My all-time favorite Google feature

Searching by date of publication of a web page is my all-time favorite Google feature.

My biggest grouse about the Internet is that many academic and technical articles don't carry a date of publication. As some topics lose relevance over a period of time, it is hard to judge if the piece you just finished reading is still useful. Typically, all search engines get you the most popular links for what you're searching in precedence to new and more accurate material.

The Any Time drop down menu visible when you click on the Search Tools button on Google has been helpful to me in my research activities a lot of times by getting me the most recent and accurate results on time-sensitive topics.

Also see:
My favorite Chrome Extensions
My favorite jQuery plugins
My favorite Foxit Reader keyboard shortcuts

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Beware - Airtel's Unlimited Internet Plan includes Unlimited Nagging

Airtel offers Unlimited Internet Plans at different prices across India. As with other Internet Service Providers, "unlimited" means you will get the service at a specified speed till you reach a particular bandwidth limit (10GB in the plan I opted for).  Upon completion of consumption of that built-in limit, the Internet speed is revised as per a previously agreed bill plan till the end of the current bill cycle.

Misusing a TRAI directive (that states 'service operator should provide alert to the customer at the time of login to the network when his usage reaches 80% of the data usage limit bundled with the plan and to ensure that such alert shall be provided at each login after data usage crosses the said limit of 80%') Airtel presents a nagging ad to 'purchase additional at your original "high speed"' and if you don't opt for it you have to fill a pesky CAPTCHA each time you restart your Internet connection (or just close the window every time it appears). Does TRAI approve of the ad & the stupid CAPTCHA?

This highly annoying "alert" obviously seems to be designed to discourage subscribers from consuming more than the "high speed" bandwidth data limit. In that case, the plan is not truly "unlimited". Why mislead & annoy customers? And why does TRAI ask service providers that a alert be provided AT EACH LOGIN after data usage crosses the said limit of 80%? Isn't reminding gently once or twice enough?

Related: Low bandwidth? Try mobile version of popular websites on PC/laptop

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Use the "inverted pyramid" for UI text in dialog boxes

Microsoft's user interface guidelines recommend using the "inverted pyramid" style for UI text in dialog boxes.

In the inverted pyramid structure you get right to the point with the essential information, let users stop reading at any time they choose, and use a Help link to present the remainder of the pyramid.

It also recommends avoiding over-communication and using the prominent main instruction to explain concisely what to do.

I recently ran into this Visual Studio 2012 dialog box:

It did not heed to the above guidelines and it took me more than just one reading to get the message.

Related:

• UX anti-patterns & other avoidable annoyances
• User Experience - Stack Exchange: Should I use Yes/No or Ok/Cancel on my message box? 

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Know your MP, MLA

More than ever, Indians have a need to know about their elected representatives and if they are doing their job well. While most Indians may have a deep concern for the state of affairs in the country, they may not know who the MP, MLA is for their location.

Here is a list of websites that can help you know more about the Member of Parliament and Member of the Legislative Assembly for your location -

• MyNeta.info which tracks national, state and local body elections and elected leaders, is possibly the most comprehensive website on this topic. The site also provides information about elected representatives for a location via SMS & their toll-free helpline number 1800-110-440
• EmpoweringIndia.org provides interactive reports on contestants and elected representatives. Did you know, 9 of the 42 MPs from Andhra Pradesh have had criminal charges against them?
• Govcheck.net sources its data from the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and Election Comission of India websites
• Netapedia.in, a website started by a bunch of IIT-B alumni which provides visitors with a‘resume’ of sorts of India’s major politicians. 
• The official Indian Parliamentary website has profiles of current Parliamentarians.

Google ran a site called Google India Elections Centre before the last national elections that contained comprehensive information about the contestants. That site no longer exists.

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Comparison of SharePoint Online Features and SharePoint On-Premise

If you don't want to bother about the creation & maintenance of your SharePoint infrastructure but still wish to leverage its benefits, SharePoint Online is a great choice. SharePoint Online is a component of Office 365 and is hosted in the cloud.

While the benefits of SharePoint Online are attractive, you have to be aware of how it is different from a SharePoint On-Premise deployment. Here are a bunch of articles that talk about the differences -

• MSDN: Comparison of SharePoint Online Features and SharePoint Server Features
• Technet: SharePoint feature availability across Office 365 plans
• Sand-boxed Solution Restrictions in SharePoint Online

work in progress...

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Facebook Privacy Settings - important to review but generally ignored

A depiction of the Padmavyuha or 
Chakravyuha formation, from Wikipedia

Not understanding Facebook privacy settings before getting into it is like Abhimanyu landing into the Chakravyuh trap in the Mahabharata battle of Kurukshetra - it can lead to unsavory social consequences.

Like most teenagers of the previous generation who anxiously yearned to get a driving license when they turned 18, these days driven by peer pressure, teenagers eagerly look forward to turn 13 so that they can legally subscribe to Facebook.

The privacy settings are too many and in my opinion, purposely defined in a complicated way so that users don't bother with them and accept the default settings which are not in their best interest.

So for Facebook users, a little time spent reading about the Facebook Privacy Settings & implementing them can go a long way in protecting their online social reputation.

Also see: Don't let Chrome & Firefox remember your passwords on a shared computer

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