Archive for ‘Softwares’ category

Creating a Virtual Machine in VMware Player 3.0

5 December, 2009 | admin | Comments

I’m making this post in the hope to reduce the doubts or understand the way how VMware Player works as a lot of people have their first hand experience trying out the new Google Chrome OS available for download as a virtual machine image.

This post is essential for undertanding how to create a Virutal Machine in VMware Player while the my next post will deal on how to run the Chrome Virtual Image using VMware Player 3.0 in particular.

So just follow the step by step process and you’ll end up with your virtual machine up and running! I’ve considered that you’ve already Downloaded the VMware Player and installed it on your system. If you’ve not done it yet, download WMware now (Needs registration but don’t worry it’s free!!)

Step 1:

Open VMware and the first “Welcome to VMware Player” window will pop up. Since this post is about “Creating a Virtual Machine”, let’s not talk about the other options on the list.

Directly click on the “Create a New Virtual Machine” on the top, highlighted with yellow and red arrow on the image.

VMware

VMware


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Posted in DIY, Softwares | Comments

Axure RP prototyping tool

5 July, 2009 | admin | Comments
Axure RP

Axure RP

Axure RP Pro is a dedicated tool for prototyping web sites, web applications, for a rapid creation of wireframes and specifications for applications and web sites. It’s based on concepts known from Visio and web design tools, and elegantly combines the best of the two worlds. It is a software tool that encompasses several information architecture deliverables in the one software package.

The main functional elements that Axure can do is create

  1. Annoated Wireframe
  2. HTML Prototypes
  3. Specification Documents

I’ve not gone much into using it but the software seems real interesting as I delve into it, the things it can do.

The other day, I was wondering about developing a wireframe for the DesignChef competition and I came to stumble on this wonderful software.

This is a basic tool for any interaction designer. I never knew such things existed before. I’d been using softwares like CorelDraw, Photoshop, or Illustrator or others of that kind to work on my prototypes. However, axure really makes it simple to create a full working HTML prototype real quickly.

Developing a prototype using such softwares are easy and if needs be, changes can be done in a flash. The widgets, with its drag and drop feature is quiet convenient and fast. The sitemap makes the controlling the navigation pattern simple and easy. The interaction pane helps you with page linking. Say if you’ve a button, and the page leads to a particular page when it is clicked – these structure is controlled using the Interaction Pane. With the Masters Pane, you can create master pages widget, which are essential for creating common headers , navigation or footers etc. These master widgets can be dragged and dropped to anywhere you want on the pages of the prototype and any changes on the master page will be reflected on each and every page. The page Notes and Interaction gives you options to put comments and descriptions making the page more meaningful!

Other prototyping tools include Balsamiq and iPlotz. I’ve not been able to get my hands on them, but sure I do believe they are great tools too. But sure enough, some UX designers think sketches still is a powerful tool for any UX designer or Information Architect. Sure enough, T Scott Stromberg has a point here in this article at 404 User Experience Design!!

Interesting enough, try a hand out yourself and share your experience of these softwares with me…

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Posted in Featured, Headline, Reviews, Softwares, UX/UI Design | Comments

Apple iPhone 3.0 software update

23 March, 2009 | admin | Comments
Apple iPone 3.0

Apple iPone 3.0

Come June, Apple CEO Steve Jobs will rejoin after his extended medical leave (The cancer case was one of the rarest kind of which there is a cure and fortunately he’s cured). That is when we will be geting our 3.0 software upgrade for the iphone free of cost and for the iPod touch for $9.95.
Short of Jargon, Apple will give developers the tools to make better iPhone Applications, but what will the users get?

Here’s the list of the key benefits out of a 100 Apple says the iPhone 3.0 update will give.

1) Cut, Copy and Paste across all applications. (When this annoucnement was made, thunderous applause greeted prompting synics to ask why peoople were clapping for a feature that every mobile phone already has!!)
2) Forwarding SMSes and the ability to delete multiple messages at one go.
3) MMS, I isn’t quiest necessary, but with QR code it can be used to sell tickets. QR codes store addresses, URLs and other informations that can appear in magazines, business cards, on advertisements and tickets. The code can be generated by a phone application and sent to a user as an MMS. This again is scanned using a mobile phone to permit entry to converts, movies among other things.
4) Spotlight. OS X Leopard’s search facility will be added to the phone. I always hated swiping through seven or eight pages to find the app I wanted to run. With spotlight I’l get there in a jiffy.
5) Turn by turn GPS navigation. If your city is not mapped properly by google you can download third-party maps like map my india.

6) Support for Bluetooth stereo headphones.
7) Exchange files and contacts over Bluetooth. Songs will be excluded. 8) Instantly hook up with another Bluetooth phone and start playing games. No pairing is required.
9) You can now type your emails in landscape mode. This gives you more space between keys and lessens the chances of hittin the wrong alphabet. You can type fater this way.
10) Parental Controls. Parents can now ban sites and videos that they do not want their children to watch.
11) Better streaming of videos. The iPhones will adjust playback depending on your internet speed. So you’ll get uninterrupted streaming.
12) Tethering. You can use your iPhone as a modem to get onto the Internet.
13) Voice Memo. You can record your letters and mail them and even attach contacts.
14) Sending contacts to others.
15) Attach multiple photos in an e-mail. Currently you can attach only one picture.
16) Search your e-mails. If it is not found on the phone it will search the server too.
17) Subscriptions. This will allow you to buy new levels of games through the application. You’ll be able to buy magazines, books and even newspapers through the Kindle 2 app that is already available in teh Apps Store.
18) Push. Instead of running applications simultaneously, draining battery life, audio and text alerts will be pushed into the closed app.
19) Medical Apps will alow you to measure your blood sugar levels through an adaptor and even track your blood pressure.
20) With the freedom given to developers the iPhone can be turned into a control panel for practically any piece of electronics you can plug it into. This will allow users to pair the phone with a set os speakers to turn the screen into a digital equalizer. And oh yes, just shake your phone to shuffle your songs. Remember it’s and iPod too!!

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Posted in Gadgets, Softwares | Comments

Portable Google Chrome 2.0.169.0 Beta

11 March, 2009 | admin | Comments

Chromium is the open-source project behind Google Chrome. Google Chrome is a browser with intuitive and innovative User interface design with sophisticated technology that makes the web faster, safer (although IE is above in security list for now), and easier. The One Box for Everything ideology makes it possible for your
to type in the address bar and get suggestions for both search and web pages; will give you thumbnails of your top sites; Access your favorite pages instantly with lightning speed from any new tab.
A portable application can be run from a removable drive (USB flash drive, iPod, portable hard drive, etc) on any Windows computer without installation. You will carry the program with settings on removable drive and don’t modify settings on
host computer.



 Extract (with a PortableApps folder at the device’s root) and run ChromePortable or ChromiumPortable. If you want to add parameters, start in incognito mode, delete cache or allow multiple instances: edit Chrom*Portable.ini.
 Extract Plugins (with a PortableApps folder at the device’s root): Flash 10.0.22.87 & Gears 0.5.8.0.
 Settings of installed Chrome should be preserved.



Internet browser (more infos) without installation.
Download Portable Google Chrome Beta on RapidShare (7.9 MB) (md5:bdd46b84b00941e8048c90a695afb137)
Download Portable Chromium on RapidShare (8.0 MB) (md5: a6a886a36edbac16feba44d81bad2319)
Download Portable Chrome Final on RapidShare (7.5 MB) (md5: 056dc3ae922f50f6b6042d02745bc943)
Download Plugins on Zone-DL (2.5 MB) (md5: d8dff930fcabd2536eb536228d35e9e2)

Download Portable Chrome Final on Share1t (7.5 MB)
Download Portable Google Chrome Beta on Share1t (7.9 MB)
 Download Portable Chromium on Share1t (8.0 MB)
 Download Plugins on Share1t (2.5 MB)

And if you want the PC version of Google Chrome, Download : Google Chrome 2.0.169.0


Results in Acid3 Test :
Chrome Beta & Chromium: 100 %
Chrome Final: 79 %

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Posted in Softwares | Comments