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CYBERCHATTER
The Olympics for Latecomers
Still haven't found your Sydney 2000 gateway?
Here's what a few of them are up to:
 Olympics.com:
(www.olympics.
com/eng/) What began as a cluttered and cramped site has, with the
start of the show, turned into the ultimate resource. The official site
of the Games has live coverage, live images and an exhaustive breakdown
of statistics from every discipline. Whatever's on at the Games, it's
on here.
CNNSI.com:
(http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/olympics)
Stuck its neck out predicting winners in every discipline. Strong international
flavour in the run-up to the Games but has gone American after the big
torch was lit. Track a host of heavyweight sports writers holding forth
on lightweight subjects like Australian team nicknames. Equal mix of style
and substance.
ITGO:
(www1.india-today.com/olympics2000)
Very strong on news around the Indian contingent and on the Indian hockey
campaign, detailed, superbly written features bringing home the flavour
of the Games. A range of exclusive photo features, audio and video feeds
on the Indian effort.
Rediff:
(www.rediff.com/sports/sporhom1.htm)
A
little late off the blocks, but look for the evocative personal recollections
of legendary Indian Olympians. And take several looks at the site's photo
galleries because they feature the work of arguably the best collection
of sports photographers in the world-AllSport.
Indya.com:
(www.olympics.indya.com):
Strong on Olympic history and archival material, also offers details of
travel to Sydney and Oz including maps. Offers Mahesh Bhupathi's column
among other things and a lively daily diary by their man at the Games.
-Sharda Ugra
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 Hot
Off The Web
Look
Sharp, Speak Easy
Got
a rude message from a friend and cyber-honcho saying alerts are
required about security risks in chat rooms-so get to it. He's absolutely
right, especially with an increasing number of people talking from
this part of the world. If you travel to places like ichat.com,
or chat rooms powered by ichat-a facility of KOZ Inc, (KOZ.com)-take
a hard look at prompts like 'optional  information'.
In the throes of signing up, it's easy to overlook fine print such
as 'Your contact information and description, if provided, may be
made available to other users online'. And while 'teleporting' sounds
a heck of a lot like something out of Star Trek, it's firmly rooted
on Planet Earth. It's the cyber equivalent of allowing somebody
to follow you around as you zip from room to room. It could end
up being a stalk. Feel free to choose Chocolate Malted from the
menu at Winky's 24 hour diner and 'Shake Rattle and Roll with Winky
and the crew' and Elias, Katie91 and Ramafour. But, umm, take care.
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CON
TRAP
NASSCOM is working on a report that
is likely to become the blueprint for a dotcom evaluation guideline.
NASSCOM will pass this on around mid-October to the Securities and
Exchange Board of India (SEBI) which has finally formed a panel it
had promised to control misinformation and fraud through websites
to manipulate share prices and IPO flavour. |
This
is for science-fiction junkies and supply-siders. At indianscifi.com,
there's a lot that still feels like a child's play book (artwork that
would shame Winnie the Pooh, the quality of some short stories titled
"Creative Writing Course 407, in the future" that makes you
want to beg for a Mind+Control+Shift function). But it's trying to develop
a deceptively easy thought form and forum and could zoom if it upgrades.
The place is wide open. You can post stories, messages about UFOs and
flyovers, write in Klingon, and download spiffy stills and clips (Robot
tai-chi, 726 kb; Bejewelled and Coloured Dome of the Planet Chandrabhan,
3.1 MB). The plus is some great links-a whole slew that allow you to track
what's up at Berkeley, ISRO and more. And hey, e-insults! I instantly
sent one to a couple of pesky pr executives: "Begone! You are nothing
more than a Galactic Wander-Worm to me!" Yes!
Feel-good
at activekarma. com. This site is a grab-all diet, weight-loss, fitness,
advisory and related-travel place. It's slickly done with the right key
words. If you've gone beyond your fingernails or a 20-a-day limit, it's
unlikely that you will pass an icon that invites you to forum called 'serenity'
where 'ms.stress' screams, "I'm totally stressed out and don't tell
me to go on a holiday-I can't." The agony aunt approach is zippy.
There's also a 'conscience keeper' function. You can nominate people to
keep zinging you with e-mail to stick to that two chapatis a meal and
raita diet or to get off your behind and go for a walk-like, now.
(Please
send your comments to Sudeep Chakravarti at Sudeep@intoday.com)
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If
there was one word to summarise Putin+s style, it is Realnosti---Russian
for get real---says INDIA TODAY Deputy Editor Chengappa in
