Posterous theme by Cory Watilo

MarkkScript's Posterous


Buzzing and Keeping a Finger on the Pulse of the World Wide Web

'Psychic' octopus Paul now has some rivals in the business

Human oracles may be put out of business if sea creatures and winged ones are getting all the attention in predicting winners.

As we all know, and more so German football fans, 'psychic' octopus Paul who resides in Germany has taken soothsaying to the next level with his uncanny predictions that was too good to be true.

At first, Paul's predictions were making the Germans happy by forecasting them as winners. 

But when Germany were deemed as losers and it all came true, there were threats calling for the celebrated eight-legged oracle to be grilled with lemon juice and olive oil or turned into a plate of paella.

For the record, Spain beat Germany 1-0 in their semi-final clash when almost everyone thought the Germans would continue their blitzkrieg. And for the World Cup final, Paul has predicted Spain to defeat the Netherlands.

However, other unseemly oracles started to appear on the scene.

Now, Paul has a rival oracle in Singapore's own World Cup 'expert' parakeet going by the name of Mani. 

According to reports, the colourful bird has picked the Netherlands to beat Spain in the final that will be played in Johannesburg's Soccer City stadium this Sunday.

When it came to picking the winners, Mani grabbed a card in his beak and flipped it over to reveal the Dutch flag.

The 13-year-old parakeet has become a local celebrity. Its owner, M. Muniyappan, claimed Mani accurately forecast the World Cup's four quarter-final games and Spain's semi-final victory over Germany.

Not to be outdone, South Africa came up with its own 'psychic' octopus called Jabulani, named after the controversial new ball used in the current World Cup tournament.

China's Xinhua news agency reported that Jabulani was put to the test using the same method that his counterpart Paul in Germany was put through.

According to Talk Radio 702 in Johannesburg, Jabulani picked the Spaniards as the winners.  By the way, 'Jabulani' means happiness in South Africa's Zulu language. 

Meanwhile, it was reported that Spanish Industry Minister Miguel Sebastian has called for clairvoyant Paul to be given an "immediate" free transfer to Spain to "ensure his protection."

One thing football fans ought to know - in Spain's tapa bars, octopuses are regarded as a delicacy. The Spaniards love their "pulpos" or have them turned into "paella".

So Paul needs to think twice before moving south to sunny Spain just in case his prediction does not come true. No one with a sane mind would hop from a water tank into a frying pan!

Viva Vuvuzela! You Sound Like Angry Bees in My Ear!

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There's an ear-splitting din at the World Cup tournament in South Africa with thousands of vuvuzela aficionados having a good time blowing their trumpets.

But the colourful, noisy plastic trumpets may be facing a ban if World Cup officials think the racket is threatening to deafen players and viewers alike.

Already, World Cup organising committee chief Danny Jordan was reported in an interview with the BBC as saying that they are not ruling out the option of banning vuvuzelas.

According to AFP, criticism of the vuvuzelas has been almost as loud as the instruments. Broadcasting companies covering the World Cup matches are complaining the din is almost drowning out commentary.

If the incessant noise has anything to do with a team's performance, then we can believe that France's poor display in their 0-0 draw with Uruguay was due to the vuvuzela racket as claimed by Les Bleus captain Patrice Evra.

"We can't sleep at night because of the vuvuzelas. People start playing them from 6 a.m. We can't hear one another out on the pitch because of them," the Frenchman was reported as saying.

Even on Facebook, YouTube and other sites online, a passionate debate is going on about the pros and cons of the vuvuzela.

When thousands of this thing are being blown at full volume, it's going to sound like a swarm of angry bees buzzing in your ear, and as one newspaper put it, an elephant in distress.

While the World Cup tournament is in progress in the Rainbow Nation, you can't escape the noise - it's everywhere. Not only at the football stadiums, but in shopping malls, hotels, and on the streets.

However, despite all the noise, FIFA president Sepp Blatter was reported to have given his blessing, saying Africa is about dance and music, and moaning about the instrument bordered on discrimination.

 

Doing It All for World Cup Glory

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This may sound wacky but what the heck, it's fun. 

Fifty-one percent of respondents to a tongue-in-cheek survey of 20,000 people who live in North America, but hail from countries with teams that have already qualified to play in the World Cup 2010 finals this summer in South Africa, said they would stop eating for a week if that would bring victory to their national squad.

According to Reuters, VIP Communications Inc conducted the survey ahead of the June 11-July 11 World Cup  extravaganza featuring 32 nations and came out with some pretty bizarre answers.

The ones that are ready to starve for a week are English respondents of which 93% would give up food to see England win the World Cup - for the second time. The English last won it in 1966.

It looks like the Italians just can't give up their spaghetti and pasta but 70% of them are willing to dump their jobs for an Azzurri victory. 

South Koreans can make do without sex. Most are ready to sacrifice their love life to see their national team win the World Cup for the first time. But I wouldn't bet on that.

Not to be outdone, Americans are most willing to sacrifice their homes if Team USA can knock out the likes of Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Italy or whoever else to win the Jules Rimet trophy, according to the survey.

While only four percent of respondents were willing to give away a body part which sounds pretty painful, the lowest percentage goes to the Slovakians. Only three percent of them would give up anything to see minnows Slovakia shock the world with their first ever World Cup title.

Oh well, you can take it with a pinch of salt!

Apple's iPad trademark resolved

Apple Inc has won another trademark battle. This time, according to reports from MacWorld and PC World, the Cupertino, Calif. company can now go ahead with the iPad name.

The iPad, which was revealed in San Francisco on Jan 27, will go on sale on April 3 with the trademark dispute appearing to be resolved.

According to a report posted at the blog, PatentAuthority.com, Apple has acquired the iPad trademark from Fujitsu Frontech North America.

Fujitsu Frontech North America is based in Richardson, Texas. It is a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate.

According to MacWorld, Fujitsu had applied for the rights to the iPad trademark back in 2003, for its own iPad handheld device.

Although PatentAuthority.com did not say how Apple and Fujitsu had resolved the iPad name tussle, MacWorld hinted that "with the sizable amount of cash Apple keeps on hand. . .it's safe to say that the company was easily in a position to make Fujitsu an offer it couldn't refuse."

British Granny Keeps French Dancing In A Frenzy

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British granny Ruth Flowers is taking Paris by storm with her glammy DJ act that's got the French dancing in a frenzy.

From the Cannes Film Festival to the top Paris nightspots, grandma Flowers has become a sensation. 

The Internet buzz is catching on with videos of Mamy Rock as she's known on the disco circuit appearing on YouTube.

At 69, Flowers aka Mamy Rock is truly rocking. She's the latest cool on the Paris party scene and her fame is spreading.

She is undoubtedly the oldest deejay in the world

Flowers' new-found fame brings back fond memories of Susan Boyle, the unlikely singing sensation from Scotland who won the hearts of millions with her angelic rendition of "I Dream A Dream" on the Britain's Got Talent show last year.

Flowers' exploits as the "hippest English DJ" in France has captured the imagination of the media and it looks like more and more people are getting to know about the awesome old lady.  Read more...

 

Facebook acquires Malaysian startup Octazen

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The world's biggest social networking site Facebook has just acquired a small Malaysian-based technology company in a secretive deal that has the Web buzzing.

Many industry watchers were taken by surprise when the news broke Saturday that relatively unknown Malaysian startup Octazen Solutions suddenly came into the spotlight with this takeover. The acquisition price was not disclosed.

According to Facebook spokesperson Larry Yu, the buyout was a  "talent acquisition" which also roped in Octazen's two engineers to work with Facebook.

Larry Yu was reported at Gigaom.com as saying: "We've admired the engineering team's efforts for some time now and this is part of our ongoing effort to add experienced, accomplish technical talent to help drive the company forward in its effort to be the central way for people to connect and share information."

With immediate effect, Octazen Solutions announced on its site that the company "will no longer accept new service contracts or renew existing service contracts, and will enter a transition period to wind down operations."

Unlike search giant Google, the Palo Alto-based social networking company rarely acquires other companies. This is only its third acquisition following the buyout of Parakey and FriendFeed.

Facebook is into its sixth year and has more than 400 million users on the service.

The iPad Varieties and Padded Bras

It turns out that there are more iPad varieties in the world than just the Apple iPad.

Launched on Wednesday, Jan 27, by Apple CEO Steve Jobs with much fanfare, the name of this new tablet device has come under close scrutiny by other companies with claims to the trademark.

The New York Times reported that Japanese technology company Fujitsu has claimed that it had applied for an iPad trademark in 2003.

According to the NYT, Fujitsu's public relations division director Masahiro Yamane said: "It's our understanding that the name is ours . . . Mobile is a keyword for Fujitsu's iPad, too."

Yamane said Fujitsu was aware of Apple's plans to sell the iPad device and that the company was consulting lawyers over next steps.

The NYT also reported that German conglomerate Siemens uses iPad name for engines and motors, while Canadian lingerie firm Coconut Grove Pads holds the right to market iPad padded bras.

Apple may have a battle on its hand if Fujitsu pushes its claim with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

How Bill Gates Led The Twitter Herd

I'm sure many Twitter users would give an arm and a leg to have 100,000 Twitter followers in just about 8 hours after joining the microblogging site.

Ben Parr posted this revelation at the Mashable site:

"Eight hours ago, Microsoft founder Bill Gates joined Twitter. Five hours ago, Twitter’s Caroline Mizumoto tweeted about it. And moments ago, @BillGates broke 100,000 Twitter followers.

"The last time we’ve seen a new Twitter user with this kind of momentum was Oprah when she first joined. Mr. Gates is not only the world’s richest man, but one of its most popular it seems. His legacy as an entrepreneur and a philanthropist are far from forgotten."


But the sad truth is that the plebeian among us do not have that kind of magnetic pull. We can only look in awe.

According to Parr, Mr Gates was getting 12,500 Twitter followers per hour.

The news broke at TheNextWeb.com where Alex Wilhelm first posted that Microsoft's Bill Gates had joined Twitter. At that time, Gates had only 241 followers until Caroline's tweet that got the Twitterverse buzzing.

By the time I finish this post, the number of followers will probably increase by leaps and bounds.

But then, here's a sobering thought: Why would I follow Gates on Twitter if I feel like I'm a small pebble on a beach full of other pebbles? Would he send me a "How are you keeping?" message? Would he follow me?

Normally, Twitter users crave for more followers but how much communicating can one do or cope when confronted by a huge number of followers. Honestly, we just accept followers and follow back as a matter of courtesy. Maybe, that's just me.

No doubt, people who know each other will exchange tweets (messages) but the majority are just there tweeting by the numbers.
It's a kind of herd mentality.


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Is Google Shutting Down Its China Operation?

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It appears that search engine giant Google is finding its attempt to break down the Great Wall of China a tough if not impossible task. 

I mean Google is feeling hot and bothered by Chinese Internet censorship. Reuters has reported that the Mountain View. Calif., search company had indicated it might just pack up and quit China.

Google has a Chinese-language website, google.cn, which has come under a series of attacks on human rights activists who use its Gmail service. 

Google also was accused by Chinese authorities of allowing the spread of pornography on its search engine. 

Incidentally, Baidu is the search engine of choice in China, well ahead of second-placed Google, although worldwide the US search engine is still No. 1. China has the largest number of Web users in the world.

In an interview with Reuters, Hillary Clinton aide Alec Ross said the US Secretary of State would unveil a plan to help citizens in other countries, including China, get uncensored access to the Internet on Jan 21.

Wikipedia: Imagine All The People...

"Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet has free access to the sum of all human knowledge."
     — Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia

Just as we get ready to ring in the New Year, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales has just updated here that the "largest encyclopedia in human history" has reached its campaign goal of 7.5 million USD as of December 31, 2009.

Here's Wales' message to those who have donated to Wikipedia:

"Thank you to all who have donated! Your continued donations will support Wikimedia's long-term operations and growth, cover contingencies, and allow us to fund new projects and activities."

Wales started Wikipedia in 2001 and in the past eight years hundreds of thousands of volunteers had joined to contribute in writing content for the encyclopedia.

According to Wales, more than 340 million people use Wikipedia every month - almost a third of the Internet-connected world. Write on.
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