Social Networking: How Many Portals You Need?

A few days ago, Unni posted about the malicious and criminal use of social networking portals. I know this debate has been there for a long time. In fact, like most of our other topics of interest, this one keeps coming back to our drawing rooms and cafe tables every once in a while with a new story break, a murder, a kidnap, a virus, a fraud...

We follow up such stories with great interest, collect every detail, add a few more hits to those sites, debate vigorously on using this new media discreetly, blast those unscrupulous fellows, and yeah, get back to our social networking portals and daily chores with the same interest and continue with the life just as always.

Well, I don't have anything against the social networking portals. In fact, I'm a regular visitor on at least a couple of such sites, Orkut and LinkedIn. But there is something that annoys me every time I check my inbox: someone has sent me an invite from x portal, and another from y portal. And, to my surprise, this someone and the other are my friends already connected to me on Orkut or LinkedIn.

I could never figure out why someone who is already connected to me requires me to get connected on yet another portal, just to add to my collection of user names and passwords? Or is it that they think I don't have anything worthwhile to do than browsing through profiles on x, y, and z portals?

And then, again, a couple of days later--many time after you are trapped, too--,they write to you, apologizing for the invite, saying it was auto-generated by that portal after trawling through their address books. Trawl through their address book? Sounds phishy, doesn't it? Well, yeah, it is another form of phishing. But then, when you ask more questions, you know. The portals didn't really invest in phishing techniques and technologies. Why should they, when there are so many naive users--techies, managers, journos, teachers, from all walks of life--who are more than willing to give their email IDs and passwords without any hesitation to anything that looks like a networking portal?! All my friends happily entered their email IDs and passwords and allowed those portals to get all that information that they wanted.

And some of those lucky ones had the good fortune of seeing their names on some mailing lists to which they never had sent a mail, despite wanting to. And that gave them a chance to send one more mail, to those 'august' mailing lists, apologizing for the inadvertent invites. Well, learning the hard way, someone might think. But then, who learns?

Maybe the one who fell in hot water, but for the others, that is just fun until they themselves fall prey to another such thing...

Till that happens, happy social networking! Enjoy!




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gOOgle phOne

talks on google phone :-), says a five facts

The operating system will be a "mobile variant of Linux" capable of running Java Virtual Machines.

Second, all the on-board applications will be Java-based, including the music/video player.

Third, the user interface is based in Java, is "very responsive", features a "search box", and will be "typical of mobile phones."

Fourth, the web browser -- also in Java -- will have pan and browse.

Lastly, there was initially one prototype, but since then the mobile OS has been seen running on between 3 and 5 devices, all of which rock the QWERTY.


Our view : google phone will be a mobile device capable of surfing internet (may be WIFI or WIMAX or 1X or EVDO or GPRS ( we dont expect GPRS because of low speed).
It will not be the normal mobile phone and will be running a linux OS and capable of running all the google app including gmail, search, talk ( expect call out and callin from googletalk with a dial pad ).google apps, maps youtube videos and all other google applications. The main focus will be adv displays with content.

It's time of voip and web to common man, every body needs it.

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$48.6 million after taxes --

Friday night, four lucky people won the Mega Millions $330 million jackpot. That kind of number lends itself to fantasies of unlimited luxury. But the truth is, megamillions just aren't what they used to be.

A one-quarter share of the jackpot is $82.5 million. If the winner elects a lump-sum payment, which financial analysts suggest, they're down to $48.6 million after taxes. Already, unfortunately, the brand new millionaire is forced to make some compromises.



Read at link© yankandpaste®

Happy Onam!!!

It's Onam time. Wish you all a happy Onam !!

Onam ?
Onam is the biggest festival in the Indian state of Kerala. Onam Festival falls during the Malayali month of Chingam (Aug - Sep) and marks the homecoming of legendary King Mahabali. Carnival of Onam lasts for ten days and brings out the best of Kerala culture and tradition. Intricately decorated Pookalam, ambrosial Onasadya, breathtaking Snake Boat Race and exotic Kaikottikali dance are some of the most remarkable features of Onam - the harvest festival in Kerala.

Link 1
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When Social networks turning to crime centers ...

Young Adnan, who was kidnapped and then murdered by his friends, was a frequent Orkut visitor and met them on the site. This is not first of such incidents; one may remember the case of Kaushumbi who was also murdered by the guy she met on orkut.

Read more at : link
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$5 billion for WiMax network - the next big thing

Sprint Nextel said on Thursday it could spend as much as $5 billion by the end of 2010 on a new network based on the emerging high-speed wireless technology known as WiMax.



The link

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Plastic Faces

"today, it's not so much about people you meet, but plastic face masks. Who thinks, talk and act to certain codes. That come from the head, and never from deeper within. It isn't so much about relationships you develop, it's more a matching of fake DNA. Sometimes when you want to have a real conversation, talk to your local alley cat. At least, she never hangs around when she doesn't want to.''
-Kiara, Agent @ Model Casters (as quoted in Levis RedLoop)
Well, wasn't that a great piece of reflection?
I thought so. If Kiara was tired of 'botoxed, chin-tucked, boob-pinched, plasticated people', I'm tired of those polished, urbanized ones, who keep smiling almost mechanically, talk only politically-correct things, and are just pretenders.

Well, I know I can go on and on...on the purity of village life, on the old world charm, on the unhurried cities and towns from the other side of the spectrum...

but an occassional visit to the villages, a walk down the river banks, or up the east hills, or a travel in the line bus, well, that tells me how much of this urban thing is imported into those serene islands everyday. That said, well, those imports come not just through people, it comes through the air, the media, the movies... the pace is fast catching up...the emotions are fast draining off the faces, the thoughts are managed to sound trendy and politically correct...hmm...

hey, i know i have never been a fan of this "golden past", but you know when the present is all about pretensions, all about conveniences, all about excuses, and you know, all about me...

well, i pause...

I don't know. But is this what they call aging?

boot cut: ha, looking at it, Levis and villages, perhaps, a pin-stripped, boot-cut, straight leg, hmm...wiered?

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