Monday, February 22, 2010

Another Brick in the Wall

ADAM, the First.

That it’s of Indian origin; its launch will be a proud moment for all Indians round the globe. True that our country has come a long way from the IT outsourcing hub that it was acclaimed to be.
I wonder who should bask in this glory; the enthusiastic minds that dare to think differently or the conventional complacent education system?

I recently got this chance to converse with a MLA about where he thought our education system was heading, especially in context of the recent controversy on the status of deemed universities, mostly due to the sporadic mushrooming of countless number of colleges in just every nook and corner of our country. He could only stoop his head in a sad gesture over the sorry state of affairs. Needless to say, most of these institutes have the aim of amortizing education and the vision of just doling out degrees.

Adherence to quality is abysmally low, both with respect to providing effective learning and also from another point of concern, branding.
I am saddened to accept the fact that a lot many of those running these institutes lack the appreciation of new technology systems. I think this fact just serves as a window into their twisted understanding of Standards.

At Auriga, our vision is to bridge this gap between the technically deprived lots and those with the juju to ‘make it happen’.

Our commitment towards better education is reflected in our initiatives like mentoring SchoolSearch.in, creating ERP’s (enabling the management of student profiles with just one smart-card, right from admission test to valediction; we see this as a means to cut down the rampant red-tapism and use of unfair means ) and well-researched websites for institutes; basically helping iron out the glitches in the smooth management of schools and colleges.

I, like everyone else, am fingers crossed, hoping to find myself on the side of solution to this issue.
For now, Kudos team Notion Ink (and Auriga IT)

Saturday, February 20, 2010

New Generation Gadget - Adam

One name which has created a stir in the market is Notion Ink's ADAM. "It's not a tablet, or a book reader. It's a new species, and they call it ADAM. The First."

5 IITians and one MBA graduate decided to take the world by surprise. They came together and formed a company named NOTION INK. They believe that the next generation will be all about the content. All thing will converge in one device. The CEO of Notion Ink and my friend Rohan said: "Doesn’t matter if I am not able to realize my dreams. I can do something for everyone else out there. Do something for a kid to learn music, challenge gravity. Let students see reactions, smile in awe when they look at such wonderful engineering creations of man. Let engineers test their concepts. And let people like me spend time in communication. One device which can help many without telling them it’s helping. One device which quietly slips into their lives and becomes their best friend. Their personal diary. The window to look at their kids out there in some unknown land."

Notion Ink believes that the next generation will be all about converging ideas, information and features in one. It is all about the content and ADAM is rich in it. And in recent times we got a chance to work with their team and the experience of working with Notion Ink has been just awesome.

We got a chance to design and develop the website for Notion Ink and I can tell you that when client is good and allows creative freedom, you give your 200% to satisfy that client. While working for notionink.com we learn that there is no substitute to perfection. And perfection is not when there is nothing left to add but when there is nothing to take away. Working with Notion Ink has upped our standards of work, we sometimes used 'Engineered Codes' to make things work, and emphasis on research was low, however engaging with a venture like Notion Ink, Quality Consciousness became the bottom line for us.

There have been very few cases when client provide you the complete freedom to execute the project and this happened with Notion Ink website and to the some extent with IIMC-Intaglio and JMD Music. And I would say that our best work has been delivered to these clients.

We have put our best efforts and have done lot of research for Notion Ink Website. And many of you might think that website does not provide WOW effect but the only reason I can provide is the time constraint. This website has been designed and developed within 10 days. Wait for a while and we will be coming up with a fresh look of the website.

I would love to be associated with Notion Ink not because of the stir it has created in the market but due to the reason we just loved working with them. They are a young and dynamic group of people ready to challenge the world and prove the world that India has come a long way from an IT outsourcing hub.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Web Trends to Watch

Web is innovating day by day. There are n no. of new trends coming up. Lots of information is being provided to users. And it is getting very difficult to choose what you want to see, follow and use. So we believe that the trend would be to integrate all information in one place. User will have the complete control over what features of website he wish to watch. User can decide whose updates he will receive and in which category.
Hottest trend in year 2009
Real Time Status Updates
Sparked by Twitter, Facebook, FirendFeeds. The real time feed has been a new trend developing among the internet users.
Real time is not about just updating the status. It has gone more deeper.
Why wait until you get home to post a restaurant review, asks consumer trends tracker Trendwatching, when scores of iPhone apps let you post feedback as soon as you finish dessert? Why wonder about the name of that song, when humming into your phone handset will garner an instant answer from Midomi?

Google also jumped into real time colloboration and launched Google Wave. It has email, instant messaging, wiki.
2010 will be very interesting year to see that what will happen next ??

Monday, February 8, 2010

Auriga

So here my journey with the Auriga Blog begins.

Since the time I have started working with Auriga I have been asked this numerous times, what does AURIGA mean? Well Auriga is name of a constellation of stars - oh! so are we stars from space, definitely not from the Astronomical space but yes, the Internet space. I find lots of similarities between the Space and Internet, both are indefinite, both have unsolved mysteries, both have explorers and both have Auriga - the constellation of stars :)

At Auriga, we believe in a small team but star performers, the people who can show light to our clients when its dark. It might seem to us that its the moon which is the brightest but truth is that it also reflects stars' light. We believe in carefully selecting our team, I dont say we chose the best but we chose the one who have potential to be the best, if given a chance. What is required to be a part of Auriga is not a long portfolio but a zeal, a devotion and a smile which ensures solution to every problem.

Each member at Auriga strongly believes in the philosophy 'Our business is to improve yours' and is devoted to supply you with the best quality. We do not ask you to change your requirements according to our product, we believe in customizing our product according to your requirements. I know everyone tells this, our USP is - we do it.

Next time when you are lost in space, just think the stars are there for you day and night. Will be glad to hear from you - divye@aurigait.com.