Entries from November 2005 ↓

Here’s a small update on Glancer.. What has been accomplished in the last few days:

• Changed city from Kolkatta to Kolkata (thanks to Indranil Das Gupta for pointing out the mistake)
• Zoom level - added provision to zoom out slightly into negative. So that people on the boundary can be seen
• UI cleanups
• Added very simple About Us / Feedback dialogs
• AddedLogout option
• Edit Profile added Yes!
• Detect if full profile not present, show profile page on login (since we will be integrating with Foss.In delegate data)
• Edit Preferences - change weight assigned to different matching criteria

Next item on todo list is the Talk Scheduler. It’s going to be major! I think we should be ready with the next delivery by Tuesday!

This is really a small thing, but can cost you a few minutes to figure out! The OpenLaszlo documentation has a few typos. The first I noticed, was the Debug.Write() instead of Debug.write(). There are other case mistakes like that. Generally these typos occur in the examples provided. If you see the LZX Reference, the actual method description will have proper method name, but the example at the top may contain wrongly typed method names.

Apart from the Debug.Write, the LzBrowzer.loadURL() is mentioned as LzBrowzer.LoadURL() . Now if you are like me, you will simply copy the code from an example and use it in your project. Assuming it would work. And when it doesn’t you are lost why does it not find a method with the name that you specified.

So keep this in mind!

BTW, I have a lot of other tips / tricks / feedback on OpenLaszlo… I am just waiting for Glancer to get over, so that I can write all of it!

We got a project enquiry to build a Smart Tag recently. Smart Tags are “plugins” to MS Office that allow quick execution to some tasks. You may have seen that when you type a name in MS Word, it shows you an action icon on the right side. Clicking on it gives you options to add the person to your address book etc. That’s a smart tag!

IE 6 has support for Smart Tags, but it was dropped in the IE that was bundled with XP because of a lot of hulla gulla! A lot of people hate Smart Tags!

So here is some more reading on Smart Tags!

• Nice introduction to Smart Tags on Microsoft site.
• A Developer’s take on Smart Tags.
• Smart Tag SDK on MSDN

In this world of Technorati tagging, Smart Tags look like an old idea! I am just amazed at how old ideas have taken a new form in Web 2.0 world!

I was with a friend yesterday and just talking about all the things happening in life. He asked me: “How do you manage to get time to do all this?” After pausing for a while, he reflected: “Aah, you are single!”

But I started thinking about it, and felt time management is indeed a lot important for all of us. We have Maya, but not everybody uses it to really plan their days! We have had time management sessions, yet we do not practice many techniques. Why is that so?

I believe that is largely because we are driven by urgency. We do not take out time to think! We do not take out time to plan the day / week / month. If we do, we fail to allot time to review and follow up. The urgent matters of the day just drive us.

I then looked up a MindTools has a very good collection of classic time management techniques and tips. Priorities, Todos, Goal Setting etc.

I invite you to take out half an hour every day and think about the day that went and the day that’s starting. This can transform your life!

I attended a special introduction to Landmark Forum yesterday. Led by Ferdi D’souza, it was indeed a special evening. The Prabodhan Thakare Mini Theatre auditorium was packed and people kept coming in. They had to arrange for a separate hall for the late comers!

Ferdi has been associated with this work from 1979. That means he is into this for all my life! So it was good to hear him.

I have already completed my Advanced course, so the basic introduction was familiar. I had my cousin with me, and a lot of things opened up in the discussion with him about Landmark. He mentioned there is nothing wrong in his life that he needs to do the Forum. Everything is going fine, albeit a bit slower.

We talked. I got to learn a lot of financial concepts from him and also realized he has matured a lot. Our interaction has not been high. I think we used to talk more when we were younger! I knew he was doing well, but it was the first time I was talking so personal to him. I think it was a lesson for me. Establishing a connect with your relatives is so easy. It just needs the first step.

Ferdi distinguished about Rackets - the persistent complaints we have about people around us. In an introduction, the leader takes up an exercise with the participants to give them a taste of the Forum. This was that part. I could revise the distinction and it opened up new opportunities for action.

I also caught up with friends I had done my advanced course with. People are in different spaces. Many feel that the touch of Landmark is diminishing as they carry out their lives. To keep it alive, it is important to keep in touch with the group. I agree with them! If you have a friend you can talk to, especilly in the Landmark language, you can implement the technology easily.

It was a nice evening! Lot of learnings, good time with friends, and some time away from work! Worth it!