

Bottom line

Bottom line. A blog on the economics of IT.

Fuji Finepix 2600

I just bought a Fuji Finepix 2600. Should be getting it in a month.

Portraits of open source pioneers

In-depth portraits of open source pioneers.

Web scams

More web scams.

Analemma

If you see the sun at the same time from the same spot over a year, it traces a pattern called analemma.

False mathematical proofs

False mathematical proofs. I ended to get all except the first wrong! (BTW, Math Mistakes is a good read. Thanks, Sriram!)

Peoples Daily

People’s Daily from China. In English. I’ve found it quite a good source of news recently.

Designing a better keyboard

An intruiging experiment on designing a better keyboard using a computer.

Supercomputing

This article on supercomputing mentions that supercomputing is beating Moore’s law. Computing power is doubling roughly every 15 months (instead of 18).

Guardians favourite blogs

Guardian’s favourite blogs. Satish’s Random Thoughts is on it.

Why a CD is 74 minutes long

Why is a CD 74 minutes long? Answer: Beethoven. Sony and Philips worked under the following constraints: The bits to be etched the CD had to be 0.83 microns long and 1.6 microns apart. Hence about 750,000 bits fit in 1 sq. mm CD uses 16-bit audio with 2 (stereo) channels. Sound is sampled at at 44.1 KHz for historical reasons. So 1 sq mm translates to about 750,000 bits / 44,100 Hz / 32 = 0.53 seconds of music. Philips came up with a 11.5cm CD that could store about 65 minutes of music. Sony made that 12 cm because 11.5cm can store around 65 minutes of music, while a CD that’s 12cm can store about 74 minutes. One of the supposed reasons is that a slow rendering of Beethoven’s 9th symphony (a popular piece in Japan) would take 74 minutes. ...

David Gallagher googlebomb

Yet another “googlebomb” on the name David Gallagher.

TouchGraph GoogleBrowser

TouchGraph GoogleBrowser. A graphical representation of your site’s Internet neighbourhood.

Weblog tools

Weblog tools and more weblog tools.

MouthShut

I was planning to go to Matheran, and found some good reviews at MouthShut.