Asks NY Times article. Undoubtedly, Goolge is one of the most important Internet Company today and it is going to grow in importance in the coming years. There were talks of Google and Ebay being competitors. The truth is they will soon be competing with Microsoft (In fact MS did informally bid for Google).
Now that will be an exciting battle...
Just heard about IDEO's SoMos on BBC's Click Online
Crazy stuff!!
Just came across this post about a Visual Studio add in that allows you to draw an interface using a Tablet PC and then it gets converted into a windows form 'on the fly'. Looks really cool! Guess the Tablet PC will open up a whole new market for these 'thumbnail 2 finished product' and CASE tool kind of software. It also greatly increases the importance of UML and other modeling languages so that communication gaps are bridged. Interesting...
[via Scobleizer]
Before anybody says that Flash is unusable because the Google Bar BETA's Autofill feature (see image below) will not work with it, here is an ugly hack...
Please, please ignore the JavaScript errors, and this may or may not work on all browsers. In any case if anybody feels this is a useful hack or something better can be made out of it, feel free to download it...
The "AutoFill" feature btw is kinda nice and scary at the same time. You can even store your Credit Card info there. Not something I'm going to use, even though it is password protected...
BTW, this only works the first time you do use AutoFill, I have not coded it so that it will work when you reset the form, I'm too tired right now. It's kinda late here in India ;)
You are Neo, from "The Matrix." You
display a perfect fusion of heroism and
compassion.
What Matrix Persona Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
:)
"A federal appeals court gave Microsoft a reprieve yesterday by sweeping aside a lower court injunction that ordered the company to distribute the Java software of its rival Sun Microsystems..." says this NY Times article
Further:
Paul Thurrott has a review on his site of the next version of the Microsoft Operating System. There are a number of improvements that Microsoft is planning with Longhorn, including making it easier to use. Now that is surprising coming from Microsoft as they are largely responsible for the fact that most normal people find computers difficult to use. Looking at the preview screenshots though, did not give me a not of insight into how usable the new interface would be (it does not look too different from XP) but it is certainly good to see an initiative in this direction. Let's wait for a few more builds and see how things progress...
A recent study found 428 times more bacteria on the average desk than on the office's toilet seats says this article on Business 2.0. It further goes on to explore the hazards of working in the new economy.
Makes you wish you were born in an earlier and much gentler time...
28 years from now Eric Kidd till wants to be a programmer and still wants to have fun programming. Based on his experience, he is trying to predict the future by looking at three scenarios:
Eric prefers a future where Open Source rules the roost, but I believe that we might not be seeing anything significantly different in the future. Microsoft may or may not be there, but there might be one or more big players. The open source community would have morphed into something else and small players would still be making significant contributions...
The Always On Network with the help of KPMG has come out with its list of top 100 private companies
Interesting list.
UML 2.0 Standard Officially Adopted at OMG Technical Meeting in Paris
The upgraded UML standard now has the following features:
Just was looking at the list of new features in PPC 2003. The list includes:
The accent seems to be on connectivity. Finally they realize the mobility is nothing without connectivity.
In related posts, read:
Windows CE Enterprise Features
IE Enhancements
Internet Week Report
Slashdot
A friend of mine who wanted to buy a camera asked me my opinion about which digital camera he should go for. After telling him what I though I advised him to also check other opinions on CNET and Eopinions too. It has become a standard practice for me to check for opinions - "Word of Mouse" as this NY Times article calls it. And in the future its influence is going to simply increase manifold. Be it through CNET, Eopinions, Amazon or personal blogs, the word is spreading at the speed of thought...
Was just going through David Hornik's post on VentureBlog, where he emphasizes on the importance of networking in getting Venture funding for your startup. This is true, but it seems that if you're not from an Ivy League institution, your chances of building the network might crash before it even takes off...
But there is a way out. These days, virtual networks work almost as well as real world networks. And I believe respected bloggers can leverage their authority to secure funding if they wish to launch initiatives of their own (Don't know if David agrees about this though...)
Maybe this is another reason to start a blog of your own...
Naval Ravikant has some interesting points on his vision of the future of technology platforms:
I agree that we will be seeing a lot more Linux based applications coming up. Also Java seems to be ruling the roost as far as app servers are concerned.
But as far as GUI is concerned, there is still a huge gap to be filled. HTML is functional, but lacks the oomph. Flash can fill this gap, but it needs to get developer friendly, and though the Royale initative is promising, I believe we need a client side technology for the UI.
Unless the Royale server is basically JRUN that can output Flash in which case only one app server is running the application (hey isn't that a good idea?)...
There seems to be some interesting research going on at the University of York Music Technology Group The first link I found via a post on JD is a software program that simulates other music not possible in the physical world. A few tires on Google revealed the performance and synthesis home page looks like some cool stuff going on there...
In the quest to provide value-adds, IT vendors have been quite guilty of creating complex systems. This article urges vendors to makes sure that they understand the market and keep innovating…
<quote>
...A vendor's relevance also rests on easy installation and minimal maintenance; the best products become a simple platform rather than a complex solution.
Catherine Greenman in this New York Times article, explores what extents bloggers go to make their blogs more popular.
Some of the methods mentioned there include:
Not to be outdone, Robert Scoble has a unique (read Microsoft)way to spike traffic on his site: He poses naked
But one sure fire way of getting at least 5000 visitors is to get picked up by Slashdot like this post on Micah Alpern's blog (check the Nedstats link on the bottom.)
Of course, most of the methods mentioned above are only short term solutions to increasing traffic. What really matters is the content on your site. There is no substitute to quality...
BTW I'm seeing a lot of blogging related articles on NY Times lately, are they trying to use bloggers to get their online readership numbers up? Anybody else feel the same?
Aaron Swartz has a parody of the essay by Tufte up on his blog.
Funny and interesting...
I've been using this service for a little under a month now and it has already become indispensable. Info Aggregator is an RSS to IMAP service that lets you receive posts from your favorite blogs right into your Email Inbox.
This helps me keep track of a lot more blogs than ever possible before, give it a try yourself...
Was going through Micah's blog and came across this post that suggests 'paid book review' that will help you get a review done for a book from somebody whose opinion you respect. Interesting concept. One of the things I found was that on searching for a blog's neighborhood information on Blogstreet was a list of books mentioned on a blog you like. Most bloggers mention books along with a note or two about it, so this might be an alternative (and free) way for Micah to get what he's looking for
Apparently, the SCO group has now focused its attention on Linus Torvalds. They contend that Linus, who has overseen the development of Linux, appears to have a casual attitude toward intellectual property rights.
As an example, they point to an e-mail message exchange last August on the Linux mailing list. One programmer said there was a patent matter that "we can't just ignore."
Linus replied, "[perkele] Actually, we can, and I will."
I'm not sure where this particular bit of corporate warfare is heading towards, but it does make me feel that current IP laws are grossly inadequate and we seriously need to re-look at them.
IP laws don't seem to consider the fact that it is very rare for an idea to be unique. It's just a question of who is the first one to get a patent on it. There was the famous Turmeric Patent Case which of course is an extreme example but proves a point that Just because an idea is not patented it is unique, and vice versa.
All in all I've never believed in being over protective about stuff I do, because if I can create one unique product or invention I certainly have the capacity to create others, the money I make out of them is completely dependent on how well I market them and not how closely I guard the IP.
It's only people who are unsure about their ability to innovate who go about suing people over IP...
Here's a list of presentations that were made at CF_Europe They all look very nice. But I liked Aral Balkan's presentation on Understanding "The Other": Roles, Process and Architecture for RIAs a lot
[via Peter Hall]
The Boston Globe has this report about the ClickZ Weblog Business Strategies 2003 Conference & Expo...
In fact, I'm not at all surprised that blogs are fast becoming an important knowledge retention and evangelism tool...
[via JD on MX]
Kathy Gill made an interesting post on the SIG-CHI mailing list that the Certification Board of Architects has deemed it illegal to use the term 'architect' without their approval. So what would be the next on their list? Technology Architect? Interaction Architect? Wonder what Richard Saul Wurman has to say about this?
I've never run a company and I have never been involved in any kind of due diligence, but going through David Hornik's post on Venture Blog, something did not strike me as right. Here's what Hornik looks for in a company:
As I said, I have no experience in running a company, maybe I should shut up and listen to what is being said here, but the one point that strikes me is Hiring Forcast. Here hornik is simply referring to 'head count'. In my experience working with software startups, the one thing I've learnt is that it is not the quantity of people but the quality of people that matters the most. Great companies are born with the help of great people, I do hope when I finally decide to open a firm and look for venture, VCs will be evaluating companies a bit differently....
How many blogs separate yours from mine? Find out the answer here.
[via Bruce Landon]
Was just reading Jeremy Zawondy's post about credit-card validation bloopers and how some sites did not allow users to input spaces and dashes. While most programmers attributed it to programmer inertia, some of them were quick to blame the usability person [see comments on the above post]
Good interaction design principles, by the way, will not restrict the user in such a fashion, it's a pity to see that some programmers do not understand this.
Do all programmers treat usability people the same way?
This is another loss to Microsoft, as the Brazilian Government has decided to migrate to Linux. While Microsoft has been trying to bribe its way through to NPO and Government Offices, things are not going as planned. First it was Munich and now Brazil. Looks like the SCO affair is actually helping Linux and not doing it any harm...
Got an email today from Margaret Carlson that went like this:
Margaret
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Margaret Carlson
Flashforward New York City, Jul
Seems like a lot of other people on Flashcoders got it too. Now that is contextual spamming at its best!
How many times a day do you use phrases like:
If they are part of your daily vocabulary, chances are that you work as consultant. So it was not a surprise when Delloite & Touche Consulting developed a software that isolates such bullshit from Word files and PowerPoint presentations and translates them into plain English.
Looks like they have finally decided to recontextualize mission-critical e-business...
;)
PS: Thanks to Dack for the Web Economy Bullshit Generator
[via NY Times]
AskTog has this interesting article that explores how to provide constructive criticism while developing usability reports. One of the key points this article points out is:
How true.
[via Flazoom]
This was an expected development. While the combined strength of Oracle and PeopleSoft would have been able to give SAP a run for its money, it still remains to be seen what the PeopleSoft - J. D. Edwards merger might bring into this uncertain scenario.
Meanwhile SAP seems to be making the most of this uncertainty by trying to woo both PeopleSoft and J.D. Edward customers...
Well, once this is M&A season is over, we will be seeing a far different Enterprise Application scenario. Wonder who will come out the winner?
The Digital Divide reports that over 200 village in my home state of Maharashtra have gone wireless. They have formed a wireless cooperative to establish about 50 wi-fi hotspots.
The irony of the situation is that I live in the most technically advanced city in the state, and there isn't a single wireless hotspot here. So my 802.11 card is useless the moment I get out of my house...
Maybe I should shift to a village...
My sister is getting married, and I'll be away for the next five days...
Catchya later...
Can you become a Google Hacker by reading a book? Not sure, but looking at the examples it looks like you can definitely improve you information finding skills from reading this O'Reilly book.
By the way how important are these finding skills for you? Jeremy Zawodny rates it as one of his key skills, and so do a lot of other people...
Personally I believe Google should not be the only place to look for things, maybe you could list down your favorite "Memex", apart from Google...
Here are a few of mine:
Some time ago I had expressed the need for a bare-bones cell phone and today the New York Times has published an article where readers have contributed models they believe are the simplest to use. In my opinion, even the most simplest one of all the analyzed models is just too difficult to use.
So if you used RSSify to generate RSS for your blog and have been struck by their recent rude behavior, here is an alternative.
You can use a similar service at Blogstreet. BlogStreet is run by Rajesh Jain and knowing him, he won't be that rude.
And while you're there also check out the Info Aggregator it's a cool RSS aggregator...
In this interview Matthew Berk gives his oultlook on the content management space (very, very crowded in my opinion.) He does mention Macromedia Contribute as a low cost alternative, but the bottom line according to Berk is this:
Hmnn...
Justin Frankel the creator of the legendary Winamp has decided to quit AOL over the leaking of Waste the file-sharing program that Nullsoft developed.
Are you a software startup looking for VC funding? Make sure you read this article before approaching one...
Mike Chambers has a post on his blog asking Flashers to describe their dream ActionScript Editor. While this is a good community exercise, this would be an excellent way to get ideas for the next version of the product. I'm not sure how Macromedia is going to use the information, but most product managers when the look at all the feature sets asked for by the users staring at them like this, would feel inclined to use at least 50% of them...
Let's take for example, take the ability to enhance the commenting feature. Here are some of the responses (most describe the functioning of the users' favorite software):
Now enter the product manager, who looks at all this set of features that are sitting in front of him/her and wondering "Wow! This is how I will be able to deliver a user centered product with all the features the users want"
However, this is NOT user centered design. Ask a user to describe their dream product and you'll get all sorts of answers. You can't add all these functionalities!
Now I'm not suggesting that the Product Managers at MM are planning to go this route, but in a smaller software company like mine, this is a great risk.
In fact, the next step at this point would be to accertain why the particular requests are coming up in the first place. What is the motivation? In this case I see only two:
You can solve the above goals either by giving an excellent (read bloated) commenting feature or you could use this information to think outside the box and come up with an innovative way to make the code more managable.
I wonder which way Macromedia will go...
Macromedia has just announced the release of Authorware 7. While Authorware has a huge following in the eLearning community, Flash has lately been catching up and I see a lot of eLearning material in Flash and even a lot of job opportunities. I wonder in that case is this just a release for those few who just don't want to change from Authorware to Flash because they find it too complicated? If so Macromedia should consider releaseing a FlashLight which could be a bit like the Photoshop Elements version of Flash.
Also, I wonder why they are not calling it Authorware MX?
[via JD on MX]
A very interesting article from Ask Tog that answers the question: How many mistakes can you make in interface design? Tog's answer in one line: Not more than two.
I wonder how this fits in with Eric Raymond's famous statement:
"Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow"
[via Gartenberg]
Just came across this experiment on the Kalsey Consulting site Adam Kalsey has asked 11 people to write about their early computing experiences and we can add trackbacks to the post to make this a collective anthology. Here is my story (by the way, this story is set in a far different India than what you might be aware of):
First PC
The first real PC I used was in my Engineering Class, it was a 386 running DOS and had BASIC,PASCAL and ForTran. Cool, now I had more languages to work with...
But after that I did not touch computers for three years (I was doing Mechanical Engineering) until my final year when I wrote a program that did Structural Analysis using the Finite Element Method- I concentrated mainly on the graphic display aspect of things...
First brush with the Internet
Again were quite behind on this, In 1994 I got myself an account that provided a shell based access to the internet. I could check email using PINE, and use TELNET and 'browse' using LYNX. Cool, eh? Moved on to TCP/IP and Mosaic about a year or so later...
First brush with Flash
I downloaded a trial version of Flash 1 in 1996. Been addicted ever since...
So what is your story?
These are the transcripts of interviews with Bill Gates and Steve Jobs from the D: All things digital conference. While the reporters were asked to make sure all comments and interviews were off record, the attendees had no such restriction. So the only coverage you'll find would be on blogs like Denise's
[via Dan Gillmor]
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