Technology Flavor Blog

Switched to Blogger Finally!!!

dushyantz — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 08:09:14 +0000

Folks, I have finally shifted my blog to blogger engine and would no more be updating this blog. To stay tuned for more flavor on technology, usability and more… visit my new blog url.

Blog URL: http://techflavor.blogspot.com

So, catch you all at my new Techflavor blogspace!!!

Posted in Miscellaneous Tagged: blog, blogger, blogspot, techflavor, Technology

Google Chrome: ‘stats for nerds’ feature

dushyantz — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:54:41 +0000

Did anyone checkout the “stats for nerds” feature in Google Chrome browser task manager ?

This features enables a user to view the complete status on the processes running in the Chrome browser along with the Process ID (PID) and the virtual memory consumption details for the respective processes. The task manager allows the user to end the processes running in Google Browser in-order to free some memory space in a way similar to Windows Task Manager.

Nice feature though to manage processes and free up some CPU load!!!

Google Chrome Task Manager Screenshot

Google Chrome 'Stats for Nerds' Screenshot

Bad Mobile Usability

dushyantz — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 19:26:44 +0000

Mobile UI

HTC just announced their new phone Diamond using the new Touch3D UI. The UI is actually pretty nice as a skin on top of Windows Mobile 6.0.

There’s one big usability problem though.

Their email preview is at an angle for stylistic reason – which makes it pretty hard to read the preview of the message.

Similar Launches: Google & Microsoft Browser

dushyantz — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:40:50 +0000

Google Chrome Screenshot & IE8 Screenshot

How come both announcements on the same day? What’s the latest?

As we already know by now, that Google is launching its open-source browser Chrome ( similar to lines with mozilla firefox) , Microsoft unveiled its Internet Explorer beta 8 version.

Why is it so exciting?
It is because either Microsoft is scared by the over growing Google dominance in web space or is it something else.

How the philosophy differs for both giants?

Microsoft believes in pay for service ideology whereas Google believes in distribute for free ideology. There are almost no products from Microsoft which can be said to free be it anything and on the other hand there are almost no services from Google which are said to be paid unless you require a big email account on gmail which would be really impossible to given for free.

Since this is the first step by Google to move in the products domain, though having other extensions to the services google offer on web. Google has been in the services domain since long, and almost all their apps were mostly service based. Microsoft had an upper hand in products domain from os to accounts, they had all the products. Yet, the products will decide ewho wins the war again?

Which one is more usable from usability and user experience point of view?

Well it’s too early to comment on this question right now but stay tuned for the 2nd part of this article in series to know about each of the product’s usability.

Get Ready for Google Chrome: Open Source Browser

dushyantz — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:57:52 +0000

Google just officially confirmed that it will release a new open-source web browser, called Google Chrome.

Google Chrome is an open source browser based on Webkit and powered by Google Gears. It premiers originally on Windows only, with Mac and Linux versions to come later.

Features include:

Tabbed browsing where each tab gets its own process, leading to faster and more stable browsing. If one tab crashes, the whole browser doesn’t go down with it
A distinct user interface that places tabs on top of the browser window instead of right below the address bar
An “incognito” mode that lets you browse the web in complete privacy because it doesn’t record any of your activity
A new JavaScript engine built from the ground up for speed
Malware and phishing lists that automatically update themselves and warn you of bad websites
A default homepage that displays your most commonly used sites and other personalized information

Google Chrome Screenshot

Yahoo Zimbra Beta 3 takes Y! Mail, Gmail offline

dushyantz — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 11:28:43 +0000

Yahoo! Zimbra Desktop is an AJAX web app for email, contacts, calendar, and documents that works offline. Use it with any POP/IMAP account on Windows, Mac, or Linux computers.The latest release adds IMAP access to Yahoo! Mail. Zimbra Desktop works with both the Open Source and Network Editions of the Zimbra Collaboration Suite and lets you synchronize email, contacts, and calendar to the Zimbra Server (ZCS 4.5+ servers).

Check out the free version, it’s here! For more info on the product, visit Zimbra website.

Google’s Knol: An alternative to Wikipedia

dushyantz — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:26:48 +0000

Google has finally launched their Knol reference tool to the public as a direct challenge to the popular Wikipedia. Intended to be a sort of internet encyclopedia, Knol will be filled with articles written by experts in every possible type of field.

Sounds like Wikipedia, doesn’t it?

The name of the service is a play on an individual unit of knowledge, and entries on the public website, knol.google.com, are called “knols”.

Knol has publishing tools similar to single blog pages. But unlike blogs, Knol encourages writers to reduce what they know about a topic to a single page that is not chronologically updated. Also, Knol does not edit or endorse the information and visitors will not be able to edit or contribute to a knol unless they have the author’s permission. Readers will be able to notify Google if they find any content objectionable.

For more insight into the newly launched tool, visit knol.google.com or read a detailed coverage on Wired.

iPhone 3G booking started in India

dushyantz — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 07:46:09 +0000

Become the proud owner of Apple iPhone3G on Airtel & Vodaphone.

iPhone 3G combines all the revolutionary features of Phone, iPod & Internet with built-in GPS for expanded location based mobile services, support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync & many third party applications.

Click the links below to register from your respective service providers websites.

http://www.airtel.in/iphone3g

http://vodafone.in/existingusers/iphone/pages/preregister-iPhone.aspx

Famous "faux columns" using CSS

dushyantz — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 05:20:00 +0000

Designers converting from table-based to CSS-based design are often frustrated by the seeming inability to create equal height columns in CSS, an easy task with tables. Once they learn about the famous “faux columns” technique that simulates equal height columns using a tiling background image on a container, many remain frustrated that the technique only works for fixed width designs. Not so! This article will show you how to create liquid equal height columns using cleverly constructed background images and the background-position property.

Click here for more...

Captivating with Captivate – Part 3

dushyantz — Mon, 22 Nov 2004 05:16:00 +0000

In Part 3, the final installment, we will cover adding some “jazz” to your Captivate movie. I will show you how to add audio to a movie, change the pointers used by the mouse and how to change mouse movement. I will also show you how to add a playback controller to a Captivate movie and create your own custom controller. Captivate can also be used to create slide shows and I’ll show you how to do that as well as explain the importance of a movie contaning no content.

More…