Sunday, June 29, 2003

How to build a Flash app easily using the the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern.

The MVC pattern specifies that your application should be divided into three main pieces: the model which handles your application's data, the view which handles the visual interface, and finally the controller which handles user input.

Each of the pieces are independent, so they can be both tested on their own or reused in some other application.


Model
The model of an application consists of the applications data and methods to retrieve and modify that data. For example, in an address book application the model would hold all of the data in the address book and provide methods to add, remove, and edit those addresses.


View and Controller

The view is what the user sees and interacts with, and the controller is which handles user input—for example, validation).

Just like you don't start installing light switches until after the foundation is poured, you shouldn't start this step until after you model is done. The reason for this is because any change to your model could potentially require you to rewrite your view and controller code.

The point of the view is to just provide the GUI, not manipulate it or handle user input

Building an application is a lot like building a house. Both are complex tasks that take a lot of planning. However, by following a few basic steps like those outlined above, you can break down the process into manageable pieces

George Orwell's six elementary rules

Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.

Never use a long word where a short one will do.

If it is possible to cut out a word, always cut it out.

Never use the passive where you can use the active.

Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.

Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

DURUM wheat - The pasta base

My pasta research continues ....


wheat

Wheat is the second most consumed cereal, next only to rice. Unlike other cereals wheat has more gluten, the protein that provides the elasticity necessary for excellent breadmaking.

The three major types are hard wheat, soft wheat and durum wheat.

Hard wheat is high in protein and gluten . So suitable for breads.

Soft wheat is low in protein and gluten . It is used for baked goods such as biscuits and cakes.

Durum wheat, is high in gluten, and is not good for baking. It is
most often ground into semolina ( coarse ground ). This forms an excellent base for pasta.

My very first Homemade Pasta

Pasta especially Italian ones are pretty expensive here. Half a Kg costs over Rs.130.

So tried my hand at home made pasta on this lazy sunday morning and it was delicious !

Here's how you do it.

You can make pasta from any flour. Atta ( Wheat flour), Maida ( Refined wheat flour) or just about any flour.

Make a mound of flour, make a well in centre, crack eggs ( or warm water and salt) into the centre and slowly mix them . When the dough is ready, keep covered with a bowl for half an hour, roll it into thin sheets and cut into desired shapes.

Let the water boil with a pinch of salt, drop the pasta into it. Fresh pasta coks in a minute. Drain it out and use it with your favorite sauce/veggies.

Here are some interesting shapes and fillings you can try..

Lasagne
Cut large squares. Half cook in boiling water, layer in a baking dish with a meat or vegetable sauce and white sauce, and bake to finish cooking.

Ravioli
Cut into long strips wide enough to be folded over . Place a little filling at regular intervals in a row along the top of the pasta strip; there must be enough space between them to fold the edges of the ravioli. Fold over the bottom strip, press down between each filling, then separate each raviolo by cutting with a pastry cutter. Press down on the edges with your fingers to close them well. Boil and remove with a skimmer, serve with butter or other sauce.

Tortelloni
Cut out disks with a glass or pastry shape. Place a little filling on one disk then place another on top and press down on the edges with your fingers to close them well. Boil and remove with a skimmer, serve with butter or other sauce.

Tortellini
Cut out 1 in. squares. Place a little filling in the middle of each and fold the pasta over diagonally to form triangles. Press down on the edges to stop the filling coming out during the cooking. Fold the two tips around the index finger and press them together with your thumb.

Tagliolini, tagliatelle, papardelle
Let the pasta dry a little. Roll it from the outside towards the middle to form two parrallel rolls. Cut the roll crosswise into strips whose thickness will determine whether they are tagliolini, tagliatelle or papardelle. Slip a long knife under the middle and lift up the strips so that they unravel. Lay them out to dry before cooking. This pasta absorbs the sauce wonderfully.

Maltagliati
Form a loose roll with the pasta sheet. With a sharp knife cut first diagonally and then horizontally, alternating. When you unravel the pasta it will form irregular rectangles. Often used for "pasta e faggioli" or with "minestrone".

Stuffings for Pasta
Stuffings for pasta can be either meat, vegetable, or fish-based, and can include a creamy cheese such as ricotta. Just make a kind of 'poriyal' fill up the pasta shape and boil the whole thing. Be creative. You can use just plain shredded vegetables or spiced up stuff or pure cheese or any other stuff you love. Go ahead and experiment !

Saturday, June 28, 2003

Grains Flours and Pasta
Grains are the seeds or fruit of cereal plants, used as food by humans and animals.

Each grain has the following

Germ - the embryo of the plant, rich in vitamins and minerals.
Endosperm - the starchy food which the germ needs to grow. Contains complex carbohydrates and some protein.
Bran - the tough outer coating which protects the grain until it sprouts. A good source of fibre.
Hull - an inedible protectove jacket covering some grains, such as rice, oats and barley.

Refined white flour is roller milled and sieved. This removes Bran and Germ. Has only Endosperm's stuff.

Whole grain has germ and bran, with their vitamins, minerals, and fibre.

Stone-ground flour is slowly crushed between flat millstones, making a coarse flour. The low temperatures preserve nutrients and flavour.

Refined white flour has been roller milled and sieved to remove the bran and germ.

Bleached flour is treated with a bleaching agent ( benzoyul peroxide) and maturing agents (chlorine dioxide and acetone perioxide) to shorten production time. Oxidizing agents destroy vitamin E. Looks white and nice.

Fortified flour is refined flour with vitamins and minerals added to compensate for the loss of bran and germ.


Flour is made of finely ground grains, beans, or roots. Most western pastas are made from semolina flour milled from refined durum, the wheat highest in protein and gluten (Gluten is the high-protein element in flour that allows bread to rise. It contains two types of protein: gladins that make the dough stick together and glutenins that make the dough elastic. Kneading and stirring develop the gluten, allows the dough to capture carbon dioxide released by yeast, baking powder, or baking soda. High gluten flours make high, light loaves of bread. Low or non-gluten flour may be added to high gluten flours to vary the taste or texture of bread. Low-gluten flours also work well for making quick breads, where a tender crust is desirable.)

Flavored pastas are made with the addition of vegetable purees (often spinach, carrot, or tomato). The vegetable purees add colour and subtle taste.

Fresh pastas have not been dried. They are nutritionally equal to dried pasta but cook much more quickly.

Whole wheat pastas are made from whole wheat flour and have a chewy texture. They contain more fibre, vitamins, and minerals than white pastas.

Egg noodles are made with the addition of eggs and have a more delicate texture than other pastas. They contain more protein but are also higher in fat.

Wheat free pastas include brown rice, quinoa, and corn pastas. Because they do not contain gluten, they are delicate and must not be overcooked.

Pasta History

Pasta is bread. It is just unleavened bread cooked in boiling water. That's it. The bread can be fresh or dried, made from a variety of flours/starches/beans, with a variety of ingredients added to it.

Italy has elevated pasta to an art form, but pasta is native to various cuisines. The Chinese had it by the first century AD--and noodle shops were all the rage by the Sung dynasty (960-1280). Japan was making pasta squares, then switched to ribbon shapes in the 12th century Then, too, people in India and the Middle East were making them by 1200.

In the 18th century, entrepreneurs in Naples, Italy, began mass production by machine--and it virtually killed the fresh/home made pasta inductry.


1. ASIAN

Arrowroot vermicelli (made from arrowroot starch)--thinly cut ribbons
Cellophane noodles (made from mung bean starch)--ribbons cut in different widths, also known as "bean thread noodles)
Korean sweet potato vermicelli (made from sweet potato and mung bean starch
Rice noodles (made from rice flour)--cut into different sizes and shapes, including rice sticks and fine rice vermicelli (good for soup)--
Vietnamese Pho noodles (made from rice flour).
Japanese soba (made from buckwheat flour)--ribbon pasta, brownish-grey in color
Japanese soma (made from wheat flour)--thin pasta, like angel hair, and cream colored
Japanese udon (made from wheat flour)--cream colored pasta
Chinese wheat noodles--light yellow in color and cut into different thicknesses.

2. GERMAN

Spatzle--made from wheat flour, homemade soft noodles

3. ITALIAN (almost always made from durum semolina wheat flour)

Acini di peppe (peppercorns)--tiny balls
Agnoletti (priests' caps)--small stuffed crescents
Anellini--tiny pasta rings
Bavettine--narrow linguine
Bucatini--hollow strands
Cannaroni--wide tubes (also, zitoni)
Cannelloni (large reeds or pipes)--round stuffed tubes
Capelli d'Angelo (angel hair)--long, fine strands (also, capellini)
Capelveneri--very thin noodles
Cappelletti (little hats)--stuffed hats
Cavatappi--short, thin, spiral macaroni
Cavatelli--short, narrow, ripple-edge shells
Conchiglie (conch shells)--shells (also, maruzze)
Coralli--tiny tubes, generally used in soup
Ditali (thimbles)--small macaroni
Ditalini--smaller ditali
Elbow macaroni--small to medium tubes
Farfalle (butterflies)--little bows
Farfallini--smaller farfalle
Farfallone--bigger farfalle
Fedelini (little faithful ones)--very fine spaghetti
Fettucce (ribbons)--flat wide egg noodles, about 1/2-inch
Fettuccelle--flat narrow egg noodles, about 1/8-inch
Fettuccini--flat medium egg noodles, about 1/4-inch
Fideo--thin, coiled strands that unwind in cooking into vermicelli
Fusilli (little springs)--spiral-shaped noodles
Gemelli (twins)--short 1 and 1/2-inch twists
Gnocchi--small, ripple-edge shells
Lasagne--long, broad (2-3 inches) noodles, straight or ripple-edge
linguine (little tongues)--narrow, long ribbons
Lumache (snails)--large, stuffed shells
Macaroni--tubes
Maccheroni--all types, sizes, and shapes of macaroni
Mafalde--broad, fat, ripple-edge noodles
Magliette (links)--short, curved tubes
Manicotti (little muffs)--very large stuffed tubes
Margherite (daisies)--narrow flat noodles with one rippled side
Maruzze (seashells)--any size of shells, from tiny to jumbo
Mezzani--very short curved tubes
Mostacciioli (little moustaches)--2-inch tubes
Occhi di lapo (wolves' eyes)
Orecchiette (little ears)--tiny disk shapes
Orzo--rice-shaped grains
Pappardelle--wide noodles with rippled sides
Pastina (tiny dough)--little bits used in soups
Penne (pens or quills)--diagonally cut tubes, smooth or ridged sides
Perciatelli--thin, hollow pasta strands (like bucatini)
Pezzoccheri--thick, buckwheat noodles
Quadrettini--small flat squares
Radiatore (little radiators)--thick rippled boxes
Ravioli--stuffed squares
Rigatoni--big, ridged macaroni
Riso--rice-shaped grains (like orzo)
Rotelle (little wheels)--small, spoked wheels
Rotini--short spirals
Ruote de carro (cartwheels)--spoked wheels
Semi di melone (melon seeds)--tiny, flat seed shapes
Spaghetti--long, thin, round strands
Spaghettini--thin spaghetti
Stiraletti (little boots)
Stricchelli (bows or butterflies)
Tagliarini--long paperthin ribbons (also tagliolini)
Tagliatelle--long, thin, flat egg noodles, about 1/4-inch wide
Tortellini (little twists)--small stuffed bows
Tortelloni--big tortellini
Trenette--narrow, thick tagliatelle
Tripolini--small bow ties with round edges
Tubetti (little tubes)--tiny, hollow tubes
Vermicelli (little worms)--extra thin spaghetti
Ziti (bridegrooms)--slightly curved tubes, from 2-12 inches long

Today's Recipe

Take tamarind water. Add salt, vellam, Turmeric powder

Boil cut eggplant, raw shelled groundnuts

shallow fry coriander seeds, kadalai paruppu, ulutham paruppu, dried red chillies. Grind it. Add it to the boiling tamarind water. Keep stirring.

Grate coconuts, put them in a pan and stir to dry them, add to boiling mixture

Shallow fry Mustard seeds, curry leaves, ulutham paruppu in coconut oil . Add to the mixture.

Eggplant Rasavangi is ready !

Did it today morning and tastes delicious !!

RIA Devlopment

COG ( Splendour)

1. Reads questions, answers and images from a text file
2. User can change questions, answers, images


COT ( Splendour)

Demos multilanguage support ( Arabic and English)


Watch Finder ( Prakash )

Demos page hits as clock face shading

SCORM

Scorm is a rough equivalent of Object Oriented programming as applied to e-Learning.

A variety of proprietory learning management systems were being sold. The components of these also were proprietory and had to be bought from the same vendor.

A rough analogy would be that you have to buy the hard disk, mother board, softwars, mouse and keyboard from Microsoft, just because the operating system was windows. Obviously, this limits user's choice and increases cost.

So, a system was sorely needed which allows you to just take the OS from microsoft, but buy all other devices from anyone else. This is SCORM.

SCORM lets learning objects fit into any Learning management system adhering to SCORM ( Shareable Content Object Reference Model )standards.

For this to happen, the LMS and the Learning objects should conform to certain standards.

Let's see how a flash movie can conform to SCROM standards.

First The Learning object should inform SCORM when it starts and when it stops. This is called the execution function.

Secondly there should be a way to transfer data from the learning object to the LMS. This is Data Transfer function

Thirdly if an error is found in the execution of the learning object, the error needs to be told to the LMS.


So the learning object should have the code to call up SCORM standards, then tell it that it is starting, pass data or error messages to it and tell it when it has stopped.

This lets the Learnong object to run on any SCORM compliant LMS.

Now over and above this, the LMS needs to know what the learning object is about. This data is stored as a XML file in the object itself. The data might contain information about
... the standard of students the LO is meant for ( Grade 2 or university level)
.. Technical requirements to run the LO ( Flash player 6 required or QUick time required )
.... Cost of the Learning object
..... Keywords, comments from Author etc etc

This info makes it easy for LMS to search for and locate Learning objects.

All these are put together in a SCORM package.



Friday, June 27, 2003

Different methods of cooking :

Bake : Cook in an oven

Bake in a bag - also called baking 'en papillote', to place something( normally fish) in a sealed foil or paper bag with seasonings and a littlel iquid and baking it in the oven until cooked.

Baste - to spoon hot fat or stock from the roasting tray over whatever you're roasting to moisten it and to encourage caramelisation

Bat out - to bash a piece of meat with a wooden mallet or a metal meat baton even a saucepan to make it thinner, before cooking.

Blacken - to coat a piece of fish or meat in a mixture of seasonings and cook in a hot pan without oil so the surface burns and turns black giving a charred flavour.

Blanch - to immerse briefly in boiling water either to cook (for vegetables) or to remove fat or salt (for meat)

Boil - to cover with cold water, bring to a rolling boil and cook until tender.

Braise - to cook meat or veg slowly, in a pot with a little liquid and a lid on until tender, either in the oven or on the stove

Broil - To grill

Brown - to fry or roast something in fat until it caramelises on the outside

Caramelise - to get the sugar on the surface of something to turn into caramel by frying, roasting, grilling or even blow torching in the case of tarts, poached fruit, meringues or crème brulees.

Ceviche - thinly sliced fish marinated in lemon or lime juice to partially cook it before eating. A method of cooking without heat.

Char - to burn part or all of the surface of whatever you are cooking until it turns into carbon

Chargrill - to cook something on heavy iron bars above a charcoal or gash eat. The surface of the food touching the bars chars and gives a smoky barbecue flavour

Cook down - to cook an ingredient or mixture of ingredients in a pan with the lid off until it reduces in volume

Deep fry - to immerse in hot oil and cook until crisp

Emulsify - to combine fat or oil and other liquids to make a stable suspension, often using egg yolks (mayonaisse)

Fry - to cook by placing in hot shallow pan with a little fat. Whatever you are cooking should end up slightly crisp and caramelised.

Grill - to cook by placing under a hot electric or gas element

Infuse - to immerse aromatic things like lemon zest, cinnamon sticks, vanilla pods or bunches of herbs, in hot liquids so that the liquid will take on their flavours.

Marinate - to immerse meat or fish in a seasoned liquid (a marinade), possibly containing oil, lemon juice or vinegar, spices, herbs and sometimes wine to tenderise and flavour it before cooking.

Par boil - to cover ingredients (normally vegetables) with cold water, bring to the boil and drain, to part cook them, often before roasting.

Poach - to immerse in hot liquid and simmer gently until cooked and/or tender

Pot roast - to roast in a pot with the lid on or off, with a little liquid added to baste the roast, keeping it moist and helping it caramelise.

Puree - a very smooth vegetable mash usually passed through a sieve to remove any lumps.

Reduce - to boil a liquid in a saucepan without a lid so that it evaporates, reduces in volume and concentrates in flavour.

Refresh - to immerse in ice cold water after blanching to preserve colour( in vegetables), and stop the cooking process.

Render - to cook a piece of fat, or meat with fat around it by a frying, steaming, boiling or roasting so that the fat melts and can be either discarded or kept for cooking purposes.

Rest - to take a piece of meat out of the oven once it's finished cooking and keep it warm for 10 minutes or so before serving. The fibres of the meat which are tensed up by the heat of the oven relax and the meat becomes more tender.

Roast - to cook in the oven with fat to help whatever you're cooking caramelise and crisp.

Roux - a mixture of butter and flour fried together to thicken a sauce (like Bechamel), stew or soup.

Rub - mixture of herbs and spices which is rubbed on food before cooking to give it a tasty crust.

Sear - to fry in very little oil, briefly on a fierce heat.

Season - to flavour with salt and pepper before or after cooking.

Simmer - to boil very gently so only a few bubbles appear on the surface of the liquid .

Slowcook - to roast, simmer, braise or stew very gently for a long time.

Soak - to immerse dried things like beans, lentils, salt cod or mushrooms in water until they're ready to be cooked.

Steam - to place ingredients in a pot or basket with small holes in the bottom over a pan of boiling water so they cook in the steam.

Stew - to cook meat or veg slowly, covered with liquid, in a pot either in the oven or on the stove.

Sweat - to cook vegetables, gently, in a pot until they are soft and squashy without any colour. A lid and a cartouche help this process by keeping any steam generated inside the pot.

Tray bake - a method of cooking where the meat or fish and the accompanying vegetables are all cooked in the one tray in the oven.

Creamy Rice !

A new recipe from the naked chef which teaches how to cook rice differently.

Principle :
Semi fry rice in oil and wine and keep adding stock in small quantities to slowly let the rice absorb it. Add cheese and butter and remove rice and keep it covered for a couple of minutes. This makes the rice creamy and oozy. Yummy !


Stage 1
Heat the stock. In a separate pan heat the olive oil, add onions, garlic and celery, and fry slowly for about 4 minutes. When the vegetables have softened, add the rice and turn up the heat.

Stage 2
The rice will now begin to fry, so keep stirring it. After a minute it will look slightly translucent. Add wine and keep stirring - it will smell fantastic. Any harsh alcohol flavours will evaporate and leave the rice with a tasty essence.

Stage 3
Once the vermouth or wine has cooked into the rice, add your first ladle of hot stock and a good pinch of salt. Turn down the heat to a highish simmer so the rice doesn’t cook too quickly on the outside. Keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring and almost massaging the creamy starch from the rice, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next. This will take around 15 minutes. Taste the rice - is it cooked? Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite. Don’t forget to check the seasoning carefully.

Stage 4
Remove from the heat and add the butter and Parmesan. Stir gently. Place a lid on the pan and allow to sit for 2-3 minutes. This is the most important part of making the risotto, as this is when it becomes outrageously creamy and oozy like it should be. Eat as soon as possible while the risotto retains its perfect texture.

William Whyte's rule:
Virtually all corporate relocations involve a move to a location which is closer to the CEO's home than the old location

Technical Evangelism

Technical Evangelism

Technical evangelism is the art and science of establishing new technologies as industry standards.

The mission of Technical Evangelism at Microsoft is:

To accelerate the creation of a critical mass of leveraged support for a platform until it gains unstoppable momentum.

What is a platform ?
Electricity, broadcast television, and the Win32 API are all platforms:

Electric appliance manufacturers assume the consumer has electricity

Television set manufacturers assume the presence of TV signals at the consumer’s home

Independent software vendors assume the presence of Windows on the consumer’s PC.

Microsoft’s experience with platforms started its first product: Microsoft BASIC. Licensed to manufacturers of mutually-incompatible computers, Microsoft BASIC provided a common platform (the BASIC interpreter) for applications written in the BASIC language. Applications written in Microsoft BASIC on one computer were very likely (but not certain) to run on computers from other vendors, if they too included Microsoft BASIC. This early experience with a platform that was only partially standard informed all of Microsoft’s subsequent platform efforts.


Over the years, Microsoft’s platforms have had many competitors. Digital Research’s CP/M, IBM’s OS/2, Apple’s Macintosh, Netscape’s Navigator, Sun’s Java, and the Open Source movement’s Linux have all attempted (with mixed success) to replace Microsoft’s platforms with their own, as industry standards.


Platform Support
A platform becomes successful when it becomes invisible. When product makers do not even think about what platform to use.

A product supports a platform if it operates only, best, or first on that platform.

An electric toaster supports the American electricity standard if
Its plug can fit into the American-standard electrical outlet, and
It operates properly when supplied with American-standard electricity at 110 volts and 60 Hertz, vs.
240v/50Hz in England
220v/50Hz in Germany, and


A television set supports the US television standard if it correctly displays TV signals presented in the NTSC format (vs. SECAM or PAL)

A software application supports Windows if it correctly uses the Win32 API (vs. the APIs of Linux, Mac OS, Palm OS, etc.)

This support is often an unconscious act. Most consumers do not know that other electricity and television standards exist. They purchase toasters and TVs without any concern for the platforms that they require, completely unaware that they have supported one platform over another.


An unconscious decision is ideal, from the platform vendor’s perspective. When ISVs support a Microsoft platform without even realizing that they have made a decision, and rejected any alternatives, then that platform battle if won.


Leverage:

Before starting to push his technology, the wise evangelist looks for leverage.

In technical evangelism, the mass being accelerated is platform support. Levers are people, companies, products, or channels of communication that allow you to accelerate the mass of support with less effort. Any effort you save working one lever, can be invested in working another. Leverage is one of the key concepts of technical evangelism.


All pawns are equal, but some are more equal than others. Being able to identify the pawns with the greatest leverage or even better, being able to recruit pawns that have the potential to gain leverage, and helping them to do so is what separates the great evangelists from the ordinary. Don’t just find leverage; create it.

Measuring the support for a Platform :

The mass of support for a given platform can be measured in a variety of ways. One simple way is to average, across all relevant markets, the market shares of all of the applications that support your technology, vs. those that support alternative technologies (or support no relevant technology). Another is to average the number of times the names of these products are mentioned in the trade press, on the Internet, etc., vs. their competitors (mind share).

Once a critical mass of support has been reached, a chain reaction will begin in which one ISV’s support will create additional support among other ISVs. The platform becomes self-evangelising.

Momentum :

A sufficient mass of applications delivering support for a platform over a sufficiently short time gives the platform enough momentum that it becomes, for all practical purposes, unstoppable. Unless unstoppable momentum is reached quickly, competitors will have the opportunity to gain a lead even if they start later.

Technical evangelists should not write books on new platforms. Technical evangelists should not write sample platform code for publication. Technical evangelists should not design courseware for teaching about a new platform.

Instead, technical evangelists should accelerate the creation of these materials by other authors, consultants, and teachers. Outsourcing the creation of these materials

- Leverages the skills, experience, and contacts of their creators

- Commits their creators to the platform, making them virtual evangelists.

- Creates both intellectual and human resources that can be leveraged later

- Frees the evangelist to accelerate the creation of even more materials


The Technical Evangelist

- Plans, initiates, and coordinates the actions of others

- Focusing on those whose participation will be most leveraged

- In accelerating the creation of a critical mass of support

- So that the platform becomes self-evangelising

- And the Technical Evangelist can start all over again with the Next Big Thing





Marketing Myopia

Apple has sold over a million iPods in 2 years and still Sony doesn't even make a decent MP3 player. Sony practically owned the portable music category, inventing and selling 186 million walkmans in 20 years ( 1979 - 1999). That is 9 million per year. Apple has a long way to go, but the start is impressive.

Sony has a lot of catching up to do and missing out on digital music will haunt them for ever, especially now that Apple has started selling iPods in Japan with a cheeky commercial taking a dig at Sony's Mini CD player.

That Apple has come seemingly from nowhere to launch the Walkman of the early 21st century has shaken many Sony executives. As one critic puts it, people walking around with an iPod and an Apple PowerBook look much cooler than those equipped with a Clie and a Vaio notebook. For Sony, that should spell trouble.

Ries argues companies like Apple can build the best gadgets without having to worry about whether or not MP3 players depress CD sales. The lesson here might be to not to try to do more than one thing well. Or Stick to your Knitting.

It's an open secret that except for the PlayStation 2, Sony isn't really making any money. PlayStation was built from scratch by people working outside the company's mainstream. Ken Kutaragi, the driving force behind it, succeeded largely because he teamed up with Sony's entertainment people in southern California. He ignored the electronics team back home in Japan, forged an alliance between hardware designers and creative game-software developers, and created a profitable division that still wants little to do with the rest of the company. The power of skunkworks demonstrated yet again.

Al Ries argues the reason why Sony fails to make money is that with all their different lines of electronics, computers, and entertainment, they're trying to do too much under one brand name, and that companies with more tightly focused brands are the ones that are actually making money

In the last 10 years, Sony Corp. had revenues of $519.2 billion. But net profits after taxes were only $4.0 billion, just 0.1% of sales.

In the last 10 years, Dell had sales of $140.3 billion and net profits after taxes of $8.5 billion, or a net profit margin after taxes of 6.1%.

Net profit margins of the average Fortune 500 company were 4.7% of sales during the last 10 years.

Compare this with the Jap biggies...
In the last 10 years, Hitachi had revenues of $708 billion and lost $722 million. NEC had revenues of $397 billion and lost $1.3 billion. Fujitsu had revenues of $382 billion and lost $1.6 billion. Toshiba had revenues of $463 billion and a net profit margin of just 0.15%.

Large unfocused companies make very little after-tax profits. Al Ries argues "line extension inhibits the branding process. When a company makes and markets a broad range of products under one name, it is extremely difficult to build that name into a powerful brand "

Companies whose brands are relatively focused do much better. Sharp (Net profit margin 1.8%), Toyota (3.1%), Honda (3.3%) and Canon (3.8%).

The average large Japanese company has a net profit margin after taxes of about 1% compared with the average large American company at 5%.

Companies whose brands are highly focused make money. The more focused the brand, the higher the profit margin. Ex.. Nokia (10.6%), Intel (21.6%) and Microsoft (31.8%).

Why does Sony diversify into movies, music etc? Well.. the desire to push their platform by being vertically integrated.

When Sony's Betamax video recorders lost out to Matsushita's rival VHS player, Sony executives were convinced that a film library could have made a difference—a conclusion that helped to drive the company's purchase of Columbia Pictures in 1989. This mentality may now be strangling sony.

How an average american spends his life and how to increase fun time

How an average american spends his life and how to increase fun time

sleep 33 % *(cut an hour a day)
work 27.0 %
leisure 13.0 %
religion 1.4 % ( cut totally)
eating 8.6 % (read while eating)
travel 10.0% (read while travelling.Always have a book/laptop at hand)
illness 4.3% (read while recuperating)
personal care 2.5


Wednesday, June 04, 2003

Sound files in flash

Using sound in Flash
Two sound objects can't be defined in the same timeline and have independent values for their properties. In order to manipulate the volume and pan settings correctly, our sound objects must be defined in different timelines:
http://www.oscartrelles.com/blog/archive.php?post_id=1054681710

http://www.flashloaded.com/freebies.shtml
A cool movie clip controller

Tuesday, June 03, 2003

Authorware

Authorware
Macromedia has just released of Authorware 7. Though Authorware has a huge following in the eLearning community, Flash has been fast catching up. As almost everything which can be done in Authorware can be now done in Flash, is this release for those few who just don't want to change from Authorware to Flash because they find it too complicated?

Flash Optimizer

Flash Optimizer
Flash Optimizer reduces your SWF files size up to 60-70% thanks to smart compression algorithms of vectors, shapes, morphing, Z-buffer, fonts and other optimizations.

http://www.show-kit.com/flash-optimizer/

Monday, June 02, 2003

Flash tools

Flash tools
http://www.shockwave-india.com/blog/demo/gb/

Guestbook in tamil using English to Tamil transliteration engine

http://www.swftools.com/tool-details.php?tool=9514203361

PHPObject is an opensource alternative to Flash Remoting. With PHPObject, you can call a method of a PHP class/library on your web server as if the class/library was defined in Flash itself. It takes care of your client-server connections and makes passing of variables between Flash MX and PHP easy.

Steve Jobs and Bill Gates... the off the record interviews

Steve Jobs and Bill Gates... the off the record interviews

SteveJobs Interview excerpts :

First great Age of PC's:
Spreadsheets, productivity software,

Second great Age:
Internet, Email, Chat

Third Great Age
At Apple we feel there's a third great age of the PC coming, where it becomes your digital hub. Cameras, music: it's becoming central to the digital lifestyle.

Why isn't Apple inventing TAblet PC's or PDA's ?
"What people really seem to want to do with these is get the data out. We believe cell phones are going to carry this information"

Walt Mossberg "The Internet now is in place almost like an electrical grid, ready to power a host of different things"


Gates : Digital ink, speech recognition and Web services are big steps forward.

What the hell are Web services?"

Gates showed how a spreadsheet could be created that would link seamlessly with the Amazon site. Web services is about connecting applications together, and it's the infrastructure needed for ecommerce. Today, phone, email and faxes still are the dominant means of commercial communications. Describing XML, Gates mentioned the ability to do customized sourcing.