type [cricket] in Google and see scores of all current matches

Its a bit late - but Australia is coming to India soon ... so here's the tip

Get your cricket scores here from Official Google Blog by Karen

Posted by Sadeesh Duraisamy, Software Engineer, and Alok Goel, Business Product Manager

With the start of the Twenty20 world championship, cricket fever is upon legions of enthusiasts. To make it easier for you to indulge your interest in a game John Fowles characterized as "chess made flesh," we've simplified your search for cricket scores. Just type [cricket] in a Google search box and you'll see a brief score of all the current cricket matches. A single click will also give you access to a detailed cricket score card.

If you're a diehard India fan, then type [cricket india] or [ cricket score India England] to get results for Indian matches. Of course, feel free to replace India with the country of your choice for country-specific results.

WebOffice

WebEx WebOffice from Read/WriteWeb by Richard MacManus

Will WebEx WebOffice offer word processing or spreadsheet software in future? Paplau replied that they don't see "a large call" for that functionality. He said their customers use WebEx WebOffice to enable them "to collaborate across time and distance" - not offer them an alternative to word processing, spreadsheet, presentations, etc.

Guess this is a much preferred 'route' to Web Office than investing time and energy in developing Word processors and spreadsheets online which people do not prefer to edit online anyway ...

Web as a 'Tube-Map'

http://www.informationarchitects.jp/slash/ia_trendmap_start.html



The 200 most successful websites on the web, ordered by category, proximity, success, popularity and perspective ... but as a Tube map

More info: http://www.informationarchitects.jp/ia-trendmap-2007v2

Inviting new users to a new website ...

Do we like the same toothbrush? from Nikhil Kulkarni's blog

Isn't there is a limit to how many times you invite a user??

My first point is that if a user has invited me to the site and I haven't responded means that I am not interested in the service for one reason or the other. It could be pure disinterest or may be that I don't have time for it. Either way - I AM NOT INTERESTED!! Then why should the website send me a 'reminder' for the invitation??

If I invite my friend 'A' to a service and then another user 'X' also invites him to the site, it is indeed annoying to 'A' - especially if he has already signed for the service!

By putting the power in the user's hands we are also respecting the rights of a user on the way his/her personal data (read: address books) will be used by the websites. Amen!

How to shut down a popular site

Lessons on shutting down a service from Yahoo! Photos from Signal vs. Noise by Matt

Yahoo! is shutting down Yahoo! Photos in a week. It's tough to paint a pretty picture with that information but I think the way they've handled this touchy situation is impressive.

1) They sent an email 2+ months in advance so customers had time to prepare for the closing.

2) They provide a list of alternative photo sites: customers know their options and don't feel like left up a creek without a paddle.

3) They offer to do the heavy lifting and move photos to any of these other photo sharing services explaining exactly how the transfer works, down to the number of emails to expect and how long it will take.

4) You can download hi-res photos individually or buy an archive CD at a reduced price.

5) They offer clear FAQs about the closing and how to move photos elsewhere.

6) They understandably pitch their own related service, Flickr, but also acknowledge it may not be for everyone.

AJAX Operating System!!

ajaxWindows Web OS Officially Launches from Read/WriteWeb by Josh Catone

Ajax13, the makers of a web application suite that includes ajaxWrite, ajaxPresents, ajaxSketch, ajaxXLS, and ajaxTunes, today officially released their web operating system, ajaxWindows.

ajaxWindows is a full featured web OS deployed in a browser window using JavaScript. It has a familiar Windows like desktop feel, complete with a task bar, start menu, and desktop icons. It acts as a launcher for many popular web 2.0 sites and applications -- and lets you add menu or desktop icons for each. It also supports a range of desktop widgets and all of Ajax13's applications operate natively.

Obituary of the Blog-Age

"He led by caring" from Signal vs. Noise by Matt

My brother-in-law Brian Lyons died in a motorcycle accident last week. He was 42 years old. 

I'll spare you the personal side of this tragedy and focus instead on some workplace perspective I gained from the reaction of colleagues to his death.

Google Reader Adds Search; Bloglines Playing Catch-up in Features

Link from Read/WriteWeb by Richard MacManus

Google announced that Google Reader has search. What's more, it allows search for keywords (a very useful feature) and if you subscribe to someone's shared items, it'll search across those as well.

Beta Bloglines also has search, however it is not an integrated search within the beta RSS Reader. Rather, when you search for something using the Beta Bloglines search box, you are taken to a new browser window in the old Bloglines.

How Microsoft 'killed' its own cure!

Microsoft Attorneys Knock the Door of Windows AutoPatcher from Digital Inspiration by Amit Agarwal

Windows Autopatcher, that made life so simple for Windows XP users, is officially no more.

A little Autopatcher background - Microsoft announced XP SP2 in August 2004 and have have released hundreds of security updates and hotfixes since then.

If you install Windows XP on a new computer, you either have to download numerous updates from Windows Update website or you could install the latest version of AutoPatcher XP which includes each and every fix released by MSFT.

The Autopatcher installer is maintained by Windows enthusiasts - it saved bandwidth for thousand of XP users and the software was even distributed with some popular Computer Magazines.

Today, Microsoft Legal called up the AutoPatcher team asking them to discontinue the project and remove the download links.

Screencast maker

Jing [review] is a free software for capturing image screenshots as well as movies of software, also known as screencasts.

Worth a download for everyone of us ....

Webaroo profiled on Digital Inspiration

I had met a few employees (and ex-emp) of webaroo at the Mumbai BarCamp ... came to know about the app then ...

Download Your Favorite Blogs and Websites for Offline Reading from Digital Inspiration by Amit Agarwal

Enter Webaroo - a free offline browser cum search engine that is not-so-geek and should solve all the above problems.

Once you install Webaroo, you suggest a list of blogs, websites, videos, podcasts or any online content that you would like to browse offline.

Webaroo then creates an offline copy of the site that you can browse or search as if you are connected.

iPod Charger

Something to share with all I-Pod owners ... more details here: http://www.ion.co.in/

Introducing ion, the iPod charger

    * Ever visited your grandma's house and realized that your iPod battery is down?
    * Felt the need to charge your iPod without having to switch on the computer?
    * How about charging your iPod and wanting to listen to music at the same time?
    * Want to make sure that your iPod is protected from power fluctuations?

The ion is a charger that does all this and more. For just Rs. 399 only.

Countries with Web 2.0 and Blogging Craze

India has quite high density in these maps - proves India is a lucrative market for 'blogging' related projects!

Countries Where Web 2.0 and Blogging Craze is Popular from Digital Inspiration by Amit Agarwal

TechCrunch Visitors:

CNET Visitors:

Problogger Visitors:

GMail Tips

While many of your might be aware of some of these Gmail tips - this blog post from Digital Inspiration by Amit Agarwal is a good repository for Gmail search tips.  The popular 'commands' are:

label [label name]
is [read/ unread]
has [attachement]
in [ chat| anywhere]
filename [name of file or extension/filetype]
from [name or domain (xyz.com)]
to [name or domain ( xyz.com)]
subject
after [date in yyyy/mm/dd format]
before [date in yyyy/mm/dd format]

You can get an FAQ style example list in the post.