Google finally released its much awaited chat platform within its e-mail web client Gmail. I think it is a cool feature. Ajax is really making the web frontier a fun place to be.

It comes featured with:-

1. Chat
Allows you to send instant messages from directly within Gmail. When you go to your inbox, you’ll be online.

2. Status
Allows you to see when others are online and let them know when you’re online, away, busy, tired, whatever.

3. History
Your Chats can be just like your emails. You can Save them, search for them–never lose important chats again.

So Yahoo messenger users, give it a taught, Google really does deserve your patronage. I mean what else do you need to convince you, that Google can do it better? jocking

Well but nevertheless, we can’t forget features like launchcast, message archives etc. In fact yahoo does it better still. Google is just been sleek with the use of Ajax on its presence. So Yahoo loyals, you can still stick with yahoo. Google hasn’t won just yet. By the way, how about msn messenger users? argh well you also have a better featured client, ah yes.

Google is now an ICANN-accredited registrar of domain names.

According to a hint by Garett Rogers who experimented some GMail codes, there is a possibility that Google is introducing, a powerful way for anybody who owns a domain to utilize GMail as a mail server, not just a client. This I think is a possible battle, against the fruitlessly msn introduced Windows Live Custom Domains under its Windows live ideas project.

There is also a rumour that Google is thinking of venturing into domain and web hosting, which points to the direction of another possible competition with Yahoo yet again, after its victory over Web Search engines.

The question is, how far would Google go, to secure the king of the internet title?

What would be Google’s next step?

Songbird 0.1, yet another product of the evolving craze in the web2.0 world has just been released.

Songbird is a Web player built from Firefox’s browser engine, which plays the Web without leaving the web. Songbird can view Web pages, while presenting an impressive futuristic play, save and downloading feature. It doesn’t just end there; it has all the features you would expect in a desktop media player.

It also promises a feature that allows authors to be able to publish play lists and transfer MP3s which also allows author’s, the ability to build digital music stores like eMusic, music subscription services like Yahoo! Music Unlimited, virtual jamming services like Ninjam, playlist sharing services like WebJay and more.

Songbird is open source, and runs on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux and supports user contributed, cross-platform extensions. Quite Impressive right?

So what are you waiting for? Check it out. By the way I am yet to install it myself after downloading it a while ago.

When one person’s liberty collides with another’s values, there is no clear occupant of the moral high ground.

When it comes to ethical conduct in regards to any issue, what makes an action right and wrong is the principle inherent in the action. If an action is done from a sense of duty, if the principle of the action can be universalised, then the action is right. Although, it is essentially impossible for all people to share the same applied eithics in details and thus applying certain ethical rule to conclude to the subject at hand is not fair. Morality is questioned again.

Therefore as rightly said by Gary Younge a columnist at the Guardian in regards to freedom of speech and I quote :

But the right to freedom of speech equates to neither an obligation to offend nor a duty to be insensitive. There is no contradiction between supporting someone’s right to do something and condemning them for doing it.

A full debated write up between Philip Hensher and Gary Younge, both columnists, in regards to the subject at hand can be read here.
Does the right to freedom of speech justify printing the Danish cartoons?

Also you wouldnt want to miss an update on the issue in regards to the printing of a related but differently targetted comic?
Danish paper rejected Jesus cartoons

I have 20 Newsvine invites to give out, if you are interested, just comment so.

Newsvine is a collaborative, social news site. Like other sites, Newsvine shows major news publications. The beauty of it is that, readers can comment on news items, which creates an avenue for interactive discussion, it also comes with a chat feature.

Tagging feature is also not left out. Any user can bookmark a news piece (or any web page) with a tag such as “sports” or “Iraq” and it will become available at Newsvine under the URL newsvine.com/[TAG]. This is very good technique with Search engines in mind. This allows you to be able to go straight to the news using the link with the tag respectively.

Newsvine uses a voting system, like Digg, to determine how relevant given news item is. Its quiet impressively packed with lots of features, and membership is strictly by invitation.

It is unlike Digg in many ways, because currently Digg is flooded with kids that think they are the law makers there. They hate blogs too. Come to think of it, Maybe another Digg site with blogs in mind, would be a great idea.

At Newsvine, you can read breaking news from around the world, write your own articles, and publish links from across the web directly to your column. You’ll also keep ad revenue from all traffic your pages generate. You are also given a domain name for yourself (yourname.newsvine.com). Mine is http://kazey.newsvine.com.

Two days without blogging dont ask me why, I was really busy with settling down, back at school. So what is new? Oh yeah new chicks at the block, and beautiful ones too. Two new Nigerians in my campus, Kingsley and Obina and they speak good pidgin, now that I love about them. Well we did exchange numbers, and well Kingsley is paying me a visit this evening, so yeah, got myself a new friend.

I was also suprised when I discovered that a blog featured me, as the blog of the month. Blog of the Month >> KAZEY JOURNAL Nice. Thank you “Chrono Tron – 100%” thats so sweet of you. I dont know whether I deserve it, but I am really greatful for the featuring, and yes I would follow your advise in relation to my adsense position at the top. By the way, I am not malaysian, I am Nigerian residing in Malaysia.

Well besides that, I just came back from School and I am bit tired, might blog later, but for now I am heading for a rest.

I am working on a download section for the e-books I currently have in my computer. So by Monday there should be an e-book download section on this blog, with lots of e-books, for educational purposes only.

I have a problem as in regards to my software stashing in my hard disk. I am in search of a program that would allow me to keep software in an archive form on a computer with description features etc, I wouldnt mind a server based software, any ideas?

I have cold currently, and the worse thing is I sleep under the air-conditioner, so it is sort of getting worse.

I am currently developing a portal with my co-partner and it has been taking a lot of my time, besides I am lazy at replying e-mails, so please bear with me, If I have not replied your e-mail, I would try to do that today. Please Forgive me.

I did not really blog on major topics this week. I blogged mainly on technology. I also just resumed back to School and this semester does look very promising. Although I am taking only 16 credit hours. I also have watched a lot of movies this week. My movie of the month is Oliver Twist. I really love the cockney English. It is a re-production of the movie of a classical book written by Charles Dickens. I used the book, back when I was in primary 4 as my literature book. It came together with Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain.

By the way I watched a french movie Banlieue 13, and its superb. It is an uber-stylish and hyper-kinetic martial arts and sci-fi actioner from writer/producer Luc Besson. The special effects and stunts are outstanding. I didnt know French filmakers are good, and well it was produced in 2004, but yet produced well, I must say.

More Info

The roundup of topics I covered this week :

30th January 2006.

The World of payment processors. Under Security,Business, and E-commerce
Payment processors play an important role in the world of E-commerce. It is either you are using it to pay for a product or services or to get paid for offering a product or service.

31st January 2006.

Mind Your E-Mail Manners. Under Tech and wise blabbering’s
Most of us have done it in one way or another. Let our emotions get better of
us in our e-mail. Well here are some suggestions on how to keep your e-mail’s
less annoying.

Blog Worm Under Security, and Jokes
Blog Worm, have you been infected yet?

Dump on annoying sites. Under Humour
Is there a website that really annoys you? Well there is a way of venting
your anger at such a website.

Google visiting the OS world. Under Tech
Google announced its interest in Operating systems, and I am sure the news would provoke Microsoft.

Video Surveillance made easy. Under Gadgets
Worried about people snooping around your workplace, when you are out? Need
to keep an eye out for your kids at home?

1st February 2006.

Gender equality in Chile cabinet. Under World

A cabinet of 10 women and 10 men, fulfilling a campaign promise of equal
opportunity government, was unveiled on Monday in Chile.

Roundup on Rebel threat in Niger Delta. Under Nigeria
Nigeria has not been on had any good news coming from its shores of recent,
and here is a roundup of events related news from the Niger Delta region.

2nd February 2006
Protecting your identity online. Under Security and Software .
Protecting information from leaking to the internet is a necessity,
especially when you partake in daily risky transactions that involve you
visiting sites you do not trust.Tor gives you the assurance that some of your
information would not be leaked out.

Enhancing my desktop the open source way. Under Software
I discovered a very powerful open source desktop Enhancing software, that
just does it, beyond your imagination. The name of the software is SharpE.

I have used a lot of freeware softwares for enhancing my desktop in the past and reading through Dipo’s blog today. I discovered a very powerful opensource desktop Enhancing software, that just does it, beyound your imagination. The name of the software is SharpE.

Website: http://www.sharpe-shell.org

SharpE shell lets you create your own personal user environment on the display screen, but offers many more options for creativity and personalization.

Requirements
SharpE requires a Windows 2k/XP/2003 operating system.
It will not work on Windows9x Operating Systems!

The Environment
SharpE consists of various components that work together in a modular fashion.
Read More

Protecting information from leaking to the internet is a necessity, especially when you partake in daily risky transactions that involve you visiting sites you do not trust. Tor gives you the assurance that some of your information would not be leaked out.

Website: http://tor.eff.org/index.html.en

Tor is software that contains a bundle of applications that helps secure online activity by safe guarding certain information from leaking from your computer to the internet.
Read More