azharcs's comments

azharcs | 13 years ago | on: HN Meetup, Bangalore

I am in too. Since you've changed the location to Barleyz, Please update it on the thread too.

azharcs | 13 years ago | on: Python.org Redesign Preview

I like the design but I've some feedback.

- Search bar has to be well integrated with the primary navigation.

- Alignment of the search text field & the search button.

- Search text field has sharp edges while the button is slightly bigger and has rounded edges.

- I think increase/decrease your text size is redundant. Your target audience is programmers or people who want to learn programming. They already know how to zoom in/zoom out.

- Instead of showing an image of how to create an array. Wouldn't it be awesome, if we create a simple interactive shell where-in you show how to manipulate strings (reverse, capitalize etc. It will get user's who are new to Python excited about the language and its simplicity.

How can I contribute to the project?

azharcs | 13 years ago | on: Design Books Every Hacker Should Read

All these books are great but they are theoretical in their approach. It's good to be knowledgeable about Golden Ration or Fitts Law but it wouldn't be of immediate help on your next project. The books for Hackers should be pragmatic in their approach and not very theoretical.

The books I recommend are: Non-Designers Design Book by Robin Williams. It focuses on topics like Consistency, Alignment, Proximity, and Contrast. With these four rules, you can make 90% of your designs look good. It also explains briefly on what colors and typography to use. When you've firm grasp of the fundamentals, it would make sense to arm yourself with more theory.

Don't make me Think by Steve Krug. It teaches you to simplify and focus on the end-user.

azharcs | 13 years ago | on: A New Look for Facebook

IMO, its an extremely average redesign.

Major problem is responsive design, its not scalable for content heavy sites. Same code scaling for different screens, makes sense in theory but is nightmare in practice. I've been part of couple of projects where-in we learnt the hard way. Hence, you don't see any big site use responsive design in major way. Almost all sites (Facebook, Amazon, Flipkart) go with a different sites for mobile & desktop.

Also the use of white text on dark background is extremely hard to read. Hence you see pretty much every content-rich site uses white or light background with dark/grey text. An exception might be Myspace which went with dark background approach and failed miserably in engagement.

When using any site, we like consistency. By incorporating panels which open up from both left and right side, it provides an inconsistent feel while using the site. My usage might be completely different from yours. It is important to keep the overall layout consistent with content personalized based on users needs.

azharcs | 13 years ago | on: Google Maps redirect issue on Windows Phones is a matter of competition

First they block access to Youtube API. Now they decide to block access to Google Maps. Free and Open Web BS is just going too far. I don't think there is absolutely any part of the web which is free and open. It is conveniently used from time to time to convince people to contribute to their platforms.

azharcs | 13 years ago | on: Reddit user captures video of 2012 voting machines altering votes

I would like to disagree with Mr.Param who is either being a cynic or trying to be "me-too". India is aggressively moving away from paper-ballot voting to EVM's. In our last general elections, a million electronic voting machines (EVM's) were used which reduces vote-rigging, ballot capture etc. In maybe 5 years, we will be completely rid of paper-ballots.

For further read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_voting_machines

India also has option called "None of the Above" as a voting option, which is extremely democratic.

azharcs | 13 years ago | on: Ask HN: Where do you keep your ideas?

I keep them in a private folder on Dropbox. I can easily sort them by their names and I can access it across all my devices as Dropbox has a client for all popular platforms.

azharcs | 13 years ago | on: Android users outraged over Motorola's broken promise

HTC did the same with their HTC Desire phones. I own a HTC Desire HD and I regret buying an Android phone as the only update I received was 2.3 with their Sense UI crap-ware. I've lost faith in Android ecosystem with early users being denied new features and security updates because they want users to upgrade to newer phones.

azharcs | 14 years ago | on: Design is Horseshit

Some Startups with bad Design have managed to do very well (Craigslist, Ebay etc), but doesn't mean all the startups with bad design will do well. Good Design is necessary, it is what makes you subconsciously love something and use it more often.

azharcs | 15 years ago | on: Nokia Plan B

I think a quote by Henry Ford sums up the the whole Plan B and their approach.

"You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do." ~ Henry Ford

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