The World’s 10 top ugly buildings and monuments

According to Web site VirtualTourist.com , The World’s Top 10 Ugliest Buildings and Monuments are:
1. Boston City Hall; Boston, Massachusetts
2. Montparnasse Tower; Paris, France
3. LuckyShoe Monument; Tuuri, Finland
4. Metropolitan Cathedral; Liverpool, England
5. Port Authority Bus Terminal; New York City, New York
6. Torres de Colon; Madrid, Spain
7. Liechtenstein Museum of Fine Arts; Vaduz, Liechtenstein
8. Scottish Parliament Building; Edinburgh, Scotland
9. Birmingham Central Library; Birmingham, England
10. Peter the Great Statue; Moscow, Russia

Written by Dyncpoope on November 14th, 2008 with no comments.
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Ten things Google has found to be true

1. Focus on the user and all else will follow.

From its inception, Google has focused on providing the best user experience possible. While many companies claim to put their customers first, few are able to resist the temptation to make small sacrifices to increase shareholder value. Google has steadfastly refused to make any change that does not offer a benefit to the users who come to the site:

• The interface is clear and simple.
• Pages load instantly.
• Placement in search results is never sold to anyone.
• Advertising on the site must offer relevant content and not be a distraction.

By always placing the interests of the user first, Google has built the most loyal audience on the web. And that growth has come not through TV ad campaigns, but through word of mouth from one satisfied user to another.

2. It’s best to do one thing really, really well.

Google does search. With one of the world’s largest research groups focused exclusively on solving search problems, we know what we do well, and how we could do it better. Through continued iteration on difficult problems, we’ve been able to solve complex issues and provide continuous improvements to a service already considered the best on the web at making finding information a fast and seamless experience for millions of users. Our dedication to improving search has also allowed us to apply what we’ve learned to new products, including Gmail, Google Desktop, and Google Maps. As we continue to build new products* while making search better, our hope is to bring the power of search to previously unexplored areas, and to help users access and use even more of the ever-expanding information in their lives.

3. Fast is better than slow.

Google believes in instant gratification. You want answers and you want them right now. Who are we to argue? Google may be the only company in the world whose stated goal is to have users leave its website as quickly as possible. By fanatically obsessing on shaving every excess bit and byte from our pages and increasing the efficiency of our serving environment, Google has broken its own speed records time and again. Others assumed large servers were the fastest way to handle massive amounts of data. Google found networked PCs to be faster. Where others accepted apparent speed limits imposed by search algorithms, Google wrote new algorithms that proved there were no limits. And Google continues to work on making it all go even faster.

4. Democracy on the web works.

Google works because it relies on the millions of individuals posting links on websites to help determine which other sites offer content of value. Google assesses the importance of every web page using a variety of techniques, including its patented PageRank™ algorithm which analyzes which sites have been “voted” the best sources of information by other pages across the web. This technique actually improves as the web gets bigger, as each new site is another point of information and another vote to be counted.

5. You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer.

The world is increasingly mobile and unwilling to be constrained to a fixed location. Whether it’s through their PDAs, their wireless phones or even their automobiles, people want information to come to them. Google’s innovations in this area include Google Number Search, which reduces the number of keypad strokes required to find data from a web-enabled cellular phone and an on-the-fly translation system that converts pages written in HTML to a format that can be read by phone browsers. This system opens up billions of pages for viewing from devices that would otherwise not be able to display them, including Palm PDAs and Japanese i-mode, J-Sky, and EZWeb devices. Wherever search is likely to help users obtain the information they seek, Google is pioneering new technologies and offering new solutions.

6. You can make money without doing evil.

Google is a business. The revenue the company generates is derived from offering its search technology to companies and from the sale of advertising displayed on Google and on other sites across the web. However, you may have never seen an ad on Google. That’s because Google does not allow ads to be displayed on our results pages unless they’re relevant to the results page on which they’re shown. So, only certain searches produce sponsored links above or to the right of the results. Google firmly believes that ads can provide useful information if, and only if, they are relevant to what you wish to find.

Google has also proven that advertising can be effective without being flashy. Google does not accept pop-up advertising, which interferes with your ability to see the content you’ve requested. We’ve found that text ads (AdWords) that are relevant to the person reading them draw much higher clickthrough rates than ads appearing randomly. Google’s maximization group works with advertisers to improve clickthrough rates over the life of a campaign, because high clickthrough rates are an indication that ads are relevant to a user’s interests. Any advertiser, no matter how small or how large, can take advantage of this highly targeted medium, whether through our self-service advertising program that puts ads online within minutes, or with the assistance of a Google advertising representative.

Advertising on Google is always clearly identified as a “Sponsored Link.” It is a core value for Google that there be no compromising of the integrity of our results. We never manipulate rankings to put our partners higher in our search results. No one can buy better PageRank. Our users trust Google’s objectivity and no short-term gain could ever justify breaching that trust.

Thousands of advertisers use our Google AdWords program to promote their products; we believe AdWords is the largest program of its kind. In addition, thousands of web site managers take advantage of our Google AdSense program to deliver ads relevant to the content on their sites, improving their ability to generate revenue and enhancing the experience for their users.

7. There’s always more information out there.

Once Google had indexed more of the HTML pages on the Internet than any other search service, our engineers turned their attention to information that was not as readily accessible. Sometimes it was just a matter of integrating new databases, such as adding a phone number and address lookup and a business directory. Other efforts required a bit more creativity, like adding the ability to search billions of images and a way to view pages that were originally created as PDF files. The popularity of PDF results led us to expand the list of file types searched to include documents produced in a dozen formats such as Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. For wireless users, Google developed a unique way to translate HTML formatted files into a format that could be read by mobile devices. The list is not likely to end there as Google’s researchers continue looking into ways to bring all the world’s information to users seeking answers.

8. The need for information crosses all borders.

Though Google is headquartered in California, our mission is to facilitate access to information for the entire world, so we have offices around the globe. To that end we maintain dozens of Internet domains and serve more than half of our results to users living outside the United States. Google search results can be restricted to pages written in more than 35 languages according to a user’s preference. We also offer a translation feature to make content available to users regardless of their native tongue and for those who prefer not to search in English, Google’s interface can be customized into more than 100 languages. To accelerate the addition of new languages, Google offers volunteers the opportunity to help in the translation through an automated tool available on the Google.com website. This process has greatly improved both the variety and quality of service we’re able to offer users in even the most far flung corners of the globe.

9. You can be serious without a suit.

Google’s founders have often stated that the company is not serious about anything but search. They built a company around the idea that work should be challenging and the challenge should be fun. To that end, Google’s culture is unlike any in corporate America, and it’s not because of the ubiquitous lava lamps and large rubber balls, or the fact that the company’s chef used to cook for the Grateful Dead. In the same way Google puts users first when it comes to our online service, Google Inc. puts employees first when it comes to daily life in our Googleplex headquarters. There is an emphasis on team achievements and pride in individual accomplishments that contribute to the company’s overall success. Ideas are traded, tested and put into practice with an alacrity that can be dizzying. Meetings that would take hours elsewhere are frequently little more than a conversation in line for lunch and few walls separate those who write the code from those who write the checks. This highly communicative environment fosters a productivity and camaraderie fueled by the realization that millions of people rely on Google results. Give the proper tools to a group of people who like to make a difference, and they will.

10. Great just isn’t good enough.

Always deliver more than expected. Google does not accept being the best as an endpoint, but a starting point. Through innovation and iteration, Google takes something that works well and improves upon it in unexpected ways. Search works well for properly spelled words, but what about typos? One engineer saw a need and created a spell checker that seems to read a user’s mind. It takes too long to search from a WAP phone? Our wireless group developed Google Number Search to reduce entries from three keystrokes per letter to one. With a user base in the millions, Google is able to identify points of friction quickly and smooth them out. Google’s point of distinction however, is anticipating needs not yet articulated by our global audience, then meeting them with products and services that set new standards. This constant dissatisfaction with the way things are is ultimately the driving force behind the world’s best search engine.

Sourse:

http://www.google.com/intl/en/corporate/tenthings.html

Written by admin on June 8th, 2007 with no comments.
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Top 10 things to do with your Wii while you’re waiting for AAA games

Well, it’s been about 6 months since the Wii’s launch. I’ve already played through the few AAA games that have been released, and now the Wii’s been getting a little stale. There are a ton of great games in the pipeline, but those aren’t coming for a few months. What am I going to do with my system until that time comes?

I’ve complied a list of 10 things you can use your Wii for until Smash Brothers Brawl hits us across the face this fall.

1. Play Free Flash Games
There are a few web sites out there devoted specifically to providing links to flash games that work well on the Wii, some of the sites even feature news RSS feeds and such. Here are some links to a few Wii flash game web sites.

2. Watch Streaming Video
While you can just head over to YouTube and check out videos there, there are again, many sites dedicated to the Wii’s Opera browser and streaming videos.

3. Play the past top 25 Gamecube games
Despite it’s lower market share and small size, the Nintendo GameCube has a TON of great games that a lot of people missed out on. Check out IGN’s list of the top 25 games on the little system.

4. Play older classic games
The Wii has something the other systems don’t- a huge back library of classic games waiting for people to download (and pay cash for). Although some people think the Wii’s Shop Channel is a little pricey, some of these classics are wroth the admission. There are a ton of games from the NES, SNES, TubroGraphix, and Genesis, with more to be released every Monday morning in the North America and Friday’s in Europe.

5. Create celebrity Mii’s
I think I’ve had more fun creating Mii’s that didn’t look like myself, but looked like characters I saw in Movies and TV shows. Then I stumbled upon this little gem of a web site that has a TON of celebrity Miis including Master Chief, Samus, Sponge Bob, Storm Troopers, R2D2, and the classic Chuck Norris!

6. Use it as a portable presentation system
There are a few things that make the Wii great for doing presentations if you don’t have a laptop. It’s very portable and easy to hook up to a projector, it has a wireless remote and pointer, and an SD card slot. Most presentation software, like Keynote and PowerPoint, have the ability to export your slides as JPEG images. Dump those slides onto an SD card, launch the Wii’s Photo Channel and you’re good to go!

7. Use the free channels
Almost everyday I turn on my Wii. Lately, it hasn’t been for games, but the great little FREE channels that Nintendo has been releasing over the months. I usually start by checking out the weather from around the world on the Weather Channel, then hop over to the News Channel and check out the headlines, then lastly hop into the Everybody Votes Channel to give me opinion on some weird, but fun polls. It’s entertaining for a few minutes, and heck, some of the information that you get is actually worth it!

8. Use it as a free streaming media server
Orb is a piece of software that allows you to stream your media from your PC to any web browser (including the Wii’s Opera browser). Check it out, it’s free and works pretty well.

9. Lose weight and have fun doing it
There have been a lot of articles popping up online about people using the wii to loose weight. Simple pop in your copy of Wii Sports and do a few rounds of boxing and you’ll see how it’s possible. Maybe Nintendo will release an official exercise game in the future that’s more focused on weight loss, rather than using the sports titles for it.

10. E-mail yourself reminders
You can setup yourself as a friend on your wii via an email address. This makes it possible to email your Wii- complete with photos. The nice thing about this is, the Wii has a bright blue light that pulsates when you have a new message. The light is VERY hard to miss and forget about so it easily reminds you to check your messages. Violla! 21st century reminder system!

Written by admin on May 26th, 2007 with no comments.
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Dr. Phil’s Ten Life Laws

Life Law #1: You either get it or you don’t. Strategy: Become one of those who gets it.

Life Law #2: You create your own experience.
Strategy: Acknowledge and accept accountability for your life. Understand your role in creating results.

Life Law #3: People do what works.
Strategy: Identify the payoffs that drive your behavior and that of others.

Life Law #4: You cannot change what you do not acknowledge.
Strategy: Get real with yourself about life and everybody in it. Be truthful about what isn’t working in your life. Stop making excuses and start making results.

Life Law #5: Life rewards action.
Strategy: Make careful decisions and then pull the trigger. Learn that the world couldn’t care less about thoughts without actions.

Life Law #6: There is no reality, only perception.
Strategy: Identify the filters through which you view the world. Acknowledge your history without being controlled by it.

Life Law #7: Life is managed; it is not cured.
Strategy: Learn to take charge of your life and hold on. This is a long ride, and you are the driver every single day.

Life Law #8: We teach people how to treat us.
Strategy: Own, rather than complain about, how people treat you. Learn to renegotiate your relationships to have what you want.

Life Law #9: There is power in forgiveness.
Strategy: Open your eyes to what anger and resentment are doing to you. Take your power back from those who have hurt you.

Life Law #10: You have to name it before you can claim it.
Strategy: Get clear about what you want and take your turn.

You can read more here

Written by admin on May 6th, 2007 with no comments.
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Top Ten Evil People in the 20th Century

1. Mao Tse Tung (China) killed 35 million people 1949-1976
2. Joseph Stalin (USSR) killed 20 million people 1929-1953
3. Adolph Hitler(Nazi Germany)-killed 11 million people 1939-1945
4. Kim Il Sung (North Korea) killed 3 million people 1948-1994
5. Mohamed Suharto (Indonesia) killed 2 million people 1967-1998
6. Pol Pot (Cambodia)- killed 1.4 million people 1975-1979
7. Theoniste Bagosara (Rwanda) killed 1 million people April-July 1994 
8. Saddam Hussein (Iraq) killed 2 million people 1979-2003
9. Ante Pavelic (Croatia) killed 300,000 people 1941-1944 
10. Idi Amin (Uganda)-300,000 1971-1979

Written by admin on May 6th, 2007 with no comments.
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TOP TEN COUNTRIES WITH THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF INTERNET USERS

Written by admin on May 6th, 2007 with no comments.
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Top Ten most expensive cars in the world

Here is a list of top ten most expensive cars in the world:

1.  Bugatti Veyron  Price: $1,700,000

2. Ferrari Enzo Price: $1,000,000

3. Pagani Zonda C12 F Price: $741,000

4. Koenigsegg CCX Price: $600,910

5. Porsche Carrera GT Price: $484,000

6. Mercedes SLR McLaren Price: $455,500

7. Maybach 62 price: $385,250

8. Rolls-Royce Phantom Price: $320,000

9. Lamborghini Murcielago Price: $279,900

10. Aston Martin Vanquish Price: $255,000

Written by admin on April 19th, 2007 with no comments.
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Top 10 things to try with Windows Vista

According to Microsoft here are the top ten things you should try with your Vista Operation system..

1. Plan an easier deployment:
Get the Business Desktop Deployment (BDD 2007) and install the latest deployment tools and guidance on deploying Windows Vista and the 2007 Office system. In addition, you can use this step-by-step guide to familiarize yourself with some of the major tools and technologies to help you with deployments.

2. Improve security and compliance:
Encrypt your drive using BitLocker drive encryption. Take advantage of User Account Control and deploy a test group as standard users and see how much easier they are to support.

3. Manage your PC:
Explore more than 500 new group policies to see everything you can manage centrally. New policies include the ability to control installation of devices and power management settings, which can help you save energy costs on each PC.
4. Optimize your network:
Restrict authorized use of the network by configure the new outbound blocking capabilities of the Windows Firewall. You can use the same integrated MMC Firewall snap-in to configure server and domain isolation using IPSec.
5. Test your applications:
Download and use the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0. Take inventory of the applications in your environment, record any issues you find, and synchronize your findings with other testers using the Microsoft Compatibility Exchange. The tool will also find issues with Web sites you are visiting and applications that may not work well for standard users.
6. Be more productive:
With the Windows Aero user experience, the windows feature a transparent glass effect that makes it is easier to manage your open windows with less distraction.
7. Go mobile:
Windows Vista is designed to work especially well on mobile hardware, so install it on your laptop or Tablet PC, too. Press Windows+X to start the Windows Mobility Center, which puts the most frequently used mobile PC settings in a single location. With the Sync Center, it is easy to keep your files, data, and devices in sync and move seamlessly between online and offline states.
8. Share information and collaborate:
Try Windows Meeting Space (previously known as Windows Collaboration) to collaborate with a co-worker who is also using Windows Vista. You can share your screen with others and take turns working on a file.
9. Use the Web more effectively:
With Internet Explorer 7 on Windows Vista, you can browse the Web more easily and securely.

10 . Join the community:
Share your experiences in a blog, get help from other users, and share tips you discover—there are a number of ways you can interact with others around the world who are using Windows Vista.

For more information visit Microsoft website:
Source: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/aa905064.aspx 

Written by admin on April 12th, 2007 with no comments.
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Top Ten Most Livable Countries in World

Written by admin on February 21st, 2007 with no comments.
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Most Visited American National Park Sites

Source: Based on data from the National Park Service.

Written by admin on February 21st, 2007 with 1 comment.
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