Wednesday, October 14, 2009

“Google Defends Its Design Philosophy - Searchengineland.com” plus 4 more

“Google Defends Its Design Philosophy - Searchengineland.com” plus 4 more

Google Defends Its Design Philosophy - Searchengineland.com

Posted: 14 Oct 2009 11:34 AM PDT

In an interview on TechRadar UK, Google's director of user experience goes a long way toward responding to claims earlier this year that the company's design team is too reliant on data.

"Data informs decision-making but it's less useful for conceiving and building conceptually new directions," explains Irene Au. "It's most useful for optimising and refining an established concept."

Au leads a 200-person user experience team that often gets involved in new projects long after the design has started. She tells TechRadar that projects are typically started by engineers, and a developer toolkit lets the engineers "get 70 to 80 per cent of the way there without having a designer involved."

Au says Google has to be particularly careful with design because of the potential impacts on the company's bottom line.

"Search is such a fragile interface. It's humbling to see how the slightest changes in design, just pixel-level changes or barely perceptible changes to colours, can have such a dramatic impact on usage and revenue."

Well-known designer Doug Bowman left Google earlier this year and fired a parting shot on the way out, saying that the company was too reliant on data to drive its design decisions.

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High School Notebook: Big Macs philosophy: Never surrender a goal - Observer-Reporter

Posted: 14 Oct 2009 04:53 AM PDT

"What helped us was the offseason work put in by the players, whether it was individual or cup (soccer)," said fourth-year Canon-McMillan coach Michael Garet, a standout goalkeeper for Trinity High School and Washington & Jefferson College.

"There's not one player we look to in tough times."

The Big Macs do look to keep opponents off the scoreboard and they've done so with surprising frequency. Counting Tuesday night's scoreless tie against Moon, Canon-McMillan has shut out nine opponents.

"In our section, one goal can turn the tide," Garet said. "We're 9-0 when we've scored the first goal and 0-5 when we haven't."

Because of various injuries and illnesses, Canon-McMillan has found out it fields a deep group of goalkeepers. Senior Doug Perino is the starter, while sophomore Kolbie Checca and freshman James Hathaway have filled in with strong performances.

The back line of Michael Corey, Grant Butler, Matt Liberatore and freshman Alec Brumbaugh have played solid as a unit, while the midfield crew of Vinny Centore, Jack Camerson, Adam Getty, Matt Fonagy and Dominick Ali have provided help when needed and assisted on offense.

"It's a team concept defensively and attacking," Garet said.

Forwards Nathan Jacobs, Justin Williams, Nic Oberhaus, Chris Lewis-Kwiatkowski and Cory DeGennaro might not produce eye-popping statistics but Canon-McMillan's system isn't one that yields high-scoring matches.

It's also one that kept the Big Macs in matches against defending WPIAL champion Peters Township and Upper St. Clair. Canon-McMillan lost a pair of 2-1 matches to the Panthers and a 2-1 match at Peters Township.

Section champion Peters Township (9-0, 11-2-1) plays at Canon-McMillan Thursday in what's become a spirited rivalry.

"Playing with those teams says an awful lot about the type of players we have and the amount of work they've put in," Garet said. "There's such a trust level with this team. They've just bought into it without question or reservation."

Semifinals set

Peters Township is the reigning WPIAL Division I boys team golf champion. In order to defend the crown, the undefeated Indians must place among the top three teams at today's semifinal.

Peters Township (17-0) tees off at Donegal Highlands at 9 a.m. along with Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Elizabeth Forward, Latrobe, Laurel Highlands, Moon, Seneca Valley and Shady Side Academy.

While the Indians are the lone local team playing for a Division I title, seven qualified for the Division II semifinals.

Undefeated Bentworth, Burgettstown, Jefferson-Morgan, South Fayette and Waynesburg are at Indian Run in Avella today. California and Chartiers-Houston try to qualify for the finals at Pheasant Ridge Golf Club in Gibsonia.

The Division I and II team finals are Monday, Oct. 19 at Cedarbrook in Belle Vernon. Tee time is 10 a.m.

Greene County Raiders

Ever wonder how baseball, football and wrestling teams would fare if the five school districts in Greene County merged into one?

Waynesburg High School's girls soccer team can offer a glimpse.

The Raiders are comprised of players from Carmichaels, Jefferson-Morgan, West Greene and Waynesburg. Mapletown is the lone school not part of the co-op.

The increased enrollment forced Waynesburg to compete in Section 6-AAA, where they are in fourth place at 6-6 in league play and 8-8 overall.

For Waynesburg head coach Herb Thompson, one of the biggest benefits of the co-op is the ability to field a junior varsity team.


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Snyder should hire Jimmy Johnson -- as GM - ESPN.com

Posted: 14 Oct 2009 12:24 PM PDT


Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

Washington Post columnist Michael Wilbon has a really good take this morning on what needs to happen with the Redskins. Wilbon uses Redskins cornerback Carlos Rogers' "it starts with ownership" quote as a jumping-off point for suggesting that the club desperately needs a change in philosophy.

Of course, saying that executive vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato needs to be fired isn't exactly breaking new ground, but Wilbon has some new ammunition provided by former Cowboys and Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson:

"Realize that a great 53-man roster is what wins championships, not five or six high-priced stars," Johnson said on the Fox pregame show Sunday. "Dan Snyder builds his team like its fantasy football and that's a big negative. The Redskins need a GM who can prevent Snyder from making decisions while letting Snyder think he's involved. Who can work that magic? I don't know."

Let those words sink in for a minute. Yep, it sounds like Johnson's talking about his time with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in the early 90s. Johnson made all the football decisions, but for the most part, he tried to make Jones feel like he was a part of things. Wilbon goes on to say that the Skins should pay Bill Polian $30 million to leave the Colts, but that's not going to happen.

If Snyder was somehow convinced to spend that type of money on a GM, why not back the Brinks truck up to Johnson's place in the Keys? I know that Johnson loves his "retirement" more than anyone, but you could at least try to stoke his competitive fires (and ego) by offering him something similar to what Bill Parcells has with the Dolphins. Snyder could even give Johnson the weekends off. It's not like you're asking him to coach the team.

Anyway, here's the part of Wilbon's column I really loved:

"And where would such a change of philosophy start? It starts with ownership, of course. And while Carlos Rogers might find himself in a pickle for saying so, that doesn't change the fact that his assessment is right on the money. Rogers, Johnson, they're both spot on. The Redskins' powers-that-be are good at directing anger at the messenger without ever taking note of the message, even if everybody outside looking in knows exactly what needs to change."

"Good at directing anger at the messenger without ever taking note of the message." That's about as well as you can say it. And just so you know, Jimmy Johnson wouldn't take the Redskins job in a million years.

But it never hurts to ask.

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Jones-Drew questions Jaguars offensive attack - Miami Herald

Posted: 14 Oct 2009 01:57 PM PDT

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By MARK LONG

AP Sports Writer

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Still reeling from a 41-0 loss at Seattle, Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew is lashing out at the team's play-calling, its lack of offensive identity and its constant shuffling of offensive linemen.

Frustrated? Try furious.

In a 15-minute session with reporters Wednesday, Jones-Drew ripped several aspects of his team. He acknowledged that his bitterness stemmed from the offense's struggles in the running game and the humbling shutout in Seattle.

Jones-Drew questioned the play-calling, especially when it was still a close game. He questioned the team's identity, wondering when the Jaguars abandoned their smash-mouth philosophy. And he questioned why the coaching staff continues to move offensive linemen in and out of the lineup.

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CPI Named to Inc. Magazine's 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies in ... - Consumer Electronics Net

Posted: 14 Oct 2009 12:17 PM PDT

 

October 14, 2009 -- LOS ANGELES, BUSINESS WIRE --

CPI Solutions, a leading network, unified communications, application development and integration consulting company, announced today that it was named the 2377th Fastest Growing Private Company in America by Inc. Magazine.


CPI President and CEO Arnie Friedman said, 'It's an honor to be recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest growing private companies in America. We were founded on the premise of improving our clients' experience with technology. To that end, simplicity, security, performance and reliability have been at the center of our philosophy since day one. We believe that delivering technology solutions with a strong value proposition will continue to fuel our growth for years to come.'

CPI Solutions, based in Camarillo, is a leading provider of application development, telephony and network management solutions. The company partners with Cisco, Microsoft and EMC. CPI also supplies certified network engineers to companies on an outsourcing basis.

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