Google comes up with so many innovative as well as user friendly ideas at reasonable price. When compared to Lotus notes or Microsoft Exchange, Google Apps provides tools at a very low price. Services provided by Google App engine makes it easier for an employee  to work smoothly and efficiently. What makes Google Apps special ?? . Answer to that question will be ” Google gives good quality services to any person or organization at affordable cost “.

Google Apps provides many services. Among them the most widely used and appreciated tools include

• GMail: Run your business, not your server
• Google Docs: Manage meetings online with Google calendar
• Google Calendar: Online docs with real time collaboration
• Google Sites: Create dynamic web pages in an easy way as creating a document
• Google Talk: Make calls and get your chat on
• Google Videos: Google hosted video. Saves you time and money

These itself could support the various levels of communication in an organization in a more simpler and more effective way. Adding cherry to the cake is the price. These Google App engine tools come at affordable prices and that too in different editions.

1. Premium edition ($50 per user per year)
2. Education/Non-profit edition (comes free to a limited number of users)
3. Standard edition (comes free to individual users)

You can compare the different editions:

1. Standard Vs Premium
2. Education/Non-profit Vs Premium

You can visit these links to get more information about Google Apps

http://www.google.com/apps/

http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/index.html#utm_medium=et&utm_source=catch_all

The wait is over. Microsoft is all set to launch its new Operating System Windows 7. Although the product was released to manufacturing on July 22^nd, 2009, it will be available for the public only today (Oct 22^nd, 2009). The Operating System comes in 6 packages. Each of these packages is meant for different types of customers. The packages are Starter, Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate, OEM and Enterprise.

A look back

Windows XP has survived more than Microsoft would have imagined. Since its first appearance in October, 2001, the Operating System is still one of the best in the market. Microsoft says over 400 million copies were in use. Although Microsoft stopped the delivery of XP from Jan 31^st, 2009, downgrade option is still available. To be in market for 8 years and still find place to stick around, is an achievement to talk about.

Known by its codename ‘Longhorn’, Vista came into the picture with great expectations in 2007. But the Longhorn did not serve to be a horn for Microsoft. Vista neither compromised on low hardware configurations nor delivered the expected performance. Complaints and weird feedback filled the air. And not surprisingly, most of the customers either continued with XP or looked for alternative Operating Systems.

A positive look forward

With the bar set high for the next Operating System, the Microsoft team started working few years back and has now come up with a product which has generated non-skeptical positive response even from the world’s best analysts. Let’s take a look at a few features that has paved the way for this.

System Requirements – Normal

The Operating System is designed to support 32 bit and 64 bit processors. The minimum system requirements  for the best performance of the product are not highly demanding. Glance at the following table for the exact details.

Lightweight

It takes not more than 30 minutes for a normal install. However, this certainly depends on the hardware of the system and the type of install used (Upgrade or Fresh). The development team has worked in optimizing the underlying code and also removed software like Movie Maker, Mail etc. These are now available in the Microsoft site as free download. The adoption to this new trend has reduced the size of the Operating System and has made it lightweight. Windows 7 can be installed in netbooks and nettops also.

Better Battery Life

One of the concerns for a laptop user is the backup time his laptop offers. If the Operating System enables him to increase this backup time, it is definitely something to cheer about. Windows 7 saves 30% of the backup time if the previous Operating System used was Windows XP. This was announced publicly by Rob Bernard, Microsoft’s Chief Environmental Strategist.

Third Party Software Evaded

Windows 7 emdeds into it, functionalities that require third party software support. Notable ones are:

• ISO image burner
• Fingerprint sensor management

An ISO image file has so far been an unrecognized format in Windows without a third party software support. In Windows 7, you can double click an ISO file and burn it right away. Windows Biometric Framework is a new addition that avoids the necessity for third party software to manage all biometric management activities. Fingerprint sensor is one example. Windows 7 manages this on its own.

New Taskbar

The new taskbar is arguably one of the best features of Windows 7. It works even better than the Mac OS X dock. It looks like a modified Vista. But behind the screens, there is a complete change of code. Mouse over has been dealt with in an innovative way that is sure to attract the public. Pinning to start menu has also become much easier now. Jump list, a new feature, manages recently opened documents. The show desktop icon is brought into the taskbar. And it works with just a mouse over.

PowerShell

PowerShell is a command-line tool that administers various tasks using cmdlets. Cmd and command were available earlier. With the new command-line tool, it is possible to bring out all GUI functionalities. This tool could become very handy for administrators. Although PowerShell could be downloaded for XP and Vista, it was not a very big hit. Microsoft has decided to bring it as a built-in feature for Windows 7.

There are a number of other features that are sure to influence the public. The control panel has been modified and made more users-friendly. The Operating System integrates backup utility with the control panel. Problem Steps Recorder is a new tool that captures user actions and helps debuggers. System repair disc can now be created during administrator works. The features and innovative developments in Windows 7 makes it more than just a Vista debacle fixer or an ideal XP successor. I can’t wait to get my hands on it!

In my previous article, we discussed all the video formats that are predominantly used in web. Here, we are going to see how these different formats are effectively delivered in the web. There are three methods that genuine developers have used so far to bring video into web. Let’s list them chronologically and get to know them in simple terms.

• Downloading

This traditional method is the one in which the user will have to wait for the file to download in his local machine and then play the file in a player. The user will not be able to view the video unless the file is downloaded completely. He must also choose the right player to play the file. Right player, in the sense: the one which understands the codec used by the video file.

Accomplishing this method in a webpage is pretty simple for a developer. He has to upload the file in the web server and provide a link to the file in the webpage. An alternate method is to embed the file in the webpage with a player using a HTML code. When the user clicks the link, the download begins. This method is commonly referred to as HTTP Streaming. This method is still used by a number of sites. And yes the point is it does not cause any trouble if the site traffic is low. One notable inability of this traditional method is that no live streaming can be done since there can never be a complete file during live transmission.

• Streaming

In the case of a streamed video, the file is sent to the end user in a continuous stream which allows him to watch the video as and when it reaches the local system. Streaming has gained so much popularity with live telecasts. When you browse through the web you will find podcasts and webcasts delivering video. Both of these use streaming method to deliver video. A webcast is mostly a single file that is played live or on demand whereas a podcast comes as a series and is delivered on demand. Another widely used streamed application in countries like US and UK is the internet television. Let’s break down streaming and get into the next level.

o   Progressive streaming

o   True streaming

Progressive streaming is used for on demand videos. If the video is delivered progressively, then the video file gets saved in the local system and plays from the local. Once the video is done playing, it will still be available for replay. This is not the case with true streaming which plays the file without saving it in the local. So once the player has completed playing once, it will not be further available for replay. A perfect example would be a live match that is telecasted through the internet.

Streaming is complex which could be understood only when tried. Protocol selection is one which could add to the complexity. Unicast protocols may be a feasible one for modest websites but more number of concurrent users could upset the system unless there is sufficient storage provided. Multicast protocols compel to forgo on demand function which might not be possible for all. UDP (datagram) may not be efficient as the others.

The data (video files) may be stored in-house or outsourced. Most of the companies outsource the complete process in order to avoid complexities. A few major products available to service video on web are FMS (Flash Media Server), Wowza, QTSS (Quick Time Streaming Server). This is another area which I will cover in my next article. Now we’ll move on to the next method.

• Progressive Downloading

The method of progressive download is similar to Streaming. However, this method uses a HTTP protocol. Also there is difference in how data is interpreted at the user’s end. YouTube.com uses progressive download for its video service. Gaining access to the video is also simple as the file is mostly saved in the temp folder. The file could be stolen by anyone and this has given rise to piracy and security problems. In the streaming method, a similar situation will not arise because at no time will the entire file be downloaded locally.

I hope to have put these video concepts in simple terms. Do contact me if you like to know more about video on web.

Although a frequently used word, I began to think about “Assertiveness” only when I was taking a presentation on “Power & Politics” in my Organizational Behaviour class during MBA. One of the tactics used by people in an organization to gain power over others was stated as “Assertiveness”. I did not provide any further explanation for the term. During the discussion time, one of my classmates in the audience asked me for more details about the term. I fumbled a bit and managed to find my way through . However, our Professor noticed this and later called me to his room and gave me a book on this subject. The insights which I gained from that book are significant and I feel it is very useful in an organizational context. So I am sharing what I know about the topic in this post.

There are four states of behavior of a person:

1. Aggressive
2. Passive
3. Passive/Aggressive
4. Assertive

Let us try to understand the terms with a situation:

You gave a report to a subordinate to be completed at 3 p.m. and he hasn’t given it till 3.15 p.m. The responses from the different behavioral types would be as follows:

The passive person says in a shy way “ Hi,… err… Are you busy?.. I was wondering if…. … if that file is near completion yet?”

The aggressive person goes to the subordinate in a stern way and shouts “ So where is that <____> report?!! .. You are a lazy %#$%#^ “ .

The passive/aggressive person’s comment would be “ I suppose if I want that report I’ll have to do it myself”. This is followed by the self talk “Next time he wants something from me, he is really going to get it ”

An ASSERTIVE person would say “ We agreed the report would be ready by 3 p.m. and now it is 3.15 p.m. Is there a problem?”. He would try to gain an understanding on the situation and find a solution.

You might have noticed such situations during work. It is widely agreed by psychologists that a person and his behavior are different. The outcome of any situation is directly dependent on the person’s behavior. This in turn is dependent on several factors like fears, feelings, emotions, beliefs, experiences, self-esteem, worries, etc. A person responds to the same situation differently depending on his mindset. A clear example that can be provided is the approach which a batsman takes when facing the same bowler in tests and T-20’s. It becomes easier to change your behavior once this realization takes place.

Let us try to describe the term “Assertiveness”

Behavior type: keen to stand up for one’s own rights while accepting that others have rights too.

Four corner stones of assertiveness:

1. Good eye contact
2. Open posture (The open stance has arms and legs not crossed in any way)
3. The words used (Speaking in terms of  “WE” rather than YOU and I” )
4. Neutral tone of voice

How to think assertively:

1. Do a bit of planning about situations that you might encounter.
2. Try to reason with yourself and control your behavior. (This requires conscious thought. )
3. Know your rights – to get respect, to talk, to make mistakes, to choose your own feeling or emotions, etc.

How to behave assertively:

1. Stay in control of your feelings
2. Stand your guard
3. Confront an issue with another person

Sometimes you might be at the other end of an aggressive conversation. To deal with this some techniques can be used. One is to listen to only the words and mentally filtering out the tone and style in which the person is communicating. Other is to keep on asking for facts from the aggressor. The aggressor is sure to tone down if you do not respond in the way he wants you to.

Advantages: You achieve results, people like and respect you, your confidence and self-esteem remains robust, you suffer less stress.

For effectiveness in an organizational setting, a conscious effort and a step-by-step approach of  implementing the idea of assertiveness is needed. Always remember the 4 cornerstones.

“Future is Web” is a phrase we have been hearing for a few years now. And the latest talk on web is the web OS! But on second thoughts, does the web have enough power to replace the feature and flexibility that an OS provides? To mimic the operations of an operating system, we have Java, Flash, Silverlight and similar things. None of these are capable of doing some of the basic features that an OS provides. The basic functionalities that an OS requires like memory and process management, are alien to web applications. The delay in I/O is another key factor which restricts the further development of a web OS. So a pure web OS is a distant future.

The giant has already made promises of a pure web based OS. Yes, I am talking about Google Chrome OS which is in development now. By studying the latest products from Google, it won’t be anything bigger than an Android in better shape. Android which is a purely web oriented OS for mobile phones may be tweaked to an extent where it can be used in low power portable computers, or precisely – Netbooks. But the key point to be noted here is that, Chrome will be a web ‘based’ OS, not an OS in the web. So what will be a pure web OS? And why should one need it?

Mobility is the first advantage of having a pure web OS. Resource sharing and low cost end user hardware is another one. Consider having an entire OS in web, which will handle all the heavy tasks for you and all you need is a cheap, low end, web enabled notebook or netbook which is powerful enough to just run a browser. In short, you can encode an HD video even with a mobile phone! Interesting, isn’t it? Of course it is but the concept is very old and yet to become a reality. A few attempts have been made towards this end and the result was web applications like Google docs and Adobe’s online Photoshop. The interoperability of these online applications is essential for a web OS. No one will like to process a file in one application, download it and upload it to another application. It will be a fair job if these applications can send files/data to each other. It will be much better if both applications have access to a common online storage just like we have hard disks in our PC. And finally, it has to be free and open source! Before someone creates a perfect web OS, let’s take a look at something close to it. The eyeOS – an OS in a browser window, which is the Project of the Month in Sourceforge.

eyeOS is an attempt towards the perfect Web OS. “Open Source Cloud Desktop” is what they call it. You will have all your essential applications, a storage system and a desktop to integrate it all. eyeOS doesn’t look like a web page even though it’s inside the browser window. eyeOS package can be installed in your own server and you can allow other users to sign up and use it. The process is straightforward and simple as installing a Wordpress blog. The wizard driven installation won’t take much time and soon you will be provided with a login window as in normal OS. Once you pass this screen, you will take a couple of seconds to realize that what you are looking at is actually a web page inside a browser window. I was confused whether it was my Linux desktop; it has everything that a normal desktop should have. A task pane, notification area, desktop with changeable wallpapers and themes, games, application menu and everything that you won’t expect in a web page. It even has a browser and a task manager which lists the running processes like Windows Task Manager. The default installation comes with a handful of applications which can be further extended using a package manager like in most Linux distros. There is already a large pool of applications available for eyeOS. And all this is written in PHP and XML! Yes, eyeOS is a PHP application which runs on Apache server and doesn’t need a database. Instead of a database it relies on XML files. This is primarily for making the installation simple for the end user as all they would need to set up an eyeOS server is to enter account information for the first user. Flat files are used to avoid bottlenecks on data fetching. Core parts of eyeOS runs as independent applications and uses Javascript to send server commands. The UI is fast even on a 512kbps connection.

eyeOS is being developed by a company based in Barcelona and it’s currently in the 4th year of development. They also provide a tool kit with which we can develop cloud applications easily. A reasonably good wiki page, including a “Hello World application” is present to provide a walk-through towards eyeOS application development. Anyone fluent with PHP and Javascript can start writing applications for eyeOS without any further learning curve. You can try it out at their demo server : eyeos.info or get your copy of eyeOS package from here.

eyeOS may not be mature enough to host anything serious, but it is proof on how far a web application can go!

Almost a year back (Aug 15^th, ‘08, to be precise), AUTOMATTIC released WordPress 2.6.1 fixing over 60 bugs. Also the version featured with the introduction of ‘right to left’ typing for Hebrew and Farsi language administrators. In a very short period of time (may be around one month), the company alerted 2.6.1 version users of security holes in using the same. Here, in this small article, we are going to analyze those vulnerabilities that made AUTOMATTIC release an upgrade for WordPress version 2.6.1 so soon.

Ok, let’s be clear and to the point. The problem is created by the nature of:

1.    mt_rand () function of PHP and

2.    the truncation method that MySQL adopts

mt_rand ():

PHP has two random number generating functions: rand (), mt_rand (). The former uses GNU C library and the latter uses Mersenne Twister algorithm. Mersenne Twister algorithm was created by Takuji Nishimura and Makoto Matsumoto of Japan. mt_rand () is predominantly used in most of the PHP applications and most importantly, WordPress 2.6.1 uses it.

Normally a seed is used to initiate the generation of random numbers. If it is possible to determine that seed, we will be able to generate the same sequence for any number of times. In other words, we will be able to hack the working of random generation. Seed can be determined using a lookup. Now, once the seed is found, anyone can generate the sequence that the application generates. If you want to know how this is possible, you got to learn random number generation in PHP or there’s an alternative: bow to the fact that it is the nature of mt_rand () function.

Now, make a request for admin password which would send an activation link to the actual admin. But since we have the seed, we will be able to calculate the same activation link by enabling Keep Alive HTTP request.  Activating this link and using a different email ID in the form will allow creation of a new WordPress admin password and thereby complete control.

MySQL Truncation:

Let’s see the next one. When the string input given in a query is longer than the defined maximum length, MySQL, by default, truncates the string to the defined maximum length. For example, if the maximum value of the string column is defined to be 8 then, the input value, “qburst_expressions” will be truncated to “qburst_e”. There will be a warning displayed but, applications are normally not configured to handle those warnings. And importantly, WordPress version 2.6.1 was not.

Suppose I know the WordPress admin name, (let’s say, “godfrey”) and the maximum length of the username in MySQL is set as 32. When I register as a new user with the same name “godfrey”, obviously, MySQL will return an error as there already exists an username godfrey. Now, I try with “godfrey   “(with 2 spaces after the name), MySQL will truncate the string to “godfrey” and again return an error due to the same reason. Suppose I try with “godfrey                         g” (with 25 spaces between godfrey and g) then MySQL will not be able to identify a similar username and also truncate the name to “godfrey” to be inserted into the database column. This happen because the username exceeds the defined maximum length of 32 and the system will not be able to find a match in the database. Now we have 2 admin usernames in the table. This is sufficient to pass the validation and gain access to the password of the original admin, thereby complete control.

These holes in security made AUTOMATTIC to work on an upgrade at the earliest. And the next release fixed all these errors. So if you are planning to use WordPress, make sure you use the latest version and remain safe. WordPress 2.8.4 is available for download now. It is the latest stable version of WordPress according to the AUTOMATTIC’s last release.

It has been proved that the recession is the best time to start a business due to myriad reasons. The main advantage is that it won’t get worse than the prevailing situation and the expenses to start up a new venture is low compared to boom. For starting a new business or improving an existing one, the entrepreneur should have a good business plan. So, what makes a business plan that stays near to perfect and attracts equity? Here are the important ingredients which makes a perfect business plan.

The Executive Summary

Write this summary last, and make sure it contains the highlights of your plan. Assume your most important readers will read only this section.

The Company

A plan for a startup describes your strategy for creating the legal entity and how the initial ownership will be divided among the founders. It should also include a table that lists startup costs and initial funding. A plan for an ongoing or already existing company should describe the legal form of the business, the company history and the business’s past performance.

What You Sell

Describe the products or services you offer. Emphasize why buyers purchase those things, what benefits they get, and what pain points they have before they buy. Show how much it costs to deliver what you’re selling.

Your Market

Describe your target market, including market demographics, market growth and trends. Include a table that shows a market forecast. Describe the nature of your industry and the competition you have.

Strategy and Implementation

Strategy is all about focus. So focus on certain target market segments, certain products or services, and specific distribution avenues. Forecast your sales and the cost of sales. Define your milestones with dates, budgets and specific responsibilities.

Management Team

Name and describe the key members on your team. Include a table that shows personnel costs. List the gaps in the management team–if any–and show how they’re being addressed.

Financial Projections

Describe your financial strategy and how it supports your projected growth. Include a break-even analysis that shows risk as a matter of fixed vs. variable costs. Include projected profit or loss, cash flow and balance sheets.

Articles on Google waves is flooding the web, trying to bring out a deeper understanding on this wave renaissance. There is so much of expectation generated now as people are anxiously looking forward to get their hands on it. With the little information revealed by Google, let us try to figure out something more on how this is going to work. In Google wave 1 we discussed about Google waves as a product. This time let us view Google waves in the perspective of a developer, that is, Google waves as a platform.

What is a platform?

Platform in software realms can be understood as an entity on which software can be made to function. A platform provider will provide APIs (Application Programming Interface) for software to be developed in his platform. Let’s take a few examples: Java, the product of Sun Microsystems serves as a platform and it comes with APIs like AWT, JDBC, JMF and so on. These APIs are also provided by Sun Microsystems. Apple Inc, owner of iphone had APIs confidential until October 2008 when the company open sourced and made it license free to develop software applications to be run on iphone. Lately, there is facebook API which is both powerful and popular.

What about Google API?

Google has promised to come up with a public API which can be used by any developer to create applications that run on the wave platform. There are 2 ways by which a developer can make his presence felt in Google waves. The first method is by building robots or creating gadgets. The other method is by embedding waves on third party websites. Let’s try to get some insight on these new terminologies.

Robots, Gadgets and Embed API

Robots are automated participants in a wave. Remember the robot in ‘Lost in Space’. It is a similar kind of simulation except that these robots will function inside the computer. A robot created inside a wave will be able to read, modify and delete blips and wavelets. A wavelet is a smaller wave that is resident inside a wave and a blip resides inside a wavelet. The diagram below will give you better picture.

The developer can create robots and perform interactive operations within a wave. What are the interactive operations? Well, that is left to the creativity of the developer. Learn more about robots here. Wave Gadgets are similar to the ordinary gadgets in its mechanism to get embedded as third party development applications. But there is more offered. A wave gadget can function within a live wave. An example Google gives to explain this is one which lets participants of a wave to vote on where to go for lunch. Learn more about gadgets here.

The second method using Embed API enables to bring waves into third party websites. There will be simultaneous updates in websites as and when an update is made inside a wave. Google has already come up with a few embeds. ‘You tube playlist discuss’ is one among them and is sure to gain so much popularity.  Learn more about embed APIs here.

As Facebook is dominating now with so much integration, it is certain that we can expect even more from Google waves. So if you are a developer, be informed about what is going on in Google waves and get ready to play with the tools as soon as you get them.

Links for further study:

http://code.google.com/apis/wave/

http://googlewavedev.blogspot.com/

For most of us finding information on the Internet is synonymous with going to Google.com, typing in a word or phrase and clicking search. In fact Google does account for a major share of the search engine market and with good reason too. check this out if you are still in doubt.

Thus despite new players coming up, Google still remains the leader in information search on the web. That is exactly why it makes sense to understand and develop efficient googling techniques. Mentioned below are few tips which, when practiced while searching the web using Google, will save time and improve search results. (more…)