Thursday, October 21, 2004

Eureka?

I have a product idea.

What if there were a desktop editor (well.. not really a desktop editor), which could act like a gimp or a photo editor for whatever is being viewed on your screen. I mean like editing the screenshot. It should not be like just a text, or a photo, or a whatever specific editor, but a universal editor. Ok, let's call this (whatever it is) -- the editor, for the time being.

Now, what the editor should actually do, is act like a function toolbox, as in, say Powerpoint. What should essentially happen when you double-click the editor, is -- it should be there hanging like a spaceship (like those toolbars in Powerpoint), or maybe get embedded in the taskbar -- but that's not what the issue is. The issue is -- now whatever one can view on the screen should be editable. So, if I am viewing a webpage, and I need to encirle, mark, smudge, add a text box, or a special shape box, or whatever other function a photo/any editor has, I should be able to do that on the screenshot. And also remove it whenever I wish (Not like idiotic Microsoft Paint, which has no memory of how whatever looked like a while back).

This could be done by adding layers over the screenshot, like in gimp (that's why I mentioned it in the start, see I know my stuff!). So imagine you are reading a webpage, or a stupidly uneditable pdf, or two documents in two windows each sharing the screen, and now you feel the itch to draw connections between the documents. No sweat, just open this editor, encircle stuff, draw arrows, mark stuff, write implications, and bingo. Save it!

Later, someone else comes by when you are reviewing it all, and proves something you have written as wrong or incomplete. Swear whatever you wish against him/her. But no harm, get the editor, erase the stuff, write new implications. Done! Go wash your hands! Simple.

Well, potential problems:

1. What happens when you are viewing a document which extends beyond a page (which invariably is the case), and you need a scroller. How does this editor work then. Do you take several screenshots and keep marking and saving?

2. I guess you'll save it as an image, or whatever way a photo editor saves its stuff. Does that invite any problems while re-editing? Well, we're working with layers here, with or without merging them (as your choice), so what's the big deal? Whatever.

3. I do not know how to make it, neither do I wish to. :D

I just wish such a product already exists. It seems like a typical "Duh!" idea to me. It looks very useful, and simple enough for anyone to get the idea to make it. So is anyone out there who already has it? Or shall I just sell it instead?

Who said great ideas happen in a bathtub.

The Great.

Sunday, October 10, 2004

The 50-book challenge..

Have recently finished reading 'Lajja' by Taslima Nasrin. Great book. Must read. So much so for the review. The real point is that this record of mine, of reading books with sad endings Vs books with happy endings, is just going from bad to worse book by book. Since January this year whatever I've read has been predominantly depressing. And I am depressed. What else?! I need a happy happy book now.

Oh and by the way, why have I been keeping record of books I read? Well, there's something called a 50-book challenge (which some of you might know of very well) that I've taken up unknowingly. And am I a big big loser! Have now picked up just the 15th book for the year - 'The Goal II - It's Not Luck' by Eliyahu M. Goldratt, and it's October already :(

Anyhow, the book is good, but isn't as captivating as the first novel - 'The Goal' (and by the way, if you are an engineer and haven't yet read this, I'd sugguest you drop dead!). This I say while I am just halfway through it and so the review might change. Have been trying to talk myself into picking up Lotr for long now, but I am just not being able to do that, which is very surprising considering my love for the movie(s). Plan to finish off Goal II over the weekend, and then pick up on my speed. I hope to do at least 25 this year. Even that'll be great!

Keeping my fingers crossed,

Ankur.

Thursday, October 07, 2004

Random Browsing 1

Alexa Web Search - Toolbar Quick Tour

Came across this toolbar while doing some search for a project at workplace. Proved to be very helpful in what I intended to do.

The particularly interesting thing, which is the only feature on which it would score over Google Toolbar, is the Site Info thing. It gives quite a bit of info about the traffic behaviour on the open website, ranging from how many people visit the site, to what do they do once they are here. Also it lists all the websites which link in to the given page with their given rankings based on the traffic over the day/week/3 months. Yahoo is number 1, while Google is way behind from the top spot.

On the same lines, found out more about the Google's PageRank system here - Uncovering Google's PageRank System. Nice read if you are an illiterate in these matters.

Tadaa,

Ankur.

PS: This is my first non-test post from BlogThis!
PS: (Deja-vu!) The title to the entry is a stolen one, and has appeared on a lot of blogs I visit. But then, that's what it is - random browsing.


Tuesday, October 05, 2004

The Great's way

The Great's way

Testing BlogThis!

1 2 3 ...