Posts filed under 'Thoughts'
Ideas? Yes. Actioned?
I do not want to appear critical, or worse, an antfucker, but the 330kb flash navigation menu on the website of the Government Internet Data Center does seem to reflect the sad plight of government websites in Sri Lanka. It looks as if the “poor” nature of connectivity of the country has been overlooked in an effort to make the site spiffy. Is the “pro-poor” idea not being actioned?
Free as in Shakespeare
It’s just after four am, and I’m taking a little breather to really wake up before I hit the books. My freshman finals are coming up, and one of the harder exams I’ll be sitting for this month is Elizabethan Drama. For this course, we studied five plays - one Marlowe, four Shakespeare. One major problem I came across while preparing for this paper is the lack of reputed sources. Apart from a few lectures by Bradley and Hazlitt at Gutenberg, there is very little else out there.
All your Dell are belong to us
When you’re big, it’s difficult not to be a stinking bully. And that’s exactly what Dell Computers (no link love for those bastards) seem to be with their case against Paul Dell (Thanks, Vicki). Paul makes websites for a living, and has a website www.dellwebsites.com where he sells his services. The big Dell thinks the small Dell has to give up his site, and pay for using it all this time.
Y! User Interface and Design Pattern Libraries
Not only do the new User Interface Library and Design Pattern Library from Yahoo seem very comprehensive, they are also released under FOSS licenses. It’s good to see big companies contributing back to the community from which they have benefited. In Yahoo marketese these are Web 2.0 stuff, but I guess you can forgive them for that considering the quality of the tools.
Mail + Talk
IM is a pain in the ass. On Ubuntu, I use GAIM for my instant messaging needs. To be honest, it’s not a very nice experience. On Windows, I tried MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger and all sorts of other third party all-in-one programs. They all sucked. Enter Gmail + Talk.
The Myth of Intellectual Property
“Intellectual Property” is a phrase worth avoiding, as explained by much better people. Free Software advocates would be familiar with the reasons (I’m not very sure about the Open Source guys - ESR goes as far as to say that GPL is no longer needed, which, atleast to some of us, seems to be an unacceptable stand) but it’s not often you find the “management types” buying this idea.
Nidahasa
In Sinhala, we use one word for both independence and freedom. Nidahasa.
Vesess featured in “Web Designing”
After launching our second redesign a few months back, vesess.com was featured in several online design/css galleries. However, making it in to a printed publication is always a special thing, especially when it’s Japan’s leading web design magazine Web Designing.
How to make a Bamboo Cannon
The most popular search term that leads people to this site is Bamboo Cannon, and it’s only because of one random post. For the benefit of those inquisitive souls, and to celebrate the Independence Day of Sri Lanka which falls today, here is a concise guide to the making of this loud and risky* contraption.
Forms Markup and CSS
Any web designer who’s played around with xhtml and css long enough will admit that forms, perhaps after tables, are the biggest PITA in our trade. It even haunts the best of us, but so little seems to have been achieved as far as setting a proper standard is considered. Form related woes are as diverse as the different form layouts we see these days.
