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Found a handy little Firefox plugin called “Shazou“. Basically it sits in Firefox’s tray (at the bottom right of the browser window) and when clicked pops up a window that shows you on a Google Map where exactly (well… as exactly as possible) the server for the web site is located. The strange thing, though, was that most Irish sites I “Shazou’ed” came up as being hosted in Dublin alright, but the little flag was arbitrarily plonked more-or-less in the centre of the city on Mespil Road.
boards.ie? Mespil Road! mymeteor.ie? Mespil Road!! niallok.net? Mespil Bleedin’ Road!!! RTE.ie?? Why, shock horror… MESPIL ROAD! SpiritStore.ie? Er… Los Angeles, California…
Anyway, somehow I doubt the accuracy of this plugin, but it’s a handy enough little thing all the same - some WHOIS records give out more information than others and it’s sometimes useful to be able to see where exactly a site is located. As LifeHacker says in their “Download of the Day” article about Shazou:
See exactly where that PayPal scam is being hosted, or check if a vendor you’re considering purchasing from is based in your country. Shazou is probably more for the curious - where a server is physically located doesn’t tell you much about the quality of the info it hosts - but it is fun to know.
In other news, I must now run to a TV set to see the show “It’s My Party“, which tonight features the 30th birthday party of my friend Jess (in the middle of the picture on the left). The party had an oriental theme, apparently.
I didn’t actually get to the birthday party, as it took place the weekend my fiancèe’s granny died, but never fear, Jess wouldn’t let us miss it one way or another - we get to see it a month later on RTÉ.
Deadly.
