Microsoft releases MSN Messenger 7.5

No idea what has been changed in this version, except it looks a bit nicer... and a revamped login screen... The connection troubleshooter also looks quite nice...

Heard they are developing MSN Messenger 8 already, this link tells me that... dunno how reliable this source is.

Greenspan's Deciphers

The standard procedure is to call some heavy hitters in the institutional investment community and ask them what's moving the market. First guy says spiking oil is depressing the market. The second and third guys say profit taking is afoot. Fourth guy says Greenspan burped at lunch.

Once in a while, a good and humorous article pops up in Google News. And this happens to be just the case. Read all about the dismal science of deciphering Alan Greenspan's speech.

Mitchell Kapor

How many of you know Mitchell Kapor? but how many of you have heard of Lotus 1-2-3?
Kapor is the man who founded Lotus Development Corporation.
http://www.kapor.com/

And someone wrote on Freakonomics Blog about Kapor...
He attributed his success to two things: (1) always just doing what he loved, and (2) luck.
Fascinating perspective.

Google Talk

Google released Google Talk yesterday. Google Talk is an instant messenger program (windows only, no mac yet). The internet was been awashed with news of this very recent development and Google stock (Nasdaq: GOOG) rose 0.35% today.
So... the big question is "what promise does it hold?"

Current situation suggests that not many people will use Google Talk. Like any other software, it will take time (more than a year) for the number of users to reach a reasonable level. AOL, Yahoo and Microsoft already control the IM market, with AOL having the biggest pie. In addition, Microsoft is coming up with Microsoft Office Communicator, a solution to "integrate" all 3 IM protocols. Although Google Talk uses the opensource protocol, it is unlikely that it will make any significant difference here.

Currently, Google Talk lacks in features as compared to MSN Messenger. The only 'interesting' thing is the VoIP feature. But those interested in VoIP would have tried software like Skype. In addition, Google Talk cannot send files or even play online games like in MSN.

While the hype about VoIP is its convenient and that it offers cheap calls (or absolutely no costs)... it is also dangerous... how do you make an emergency call when the electricity it out?

At the end of the day, it is still very hard to see where Google Talk is going. Google Talk may be another 'cool' thing among fans now, but it might die out. In any case, it is certain Goole will have to continue making improvements.

So what is next after Google Talk? Google Finance? (time to stop going to Yahoo! Finance?)

Google IM?

Google is set to introduce its own instant-messaging system, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday. Such a move would mark an expansion by the Web search leader into text and also voice communications.

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-5841854.html?tag=nl.e589

Petals Around The Rose

Anyone too bored? Try playing Petals Around The Rose
http://www.borrett.id.au/computing/petals-j.htm

Its a mind game by itself...

Pi Notation

So you have heard of the sigma notation (aka summation). But do you know about the pi notation?

It really makes sense, while you’re developing a notion of Sigma, to develop the corresponding notion of Pi (capital greek letter). Sigma is to Pi as addition is to multiplication.
Yes... so the above notation will mean
g(0) X g(1) X g(2) X ... X g(n)

Baidu - the IPO

Baidu.com (BIDU: Nasdaq) has been very volatile since it debut on friday (August 5) last week. It came public at $60 and hit a high of $151 in its first day of trading. BIDU has also been hailed as the Google of China (GOOG: Nasdaq now stands at $289+, think Google's IPO).

However, trading BIDU is a high game to play. Those who thought that BIDU will rise further have sadly been mistaken. Within 3 days of trading by momentum traders, BIDU began to slide - so much so that investors have been trying to short sell BIDU. The probs with short selling? - Very few buyers and a 50% interest charge.

Only one week now since its debut, its still pretty hard to tell what may happen in the next few months to come. But like Google, it remains volatile to market conditions.

10 Years that Changed the World

The whole suit of articles in
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.08/intro.html
are worth reading...

They are very insightful articles, written by Kelly Kevin.

Pastebin

http://pastebin.com

The next time you have a prob with your code, and you don't want to send the entire code over, just go to that site, paste your code and give your url to your friend to help in debugging.

AJAX

More and more webpages (like Google Maps) are using AJAX
Read more @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AJAX

Mozilla Corporation

The not-for-profit group that distributes the popular Firefox Web browser is shifting the creation and marketing of its products to a new for-profit corporation. The Mozilla Foundation of Mountain View, established two ago years with funding from America Online, created the Mozilla Corporation this week to help focus the group's work and build more polished products.



Click here for the full story

MS Windows Advantage Cracked in 24 Hrs

There are some red faces in Redmond this weekend following the discovery that Microsoft's much-vaunted Windows Advantage programme could be defeated with a simple piece of JavaScript. The code, which appeared on a number of sites throughout the Internet, appeared within 24 hours of Windows Advantage going live.

This is MS's software.... after months of trial.

Click here for the full story.