Irony is a word that is no doubt found in every language. A case in point is the widely accepted view that English is the lingua franca of the Internet. Unfortunately, while this expression nicely captures the linguistic dominance of English, the term itself originates in Italian. Despite this quirk English speakers unquestionably dominate the Web, but it's no linguistic desert for the rest. Spicing up the cyber offerings for Japanese speakers, Google recently launched a Nihongo version of its famed book search engine. This is the not-without-controversy service that allows you to search for a book and read an excerpt of it for free, perhaps even eventually prompting you to loosen the purse strings and splash out the cash on some literature. The new addition to cyberspace can be accessed at: books.google.co.jp/
Leaving your mark: Rakugaki.in augments the creative Internet experience in Japan in a completely different way. The recently launched Web site, at rakugaki.in/, lets you draw graffiti all over your favorite YouTube videos without having to go to the trouble of uploading or editing anything. The site is the brainchild of Satoru Yano, who created Jimaku.in, which enables you to write captions for your YouTube video, and Moza Moza Movie, for self-created stamps — or "mozaiku," that you can use to censor parts of the DIY video experience.
Compact memories: Printing at home offers a degree of convenience and personalization to the digital photography experience. Canon has tapped into this with its range of photo printers and has now taken the convenience factor to a new level with its latest Selphy model, the CP740. Like many of its ilk the CP740 produces 10 cm x 15 cm prints directly from a camera or memory card. Its real distinguishing feature is size, being small enough to fit in your hand or a large pocket. Beyond its dimensions the printer sports the now standard features such as two-inch color LCD display, red-eye correction and a varied menu of direct printing options. It supports CompactFlash, Microdrive, Memory Stick cards (in their standard, Duo, Pro and Pro Duo permutations), SD card, multimedia card, MMC (both mobile and plus), mini SD card, SDHC and its mini version and RS-MMC. If you are still not satisfied, an adapter sold separately allows you to use the xD-picture card and micro versions of the memory stick, MMC, SD and SDHC cards. The compact printer is slated to hit the market in a few months with a price tag in the bit-over 10,000 yen range with more information at: cweb.canon.jp/cpp/cp750/index.html