Web Log

Compiled by MARIE BORAN

Design: Beautiful ‘404 Error’ pages

The dreaded “404 error” page appears when we go looking for a webpage that doesn’t exist, or perhaps it’s a broken link. Either way, it is unpleasant to look at and usually incurs rage- induced keyboard mashing. Did you know they can be visually beautiful, downright hilarious, entertaining and even helpful? This is a collection of some of the more interesting ones out there and good practice for any web designer. Goodbye to boring holding pages!

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App: ‘Angry Birds Seasons’

Rovio’s Angry Birds is, of course, phenomenally successful and hugely addictive. If you feel like some variation on the birds you’re hurling at those pigs, and the backdrops to this bird-flinging activity, then take advantage of Angry Bird Seasons. For the next few days, this is the App Store free app of the week on both the iPad and the iPhone. It includes some great themes such as Halloween and Chinese New Year.

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Install: TED talk: Tracking the trackers

Gary Kovacs gives an insightful talk on how much of our data is tracked, collected and held when we surf the web. With the average child now spending increasingly more time per day online, the awareness of what is done with our data is becoming a big issue. “We are like Hansel and Gretel, leaving breadcrumbs of our personal information everywhere we travel through the digital woods,” he says. Kovacs has launched Collusion, a Firefox plug-in that tells you who is collecting your data online. Install and prepare to be chilled.

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Watch: A conversation with my 12-year-old self

US actor and future filmmaker Jeremiah McDonald recorded a video of himself, then 12 years old, taking to his future self. Twenty years later, McDonald dug out the video and talked back. This is the video of the resulting conversation. Some clever editing has made it very funny but also thought-provoking. What would you say to your 12-year-old self?

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