Octomatics

Octomatics (octal mathematics) is a project that promotes a new numbering system based on the number 8. Some advantages of this new system are that working with binary numbers becomes very easy, addition becomes a visual process rather than involving calculation, and the multiplication table is much smaller than with the usual base 10. Check it out at http://www.infoverse.org/octomatics/octomatics.htm

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Riya Photo Search

The Riya Photo Search tool is now accepting new users for it’s online beta test. Riya allows you to upload photos of people and then add “tags” to each picture – such as name, location and so on. You can then search for photos using Riya. The unique thing about Riya is that it uses face recognition – if you upload ten photos of someone called Bob, Riya will learn the features of the face and enable you to find other photos of Bob by using face recognition techniques on other photos in it’s database. Obviously you can control the privacy in terms of who can search for what. This tool looks to be a huge step forward in online photo archiving and searching. Sign up for free at http://www.riya.com

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What does your phone number spell?

The PhoneSpell search engine shows you what words and phrases your phone number spells. Opening a business and need a new phone number? Pick a new 7 or 8 digit phone number and see what one-word numbers you can choose from. Searching for just the right toll free number to advertise? Type in letters and the site will show you the corresponding phone number. The PhoneSpell site at http://www.phonespell.org/ is geared towards American phone numbers, but it’s still a very useful tool.

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How to have a 36 hour day

Do you ever feel that there aren’t enough hours in a day? Jon Bischke, CEO and Founder of LearnOutLoud.com, an online portal for audio and video educational products, says “While we can never have more than 24 hours of chronological time I think it's very possible to have many more hours of functional time. In fact, I think it's probably possible to get up to 36 hours of functional time in your day if you do a few relatively simple things. So without further ado, here is my prescription for the 36 hour day.” Check out his tips at http://jon.zaadz.com/blog/2006/3/how_to_have_a_36_hour_day

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Fancy Pants Adventure

Fancy Pants adventure is an addictive, side-scrolling game written in flash. It’s fun, clever and completely free – check it out at http://hallpass.com/media/fancypantsadventure.html

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Cloud Appreciation Society

Part of the Cloud Appreciation Society’s Manifesto reads “We think that they are Nature’s poetry, and the most egalitarian of her displays, since everyone can have a fantastic view of them... We pledge to fight ‘blue-sky thinking’ wherever we find it. Life would be dull if we had to look up at cloudless monotony day after day.” Check out their site at http://www.cloudappreciationsociety.org/

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ThinkFree Office Online

ThinkFree Office (http://online.thinkfree.com/index.jsp) is an online office software suite that is compatible with Microsoft Office, but allows you to create and store documents online so you can share them with others, or with people who don’t have office software installed. The service is free and comes with 30MB of online storage.

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Babble

Babble is an online, competitive version of the parlour game Boggle, played in 24-hour rounds against the entire Internet. Boggle is a word game that challenges you to make words from lettered dice shaken and randomly arranged in a grid. Play for free at http://www.playbabble.com/ You can also check out an online multiplayer version of Boggle called Weboggle at http://weboggle.shackworks.com/

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Folding a fitted sheet

Making the bed is so much more pleasurable when your sheets have been folded properly – and not only do they take up a lot less space, they look great in your linen cupboard too! Follow our easy step-by-step guide on how to fold a fitted sheet, so it looks just like it came out of the packet. Learn the amazing secrets at http://www.target.com.au/html/homewares/sheets.htm

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Money Origami

Sherwood Clay Randall Jr., known as Clay, makes origami figures out of paper money. “Folding paper money (or "money origami") is my one true creative output. My best original designs include spiders, eyeglasses, sailboats, and framed portraits. I got started in high school when I learned how to make a ring out of a dollar bill. I generally make these items to leave as tips.” Check out his site at http://members.cox.net/crandall11/money/

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Local Papers on Stuff

Did you know you could read local newspapers on the stuff website? Check out http://www.stuff.co.nz/nz_newspapers.html for online versions of The daily News, Manawatu Standard and other regional papers.

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NZ Short Film

NZShortFilm.com (formerly LessFilm.com) was created to promote New Zealand short films to the public, both locally and overseas, and to allow registered site visitors to contact filmmakers. Browse to http://www.nzshortfilm.com/ to watch some great short films online.

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Google Mars

Google have released their interactive Mars viewer, Google Mars. Using the same technology as Google Earth (http://earth.google.com), Google Mars allows you to explore the surface of Mars interactively from your web browser. Check out http://www.google.com/mars/

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The Matrix Trilogy Explained

“Sometime in the 22nd Century there was a war between humans and machines, which the machines won. The machines had been designed by humans to serve humans, but they also developed independent intelligence and tried to rebel against that imperative. They were only partially successful; their problem was that without humans to serve there was no purpose to their existence.” A internet user called Chizumatic has tried to explain the complex and sometimes contradictory plot of all three Matrix movies on his website at http://denbeste.nu/Chizumatic/tmw/TheMatrix.shtml His reasoning behind the plot is fascinating and at the very least offers one approach that makes sense.

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Damn Interesting

The primary aim of http://www.damninteresting.com/ is to collect and dispense damn interesting facts and ideas, whether they appeared in the past, present, or the (anticipated) future.

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NZ Short Film

http://www.NZShortFilm.com (formerly LessFilm.com) was created to promote New Zealand short films to the public, both locally and overseas, and to allow registered site visitors to contact filmmakers. Over the coming months we'll be adding more films, and new features to increase the community-based aspects of the site, allowing filmmakers to share their ideas and opportunities.

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Start your own blog

Why not start your own blog? A blog (or web log) is like an online diary. You can set one up for yourself personally, or your club or organisation. You add entries by simply logging in and filling out a form. You can also add pictures and links to your blog, and “publish” it for others to find or subscribe to. It’s not as scary or complex as it may seem – check out http://www.blogger.com to set yourself up with a blog.

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Zombo

This a humorous little flash site that’s worth visiting – turn up the sound and listen to the whole thing. http://www.zombo.com/

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Simple ways to make yourself cleverer

Doing 'brain exercises' such as playing Sudoku or taking a shower with your eyes closed can make us all up to 40 per cent cleverer within seven days, according to research by a BBC TV programme. The programme found that a combination of techniques based on healthy eating, physical activity, sound sleep and stimulating your mind through solving puzzles and remembering lists makes people sharper, more confident and better at making decisions. Techniques include brushing your teeth with your left hand, and taking a shower with your eyes closed. Check out the article at http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,1723801,00.html or click the link on my blog at http://www.digitalus.co.nz/onthenet/

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Goowy

A new web craze is emerging – it’s called Web 2.0. It’s a way of delivering web pages to you in a much more interactive way. You don’t need to wait for pages to reload when you click links or fill out forms... The web page behaves almost like a standard program, instantly responsive. A slew of new sites are taking advantage of this new approach to interacting with surfers – one of the hottest is called “Goowy”. Make sure you have a reasonable modern web browser (you can grab Firefox for free at http://www.mozilla.org/firefox/) and head over to http://www2.goowy.com/ The site currently features an email service, online calendar, contact list (which you can import from other email or address programs), Minis (which are small widget-like applications) and, coming soon, the site will offer instant messaging and free online file storage with a capacity of 2GB. And it’s all free!

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The Elegant Universe

Eleven dimensions, parallel universes, and a world made out of strings. It's not science fiction, it's string theory. Find out about the PBS TV Series “The Elegant Universe” at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/elegant/, and watch the episodes for free at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/elegant/program_d.html

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Bubbleshare

Bubbleshare is a new photo uploading and sharing service that rivals Flickr in it’s simplicity and ease of use. It’s free, and you can choose whether your photos are private or public. No more sending pictures by post, simply upload them to http://www.bubbleshare.com/ and send the link to your friends and family

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New Apple Products

What! Not a Mac user yet? You will be once you try and decide which of Microsoft’s SIX new versions of Windows to buy when Vista (that’s what it’s called) is released. Not only that, but in order to watch High Definition movies (HD) on your computer you’ll not only need an authorised digital graphics card, but an authorised digital monitor as well, otherwise you’ll only be able to watch movies at 1/4 resolution. On the cooler side of the computer world, Apple recently released new products – the iPod HiFi, a audiophile-quality home stereo system which you plug your iPod into for stunning sound; and the new Mac Mini – it’s a 5 cm tall, 16.51 cm square anodised aluminium enclosure that houses a fast Intel Core processor, a 60 or 80GB hard drive, slot-loading Combo or SuperDrive, as well as built-in wireless. You can stream music or video to your TV from other Macs in the house, use it as a computer, or as a media player. Check out http://www.apple.co.nz/

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The Simpsons – Live

Apologies for the complicated URL (remember all of these links are posted on my blog at http://www.digitalus.co.nz/onthenet/) but this YouTube video is amazing – a real-life recreation of the opening sequence from The Simpsons! http://youtube.com/watch?v=49IDp76kjPw

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Virtual Earth

Microsoft’s Virtual Earth mapping system now has an interactive preview at http://preview.local.live.com/, allowing you to “drive” around a digitised Seattle and San Francisco (use your arrow keys).

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Chiengora Chic

That’s right, clothes made from dog hair. “Turning your pet's hair into something beautiful is surprisingly easy. First, you turn the hair into yarn through the age-old process of hand spinning. Hand spinning is fun, and you can learn to do it yourself. With some simple tools and a bit of practice, you can soon be wearing something you have made from your pet's hair.” Check out http://www.mdnpd.com/pd/default.htm

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Force Protection

Force Protection manufactures the world's most advanced ballistic- and mine-protected vehicles. These specialty vehicles incorporate state-of-the-art technology with off-the-shelf American commercial automotive components that protect soldiers against attacks from IEDs, land mines, roadside bombs and hostile fire in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo and other hot spots around the world. Check out http://www.forceprotection.net/

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I/O Brush

I/O Brush is a new drawing tool to explore colours, textures, and movements found in everyday materials by "picking up" and drawing with them. I/O Brush looks like a regular physical paintbrush but has a small video camera with lights and touch sensors embedded inside. Outside of the drawing canvas, the brush can pick up colour, texture, and movement of a brushed surface. On the canvas, artists can draw with the special "ink" they just picked up from their immediate environment. Check out http://web.media.mit.edu/~kimiko/iobrush/

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Trailer Mashups

Fan-made short films involving re-editing movie trailers (called mash-ups) are gaining popularity on the web. Some great mashups include the “horror” version of Titanic, and a re-conceptualisation of “The Shining”. You can check these out, as well as the latest Toy Story/Requiem for a Dream mashup at http://www.twitchfilm.net/archives/005270.html

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4D Rubics Cube

You thought the Rubics Cube was tough, try the 4-dimensional version at http://www.superliminal.com/cube/applet.html If you have trouble wrapping your brain around the idea of 4 dimensions, check out http://lordofnet.blogspot.com/2006/01/experience-4d-cube.html

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Photoshop Retouching

Ever wonder what techniques they use to make magazine models look so beautiful and blemish-free? Check out the tutorial at http://www.tutorialplace.com/view/Photo-Touchup/3700/index.html

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Tom Baker Says

If you live in the UK and use British Telecom's text-to-voice system to get your SMS messages delivered to your landline, you'll be hearing a familiar voice at the other end of the line for the next few months. BT has scrapped the computerised voice the company had been using for the system, and replaced it with the voice of Tom Baker of Dr. Who fame. Baker spent 11 days recording nearly 12,000 words and sounds, which were then processed by BT engineers for five months in order to be usable by the text-to-speech system. Check out the web site which includes some of the things Tom has been asked to say, at http://tombakersays.com/

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Hetemeel

The website http://www.hetemeel.com/ offers famous images – such as a photo of Einstein at his blackboard - which you can modify by customising the text. Lots of fun!

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iUniverse Self-publishing

As the only book publisher backed by Barnes & Noble, iUniverse has a mix of self-publishing products and services to help you get your manuscript off your desk and into the marketplace. Check out http://iuniverse.com/

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Blueprint

Check out the free online game called Blueprint - The blue brainteaser.. Guide the ball to the target by making a path for it to follow. Fourteen levels of perplexity! http://www.teagames.com/games/blueprint/play.php

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