Banner ads, I think everyone will agree, are baleful little things that please nobody. My least favourite are the ones that tart themselves up to look like Windows 95/98/2K/Me error boxes, and seduce you into clicking 'OK'. But in the end, they've proven to be almost entirely ineffective, and sadly for the dotcommers, all too ignorable.

The solution is an ad that can't be ignored, that draws you in, that grabs you by the lapels and shouts at you across the ether. The answer, I hope, is a little less annoying than this.
posted by AR Ross at 4:34 PM

Need a super-fast wireless Internet connection? Move to...wait for it...The Isle of Man!?
posted by AR Ross at 10:01 AM

Have you noticed that Babelfish translates into Asian languages? That's new (but entirely sensible).
posted by AR Ross at 11:56 AM

(Mea maxima culpa! I've been holed up in my little cabinet/bedroom for the past several days, studying in earnest for exams. They've finished now, and so it's more brio for you.)


The real irony here is that I spent the first six hours of yesterday in either the relative quiet of the morning or in utter and complete silence in the Oxford Examination Schools. Who knew I was taking part in a political action at the same time?
posted by AR Ross at 10:18 AM

'I hear a symphony...' or is that just the blood clots?
posted by AR Ross at 1:11 PM

I have to say that I expected more bones, more skulls, and a few more witty aphorisms. Was 'Run, neophyte, run' really the best they could do?
posted by AR Ross at 11:57 PM

Jealousy factor=10. What an elegant and well-designed site (you'll need Flash to see all the good stuff).
posted by AR Ross at 10:41 PM

Two questions:

1. I can't imagine that Anne Robinson (aka Bulldog) would harbor the slightest fear of an attack. After all, she shot down all Welsh people with one verbal cartridge a few months back. Is an American thug that much more dangerous?

2. Who possibly would have voted The Sun to be the UK's No.1 website? The Sun itself?
posted by AR Ross at 4:07 PM

VOD= Video On Demand. Essentially, you'll be able to plug a television into an outlet and be able to watch literally any film or television show you want. Anything.

But for a good while, I'm betting this will be a huge virtual ball of string, just tangling itself into knots. You'll have to subscribe to a whole lot of services to get different sorts of content-- in other words: a real pain.
posted by AR Ross at 11:41 AM

When I was about 5 years old, we lived near a family with a teenaged son who spent much of his spare time releasing helium balloons with 'If Found, Return to...' notes attached. I was so taken with this idea that I used to have dreams (literally) about finding one of these randomly floating balloons, peregrinating its way overhead and right into my arms.

This could be why I'm so excited by the 1000 Journals project...
posted by AR Ross at 6:19 AM

Yet more proof that eventually, we're going to see one omnibus e-tailer on the web.
posted by AR Ross at 12:52 AM

The implications of this are massive-- you can install this tiny (150K) piece of software on a machine at home (or work), leave it connected to the Internet, and then access it from any web browser, anywhere.
posted by AR Ross at 11:54 PM

Really, this man only did what every single little kid has wished he/she could do. I think the idea of using a car's tailpipe is a much classier way to go, though.
posted by AR Ross at 11:44 AM

For your daily dose of humility, try the online spelling bee. (Mental note to self: must learn obscure dog breed names.)
posted by AR Ross at 8:44 PM

One reason why the downed airplane in China is such a huge issue is that it represents what to Americans is a shocking bit of impertinence on the part of another country. W isn't helping the situation out a bit. Combined with the Kyoto debacle, it's easy to see why Europeans view the US as a country with its head firmly stuck in the sand.
posted by AR Ross at 10:08 AM

So in the final analysis, it's not the have and have-nots, it's more like the savvy and the savvy-nots. I certainly agree with the notion that people are intimidated by technology, many of them to such a degree that they exoticise it and fear contact with it. How much of this has to do with the historical discourse of machine fragility and intractibility?
posted by AR Ross at 11:10 PM

Now, I would never buy this (I swear!), but some part of me imagines what it might look like on my desk, ironically juxtaposed with Bourdieu, Foucault, and Durkheim.
posted by AR Ross at 11:57 PM

Evidently, more than 2 million people have cast their votes to choose the 'New 7 Wonders'. While the ultimate decision won't mean much in the long term, I'd be willing to bet that the results will be publicised with abandon. So quick! Before someone else chooses something erected just over 100 years ago, cast your own vote.

(My choices were: The Old City of Sana'a, The Great Wall of China, The Roman Colosseum, The Pyramids at Chitchén Itzá, The Statues at Easter Island, Machu Picchu, and Timbuktu.)
posted by AR Ross at 11:41 AM

'Dear Tchr- Jhn is absnt 2day b/c he is sick. Hope U ndrstnd! xxMom'
posted by AR Ross at 11:09 AM

One aspect of university-level teaching that I enjoy the most is the divergent aims it has: content delivery, transmission of process skills, welfare, real-world awareness, and career-readiness training. What is frequently overlooked is how instructors manage their legion stresses. This might give a bit of insight.
posted by AR Ross at 11:29 AM

Apologies to regular readers-- blogger.com was down for part of the weekend, making posting impossible. But we're back!

I empathise with busy people. Still, when someone with an office job says, "I'm a paralegal. When I go to work, I'm always running from here to there," and then uses this putative frantic pace as an excuse to eat macaroni and cheese in a push-up tube, there's something wrong.
posted by AR Ross at 11:19 AM