Quintura.com

Quintura is a visual search engine based on the Yahoo! Search engine.

A search returns both a list of search results and a tag cloud. The tag cloud contains the original search terms surrounded by related tags. The closer to the search terms, the larger the keyword suggestions (both in terms of font size and boldness), the more relevant they are deemed. Holding the mouse over a term will display a new set of results in the bottom window and will also show another keyword cloud overlaying the original.

Keywords can be dropped from the semantic display by clicking on the appropriate icon, and any associated keywords are also dropped at the same time. Words can be added to a search by clicking into a blank area in the screen and typing them into the search box that appears; words can be excluded in a similar manner as well with the usual minus sign in front. It's possible to save searches as a favorite or it can be emailed to a friend or colleague.

In February, 2007 Quintura re-launched its user interface, becoming the first search engine to help visually find webpages, images, video, and Amazon products. In November new features enriched the service - a Hot News default cloud, occasional holiday search verticals and search management options - undo/redo actions, Save a cloud as a bookmark or webpage, Share it with friends and Embed it into a website/blog by copypasting its customizable HTML code. In December AltSearchEngines, a leading blog on minor search engines, chose Quintura Alternative Search Engine of the Year for its search widget and "We're not afraid of Google!" marketing campaign.

The innovative graphical user interface (GUI) of Quintura presents search results in two panes - the left pane contains a preset interactive tag cloud and the right pane lists search results. Holding a mouse cursor over a tag in the cloud causes new, related tags to appear surrounding an original tag and search results to change in the scrollable right pane.

Quintura is the first to display graphical images (favorite icons) next to tags (search terms) in the tag cloud. The icon is associated with a URL that corresponds to a search term. Clicking the icon users can visit web pages right from the tag cloud making Quintura easy to use for simple search queries.

Quintura is based on advanced algorithms of artificial intelligence (neural networks). The algorithms simulate the intuitive work of human brain. The Quintura technology helps to develop an idea and build the Semantic Web.

(Taken from wikipedia.)

A Little Green Book

Hi,

Have you ever wondered how it will be to open a book like a real time simulation in your computer rather than pressing the next page or previous page button in system.

I mean flipping through the pages of book by holding and turning the edge of the book similar to real time book.

Just check this virtual real time book experience of book.

http://www.morganstanley.com/about/community/littlegreenebook/

CAT

I found this site rather interesting. Check it out.

http://questions.ascenteducation.com/

Search Mash

Google has created a search site without any Google branding to test
new features. The site, SearchMash, has a simple blue and white
interface with a search bar and an option to click on "popular
searches." Once keywords are entered, the results page features links
to results running down the left side of the page and the top three
image results on the right side.

SearchMash also lets you click on a result and drag and drop it to
change the order. Also, when the green link is clicked on, the user is
offered the option of opening the listings in the current window or a
new window, seeing more pages from the Web site or finding similar
pages. Additional results are added to the bottom of the original
results page by clicking on a "more web pages" link.

With SearchMash, Google "plans to test user interface ideas without
Google's brand somehow skewing the tests," .


Take a look at www.searchmash.com

You could also try the flash version of the site at www.searchmash.com/flash
It is mind blowing to say the least

The Top Ten Weird Dismissals Of Cricket!!

This video is absolutely insane.

Misbah - The Unbelievable

I cant imagine some one getting run out like this.

Twenty20 World Cup Final India vs Pakistan Highlights Part 2

Indians on fire with the ball !!

Twenty20 World Cup Final India vs Pakistan Highlights Part 1

This is one hell of a match

Being Tagged

I have been tagged by Padmashree & Venki to tell 5 things the world doesnt know about me.
Basically, i am a very open guy and not much is "closed" about me. Anyways, I will try to tell things which is not known to many people.

1. I made a resolution on 1.1.2006 and i have managed to hold onto that resolution till date. :)
2. I dint know how to drive a bicycle until i stepped into 9th grade.
3. My childhood inspiration was always to become a doctor like my dad. But then it all went down the drain when i developed the fear of blood in 8th grade.
4. During my childhood, i was notorious for my ability to tell lies. And i am very good at generating innovative lies on the spot. If you are (un)lucky enough, one day you will experience how good i am telling lies.
5. I am die hard fan of Cadbury's Temptation. I ate a lot of those during my 12th grade prep. To remember all those efforts, I have around 30 Temptation boxes stacked one upon the other in my bed room.
6. Now this is the best one. Though i look thin & week, I posses good arm power. I was very good at arm wrestling in school defeating very strong guys. Believe it or not, I was the shot put champion in my school. :)

Hope you guys enjoyed the blog. Have fun !!!

Until next time,
Rmn

Shopping - Comes with Experience

Hi folks,

I just came up with this completely different topic on shopping.
I just realized that it is not as simple as it sounds. Much more complicated.

Am pretty sure, all of u have had ur own good and bad experiences while shopping. As always, it is the bad experiences that tend to linger longer in our minds. And i for one, am the worst when it comes to shopping.

I have had bad experiences in buying things from mobile phones to shoes to system speakers.
I was seriously cheated while i bought my first mobile. It dint even last for couple of months. Next time i was very careful while buying another mobile phone.

There is always a group of ppl who insist on "branded" things & another group of ppl who prefer to buy things for "cheaper rates". For god sakes, am really confused which to chose from.

Sometimes i wonder, is the nike "tick" on the shoe really worth spending 1000 more on it.
Sometimes i wonder, is it safe to buy a "cheap" shoe worth 500 that wud last only a year or so.

The really good shoppers, end up buying the package with the best combination satisfying all corners. And poor shoppers ( like yours truly ) end up buying the wrong package.

You can buy things in the road side shops of chennai or buy the same things at costlier price in the big malls.

And, electronic goods is a different thing all together. The prices tend to decrease as time progress. so, u are never really when is the right time to buy electronic goods. the old saying of "Mobile phones and girls are the same, U always feel u wud have got a better one if u had waited for some more time.." comes to my mind.

Woooh.. Branded vs Unbranded. Time to buy electronic goods.

Aaaaah, and almost forgot discounts. The one who invented the concept of discount is by far the greatest innovators in my opinion. There are some genuine discounts around. they are worth buying. There are fakes around too. They just hike the price to 200% and introduce a discount of upto 60%. !!!!

One more funny thing. People travel many kms in auto and buy loads of stuff cuz there is some discount attached. Come on ppl, u have spent extra money & TIME on the travel. just take a calculator and do some maths, u will realise u have actually spent more money and time on that pursuit.

And what about freebies !!!! Buy one get one free !!! Can u really believe it ??? Is it true or is it some other innovative way of cheating u ? Sometimes it really gets weird. I remember once boro plus putting ads on TV flashing "Buy one, get two free". What the ????

Just imagine.. is it really possible to come to a conclusion which one is better ? Mastering the art of shopping is really tuf.

After trying unsuccessfully to master the art of shopping, it has finally dawned upon me that i am indeed a "poor shopper". So, u guys out there, be careful while u do shopping next time. It is very "bad" world outside there. :)

In Da Bang!!!

Hello Folks,

Guess this is my first "proper" blog of this year.
2007 has been good to start up with. Things moving on well.

I just happened to come to Bangalore on a official visit. All though i haven't had a gud look arnd this city and its ppl til now, there have been few things which have definitely caught my eye. So, just things which i wud like to mention.

Cost of living.
U fill ur purse Monday morning only to find it empty by Monday evening.!!!

Climate
Its COLD in summer and guess it wud be freezing in winter.

Pulsar + guy + girl + 60kmph
I dont think i have to say much abt this. Its easily understood.

Bangalore Times Paper
It actually contains more "figures" than "facts"

Forum
2 type of ppl come here. One to spend money & other to spend time.

Jeans
Girls wear jean more often than guys.

Autos
Objects on which u are gonna spend LOADS of money every week.

Happening
Well, there wud be something happening in the city everyday. Its just that u dont know that its happening.

Kannada
A language which u need not know to live here.

In short, this is a city meant for enjoyment.
Just ensure that ur purse is FULL. Then u have unlimited opportunities to enjoy.
Else, it is most likely that u are gonna rot in the city.

Verdict : Enjoy Maadi.

India v/s India

There are two Indias in this country.
One India is straining at the leash, eager to spring forth and live up to all the adjectives that the world has been showering recently upon us. The other India is the leash.
One India says give me a chance and I'll prove myself. The other India says prove yourself first and maybe then you'll have a chance.
One India lives in the optimism of our hearts. The other India lurks in the skepticism of our minds.
One India wants. The other India hopes. One India leads. The other India follows.
But conversions are on the rise. With each passing day more and more people from the other India have been coming over to this side. And quietly, while the world is not looking, a pulsating, dynamic new India is emerging.

An India whose faith in success is far greater than its fear of failure. An India that no longer boycotts foreign-made goods but buys out the companies that make them instead.
History, they say, is a bad motorist. It rarely ever signals its intentions when it's taking a turn.
This is that rarely-ever moment. History is turning a page.
For over half a century, our nation has sprung, stumbled, run, fallen, rolled over, got up and dusted herself and cantered, sometimes lurched on. But today, as we begin our 60th year as a free nation, the ride has brought us to the edge of time's great precipice.
And one India - a tiny little voice at the back of the head - is looking down at the bottom of the ravine and hesitating.

The other India is looking up at the sky and saying it's time to fly.

Our time is now

Taken from "Times of India"