tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233384972024-03-07T11:18:10.432+05:30Random Musingssoliloquies and beyond...lokeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16471593827876335731noreply@blogger.comBlogger331125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23338497.post-47519403841730484102014-07-01T14:54:00.002+05:302014-07-01T14:55:25.233+05:305 things designers need to know while dealing with clients<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNPEWzoRE2ghCm5pLGg26TdKKk0RwDxvE-3iqVfLhafjPv6TdO63dMBhHMZaWrXlWxdqqAlXBcon2jriSGkk4hfT8znidMmtSyZSPqhsYvzRll6N9LkMZzSpUwDYnez8CvOCcO/s1600/designer-vs-client_20140630114254.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNPEWzoRE2ghCm5pLGg26TdKKk0RwDxvE-3iqVfLhafjPv6TdO63dMBhHMZaWrXlWxdqqAlXBcon2jriSGkk4hfT8znidMmtSyZSPqhsYvzRll6N9LkMZzSpUwDYnez8CvOCcO/s1600/designer-vs-client_20140630114254.jpg" height="400" width="204" /></a></div>
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lokeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16471593827876335731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23338497.post-32771227784280461252014-01-23T15:42:00.000+05:302014-01-23T15:49:13.655+05:30How can professionalism at work be demonstrated through dress code? <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Normally I am very ‘neutral’ about this topic but a recent communication and importantly the ‘tone’ in the communique made me put up my thoughts on this subject. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Define Professionalism.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Oxford Dictionary defines it as “the competence or skill expected of a professional”.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now what are the characteristics that define a true professional and how to show professionalism at workplace? Some of the key traits that I have seen, researched on net and read about are:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Someone who puts customer satisfaction first</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Someone who makes expertise his/her specialty</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Treats everyone with respect</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Display competence</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Takes a leadership role wherever possible</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Do more than expected</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Communicate effectively</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Do what he says and says what he can do</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Adheres to high values & principles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Praises your peers and not yourself</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Shares knowledge</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Says thank you</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Keeps a smile on the face and right attitude in heart</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So when you read this, the question that comes up is how a strict dress code norm can ensure professionalism to become an integral part of our work culture.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The reason given by IT companies who enforce strict dress code is that the dress code “professionalism” can be “experienced” by partners and customers when they visit office/workplace and “interact” with the employees.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What to customers/partners look for from their offshoring vendors? Not necessarily in same order but some key points:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Someone who understands their problem areas</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Have sound understanding of your domain, can demonstrate expertise/capabilities</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Can demonstrate innovation & cost benefits</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Have sound technology arm/development infrastructure</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Sound financial stability</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Proven track record/references available</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Logical business plan/roadmap</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Are on the same wavelength</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now when these partners/customers come visiting offices, be it during evaluation stage or probably in routine visits, do you think the top of mind thoughts for them would be to see:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Are the employees who are visiting me wearing ties?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Are the employees of the organization wearing a round neck Tee or collar one?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Are they wearing floaters or sports shoes?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Are they wearing business formals or business casuals?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Have they brushed in the morning, shaved, cleaned up their noses?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ok the last one was thrown in by me. But the point is when customers do come visiting; their intent is not to rank the staff on what they wear but more importantly professionalism is experienced by them though some of the key points that I mentioned earlier in the post. As a spoken/unspoken rule already employees do turn up proper formals when a customer is visiting any particular account. Usually in many client visits, managers and key people interacting with the customer/prospect also turn up in blazers/ties. That more than suffices the dress code. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On any specific day of the week, if an employee come wearing a tie, how is it helping in improving the productivity, efficiency or making him more brainy at work? How is it making him more professional when he sits to do his work? Or if he comes wearing a round neck tee instead of collar one, how is it diminishing the brand name of the organization? IT services companies are not like banking industry where staffs have to deal with customers on a daily basis hence they are asked to be always in formals or wear ties.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In many of my client visits, I have seen our customers/prospects turn up in casuals/cargo shorts in meetings – while people like me and from other practices have waltzed before them in suits/ties. Going by that logic are our customers unprofessional?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> It’s a proven thing that work happens best when a person is comfortable in his environment. Comfort means productivity and can lead to increase in efficiency. It can lead to generation of new ideas, innovation and boost motivation. Human Resources might disagree but for me flexible dress code is also part of being comfortable at work. Have you ever heard of any product company putting up strict dress code? When any customers visit their premises, do you think people there would be turning up in best of the formals? There are many IT service companies too who are not too rigid on dress code. Yesterday I bumped into an acquaintance who works as a Business Analyst with Tieto. She was accompanying her clients on a mall visit. She was dressed in crisp casuals and I have seen her going to work mostly dressed in casuals. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Instead of nitpicking on why employees are not turning up in ties on any specific day, why are they not wearing proper shoes, why are they wearing round neck tee, like a school administrator checking them physically at gates, reprimanding them, asking them to go home, making them apologize on emails, marking mails to their managers – all this leading to creation of water cooler moments or jokes being cracked on whatsapp/cafeteria groups ; organizations should focus more on other aspects of resource development that can lead them to contribute more towards the organization, in an environment that is comfortable to work in. </span></div>
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lokeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16471593827876335731noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23338497.post-77951595982493580082011-12-29T22:26:00.002+05:302011-12-29T23:50:43.544+05:30Samsung Galaxy Note - MY Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Is it a phone? Is it a tablet? Well, do I really care? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Let’s be clear about one thing. A Samsung Note user will never buy the phone to be used as a tablet. At the end of the day it’s a phone – albeit a <b>big</b> smart phone that comes bundled with lots of cool features and offers ‘<b>miniature’</b> tablet experience. It would be prudent to call it a tablet as it is not but some of the things that tablets are associated with like viewing experience on big size screen, portability, computing on the move, ease of use & size of the device itself can be experienced on Galaxy Note. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When Apple launched the Ipad, they created a whole new segment for tablet devices. Devices like Galaxy Note has been around since Palm days but Samsung has pushed the envelope further by bundling a host of engaging features, super duper hardware, a cool responsive Android OS, a sleek & thin design and cleverly marketing it as a device that’s a cross over between a phone & tablet which actually it is. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I will not get into technical features or specs of the phone since you can find all those on various review sites but will give my experience of using the phone so far. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Size</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“Is it really a phone? “ </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“It’s too big to be a phone”. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“You will look weird talking to someone on this phone”. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“it must be heavy”.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">These are some of the common reactions that I came across when people saw my Note and similar views have been shared across many review forums and put up by users too. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Let’s clear the air on this. First thing first, the phone is not at all heavy and you will be surprised to see how light it is when you hold it in your hands. Secondly, holding it to your ears and talking through it doesn’t give weird feeling at all or no one really stares at you. For the past 3 days I have been doing extensive talking and never ever got the feeling as if people were watching me or I was getting uncomfortable holding the phone to my ears. You will definitely feel weird if you hold a Galaxy Tab to your ears but not with this phone. It’s I feel a matter of perception. If you are comfortable with it then you shouldn’t really bother what others feel about it. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuTnTryc7T4NVoKCOpj80mPizngjvJ3Pv1xoe4MOhyphenhyphen-AwTH-GMzx-V1iHlYViPnBRnB66Ki8s03BbUTFLn-yTumAJQrrAtp0G-xbVOnv6JR1kLj6azKIv_M4T6OyQK1oBN7ZYR/s1600/2011-12-29+13.22.39.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuTnTryc7T4NVoKCOpj80mPizngjvJ3Pv1xoe4MOhyphenhyphen-AwTH-GMzx-V1iHlYViPnBRnB66Ki8s03BbUTFLn-yTumAJQrrAtp0G-xbVOnv6JR1kLj6azKIv_M4T6OyQK1oBN7ZYR/s320/2011-12-29+13.22.39.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"> How the phone looks while you hold it next to your ears</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For people who have large hands or a good grip, the phone will suit them a lot. I am one of those guys. As you can see in the picture, the grip comes fine and it doesn’t look too big (well that’s the advantage if you have large hands/grip). </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ZMk43J9VIXDRzROTyxLUSKNh7UEv9yqoWqW4LkRhKx_YT0_sbxp1Teak86osv9qOnPiy6saNMp-2D6ZVW0OaCUd777ocmwreOmkN_WxYgMiflhgWuvNPw4Gd1amsyYaGpTMY/s1600/capture_04.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ZMk43J9VIXDRzROTyxLUSKNh7UEv9yqoWqW4LkRhKx_YT0_sbxp1Teak86osv9qOnPiy6saNMp-2D6ZVW0OaCUd777ocmwreOmkN_WxYgMiflhgWuvNPw4Gd1amsyYaGpTMY/s320/capture_04.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The next common thing that you get to hear is, with a phone that big, wonder how it will fit in your shirt pocket or in trousers/jeans. Well, you are not stuffing a Dell smartphone in your pockets but a phone which looks like Khali but comes with a Kareena Kapoor waistline. It's light, slim, fits in easily in any pocket and you don't really feel any difference while carrying it. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge8CYZA9niN7y6ewSrZGamAzbz7IVkj41dSNXDTT7IHijsjpt4MvH7KPAOXVE8HVKBdlaQkYj6bP6u0uc40xOzsWz3JROL26avbLqBmYIRzKgg0eC733htcoW_SJGL0rVYwvCJ/s1600/2011-12-29+13.30.26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge8CYZA9niN7y6ewSrZGamAzbz7IVkj41dSNXDTT7IHijsjpt4MvH7KPAOXVE8HVKBdlaQkYj6bP6u0uc40xOzsWz3JROL26avbLqBmYIRzKgg0eC733htcoW_SJGL0rVYwvCJ/s320/2011-12-29+13.30.26.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">In the picture above, I was carrying the phone in my left pocket and neither did my trousers slide down due to its weight nor did I got tired carrying it around. Unless you are wearing a tight jeans, you don't even get to see the phone outline in your pocket from outside. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Battery Life</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">On all tech reviews I have heard a lot about this phone’s battery. Almost all sites have given a big thumbs up to its giant battery size. But do remember that while the battery is big, so is the phone and a big sized phone with a super enormous HD AMOLED screen like that can do drain out the battery but it depends on how you are consuming it. Many reviews/forums have mentioned on how they have tested the battery using it extensively playing songs, viewing movies, browsing etc and the battery has lasted beyond 12-14 hrs or so. A friend of mine who also has similar phone mentions that his lasts for 1.5 days – again depending on what and how you use it. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I tested the battery in 2 ways. In 1st scenario, I disabled all power saving options, kept my LCD brightness to 100% and the whole day I used the phone extensively on wi-fi, downloaded lots of apps, took & made lots of calls, played around with various settings on the phone, clicked some snaps, edited the snaps using in bult tools, extensively used my office mail, accessed facebook & twitter frequently, kept on fiddling with the screen to almost take it off the hibernate mode etc. The battery lasted for nearly 16 hours with the indicator showing 5% left. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">In 2<sup>nd</sup> scenario I activated my auto brightness and power saving option and again used the phone a bit on wi-fi and mostly on edge for data access, accessing facebook & twitter & making/receiving calls. I also clicked lots of pictures, did some photo editing, got around 1GB of apps transferred from a friend who had Samsung Galaxy S2 through wifi-Direct (It’s a pretty cool feature to transfer stuff at super blazing speed between Samsung phones), used bluetooth to transfer some files, installed the apps, played around with the phone a bit, accessed my office emails and shot a few emails. Putting across the latest screen shot from the phone battery status. </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqqILPq8MRsyqNrra3ZgDA4Y89hISXSg37AnW_-UutvVo8-rgNnI1vpTfvh1zpwLx5lK7mNHJPKp4fze9nnWStPRHVyNIl-nL3byF5oMyvpQCxkcUAbghqIxmxRmxuU8ARNK9R/s1600/SC20111229-201354.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqqILPq8MRsyqNrra3ZgDA4Y89hISXSg37AnW_-UutvVo8-rgNnI1vpTfvh1zpwLx5lK7mNHJPKp4fze9nnWStPRHVyNIl-nL3byF5oMyvpQCxkcUAbghqIxmxRmxuU8ARNK9R/s320/SC20111229-201354.png" width="200" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A battery app available on app store that gives you the status of your battery left. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu2nIfzOsDqNCK13w1bUtfUpmctLkZdN0QMIw3xg948bFmDyPBRHThQAZaWjOZwlkadrskQzZ21diNd-anChIb0UZIKdvsnb1lzEJvkYRVz305iInpNWX3KrfdvMM7TW_dHtVf/s1600/SC20111229-214617.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu2nIfzOsDqNCK13w1bUtfUpmctLkZdN0QMIw3xg948bFmDyPBRHThQAZaWjOZwlkadrskQzZ21diNd-anChIb0UZIKdvsnb1lzEJvkYRVz305iInpNWX3KrfdvMM7TW_dHtVf/s320/SC20111229-214617.png" width="200" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOXwixzTYdhRWjcVgfuM3dYiIdfSeyn9s35pF7KGu1ux0wSLb4aSlJOMnrPqORJQXGflf44p55e9QsFRox1lQXJaQT-HUAr4y7T5JevurgornmYBu-rGWkOBIQ2KIEst1EnHJp/s1600/SC20111229-201418.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">It's the screen size that consumes most of the battery. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0LxzKEa7nM52gKFjd98SfEd8-OUThodDOpl-Uzd2f3vjY67gl_qEyLLK4-hewlmSECTE0FyZ5BRmQ1Vpk41u-Zegu73epp46nYFhqauiHNQAY_BPuv5Csy7A4VA2JB5GHLqcK/s1600/SC20111229-214623.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0LxzKEa7nM52gKFjd98SfEd8-OUThodDOpl-Uzd2f3vjY67gl_qEyLLK4-hewlmSECTE0FyZ5BRmQ1Vpk41u-Zegu73epp46nYFhqauiHNQAY_BPuv5Csy7A4VA2JB5GHLqcK/s320/SC20111229-214623.png" width="200" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk57p0N1b3QUP4D3BJSQ13jYUmf0I7B-xZshaPwEbgvyhz_myuBV6xiQAtiw-0rJDIrnelYn_3wy9aEAQxgKLHuJJNgBovPWInWjWl4h8tJy76tlZi4o-y5jWCKyFMa-FL2Fdu/s1600/SC20111229-201427.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> As you can see, it's been over <b>22 hours </b>since I charged my battery and </span><span style="font-size: small;">still 11% of juice is left which I feel should be worth another 2-4 hours if I use it discreetly. So nearly 24 -25 hours on a battery with normal usage and browsing thrown in is not a bad deal. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Motion Sense</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Galaxy S2 has many good motion sensor features which are carried forward in Galaxy Note but one of the coolest motion feature which is not even available on S2 is taking a screenshot with a hand swipe across the screen. Simply move your hand from right to left on top of screen and voila - a screen shot is taken! You should see how the jaws of people drop when you do this cool trick in front of them. :D No more pressing of 2 buttons simultaneously as you do that on iphone or other android phones. There are many other motion sensor features bundled in like tilting a bit up and down to zoom in & out of a screen, shaking the phone a bit to scan for bluetooth devices around and some more stuff. As a new user it takes a while for you to get a grip on all these features and I doubt how many of these you will actually use it too. But that screen grab feature is a standout amongst all the rest. I still need to explore other motion sense features but for the moment even if I don't stumble upon them - I am happy as I don't think personally I would be using them unless I just want to show it off in front of my friends!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <b> </b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>S-Pen</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The S-pen which is one of the USP of the phone is bit tricky to use initially. I have never used stylus in my life and it takes a while before you get a hang of it. There are some cool usage features with S-Pen. Unlike some other stylus, this one is stylish, fits in perfectly in the slot with a light click and there is no fear of it falling down from the slot.The image editing, editing screen grabs, taking snaps and adding any hand written notes, doodling, making notes, using it to sypw across alphabets to automatically construct a word are some of the cool features. Those who love doodling, making sketches etc would love it as the in built app has many such supporting features. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxOqWu9izoY-0jNiNtn6cnSomF035TB6jp36i5nrNx-A55b9d5UF-BiuIfxSg_tsk7bXk9GCrTDavF_yPQNfF1N1fI7ls2tUWWgD7qN-Lh1bRrfEOnSrF5CnIF8U0_-IConp_9/s1600/capture_02.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxOqWu9izoY-0jNiNtn6cnSomF035TB6jp36i5nrNx-A55b9d5UF-BiuIfxSg_tsk7bXk9GCrTDavF_yPQNfF1N1fI7ls2tUWWgD7qN-Lh1bRrfEOnSrF5CnIF8U0_-IConp_9/s320/capture_02.png" width="166" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">My 1st output using the Samsung Note stylus</span> </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxgIdSawPkDKMyfC3zrnLO6ZVyFtKBZVkYDDAD3vA475xHW6qSRbfHb4LOMTrYTNgqOkpTEOBBKU-5MMbpGvpV0YgRO6eV0NKiSb0i1ZFBcfqdABAz1ip2_4xIq1stBWU9gH6b/s1600/capture_03.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxgIdSawPkDKMyfC3zrnLO6ZVyFtKBZVkYDDAD3vA475xHW6qSRbfHb4LOMTrYTNgqOkpTEOBBKU-5MMbpGvpV0YgRO6eV0NKiSb0i1ZFBcfqdABAz1ip2_4xIq1stBWU9gH6b/s320/capture_03.png" width="299" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A crude attempt of using the lasso tool- normally seen in Photoshop to crop a image using stylus.</span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilPyqMDy86UfKKcc2BRUJ1MUhKf20xqQAWr20k8kc2LBXLDzjXr-DoJEXzRM1K11VgouEhfnSGNsmrqfJFIWQWCgQzBEk_Q3ytMEGFyVsBxb_rFmEn1g435mw2BgJfMAGq3X9X/s1600/SC20111228-123824.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilPyqMDy86UfKKcc2BRUJ1MUhKf20xqQAWr20k8kc2LBXLDzjXr-DoJEXzRM1K11VgouEhfnSGNsmrqfJFIWQWCgQzBEk_Q3ytMEGFyVsBxb_rFmEn1g435mw2BgJfMAGq3X9X/s320/SC20111228-123824.png" width="200" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The in built image editing app for S-Pen. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Storage</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The phone comes with a 16GB storage. For a person who all his life has max used 2GB on his Nokia phone – 16 GB is simply overwhelming and I have already lined up some good songs & HD movies that I want to load on my phone. J . The Note also supports micro SD and you can extend that storage space.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Screen Case</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">I don’t know if it’s an introductory offer or a part of permanent offering but Samsung Galaxy Note comes with a free (worth INR 1700) case. So what’s the big deal about it. Well it’s not like any other <i>nallah</i> case or the one that comes with galaxy s2. This one has been carefully thought through. It’s a flip case with an actual phone hard cover attached to the back. This means to use it, simply remove your phone back cover and snap this on the phone. The cover is of good quality and I am sure within few months Samsung will withdraw this free cover offer. <br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Touch Response</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I had never been a fan of touch screen phones and have always sworn by qwerty models. One of the reason being the ease with which I could type. Call it the fat finger syndrome. You can never type quickly on iphone or any of the other touch screen phones. The Galaxy s2 somehow came with still a better screen layout than any other touch screen phones. Thanks to the size of the screen, typing becomes easy and a breeze on Galaxy Note. Also the response of the screen is pretty fast and a breeze. Samsung has come a very long way since the early days of its touch screen phones. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij0zVNkc7P06fNTVlwuFtOCWIodSurP2qD11X-MUstvSgS38kt5WolDh8QO9tlTTc0tZyIYoa1XGCQhvxzdeiaaAmY8PFm-rFW5JPsqSbjaNMWT3rGxUbZFXVYs-kNZETccdzk/s1600/SC20111229-214023.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij0zVNkc7P06fNTVlwuFtOCWIodSurP2qD11X-MUstvSgS38kt5WolDh8QO9tlTTc0tZyIYoa1XGCQhvxzdeiaaAmY8PFm-rFW5JPsqSbjaNMWT3rGxUbZFXVYs-kNZETccdzk/s320/SC20111229-214023.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Conclusion</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I believe the fuss about the big size of the phone, whether it’s a phone or a tablet will keep on continuing on various forums and expect people around to question you – do you really use it as a phone? But over time just like how Ipad managed to create a space for itself, phones like these will manage to create a league of its own. As a person who have always stuck by Nokia for the past 12 years moving on to Android and a Samsung phone is a sign of why people are abandoning the Nokia boat – the company is not evolving and Symbian has nothing new to offer. Even Lumia is slightly disappointing.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you are a person who love his facebook, social integration of feeds from different channels, contacts, collaboration features, love catching up on browsing on the move, need a powerful device to manage all the multi tasking between office work, mails, social life, good space to store songs/pictures/movies, etc – this device will work for you. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Sign off note: </b>After seeing & using my phone, already a friend of mine in office placed an order for it from the same e-comm site from which I bought and another colleague has made up his mind to purchase one. Well, it’s infectious! </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div></div>lokeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16471593827876335731noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23338497.post-51572147928464321272011-10-07T00:56:00.000+05:302011-10-07T00:56:35.163+05:30RIP Steve Jobs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVl1REA9rjBb1HXpTxEM6zPnffnkA7J3Si_P2JSjRJpOrDJoCf0YgNoUfkZY6fBXFCQLjEWY0iPqHwN3O0zeOz1SD1h3w-LovxcJNsSjLtCzZ6UOCxJ0Dd4iG0kS4U8SiTD8FF/s1600/314665_10150331169353193_632898192_8238015_503740351_s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVl1REA9rjBb1HXpTxEM6zPnffnkA7J3Si_P2JSjRJpOrDJoCf0YgNoUfkZY6fBXFCQLjEWY0iPqHwN3O0zeOz1SD1h3w-LovxcJNsSjLtCzZ6UOCxJ0Dd4iG0kS4U8SiTD8FF/s1600/314665_10150331169353193_632898192_8238015_503740351_s.jpg" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">A cold night in Sandton, Jo’berg and the depressing news that UK has readjusted its growth target from 0.2% to 0.1% is what I went late night to bed with. Usually woken up by the 7am alarm, this time it was the early rays of sun that somehow had managed to creep in my room that woke me up. A look at the watch – 7.45am. Damn! A look at the phone – dead. Double Damn! Switched on my TV and hurriedly started doing my chores when got the most depressing news of the day, perhaps more gloomy than the recession news we have started getting used to - Steve Jobs is dead. Damn raised to the power of infinite. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Momentarily, a deep sense of grief filled in, as if I had lost someone who was very close to me. Never in my life had my eyes become moist and felt so saddened over the death of any public figure. The global mourning as seen over twitter, facebook, electronic & print media and other social channels with Google – Apple’s most bitter rival in recent times putting up an obituary on their home page reflect what an iconic personality he was.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">While Steve would always be remembered for founding Apple and revolutionizing the way we see & interact with mobile, music & computing devices, for me it’s his intrinsic qualities as a human being that he demonstrated to raise an empire and become a guiding light for millions of people is what the world will remember him for.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">In a consumer research driven world, Steve Jobs threw out of the window all the theories we had learnt in Philip Kotler’s Marketing & Advertising bible. Consumer is always right – do extensive research around consumer products to know user behavior. When iPad was launched and it caught fancy of the world, in an interview when asked if any user or market research was done for the product, Steve bluntly replied – “consumers don’t know what they want. It’s our job to provide them”. That was Steve who always lived by his gut feel and instincts. When the big guns were building boxy computing machines in the 80s, Steve targeted for a ‘lifestyle’ product through Macintosh. He was a visionary – a gifted one who just lived his entire life with a single minded motto – follow your dream. He was a person who redefined the phrase out of the box thinking. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">His passion for being a perfectionist is also well known. He threw out 2 iphone prototypes before finally approving the final one. Creatives in Apple have a direct reporting to Steve as all product designs right from an accessory pin to a Macbook goes for an approval through him. <span> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Inspite of being thrown from his company, being on his own, trying new things out and coming back again to lead Apple and then battling various health issues to rise up again and again to stun the world with one path breaking product after another <span> </span>reflected his never say die attitude. In his now famous Standford speech he reflected on how </span>"Sometimes life's going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">"Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma -- which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span><span style="color: black;">A dreamer. A visionary. A person from a contemporary era who kept on raising his internal benchmarks for innovation. A person who never gave up and taught us to stay hungry and foolish. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">RIP Steve Jobs. Apple won’t be as fruitful without you. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div></div>lokeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16471593827876335731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23338497.post-11397575074829662222011-06-12T14:55:00.000+05:302011-06-12T14:55:39.856+05:30Available for Sale - 11/12 DVD collection titled: BBC -Days That Shook The World<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
A brand new unopened 11/12 DVD set 3 series collection available for sale. Titled: Days That Shook The World. Price: Rs. 2700. I am selling it as someone else bought a similar set for me. I am offering it at the discounted price on which I purchased it.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3aupKVFyg5OsL6sWuV3gP5hckD96l-ngGm-HdIcWevtgqkI0f8GfJlRA67DoQDDH_jS5YRwQCJcP0lMfqkvuLD_9VuiXfm43pPyxd6JdnAdEUbNY88fz5XtXlL3YQNSQmQtmr/s1600/_DSC0280.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3aupKVFyg5OsL6sWuV3gP5hckD96l-ngGm-HdIcWevtgqkI0f8GfJlRA67DoQDDH_jS5YRwQCJcP0lMfqkvuLD_9VuiXfm43pPyxd6JdnAdEUbNY88fz5XtXlL3YQNSQmQtmr/s320/_DSC0280.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(click on the photograph to see the enlarged view)</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhlOa5xdkkkYweNXZrE8QW1JU0TG8daBGQPiPm1SSnvYLxaxt9POIA52JIYKbWV0nrIPRAh1xmbHj5TiOxbWSHN7dOoPuaxlQ1ibFX1wAMn4jgITPrylyB1x41P5ZR_zfFjUnG/s1600/_DSC0281.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhlOa5xdkkkYweNXZrE8QW1JU0TG8daBGQPiPm1SSnvYLxaxt9POIA52JIYKbWV0nrIPRAh1xmbHj5TiOxbWSHN7dOoPuaxlQ1ibFX1wAMn4jgITPrylyB1x41P5ZR_zfFjUnG/s320/_DSC0281.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><i>(click on the photograph to see the enlarged view)</i></div><div>If you are interested in buying it, please contact me on 9960601324. </div></div>lokeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16471593827876335731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23338497.post-8856682675725015762011-05-11T12:58:00.001+05:302011-05-11T14:55:45.351+05:30What I hate about the new Yahoo Mail user experience<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So yahoo mail is going into major upgrade mode with overhauling of entire webmail application UI, new features and integrating with some of other yahoo channels from a single interface. Most of these changes I believe happened couple of weeks/months back but I noticed it recently. While the overall look has become very sleek but I was surprised to see introduction and change made to some key user interaction that contradicts mental model of how a user perceives that feature and adds new learning curve while dealing with the refurbished Yahoo Mail.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_mi-zavCMsIjbisYYfSO28EJsgqUmufd1DEJDZxJDN-K2ZumQCJSAkYehIAYdvrYyK5OsAc2CmjPUMudFItcnkgGU3XDny3vhCrw6xsJuf2RT_Y-9JpAKpVNqABi8sRMjzJww/s1600/yahoo1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_mi-zavCMsIjbisYYfSO28EJsgqUmufd1DEJDZxJDN-K2ZumQCJSAkYehIAYdvrYyK5OsAc2CmjPUMudFItcnkgGU3XDny3vhCrw6xsJuf2RT_Y-9JpAKpVNqABi8sRMjzJww/s320/yahoo1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Image 1</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>(Click on image thumbnails for bigger view) </i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For those who have not seen the new yahoo mail interface, the screen above shows you how the mail now looks in its new avatar. Prominent changes include introduction of lot of tab controls on top, ajax dropdown, overlay windows for actions, integration of applications on left hand side panel.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Earlier, on click of any mail, the mail used to open up in the same window. Now in the new version, the mail opens up as a separate page in a tab (see image below). For illustration example I have clicked the Jet airways mail below.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXhtlPBiNHHKzd3vjW7IpujCPuv5LnmanS7o40b4tacO0xt0-p3YMk7PzVF4HdAq1khzfnQ1pbHQCHVV6FjYwqRnPfeicNdLeU_DRwgqfTdxYXNKJlEocFtboQo6sVE9chnsDX/s1600/yahoo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXhtlPBiNHHKzd3vjW7IpujCPuv5LnmanS7o40b4tacO0xt0-p3YMk7PzVF4HdAq1khzfnQ1pbHQCHVV6FjYwqRnPfeicNdLeU_DRwgqfTdxYXNKJlEocFtboQo6sVE9chnsDX/s320/yahoo2.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Image 2</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The mail opens in a new tab as shown above. Perhaps in the 1<sup>st</sup> instance a user doesn’t realize that the mail has opened in a tabbed format. It’s after clicking on Inbox and selecting any other mail for viewing, the realization comes that the mails are opening in tabbed format and user can jump on to the other previously opened mail without going to inbox and selecting the mail. Works really well when it is assumed that a user normally likes performing this task or that’s a normal mail surfer’s interaction pattern. What can be the implications of this tabbed view, will illustrate with another example later but from here would like to highlight a grave ‘flaw’ if I may put it in the normal interaction pattern of a mail surfer which yahoo has deviated from. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Those who are fluent with keyboard control always prefer pressing backspace button to move back to inbox. That is the mental model of any mail surfer for going back to inbox to check the mails. This is where yahoo mail blunders. Notice what happens when you click on backspace button.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRwpvQdggvZZdn884hJVaVkthlNbAAEW-4pd5kP40Uu-54HZQ0Y__LZzFYuvXfdEBdSMRVqyEGrG8tGMB10HTjf9dRdaeAo3sVx45GzkqEQWXNQKPADYpwUHRvJovwPySaNmyg/s1600/yahoo3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRwpvQdggvZZdn884hJVaVkthlNbAAEW-4pd5kP40Uu-54HZQ0Y__LZzFYuvXfdEBdSMRVqyEGrG8tGMB10HTjf9dRdaeAo3sVx45GzkqEQWXNQKPADYpwUHRvJovwPySaNmyg/s320/yahoo3.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">image 3</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On press of backspace, instead of opening inbox window, another tab opens up with a mail. After repeated instances like these or perhaps clicking manually on inbox link from the left you get to realize that the backspace button is now linked to opening of next mail below the previously opened mail. So what you get to see is the next mail in your inbox. Bad. How can yahoo assume that a user would like to view this mail only? Shouldn’t that be a user’s prerogative? IF that was not enough, the next example will illustrate on a major blunder that Yahoo has made with the backspace button. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnMXw6V5Bfe4RxIOlOmiLf2_kaWHa-Rj54MytJ0c6D1H5D1Rsw-NKxYvoG6Pp8kXOwRBT2RbVk1cksXycOrCcvN0DNCbwkmd-wHi3onhFwQ0hDfU-OizQ0EeE-Hce0whmgpTs0/s1600/yahoo4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnMXw6V5Bfe4RxIOlOmiLf2_kaWHa-Rj54MytJ0c6D1H5D1Rsw-NKxYvoG6Pp8kXOwRBT2RbVk1cksXycOrCcvN0DNCbwkmd-wHi3onhFwQ0hDfU-OizQ0EeE-Hce0whmgpTs0/s320/yahoo4.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">image 4</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I clicked on the backspace button and after realization that it is not linked to going back to inbox, I manually click on inbox and now want to open that Jetairways mail again. But where is that mail? And then I realize what the buggers at yahoo have done.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnx5lUDUWqE2fR0lbvkkHOEYU6zrPd_Rqu_LLJzsfd34plziJeIVt8rGMbocKm7Gxfnq5Vas8KtGykGbvRIzYV5eG6iWuz2Evceyixweba5fjGb1wKLEqaJ8LnbmFYYBef8Lji/s1600/yahoo5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnx5lUDUWqE2fR0lbvkkHOEYU6zrPd_Rqu_LLJzsfd34plziJeIVt8rGMbocKm7Gxfnq5Vas8KtGykGbvRIzYV5eG6iWuz2Evceyixweba5fjGb1wKLEqaJ8LnbmFYYBef8Lji/s320/yahoo5.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Image 5</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The backspace button is now linked to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">deleting a mail. Very bad interaction </b>as the usual mental model that a user presumes is that pressing backspace leads back to previous page. This is the pattern followed in ALL webmails – gmail, hotmail, rediff, indiatimes and even previously in yahoo mail too. Many users will I bet not realize this also that they have unknowingly deleted their mail! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYBjYz62Jsp4bU3f83W2u7HMRGEz2rfUphcZtYHU6RSY8ZQmlbn33OVoQvVhT23oYXEu4-Hmp-GNu7ToULTWEHnL2SIRWfPi73jPPhI6Xs8w9u2VVeP7yPXVRsC3Am8vC1wkD/s1600/yahoo7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="47" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYBjYz62Jsp4bU3f83W2u7HMRGEz2rfUphcZtYHU6RSY8ZQmlbn33OVoQvVhT23oYXEu4-Hmp-GNu7ToULTWEHnL2SIRWfPi73jPPhI6Xs8w9u2VVeP7yPXVRsC3Am8vC1wkD/s320/yahoo7.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">image 6</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So now that mails open in different tabs and after realization that this is the model that will happen, I decided to check what happens when I click multiple mails. Since the idea from yahoo is for letting users surf seamlessly between different open stage mails without letting them move back to inbox, with each click the open tab on top navigation panel kept increasing. Will a user click any tab to close his mail and do ‘tab management’? I hope yahoo has done some user testing around this as many people might find this irritating (clicking open tabs again & again).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTKkPv1OOmHMsKF1ZGahEZbLK8HWpK9yUBlRStWFpaIWK78031vlV5qFvtynURzHJo7oNG4REgG2nMwkHrDjp7quhzPEhkvVyJOS6I-nFYX5QRYTvJB2Gg4JlW-5TRe3ILUR8R/s1600/yahoo6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTKkPv1OOmHMsKF1ZGahEZbLK8HWpK9yUBlRStWFpaIWK78031vlV5qFvtynURzHJo7oNG4REgG2nMwkHrDjp7quhzPEhkvVyJOS6I-nFYX5QRYTvJB2Gg4JlW-5TRe3ILUR8R/s320/yahoo6.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Image 7</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And as I suspected, this is what happened when I clicked multiple mails and didn’t bother to close the open tabs. As I was testing this feature, I was prepared to get a response like this but users who perhaps might miss the open tab mail reading concept and keep navigating through inbox link on left to read mails, might perhaps take a while to realize what this means and the entire concept of tabbed mail approach. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like with any new rollout where major changes are made, there would be initial reluctance but over period people do get used to it. I am sure with yahoo mail also people will start adapting to the new features but if only yahoo would have not deviated from the key functionality interactions that are followed by all mail users across other sites and retained the same then it would have been perfect. </span></div><br />
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</div>lokeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16471593827876335731noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23338497.post-59282794208112169932011-02-06T07:25:00.007+05:302011-02-07T11:50:40.344+05:30What's the fart about?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now this is the kind of news that can make any person like me, reeling under a late night party hangover sit and read it attentively. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oblivion to the world fuel crisis, global recession, the Arab world renaissance, rapidly growing inflation or the even nearly approach 2012 dooms day, a small African nation - Malawi will vigorously debate in the coming week in their parliament if farting in public should be made criminal offence. Wow. I love this kind of news. Sadly this 4 column news was tucked in the World section in TOI. In my opinion this has to be the most catching and attention grabbing news to come in recent months and should have been placed right on front page! People are bored to read about the Egypt crisis, the 65 rs kilo Onion, Petrol & Beer kind of news. Now this is news. A country already reeling under poverty spending the precious little tax saver’s money to debate on issues that can in future have global catastrophic effect. As per the news… </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"The government has a right to ensure public decency. We are entitled to introduce order in the country," justice and constitutional affairs minister George Chaponda told independent radio station Capital Radio. "Would you like to see people farting in public anywhere?" Since the country embraced multi-party politics 16 years ago people had felt free to fart anywhere, said Chaponda.</span></span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></i></span><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
<br />
<span class="apple-style-span">"It was not there during the time of dictatorship because people were afraid of the consequences. Now because of multipartism or freedom, people would like to fart anywhere, he said.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
</span></span></i><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I completely agree with you bro. In a democratic, multi party system, people tend to fart albeit loudly – in public places, on the national media, in parliament, on tax payer sponsored foreign visits without thinking of the consequences. Now the only difference is that these are the people who run the country. But let me tell you my friend, in dictatorship too the people – especially the one who call the shots in the country do fart but the only difference is that in dictatorship the fart is passed off by the state owned media as the next perfume brand from the house of Gucci. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Not many people understand that farting is the most technical job you can ever imagine to perform. More complex than the Matrix itself. Imagine stuck in a small group or sitting in a small restaurant, or in front of your would be fiancé or gf and you get the feeling – oh yeah a fart is on the way. You have to draw upon your years of experience to convert that big bang into a silencer equipped muzzle shot so that it’s not heard. Yeah, bet the men reading this post can relate with that.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am sure if I google, I can find many games around farting itself. If there are games already available for ipad , iphone & android, bet there should be real versions followed too. The Biggest Farter Wins. Measuring the velocity of a farter by lighting the gas behind! Speaking of which, have you ever wondered why they put up a BIG RED colored ‘STRICTLY NO SMOKING’ bright signage in all corridors of Parliament, the visitor’s gallery & near cabins of all ministers in Government establishments? Yup, you guessed it right! I had an opportunity to visit the Parliament once and if you have ever been to the visitor’s gallery, you will see the AC blower on full blast and a transparent glass screen blocking the atmospheric air emitted by our honourly politicians. While public safety measures are taken what makes these politicans immune from the self emitted every day farts that they release in the Parliament? There are 2 reasons for that. 1) These guys are thick skinned. So any molecular particle floating from a colleague’s fart just bounces off from the skin of these guys instead of settling down. 2) More importantly, all the guys who get selected to represent our constituencies go through a nose membrane transplant. A small mesh is implanted that converts the inhaled foul gas into a fresh reusable fart by the same guy. Why do you think we are the toast of all the carbon credit seeking countries? Innovative mechanisms can be seen right in the bowels of the Parliament especially if some debate is on. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">By the way, there are 3 countries that can never ever ban farting. They are Pakistan, India & China. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">India, we already know and briefly talked about above why. Read any bi lateral talks results between Pakistan/India or China/India and you can guess why farting can never be banned. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pakistan has taken farting to next level. Tired of using guns, ammos, normal bombs, suicide bombers in Pakistan, fed with a gastronomic diet of Jihad are turning themselves into a live Fart Bombers. The promises to the bombers I am told are a lifetime McDonalds & Pizza Hut supply in heaven (or hell) and a complimentary tickling by the most beautiful nymph. For bombers in POK photos of Katrina Kaif are passed off as the nymph.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now Chinese farts are quite tricky ones. You keep your ears up to hear any mumbling noise from a Chinese ass but hardly hear anything. The Chinese farts are more like Chinse whispers. There definitely is a fart but you don’t hear it and smell it a little late. Or else how can you explain this Wen Jiabo chap making an official trip to India – all armed with Hindi Chini bhai bhai scented room freshner, his aides spraying it before hand in any meeting and once he was gone, 2 weeks later you get the foul smell of the Arunachal Pradesh stapled visa issue.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But imagine if they was indeed an actual ministry, just like the Malwai chaps enforcing laws related to farting in India? I wonder what that ministry would be called? Ministry of Renewable Energies or Ministry of Natural Gas. I can think of the latter. But I bilve there is already a minstry by that name. I guess they would have made it Ministry of Natural gas – Internal & Minstry of Natural gas - External. The internal one would focus on the ‘real’ natural gas sourced from deep inside the earth while the external will concentrate their energies on the natural gases emitted by people. While the country would be reeling under heavy inflation and rising food costs and Sharad Pawar would be grilled in Parliament, the chap managing the MoNG – E portfolio would be quietly chuckling in one corner in the Parliament. After all the rising food cost is directly proportional to the fart emitted in air. High food cost means less people will buy fart emitting veggies like ‘mooli’ which means less of fart to pollute the air. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Back closer to work, you deal day in day out with guys who have made careers by farting. The mantra is not ‘Work Smarter Not Harder’ but ‘Fart Harder but Smarter’. Yes, in a collaborative world, every fart counts in work and you need to keep updating your repository with newer, smarter mechanisms of farting and making customers bill you $140/hr consulting rate . After all for them it’s not just a fart. <i>It’s a process of synthesizing efficient paradigms that involve intuitive methodologies to unleash visionary whiff of air to deliver ‘bleeding-edge’ solutions. </i>The same logic applies internally when you want to don the role of Arjuna – the Savior. Genuine thought process, views are taken as crap. One ‘fart-astra’ from your arsenal can quieten the most vocal or rational ones.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Should really thank the article that got printed ysday. Atleast it motivated me to put this farty post after a long time. Till the time the world is full of news like this, which I am sure it will be, it will always get me on to release some gas of my own! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All farts welcomed in the comments section :-) </span></div></div>lokeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16471593827876335731noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23338497.post-78353567489189332992011-01-29T17:14:00.001+05:302011-01-29T17:14:30.692+05:30random thought waiting outside a ladies trial room for wifey to co me outWhy are almost all lingerie counters in any of the mall that you walk in managed by chinkis? :D
<br>
<br>regards,
<br>Lokesh Sapre
<br>-----------------------
<br>Sent from my Nokia E71lokeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16471593827876335731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23338497.post-15077421745230280992011-01-28T18:36:00.001+05:302011-01-28T18:36:49.303+05:30Bsnl launches ipad data plan | my experience with the sameSo finally Apple officially launched the ipad in India and as a surprise package tied up with bsnl for various attractive 3G data plan offers. The moment I read the news on one of the online sites, I quickly opened up the bsnl site to check about it. i found it a bit surprising that officially it got launched today and there was no media coverage in any of the printed newspapers. Such a 'big' news was tucked away in a corner on bsnl site with a small ipad image and a dull font data plan link. I clicked it, checked the plans, filled up the inquiry form and waited for someone to call me. But knowing that it might take ages before someone will actually call, I called up on the helpline no that they had provided in the ad. After few rings the guy picked up the call, inquired of my region and need and transfered the call. I told them about my interest in the microsim card and inquired if I can get the same from local bsnl office. The guy put me on hold again and after few minutes responded that they were not aware of the 'scheme' and perhaps I should call in evening! Pissed off to the core, I decided to hit out to local bsnl office in the afternoon.<p>The Yerwada Bsnl office is manned by an all female staff. The inquiry counter lady was clueless and directed me to the section officer. As expected, she also didn't have any response and came to know that bsnl has launched something like this from me only! She visited the website and while she was doing so, I parroted out the various data plans that bsnl has launched for ipad. She gave me an embarassed smile ( coz without looking at the monitor I was telling her about the various plans which she should have been knowing) and confessed she was not aware of ipad& these plans. She called up her seniors who themsevles didn't have much idea. The lady apologized to me, took my number and promised the moment they get details and the sim card, I'll be the 1st Ipad data plan customer she will hand over the sim too. <p>I returned back, bit amused with this entire experience but felt sorry on how bsnl is on the verge of losing a sizable market share again thanks to blotched up marketing activities. Bsnl has got the 1st move advantage and in couple of months apple will partner with other telcos as soon as 3 g network is rolled out pan India. With attractive India prices for the device, the rush for data plans will be up for sure and hopefully bsnl should gear themselves up to cater to demands.<p>Sent from my iPadlokeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16471593827876335731noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23338497.post-68537731343026178152010-11-06T15:42:00.001+05:302010-11-06T15:42:26.871+05:30Obama visit - random musingsThe best, rationaled, well paneled discussions on Obama visit happening on ndtv 24x7. Shekhar Gupta takes the cake on the discussion. His take on Maha Govt's 'baraati' attitude sums up the incompetencies and useless row created by them on being asked to show identity proofs.
<br>
<br>Disappointed with BJP's official press briefing showing their disappointment that Obama didn't slam Pakistan. Grow up guys. Yeah Shekhar I agreee with you - they have lost their bearings.
<br>
<br>regards,
<br>Lokesh Sapre
<br>-----------------------
<br>Sent from my Nokia E71lokeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16471593827876335731noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23338497.post-40511373551139189192010-10-22T12:30:00.000+05:302010-10-22T12:30:53.127+05:30The Curious Case of Buzzing Light<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><div style="font-family: inherit;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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</style> <![endif]--> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">On a long haul international flight, the most boring part besides watching the rerun of movies is standing outside the loo and waiting endlessly for your turn. On a recent trip while I was waiting for my turn, twice or thrice I saw the call attendant light outside the loo blink. Each time the attendant came and asked the person inside if everything was fine, she got a +ve reply and went back. False alarm. It was not as if the call was made by one person. I saw that pattern getting repeated with 3 different people in 2 separate loos. Curiosity took over me as finally my turn came and while the call of the nature happened, I was snooping around to find where the attendant button was. As I accidently spotted the button (yes, I was on the verge of unknowingly pressing it), it dawned upon me why the airhostess was getting called for no reason by person inside the loo. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIczLbYznCQmGCNfoCv31HIOr7SHiKDPSBh1ffips4jG_oiokr-R0SmywETNEd3g59T3HIXznFVpBsO8Vt5ENLSmvMGBZx8gPQhQ97Wj1wsy0y05wm2ZYiKiT57maSGkSx8u4-/s1600/loo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIczLbYznCQmGCNfoCv31HIOr7SHiKDPSBh1ffips4jG_oiokr-R0SmywETNEd3g59T3HIXznFVpBsO8Vt5ENLSmvMGBZx8gPQhQ97Wj1wsy0y05wm2ZYiKiT57maSGkSx8u4-/s320/loo.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Take a look at the picture above. The orange colored button is placed on the left hand side. In the matchbox shaped toilet, as the person sits on the pot, many a times<span> </span>in that cramped space the person tries to adjust himself in and this is when the button gets accidentally pressed as it’s too close to the arm and tucked away near to the waist level and gets missed completely by the person. It nearly happened with me too as I tried to jostle in the compact loo. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Flawed Product Design <span> </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The above incidence serves as a good example for software & product designers. The intent of placing an emergency call button close to the person is right, but should that be the right position where it needs to be placed? Any call to action features, be it on the web, desktop applications and as my airline loo experience showed me should be placed where it’s <i>visible</i> and <i>convenient</i> for a person to use.<span> </span>In that loo the button was getting missed and that was the reason it was getting accidentally pressed by people. Perhaps shifting the button a little more to the left could have solved the problem. A) The accidental pressing would have stopped. B) The button would have been more visible and in front of the eye. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">In conclusion, as a designer or a product developer it’s imperative to step into a user’s shoes and iron out these kind of potential usability issues at initial stages of design itself. Getting the product prototype tested by actual users during prototype stage helps in finding problems that are easier and cheaper to fix rather than unearthing it after the product has been released. Involve a usability consultant in the project right from the inception stage as their expertise and usability knowledge can help in shaping up the product as per user expectations and meet defined goals & business objectives. </span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span>lokeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16471593827876335731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23338497.post-14329485483219330812010-07-06T19:55:00.000+05:302010-07-06T19:55:50.815+05:30Usability Testing of the Delhi Airport T3As said by GMR in an interview:<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">..... airport is about people, not buildings. An airport is a very complex system," he says. That is why before throwing open the Delhi airport to the public he is testing it with "dummy passengers" - 3,000 men and women, each paid Rs 175 to come and play act, testing everything from baggage handling to security.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span></span>lokeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16471593827876335731noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23338497.post-46001882650711307242010-06-22T08:00:00.001+05:302010-06-22T08:00:35.033+05:30mobile bloggingTesting out mobile blogging through this 1st scrap posted through my business phone. If it updates instantly then you will see frequent scraps and mobile uploads from me.
<br>
<br>Regards,
<br>Lokesh Sapre
<br>-----------------------
<br>***Sent from my Nokia E71***lokeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16471593827876335731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23338497.post-40816889823853204822010-06-21T10:54:00.000+05:302010-06-21T10:54:47.145+05:30random thought<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Saw few guys in ties. Asked a question to myself. To work like a consultant, it is necessary to wear ties day in and out unless its a client facing scenario? Does wearing a tie make you feel like a consultant? Isn't it the work that you do which is more important in that sphere of your business domain rather than the appearance in office ( and remember, it's not client meetings that are to be attended). Why this false facade?</span> lokeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16471593827876335731noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23338497.post-77332800234416681282010-04-27T16:59:00.002+05:302010-04-27T17:15:23.975+05:30the state of mind I am in these days :-)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW6zVA4q2zQMgr0FUW782jWu3jCVwVOI8WHrqg27NF8uH4tXMQaFq_WgUAaCTkJYMQTzMUC5hvzXGhOwUPlZTjIO0viXGOhV3jMu6N_DDiainj5LrqQ23GlV86SG49685LgP1K/s1600/National-geo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW6zVA4q2zQMgr0FUW782jWu3jCVwVOI8WHrqg27NF8uH4tXMQaFq_WgUAaCTkJYMQTzMUC5hvzXGhOwUPlZTjIO0viXGOhV3jMu6N_DDiainj5LrqQ23GlV86SG49685LgP1K/s400/National-geo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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and after I land on the national geo site and click on the careers section....this is the screen I get!<br />
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Oh well...it seems all restless people like me would be accessing the National Geo site. Well lemme try my luck with Discovery now :-)lokeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16471593827876335731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23338497.post-62484519918495575462010-03-31T12:01:00.002+05:302010-04-14T16:16:37.336+05:30Goodbye ABN AMRO<span style="font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Got bit of sentimental after hearing that ABN AMRO's name would be changed to RBS (Royal bank of Scotland). Perhaps the reason is given the fact that I had been associated with ABN AMRO for the past 9-10 years or so. Not many of my colleagues know this but I was the Information Architect who was part of the design team that had created the the entire ABN AMRO net banking website. This was way back in 2001 or something. I was working in an IT company in Delhi. We used to deal with ABN Delhi HO. This was my 1st experience of dealing with IA of a full fledged banking application. I remember the workshops that the design team and client used to have at ABN's CP office. We used to do endless rounds of white boarding & card sorting exercises to arrive on user mental models. Of course there were rounds of heated discussions also with the customer during the workshops which used to spice up our thinking process. In one such incidence we were discussing the Online Account Summary flow. The client had a 'banker's view of the same while we felt it won't work and presented end user's view point. It went on for some time. We took a prompt decision. We went down to the branch and randomly selected few users and expressed out point of view to understand what they feel and they agreed with our thinking! Bang on. The discussion was closed. The client team were a bunch of tough nuts but they accepted points when presented with logic & strong rational. When the banking website was launched, we had even created a banking site demo which used to be part of the online application for quite a few years. We had slipped in our names in the demo as account holders and shown lakhs of rupees in fictitious account number. That was the only closest way of demonstrating that we were quite rich! :-) </span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When I shifted to Mumbai in 2003 my relation with the bank continued in form of corporate salary account which I got transferred to Pune when I shifted the base here in 2006. I still maintain the account and use the internet banking that I created. I have always loved ABN's services. In my 7 years relationship with the bank,I have only visited my bank once for sign verification else all my transactions have been carried online or through doorstep banking. After nearly 10 years of its online existence, I am glad to see that the core task flows and navigation of the net banking application has not changed at all. It's means a lot as it bears a stamp of users acceptance and seamless interaction & transaction that they have on the site. In fact I was told that the online site was referred as one of the best internet banking applications present in India. </span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Now that the bank has been bought over by RBS, I hope the services that I enjoyed earlier would continue to be the same. It's very weird feeling calling my bank RBS now ;-) but hopefully over the period will get used to the new name now. :-) </span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div>lokeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16471593827876335731noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23338497.post-68251464685151240922010-03-05T15:23:00.003+05:302010-03-05T15:26:17.797+05:30Foxed over flux!<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I was in two minds about writing this post. This topic had been on my mind for quite some time but I was really dragging on this post. Well some personal experience around this topic last Friday triggered me to put my thoughts across – and of course some help from Sarah Palin! </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
Couple of the days ago, Sarah Palin called Twitter as ‘little twittering thing’. It was an innocent response to her reference to how speedily things happen on Twitter. But what came out was the negative connotation rather than an endearing one. </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
Last week I was discussing an onsite project opportunity with one of the program mangers. Since they work a lot in embedded & desktop apps space, I highlighted them on how they can pitch for technologies like Silverlight & Flex in their projects which are the emerging technologies in RIA (Rich Internet Applications) space. The Program manager replied <i>‘oh yeah we are aware of flex…it’s to do with UI skin & design…’. </i>I told him it’s not just about UI skin but more to do with backend technologies which makes the interaction simple. He and his team mate reply ‘ <i>but the flux presentation that you sent in proposal talked about that’. </i>Which presentation I inquired, since I was managing the flex initiatives and I had never sent any prezo. The <b>FLUX </b>prezo – the guy replies. And then it struck me. He was referring to the new capability presentation sent by the usability practice titled: flux. I winced my teeth and politely went on to explain the bizarre branding name that has cropped up couple of months back.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
The 1st time I heard about the new branding for usability team I was very surprised. I saw the branding in a team mate’s email signature and this is how it looked. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPeM4gCwqCbWnbyCwC5oZgiESNrWBwdhGIJfRvwGxihyphenhyphenKy3lDaoDcaakeKmunPLJ0ngvF7yNtX9yQrZaH1-PsZjXwFCOKDwUYde1MOa8gJYvZOqFfcity7S02cUP6iG14_B3-u/s1600-h/blog+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="47" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPeM4gCwqCbWnbyCwC5oZgiESNrWBwdhGIJfRvwGxihyphenhyphenKy3lDaoDcaakeKmunPLJ0ngvF7yNtX9yQrZaH1-PsZjXwFCOKDwUYde1MOa8gJYvZOqFfcity7S02cUP6iG14_B3-u/s400/blog+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
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The other variation of the branding I saw was like this: <b>flUX </b>which is used in document or as file name of any capability prezo or overview. It didn’t have any tag line along with it. Then I also see it in email credentials like this: <b>flUX</b> – The User Experience Group <br />
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Branding is a very important exercise and there are various aspects you need to keep in mind before going in for brand christening. Is branding needed for a usability group working in a pure play technology company – I’ll come to that part later but my 1st question to myself and to few peers around was what did flUX – the word meant to them. I was told by the mates who coined the branding that the reason behind using the word flUX is that in metallurgy flux is a chemical cleaning agent that removes oxides from the metal to be joined. Since in UX space we remove the ‘impurities’ related to ‘bad experience’ hence flUX. To add to the touch was the byline ‘flawless user experience’, the ‘fl’ from flUX stands for flawless and ‘UX’ for user experience. Neat. But do people really understand that’s how the term got coined? When put on a ppt or when sent in a document to customer/prospect/internal stake holders – will they understand what flUX means? From my last week experience I don’t think so. Intelligence doesn’t always sell. In colloquial language flux most of the times is used in negative connotation. It means ‘uncertainty’. <i>His mind was in a state of flux over the decision</i>. 8 out of 10 times in spoken language it will be commonly used to express a state of indecisiveness. The remaining 2 times folks in white coats would be using it. The point that I want to make is when it comes to branding, you also need to consider all these aspects, debate it out, research and then proceed. By discussing it internally with 2-3 practice guys or getting the branding feedback done from few external ex- college design friends won’t help in discovering the real issues. A brand name needs to be really thought through; researched and extensive feedback needs to be taken. </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
I know that one of the lessons in branding is also to make your brand stand out, think of uncommon brand names/acronyms, to have a recall value but you need to consider that the brand name unknowingly doesn’t give different context meanings. Also as my flex-flux experience highlighted, the brand shouldn’t get confused with something else, especially in a technology company where the word got confused with a core technology which the company is building capabilities in. </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
More than often, you might not be available for any presentation or physically won’t be present when flux branded collateral would be presented or discussed. The luxury of ‘<i>Hi we are from usability practice and our group is named as flux which stands for flawless user experience…”</i> won’t be available. Then what? </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
Francois gossieaux in his article on <a href="http://thecustomercollective.com/TCC/51321?utm_source=tcc_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter" target="_blank">customer vs brand advocacy</a> says “<i>most buying decisions happen when your people are not in the room – not part of the conversations that lead to buying decisions. So for them (your company’s marketing team) to be brand advocates is to a certain degree a waste of time. What you need is for your customers and prospects to be your brand advocates.”</i> And this is where the 2nd important point of my whole take on branding comes in. </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
<b>Should branding be done for usability team or the services that they pitch?</b> Your customers be it internal stakeholders or external one will not recall your group brand name when they need your services. When there is a need for UI design/evaluation etc, do you think the question that will pop up in their mind would be “<i>hey we need to call flux guys in for this</i>”? No. Don’t be under any illusion. For your internal stakeholders, you will always be known as the ‘usability team’, ‘UI team’ , ‘UI guys’ – irrespective of any fancy name that you coin. When the call would come, the top of the mind recall would be usability, UI design, html developer and NOT flux. Similarly for external customers flux will not make any sense. They would be approaching ‘the company‘for certain services which may or may not be aligned to UI/design and not flux. Even if you send them capability branded doc all pasted with flux – their final call of action would be with ‘the company’ and NOT the branded group. Don’t expect the customer to call the company and say “<i> I need the flux team services for my website revamp”. </i></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
<b>Brands need to be created in usability but these should be around the services that you offer</b>. Create brands around your specialized offerings. Let these be the talking point amongst your internal stakeholders and customers. Your well executed work itself becomes a brand within the organization and has a better recall value for the employee and the group than any fancy brand names. <b>Create brands around your resources who come with niche skills. </b> Their skills and knowledge in the specialized area would indirectly reflect upon company’s capabilities and your practice and help in getting business. </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
To sum up this branding discussion, signing off with a testimonial that one of the UX person recently received from an internal stakeholder. Notice the highlighted part. </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
“<i>…... Minor details on the portal in terms of graphic representation was taken care of well by co-ordinating with others in the <b>UE (Flux?)</b> team…</i>”</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
The question mark still remains. </div>lokeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16471593827876335731noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23338497.post-1059109896018310212010-02-16T14:31:00.000+05:302010-02-16T14:31:47.642+05:30Tiger is back in his woods :-)<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type"></meta><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"></meta><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"></meta><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"></meta><link href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5Cls25367%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link><link href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5Cls25367%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"></link><link href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5Cls25367%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"></link> <m:smallfrac m:val="off"> <m:dispdef> <m:lmargin m:val="0"> <m:rmargin m:val="0"> <m:defjc m:val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent m:val="1440"> <m:intlim m:val="subSup"> <m:narylim m:val="undOvr"> </m:narylim></m:intlim> </m:wrapindent><style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">So the news is that Tiger Woods is out of Sex rehabilitation centre and trying to get back in his normal life – of course he has still not made public appearance. Often I wonder what this ‘sex rehabilitation centre’ would be like. The idea is to cure a person from his ‘disease’ which in this case his regular sexual affairs. So how do they test if the person is cured? In the 1<sup>st</sup> place, how to they treat the person? Do they make him watch some religious discourse followed by a lap dance by some skimpily dressed gal and observe if the erection is happening and at what pace? <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span> Or perhaps tie the person up to zillions of wires and check his beats to see if is he still getting excited by watching naked gals dancing in front of him. Let me google on what they do and hope to publish another post on it soon :-) </div>lokeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16471593827876335731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23338497.post-40972458793004683792010-02-04T18:59:00.002+05:302010-02-04T19:14:18.193+05:30Blogging sabbaticalI noticed that last year I just posted one single post! It's very surprising for me since till a year before that I was heavily blogging. This year I promise it would be different. My dear friend Sahana who herself is an avid blogger & the queen of tweets has suggested I start a photo blog. I am toying with that idea too. Very soon I'll be posting my road trip blogs along with snaps. Hope I'll gain back my motivation to write and write passionately. :)lokeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16471593827876335731noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23338497.post-39096981472647108862010-02-04T18:46:00.004+05:302010-02-04T18:57:32.905+05:30The new tablet on the block - Ipad<span style="font-family:arial;">Those who have followed Steve Jobs closely through his career would be aware that the king pin of Apple doesn’t sell products. He sells experience. Right from the 80s days when the famous Mac TVC brought in a revolutionary change in the desktop industry to the visual experience of seeing a notebook being pulled out of an envelope. It was no surprise that the most awaited launch of recent time – the Apple tablet bore the same aura and excitement generally you will find at Oscars. Given Apple’s panache for creating mega hype for any product launch, little wonder everyone was super excited on what Steve would produce this time. And boy, they were not disappointed. So finally we have the Apple Ipad and as expected it has created a stormy debate on blogs and technology forums. The main bone of discussion has been – where does it fit in? It’s an Iphone/Itouch on steroids minus the ability to make a call and still not in a league where it can be qualified as a notebook. So has Apple created the biggest blunder by creating a product that doesn’t fit into any category or have they embarked on a bold attempt to create a new market segment?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Experience Sells. Apple products have always been driven around experience. Be it the visual appeal or the sheer joy of experiencing the interaction on any of the apple product. Experience, like brands are not built overnight. And with Apple who has set the benchmark for interaction experience, users always expect the next product from their stable to take the experience a notch higher. If you would have seen the key note that Steve Jobs delivered, his maximum emphasis was around the experience that a user would enjoy with the product. A key aspect in all his key notes has always been the demo that Steve delivers around the product. Steve never ‘sells’ the products. His demos do the job of selling. A simple tap here, a light touch to flick the ebook on the Ipad, the rotatable bookstore, the email keypad, the rotatable browser – notice how he casually went through the key user journeys on the Ipad, as the audience experienced it in delight. Didn’t it make you feel you want to grab that product right away? That’s experience – a hallmark of all Apple products.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Experience creates demand. In Apple’s case it’s their brilliant marketing strategy that has also fuelled up any demand for their product. The sheer aura that they manage to create around any of their product launch helps in creating anticipation and the experience of the product converts that anticipation into a demand. In Ipad’s case I believe Apple has boldly ventured on a path of creating a new market segment. A product that fits between a laptop & a smart phone like iphone. The question is, will they manage to create the demand? I believe yes. Thanks to Ipad, we will see a rise of a new segment of users who would like to ride on the convergence wave that Ipad promises. Apple’s ‘tempting’ pricing strategy for ipad will ensure that conversions happen. With ipad, Apple has also blown the war trumpet against ebook hardware manufacturers like Kindle and taken the storming bull by its horn. Their venture in ebooks with launch of ibooks application in ipad is a bold attempt to walk into the ebook territory. Of course, you don’t expect ebooks addicts to buy ipad for just the books application and they would very well stick to portable devices like Kindle. Already a storm in brewing up in ebooks industry with publishers picking up sides on which side of the hardware manufactures there would like to be. Will this be another Blueray v/s HD DVD in making?. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">On the flip side what I didn’t like about Ipad is the limited hard disk space that is bundled into the device. 64GB?? This device is not an ipod but has been pitched as an entertainment solution. Games, movies, photos. Load all that up plus few more softwares and very soon you will start feeling a pinch for space. Imagine, sitting at airport lounge and plugging in an external HDD to the sleek looking ipad. While ipad has provision of mini GSM card for 3G model, I wonder if they will launch 3G model in India as I am not sure if mini GSM are available with telecom operators. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Over all I feel apple has lived up to their brand name and have managed to create a storm. But they need to watch out as Google is just round the corner fine turning their version of the tablet. Already their Android platform and the decision to enter the smart phone segment have started giving Steve Jobs nightmare. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />For ipad, will they manage to convert foot falls into purchases when they launch it in March? Only time will tell. </span>lokeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16471593827876335731noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23338497.post-16106025814254687782009-08-11T11:28:00.004+05:302009-08-12T16:29:27.063+05:30Swine flu hits my Project!!!This had to come at some point of time. Every day I get umpteen calls from my wife, parents, inlaws - inquiring about my whereabouts (now I know why cricketers are protesting the WADA rules ;-P), instructing me to wear mask, stop going out in public places etc. Their concern is genuine as they see the media frenzy in TV - about how the virus is spreading in Pune. Just yesterday I was discussing with a friend about how parents of outstation people would be feeling concerned about the alarming situation here and in morning one of my team mates dropped the bombshell. <br /><br />The team mate's parents who stay in MP have asked him to come back home immediately. The person calls me up in morning informing me that he would like to go on leave with effect from today as his parents are very disturbed with the events. Now the project on which resource is already 3 weeks behind schedule and its on critical path currently. The visibility for the project is high within the organization and the stakes are high. I tried reasoning with him that going on leave will not help and try educating your parents about the measures that organization has taken and all. The team mate comes to office in a disheveled shape. He has a mask on and wearing full jacket. He informs me that he tried his best but of no use. The AR also informs me that we cannot stop any resource from going back home in this kind of scenario. My concern was that this will have a cascading effect. But then the resource drops a bombshell. He tells me that he had been feeling feverish since ysday, had slight cold and is on medicine which has been prescribed by the local GP and if the symptoms persists in couple fo days, he asked him to get swine flu test done. As he spoke with me thru his mask - I just held my breath (hey! it's swine flu around!)but then I had to release it ;-) Immediately I asked him to go on leave :-) and rushed in the loo to wash my hands!!! (couldn't believe I did this!..and what made me do this!) Seeing him in that state I could understand why his parents were concerned. I can see similar symptoms ( worried parents tracking their kids) being passed on to other outstation resources in my team. For me & other senior members of the team - it's like a war situation here on Ground Zero. People want to go on leave and we are on acute shortage of resources. Wearing masks they keep working on- regularly attending calls from worried parents. <br /><br />Which brings me to more important topic - how to ensure business continuity? people who want to take precautionary leave should have the flexibility from working from home. At an organizational level, perhaps trial versions of critical softwares needed for project should be installed in personal desktops/laptops of the resources. Daily checkin/checkouts can be committed through VPN line or the code can be shared on project ftp server and someone in office can commit the same in SVN repository. Importantly, the client also needs to be educated that given the scenario, there might be some impact to the dates of the project.lokeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16471593827876335731noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23338497.post-70285096253561900032009-01-13T18:02:00.003+05:302009-01-14T12:28:00.109+05:30Close Encounter with Nano: 1st hand reviewThe other day while coming back from Shirdi, some 20 kms from Pune, a small toy like car zipped past me. I cried in excitement to my wife who was sitting next to me. "Hey, that's Nano"!! The Nano emblem shining brightly on the bonet of the white, bright car, it raced ahead. Suddenly there was excitement on the road. Like me, few others had also spotted the car. Negotiating the traffic, I tried to step up on my speed to catch up with the car. It was nearly dark and the the commercial traffic was high on nagar road so I had to watch out for all the trucks on my side of the road and overtaking them was not that easy. But for Nano it was a different ball game. The car took advantage of its size and criss crossed between trucks to take up pole positions among other cars on the road - something I just couldn't digest. I mean here I was driving a relatively heavy sized big brother Indica Turbo and this new born cousin from the same family zips past me without giving me much maneuvering chance! Finally as the traffic cleared I managed to catch up with the car and got a good look inside. Drove for some 15 kms along with the car, sometimes over taking it from the left, from right, staying ahead, behind - so that I could get detailed look of the car, its exteriors, interiors, etc. The test driver just gave me a smile, probably understanding what I was upto. My observations about the car: <div><br /></div><div>- It rocks. It's a tiny, exposive device and has a pretty good grip on the road even on speed of 70kms ph (that was my speed while I was trailing the car for some kms) </div><div><br /></div><div>- It's size can be advantage for traffic situations where you need to zip through vehicles. </div><div><br /></div><div>- The test driver's height must be 5ft 9 inches and his head was not touching the roof - so that way it's good. </div><div><br /></div><div>- I could see orange colored illuminated panel - and there was a small green colored small LCD rectagle box glowing in the instrument console panel - probably the tripmeter which might be electronic. </div><div><br /></div><div>- the car was driving on high beam on road and I could see that the light was quite strong - so no problems in that department. </div><div><br /></div><div>What I didn't like: </div><div><br /></div><div>- As many of you might be knowing, the engine in the car is in back side. I could see some part of the exhaust 'hanging' out - just like it's there in some of the petrol rikshaws. </div><div><br /></div><div>- Probably the model that i was racing with was low end as the bumper was very basic dull colored greyish plastic one </div><div><br /></div><div>- The bumper in this model was not 'shielding' the part of exaust/engine which I could see dangling out. On few bumps, the exaust 'shook' along with few other parts near the rear end. It gave the feeling as if the entire pack has been loosely tied. It would be interesting to see how the car performs in true Indian conditions, where there are many potholes/bumps on the roads. I suspect the car's belly is prone to attacks from sharp stones or big potholes/gravels as the ground clearance is not that high. </div><div><br /></div><div>Overall, still it's a good car. My wifey certainly liked it and said that she would certainly learn how to drive car provided if I book Nano for her! Personally I feel it's a car more suitable for women, eldery people as they would definitely treat the car with kid's glove. <br /></div>lokeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16471593827876335731noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23338497.post-88160054785011385852008-11-30T21:38:00.003+05:302008-12-01T19:12:02.059+05:30Enough is enough!Frustration. Anger. Helplessness. It had been a very emotional 3 days for me as I watched Mumbai attacked, yet again. And as the attack unfolded & counter attack started, I wondered what would be India’s view after all this gets over? Will the usual ‘famed Mumbai spirit’ & the usual clichés of the city’s resilience to get on with life start ringing again? But this time even Mumbaikars shouted back. Enough is enough. Damn the clichés. Life moves on but are our lives taken for granted by the guys whom we have elected? The home minister of Mumbai has the audacity to state that ‘such incidents happen in big cities’ and that too in a press conference. Felt like puking over the *****. Does the guy even know the magnitude of this attack? The guy then ranted about a committee being formed to investigate. Fucking Bullshit. I am sure a committee must’ve been formed even during 2006 train blasts. If that’s not all, I wonder what really drove Narendra Modi to even think of having a press conference on day 2 of the attack. How can someone even think of politicizing the whole issue!! Till the other day, BJP, MNS and the clan were pointing fingers on ATS chief Karkare and today they have put up boards across the city saluting him as martyrs and letting the commoner know that these boards have been put up by them – with the larger than life sized party logos of theirs. It came as a no surprise that Karkare’s family refused compensation from Narendra Modi. As the NSG mopped up the operation, in process losing out on 3 brave men – all from different parts of the country, I wonder what would Raj Thakrey say now? His ‘sons of the soil’ vaanar sena didn’t turn up to save Mumbai from the ‘outsiders’. The real men who lost their lives to save Mumbai were from North & South India. But when they entered in the hotel they were not fighting for Mumbai. They were fighting for India. The citizens who voiced their views yesterday on many channels echoed similar sentiments but sadly, vote politics is not driven by ‘elitist or English speaking rational people’ of the society.<br /><br />I am a Maharashtrian born & brought up in Delhi. A core North Indian but still I am a Mumbaikar. It’s the city where I have spent the most wonderful 4 years of my professional life. It’s the city which is still close to my heart and will always remain so. And why only me; the city belongs to each and every Indian citizen. And as the city laid under siege, sitting in Pune I just cried in pain. Clearly the administration has not learnt the lessons and I am sure – they never will. But now the time has come for them to sit up listen to the growing voices of angry citizens who have lost hope with the system. Some day the scars on the Taj, Nariman house & the Oberoi would heal, the blood would be washed; all telltale signs of the burnt place would be erased but what about the voices of the innocent dead victims? Won’t they haunt us each time we pass from those iconic places? They say public memory is short. The people who man the system might live in that belief but this time it won’t be forgotten so soon. The country wants some hard answers. Mumbai wants some answers.lokeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16471593827876335731noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23338497.post-75742521602564784042008-10-28T11:54:00.002+05:302008-10-28T12:02:13.954+05:30Ladakh VacationWish you all a very warm & happy diwali. Off late, I had been very lazy in updating my blog. More than lazy, I'll say I had been too tied up with work & transition that had been happening at work, role and personal life. To escape from it all and bring focus back, I had cut myself off from work, emails, cell phones, laptop and escaped to Ladakh for 2 week break. It had been really refreshing and it has helped me in focusing on few things which i intend to plan & aim for in coming few months. Will share about my Leh experience and the transition that I am going thru in other posts.lokeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16471593827876335731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23338497.post-74264198789127705602008-09-11T15:19:00.003+05:302008-09-11T15:41:53.882+05:309.11.2001..Still remember that night. Me, Tanuj, his wife and few friends of ours were chilling out in Buzz at Saket, Delhi. Amidst the loud music and conversations over booze, we saw the silent images of aeroplanes crashing into World Trade Centre being showed on TV. The entire gathering their watched in amazement as the videos kept replaying. The flow of booze stopped. The music died out as someone switched on the volume of the TV. We forgot our conversations and got glued to the TV. The next 1 hr in Buzz was surreal - no music, no normal chitchat - as we witnessed the world being changed.<br /><br />I still remember that night.lokeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16471593827876335731noreply@blogger.com0