YouTube offers deep links to timestamps (via URI hash) !!!

YouTube now features the option to jump to a certain time in the video directly by adding a timestamp hash to the URL. For example:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsKB7SWCVjQ&feature=rec-HM-fresh+div#t=1m54s

They also automatically create links from comments that mention timestamps. This all is something that I’ve been hacking into YouTube with the YouTube captioner and other people building Splicd.

I guess the next natural step would be to show the timestamped comments as annotations just like Viddler does it.

A spot of rain on the parade is that the geo IP redirect in YouTube breaks timestamped links as you get sent from www. to uk. (for example here in the UK as found by Simon Willison). This should be easy to fix though, please?

Restore Google Search Integration In Firefox Browser Address Bar After Installing Yahoo IM (toolbar)

By default Firefox browser location bar is associated with Google I'm Feeling Lucky search. When users type a keyword like "Google Maps" in location bar Firefox performs I'm Feeling Lucky search and takes users directly to maps.google.com page.

But this feature disappears after installing Yahoo Messenger. Yahoo IM hijacks this feature by replacing Google I'm Feeling Lucky with Yahoo search engine without our consent.

If you want that feature back then follow these simple steps to restore Google's I'm Feeling Lucky

1. Open Firefox browser
2. Type about:config in location bar and press enter
3. Search for configuration key keyword.URL and select it
4. Right click on the configuration key keyword.URL and choose Reset from the shortcut menu. Firefox automatically reset value to http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=navclient&gfns=1&q=
5. That's all. From now onwards Firefox uses Google's I'm Feeling Lucky when you type keywords in URL bar.

Google Code Jam .. Don't miss

Do you enjoy solving tough problems and grappling with technical challenges? Then enter Google Code Jam!

Google Code Jam is a coding competition in which professional and student programmers are asked to solve complex algorithmic challenges in a limited amount of time. The contest is all-inclusive: Google Code Jam lets you program in the coding language and development environment of your choice.

Google Code Jam begins in July and continues in August, when you will compete in online rounds against contestants from around the world. The Top 500 participants will advance to onsite competitions at a local Google office to compete against those in their region (Asia Pacific; Europe, Middle East and Africa; and the Americas). The Top 100 will participate in the final round at the Google Headquarters in Mountain View, California on Friday, November 14.

Don't be left out! Make sure to register between June 17 and July 17, and show your coding creativity in Google Code Jam.

Visit : http://code.google.com/codejam/

Isro aims to rival Google Earth

Press Trust Of India / Kolkata
Adding a feather to its cap, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) will launch its own satellite imagery on the internet six months from now, rivalling popular mapping service Google Earth.
"Our images will be on our website six months from now," Isro Chairman G Madhavan Nair told reporters here after receiving the Rammohan Puraskar.

Pointing out that certain locations with high security risks were prohibited by law from being imaged, he said, "We are figuring that out. The remaining places, of course, would be on the net."

Earlier, while receiving the award, Nair pointed out that India had the world's largest constellation of remote-sensing satellites.

"With seven satellites in orbit, our remote-sensing satellites provide imagery of the earth in a variety of spectral bands and with a resolution of better than one metre. Data from our remote-sensing satellites are received at about 20 stations across the globe, including the US and Europe," he said.

Nair said the Village Resource Centres (VRC) established in 2004 were providing a variety of space-based products and services, including tele-education, tele-medicine and information on natural resources.

There were 400 VRCs in the country and of these seven are located in West Bengal, he said, adding there were plans to set up 20 more in the state.

Links ...

Migrating from PHP 4 to PHP 5

Version Control with Subversion

Mastering the VI editor

An A-Z Index of the Linux BASH command line

Alphabetical Directory of Linux Commands

Google's Latest: Wireless Data Via Balloon ..

This can't be a rumor, because The Wall Street Journal reported it; Google is considering contracting with a company with the exotic name of Space Data, or even buying it. This bit of news might just become that much hot air after a few weeks, but it's quaintly interesting nevertheless -- because it involves sending up balloons to extend a long-range cell network, or a wide-area broadband) Internet network. In short, it goes like this: there's a tower at place A, and place B, hundreds of kilometres away, has no coverage -- so send up a balloon with transceivers into the stratosphere at place B, and the network gets extended. In fact, a signal could get spread across thousands of square kilometres this way; word is that an equivalent feat via cellular towers would need 40 of them to be put up.

No, we aren't kidding, and neither are they: balloons are an inexpensive proposition (just plastic and some gas, to be precise, and the transceivers aren't expensive either), so wireless service could be offered in remote areas at a low cost. Space Data isn't fumbling with a new concept: it already launches 10 balloons a day across parts of the southern US, providing telecom services to oil companies, among others. Their technology is even used by the US Air Force.

Getting Started with IMAP for Gmail....

What is IMAP?

IMAP, or Internet Message Access Protocol, lets you download messages from Gmail's servers onto your computer so you can access your mail with a program like Microsoft Outlook Express or Apple Mail, even when you aren't connected to the Internet.

IMAP creates a constant connection between mail clients (desktop and/or mobile) and Gmail.

What's the difference between IMAP and POP?

Unlike POP, IMAP offers two-way communication between your web Gmail and your email client(s). This means when you log in to Gmail using a web browser, actions you perform on email clients and mobile devices (ex: putting mail in a 'work' folder) will instantly and automatically appear in Gmail (ex: it will already have a 'work' label on that email).

In addition, IMAP provides a better method to access your mail from multiple devices. If you check your email at work, on your mobile phone, and again at home, IMAP ensures that new mail is accessible from any device at any given time.

Finally, IMAP offers a more stable experience overall. Whereas POP is prone to losing messages or downloading the same messages multiple times, IMAP avoids this through its two-way syncing capabilities between your mail clients and your web Gmail.

If you're trying to decide between using POP and using IMAP with your Gmail account, we recommend IMAP.

How much does IMAP cost?

IMAP for Gmail is free.

Great! How do I get started?

First, you'll need to enable IMAP in your Gmail account. Once IMAP is enabled, follow the configuration instructions for your client of choice. Currently, only the clients listed are supported for IMAP. If you'd like to download your Gmail messages with a different client, please check to see if it's on our list of supported POP clients.

When you've enabled IMAP and set up your client, sign in to Gmail through the client and watch your messages arrive. You'll notice that all of your custom Gmail labels will appear in your client as folders, with copies of the messages to which you've applied those labels. While we'd like to make your IMAP experience match the Gmail web interface as much as possible, some Gmail-specific features and terms, such as conversation threading and stars, won't appear in your client. Don't worry; you can still perform all the usual Gmail functions, just in a slightly different way. The IMAP behavior chart shows you how to perform common functions on your IMAP client.

Please note that every client handles IMAP in a slightly different way. If you're curious about the specific use of your client, please contact the client's support team.

Learn more ..