Digital thoughts

One quick trip and you can't help but notice the differences...

German railroads: you go across the country, switching three trains in the process, and you don't even speak the language; everything goes whitout a hitch.
Romanian railroads: the actual train number doesn't match what's on the ticket. You end up running back and forth between the information desk and the platform. Luckily, your train is late.

A German's idea of a low-end train: no electrical outlets in the cars.
A Romanian's idea of a decent train: the onboard toilets actually work.

A German's idea of clean streets: "What is this 'dust' you speak of?"
A Romanian's idea of clean streets: we don't have any idea. Really.

Germans do everything by the book, no matter how unimportant it may seem.
Romanians do nothing by the book, not even the most important stuff.

Q: How do you recognize a Romanian in a German train station?
A: It's the guy who doesn't look where he's going.

Have you laughed? Good. Laughing is good. But remember, it's all true.

I've been pretty critical of OpenID since it's become popular, and I still maintain that it shouldn't be used for anything important. But here's the trick: not all Web services are important. Sometimes I just want to experiment with something, and remembering yet another login and password is too much of a barrier. Enter OpenID: since I already have one, trying something new is a non-issue. Assuming, of course, they support this authentication method. That's why I chose Identi.ca over Twitter (that and its general openness - see my previous post). And I hope somebody from Yahoo is reading this, because that's also why I chose Ma.gnolia over their own Del.icio.us. If you can be an OpenID provider, surely you could support it on your own services? Thank you.

P. S. One might ask why I don't keep my passwords written down, or inside a keyring. Well, let's see: do you keep the various keys to your house in a flimsy locker with a glass pane next to the front door? On the outside? I didn't think so.

I just found an excellent tool for linking websites together. It's called Google Custom Search Engine and it is essentially a way to tell the mighty engine which sites to search first (or exclusively) when queried from a particular page. Here's an example: A Geek's Web covers my interests and hobbies and gives surprisingly relevant results. But this is not guaranteed. My second attempt, the Interactive Fiction Finder will need quite a bit of work to become useful. Luckily, Google's tool provides a lot of customization options.

For those who don't like the big G very much, Yahoo offers a similar, though less flexible, service called Seach Builder. You can see an example (essentially a clone of A Geek's Web) at the bottom of my homepage.

If this sounds like a form of social search, that's because it is. Custom Search Engine even enables several people to work together. But unlike, say, Delver or Mahalo, it is something you can use on your websites. A CSE even has the author's name on it. And in case you haven't noticed, I'm vain...

Edit: On 2008-08-21 I got e-mail telling me that Yahoo Search Builder will shut down beginning October 15. Long live alternatives.

I can't believe I didn't find this earlier. After all, I like geotagging; just look at my Flickr map. But putting arbitrary data on a map of your own is not as handy. There are, of course Google Maps and Yahoo Maps, but they're pretty involved solutions, and they control the data in the first place. OpenStreetMap, is at least Creative Commons-licensed, but you can't put anything you want in there. As for other solutions, they should have turned out on a simple Web search, right?

Well, no. In fact, I stumbled upon Worldkit by pure accident, while researching distributed social networks (more about this in a later post). One short manual later, I was plotting points on the map as fast as I could grab the map coordinates from Wikipedia:



(Yes, that's just a screenshot. Sorry, Flash security policy. Click to see the demo on my website.)

For me, Worldkit's main selling point is simplicity. If you can understand this GeoRSS file, you can use Worldkit. As you may have guessed, the example above shows locations that have significance for me, such as where in the world I have friends. As a bonus, it also lets me see at a glance whether I can expect them to be awake or not. Quite handy, isn't it? Not to mention how funny it was to watch the terminator line washing over my plotted location of Bucharest just as the sun was setting outside. I could also draw the contours of various countries, if only I knew where to get the data.

As Murphy would have it, I located another open source map application soon after. OpenLayers is based on Javascript (it should run on iPhones) and seems more professional (OpenStreetMap uses it), but it's also more involved and less flashy, at least at first sight. Your mileage may vary.

Now, would you excuse me, I have to go buy a GPS receiver. Nah, just kidding. I can do a lot of work whitout one. Such as helping my friends get started with their own projects. Amazing how many people need a mapping application. Actually, I'll let you know. Happy geotagging!

It's 2008, and I'm no longer surprised to see Web, television and print going together hand in hand like old friends. I mean, is there a television channel that doesn't have a website by now? On the other hand, I don't think I've heard of a website that has its own TV channel. Until now. Meet ginx.eu, the latest big thing from DIFFstudios:



(Disclaimer: I'm a consultant at DIFFstudios, but I'm in no way affiliated with this project. Heck, I'm not even a gamer.)

I can't say much about Ginx right now, especially as everything is still under heavy development, even the concept. One thing is certain: it's all video, and it's all about games. Reviews, teasers, trailers... you name it. I believe televised gaming sessions are coming soon, along with a blog, forum and all the usual stuff (hey, we don't want to be that different). And yes, you can see it on cable, too, at least in Romania. Don't know about other countries, but if it's not already there, it will be.

I didn't initially believed in Ginx, and I still have my doubts. Being there, though, in the office with all the guys and girls I couldn't possibly miss the passion that's been invested in this stuff. From the cutting-edge technology of the infrastructure (have you seen how fast it loads?) to the rich, warm graphics Ginx is a labor of love. It even managed to turn a few heads at Cannes this year, I gather, and that is telling.

Enjoy!

P.S. It's the 25th of May. Do you know where your towel is?