Using highly-classified Victorian-era satellite technology, Google Earth now includes views of the Earth from historical times.
Singapore: Easy image gallery software
If you’re after a simple-to-configure image gallery for a website, Singapore is a good way to go. I managed to re-create my gallery of photos of Bronte Beach at the dawn of 2003 in just 30 minutes.
A flawed 3G Wonderland
OK folks, an update on my continuing saga to join the wonderful Digital 3G Wonderland… now that I’ve overcome my indecision about network choice, my fears about the Nokia N80’s battery life, my frustration with poorly-chosen web addresses and the annoyance at Vodafone’s crappy telephone etiquette.
I have finally bought a Nokia N80 outright, and plugged it into Vodafone‘s network. Here’s my thoughts so far — after a couple bottles of sauvignon blanc over dinner and a random play with the technology.
- I am very happy with the friendly service of Computer World, where I bought the phone.
- I am thoroughly pissed off that — despite being bought from an independent vendor — the N80 is pre-loaded with Telstra BigPond settings. Now I’m spending two hours removing the BigPond configuration and connecting it back to Vodafone. Not pleased. Even the “Music” button takes me to BigPond Music!
- The case feels a little flimsy — will this phone cope with day-to-day wear and tear?
- The high-resolution screen is very nice.
One billion Internet users (plus 150 million)
Somehow the news slipped by without us noticing, but some time in 1995 the one-billionth Internet user went online. There’s no central register of Internet users, so we don’t know who it was, or when they first logged on. But statistically, it was probably a 24-year-old woman in Shanghai.
In the time since then, the number has grown another 150 million or so, ball park. 36% of Internet users are now in Asia and 24% are in Europe. Only 23% of users are in North America, where it all started in 1969 when two computers — one in Los Angeles, the other in Palo Alto — were networked together.
What Comms? Part 3: Arrrrrrrrrgghhh!
Vodafone, if you want customers, why hang up on them? That’s just rude. Are you trying to drive me back to Telstra? Your robot-like email I could live with, that’s just the usual big-business robot-like thing. But why be rude?
3-year-old buys car on Internet
Forget identity theft, your bank account could be at risk from your own web-surfing toddlers.
News from the BBC today that 3-year-old Jack Neal used his mother’s credit card to buy a £9000 pink Nissan from eBay.
“Rachael Neal, 36, said her son was quite good at using the computer, the BBC reports. Well, yes.
The seller of the car, Paul Jones, co-director of Worcester Road Motors in Stourport-on-Severn, near Kidderminster, Worcestershire, said he had been “amused” by the bid. It’s the first time they’ve sold a car on eBay.
He saw the funny side of the event, and has re-advertised the car.