B-List Archive: May 2001

B-List Archive

May 2001

Postings to the B-List.

Subject: B-List: New iBook
Date: Wed, 2 May 2001 11:01:56 +0930 (CST)

Apple's new iBook
  < http://www.apple.com/ibook/ >

* QuickTime VR model
  < http://www.apple.com/hardware/gallery/ibook_may2001_320.html >
* Quicktime Video
  < http://www.apple.com/hardware/video/ibook.html >

A bit like a baby version of the new PowerBook
  < http://www.apple.com/powerbook/ >

Subject: B-List: Rock and Roll stories
Date: Fri, 4 May 2001 13:09:11 +0930 (CST)

Some Music Industry "news"

* Marilyn Manson Now Going Door-To-Door Trying To Shock People
  < http://www.theonion.com/onion3703/marilyn_mason.html >
Obviously he's losing his touch.

* Kid Rock Starves To Death: MP3 Piracy Blamed
  < http://www.theonion.com/onion3618/kid_rock_starves.html >
Shame on Napster users!

* Insane Clown Posse Gets Ride To Concert From Mom
  < http://www.theonion.com/onion3527/insane_clown_posse.html >
I hope they remember Mothers' Day.

* One Nil to Neil
  < http://www.observer.co.uk/review/story/0,6903,473241,00.html >
This one is actually a true story.  Would've been an interesting gig.

Subject: B-List: The Annals of Improbable Research
Date: Mon, 7 May 2001 09:45:18 +0930 (CST)

The Annals of Improbable Research
  < http://www.improbable.com/ >

In their own words:
  "The Annals of Improbable Research (AIR) is a humor magazine of
   science, medicine, and technology. AIR is known for (a) funny
   genuine science; (b) deadpan satire; and (c) the Ig Nobel Prizes."

My favourite part of the site is "The Ig Nobel Prizes":
  < http://www.improbable.com/ig/ig-pastwinners.html >
These are annual awards for obscure research and crackpot or bizarre
science, plus some other "Nobel" categories.
Year 2000 winners include:
 + CHEMISTRY
For the discovery that, biochemically, romantic love may be
indistinguishable from having severe obsessive-compulsive disorder.
 + COMPUTER SCIENCE
For the invention of PawSense, software that detects when a cat is
walking across your computer keyboard. 
 + PEACE
The British Royal Navy, for ordering its sailors to stop using live
cannon shells, and to instead just shout "Bang!" 

If you've ever wanted to know the perfect way to dunk a biscuit in
your tea or coffee, check out:
  < http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_220000/220400.stm >

Finally, the physics of pool/billiards:
  < http://www.playpool.com/apapp/index.html >

Subject: B-List: Japanese Engrish
Date: Tue, 8 May 2001 10:08:17 +0930 (CST)

Japanese Engrish
  < http://www.engrish.com/ >

Examples of the unique dialect of English used in Japanese advertising.
Categories include drinks, snacks, buildings and cars.

* Recent Discoveries
  < http://www.engrish.com/recentdiscoveries.html >
* Reader Contributions
  < http://www.engrish.com/fromyou.html >

Subject: B-List: Cool products
Date: Wed, 9 May 2001 09:53:00 +0930 (CST)

1. Sony Digital Relay
  < http://www.storagebysony.com/digitalrelay/ >
Portable CD burner and player, works with Windows and MacOS.

2. Colnago/Ferrari bicycle
  < http://www.trialtir-usa.com/colnagoproducts/cf1/cf1.htm >
Cool bike, but it'll set you back $10K.

3. Singer Izek
  < http://www.meetizek.com/home.html >
Sewing machine meets GameBoy.

4. Mobilux desk
  < http://www.mobilux.dk/eng/ >
Work at your desk and keep fit at the same time.

Subject: B-List: Series 7 - The Contenders
Date: Fri, 11 May 2001 09:26:13 +0930 (CST)

Series 7 - The Contenders
  < http://www.series7movie.com/ >

So you've seen Big Brother and Survivor and think they're pretty tame.
Well then maybe "Series 7" is for you.  The object of this game is to
terminate your opponents with extreme prejudice.  A bit like 21st
Century gladiators.

* The Contenders
  < http://www.series7movie.com/contenders/index.html >
* Training Manual
  < http://www.series7movie.com/training/index.html >

WARNING: As you'd expect, this site contains violent content.

Subject: B-List: Latest from boneland.com
Date: Mon, 14 May 2001 11:11:50 +0930 (CST)

1. Seizure Generator
  < http://www.boneland.com/movies/szg/index.html >

The usual silliness.  Probably not good if you're epileptic.

2. Explosions of the Week
  < http://www.boneland.com/explosions/index.html >

Recent weeks have featured:
  * Ad Monkey
  * New VW Beetle
  * An Expendable Chicken
Not great but if you're in the mood.

Subject: B-List: Fashion Crime
Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 10:50:51 +0930 (CST)

1. 10 Fashion Faux Pas That Should be Considered Cool
  < http://www.dailyradar.com/features/directhit_feature_page_1598_1.html >

2. Teacher Of The Year Awards 'A Fashion Nightmare'
  < http://www.theonion.com/onion3713/teacher_of_the_year.html >

3. Australian Prime Ministers
  < http://www.smh.com.au/news/specials/natl/federation/pmgallery.html >
In commemoration of the Centenary of Australia's Federation, check out
caricatures of our esteemed Prime Ministers decked out in the threads
of their times.

Subject: B-List: Email Disclaimer Awards 2001
Date: Fri, 25 May 2001 09:19:04 +0930 (CST)

The Email Disclaimer Awards 2001
  < http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/35/19057.html >

Awarded for long, convoluted or plain silly disclaimers.

Categories:
* Longest Disclaimer
  < http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/28/19051.html >

* Most Incomprehensible Disclaimer
  < http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/28/19052.html >

* Most Politically Correct Disclaimer
  < http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/28/19053.html >

* Best Bi-lingual Disclaimer
  < http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/28/19054.html >

* Best Spoof Disclaimer
  < http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/28/19055.html >

* Special Award for Best WWW Disclaimer
  < http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/28/19056.html >

Subject: B-List: Home Beauty Surgery, MS Word trick
Date: Tue, 29 May 2001 11:53:23 +0930 (CST)

1. Home Beauty Surgery
  < http://www.iamlost.com/features/homesurgery/ >

Some tips to give you that edge, without needing to go to a plastic
surgeon.

2. A Microsoft Word "trick".
In a Word window, type in the following:
  =rand(4,10)
then hit <enter>
Word will generate 4 paragraphs containing 10 identical sentences
for you.  The only possible use I can think of would be to make
people think you've done some work.  You can customise the output
a bit, by specifying different numbers.  The first number is the
number of paragraphs, and the second is the number of sentences
in each paragraph.

3. Finally, this next link may prove that there may actually be one
or two creative people at Micro$oft:
  < http://www.officeclippy.com/ >

Subject: B-List: I Send A Message
Date: Wed, 30 May 2001 10:06:53 +0930 (CST)

1. Anoto
  < http://www.anoto.com/ >

Use a special pen to write notes, faxes, emails etc and send them
wirelessly across the room or the world.

* Overview of the concept
  < http://www.anoto.com/concept/general/ >

* Example uses
  < http://www.anoto.com/concept/userscenarios/ >
I like the notepad and email "apps".

2. SMS poetry competition results
  < http://www.wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,43782,00.html >
  < http://books.guardian.co.uk/games/mobilepoems/0,9405,450649,00.html >

Subject: B-List: Ab-User Interfaces
Date: Thu, 31 May 2001 14:41:04 +0930 (CST)

1. Interface Hall of Shame
  < http://www.iarchitect.com/mshame.htm >

A collection of stupid, unhelpful or plain ugly user interfaces.

Check out:
* Interface Stupidity
  < http://www.iarchitect.com/stupid.htm >
* Error Messages
  < http://www.iarchitect.com/errormsg.htm >
* New Additions/Recent Entries
  < http://www.iarchitect.com/new.htm >

They also commend the positive:
  < http://www.iarchitect.com/mfame.htm >

2. WebPagesThatSuck.com
  < http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/ >

As the name suggests, this site covers bad web page design.
Each day there's a "Daily Sucker":
  < http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/sucker.html >

The site also has advice on how to avoid making sucky web pages.

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