Mousetrap - 59

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The World eBook Fair
Project Gutenberg and the World eBook Library will make 300,000 e-books available from July 4 to August 4 at this site, which bills itself as the “first World eBook Fair.” It will feature “..eBooks from nearly every classic author on the varieties of subjects previously only available through the largest library collections in the world. Now these books are yours for the taking, free of charge, to keep for the rest of your lives.” There's more. Aside from the free downloads, you can also upload your own eBooks, though the site doesn't saw how yet. There's more to look forward to in future editions: half a million eBooks in 2007, three-fourths in 2008, and a full million in 2009.

What if..
It’s a wonderful internet
What if the net were to disappear? This charming flash presentation takes you through that possibility, told in the best ’Twas the Night before Christmas style. (Warning: large file, so will creak via dial-up.)

All the time in the world
time and date.com
People who want to look all busy and important have these clocks in their office that tell the time in different parts of the world. Well, this site lets you do that on your computer screen with its World Clock, which you can customise to show only the cities you want, and save. A very useful widget to have around in this always-on, instant communications age, with friends and contacts all over the world. And while that’s the main reason a short-cut to this site has lived on my toolbar for years, there other interesting tools available, like a time zone converter (for queries like “at 9a.m. IST, what time will it be in Boston?”), a meeting planner, calendars from different countries showing their holidays, counters and countdowns. Also, fun stuff that will tell you things like how old you are in binaries, or in Neptune years.

Pin ups
Voodoo for FIFA World Cup
For the really fanatic followers. You pay—yes, it’s a pay site, US$5 a hex—for good results for your team (like wishing them “referee’s assistance” or “steel legs”) or send some bad karma to their opponents (“dozen of red cards” or my favourite, “slippery football boots”). And if you’re reaching for a credit card right now, mail me. There’s this bridge I’d like to sell to you.

Reader suggestions welcome, and will be acknowledged. Go to http://o3.indiatimes.com/mousetrap for past columns, and to comment, or mail inthemousetrap@indiatimes.com. The writer blogs at http://zigzackly.blogspot.com.

Published in the Times of India, Mumbai edition, 25th June, 2006.

Tags: The Times of India, Mousetrap