Google was benefiting from organized chaos during the recent real estate boom since retailers only needed to flash advertisements in front of buyers to convert targeted advertising click units.
Google continues to innovate in advertising, but … what about search?
Google appears to have its sights on productivity.
Analysts where not worried about Google Docs.
Now, they are pushing for the Microsoft — Yahoo! deal to grab Yahoo!’s market share in China…
Markets are closed, but that doesn’t mean it is time to completely relax. You can take some time today to find some translations using the Primezero i18n Terminal.
Today you can learn how to say a few words for your next business meeting in Hong Kong or Shanghai. I’ll show you how: jump on the Primezero i18n Terminal and type away.
That’s it.
When you first arrive at the terminal home page, you will notice that there are no instructions yet. This is because I am still designing the terminals features around you.
I want this tool to be so easy to use that you can FIND the translation you need WHEN you need on your desktop or (soon) your mobile terminal.
Here are a few features some users have discovered:
Smart Hanyu Pinyin Dictionary results
Contemporary results, with names and places in the news
Fast and clickable Chinese dictionary results
Powerful Chinese Number Conversions (e.g., time, money, dates, fractions, etc)
Some words that are ‘not found’ today are available the next day
You can add HanziBlox, a Chinese Character block image service thingy to your webpage or blog easily by using the IMG tag, with very simple HTML markup. Here is some sample HTML code for your reference:
As a capstone to my milestones, I like to create PowerPoint presentations.
(Geez, what a geek).
There is something quite Zen-like when developing with PowerPoint on Google Docs. Simple yet just what I need.
They give me a chance to reflect on the product description and whether I met the basic requirements of a project. Under 10 slides of course — 9 to be exact. I just wanted to explain PrimezeroTools and cast it as a Chinese dictionary plugin. I was going to say “helper class”, but that is not as smooth as “plugin” … however plugin is WAY overused today like FRAMEWORK … *shivers down my spine *brrrr
However, to tell you the truth… it’s getting ugly folks.
In case you are just joining us today, here is the backstory… Microsoft and Google continue to fire “warning” salvos.
Sun buys MySQL, shoring up network computering. Oracle grins. Microsoft panics that things are shifting towards network computing faster than expected.
Microsoft reacts by bidding for Yahoo! at premium to speed up the deal during an election year. Google issues a hurriedly-written release objecting the merger.
And then, (just like in Final Fantasy when Active Time Battle in Final Fantasy), Google tells students, “you know what, dudes? You really don’t need to buy Microsoft Office this year since we are going into an economic slowdown. Get Google Apps Team Edition instead.” Teeheee.
Google is trying to push Microsoft’s share price (total market capitalization) down by decreasing the number of students buying Education Editions and Multi-Seat Versions of Microsoft Office purchased this quarter.
Here is an excerpt from the press release:
Google Apps Team Edition lets colleagues and departments at work, or
study groups at school, immediately begin sharing information within a
domain. In addition, the Team Edition can easily be upgraded to Google
Apps Standard, Premier or Education Edition for full administrative
control, such as the ability to set default sharing options, decide
which applications are available on the network, or determine who has
access.
If your hosting provider just cannot let go of PHP4, I have updated the Chinese Seal Chop Widget so that you can add this plugin to your blog’s sidebar. Let me know if you have any installation problem. I love fixing bugs and solving problems.
I came across excerpt of a user profile on Wikipedia that I could have sworn was written by me. I have already discussed the consequences of the “new economy”, where people who have nothing better to do sit and stalk their pet rock Wikipedia entries and persistently edit on topics they know nothing about.
I leave wikipedia for several reasons, the biggest being that make an efficient work on wikipedia become every day more difficult because of the inevitable presence of people with strong will to edit, but clear lack of knowledge and mediation abilities. … It time for me to stop my involment here since I clearly want involve my energy and leadership ability in more efficient places, in real tasks, to improve the world around me.
This post to his profile shows his complete understanding of the system, which is scary but also calming.
It is also a warning to Jimbo that he had better get his Wikipedia in order as more editors, unemployed (with nothing else better to do) and uneducated (without the urge to actually learn anything outside comfort zones), will soon drown Wikipedia in a sea of mediocrity.
Think I am exaggerating? Look at what happened to Mozilla’s Open Directory Project, basically dead-on-arrival after editors started gaming the listings.
Primezero Chinese Tools Completed at Version 1.10. Here is a complete list of features. This information architecture experiment has concluded.
I want to clarify:
Primezero is not a Chinese dictionary. It is a dictionary tool. It searches community-submitted content.
The idea of decentralized Chinese translation is not completed — just the testbed.
From Developer’s Notebook
Now, for a quick core dump…
The primary goal of this project was to test what a “Chinese dictionary” is supposed to be. Let us first look at the somewhat traditional archetype this book.
A Chinese dictionary is a bound volume that contains insurmountable amounts of information related to one or more dialects of Chinese that can be readily accessed when needed.
Large volumes make wonderful doorstops and also are useful for propping up windows. Smaller volumes are often called “pocket dictionaries”, most likely designed for portability but with limited content.
Some Chinese dictionaries are neither large nor small, so they a provided topic-specific title, where you can find vocabulary that eludes that pocket dictionary without dragging a 5 pound dictionary around.
Things you find in traditional paper dictionaries:
definitions — (define by whoooooo … from whooooose perspective?)
parts of speech
single source that is already outdated information by the time the book is published
lack of cultural understanding and context
no links to websites and media content (video, images, audio, etc.)
closed source
Things you find in Primezero Chinese Tools (not a dictionary… a dictionary tool):
live human translation
ability to add your own definitions using Google Docs (and other Google Apps)
search from multiple sources of information
aggregation of definitions from multiple editors with equal voice (unlike wikipedia where one or two people can pick a pet rock definition and sit on it forever without allowing others a chance to add their perspective) — more later about Wikipedia’s failure
Google Project Hosting is improving tremendously. Small changes to the GUI have made a big difference in my workflow. First off, just take a look. Oh, simple and elegant. Perfect.
As you can see, I can browse my source (branches, tags and trunk) in a nice sleek interface. I can also, peruse the difference between files at glance. See? Oh, wow. That’s spiffy.
I can also move through revisions in the web interface, which is very smart.
You can mozy on down to PZPHP on Google Code if you like an check out the latest and not-so-greatest code I’m baking over there..
I am testing a new way of presenting new products and services. I try to keep the presentations less than a minute or two mainly because I really have nothing important to say… hence the lack of audio.
Well, Primezero Mobile Chinese Tools is not really a dictionary … it’s a dictionary tool that searches other dictionaries and human translations.
In fact, I cannot claim to be the best mobile Chinese Dictionary, but I can say that I have the most unique one to-date. You should be able to quickly link to the new YouTube website, the improved Flickr albums and several search engines including Google and Yahoo! ^^ More versions and features coming soon …
New versions will be available offline as well … stay tuned.
Mobile Chinese Tools. Point your browser to: http://m.primezero.com/
As far as the class design goes for Primezero Tools, I only want to have two categories of functions/methods: the mega methods and the puny methods.
The mega methods are the functions that are front and center and will help users quickly develop applications with little programming experience. You can also call these “jedi” methods.
Method names are [area-of-interest][topic-of-interest][action]
for example, pztea_greentea_brew_a_cup ( )
The puny methods are helper functions that should be ignored by most users. Their job is to help the mega methods look easy to use without getting any credit whatsoever. You can also call these “gerbil” or “padawan” methods.
Don’t You Mean Private, Protected and Public?
Uh, no.
All methods are public, but some just need to be left alone …
It has been brought to my attention that the pzphp is in wider use than expected. As such, I have no choice but start working on this in earnest.
Wow! Class Design Is Difficult
Developing PZHanziReader, PZCEDICTReader and other classes has taught me about class design in general. It SHOULD be very abstract. It does give you headaches. It truly is fun.
Class has very little to do with programming. It is an understand about how we psychologically organize objects (physical or otherwise) in our mind. I am so lucky that I network in different disciplines: a designer, a dog trainer and a teacher all have different perspectives when it comes to “developing” software.
Lessons Learned So Far (Ya, I Made Mistakes)
I thought that using a superclass called PZPinyinReader would provide flexibility for novice developers (where they can add PZHanziReader or PZCEDICTReader as needed), but it has actually caused MORE confusion. Thus, I need to build an application that uses a single PHP class if possible. TODO.
I failed to visually represent the class diagrams and dependencies and this was another mistake. TODO.
I did not provide a PowerPoint or brief introduction to the technology and what it was supposed to do because I was focusing on my specific application of the technology. TODO.
I have not provided mainstream applications for Chinese translation or Chinese language study or math and science education. TODO.
There is more to say, but I better get back to work before the SuperBowl starts…
This is a good practice of geometry. You use calipers to measure dimensions then use sketches to calculate how the solid is formed. Good exercise in applied geometry
Baking Blueberry Muffins - Timing and ingredients and methods. Patience for possible setbacks, adaptability for different situation. Baking Web Applications Code - umm, yeah. what he said.
It appears that most of the bugs have been squashed in 0.7.4 of the Chinese Seal Chop Widget; so, hopefully I can release a truly stable version shortly. In the meantime, here is a video I quickly threw together (with no audio) and placed on YouTube. The idea is … “OK, I have the video tutorial to supplement replace the documentation and some FAQs”.
I plan on releasing several mobile applications this year. Last year, I started playing with Android, and up until now have been focusing on web services.
Now, I am starting to test those applications in Android while having fun with the handy emulator.
Below is Primezero Mobile Chinese Tools (point your mobile phone to http://m.primezero.com/)
Wikipedia is one of the most interesting ideas for online collaboration. However, the main weakness is that Wikipedia is powered by an army of gerbils. When someone moves their cheese, the model will fall apart.
Thus, removing the Wikipedia links from Primezero Chinese Tools search results is a smart move as users can always search Wikipedia directly and find language links if available.
Furthermore, it functions as a closed ecosystem on pages that have been adopted as a “pet rock” or “chia pet” of sorts.
The following is an excerpt from my developer’s notebook, so it will appear to be an incomplete thought.
Developer’s Notes:
Primezero Piano was a fun Flash project, when Flash was generally considered eye candy. I want to revisit this project and possibly apply the Primezero Piano to search functionality.
I recently started playing with Apple’s iLife GarageBand and found a keyboard integrated into the program which is actually very spiffy. This allows you to play various instruments, which is one of the features I wanted to add to Primezero Piano in the next version. However…
Creating a search engine where I find songs based on melodies played would be very handy. So, I have been playing around with some code to get that working …
Currently working on a rough draft of a language translation processing utility.
It is a fun exercise in User Interface (UI) design and great opportunity to test some new ideas. I designed this for quick reference for translators. They quickly check on recently added words and phrases using this mobile tool. Hope you find this useful.
I am currently experimenting with new Chinese Number Conversions.
Per request from several users, I have placed the traditional Chinese characters before the simplified characters in the search results where available.
This is one of my favorite speeches because it made people stop and think. Many nervous laughs in the crowd which means… his message was received, by some at least.
The following are my notes about Rapid Site Development I jotted down during the dot-com bubble. I wrote upon reflection on how the dot-coms splurged their company budgets on expensive cars and furniture, while I worked on a shoestring budget.
–
Rapid Site Development
Taking Advantage of Web Workshop Based Web Development
Why is Primezero web development so peculiar?
Primezero is not a dot-com company. Primezero is not a design boutique. It is a workshop. The only goal here is to innovate. This means making faster, smarter robots to help people live better lives. This means streamlining development processes to reduce cost of doing business. Primezero does not fit a mold. That is why it is peculiar.
The following is a brief discussion about how ideas at Primezero come to fruition.
Start With An Idea
The idea is conceived by looking past the apparent causes of problems and investigating the real problems. Solving the real problems usually eliminates apparent problems. Time Duration: 1 to 2 seconds
Draft The Idea On Paper
Writing down the idea on paper. For this reason, always carry a notebook to jot down your ideas. There is a good chance that you will not be able to reproduce the idea completely from memory. In order to preserve the quality of the idea without relying on memory, the description is detailed, such that it can be completely recalled. Be sure to write the features you hope to see in a specification. Time Duration: 2 to 5 minutes
Build A Simple Wireframe Beta [What is a Beta?]
As soon as the idea is on paper, the technologies to be used are considered. If you already have an idea about which technology you want to use, you should start a ‘wireframe’ (simple) draft of the actual program. Building a wireframe actually provides you with a feel about what demands come from the project. If the demands of this project at this point are too high, halt development. Otherwise, move to enhancing your wireframe.Time Duration: 1 to 2 hours
Create An Enchanced Beta Program [What is a Beta?]
If you feel comfortable with the capabilities of your wireframe, you should start getting feedback from friends and most likely end users. Find users that will provide you positive and negative feedback. Positive feedback gives you motivation. Negative feedback provides you with opportunities to improve your project. If the feedback leads you to believe that this project will not be worthwhile, halt development. Otherwise, move to customizing the User Interface (UI), in a module or a standalone application.Time Duration: 1 week
Fabricate The Module or Standalone
When you program has achieved all your desired specifications, you need to think about whether or not it should be a module, a standalone application or available in both design modes. A module allows you to use a current UI and requires less work, while a standalone requires a new web page concept and considerably more work and collaboration. Time Duration: 3 days
Test For Economic Viability
Bottom line: can you make money from this? Your finished product should be able to make money either by advertising or direct sales. If you cannot, then halt development and make the program available for free. It is possible that venture capital firms may invest in your project, but it is not likely because most venture captial firms are owned and managed by people who no appreciation for technology. (In fact, if you are a venture capitalist, then you probably don’t understand the impact of web workshops.)Minimal documentation is only required for applications used by more than 250,000 user per month (for example, Google, Yahoo!).
Notice that the test for economic viability is one of the final steps of the process. In a workshop, the focus is on rapid development instead of quarterly profits. Although the project may not make money, it may help many people which is why it may still be available for free.
Discover New Ideas
Meaningful reflection on the design concepts, user feedback and the development process will likely result in the discovery of new ideas for projects or upgrades. Time Duration: Throughout Project
When you spend hours and hours writing code and developing a product, you may become attached. You may treat a section of code or a filename with tenderness and may never want to let it go.
Hmmm, I just read a post from the Google AdSense blog:
Ben raised an excellent point: “sunsetting” features is sometimes necessary to improve the overall ROI of a product. Of course, phasing out features does not require deletion from your library of tricks.
Just as companies like Toyota constantly research customer need, I also use Quality Function Deployment (QFD) to determine what customers really want and what they really need.
I often remove features based on the metrics and remove emotion from the design process… most of the time.
One of the key features of the Primezero dictionary tools has been the ability to jump on Chinese search engines without knowing how to type or pronounce the Chinese.
From this query you find the Chinese translation of Amoy. Now, you want find the video on the Chinese language version of Youtube? No problem. Click on the Youtube to “淘大”
So, as you can see, search Chinese without knowing Chinese is as simple as 1-2-3.
Trying to ponder how to execute this layout. Here’s what I have so far. It is possible that maybe I should keep it as simple as possible, so that I can focus on portability. So, like I said, here’s what I have so far…
Before you release, test, test test. However, testing and over-testing can lead to scope creep and some very unwelcome surprises. … As illustrated by the great philosopher Homer … Simpson.
