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Posted by
Unknown on Apr 15, 2009
Any discussion on web browsers inevitably centers around
how fast web pages load. We keep saying that a particular website loads faster in a particular browser. Let's try to get why this happens.
While there are a number of factors that determine the page loading time of a web page, one major factor is Javascript performance.
Blogspot bloggers would have a good idea where this comes from. How often have we discarded a javascript coded widget just because it made it almost impossible for the page to load.
Many a times we place all the Javascript code at the bottom of the page source code in order to enable the rest of the page to load faster.
The importance of Javascript performance for a web browser can be understood simply by the fact that the web browsers have interesting names for their Javascript engines.
Have a look :
Google chrome : V8 , I have been using it a lot. The fact that the addressbar itself serves as Google Search is it's USP for me.
Mozilla Firefox : Tracemonkey My favourite browser, simply because of the amazing add-ons owing to open source.
Opera : Futhark (Carakan is coming ) While it's my lifeline on my symbian mobile, the latest desktop version seems to have a little too much. 
Safari : Nitro ( Based on Apple's open source Webkit's
Squirrelfish extreme ) hve to try this one. I keep hearing that it's hot !!
As far as Javascript performance goes Internet Explorer 8 is a non starter when compared to Firefox or Chrome.
Web apps are the future with Google looking to make everything we have on our desktops available in the browser itself and the browser war has extended to the Javascript arena as the alternatives like Adobe's Flash and Flex are not that practical or easy to implement.
I can see only benefits as faster the Javascript loads better the website performs and more web apps can be added.
Before I end this post just have a look at few of the Javascript coded widgets on this page :
1. Footer : Yahoo Badge, Sitemeter, Label Cloud
2. Blogcatalog and Mybloglog widgets
3. Technorati
4. Disqus's recent comments
There are many others and they need to load faster !!
Posted by
Unknown on Apr 8, 2009
Heard about
Gmail Labs
?? I guess many of us haven't. It's the place to test Gmail features being developed and which will be an integral part of Gmail in future.
So, why not try them before others do. All we have to do is :
1. Goto Gmail Setting and click on the Labs tab.
2. Enable the Gmail Lab feature we
want and save changes.
As simple as this. In case something goes wrong :
1. Disable the particular Lab feature the same way we enabled it.
Here are my picks for the best of Gmail Labs :
1. Title Tweaks by Fedor K
Changes order of elements in the browser title bar from "Gmail - Inbox (20) - rakesh2b@gmail.com" to "Inbox (20) - rakesh2b@gmail.com - Gmail". This way we are able to see if a new mail has arrived even if Gmail window is minimized.
2. Undo Send by Yuzo F
Can you believe it !! We can now stop messages from being sent for a few seconds after hitting the send button. My pick for the best Gmail Lab feature.
3. Superstars by Kai H & Julie W
We need to do a few things to get this one right.
Adds additional star icons. After enabling this feature:
1. Go to the "General" Settings page to choose which superstars you wish to use.
2. Use either the keyboard shortcut ('s') or click to rotate through your selected superstars.
3.
Use the search
operator "has:" to find all messages with your superstar (e.g. "has:red-bang", "has:blue-star"). Learn the name of a superstar by hovering over its image in the "General" Settings page.
4. Pictures in chat by Dave C
We can see our friends' profile pictures when we chat with them.
5. Signature tweaks by Keith C and Dave C
Places our signature before the quoted text in a reply, and removes the "--" line that appears before signatures.
6. Random Signature by Chad P
Rotates among random quotations for our email signature.
7. Location in Signature by Marco B
Appends our location to your signature. We must have your signature enabled.
A signature can be anything from a quote to your website's address which will appear in evry mail you send. To enable it GoTo Gmail Settings, General Tab and type in your Signature.
So, get started. Make your Gmail your own and unique and at the same time contribute to it's development.
Posted by
Unknown on Jan 1, 2009
In Brief : One of my favourite past-time is Downloading flv videos from Youtube, Metacafe and a host of terrific up and coming video streaming sites.
These are what I think the 3 best ways to download online streaming videos as and when you find them on the web.
1. This one works the best for me. I use Internet Download Manager, a download manager as the name suggests. It's USP is it can grab any file (almost) from the web.
- Install IDM (It will integrate with Internet Explorer and Mozilla, not with Chrome)
- Open the IDM
- Click on Options
- Add the extension of file you want in file-type (flv in our case)
- Click OK
Next time you play a video on youtube it will automatically prompt you to download !!
2. You can use the VideoDownloader Extension in Mozilla. Download speed (all other parameters being the same) is slower than the first method. Also you need to keep the browser open and can't resume the download from last postion, unlike in the first case.
3. A no. of sites where you can paste the link to download. My pick is Keepvid.
4. Techcrunch also offers the youtube downloader as widget. You can have it for your blog !!
For a list of such websites, read more....
In Detail : Best sites to download online flv videos.
Posted by
Unknown on Dec 24, 2008
In Brief :
It's christmas time and there is a long list of pending movies and tv-shows. For all you tv/movie addicts out there, here is my list of top 4
blogspot favourites to watch and download tv shows and movies.
4 top
tv-series and movie download blogger blogs : - http://all-about-ngage.blogspot.com/
- http://watchnewmoviesnow.blogspot.com/
- http://www.yourpcmovies.blogspot.com/
- http://episodes-tv.blogspot.com/
To know more read in detail below....
In Detail :
1. http://all-about-ngage.blogspot.com/ : This one is a hot favourite. Get anything from tv shows, movies to mobile videos and softwares for Symbian platform. The site has direct download links as well as files hosted on Netload and Filebase.
2. http://watchnewmoviesnow.blogspot.com/ : Find all the latest movies and tv episodes you missed. The files are hosted on zshare, bitroad and supernovatube. Easy and fast download.
3. http://www.yourpcmovies.blogspot.com/ : This one is for movies. Amazing collection of movies. The good news is a lot of direct downoad links.
4. http://episodes-tv.blogspot.com/ : This one is for your tv needs. Choose from rapidshare, megaupload, netload and filefactory links. 
Merry Christmas !!
Posted by
Unknown on Dec 17, 2008
In Brief : Wikipedia launched it's mobile version yesterday. I too launched the mobile version (
http://simple2learn.mofuse.mobi/) of my blog yesterday, thanks to mofuse.com
I have been using a nokia N70 (Symbian 60 v2 OS) since last one year and it has been 4 months since I have been a regular mobile-internet user . The speed ranges from ok to good . It might sound improbable to many but I have been downloading full movies on my mobile with the help of Opera/Netfront browsers and Fget downloader. And yes, I watched the movie Max Payne on my mobile. What I have been doing on a Symbian 60 v2 mobile can be done even better on the Symbian v3+, Windows mobile and iphone.
The point is that mobile internet has come a long way. Everyday there is a significant advance in technology. With 3G supposed to be implemented in India, and mobiles with larger screens hitting the market, it's time to focus on mobile web. Already mobile blogging and monetizing projects are coming up in big way. The major players have all launched their respective mobile versions which load faster and are really easy to use. I guess it's the right time to join the mobile-web bandwagon. Read in detail for my mobile bookmarks...
In Detail :
http://m.google.com
http://m.youtube.com
http://m.yahoo.com
http://m.orkut.com
http://peperonity.com : the ultimate mobile host. numerous user pages. http://moviesmobile.net : all the hollywood/bollywood movies for mobile
http://mjelly.com/ : the best mobile links directory
http://wapedia.mobi : lets you view websites in mobile compatible version
Posted by
Unknown on Dec 15, 2008
In Brief : Netbooks have given mobility an all new meaning. Bridging the gap between handheld devices and laptops, they are creating quite a buzz.
Netbook : A very small, light-weight, low-cost, energy-efficient laptop, primarily used for internet based services such as web browsing, e-mailing and instant messaging. They are also suitable for light use running office and educational software
Subnotebook : A small and lightweight laptop.They generally are found to run full desktop operating systems such as Windows or Linux, rather than specialized software such as Windows CE, Palm OS or Internet Tablet OS.Subnotebooks are smaller than laptops but larger than handheld computers. They often have smaller-sized screens, less than 14 inches, and weigh less than typical laptops, usually being less than 2 kg (4.4 lbs). The savings in size and weight are usually achieved partly by omitting ports or having removable media or optical disc drives.
Notebook : Nothing but the laptop. We all know what a laptop is, right?
Top 10 netbooks....Having difficulty in choosing a netbook. Read in detail
In Detail : http://www.economist.com/science/tq/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12673233
Posted by
Unknown on Dec 11, 2008
In Brief : Google India released zeitgist(spirit of times) report.
- Bollywood actor Katrina Kaif is the most-searched in India.
‘recession’ does not figure among the top search for ‘economic terms’
‘How to reduce weight’ is a major concern among Indians
Goa is everyone’s favourite destination.
Presence of three email services on the mobile query list shows increasing adoption of internet on mobile. People are using their mobiles to email, to check cricket scores, latest news and to know more about Bollywood celebrities.
The increased traffic on the Indian railways website indicated that Indian users would rather go online than stand in long queues at railway stations.
The Sixth Pay Commission was also a popular searchword.
Beijing Olympics and IPL made it to to the fastest rising search term in 2008.
Genelia D’souza of Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na fame was 7th on the list.
Mahatma Gandhi remained the most popular politician, but interestingly Sarah Palin in third place was more ‘searched’ than Obama at the fifth spot.
Sania Mirza topped the sportstars leaving behind Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni. The list includes Christiano Ronaldo, Roger Federer and John Cena.
The second India Zeitgeist report (globally the report is in its 9th year) offers a perspective on the year’s major events and hottest trends based on searches conducted by users in India.
While developing the 2008 report, Google analysed various aspects of the search queries to understand what was on the minds of Internet users in India.
In Detail :
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/katrina-genelia-most-searched/00/21/342872/
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/katrina-kaif-tops-the-most-searched-person-in-google/80277-8.html
Posted by
Unknown on Dec 9, 2008
In Brief :
Make up your mind on internet censorship. The Internet Watch Foundation -- a nonprofit, nongovernment-affiliated organization -- added the Wikipedia page for the Scorpions' 1976 album "Virgin Killer" onto its blacklist Friday. The IWF's concern comes over the image on the album's original cover, which shows a young girl completely nude. Someone had reported the image as inappropriate through the IWF's online submission tool, the organization says, and its internal assessment found the photo to be "a potentially illegal indecent image of a child under the age of 18." The IWF's blacklist is used by the vast majority of British Internet service providers to maintain decency standards for their subscribers. As a result of the ban, affected U.K. Internet users are unable to view the page or access Wikipedia's article editing function.
I think they have gone too far. Form your own opinion. Animal Magnetism is their only album I have in my collection and I think going by the trend they may find it's cover provocative too.
In Detail : Washington Post story
Posted by
Unknown on Nov 25, 2008
In Brief : Rumours have it that Microsoft intends to re-brand its Live Search into Kumo next year.
The company has allegedly already acquired the domain Kumo.com last week
It has been also securing all the other variants of Kumo (.net, .jp, .fr and so on).
All these domains are now being held by CSC Corporate Domains, Microsoft's domain registrar of choice at the moment.
CSC Corporate reportedly picked the domain up from semiconductor equipment supplier Schlumberger, which renounced at the domain a few years ago.
Kumo is the Japanese term for "spider" and "cloud," both words fitting the general idea of search technology.
The acquiring of Kumo.com and other domains for Kumo sparked speculation that Microsoft is making a second re-branding after MSN and Live.com.
Another hint that Microsoft is taking measures to boost Live Search is that it has recently hired Sean Suchter, currently Yahoo's vice president of search technology.
According to the latest data provided by ComScore and Citi Investment Research,
The big question here is whether Kumo.com will have more success that Live.com, which reached a dead end and hasn’t grown in the past few months despite Microsoft’s programs to actually pay users for using the service.
source : http://www.efluxmedia.com/
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Posted by
Unknown on Nov 24, 2008
In Brief : Imagine Cyberspace being extended to outer space !!
Nasa has successfully transmitted images to and from a spacecraft 20 million miles away with a communications system based on the net.
The Disruption-Tolerant Networking (DTN) technology is designed to work across vast distances where response times can be measured in days.
Further tests of DTN are due to take place on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2009.
Read more ... and
more...
Posted by
Unknown
In Brief :
Google's SearchWiki service enables users to get more involved in the system’s search results.
[[[ A wiki is a page or collection of Web pages designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content, using a simplified markup language.
Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites and to power community websites. The collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia is one of the best-known wikis.
Ward Cunningham, developer of the first wiki software, WikiWikiWeb, originally described it as "the simplest online database that could possibly work".]]]
The new customization process lets users change the results’ ranking and also add comments and annotations.
With just a single click you can move the results you like to the top or add a new site.
You can also write notes attached to a particular site and remove results that you don't feel belong. These modifications will be shown to you every time you do the same search in the future. SearchWiki is available to signed-in Google users.
For now, Google users can only change their own search results, but all the notes can be publicly viewed.
In order to edit and customize the search results, users will have to be signed in to their Google accounts. From that point on, all the new features will become available, allowing the complete rearrangement of the search results, the deletion of unhelpful results and also the remarks on the search’s usefulness.
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Posted by
Unknown on Nov 21, 2008
In Brief : Google has launched a newer version of SMS search !!
It comes with new numbers and a host of other features.
Just SMS your query to 9773300000 and get your answers at the cost of a regular text message.
Search anything right from finding the local atm machine to confirming your PNR status !!
SMS help to 9773300000 to get started !!
Any discussion on web browsers inevitably centers around how fast web pages load. We keep saying that a particular website loads faster in a particular browser. Let's try to get why this happens.
