Monday, March 28, 2005

Ajax: The secret behind google's user-interface ease

Ajax or Asynchronous Javascript+XML is an emerging way of web application development. Used by Google Suggest, Google Maps, Gmail and a lot of recent and upcoming google applications, Ajax represents the next generation of web application models which emphasize ease of use rather than possible computational complexity. Ajax is actually a very simple change in the way web development occurs - instead of sending data back to the server with every user interface event, Ajax loads a javascript engine with the browser webpage with handles most simple user queries and events; only when the engine is unable to process the request does it contact the server. This way it speeds up user interactivity enormously. The beauty in the model is the paradigm shift in the thinking involved in web application development; developers can now program interactive content on the web browser while flexibly retaining complex elements at the server or pre-computing before a likely user event.

For more info: Ajax: A New Approach to Web Applications

The Top 100 Gadgets of All Time

Mobile PC - Features: The Top 100 Gadgets of All Time

Amazing Amaztype

Amaztype is really amazing. Its a tool to search amazon - using retrieved search results to construct an image of the search name using the pictures of the book covers! When you click on a particular book cover it gives detailed info on that book - one hell of an innovative way at searching amazon, an awesome timepass :P. I used it to search for books of one of my favorite business authors - Rosabeth Moss Kanter:



The earlier post shows a second level view. Directed to this site by The Gemini

Amazing Amaztype

Saturday, March 26, 2005

Valuing art

The cutting edge of fund management: art as a commodity. Latest wired article: Paint by Numbers

Wednesday, March 23, 2005

moody

the rains have bought respite to the blistering summer heat here at jamshedpur... the smell of first rains, ah ! how wonderful...

listening to..
ajeeb dasthan hai yeh, kahaan shuru kahaan katham
yeh manzilen hein kaun si, na woh samajh sakeh na hum

how appropriate :P

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Life at 13600 ft

What is the probability you'll meet an xler at 13,600 ft in an cottage up the snow covered hills ? Very high it seems !

Our trip to Gangtok the last 10 days was an experience to treasure - can never forget the snow covered yumthang valley, the freezing waters across which we ran barefoot :P, the yaks, the frozen changu lake, eating hot pakodas at sub-zero temperatures near the baba's mandir, the uti atm at 13200 ft, the picturesque mountains, the monastries, river rafting in the tista across the rapids, swimming in the freezing water.... and of course, running into the other xl group in a god-forsaken cottage up a frozen lake !

Gangtok is a beautiful place, an absolute paradise on earth.

Tuesday, March 08, 2005

Xler in the news: Ravi Mehrotra

XL alumnus making news: Ravi Mehrotra, Head - Franklin Templeton Investments: Temple raider - The Economic Times