Stop using Ajax!

Stop using Ajax!

"Let us redefine progress, to mean that just because we can do a thing, it does not necessarily follow that we must do that thing."

Jesse James-Garrett may have started a revolution, but I'm sure that was not his intention. He had the freedom to use a technique in which accessibility didn't matter, and universality was not an issue. But most of the time, for most of what we do, we don't have that kind of luxury; so let's not be so quick to abandon what works.

>> over to opera blog for more

HPEDS or Hp adds ?

HPEDS or Hp adds ?

For the last week, IT and silicon valley bandwidth was flooded with news and comments of HP buying off EDS. And even in Indian media, there are big words about mega buck 'per share offer' that's going to be made to mPhasis (a EDS conglomerate). Indian financial directive, SEBI rules are bit conducive for co's buying off Indian companies. It might slow down the process of HP, offering buyout of shares of mPhasis.

Since US is battered with currency rate and economy fluctuation, IT arena is under slight flutter for some time now. Anyway, its all about acquisition spree all over, recently Mindtree did shopping of Aztec. At this point of time, if HP is acquiring service giant, it EDS surely gives them an edge in the service market. But how far it works for HP ?

The best expressions & opinions could only come from employees within these 2 companies. Debates are pouring across net over the decision of HP CEO Mark Hurd, discussing if he's right or wrong on going for EDS.

Find this interesting read followed with lot of comments. It surely reflect software service scenario of today:

Why HP is smart to gamble on EDS ?

After marriage..

After marriage..

Before marriage………

He: Yes, At last, it was so hard to wait.
She: Do you want me to leave?
He: NO! Don’t even think about it.
She: Do you love me?
He: Of course! Over and Over!
She: Have you ever cheated me?
He: NO! Why are you even asking?
She: Will you kiss me?
He: Every chance I get!
She: Will you hit me?
He: Are you crazy! I ‘m not that kind of person!
She: Can I trust you?
He: YES
She: Darling……!

After marriage..
Simply read again from the bottom to the top post

//found in orkut scrap

All I can say is WOW !

All I can say is WOW !

If you like doing laps in the swimming pool, you might want to stock up on the energy drinks before diving in to this one.It is more than 1,000 yards long, covers 20 acres, had a 115ft deep end and holds 66 million gallons of water.Yesterday the Guinness Book of Records named the vast pool beside the sea in Chile as the biggest in the world.

But if you fancy splashing out on one of your own - and you have the space to accommodate it - then beware: This one took five years to build, cost nearly £1billion and the annual maintenance bill will be $2million.

The man-made saltwater lagoon has been attracting huge crowds to the San Alfonso del Mar resort at Algarrobo, on Chile 's southern coast, since it opened last month. Its turquoise waters are so crystal clear that you can see the bottom even in the deep end.

It dwarfs the world's second biggest pool, the Orthlieb - nicknamed the Big Splash - in Morocco , which is a mere 150 yards long and 100 yards wide. An Olympicsize pool measures some 50 yards by 25 yards.

Chile 's monster pool uses a computer- controlled suction and filtration system to keep fresh seawater in permanent circulation, drawing it in from the ocean at one end and pumping it out at the other.The sun warms the water to 26c, nine degrees warmer than the adjoining sea. Chilean biochemist Fernando Fischmann, whose Crystal Lagoons Corporation designed the pool, said advanced engineering meant his company could build 'an impressive artificial paradise' even in inhospitable areas.

'As long as we have access to unlimited seawater, we can make it work, and it causes no damage to the ocean.'

via email | Sachin

Flickr conxn

Flickr conxn

Wow ! how did he shoot this one ?
Simple: "Requires a little effort to get up this early.. & Nikon D300"

Cloud Gate is a public sculpture by Anish Kapoor in Millennium Park, Chicago. The sculpture is shaped like an ellipse, and its legume-like appearance has caused it to be nicknamed “The Bean”. It is made of 168 highly polished stainless steel plates, and stands at 33 feet high, 66 feet long, and 42 feet wide, weighing 110 tons. From a distance it could be mistaken for a huge drop of mercury, while up close its highly reflective surface captures and transforms the skyline, the downtown cityscape and even the passers-by into a wonderfully warped new vista. The artist, Anish Kapoor, has referred to the sculpture as “a gate to Chicago, a poetic idea about the city it reflects.” The 12-foot underbelly is called the "omphalos" or navel and multiplies reflections in a vortex.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_Gate

>> one more view in: iceman

Break or make with: Customer

Break or make with: Customer

I got a chance to talk to one of the chief product designer of the company, who was just back from product show in Vegas. We were talking about - if companies give much priority to the end user while designing a product ?

I was in the favor of the point: yes, since customer centric experience and user centric marketing is the fad, companies do give utmost importance to end user while ideating a product. While studying the user behavior, companies tend to be soft towards the majority taste of the user base.

During the conversation he made an interesting point: not necessarily companies need to be in favor of what the market or user wants. They might take altogether a different path than the herd and create a different sector altogether. In which the end user is psychologically forced to move to that sector. He calls it : differential user experience, without the end user engagement in ideation. Breaking from the path but not deviating the from the norm.

According to him: user study says, 80% of the users use clamshell or flip phones in USA. When Apple planned to penetrate into handsets market, instead of favoring user study, they choose to introduce a bar design- iPhone. Apple broke the 'common path of introducing a bar phone. They didn't even bother to be in safer side at least by releasing a clamshell, instead choose to create a new segment altogether in mid-tier handset market with the touch sensitive bar phone. The way iPhone became a instant Jesus phone - it's a history every phone company is envy of !

Incidentally, I came across an interesting read By Greg Nudelman, about -the way to give center stage to customer delight. Meaning, it's reality that design is an ongoing human-to-human partnership between designers and customers who combine forces to reach a common goal. “If they (end users, experience partners) are not involved in the process, they are hardly likely to approve the product. It’s that simple”—Roger Fisher.

But his clarity of this proposition is damn interesting with this statement: The term user leads to sloppy design thinking. “The term users limits us to old ways of thinking about the world we live in and the products we develop.”

>> Read more on experience partnership

Choice.

Choice.

Checking eMail is a good habit

Checking eMail is a good habit