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BBS version of Google takes you back in time, won't hog your phone line
If the third digit of your birth year is a nine (or heck, a zero), you'll likely never have experienced the true agony joy that was BBS or Bulletin Board Systems. Well, thanks to nostalgic developer Norbert Landsteiner, you can take a glimpse at how your dad got online with an HTML / JavaScript emulation BBS Google. Likewise, more seasoned travelers of the internet can take a trip down memory lane and see what Mountain View's search engine might have looked like "back in the day." All the details are there, right down to the familiar modem tones and ASCII graphics, it's even somewhat functional (when the API isn't over its limit.) So, want to appreciate that browser you complain about on twitter all the time over your LTE connection? Tab on down to the source link for a lesson in gratitude.
Two launches & an anniversary
The 2nd of November is a notable date for MMOs -- not only was today the release of Tabula Rasa and the grand unveiling of a certain new MMO blog site, but Asheron's Call was also eight years old today! Turbine have put up a brief "thank you" message to all players over at their website.On November 2nd 1999, Asheron's Call was the first MMO to be launched by developers Turbine -- now better known for creating Dungeons & Dragons Online & Lord of the Rings Online. A sequel, Asheron's Call 2, was released at the end of 2002, but was shut down just over three years later after unsuccessful sales and subscriber numbers -- despite a major expansion released in an attempt to save it.Asheron's Call always had a small but dedicated community (and deserved a *much* bigger one, at the time!), so I'm not surprised to see there's still some subscribers out there. Nice to see Turbine haven't forgotten about their first title, too. Any AC1 players -- past or present -- still out there?Happy anniversary Asheron's Call!
