IndiaNIC pulls up yet another a illustrious win against Swallore at Corporate Premier League 2009 – played at H.L. Commerce Collage, Ahmedabad on 28th Jun, 2008.

Mihir Rawal – elucidated with a stunning quick fire 57 in a blink. Facing only 22 balls, he hit the ball all around the park and turned into a lime ball! Accompanied by Chandrakanta who smashed 19 of just 5!

Mihir – without any doubts, was declared Man of the Match!

Batting first, IndiaNIC scored 150 in 16 overs – which came outright unbeatable score for the opponents who wrapped up their innings for just 93.

All ‘n’ all, it was an exciting win – and IndiaNIC is now through to the Quarter Finals – where they’ll face Kataria Motors.

Just take a look at some of the cherished moments of an exciting win!

As a general rule, most Web developers, especially usability enthusiasts, say it is bad practice to use drop-down menus because they are confusing, annoying and oftentimes dysfunctional. From a design standpoint, however, drop-down menus are an excellent feature because they help clean up a busy layout. If structured correctly, drop-down menus can be a great navigation tool, while still being a usable and attractive design feature.

Yes, that’s right: drop-down navigation menus can be user-friendly. Just yesterday Jacob Nielsen the results of his recent drop-down menus study, in which he found out that big, two-dimensional drop-down panels that group navigation options help users to avoid scrolling and can precisely explain the user’s choices with effective use of typography, icons, and tooltips.

These panels appear temporarily and disappear on their own when users move the pointer to another top-level option or to a “regular” part of the screen. You can find more information about Nielsen’s study in his article Mega Drop-Down Navigation Menus Work Well.

Huge vertical drop-down panel from foodnetwork.com; notice a close button (the “x” in the upper right corner).

In this article we take a closer look at the nature of drop-down navigation menus, analyze situations in which they should or should not be used, discuss various implementations and finally showcase a couple of bad and good examples of such menus. The article also includes various tips and suggestions to help you work with your drop-down menus.

Where To Use Drop-Down Menus

You will often see many trends in which drop-down menus are used. Here are a few of the most common ones.

Organize Pages in a Section
Most commonly, drop-down menus are used to pull all of the pages in a certain category together in one organized element. This is essentially sub-navigation. Take a look at the design below. A drop-down element contains all of the different categories for a certain section of the website.

Organize Categories in a Blog
You will see many blogs use a drop-down menu to organize categories and tags. Why? Blogs are driven by a large amount of information, so the layout needs to be as clean as possible to hold that content. A drop-down menu ultimately helps pull together links, such as categories, out of layout elements, such as the sidebar.

Show Products on an eCommerce Website
You will see many e-commerce websites use drop-down menus to show products or categories of products. The drop-down menu is a friendly feature that all consumers can easily figure out, so it is a perfect way to organize products. The Best Buy website, shown below, does just this.

Display Modules
A drop-down can be an excellent way to tuck away an obstructive menu, which the user can click on to reveal. Take the example below, for instance. The sign-in element is part of the navigation, then appears in the form of a drop-down. This is a great way to take this large element out of the layout without negatively impacting usability.

Best Practices

Drop-down menus do in fact organize content into small, uncluttered elements, but if not done correctly, they can be just as bad as a messy layout. Here are some ways to make this controversial element more usable.

Avoid a Drop-Down with More than Two Levels
Overall, this is just about the worst mistake one could make with drop-down menus in terms of usability. If done with a hover menu structure, the user will lose focus of the menu whenever the mouse pointer moves away from it. If done with a clickable structure, it has too many buttons and doesn’t work nicely.

The website shown below makes this mistake. The menus are very difficult to use because if you even slightly lose focus of the menu with the mouse pointer, you have to start from the top. Notice the tooltip, which also gets in the way of the navigation.

Option 1: Hover Menu
Basically, there are two ways to approach the drop-down menu: with either a hover or a click to activate the menu. From a design and convenience standpoint, a hover menu is better.

Option 2: Clickable Menu
On the other hand, many will argue that a clickable menu is better because it is much more usable. Reason? Because of the way a hover menu is constructed, the user has to have the pointer over the menu at all times. If the user loses focus of the hover menu, it closes. Therefore, it is better to go with a drop-down menu that is activated by clicking a button, then deactivated by clicking the button once more.

CSS-Tricks has a tutorial showing how to create a layout similar to that of Digg. It is a perfect drop-down menu with a click-to-activate/deactivate feature, so it’s certainly something you should take a look at.

Also, Google features a usable drop-down menu using the click on/off trick.

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If you’re wondering why all of a sudden your store stopped working and the “Add to Cart” is no longer working! – then you’re not guessing, it is official now.

Yahoo! officially disabled the .com URLs for the checkout/shopping carts for Yahoo! Stores. If your store was coded to have the form actions with http://order.store.yahoo.com – then your customers will not be able to buy the goods. Rather, they’ll see a screen like you see by clicking the link below:

http://order.store.yahoo.com

The fix required is to change the URLs of the entire store to use the http://order.store.yahoo.net to have them lead to the correct domain.

IndiaNIC understands the position of our valuable customers and hence, if you’re an existing or ex-customer of IndiaNIC, just let us know if you had experienced this problem and we’ll fix it up for you for absolutely free of charge!

We realize that you do not have to worry for a change in the platform and we’re more than glad to do an upgrade to our code – for which you are not required to pay.

If you are not an IndiaNIC customer and want to fix this – we’re more than glad to assist you in the upgrade of the code.

Just let us know your interest by sending an email to yahoostore@indianic.com.

For more about Yahoo! Store Checkout Upgarde – visit Official Yahoo! Store Blog.

Find out more about Yahoo! Store services at IndiaNIC

Whilst the festive period represents a welcome break for some, it can be a busy time of year for many small to medium-sized business owners. The race to get work completed before the year is out coupled with the desire to launch full throttle into the following year, can often seem unachievable. However, Bibby Financial Services is encouraging owners and managers in the South West to ‘stop and pause’ and review their business to ensure it’s in the best possible shape for the year ahead, which is set to be another challenging twelve months.

Ashley Clarke, South West head of sales of Bibby Financial Services, comments, “While Christmas is a busy time for many owners and managers – trying to finish 2008 on an even keel and find the time to plan for the next twelve months, reviewing business practices is an invaluable exercise for the year ahead. With another tough year upon us, owners and managers that invest the time now will reap the rewards of their efforts well in to 2009.”

With a ‘Business health-check’ in mind, Bibby Financial Services has developed a tip for each of the twelve days of Christmas for owners and managers who want to get their business fit for the New Year and beyond:

1. Be realistic: Whether you are just starting out, or want to develop your business further in the new year, be realistic about what you can achieve. Know your strengths, how they can be best be utilised within your operating environment and the current economy. Don’t be afraid to seek professional advice where both you and your business will benefit.

2. Credit check: Don’t hide in your shell when it comes to customers, credit-checks bring security and peace of mind. With the current economy, you may already be experiencing longer payment terms, however a common and accepted business practice, credit checking ensures a smoother business relationship overall with no nasty surprises further down the line. Keep an eye on customers’ payment trends and spot potential problems before they become major issues – forewarned is forearmed.

3. Get protection: In the current climate being prepared for bad debt is crucial, avoid payment problems before they happen. Research shows that 47 per cent[1] of owners and mangers have no provisions in place to cope with bad debt. Investing in bad debt protection ensures you receive payment, even if your customer becomes insolvent, bringing security and peace of mind to areas otherwise beyond your control.

4. Review suppliers: Are you getting the best deal from your suppliers – shop around and negotiate longer credit terms (you don’t get if you don’t ask!). Suppliers are keen to keep as much business as they can so take advantage of any special deals on offer.

5. Keep in contact: Can your customers contact you easily? How do you communicate with your core customers? Regular communication is key to knowing your customers and keeping your business front of mind. Assess the communications tools you currently use – from the simple things such as answering machine messages, to customer newsletters and your company website.

6. Read the small print: If you are looking to secure business funding don’t be tempted by the largest amount without thoroughly understanding the fee structure and reading through all the terms and conditions. If the sum on offer from one lender is significantly larger than the rest, you could still pay dearly so be sure to go through all the small print. There are many alternative finance solutions, such as invoice finance, available instead of the traditional bank loan or overdraft. Make sure you explore all the options before signing on the dotted line.

7. Be prepared: Businesses need a nest egg too. From a surprise tax bill to a quiet patch, it’s good to ensure you have the funds available for the unexpected. Regularly review your financial arrangements, to ensure they are in tune with your ongoing needs.

8. Cash is King: You’ll need a strong cash flow to keep your business afloat, if this is stalling because of orders waiting to be confirmed and late payments it may be time to enlist outside help. Invoice financiers like Bibby Financial Services allow businesses to raise finance based on the value of their outstanding sales invoices, releasing up to 85 per cent of the value as it’s raised. A much needed cash injection is provided up front and then an ongoing source of funding that grows in line with your sales growth. Invoice financiers also provide a valuable collections service to chase outstanding payments.

9. Take a fresh look: Are you sitting on a cash-cow without realizing. Take time out to look afresh at your business offering and operating area because, even a slight shift that perhaps seemed unfeasible even six months ago, may now dramatically boost your bottom line.

10. Spend quality time: It’s essential you take time out from work if only to tackle any pressing issues with a clearer perspective. And as well as enjoying some quality time with friends and family, many owners and managers have their best ideas when they are out of the office.

11. Shout about your success: Don’t be afraid to blow your own trumpet. Establish what makes your business unique (cheaper, greater choice, locally based, innovative etc), and let people know about it. Remind existing customers why they work with you and let potential customers know about your business and how you can help them.

12. Get the team behind you: As your business grows it’s important to keep everyone in the loop and drumming-home the ethos, and goals of your company, as well as any recent developments and successes. Including your team in your vision keeps your business focused and strong and builds a loyal and motivated team of employees behind you

MAC OS X Leaopard : 240 shortcut – productivity booster

Since last 8 month I am using IMAC 24 inch,  my productivity increase almost 50% due to the excellent OS , shortcuts.   Now our company have more then 20 MACs , I like to share some shortcuts available for mac.

If you know any other shortcut, let me know and I will update the list.

~ Sandeep

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Cloud computing is Internet-based (“cloud”) development and use of computer technology (“computing“). The cloud is a metaphor for the Internet (based on how it is depicted in computer network diagrams) and is an abstraction for the complex infrastructure it conceals.^[1] It is a style of computing in which IT-related capabilities are provided “as a service”,^[2] allowing users to access technology-enabled services from the Internet (“in the cloud”)^[3] without knowledge of, expertise with, or control over the technology infrastructure that supports them. According to a 2008 paper published by IEEE Internet Computing “Cloud Computing is a paradigm in which information is permanently stored in servers on the Internet and cached temporarily on clients that include desktops, entertainment centers, table computers, notebooks, wall computers, handhelds, sensors, monitors, etc.”

Cloud computing is a general concept that incorporates software as a service (SaaS), Web 2.0 and other recent, well-known technology trends, in which the common theme is reliance on the Internet for satisfying the computing needs of the users.

Microsoft , Google and Amazon has already launch their platform which worked base on the Cloud Computing Architecture. Microsoft Azure Platform , Google Apps Engine and Amazon Web Service are most reasonable  example of Cloud Computing .

There are similarities. However, Azure supports any .NET 3.5 language (C#, VB.NET, F# and a number of others), whereas App Engine only supports Python. In addition Microsoft has already announced that eventually you will be able to run native code on Azure opening the door to almost any Language/Framework that runs in Windows (e.g. Java, PERL, PHP).

Google App Engine doesn’t provide local storage. Azure does (although it’s not shared across instances, you have to use the Azure Storage Service for that). I’m not sure what ancillary offerings Google has beside app engine, but Azure provides a number of services above and beyond the hosting service including

• SQL Data (and soon to be Reporting and Analysis) services,
• .NET Services (WF, WCF and Identity services in the cloud),
• Live Framework (too much there for words)

I’m pretty sure I’m missing something there, but it’s 2 in the morning. Basically the big deal here is that Azure has a lot to offer that GAE is lacking currently, and will have more to offer in the upcoming months. So yes it is equal to GAE…and then some.

You can give access to your store to more than one Yahoo! ID. To do so, you’ll need to do the following:

1. Sign in to the Store Manager for your store with a Yahoo! ID that does have access to your store.
2. Click the “Access” link in the Site Settings column.
3. Enter the Yahoo! ID that you wish to add to the access list for your store into the appropriate text input field on that page.
4. Select an appropriate access level for that new Yahoo! ID. All access allows the ID to do everything in your store, including adding and removing access for other Yahoo! IDs.
5. Once you’ve entered the Yahoo! ID into the text input box and selected a level of access for that ID, click the [Add] button. A page will appear that asks you if you’re sure that you wish to add that ID to your store. Click [Proceed] to add that ID to your store.

You should make sure that each new Yahoo! ID granted access to your Yahoo! Store has the appropriate level of access.

Learn more about granting Granting Access to a Store for Other Yahoo! IDs here:

http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/store/manage/sitesettings/sitesettings-07.html

Make sure you do not give your master access that you use to login to any developer unless they require to work on some specific tasks. There ARE some operations that are done only by your id – which will be asked by your developer when required – other than that, the Store Access granted with above mechanism will suffice for the most part.

I hope this help.

Thanks -

Jigar Panchal
Department Head – Yahoo Store Development
IndiaNIC.com

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