The sports hall and student bar is now demolished and I'm guess once
the rubble is cleared Ultralab's North Block will be next.

I never owned a Dreamcast, but have heard so many times over the years
that they were an under valued console that was excellent, just badly
marketed and overpriced.

Jus (surprise surprise) had a Dreamcast when she was younger and
requested (on the phone) at the time of purchase that some 'Tomb
Raider' titles were bought too, she has been playing them this
evening. I've been playing 'Crazy Taxi' on the good advice of Hais.

The Dreamcast sits alongside the Megadrive we bought two weeks ago,
and I'm impressed by the graphics, the sound quality and the condition
it is in. First time we turned it on it asked for todays date,
starting at 1998 as default, where have the last ten years gone? They
flew by.

The air condition works, the train is quiet and I've been welcomed
aboard. The trolley cart running through the train was a lot less
expensive in comparison to National Express who charge £1.30 for
breakfast bars that only cost 40p in the shops.

All I need now is free wifi and plugs at my seat and I'd be even more
impressed.

Reading the article with interest, I thought…. “That looks interesting, I’ll give that a try in a few minutes”….

So after a bit more browsing round the internet, and a quick glance at my diary (stored in Google Calendar), and a quick check of my email (stored in Google GMail) followed by a quick glance at my various overnight website statistics (stored in Google Analytics) I could then quickly review some editing a colleague had recently done on a document we are co-collaborating (in Google Docs) and then print off the map for a meeting tomorrow morning (using Google Maps).

Then after a quick Google Search I found the link to Google Lively and clicked it.

First thing, it is not ready for Apple Mac’s yet, sigh.

Next I switch to Windows XP mode on my Mac and start up Internet Explorer.

‘Lively’ seems pleased that I’ve visited it on a Windows operating system and allows me to log in using my existing Google Account.

Once logged in the first thing I saw was the front ’splash screen’ (for those logged in) with rooms available to join. This is the first thing I see without clicking anywhere….

Here it is:

On closer inspection:

Here is a close up of the area where the arrows point (with a little privacy for those that choose to enter them!):

I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions, but I’m amazed that in a splash of publicity for something new, which will include kids reading about it and logging in to see what all the fuss is about with this new ‘virtual world’ that the first thing the community see listed on hundreds of pages of available virtual rooms is sex related.

After a browse away from the front page I’m now on page 73 of the listings, not a sex room in sight, but to a browsing child what would they find on their way to the non sex rooms?….

Just a few clicks and I’ve found this…

What amazes me the most is how this system is totally ‘un-googleish’…. Where are the filters to avoid me bumping into the kind of people who fill these rooms?  Where is the filter to turn these rooms off?

I clicked on the ‘Discussion Forum’ link at the bottom of the page (surprise surprise, I’m lead into Google Groups (where discussions are being held)) to see if others have spotted the same issue that I have…. and within seconds I find comments  like this…

I’m a big fan of Google, I believe they provide the world with useful tools which are engaging and easy to use.  But I’m shocked by their latest offering (which does not load by the way!).

Come on Google!  Sort it out!

I’m off now to Google Earth to check on some data provided by one of the colleges I’m working with, then I’ll probably blog from my iPhone later (which will get routed through Google’s Blogger.com)

Googles great, but this is quite simply shocking.

Its clear to me that people are being careful about what they are
spending, but because the price of petrol, living cost bills going up
and spending therefore going down that shops like this are
suffering.... as us customers think twice about the impulse buys
supermarkets have traditionally thrown at us as we wander around
picking up.

Last year it was held in Norfolk at Easton College, which we enjoyed
exhibiting at. We are delighted to be invited to this years conference
to exhibit and run the podcasting sessions.

Our SMS wall is also on display and in use for delegates throughout
the day to text in thoughts, ideas and comments.