Hafsa Ahsan zooms in on a book blog that is a perfect treat for book lovers
Blogging is a phenomenon which has increasingly gained pace in the past few years.
As each year passes, the types of blogs too increase along with the numbers. From personal blogs, the focus has now shifted to more impersonal blogging — with blogs as diverse as food and political blogs.
Literary blogs in general, and book blogs in particular, have also become common place now. While book blogs are still a distant concept on the local scene as far as the Pakistani blogsphere is concerned, internationally more and more publishing houses are dedicating their website space to blogs where they publish news and views for crazy bookworms.
The Millions Blog is one such blog which not only makes an interesting read, but apparently it is a blog with some influence. According to the description, it has been featured in the UK’s mainstream media as well. The blog, instead of being maintained by one person, it is a group blog. Hence, a visitor to this blog can read a large variety of posts and opinions. There are also many guest bloggers here, with their own different outlooks reflecting in their posts.
You can either read this blog in the reverse chronological order — or you can simply point and click at some of the many categories in which the posts have been divided. Interestingly, in stark contrast to the conventional way in which blog posts are organised, The Millions has divided its posts quite uniquely. Blogs usually use the tag option to put specific labels on that post — one can then point and click at that label to access the posts pertaining to a specific subject.
The Millions has categories like “Books that I read in 2006” and “Books that I read in 2007”. The books have mainly been reviewed between 2004 and 2008. Moreover, there is a “Book Question” category that include all the questions which have been asked about books and publishing — and the answers that bloggers have given. There is also a segment of Quarterly Reports — analysing the trends in the publishing industry published by Barnes and Nobles.
There are, however, some aspects of the layout which can be improved. For starters, the sidebar is extremely cluttered. Though the headings and their text are distinguishable from each other, it becomes a little tiresome to scroll through the huge list of books reviewed in the past. It would have been neater to have links for the years in which the books were reviewed, and then the list of books would appear on a separate page.
But apart from this minor glitch, the information on this website is comprehensive and the website itself can easily be considered as a haven for an average book lover. Each post is appropriately linked to the concerned website, and even though the posts are quite long, they make for an extremely interesting read.
To find out more about the world of books and publishing, log onto http://www.themillionsblog.com/
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Saturday, December 6, 2008
The Road To Wordscraper
Hafsa Ahsan analyses the outcome of banning Scrabulous, a board game that literally made people come out in the street.
Most of you who were passionate about playing Scrabulous on Facebook must have found that the Scrabulous application is no more there, and the link to the page says, “Sorry, but your use of this application has been restricted.”
This apparent taking down of the website was quite intriguing. The brainchild of Indian brothers, Jayant and Rajat Agarwalla, Scrabulous (launched in 2005 as a website and in 2007 as a Facebook application) was essentially inspired from the Scrabble board game.
The layout of the board and the style of scoring were similar to the traditional Scrabble board. But Scrabulous offered something which went down very well with the general public — their application on Facebook not only enabled people to play the game with their friends online, but also play random games with people from around the world. Based on the number of games won or lost, each player would be assigned a rating.
However, the real Scrabble, unfortunately, did not look upon this ‘plagiarism’ of its board game too kindly. And one can argue that they had a good reason. Scrabulous was essentially a rip-off of Scrabble – the same board, the same tiles and the same scoring. What was attractive about it was the functionality and diversity of options that it offered to online users. But copyright infringement is not something a corporation takes lightly, so before long, Scrabble and Scrabulous were at war – both offline and online.
The offline war was a legal lawsuit that was filed by Hasbro (the owners of Scrabble in the USA and Canada) and Mattel (owner of Scrabble worldwide). In cyberspace, Electronic Arts, creators of the electronic version of Scrabble, worked on producing a similar application for Facebook users. When news of the lawsuit became public, along with the possibility of Scrabulous being banned, there was a public outcry.
Users of Scrabulous were outraged at the potential “Scrabulous blackout” that they faced. Fans of Scrabulous gathered and rallied together under the “Save Scrabulous” banner. Many groups were created with the same rallying cry — Mattel and Hasbro should strike some sort of deal with the Agarwalla brothers, and let people enjoy the game. There were many others, of course, who felt that copyright infringement should not go unnoticed. However, Scrabulous fans remained adamant on their stance.
One of the arguments put forward by the “Save Scrabulous” members was that in the long run, Mattel and Hasbro were benefiting from Scrabulous. Many parents admitted that after being hooked to Scrabulous, they went out and purchased the Scrabble board game for their children. In a way, Scrabulous was marketing the board of Scrabble. However, it appeared that this argument was discarded as well.
Facebook took down the Scrabulous application, only for American and Canadian users first, and then for the entire world. The beta version of Scrabble application was launched on Facebook. On the face of it, Scrabble seemed to have won the battle.
But, in the long-run, did it really? Following the Scrabulous blackout, there was another rallying cry — “Boycott Hasbro/Mattel.” Many people who were part of the “Save Scrabulous” campaign vowed that they will never purchase a Scrabble board again. As one can imagine, if scores of people can make and stick to this vow, it does not spell very good times ahead for Hasbro/Mattel.
Moreover, even though the Scrabulous website (http://www.scrabulous.com) was banned, it re-emerged under another name. Scrabulous is now Lexulous (http://www.lexulous.com).
Interestingly, they have not made many changes; except changing the website’s name and layout. However, the room names, rating system and, essentially, the functions have remained intact. A court ruling in New Delhi forbids the Agarwalla brothers and their company from using any name that was similar to Scrabble for their games.
On Facebook, the features of Scrabulous have been transferred to Wordscraper, another board game. Here, users have the option of creating their own board and defining their own rules. The option of playing multiple games with random users around the world is very much intact. Many users of Scrabulous are delighted with this refreshing approach to Scrabble. And the best part is that no one can accuse Wordscraper of being a rip-off.
Wordscraper has been around since January 2008, but has only recently gained popularity. This is because it gives the players options to create their own games. And obviously, anyone who wants to emulate an original Scrabble board can easily do so (minus the two blank tiles).
Sci-tech World got in touch with some Wordscraper users to ask them how they are enjoying the new application, and how they would compare it with the ‘official’ Scrabble application. This is what they had to say:
“I love Wordscraper, especially the fact that there is an option for random rules, making each game different. I loved Scrabulous and was totally addicted. I hate Scrabble on Facebook, with its stupid glitzy stars when you get a word and the awful colours! I still have a few games to finish and then I will never use it again,” declared Lee-Ann Wilson, a player from Cape Town, South Africa.
“I think the whole feud is stupid and greedy,” said Savannah Jordan, from New York. “As it was said before, having Scrabulous on Facebook had a lot of people going out and purchasing the board games when they would not have done so before. I do not like the new Scrabble application because you cannot play with people from other countries and the whole point was to meet people from other places.”
“Wordscraper is even better than Scrabulous. For example: the ‘random board’ option gives it a twist and makes it even more challenging, as does the ‘create your own board’ option,” explained G Jane Bradford from Canada.
Raihana Sideek, from Singapore is not too fond of Wordscraper, “The classical scrabble board is always unique and that’s where you can see a talented player,” she said. “Wordscraper is only good for people who are looking for something fun and a change. You cannot use your playing skills on this board. It all depends on where the tiles are placed and you can have some unfair advantages. There are weirdoes creating all sorts of senseless boards as well. The scrabble board will always be my first choice.”
To sum it up, this is not just another example of copyright infringement and online piracy of games. It is about how an issue should be handled — and how the general public has to be appeased and taken into confidence. Mattel/Hasbro tried to clamp down on Scrabulous to the best of their efforts, however, it just bounced back with a different name, and loads of other options which has made it even more popular with the users. At the end of the day, this is all that matters.
Most of you who were passionate about playing Scrabulous on Facebook must have found that the Scrabulous application is no more there, and the link to the page says, “Sorry, but your use of this application has been restricted.”
This apparent taking down of the website was quite intriguing. The brainchild of Indian brothers, Jayant and Rajat Agarwalla, Scrabulous (launched in 2005 as a website and in 2007 as a Facebook application) was essentially inspired from the Scrabble board game.
The layout of the board and the style of scoring were similar to the traditional Scrabble board. But Scrabulous offered something which went down very well with the general public — their application on Facebook not only enabled people to play the game with their friends online, but also play random games with people from around the world. Based on the number of games won or lost, each player would be assigned a rating.
However, the real Scrabble, unfortunately, did not look upon this ‘plagiarism’ of its board game too kindly. And one can argue that they had a good reason. Scrabulous was essentially a rip-off of Scrabble – the same board, the same tiles and the same scoring. What was attractive about it was the functionality and diversity of options that it offered to online users. But copyright infringement is not something a corporation takes lightly, so before long, Scrabble and Scrabulous were at war – both offline and online.
The offline war was a legal lawsuit that was filed by Hasbro (the owners of Scrabble in the USA and Canada) and Mattel (owner of Scrabble worldwide). In cyberspace, Electronic Arts, creators of the electronic version of Scrabble, worked on producing a similar application for Facebook users. When news of the lawsuit became public, along with the possibility of Scrabulous being banned, there was a public outcry.
Users of Scrabulous were outraged at the potential “Scrabulous blackout” that they faced. Fans of Scrabulous gathered and rallied together under the “Save Scrabulous” banner. Many groups were created with the same rallying cry — Mattel and Hasbro should strike some sort of deal with the Agarwalla brothers, and let people enjoy the game. There were many others, of course, who felt that copyright infringement should not go unnoticed. However, Scrabulous fans remained adamant on their stance.
One of the arguments put forward by the “Save Scrabulous” members was that in the long run, Mattel and Hasbro were benefiting from Scrabulous. Many parents admitted that after being hooked to Scrabulous, they went out and purchased the Scrabble board game for their children. In a way, Scrabulous was marketing the board of Scrabble. However, it appeared that this argument was discarded as well.
Facebook took down the Scrabulous application, only for American and Canadian users first, and then for the entire world. The beta version of Scrabble application was launched on Facebook. On the face of it, Scrabble seemed to have won the battle.
But, in the long-run, did it really? Following the Scrabulous blackout, there was another rallying cry — “Boycott Hasbro/Mattel.” Many people who were part of the “Save Scrabulous” campaign vowed that they will never purchase a Scrabble board again. As one can imagine, if scores of people can make and stick to this vow, it does not spell very good times ahead for Hasbro/Mattel.
Moreover, even though the Scrabulous website (http://www.scrabulous.com) was banned, it re-emerged under another name. Scrabulous is now Lexulous (http://www.lexulous.com).
Interestingly, they have not made many changes; except changing the website’s name and layout. However, the room names, rating system and, essentially, the functions have remained intact. A court ruling in New Delhi forbids the Agarwalla brothers and their company from using any name that was similar to Scrabble for their games.
On Facebook, the features of Scrabulous have been transferred to Wordscraper, another board game. Here, users have the option of creating their own board and defining their own rules. The option of playing multiple games with random users around the world is very much intact. Many users of Scrabulous are delighted with this refreshing approach to Scrabble. And the best part is that no one can accuse Wordscraper of being a rip-off.
Wordscraper has been around since January 2008, but has only recently gained popularity. This is because it gives the players options to create their own games. And obviously, anyone who wants to emulate an original Scrabble board can easily do so (minus the two blank tiles).
Sci-tech World got in touch with some Wordscraper users to ask them how they are enjoying the new application, and how they would compare it with the ‘official’ Scrabble application. This is what they had to say:
“I love Wordscraper, especially the fact that there is an option for random rules, making each game different. I loved Scrabulous and was totally addicted. I hate Scrabble on Facebook, with its stupid glitzy stars when you get a word and the awful colours! I still have a few games to finish and then I will never use it again,” declared Lee-Ann Wilson, a player from Cape Town, South Africa.
“I think the whole feud is stupid and greedy,” said Savannah Jordan, from New York. “As it was said before, having Scrabulous on Facebook had a lot of people going out and purchasing the board games when they would not have done so before. I do not like the new Scrabble application because you cannot play with people from other countries and the whole point was to meet people from other places.”
“Wordscraper is even better than Scrabulous. For example: the ‘random board’ option gives it a twist and makes it even more challenging, as does the ‘create your own board’ option,” explained G Jane Bradford from Canada.
Raihana Sideek, from Singapore is not too fond of Wordscraper, “The classical scrabble board is always unique and that’s where you can see a talented player,” she said. “Wordscraper is only good for people who are looking for something fun and a change. You cannot use your playing skills on this board. It all depends on where the tiles are placed and you can have some unfair advantages. There are weirdoes creating all sorts of senseless boards as well. The scrabble board will always be my first choice.”
To sum it up, this is not just another example of copyright infringement and online piracy of games. It is about how an issue should be handled — and how the general public has to be appeased and taken into confidence. Mattel/Hasbro tried to clamp down on Scrabulous to the best of their efforts, however, it just bounced back with a different name, and loads of other options which has made it even more popular with the users. At the end of the day, this is all that matters.
The Joy Of Parenting
Here is a website that gives some useful information on child development and education, with fun-filled activities for both children and parents
It is a common belief that one can never imagine the rollercoaster ride that is parenthood until one actually becomes a parent.
And through this rollercoaster ride numerous advices and cautions given to the parents by the elder generation of the family, especially to young, first-time parents. Interestingly, now with more nuclear family setups around, parents are now turning to the internet to read up on the different aspects of parenting and then try out whatever suits them best. Apparently, seeking the advice of elders and trying the methods of the older generation is no more in vogue.
And frankly speaking, with elaborate websites such as PBS Parents on the block, who can really blame these parents? PBS Parents is highly illustrative, rich in content and has all the nitty-grittiness of parenting which would make any website surfer want to visit it again and again. This is not surprising, considering that the wealth of information which is here can only be digested over a nice, long span of time.
PBS Parents has categories which ensure that you go directly into the section of your interest. There is Child Development, Education, Fun and Games, Advice and many other sections. It is actually quite difficult to decide where to start from — probably the best place to begin will be determined by the age range which your children fall in.
Within each section, there are loads of self-help and how-to articles detailing how you can deal with different issues related to your children. There are also many different tools in each section — for instance, the Child Development Section has a tracker.
You can select the age of your child from the tracker and read up to analyse whether s/he falls into the defined, specific characteristics which are normal for children of his/her age. Moreover, in the Education section, the Book Finder tool will help you to get hold of books according to your child’s age.
There are many different blogs here as well. These blogs are maintained by people who want to share the joys and pains pf being a parent. Interestingly, reading up on real-life cases is always more reassuring — of course, you may feel differently. In any case, it is good to know that this website has considered both ways of disseminating information.
On the layout side, the website is definitely very aesthetically designed. It will appeal to you and make you want to visit it repeatedly. However, the sheer amount of information can seem a bit overwhelming at first. Also, the website seems cluttered at times – you can be at a complete loss as to where to go. The first thing would be to take one section at a time and then move to the other.
The website offers interesting ways to break away the conventional role-playing of parents by providing loads of fun activities to download and play with children. Certainly some activities might have to be tailored to make them suitable to children in the local context. To find out all the different activities you can engage in with your children, log on to http://www.pbs.org/parents/ — H.A
It is a common belief that one can never imagine the rollercoaster ride that is parenthood until one actually becomes a parent.
And through this rollercoaster ride numerous advices and cautions given to the parents by the elder generation of the family, especially to young, first-time parents. Interestingly, now with more nuclear family setups around, parents are now turning to the internet to read up on the different aspects of parenting and then try out whatever suits them best. Apparently, seeking the advice of elders and trying the methods of the older generation is no more in vogue.
And frankly speaking, with elaborate websites such as PBS Parents on the block, who can really blame these parents? PBS Parents is highly illustrative, rich in content and has all the nitty-grittiness of parenting which would make any website surfer want to visit it again and again. This is not surprising, considering that the wealth of information which is here can only be digested over a nice, long span of time.
PBS Parents has categories which ensure that you go directly into the section of your interest. There is Child Development, Education, Fun and Games, Advice and many other sections. It is actually quite difficult to decide where to start from — probably the best place to begin will be determined by the age range which your children fall in.
Within each section, there are loads of self-help and how-to articles detailing how you can deal with different issues related to your children. There are also many different tools in each section — for instance, the Child Development Section has a tracker.
You can select the age of your child from the tracker and read up to analyse whether s/he falls into the defined, specific characteristics which are normal for children of his/her age. Moreover, in the Education section, the Book Finder tool will help you to get hold of books according to your child’s age.
There are many different blogs here as well. These blogs are maintained by people who want to share the joys and pains pf being a parent. Interestingly, reading up on real-life cases is always more reassuring — of course, you may feel differently. In any case, it is good to know that this website has considered both ways of disseminating information.
On the layout side, the website is definitely very aesthetically designed. It will appeal to you and make you want to visit it repeatedly. However, the sheer amount of information can seem a bit overwhelming at first. Also, the website seems cluttered at times – you can be at a complete loss as to where to go. The first thing would be to take one section at a time and then move to the other.
The website offers interesting ways to break away the conventional role-playing of parents by providing loads of fun activities to download and play with children. Certainly some activities might have to be tailored to make them suitable to children in the local context. To find out all the different activities you can engage in with your children, log on to http://www.pbs.org/parents/ — H.A
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)