State of Technology #36

#at_other_places –

• Frontend SPOF (Single Point of Failure) analysis for Top Sites
• 4.74 degrees of Kevin Bacon

#architecture – Known Scalable Architecture Templates

“Gossip and Nature-inspired Architectures - This model follows the idea of gossip in normal life, and the idea is that each node randomly pick and exchange information with follow nodes. Just like in real life, Gossip algorithms spread the information surprisingly fast. Another aspect of this are Biology inspired algorithms. Natural world has remarkable algorithm for coordination and scale. For example, Ants, Folks, Bees etc., are capable of coordinating in scalable manner with minimal communication. These algorithms borrow ideas from such occurrences. The paper “From epidemics to distributed computing” discusses the models.”

#code – Build a Chrome Extension in < 60 min

#design – HTML5 Showcase for Developers – The WOW and the HOW

#essay – Clayton Christensen mentions Turbotax and Quickbooks (‘where jobs are very stable over long periods, not vulnerable to product life cycles’; 58’) on ‘Reinventing IT’ – 5 themes on how ‘little boys can beat big giants’ –

1. Disruption
2. Compete against Non-consumption
3. Supply chain disruption
4. Target job, not the customer
5. Catch the tide of decommoditization

#mobile – Why CTR (Click through Ratio) is so high in Mobile - Fat finger fumbling – “Ohh yes… when you are pinch-zooming and do it a bit sloppy.. or when scrolling and accidentally tap instead…”
#saas – You only control 1/3^rd of your Page Load Performance - “You cannot rely on big 3^rd party providers to always deliver high performance. You should be aware of the problems that can occur if you put Third Party Content on your page and you really have to take action.”

#social – VP Engineering Netflix gives a detailed analysis of 5-star rating system

“However, your users will rate less content the more options your rating system provides. You will get more ratings if you give your users fewer choices, so a 10 option system turns out to be worse than a 5 option system. Netflix uses a 5 star rating system. At a couple of points in the product history, Netflix made available or tested half stars.”

 

#tool –  Worst Offenders – ‘Tracking the Trackers’ – things that slow down web the most – from one of the best browser tool ‘Ghostery’
 

#tweaks n’ hacks – An Illustrated Guide to Cryptographic Hashes

#etc 

• The effect of promotions on heart disease (NA for Government)

• Email vs. Humanity : 0 – 2: Don Knuth scores the first; Atos scores the second.

 

#parting_thought – ‘ Everyone has an invisible sign hanging from their neck saying, Make me feel important. Never forget this message when working with people’ – Mary Kay