Entries from June 2007 ↓
June 30th, 2007 — Business, Flex & Flash
Robert X. Cringely wrote about how Adobe wants to build “invisible” software - so ubiquitous that it’s existence is assumed - with AIR (Adobe Integrated Runtime). And then I saw iPhone UI simulation in AIR yesterday.
I will put my money on Adobe too - not on Microsoft, not on Sun or not even on AJAX. Adobe is on the right track with its focus on developer tools. Just like it open sourced PDF (and will do Flex), it should also open source AIR. And it will be invisible not in 10 years as Bob says, but in 5 years.
We always wanted to build a company like Macromedia, and now Adobe. Delivering excellent technology that becomes invisible. We have not yet figured out the right product and strategy to do that yet, but we are working on it!
Working with various technologies over the last 8 years, I have never been so excited as I have been with Flex. It’s cutting edge, solves the problem, and is great for developers. I have seen how Macromedia / Adobe works, and I’ve seen their focus and marketing talent. They have grown many fold in the last 5 years, and I think it’s not stopping anytime soon.
Way to go!
June 29th, 2007 — GNU/Linux, L2C2, Updates, Workshops
Mozilla Foundation is coming to India. If you are interested in Firefox, are a contributor, or want to contribute, you must grab this opportunity!
Seth Bindernagel (Community Program Manager) and JT Batson (Head, International Marketing Efforts) of Mozilla Foundation are coming to India in mid July. The purpose of the trip is build further community involvement and start to find people who can help localizer drive the adoption of Firefox 3. This includes both supporting current volunteers in contributing more and providing resources.
Magnet did most of the localization for Firefox and other open source tools for Gujarati. Continuing our endeavors, we are organizing a one day event at our office to promote and support Firefox on 21st July 2007. Seth and JT will speak about community, localization, Firefox 3 and also promotion!
Note: The event will not be on 14th July now, since Mozilla will be attending the open source conference in Ahmedabad on 13th and 14th July. We will have it on 21st July now.
Here is the plan for the day:
- 10.30AM - Registration (it’s free!)
- 11AM - Introduction & Welcome
- 11.30AM - The State of Mozilla
- 12.00AM - Do we need an EN_IN version of Firefox? Local English, local search providers, certain spellings and other India specific items. Brainstorming, and team formation.
- 1.00PM - Lunch break
- 2.00PM - Brainstorming on promoting Firefox in India (Spread Firefox.in?)
- 3.00PM - How to localize Firefox? How did we localize for Gujarati? - small workshop
- 4.00PM - Firefox 3 - what’s up the sleeve?
- 5.00PM - Completion
The day is going to be exciting. It’s going to be mix of development, community and brainstorming sessions.
Who should attend?
- Everyone who’s helped in localization of Firefox / other Mozilla Software
- Students and Open Source evangelists who want to promote Mozilla / Firefox
- Community organizers & marketing enthusiasts
- Anyone who’s interested in Mozilla / Firefox
Location:
Many thanks to HBCSE for hosting this event. Directions here.
RSVP:
Please add your name to wiki (link below), if you wish (you should!) to attend the event:
http://db.glug-bom.org/wiki/index.php/Upcoming_meet_RSVPs
We plan to have a Mumbai GNU/Linux Users Group meeting in the evening with a talk on Ruby on Rails. The plan on that will be announced on the mailing list soon.
Participants
- Seth Bindernagel
- JT Batson
- Chris Hofmann
- Venky Hariharan
- Kartik Mistry
- Nirav Mehta
- Dibya Prakash
- Vipul Mathur
- Barkha Khatri
- Dilip Khanolkar
- Mehul
- Osric Xavier Fernandes
- Mitul Lambani
- Easwar Hariharan
- Joel
- Gaurav Chaturvedi
- Anurag
- Mohan S N
- Sanjay Bhangar
- R. K. Rajeev
- V K Bharadwaj
- J. T. D’souza
- Prashant Shah
June 28th, 2007 — Recommended Reading, Writing and Speaking
Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, had a great post on writing skills. Putting it here, with a small correction:
I went from being a bad writer to a good writer after taking a one-day course in “business writing.” I couldn’t believe how simple it was. I’ll tell you the main tricks here so you don’t have to waste a day in class.
Business writing is about clarity and persuasion. The main technique is keeping things simple. Simple writing is persuasive. A good argument in five sentences will sway more people than a brilliant argument in a hundred sentences. Don’t fight it.
Simple means getting rid of extra words. Don’t write, “He was very happy” when you can write “He was happy.” You think the word “very” adds something. It doesn’t. Prune your sentences.
Humor writing is a lot like business writing. It needs to be simple. The main difference is in the choice of words. For humor, don’t say “drink” when you can say “swill.”
Your first sentence needs to grab the reader. Go back and read my first sentence to this post. I rewrote it a dozen times. It makes you curious. That’s the key.
Write short sentences. Avoid putting multiple thoughts in one sentence. Readers aren’t as smart as you’d think.
Learn how brains organize ideas. Readers comprehend “the boy hit the ball” quicker than “the ball was hit by the boy.” Both sentences mean the same, but it’s easier to imagine the subject (the boy) before the action (the hitting). All brains work that way. (Notice I didn’t say, “That is the way all brains work”?)
That’s it. You just learned 80% of the rules of good writing. You’re welcome.
Head over to the original post to also see the comments.
June 27th, 2007 — Leadership, Recommended Reading
I have been seeing the book - It Happened In India - around, and was interested in finding out more about it. The book is about Kishore Biyani - the man who created the retail revolution in India with Big Bazaar, Pantaloons et al. Swaroop has written an excellent review today, including some thought provoking excerpts.
You can read the full review on Swaroop’s blog, but here are some excerpts that I liked:
I interpret life very differently and I have this belief that we all come to this world to kill time. Therefore, we pick up some activity that we like doing and call it our profession. I call this the Time Pass theory.
The central objective for earlier businesses was to bring in stability and consolidation. They were built to enforce order. However, in the new era where nothing remains constant, the dominant theme for businesses need to be speed and imagination. Going forward, companies will be lucky if they can write a five year plan for their business.
The new macro-differentiator can be design. Design is helping companies to sell differentiated experiences and solutions that connect with the consumer’s emotions. It’s no longer about selling products and services alone. Nor is it just about completing transactions. Every time a customer walks in, it is an opportunity to build a relationship and invite the customer to become a part of the transformational scenario. Design management is helping us position the customer at the center of every decision we take and also operate with true entrepreneurial spirit.
Good food for thought!
June 23rd, 2007 — Business, RIA
I love to scribble on a piece of paper to organize my thoughts. I actually keep a drawing book handy and use that any time I am thinking up a strategy. My mind maps are not as organized as many tools can create, but they do the job! But if you need to share your ideas with someone else, you need something better than just pen and paper! Here are a few tools that can help you capture and map yours and your buddies ideas in a “beautiful” way!
And of course, you can use so many desktop mind mapping tools if you wish, including FreeMind. You may also want to check out the Mind Mapping blog.
