Month: April 2007

Twitterment for twitter analytics

I came across the twitterment search engine/twitter statistical analysis tool through the Scobleizer blog entry on Google search history function. Twitterment and similar search engines can really develop into something big for advertisers and market analysts who’re studying current trends granted that twittering and similar social services remain popular.

I also tried out a search to find other twitter search engines, and came across a blog entry on the exact topic. The entry lists 4 search engines including twitterment along with a Google co-op search.

Personally, I am not into twittering, though I do have a twitter account. I even configured and tried out the twitter posting using gtalk, but didn’t really end up twittering much. It’s probably a case of the useless account syndrome, due to which I sign up for whatever service I come across. Then again, maybe I’ll start using it regularly sometime.

Skycars and the future of cars

I came across a link to Moller Skycars through one of my feeds. This got me looking a bit more into where we have reached with the concept of flying cars. The Moller Skycar (on wikipedia) has apparently been around for quite some time, and has also been tested out (but tethered runs for safety). The M400 model which is being planned for general usage is basically a 4-seater VTOL (Vertical Take-off and Landing) vehicle capable of speeds of upto 375 mph, and runs on ethanol. It’s expected to be priced around $1 million.

There are also a few videos on the Moller site on the flying cars, plus one on youtube of the cars test run (or flight). There’s also quite a bit of information on the wikipedia page on flying cars (with one of the earliest models dating back to 1937). Going by the information I’ve seen, the flying car can be expected to be launched by the end of this decade.

However, one of the big questions remaining is the one regarding the energy source for these vehicles – some form of petroleum/ethanol, which is not exactly environment friendly. This is also one of the main sections in the future of cars page on wikipedia, with alternatives ranging from hybrids to hydrogen powered vehicles.

Omni-directional driving

I came across an interesting puzzle on the Humanized site through one of my feeds. The puzzle was to design a car that is not forward/reverse modal (basically do away with the gear shift, which creates multiple modes for the accelerator). There were quite a few interesting and innovative solutions, with suggestions ranging from using joysticks to providing separate buttons/pedals for the reverse functionality.

While going through this puzzle and the answers, I came across the Airtrax site, which designs omni-directional vehicles, i.e., vehicles which can move in any direction. They have a small video on the front page demonstrating the vehicle capabilities, and also a page with some information on the omni-directional drive system.

Some interesting .NET 3.0 prototypes from thirteen23

I was going through my feeds and came across the post “Killer Vista app demoed“. The post talks about apps being developed using .NET 3.0 and web services – specifically ones by thirteen23. I checked out the nostalgia prototype which is a browser for the flickr service.The interface looks quite nice, and allows you to login using your flickr id. If you choose to login, then the app downloads all your photos, and saves them locally (which is pretty useful in itself, though the resolution is quite low). It also allows you to launch photo editors, organize, tag and search photos. Not bad for a prototype.

There are also a few other prototypes available, which make use of other APIs, like cine.view for netflix. Some are available as downloads (like nostalgia) while others have to be launched directly from the browser.

404 errors and server complaints

I was going through one of the Geek Trivia articles on TechRepublic on the origin of the 404 – page not found error (which everyone would have encountered at some point of time), and it contained a link to a very interesting and humorous page. The page is something like a page not found error from the “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” world, with the server giving you a nice lecture. Wonder what it would be like if we had the server responding in a similar fashion for all the errors that we encounter on the web.

Some new google techs

Google seems to have launched a couple of revolutionary technologies today – one the Gmail paper and the other being Google TiSP (which you’ll find on the main page) – and both are free. Gmail paper is basically a service which allows you to get physical copies of your emails (including photos) delivered to you as regular mail. Google TiSP on the other hand is Google’s new free wireless broadband access service.

And just in case you are wondering how Google’s managing to provide these superb services for free, just take a look at the calendar, and things should become clear ;-).