Dummy - 1st Stop!!

In Agile, development & testing is a collaborative effort

2010-04-27T04:49:00.000-07:00

I am new to Agile but have been reading a lot about Agile lately and suddenly it has become a buzzword for me. Not that I had not heard about it before but it’s only recently that I am actively following it by way of group discussions, reading articles, etc. In fact, a lot of understanding has come purely from sharing real-life issues that we face in our projects and then by discussing the same issues in the Agile context. In other words, we do a ‘what if’ analysis of the issue thereby enlightening ourselves on how Agile could address the issues posed by traditional development methodologies like ‘Waterfall’.

In one of such discussions, we came across a scenario where in some project (following Waterfall methodology) the Test team is reluctant about sharing the Test Cases with the development team, huh? Yes. And the rationale behind that is very simple – ‘KRA’ or the team’s performance in terms of the number of defects raised; more the number of defects logged better is the performance. It’s sad but the whole objective of testing in this case is completely negated as the test team is focusing primarily on finding defects as opposed to contributing towards improving the quality of the end product.

Subsequently, one of the question that was raised in this discussion was that if the test team creates the test cases and shares the same with development team then how & what the test team will test since the chances of finding the defects will become almost zero. Sharing the test cases, in my opinion, could become the biggest strength of the project team as it would surely lead to increased customer satisfaction in turn. So, instead of focusing on finding the defect, the tester could focus on improving the quality. Just like transitioning from traditional methodologies to Agile requires a mind shift, the way Agile looks at testing requires a big mind shift as Agile focuses on collaborative development and testing is considered an integral part.

In fact, Agile says that you should test early & test often thereby reducing the chances of failure at a later stage. So definitely, unlike in a Waterfall setup, the test team isn’t expected to wait till the entire feature is developed which will only increase the rework effort. But instead, the test team is expected to collaborate with the developers, share their views, test cases, etc. and ensure that the developed code is an output of a collaborative effort which has addressed all the potential failure scenarios in advance. Also, we have seen that as a tester one is ideally interested in failing the build and send it back for fixing but that shouldn’t be the objective, right?

Often, the culture that an organization has established plays a very significant role in how a project team works. An organization, in general, should define KRAs which encourages the team to work collaboratively and dissuade them from working towards individual performance only. As Henry Ford has said “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”.

Here, the developer is getting benefited as the code quality has eventually improved but what about the tester? If the code quality is good, the customer will find it difficult to find defects which will result in higher satisfaction &; confidence in the project team (remember project team includes developer & tester too). And if the team is credited for the product’s success, both developer & the tester will share the credit and not just the developer. Similarly, if the customer has reported critical defects in the delivered build, both the developer & the tester should jointly share the responsibility, introspect & implement the learning in the future iterations. Remember, it’s about working collaboratively instead of playing a blame game. Or as Agile says “We are all in it together.”.

You may want to ask – how will the tester’s performance be measured if he/she has raised hardly any defects. The answer is – who cares? The collaborative effort resulted in a positive feedback from the customer and if the quality of service was rated at ‘4’ out of ‘5’, both the developer & tester have performed at ‘4’ I would say. And since the tester has been regularly testing the builds, the cost of fixing went down significantly. This is again a major contribution towards a successful release & increasing the customer satisfaction.

But what if the developer claims that his code was indeed better quality and he should be given the credit for the success? In that case the developer needs some coaching as he/she is not ‘Agile’. If the tester has actually not contributed significantly, then it’s a different issue which needs to be handled differently.

Lastly, in Agile, separate testing team is considered an ‘antipattern’.

I would be glad to receive comments (positive/negative) and inputs which will help us improve our knowledge on the topic.

Prototype vs Wireframe | Factors to consider

2010-01-22T01:52:00.000-08:00

As we all know that wireframes are good for capturing unstructured requirements and they provide a window where such requirements can be best fitted in. Whereas, prototypes are like WYSIWYG tools i.e., brings you more closer to the end behavior of the system, since they can showcase layouts, look'n'feel and also interaction points.

Following are the factors which one should consider to identify the right candidate (wireframe vs prototype or even both) for your requirement —

Prototypes are helpful when you want to create & present a feature, design, screens, etc. along with some functionality. For example: A dynamic shopping cart along with some flavor of how the user will be able to interact with it. While wireframes, due to their static behavior, can be developed to present ideas along with some supporting documentation like Design Specs or Requirements Specs, etc.
Develop prototypes when customer is expecting a working model of the end product but settle for wireframes if the expectations are limited.
If the customer or its team is technically inclined then go for wireframes as its a faster, neat & cost effective approach of presenting the ideas. However, if the situation is otherwise then avoid scope for imagination & perception as your ideas presented in the form of wireframes may not be interpreted exactly the way they should be.
Usually in content development (E-Learning) projects, prototyping approach is recommended and the team finalizes the UI & navigation with the customer after a couple of iterations. Also, usually multiple options of UI are presented while keeping the basic layout treatment & elements similar across the options.
I personally believe that a couple of wireframes depicting various layouts & look'n'feel shall be developed prior to presenting the UI and prototype shall be the last in this queue. This reduces the risk of prototype or the UI from undergoing several rounds of changes; usually most tedious tasks are the ones which are related to changes in the layout (positioning of the elements on the screen) or even the type of elements used.
Sometimes when you have a well prepared customer and the requirements are well documented, you receive the specs along with use cases, etc to start with. In such cases, if the specs are covered well and there is not much scope for ambiguity then developing a prototype need not be required. Instead, the requirements document could be topped with wireframes (though optional) wherever suitable just to introduce better clarity.

There would definitely be other factors also which could be considered while selecting the correct option so depending on the exact scenario, you should weigh your options and approach the requirements accordingly for an effective & efficient output.

Touch Magic

2010-01-19T04:05:00.000-08:00

We have seen & have also probably used many touch-screen devices like phones, kiosks, etc since so long. And everyone surely owns a 'mouse' as well to click, double-click or to scroll through our daily PC experience. Now combine both, touch-screen & mouse, into a single product and you get what? Come on, a touch-screen mouse of course :) Doesn't it sound like an incredible product?

Well, lets talk about it a bit more about it before we conclude if it's a great stuff. But even before that lets first take a quick look at how it looks like...

Just gorgeous, right!! But where are the buttons? No wires too. Oops, I forgot it's has touch-screen interface and works on bluetooth so no more messy wires.

And you have to use some quick finger gestures to get your odd tasks done. Like -

Tap anywhere to click, double-click
Swipe with two fingers to navigate through the pages
Brush your fingers across to scroll horizontally or vertically.

I am sure by now you would already be tempted to know more about this amazing product called Magic Mouse by Apple. Yes, unsurpisingly its an Apple product and what a product it is.

I am definitely loving it & want one for myself. It comes bundled with iMac but can be purchased (for $69) separately as well.

[Images sourced from http://www.apple.com]

HTML5 | A Quick Introduction

2010-01-12T21:51:00.000-08:00

HTML5? Who is worried about HTML's version anyways? You must be wondering as to why should you or anyone be concerned about HTML when we are usually focused on .Net, JAVA, Flash, Flex, etc. Continue reading to find the answer and you will realize what HTML5 has in store for us and why we should be looking forward to it. Don't worry if you are not a developer as this article primarily focuses on HTML5's offerings and not on the syntax or the markup, etc.

Firstly, HTML5 is a major upgrade to the existing HTML 4.01 specification and trust me when I say 'major', it's actually a big take-off from what we use & see on the web. And don't be surprised to know that probably lot of us are already using browsers, like Firefox & Chrome, which in fact support (some if not all) HTML5 specifications. A lot of experiments & beta applications built using HTML5 standards are available online but as the specification is not rolled out completely, you won't get to experience a full-fledged web application soon. One of the biggest & most popular web application or a platform Google Wave is actually leveraging a lot of HTML5 features and if you have used 'Google Wave' then you would surely appreciate HTML5's offerings.

What's new in HTML5 then?

Drag-n-Drop functionality - earlier achieved by DHTML or by embedding Flash movies
Extended Local Storage - a logical extension of cookies but allows lots of MBs of data; can be used to make your web applications work in offline mode as well.
For example: GMail can be accessed even if the user is not connected to the internet. This is achieved by using extended local storage to save mail data, etc.
Canvas Element - a new element introduced in HTML5 which allows the developers to create a MS Paint like drawing application. Checkout this experiment where this new element has been extensively & very effectively used. Also, to read more about this experiment, you can jump to this article on my blog.
New Parsing Rules - a move to do away SGML legacy allowing flexibility in parsing the HTML content.
Native Audio & Video Content - this is a great addition since this will allow the developers & designers to look beyond Flash & focus on the content as opposed to the technology (Flash). The web developers will be able to embed the audio/video content directly without having to depend on Flash Player or other plugins as there will native support for multimedia content while allowing JavaScript to control the playback of the same.
Other inclusions are -
- Inline SGML & MathML
- New elements like article, section, aside, header, footer, nav, etc. have been introduced for a better semantic document structure. For a complete list, jump to this link.
- Some new input elements like date, datetime, time, url, email, search, color, etc.

Of course, the above list is not a complete list but just an introduction to what's lies ahead in the near future. All I can say is that the future of HTML is very bright and the developers will definitely enjoy the new flavor while it's time for browsers to gear up to stay ahead in the race.

Sketchpad - A Google Chrome Experiment

2010-01-08T00:44:00.000-08:00

Some artistic experiments with an excellent Google Chrome experiment called Sketchpad; a HTML5 & Javascript based web application which works well with Firefox also. I am proud of the results but more than that I am proud about the team behind Sketchpad.

Comparison | Internet Speed (Source: Digg)

2010-01-08T00:14:00.000-08:00

Ever wondered how well does your broadband speed compare with others in the neighborhood. We often do such comparisons but checkout the graphic below which shows a high-level comparison of broadband penetration, cost, speed, etc. across the world.

[Source: Digg.com | Internet Speeds And Costs From Around The World]

Designing Wireframes | Using Axure RP Pro

2010-01-06T00:34:00.000-08:00

A lot many times when we are gathering the requirements from the customer or when we are transitioning the knowledge to the team or even brainstorming, we feel the need to create wireframes, either static or working wireframes for more clarity & bringing common understanding. In situations like these, we look back at our HTML experts or the graphics team to create some UI mockups, etc.

This involves a lot of discussions and exchange of ideas which need not get interpreted exactly we would want them to. Then as knowledge transitioner, we start developing frustration & would often exclaim to yourself - if I could do this myself, I would have had done it much better. I believe, lot of us have gone through such a phase at some point of time.

Let's talk about another scenario where we are expected to deliver prototypes in a very short timeline and we are hardpressed to work extra time, review, make modifications & come out with a refined output at the end of the wireframing exercise. Each time a situation like this arises, we dive into our regular development tools and usually (if not always) produce a half baked output which we expect our customers to sign-off on. Now, if the output itself is not complete, how a customer is going to provide a comprehensive feedback and all that we receive is changes, followed by a change request in the later stages of the development cycle.

Secondly, if the application (web or desktop) is UI intensive and a lot of focus needs to be levied on the usability aspects, an important aspect which is usually ignored, then it's the development team's onus to ensure that such aspects are discussed & finalized with the business users in advance. After all, no customer would want to see a change request being raised at a later stage when these changes could have been part of the original requirement itself. Some of us, as Project Managers & above, however tend to depend on Change Requests for revenues which is awful way of maintaining customer relationship.

What if we had a simple, intuitive & rapid development tool for creating wireframes, flows & prototypes? We would definitely want one for sure, right!! Once such tool which I noticed & tried is Axure RP Pro 5.6. Here is a short list of how it can help us in the situations discussed above -

Easy to use interface which can be rearranged to suit your preferences.
Automatically creates a 'Sitemap' which is easily manageable using right-click context menu.
Easily convert a page from 'Wireframe' to a 'Flow'.
Drag-n-drop 'Widgets' (objects or elements) to create your wireframes.
Easily add 'Cases' (interactions or events) to the objects in the page; Axure presents a simple yet very extensive wizard to help you easily add required interactions.
Add various UI elements like images, textfields, drop-down lists, tables, horizontal/vertical/tree menus, checkboxes, radio buttons & more..

And of course, you can add cases/interactions to each of these elements using the wizard we discussed above.
Manage size & other attributes using 'Layout & Size' panel located to the right side of the layout view.
A MS Powerpoint-like feature called 'Masters', available to the left of the layout view, can also be created and applied to the pages ; a pretty time-saving feature for sure.
Easily create 'Prototype' and/or 'Specification' as the final output; no need to spend additional effort on documentation, wow!!
Share projects with team and work collaboratively.

Now you know the features, so what's next?

You can compare to see how it fares against other tools which we use usually at http://www.axure.com/compareFeatures.aspx.
Or learn more about it by taking a quick tour at http://www.axure.com/tour.aspx.
This simple yet amazing tool can be downloaded (trial version) from http://www.axure.com/downloads.aspx.

Google Search | Interesting Bites (Part I)

2010-01-04T23:13:00.000-08:00

Not sure if you have noticed the recent changes on Google’s home page. The change is simple, minimalistic and a very good change indeed. If you hop on to Google’s webpage, you usually starting typing in the keywords you want to see the results for and usually we tend to overlook other elements on the home page; except for the constantly changing Google logo. Partly, the reason is/was that the Google has stuck to a minimalistic UI while providing maximum to the user. They have taken this one step ahead towards being simply simple.

Checkout the screenshot below. You will notice a clean UI with Google’s colorful logo and just the search panel with two regular buttons which you can skip if you are used to hitting 'Enter' on the keyboard.

Only when you move your mouse, the UI transforms & rest of the elements start appearing (see the following screenshot) providing you with other options/tools you may need. Quite a simple effect yet very efficient & productive use. And Google has done it with quite an elegance by not being loud about it at all. It’s been heard that it was introduced as a trial run but because of a great positive feedback, it will be retained forever.

Here are some of other Google Search facts which would have gone unnoticed –
Different search suggestions for different Google search sites. For example: for google.com, when searched for “programming”, you will see a different list of suggestions than what you will see for google.co.in. Checkout the next few screenshots below.

Auto-suggest with text & images (smart suggestions) become available as soon as you start typing in the search box. In the example below, Google recognizes the text & translates the suggestions into a useful result list which not only offers you search options but also provides you a visual weather forecast without requiring to hit ‘Enter’ or a click on the search button. Cool, right?

Another time saving feature is demonstrated in the screenshot below. Let’s say you want to check out latest currency exchange rate, you will usually type “exchange rate conversion” or “currency rate convertor”, etc. But next time, simply try “1 USD =” and Google will automatically pop out list of suggestions including the conversion, just like in the example below, for you in your local currency (Indian Rupees in this case). However, you will have to do a bit of trial-and-error in order to see appropriate results but it would be worth experimenting.

Again, no need to launch a conversion tool or an online application, just type the distance unit and it provides you with the results in the most widely used conversion unit.

Let’s take a look at another scenario where you are searching for flights flying out of Mumbai to New York and as usual, you hit the Google search page and start tying in. And upon hitting search, the results page shows you some sponsored links (which I usually ignore) and immediately next what you see is an interactive link. Yes, an interactive link, unlike other links which you need not follow directly. Instead, it allows you to enter departure & return dates then & there itself and finally select your favorite travel site from the list provided. It definitely is a great use of search engine coupled with smart interactive search results which further enhance your online experience. What do you say?

If I may say, these are just few observations. Do return back for the next part of this article where I will be sharing some more bites (interesting ones, of course).

Useful Online Tools (Part - II)

2009-12-21T04:02:00.000-08:00

If you haven't read the previous part(s) of this blog, please follow the Useful Online Tools (Part - I) .

Etherpad: Etherpad, much like Google Wave, allows you to collaboratively edit (in realtime) & maintain documents online. Edits entered by authors are highlighted in colors indicating who typed what. One of the great features of this tool is that it allows you to export the saved documents in Word, PDF, etc. formats.

However, they are not accepting new registrations as Etherpad has been acquired by Google Wave and migration is being executed. You can still visit their website and explore by creating public documents.

Doodlewatch: It's not really a tool but a great location to explore & see all the Google's fabulous logo creations. Logos are assimilated here & allow the users to not only view related information but also allows you to rate each logo. The website provides you with an ensemble of Google logos right from the start till the latest ones published for all the countries for various occasions. It definitely is a treat to browse through the logos and it acts as a knowledge gainer also.

Some free online website creation tools are listed below -

Google Voice - Demystified

2009-12-17T00:16:00.000-08:00

I may surely sound like a Google fan to you all as most of my posts discuss Google technologies usually. Well, I surely am getting closer to becoming a fan I must admit as it’s a great pleasure to write for Google and their technologies which are not just path-breaking but extremely innovative too.

In this article, I am going to give you a quick heads up on somewhat-new-still-in-beta technology or a service called Google Voice which was announced early this year. Just like many other Google products, this service is also available through an invite only and fortunately I was sent an invite a few months later itself.

Okay, so what is Google Voice, anyways? You will be surprised to know that it is primarily a telecommunication service. Telecom & Google, what’s-going-on-here you must be thinking, right? Yes, that’s the reaction you will usually get from other readers also. Google Voice allows you, upon signup, to select a local U.S. phone number (which however depends on the state & the city you are located in) for free.

So, is it basically just a virtual telephone? No, it has lot more to offer than your conventional phone does. Surely it allows you to receive incoming calls and make outgoing calls but does it with a difference. Let’s setup a quick scenario here –

Mr. A is a small time businessman based out of New York.
His business requires him to place lot of long distance calls, using his business phone, almost on a daily basis.
He also owns a cell phone which is primarily for personal use only.

Now, let’s build scenario further by adding some before & after scenarios:

Before - Google Voice

Mr. A has shared his business phone number with his customers, business partners, etc.
He has not shared his personal cell phone number with them as it is for personal use.
When not in office, he cannot receive business calls unless a call forwarding facility is setup which definitely comes at a cost.
He also has to get back in office to review the voice mails recorded by his business phone.
When he is travelling outside the home network, he has to have his calls diverted from his business phone to his personal cell phone to be able to stay in touch with his customers; again cost is involved.

After - Google Voice

Mr. A has setup Google Voice which allowed him to select a local number.
He shares this number with customers & business folks, etc.
He receives the calls from them on his mobile also when he not in his office even.
Or if he opts not to take the call as he is having dinner with his cool chic, he returns back home and browses through his voice mailbox.
While travelling out for a short trip to his grandma’s home in Ohio, he takes his calls on the local landline number at his grandma’s house.

Whoa, so very confusing!! Yes, I am sure you would be feeling puzzled by now so let’s decrypt & differentiate the scenarios we just discussed and see how the ‘after’ scenario will work wonders for Mr. A.

Firstly, Google Voice allows Mr. A to not just select a local number but also allows you to configure the forwarding facility which lets you receive calls on any of the numbers configured by him. In our scenario, the business phone as well as his cell phone start ringing anytime his customer calls on his Google Voice number.
Secondly, as most of his customers belong to a neighboring state, he has selected a Google Voice number which his customers can access locally without need for any long distance calling facility; again cost saved for the customers is business won for self, I would say.
After returning back, Mr. A reconfigures his Google Voice account to forward the calls to his business phone & the cell phone instead.

How did Mr. A benefit from Google Voice facility? The benefits are numerous –

A single number which can be shared while maintaining other numbers unexposed/private.
The same single number represents all your other phones and when you receive call on the Google Voice number, you are notified on all other configured phones as all those phones ring simultaneously hence you never miss a call.
Make long distance international calls through Google Voice using your regular phone or through web interface at low rates.
Receive voicemails directly in your Google Voice inbox and replay them at your convenience anytime.
Record calls so you always have a track of your important business discussions.
Call forwarding is fully configurable allowing you to choose which phones to ring and you can even define rules or filters.

You can benefit too. But unfortunately, this service is limited to US (limited regions) only but we shall wait to experience another great & innovative approach from Google.

Till then, keep reading…

Useful Online Tools (Part - I)

2009-12-14T06:38:00.000-08:00

No doubt Google leads the way when it comes to porting applications to the web thereby making the applications not just free but available for everyone to use from almost anywhere. From Google Docs to Gmail, Google provides you with enough tools to make your online presence more prominent & useful.

However, Google is not the only one with such an ambition. In fact, there is a whole collection of other options, applications, tools available online which can be put in use in everyday life and could eventually become a part of your work culture itself.

Let’s quickly explore in brief some of such online applications –

Zoho Apps: Zoho is a suite of productivity, collaboration business apps which can be accessed online. To start with, the suite includes –

Mail: Web-based Email Service
Writer: Online Word Processor
Sheet: Spreadsheets
Show: Online Presentation
Docs: Online Document Management
Notebook: Online Note Taker
Wiki: Online Collaboration Wiki Site
Share: Centralized Public Repository
Planner: Online Organizer
Chat: Make Group Decisions Faster

Aviary: Aviary.com presents a host of image editing, vector creation & editing, audio editing tools online and all you need is Flash player equipped browser to start with. Hop on, register for free and take the plunge.

Gliffy: Again, a very good showcase for Flash technology & its powerful engine. Gliffy is basically a very focused tool allowing the users to easily create professional quality diagrams, flowcharts, drawings, etc. MS Visio is what one would usually use but when you are in dire need of a diagramming tool and unfortunately you are not carrying your necessities (I meant your loaded laptop) then try Gliffy. And I am sure you would be not only surprised to find it quite intuitive to work with but also find it easier to transition from Visio to Gliffy & vice-versa almost effortlessly.

Checkout again later for more such online tools.

Google Wave

2009-12-14T04:04:00.000-08:00

Google Wave!! A lot has been talked about the Google’s latest adventure trip Wave and some have already labeled it as the next big thing in the web arena. At the same time there is a lot of lingering confusion in some sections of the users who have heard of the new wave but are unable to figure out if this wave will be able to make a splash just the way other Google technologies have done so far. So, definitely there is a mixed reaction but at the same time it’s apparent that Google Wave in its nascent stage itself has already been able to successfully create required amount of hysteria amongst the developer community and the web users alike.

Is Wave just a collaboration tool? Yes! But no, it need not be considered a tool only as its being touted as a platform which allows utilization of cloud computing to efficiently collaborate email, messaging service, various other applications & APIs to provide a sophisticated new web-based service platform; lot of jargons, huh?

In simple words, it merges your regular email, instant messaging & documentation tool in a single email like format. The Wave treats each wave (each email) as a live document which can be addressed to a specific set of recipients allowing single, some or all the recipients to edit any/some part of the wave concurrently thereby creating communication threads. That sounds cool, right? Well, this kind of collaboration has already been there in the past also for example – Google chat (GTalk) within Gmail, Orkut, etc. But then how is it different than what we have seen so far.

Since each wave is basically an editable document, it allows the wave users (recipients) to maintain a single document comprising all the required information at a central location for edits, reviews, approvals, etc. Unlike an email, a wave starts expanding/contracting as and when new edits are introduced thereby eliminating the need for going through the endless mail trails which hit our mailboxes whenever a communication is started requiring multiple recipients to participate, provide inputs, review & approve the final version.

What’s the big deal about instant messaging here then? Well, the most interesting & intriguing part of this new platform is that each wave functions as a threaded conversation (remember, users can edit parts of the wave) which can be extended by the users by responding to a particular thread. Also, the wonderful part of this experience is that the online users can see parts of the wave being edited in real time as they are being typed providing complete visibility which can be used for tracking later using its playback feature.

Let’s see a quick simple example – ‘A’, ‘B’ , ‘C’ , D‘’ , ‘E’ , ‘F’ & ‘G’ need to go out for dinner and ‘A’ initiates a discussion thread to decide which restaurant to visit for the same. If ‘A’ is typing “where to go for the dinner tonight” then ‘B’, ‘D’ & ‘G’ could instantly respond with their suggestions in real time just like an instant message. ‘C’ & ‘F’ reply to the same later (once they get online) and voila, all of them could now see the final single wave/document/email to see what’s the unanimous dinner destination to go for. Thinking about ‘E’? ‘E’ opts out of the plan and responds to the wave asking all others to kindly excuse him. Imagine, this simple example in a non-Wave world where either all of them ‘A’, ‘B’, etc. would have to be either online at the same time or would be required to exchange numerous mails and eventually spend endless effort to figure out what’s the final destination has been selected and if all the participants are joining in or not.

If wave is a document, then does it allow embedding media elements? Yes, it very much does and does it with lot of elegance in fact. Each wave can have text with embedded images, videos & even maps which can be easily shared with wave recipients and the recipients can view the same directly in the wave itself. You can create a group photo album, share it with your group & also allow the group members to update the album by adding their photos too. Sharing at its best, still thinking of Picasa, Flickr anyone?

What are other salient features of the Google Wave?

Allows for easy document control & versioning.
Open source platform allows extensibility for endless possibilities.
A wave could either be used as an email, document, as an instant message without requiring the users to switch actually.
More & more Wave APIs will eventually become available for the developer community to build extensions, mashups & provide greater uses to the end-users.
On the surface, it’s basically an HTML 5 web application built using Google Web Toolkit but will eventually be adopted as a new protocol which may replace email protocol to an extent , if not completely.

Important/Useful Related Links –

Wikipedia’s definition of Google Wave:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Wave
Screenshots/Videos:
http://sites.google.com/a/pressatgoogle.com/googlewave/home/screenshots-and-media-5
Invitation Request page:
https://services.google.com/fb/forms/wavesignup/
When to use Google Wave:
http://wave.google.com/help/wave/using-wave.html
Developer Preview at Google IO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_UyVmITiYQ
Overview Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6pgxLaDdQw
Featured Extensions:
http://wave.google.com/help/wave/extensions.html

Disclaimer: The thoughts presented above need not be considered as the ultimate guide and need not be treated as official endorsement by any means.

iPhone Widgets

2007-12-14T13:10:00.000-08:00

With iPhone out in the market, I am waiting for the developers to come out with Widgets for iPhone. I know Apple has not released the SDK yet and widgets out in the market would probably have compatibility issues but it would be worth trying.

Although I don't own a iPhone, I am pretty much interested in researching the web and learn about the widgets which could possibly be available for download and work successfully with iPhone. You must be wondering what the hell I would do with the widgets without an iPhone. I a way, I am shopping for my yet-to-be-found girl friend :o) Crazy, huh?

iPhone mania is not just limited to the pre-installed features and applications it runs. Do a google search and it will throw you a million results. Man, its just too crazy bcoz its been just 2 days since iPhone made a debut and you already have hundreds of websites offering iPhone apps. But are they for real?

Well, you will find widgets for Dashboard, for Safari on Mac and for Safari on iPhone too. And there are certain articles which will teach you how to design and develop your own widgets for iPhone. I am not sure when my wait would be over and I would be a proud iPhone owner.

iPhone is finally here

2007-06-30T11:27:00.000-07:00

I know the post is coming in too late and its been ages since the iPhone was launched. Ages? Yes, looking at the hysteria behind iPhone, it feels as it has been in the market since quite a long time. Sometimes in the form of rumors, sometimes photoshop mockups but this time its for real.

Friday, the 29th of June 2007 marked the entry of a revolution in the mobile market with the launch of iPhone. iPhone is not just another multmedia, internet enabled cell phone but its an experience which will redefine the future. With its gorgeous looks, innovative features and excellent graphical user interface (GUI), Apple has marked the dawn of a new era once again.

Click here to watch the video for a guided tour of this amazing device which will transform the way we talk, listen to music, browse the Internet and most of them all the way we touch our mobile phone. Its gonna be a very sexy experience for sure.

Unfortunately, this incredible piece is available only in US with AT&T service only. So, rest of the world will have to wait still.

Google Gadgets

2007-06-30T01:26:00.000-07:00

This time around, I am going all Google. Read on to join the frenzy...

Well, the Internet brings you surprises/innovations everyday and Google has emerged has a pioneer in innovating web technologies. While browsing through some lazy websites, I just hopped on this amazing Google gadget world which I wasn't really aware of since so long. What a waste of time I have been doing till now.

Its amazing that over 90% of Google users are purely information mongers and are almost unaware of the wealth of innovative ideas Google has introduced since its inception in 1999. No wonder, Google has been giving Microsoft & Yahoo a tough competition ever since we started Googling. This search giant changed the way we look at and use search engines. Simple interface, quick search results and great relevancy is what made this newcomer a giant in no time.

I think enough of what Google is and anyways everyone has read about its success n number of times in the past. Coming back to Gadgets :) A Google Gadget is a simple combination of some HTML, JavaScript code & Flash, etc. which can be inserted in your webpage or a blog. This not only allows a rookie website developer add some gloss and glitter to its very own internet space but also keeps the visitors engrossed. How? Keep reading...

Building your own website for free
Its not difficult for one to imagine and innovate or discover but the real challange lies in simplicity. Consider a layman eager to develop a new website on its own, without any knowledge of basic HTML & web scripting. Its possible!! No, you don't need to hire a developer or a webmaster to manage and maintain the site. Here is the list of tools you can use to develop your very own website:

Google Page Creator
Want to create an online photo tour of your vacation to Bali? An overview of the South American precipitation cycle for your science class? A shrine to your pet ferret?

Now's your chance. We're testing a new product that makes creating your own web pages as easy as creating a document in a word processor. Google Page Creator is a free tool that lets you create web pages right in your browser and publish them to the web with one click. There's no software to download and no web designer to hire. The pages you create are hosted on Google servers and are available at http://yoursitename.googlepages.com for the world to see.
Google Gadgets
From news to tools, communication to tecnology, finance to games, you will all find it here and jazz up your website with these little thingies.
Google Maps
> Add Google Maps to your public website for all the world to see
> Build your own map mashup applications that display your data on a Google map
> API documentation and community support
> Completely free
Google Search
Yes, you can add search feature right in your own website without knowing A,B,C, of coding.
And many more...

Gadgets: World Is Changing

2007-06-29T12:26:00.000-07:00

The world seems to be constantly inching towards a all techno less human era where humans will be called humanoids in the near future. Needless to say, our next generation will hardly get to perform routine tasks the way we do today.

A decade ago, the mobile revolution took the world by storm but today it has become a necessity and one can hardly imagine without having one. Such is the impact of the technology and we have not just embraced the technology but have become one with it.

Call it invention or an outcome of necessity, you get to see a new technology or a gadget making its way in the market almost every day. To cater to an ever growing demand for information on such gadgets, Internet is playing a pivotal role by way of blogs, review sites, info-portals, etc.

I am a tech-savvy person and have always been a regular GIZMODO reader. Gizmodo is a regular blog site where you will get to read gadget reviews posted on a daily basis. Blogging has definitely changed the way we post and read news/information or share ideas. Its really amazing as to how technology changes the way you experience the experiences.

Upon reading the posts at Gizmodo, I realized how differently we read information (blogs) these days. Its no more a news post but more of a knowledge sharing experience with a personal, humorous touch. Instantly allowing you to relate to the blogger's ideology as there is no deliberate intention of writing a news article but the idea is to share the knowledge by evaluating the product/service critically too.

Here is a list of some great tech blog spots: