Vaishnav's blog

This is the follow up review I promised to my earlier post reviewing Drupal Gardens Preview Edition. Since then, the good folks at Acquia have worked long and hard and ironed out several issues, added some new much requested features and also moved Gardens to a beta stage. I was given a beta account, so I checked it out once again.

Before reading further, readers might want to skim over my initial review of Gardens.

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NOTE: ~ The below blog post was first made on my Drupal Gardens site. I have merely copied it over here for everyone to read since the Drupal Gardens site was deleted as it was getting an upgrade. The below review is for the first version of Drupal Gardens. I will be writing a review of the Drupal Gardens beta soon. ~ Read more »

Everyone anticipated a calendar application from Google, with people guessing it would be released on April 1st like Gmail before it. Well, its here finally and anyone with a Google account can try it out . Google Calendar has been in the works for a while, initially being named CL2. Read more »

Songbird is a new Music player that’s been out for a while. I heard a lot about it, and gave it a test drive today. You can download the latest version here . Below are some screen shots and my thoughts on this application. Read more »

I previously posted a review of social bookmarking services. Henrik Sjostrand , the Netvouz lead developer was kind enough to read the post and email me his ideas. If there’s anything better than a great web 2.0 service, its one which has that and also listens to the feedback from its users. Read more »

I finally got around to completing my ideas on social bookmarking in writing. I tried over twelve popular services to see which one would meet my needs best. I have not described much about how to use a social bookmarking service since the actual methods of usage can vary based on which service you pick. In general though, always try searching for tags that best describe your topic. Also see this article on searching to learn how to find information anywhere on the internet.

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This is a set of comparisons I’ve made between Drupal and several other common CMS. I’m no expert in all of them, but having used each one for a period of time , I can at least give a good opinion on how they match and differ from the perspective of someone looking to make a website using one of these.

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Goowy is a new email service service that’s been out for just over a year. Goowy’s defining feature is an interface completely designed in flash. The service was founded by four young people, all of whom were formerly involved in the design/ animation industry. As can be expected, Goowy features excellent graphics and a very intuitive user interface. In more ways than one, the buttons and fluid screen remind the user of sitting on a Macintosh OS desktop. Well, if you are on a Macintosh, then either you are going to be right at home and happy, or unimpressed and bored. Read more »

I finally got a chance to test out Microsoft’s Live Mail Beta Program. I know the service has been in place for a while and several have already tried. In fact, I have had an invitation sitting in my inbox for over a month. But unfortunately I was never able to click on the join now button in the email. Whenever my mouse pointer hovered over it, it turned to a text cursor instead or a finger for clicking. Then it struck me. I opened up Internet Explorer and tried opening the same mail and as one can guess, it worked this time around. Read more »

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This is a completely untested idea that struck me, and probably several others as well. Its more like science fiction, but is theoretically possible except that it would cost too much. In the future, such an idea might come about after all. I welcome any discussion on this subject and would like to know what others think of it as well.

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Possible Problems

3. Possible Benefits

For the purpose of this document, a database referes to a site that contains a large collection of data in some form, like text, images, audio files etc. Nearly all databases are accessed through the WWW. Databases differ from a regular website in that they have a large volume on information on the subject. Most databases, excepting Media Sites and Online/ Digital Libraries are run by people or organizations who are authorities on the subject. Even information from libraries generally bear a good level of reliability. Read more »

Advertising online is the preferred method because it allows the advertiser to accurately track how many of his advertisements have resulted in an actual sale. When a person clicks on a banner or text advertisement, a cookie is stored in the users’ browser. The cookie can track whether the user finally adds the product to cart and then purchases it online. This way, the effectiveness of an advertisement can be easily determined. If many users who visit a certain site end up purchasing the product, more advertisements can be placed on other pages of that site. Read more »

This is a very basic guide to using message boards.

Contents

1. Accesing Message Boards

2. Message Board Terminology

3. Message Board Usage

4. Criticism on Boards

5. Problems with Message Boards

6. Evaluating a Board

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Contents

1. Introduction

a) The internet

b) The problem

2. Information - A broad idea

3. Finding and retrieving data

a) Search Engines

This paper attempts to explain the basic idea behind search engines, their pros and cons as well as take a look at new trends in searching. Any feedback appreciated. Read more »

This is an attempt to explain the basics behind the working of a compuer. Its meant for laymen who are seeking the answer to the question "Just what is a computer, anyway?"

Contents

1. Basics

2. Boolean

3. Switches

4. Logic Gates