Tag Archives: Testing

The Performance Cost of Using WordPress

Written by Aijaz Ansari. Filed under Computers. Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments.
Safari's Web Inspector
I recently tried to switch a website over from a homegrown content management system to WordPress. The results were thoroughly disheartening. This post illustrates the steps I took, and how I managed to move in the opposite direction and optimize my site even more.

Adding A Grid To Your Websites

Written by Aijaz Ansari. Filed under Computers. Tagged , , , . No comments.
190 S. La Salle St.
The #grid website has a great tool for web designers -it “inserts a layout grid in web pages, allows you to hold it in place, and toggle between displaying it in the foreground or background.”  Go to their website and have a look.  It’s pretty impressive.  Simple, but impressive.  I think I’m gonna give this [...]

Follow up: Google Admits Buzz Was Only Tested Internally

Written by Aijaz Ansari. Filed under Computers. Tagged , , . No comments.
Kite Flying on a Summer's Day
In yesterday’s article about Google Buzz, I guessed that “the problem was that the population for whom the system was designed wasn’t necessarily the only population actually using the system.”  I gave Google the benefit of the doubt: I am certain Google tested their application thoroughly.  They’ve been known to do extensive usability tests for [...]

Sometimes Testing Isn’t Enough

Written by Aijaz Ansari. Filed under Computers. Tagged , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment.
A Bee. Buzzing.
In the first few days after the release of Google Buzz many people (including myself) criticized Google for exposing their users' private information. This was a couple of weeks after Apple got a lot flak for their unfortunately-named iPad, and the same week that we heard reports of a woman who broke up with her boyfriend after finding some suggestive text messages on his cell phone - messages that came pre-loaded on the phone. I think that all these cases were not caused by a lack testing, but by testing the wrong audience. Let's examine these three cases and see what we can learn from them:

Why Should I Use CPAN?

Written by Aijaz Ansari. Filed under Computers. Tagged , , , . 1 Comment.
Getting the Camel to Do What You Want
Why should a program depend on so many external modules when it could implement what it needs itself?