You’re probably wondering what the mighty, yet new Google news has in common with the mighty veteran AFP (Agence France Presse), and the embryonic Wikinews. Wikinews is starting to gain some momentum. At first, the news there was a late, and sometimes poorly-written, version of the mainstream news. But things are starting to pick up.… Continue reading Wikinews, Google News and AFP
After the Eclipse, by Tom Rymour
Walton recommended a rare treat of a book, and I’ve managed to steal enough time, and let Dorje get up to just enough havoc in order to finish it. The treat in question was After the Eclipse by Tom Rymour (published by Discobolus). The author’s name (real name Tom Learmont) is apparently derived from Thomas… Continue reading After the Eclipse, by Tom Rymour
Dmoz and Chefmoz
I’ve volunteered (and been accepted) to become an editor on dmoz, the open directory used by many search engines. I already see my free time disappearing , what with Wikipedia and now Dmoz. For now I’ll be editing the section on South African news and media. Dmoz also has a sister site called Chefmoz, a… Continue reading Dmoz and Chefmoz
500th Wikipedia edit
I’ve made my 500th edit to Wikipedia (at least to the English version. I’ve also contributed a few to the Afrikaans version, albeit armed with dictionary – one of the instructions is be bold after all). Rather unexcitingly, it was a vote for deletion of an article I’d prepared for moving from Wikipedia to Wiktionary.… Continue reading 500th Wikipedia edit
Suckered again
My cellphone was stolen again. It’s certainly ironic two days after a post entitled Happiness is a new cellphone. It was a classic diversion. I was sitting in Crush, a sandwich bar type restaurant in Cape Town, grabbing a quick lunch. 4 or 5 men walked inside. I didn’t really pay much attention until 3… Continue reading Suckered again
New Cape Town tabloid – the Daily Voice.
Well, the secret of IOL’s departure from Newspaper House is out. We were moved to make way for a new tabloid called the Daily Voice. The new tabloid is apparently seen by Independent Newspapers as a spoiler. Something so trashy it won’t impact Argus sales, but enough to stir things up for the rival Sun… Continue reading New Cape Town tabloid – the Daily Voice.
Happiness is a new cellphone
Cellphone marketing seems to have undergone a change recently. Cellphones at first were a status symbol, something that only the supposed elite possessed. But thanks to good marketing, and of course the fact that they’re extremely useful, almost everyone who could afford one soon got one. As an article in the Christian Science Monitor eloquently… Continue reading Happiness is a new cellphone
20Twenty no more
Perhaps they’ve taken my advice from yesterday, but 20Twenty will soon be no more. My first glance at the mail to all their clients led me to believe they were closing down (and hence the slightly misleading heading for this post), but luckily it’s just the branding that will change. 20Twenty will get rebranded as… Continue reading 20Twenty no more
20Twenty ripe for phishing attack?
Apparently, Standard Bank has recently closed down 8 phishing sites in the last 4 weeks (according to an ITWeb article). Not surprising that South African banks are being targeted. With clients of Citibank and other popular US banks now either aware of the practice, or penniless after having been cleaned out, the phishers need to… Continue reading 20Twenty ripe for phishing attack?
Linux, a database to be feared?
A Reuters article on some research done by IDC appearing on ITWeb) had a comment on the market share of various database vendors. Measuring revenue, the leaders were, in order, Oracle, IBM and Microsoft. The article was unsatisfactory for a number of reasons: there’s no indication of whether OSS vendors had their revenue included (whether… Continue reading Linux, a database to be feared?