Woohoo - Orkut Sandbox Account Activated

Alright, it only took about 15 hours, most of which were spent boozing, sleeping and lounging anyways. Onward and upward!

Welcome to the Orkut developer sandbox,

Your account has been given access to sandbox.orkut.com, Orkut’s implementation of the OpenSocial platform. Here’s a link to some tutorials to get you up and running quickly: http://code.google.com/apis/opensocial/articles/

For more information on developing applications for Orkut, please visit http://code.google.com/apis/orkut

For information regarding OpenSocial in general, please visit http://code.google.com/apis/opensocial

Be sure to join the OpenSocial developer’s forum: http://groups.google.com/group/opensocial-api

If you’re interested in enabling OpenSocial apps to run on your website, join the OpenSocial container developer’s forum: http://groups.google.com/group/opensocial-container

See you in the groups,
Google Developer Programs

OpenSocial Sandbox Access

There is nothing worse than spending two hours reading code that accesses an important, powerful API - and then realizing, yet again, that you don’t have access to the darn thing. I’m still waiting for Orkut Sandbox access to be turned on for me. and have been for three hours.

Sigh! Come on folks, this isn’t a nightclub in LA with velvet ropes!

Yes, I applied for an Orkut Sandbox account

Laugh all you want. I applied for it, yes, its true. Been thirty minutes and I’m still waiting, though. Will keep you posted, even though I know you most certainly dont give a damn :).

Orkut and Indians

There is something fake-sugary, something bad-Meg-Ryan-movie about Orkut.com that makes me want to throw up.

I joined the site recently on account of some peer pressure from my sister and some high school friends. Here are a few reasons why Orkut.com stinks:

a) Who the hell asks people to pick/describe their sense of humor? Consider also how retarded the available “humor types” are (yes, you must pick your personal type of humor from a set of radio buttons. Fun!):

Maybe, it’s just me - but what jackass meets people at a party and goes, “Hi, my name is Bob. I have a friendly sense of humor”?

b) When I sign into orkut, my dashboard serves up a PERSONAL FORTUNE, not unlike a cheap fortune cookie thrown in my face at Jing Jing’s Spicy Schezuan of Palo Alto. Okay, this is just wrong. Chinese food and social networking do NOT mix.

c) Why is every Indo in the subcontinent on orkut.com? Why not a homegrown social network? How did orkut.com reach this “tipping point”? Did they bribe the popular kids in Indian cities with dreams of a life like Shah Rukh Khan (minus the whole closeted-gay, stuttering, ridiculous jackass thing) if they joined? Did they advertise on the side of BEST buses inspite of the expected paan-induced spittle risks?

d) Back to the stupid profile. There is a whole section that expects users to barf along about their “passions”. Now, I know these are just hobbies, but something about the word “passions” conjures images of daytime soaps and the people who watch them. More cheese, anyone?? Here are my passions.

At this stage, you may be wondering - if I hate this thing so much, why am I on it? For the same reason I use Windows and MySpace, of course. Add to that the fact that my sister loves the stupid thing and gets hit on by sweaty Indian dudes with serious BO issues all the time, and it’s my job to regulate.