Posted on January 15th, 2009 by Jaffer
What is Cloud Computing
This question has been bothering me quite a bit in the last couple of weeks and I have finally managed to get the gist of it (I think !). Like many new terms this is getting its fair share of marketing spin and hype. But what exactly is this new technology/service for people on the ground.
Very simply put this is an abstraction of how things work and the services they provide. Within the cloud working on the document means just that; working on a work processed document. The consumer is not concerned that the application is installed on the computer and which version it is. This is something which google has been doing for a while with GoogleDocs.
Explaining cloud computing is simple. The Internet is basically the cloud. It has always been in diagrams and now it is a formidable infrastructure. Utilising this infrastructure and making applications and services available on this is now called Cloud Computing.
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Filed under: Periscope, Technology | 73 Comments »
Posted on October 29th, 2008 by Jaffer
Rendering A WebSite on All Major Browsers to Check Compatibility
Very recently I came across this problem where a website which we launched had to be tested on all major browsers for compatibility. The problem with this is that although you can have most of the browsers on a single machine; what happens with multiple versions of the same browser (highly troublesome IE6 and later versions) and multiple platforms (PC, Mac, Linux etc). How many terminals would you end up with to really test cross browser compatibility? Read more »
Filed under: SEO, Technology | 5 Comments »
Posted on October 28th, 2008 by Jaffer
Sorting lists using AJAX
This article applied to the following environment:
ASP.NET 2.0
.NET Framework 2.0
Visual Studio 2005
SQL Server 2005
ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit
The Problem
I had recently come across where I needed to re- order a list and persist it to the database in a table which recorded priorities. The application performs actions on suppliers based on their priority stored in a table. What we need to do is change this priority column through an interface which is intuitive and easy to use.
One problem I have with Microsoft examples of lists, grids etc is that they are not generally used with stored procedures and have SQL queries embedded into DataProviders in the .aspx page. More engineered applications will have a separate data access class which encapsulates system wide data access which is easier to maintain and update. Read more »
Filed under: AJAX, Technology | 51 Comments »
Posted on August 31st, 2008 by Jaffer
The PSP
Sony has recently unveiled a new version of the PlayStation Portable (PSP-3000) during its Games Convention press conference in Leipzig, Germany. The new kit should be available to touch and feel in the stores before Christmas (Sony says it will be in Oct 08 but I wouldn’t hold my breath).
The most enticing features announced are the improved LCD (even sharper with more colour depth) and a built in microphone. But before we delve into the tempting feature line up lets look at a brief history and introduction (in true Jaffer’s Blog style). Read more »
Filed under: Entertainment, Gaming, Technology | 29 Comments »
Posted on August 29th, 2008 by Jaffer
I have just received an email which is basically an invitation to join a product review panel for mobile phones. Instead of just writing a review you use the phone which is sent to you for some time and then feedback on the functionality. the feedback is gathered through downloading usage stats form the phone through mobile internet and pc synchronization.
Naturally, I did some looking as anyone promising free stuff needs to be checked out in this day and age. The most obvious concern is of Identity Theft which is so prevalent in the digital era.
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Filed under: Other, Periscope | 33 Comments »
Posted on August 20th, 2008 by Jaffer
Home Theater Systems have come a long way from when we had a TV and a VCR (not to mention the limited number of TV channels).
Birth of the Unive
rsal Remote Control
Now we have to deal with a plethora of devices that reproduce crystal clear images and crisp sound from a range of gadgets; Satellite, DVD, Games Consoles, Media Center etc. It is one thing to hook up all these devices into a coherent entertainment system and quite another to operate it as a coherent home entertainment system.
Along came the universal remote control and made life really easy. Initially, people didn’t really care how the remote control looked and behaved as long as it replaced all the individual controls. Read more »
Filed under: Technology | No Comments »
Posted on August 11th, 2008 by Jaffer
Opera Mobile 9.51 beta build 1718_a
The long awaited Opera Mobile 9 is now available, although in Beta. I recently downloaded the new Opera Mobile 9.5 Beta and gave it a tryout.
The browser has some very mature features i.e. features which we are well used to on the desktop. The usability aspect is very good and they have really given it some thought on this one. Not that the previous version were severely lacking. Read more »
Filed under: Mobile, Technology | 21 Comments »
Posted on August 10th, 2008 by Jaffer
This article applies to:
- ASP.NET 2.0
- Visual Studio 2005
- ASP.NET AJAX
Recently I found myself in a bit of a pickle. I wanted to AJAX enable an existing application but did not know where to start.
I was not planning on writing extensive javascript http calls to make synchronous page updates so I had a few choices.
These are the two major implementations of the ajax framework for .NET. Read more »
Filed under: AJAX, Technology | 26 Comments »
Posted on August 6th, 2008 by Jaffer
First major upgrade to Xbox dashboard
E3 is stated as one of the biggest gaming event of the year. Game developers from all over the world come to display and view the latest developments. There are numerous tech demos, trailers, new announcements and surprises for gamers.
Sony recently had a new dashboard upgrade for the Playstation 3 that was said to have in game XMB and a new trophy system just like the Xbox 360. Given that, it was now time for Microsoft to flex their muscles and impose their supremacy and make their big announcement on E3 2008. Read more »
Filed under: Entertainment, Gaming | 67 Comments »
Posted on August 4th, 2008 by Jaffer
Simple Steps to Create Sitemap.xml
Recently I noticed that I had a few pages missing form my site on the Google index. As we all know if it is not on Google its not worth existing. This lead me to investigate the problem and I ended up realizing that my site did not have a sitemap. Although this is something which is not solely related to non indexed pages (as there a host of other issues which can be the culprit) it is something which a site, aiming to rank high in search results, should consider. A sitemap will become critical if you have a huge site which might have pages which are not linked up. In which case search engine spider might miss them or deem then unrelated and unnecessary. Read more »
Filed under: SEO | 52 Comments »
