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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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Facebook Privacy Settings - important to review but generally ignored

A depiction of the Padmavyuha or Chakravyuha formation, from WikipediaNot 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...

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