Drupal Meetup – Controlling Content Visualization with Display Suite

At the next Drupal meetup, meet guest speaker, Matthias Vandermaesen. Matthais represents Krimson, a company that works on large Drupal projects within media, culture, non-profit etc. Employees of Krimson have submitted thousands of commits to about 30 Drupal modules.

Synopsis and Programme

Drupal is a great content management framework but comes with a steep learning curve. A big problem is the way objects (nodes, comments, user profiles,…) are displayed. You don’t get a lot of control out of the box. Worst case scenario: you start overriding templates in a custom theme and hard code data. It makes development hard and maintenance challenging.

Luckily, there are a number of good solutions out there to give control to the developer. Who hasn’t heard of Panels? Another great tool is Display Suite.

This module not only allows you to control visualization of individual Drupal objects through an easy UI. It’s a fully fledged API giving developers the opportunity to plug in their own code.

This session will give you an introduction to Display Suite:

* What is Display Suite
* A overview of DS features
* Several demonstrations showing you the ‘handiness’ of DS

7:30pm-8:30pm: Duration: 45 min + 15min of questions

8:30pm-9pm: Networking

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Event Details

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When: Wednesday 1st March 2011
Time: 7.15pm for registration
Where: 179 River Valley Rd #04-10

RSVP.

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Video:Haipad M703 Android tablet Packs an AMLogic ARM Cortex-A9 based Chip

Haina Company from Shenzhen added a new product called M703 to its Android tablet shelf. notably Haipad M703 was powered by a 800MHz AMLogic 8726-M chip that’s based on ARM Cortex-A9 processor, with Mali 400 Graphics processor. . It’s also support 1080p videos. It runs Android 2.2, with Flash support.

Haipad M703’s other specs include 7 inches 800*480 display with capacitive and resistive touchscreen for choosing, 512 MB RAM, 8GB on-board storage, 3000 mAh battery, and a HDMI port. The design looks pretty, and the whole device seems solid-built. The price is still no revealed, but we’re told that the resistive touchscreen version will be just around 1000 Yuan. The video below shows Haipad M703’s capacity on gaming and video, take a look and get shocked

[Source:shenzhaiben]

• Video: HaiPad M1001 10-inch Android tablet got reviewed

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SmartDevices Ten Android tablet is coming

SmartDevices has brought a large group of Android tablets to the market, and recently the company announced a new one that’s called Ten. No specified launch time and price, just saying ‘it’s coming’. SmartDevices Ten is powered by a ARM Cortex-A9 processor and a Mali 400 Graphics processor, bringing a 9.7 inches 1024×768 capacitive touchscreen. The OS? Sadly it just runs Android 2.2. It’s said it will support 1080p hard decoding, and RMVB videos. Other information is still not available.

[Source:imp3.net]

• SmartDevices R10 hands-on videos
• SmartDevices SmartQ V5-Ⅱ hits the market
• SmartDevices To Launch Sub-$100 Android MID SmartQ V3
• Video: SmartDevices T7 and T7-3G arrive at the market
• SmartDevices T7 tablet Runs Android
• SmartDevices to ship R7 this week, with a magazine store
• SmartDevices R7 ebook reader hands-on video
• SmartDevices R7 e-book reader
• SmartDevices SmartQ V5 now on sale, priced at 1099 Yuan
• Video: SmartQ V7 multi-boot MID

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She Loves Me (Or Not) – Yotto Wink Comes To Your Rescue [Privacy Aware Digital Cupid]

Winking is one of those time tested mechanism that still works (okay! that’s debatable). With the coming of digital world, winking needs a digital push as well and Bangalore based startup, Yotto Labs has an interesting service to offer to all the lovers (or FOSLAs, realistically speaking), Yotto Wink.

Yotto Wink is a mobile VAS service that acts as a digital cupid keeping the privacy concerns in place.

Lets say you have a crush on this girl who is also a good friend. Chances are that you will be reluctant to tell her your feelings (what if she says NO and this ruins the friendship?), so you use the Wink service to get a ‘feeler’.

Send an SMS, YW<space>WINK<space> <Her Mobile Number> to 58888 (the service is live on Indiatimes’ 58888 shortcode). The Yotto Wink server will then process this wink and will send an SMS to your crush saying, someone has winked at her and will give her 3 chances to guess.

She can send in her guess, GUESS<space><GUESS_CODE><space><Mobile Number> to 58888 and if your number is among the 3 guesses, Yotto will connect the two of you!

As far as the revenue model is concerned, Yotto Wink works like any other VAS service (i.e. premium SMS) and gets a revenue share from the operators.

On a slightly lighter note (anti privacy), how about selling the other two numbers to ‘Winkers’? Will make up for a grand business model, right?

What’s your take? Watch this introductory Video

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How To Make The Most of Gmail using Google Labs!! [The Ninja Technique]

We all use and love Gmail, it is undoubtedly one for the most popular email services available anywhere, and that too for free. But did you know that using Google labs for Gmail, you could transform your Gmail account with some pretty interesting stuff that is sure to save you some precious time and overall improve your Gmail-ing experience.

Here’s some fun add-ons you can get, just click on the green flask on the top right corner of your gmail inbox page and get started!!

1) Google docs gadget

A particularly useful one that puts all your recent google docs in a neat gadget in the side-bar. This will provide quick links to your docs by saving you some precious clicks..

2) Google docs preview

Another interesting labs add-on that display a short preview of any google doc that has been shared with you by mail. Helps to decide if the matter requires urgent attention or can be put off untill later..

3) Message sneak peek

My favorite!! Simple and efficient!! Just right click on any message in your inbox to get a quick preview of the message. This works awesomely if you are expecting to read short emails without much effort.

4) Mouse gesture

Switching between emails is as effortless as moving your mouse, with this add-on. Just right click and move mouse left or right to go to previous or next email!!

5) Right side chat

If you do add calendars and such to your side-bar, it is bound to get cluttered. Move your chat gadget to the right side of the email list for a more visually pleasing and easy to use, uncluttered look. But know this, this will hide the google ads that show up on the right.

6) Superstars

Starring an email will never e the same again!!! This add-on will give you many interesting ways to mark your Gmail. Different coloured stars can be very helpful if you want to mark email specifically for later.

7) Undo send

Worried that you sent out an email before it was ready, or worse sent it to the wrong person?? Dont worry, it happens to the best of us, but not anymore!! Undo a sent email for upto 30secs after sending it!!

Unread message icon

If most of your work is in your browser and you have to keep switching to your gmail tab to check for new emails, then get this add-on.It puts a gmail sign on the tab that the account is open and it displays a count of unread messages.

9) Inbox preview

Working on the internet on a slow connection can be a pain, and waiting for your inbox to load adds to it!! By enabling this add-on you will get a quick text only snapshot of your inbox while you wait for it to load, its just good sense to use your waiting time wisely.

10) Move icon column

Another simple and elegant addition to your Gmail inbox!! Simply moves the icon column from the right hand side to the left to make icons more noticeable.

Well these are only some of the best add-ons according to me. There are a bunch more of them available, just give them a try and choose for yourself. Suggestions for additions to the list are welcome.

[Guest article by Chaitanya Khanapure, an app+ Google fanboy]

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[Sponsored] Kick-Start Your Entrepreneurial Journey with A Sutra Franchise

[This is a sponsored post.]

Who We Are?

We’re an established company with products & services focused towards the HR/Recruitment sphere. Our target market is startups, small/medium enterprises, and growing organizations from all over India. We’ve already gathered a steady base of over 800+ clients across India. Our 3 primary business units are:

SutraHR – an “end-to-end” on priority HR and “talent acquisition” company that specializes in hiring for startups and emerging companies in new-age digital media, tech/product, and IT/web dev industries. We’ve built a formidable presence and reputation in the industry, and we take pride of having built teams at some of India’s hottest startups/emerging companies. Just to name a few: SnapDeal, Burrp!, Vdopia, Komli, Zapak, Rocketalk, SITG, and more.

SutraLite – is a pioneering recruitment business based on a unique, low-cost, fixed fee, guaranteed service which caters to the SME industry, for both online/offline based companies. Through this service, organizations have saved millions by paying a fixed recruitment fee instead of a hefty commission based on the candidates’ salary package.

sumHR (coming soon!) – our ultimate offering to the SME industry. It’s a full-fledged HR Management platform on the “cloud” available through the SaaS medium.

We’re Looking For Franchisees

As a natural step forward we’re expanding our reach by establishing presence in more cities. Of course, being an entrepreneurial company we’ve chosen the franchising approach of expansion! This franchise offering currently focuses on our 2 key businesses, SutraHR & SutraLite (sumHR will be included post its’ launch).

Who Should Apply For Our Franchise?

If you are:

• Fed up of a 9-to-5 job (esp. in HR), want to start a profitable business, but you’re short of ideas
• Have a background in HR, now aspiring to be an entrepreneur
• don’t have any recruitment/HR experience, but still have the fire, passion and the will to make your own mark
• gung ho about the “startup & SME” industry in India, and want to join the bandwagon

What Do We Offer To The Franchise?

• 60 – 70% rev share (high margins: very lucrative compared to investment)
• Full & Free access to paid job portals AND exhaustive internal database of professionals from new-age media/tech/startups in India.
• Training, internal hiring assistance
• Ready processes/reporting support
• Complete assistance in operational setup
• Total marketing/branding/alliance support
• Business from our already acquired/existing clients
• Business development efforts from our end, over above your own

How Much Would You Need To Invest?

1. A small office with capacity to seat at least 3-4 people (note: initially, the Franchisee is allowed to start “individually/+1 and work out of home/rented desks or workstations)

2. Salaries for employees you may hire as your team grows

3. Operational expenses – PCs, Cell Phones, electricity, internet, travel to client offices, etc.

4. Sharing subscription of an ATS software – per user/logins you use

5. Rs. 50000 (fifty thousand) refundable security deposit. This is to emphasize our “seriousness” and your “commitment” to this opportunity

Interested? Inquiries? Questions?

Please contact: Jay Thaker

jay(at)sutrahr.com / 9221 526 099

[If you want to reach out to Pi audience with relevant content, do get in touch with us: sales@pluggd.in].

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Learnings from 4 months after Starting Up [You will be amazed by what you can do]

[Guest article contributed by MySmartPrice team, a price comparison service (read our review). The team shares their experience of running a 4 month old startup and most importantly, going back to the technology roots after few years in corporate life.]

It has been more than 4 months since we said good bye to our jobs and started working on MySmartPrice.com. Since we have benefitted a lot by posts of other entrepreneurs about their failure, struggle and success , it is only fair that we share our experiences with the community as well. May be someone will manage to find some small motivation from it. We will particularly concentrate on some of the fear/doubts that we had while getting started on this journey and how they have played out in these 4 months days.

Living on 25K is difficult but possible: We were very clear from the first day that we will not monetize the site or think of raising any funding till we get the user experience right and build a good traction with users. That meant we have to survive on earnings from side projects for about a year. In order to be able to give maximum possible time to our startup we have to make do with the least amount of money that is absolutely necessary to survive. That has meant that we had to move from taxi to shared auto, using bike instead of car, living in the outskirts of the city or having daughter’s birthday at home instead of in some restaurant. We will be fooling ourselves if we say that it is easy. It is not. But given the alternative of not working on something that we so strongly and passionately believe in, we will choose this difficult life any day.

Side projects are a torture because they need us to stop working on something that we were 150% involved in last night and start working on something else. There are many things, like responding to customer feedback or code failure due to some stupid issue etc, that do not stop simply because we have to work on a client project. May be there is a better way to handle the project and we are trying to learn it but the only thing we will suggest is that do not go for this route as your first option.

People will notice when you do something good I could have never expected the CTO of MakeMyTrip or a product manager at Google to stop by to appreciate what we have done. Obviously these people get to see much more awesome things but still they have been kind enough to cheer us along this tough journey. A lot of bloggers have gone out of their way to introduce us to their readers. There is no way we can thank them enough. Bottom line is always strive to make a product that is simple, usable and does not confuse the user and never ever compromise on quality. It you stick to it, people will start taking notice.

People will notice even more when you are sloppy While we were busy developing the mobile pricelists, the books section was unattended and some of the functionalities were broken. We had assumed that since traffic levels are low, no one will notice during the few days it will take us to complete the new feature. Five emails within two days made us realize people do notice sloppiness. I hope we have learnt our lessons and will not let that happen ever in future. If something is broken and you know about it, it’s a crime not to fix it. Just fix it.

You will be amazed by what you can do: Sita was coming back to technology after 2 years at IIM Bangalore and 3 years in banking. I was a manager and into pre-sales and consulting for the last four years. So if anyone had asked us if we can develop a complete crawler in PHP, work with MySQL internal APIs to get the autosuggest to work properly, obtain millisecond response time with JavaScript and simultaneously market the site to get it to 1000 users a day mark within 100 days, our answer would have been have you lost your mind? But the fact is that not only we have done all that, but a number of other initiatives, like an Ajax based Mobile Finder, are already in the pipeline.

Thanks to Rodinhood and unpluggd for telling us about the interesting life to expect. But it has been totally worth it till now and hope it continues to be so.

(image from Rodinhood)

[If you are an entrepreneur and have an interesting story/insight to share, please get in touch with us (ashish@Pluggd.in).]

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News Roundup: eBay India Launches Mobile Site, Apple Updates Macbook Pro Price in India

BSNL Losing Due to MNP
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd has lost 1.3 lakh subscribers because of mobile number portability. Though the company managed to attract nearly 92,000 subscribers on its network, 2.23 lakh subscribers left its service.[source]

eBay India Launches Mobile Site

eBay India has launched mobile site, m.ebay.in that lets users browse through eBay’s 400,000 product listings. The mobile site lets you refine search by price/sub-categories, check out daily deals etc; but doesn’t let you track orders (one-way ticket).

Dishtv Crosses 10 million subscriber base

Part of Essel group, "Dishtv has became Asia’s first DTH company to acquire 10 million subscribers.[ET] Overall, the DTH subscriber base stands at about 28-30 million subscribers with monthly additions of about 1,00,000 users.

Updated Apple Macbook Pro Price in India

Apple today updated the industry-leading MacBook Pro family with next generation processors and graphics, high-speed Thunderbolt I/O technology and a new FaceTime HD camera. Featuring the very latest dual-core and quad-core Intel Core processors, the entire MacBook Pro line is up to twice as fast as the previous generation.

Starting at Rs. 69,900 the new 13-inch MacBook Pro offers amazing value and performance in a compact design. The highly portable 13-inch MacBook Pro features Intel Core i5 and Core i7 dual-core processors up to 2.7 GHz and Intel HD Graphics 3000. The powerful 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro models feature quad-core Core i7 processors up to 2.3 GHz and AMD Radeon HD graphics processors with up to 1GB of video memory for high performance gaming, pro video editing and graphics intensive applications.

New Gadgets launched

• Sony Ericsson Yendo W150i Launched in India
• Nokia X3-02 Available in India for Rs. 7999/
• INQ To Launch Cloud Touch in India
• Verizon Ready to Activate Capacity on Europe India Gateway Submarine Cable System [News]
• Samsung Galaxy Fit S5670 Available in India
• Dell Venue Pro Available in India For Rs. 30,599
• DELL LATITUDE 2120 Available in India for 19K
• Samsung Galaxy Ace S5830 Available in India for Rs. 14990

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