New Technology

I was shocked to hear a question from a champ in my Java class today – What is Silverlight ? Later on i realized that not many of the people i meet know about the latest that is happening in the industry today. We are in the year 2010 and the promises that technology today holds is beyond anybodies imagination. Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, ebay etc all our pouring in valuable contributions towards taking technology to new heights with every passing day. Its quite sad that even today what is being taught as a part of the software engineering curriculum is far far behind where technology actually is. And to add to the sad story the students are not putting in much effort towards practical learning. They are all focused on the academic part trying to learn what is written in books which are 10 years old. Despite millions of efforts by Microsoft, Apple and other companies towards making the society aware of the new technologies they are offering, we still lack in knowing the latest that is surrounding us. www.techaxe.com blog is an effort to make people aware of the latest technologies and a mode to present to them the actual beauty these technologies hold.

Microsoft surface

If you love technology and you have not seen Microsoft Surface before, i bet that you will be amazed to see what it really is. And to add to the excitement, its all done using .net framework and WPF !

Extraordinary

http://www.Skumar.com/Microsoftshowcase

World Fabulous Palaces

World Fabulous Places

From the Taj Mahal to the Sagrada Familia, these are some of the most picturesque buildings in the world.

By  Sachiv Kumar

From the Taj Mahal to the Sagrada Familia, these are some of the most picturesque buildings in the world.

From conventional beauty to sheer architectural genius, these buildings are world renowned for their unique looks and characteristics. Read on to find out how these awe-inspiring buildings came to be.

Burj Al Arab, Dubai

By Sachiv Kumar

 

Burj Al Arab, Dubai

Designed to look like the sail of an Arabian ship and located on a man-made island, accessible only by a private bridge, the Burj Al Arab luxury hotel is, without a doubt, one of the most innovative and gorgeous architectural landmarks in the world. Its unique shape and design not only adds to its luxurious nature but sets it apart from nearly anything else. Within the walls of this interesting-looking complex lies a lavish hotel often referred to as the world’s only seven-star hotel. It was built in 1994 by architect Tom Wright, who was asked to build “an iconic or symbolic statement for Dubai.”

 

Crystal Masjid, Malaysia

By Sachiv Kumar

Crystal Masjid, Malaysia

Completed in 2008 in Terengganu, Malaysia, the Crystal Masjid, also known as the Crystal Mosque, can hold as many as 1,500 people at a time. It is one of the most intricate and beautiful mosques in the world, particularly when lit up at night. Constructed out of steel, crystal and glass, calling this impressive landmark modern is an understatement. In addition to its grandeur and beauty, the Crystal Masjid is also the first mosque in the world to be equipped with Wi-Fi.

Cubic Houses, Netherlands

By Sachiv Kumar

 

Cubic Houses, Netherlands

Located in the heart of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, you’ll find these most unusual homes, built by Dutch architect Piet Blom in the 1970s.  The homes are cubes at a 45-degree angle, perched atop a hexagonal shaft. Built as part of an artistic display of architecture, the homes are actually quite practical inside and definitely innovative. The triangular-shaped basement is used as a living room, the main floor houses the sleeping, bathing and kitchen areas and the upper level is often used as a spare bedroom. There are 39 cube homes, all lived in. Their unusual and unique shape have landed them in the architectural spotlight since their construction, often being referred to as a one-of-a-kind collection of homes everyone should see at least once in their life.

 

 

Grand Lisboa, Macau

By Sachiv Kumar

 Grand Lisboa, Macau

The Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino in Macau is certainly a captivating sight. With 58 floors, standing at 268 metres, this is the tallest structure in Macau. Resembling a giant pineapple, this glistening, shining structure, with its famous reflective glass exterior pieces, is among the most unique landmarks in the world. It also houses the first casino in Macau to offer Texas Hold ‘Em poker and is equipped with over 800 gaming tables and over 1,000 slot machines.

 

 

 

Guggenheim, Spain

By Sachiv Kumar

Guggenheim, Spain

When asked to build something bold and daring, architect Frank Gehry accepted the challenge and created this masterpiece known as the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. When it opened to the public in 1997, it received praise from other architects around the world who called it one of the most amazing architectural designs of the time. The glass and titanium museum is a total of 256,000 square feet, and is located in an urban area in Bilbao, where it fits in effortlessly.

 

Guggenheim, Spain

By Sachiv Kumar

 

Guggenheim, Spain

When asked to build something bold and daring, architect Frank Gehry accepted the challenge and created this masterpiece known as the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. When it opened to the public in 1997, it received praise from other architects around the world who called it one of the most amazing architectural designs of the time. The glass and titanium museum is a total of 256,000 square feet, and is located in an urban area in Bilbao, where it fits in effortlessly.

 

Sagrada Familia, Spain

By Sachiv Kumar

 

Sagrada Familia, Spain

Designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi, construction began on this Roman Catholic church in Barcelona in 1882 and has yet to be completed. The design was completed by Gaudi before his death in 1926, but construction was interrupted several times, including during the Spanish Civil War. It is estimated that the church will be completed by 2028. The intricate details, both inside and out, as well as the sheer complexity of the original design, make this sight not only one beautiful piece of architecture but also one of the most distinctive in the world.

St. Basil’s Cathedral, Russia

By Sachiv Kumar

 

St. Basil’s Cathedral, Russia

Upon first glance, it’s almost hard to believe this colourful, geometric building was built in 1561, under the rule of Ivan the Terrible. The cathedral, though built in the Byzantine era, resembles no other Byzantine era architecture and is said to be one of the most unique sights in all of Russia. Located in Red Square in Moscow, St. Basil’s Cathedral is as gorgeous on the inside as it is on the outside. It’s also known for its rather unusual interior. The narrow corridors throughout the church have often been to compared to those of a labyrinth.

 

Sydney Opera House, Australia

By Sachiv Kumar

 

Sydney Opera House, Australia

Whether viewed in the evening or daytime, the Sydney Opera House is a breathtaking sight — not to mention a defining element of Sydney. Construction began in 1959 and was completed in three stages by 1973. The geometric shells that form the roof took six years alone to build. Though originally estimated to cost $7 million, the structure ended up with a price tag of just over $100 million to complete. Danish architect Jørn Utzon received a Pritzker Prize, the most esteemed architectural honour, for his creation in 2003. The building was dubbed one of the most iconic buildings of the 20^th century, as well as Utzon’s masterpiece.

Taj Mahal, India

By Sachiv Kumar

 

Taj Mahal, India

This UNESCO World Heritage Site was completed in 1653 in Uttar Pradesh, India. It was built for the Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. This landmark is the most famous example of Mughal architecture, which is a style that reflects several different cultures: Islamic, Ottoman Turkish, Persian and Indian. It is also adorned with lavish designs made of decorative abstract art, marble, and calligraphy of select passages from the Qur’an. It is often referred to as the “jewel of Muslim art in India.”

SAUL BASS (Deepend Design Limited, 1999/2010) SAUL BASS (1920-1996) was not only one of the great graphic designers of the mid-20th century but the undisputed master of film title design thanks to his collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock, Otto Preminger and Martin Scorsese. Saul Bass was born in America in year 1920 and he died in 1668. He was a graphic designer and filmmaker. He is most recognized for his motion picture title sequences design. He has even worked for Hollywood’s greatest filmmakers. For example, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick or Martin Scorcese. Probably his most famous work are the paper cut-out of a heroin addicts arm. He did that piece for The Man with the Golden Arm. According to Neef et al. (2006) Scorcese said about Bass ‘It has been a dream of mine to work with Saul Bass ever since I tried to capture his style in my own “imaginary” movie titles which I drew at ages 12 and 15 in a composition book I kept hidden at home. He designed some logos as well. AtandT Bell System logo or Continental Airlines logo are just two of many he did.

fig.1 The Man with the Golden Arm - animated paper cutout of a heroin addict's arm - 1955

He was born in May 8, in New York. He started his studies at the Art Students League, it is an art school in New York City which is interesting not because of its quality, but as well because they have no degree programs or grades. Then he moved on and started to attend Gyorgy Kepes classes at Brooklyn College. His first bigger success was during period when he worked in Hollywood as a printer for film ads. Once he was working with Otto Preminger and when Otto saw his film poster work he was impressed and asked him to do the title sequence. This was like an open door and it was up to Bass to go in or close them. He didn’t close them at all, he realized how important and valuable are the opening and closing sequences of a movie. Not many people pay attention to titles. It is getting better nowadays thanks to improved animation techniques which can make them more interesting. But I think especially opening titles are very important to give you the feeling about the movie. Titles are and will be always underestimated. You don’t go to the cinema to watch the titles, you want to see the movie, your favorite artist and what will happened and titles are just the barrier. But once you make them entertaining or somehow interesting it can change. Not many of them are like that.

fig.4 AT&T logo - Saul Bass - 1984

I already talked about The Man with Golden Arm. To understand the title sequence you should know what the film is about, so here is the story: Jazz musician is heroin addicted, he is locked up and he gets clean, but when he gets out of the prison he has a really hard time to stay clean. For That time period it was very controversial film. It us usual to talk about drug addiction now, but it wasnt and the difference between now and then is so huge, that the Motion Picture Association of America refused to certify the film, but that is a different story. In the sequence he used hand, because it is the main tool for drug addicted person. He has done so many title sequences that it would take a while to write them all in here, so here are some of the most interesting ones: North by Northwest, Psycho or Casino. As you could read according to Kamp and Lawrence (2006) that his strikingly imaginative title sequences introduced dozens of films, including some of the best by Otto Preminger (Anatomy of a Murder), Alfred Hitchock (Vertigo), and Martin Scorcese (Goodfellas), and, in some cases, were more memorable than the films themselves (Edward Dmytryk’s Walk on the Wild Side, Scorcese’s Casino). A Snob controversy rages over the extent of his involvement in Psycho’s shower scene- some swear he actually directed it, whole others say just drew the storyboards-and hard-core Bassists extol his sole feature as director, Phase 4 (1974), an impenetrable sci-fi story about superintelligent ants.

fig.3 Minolta logo - Saul Bass - 1978

His creativity was spread all over the commercial design field. He didn’t just stick with title sequences, another work he has done are some very famous logo. According to Heskett (2005) the design practice of Saul Bass was built on the twin poles of film publicity and corporate logos. It is actually sad, that we usually know just the logo. And if we really like it we just usually search what does that certain company does, but nobody cares about the author. Do you know who has made Bell Telephone, AtandT globe Continental Airlines, Dixie, Minolta,Frontier Airlines logos? Sean Bass did, but nobody really knows and that might be a good thing, because in this industry you will probably know someone who has done something really bad, but not vice versa.

 

fig.5 Anatomy of a murder screenshot - opening sequence titles - Saul Bass

The Los Angeles Society of Contemporary Designers is an organization he was part of. According to Drew and Sternberger (2005) de Harak was a founding member, along with Lustig, Saul Bass and others, of the Los Angeles Society of Contemporary Designers. De Harak remembered being struck by both the content-consciousness of Bass.  Nourmand (2003/2007) Saul Bass died in 1996, in Los Angeles, leaving behind a flourishing design empire with Bass Yager Associates, and a heritage which will continue to inspire creative designers and film-makers.

To be honest, I don’t like that much his work. I can see the intellectual connection between the titles and movies. He uses nice visual appearance which fits the movie. You get the feeling what is the movie about from the titles. So technically it seems perfect. It just doesn’t impress me much.

REFERENCES:

Internet

Deepend Design Limited (1999/2010) SAUL BASS. Available at: http://designmuseum.org/design/saul-bass (Accessed: 25 November 2010).

Nourmand, T. (2003/2007) SAUL BASS. Available at: http://www.saul-bass.com/ (Accessed: 25 November 2010).

Books

Neef, S. (ed), Ketelaar, E. (ed), Dijck, J. (ed) (2006) Sign Here! : Handwriting in the Age of New Media. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.

Kamp, D., Lawrence, L. (2006) Film Snob’s Dictionary : An Essential Lexicon of Filmological Knowledge. United States of America: Broadway Books.

Heskett, J. (2005) Design: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press.

Drew, N., Sternberg, P. (2005) By its Cover : Modern American Book Cover Design. New York: Princeton Architectual Press.

Images

fig.1 Martin, D. (2002/2010) The Man with the Golden Arm. Available at: http://www.areaofdesign.com/americanicons/bass.htm (Accessed: 28 November 2010).

fig.2 Verstappen, H. (1999/2010) Saul Bass. Available at: http://www.thelooniverse.com/movies/west/saulbass/saulbass.html (Accessed: 28. November 2010.

fig.3 Verstappen, H. (1999/2010) Minolta. Available at: http://www.thelooniverse.com/movies/west/saulbass/logos.html (Accessed: 28. November 2010.

fig.4 Verstappen, H. (1999/2010) AT&T. Available at:http://www.thelooniverse.com/movies/west/saulbass/logos.html (Accessed: 28. November 2010.

fig.5 Bushell, D. (2004/2010) All about the Old School. Available at: http://dbushell.com/2010/01/06/all-about-the-old-school/ (Accessed: 28 November 2010).

Ek IT engineer ki frustration

Ek IT engineer ki frustration

 

 

Skumar's New Technology

 

The future of flight: How We Achieve the height of sky

Postive Atitute

Positive thinking is important for your self esteem and well being. Use these positive thinking quotes to inspire you to see opportunity and possibility in the things that you think and do.

 You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.

Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness.

A man is but the product of his thoughts; what he thinks, he becomes.

I am an optimist. It does not seem to be much use being anything else.

Attitudes are contagious. Is yours worth catching?

I don't think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains.

There are always flowers for those who want to see them.

Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you'll start having positive results.

The best thing to give to your enemy is forgiveness; to an opponent, tolerance; to a friend, your heart; to your child, a good example; to a father, deference; to your mother, conduct that will make her proud of you; to yourself, respect; to all men, charity.

Sachiv Kumar