Talking life pre-Google on ABC Adelaide

ABC logoIt’s almost 20 years since Google was founded, and it’s fair to say that at least some of the company’s services have become a part of almost every internet user’s life. But what did we do before Google?

There were other search engines, of course, but what about before the web was a thing?

On Friday I discussed this question with ABC Adelaide presenter Peter Goers, along with librarian Nikki White from the National Library of Australia.

This audio is ©2018 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Vodafone’s dishonest links and the memory hole

Vodafone LogoI dealt with a strange request from Vodafone this week. They wanted to fix a broken link in one of my blog posts from four years ago. Not to point it to the material it was citing, but to marketing material for Vodafone’s current iPhone plans.

I reckon that missed the point of that link from 2008, but read this exchange of email and see if you agree.

Continue reading “Vodafone’s dishonest links and the memory hole”

Google and Bing, sitting in a tree…

This is sweet! Look what happens when you search for the word “search” on the world’s two leading Internet search engines.

Screenshots of Google and Bin searches for "search": click for a closeup

Yes, if you Google for “search” the first result is Bing. And if you Google it on Bing, the first result is Google. Now who said these guys were competitors?

Hat-tip to Derek Jenkins (@ozdj), and doubtless others as the meme spreads.

Links for 28 August 2009 through 09 September 2009

Stilgherrian’s links for 28 August 2009 through 09 September 2009, gathered automatically and then forgotten until today: