What do you need in a perfect laptop....(software)

OR what do I have in mine (cute little Sony Vaio YB)

1. Win 7 -   a couple of limitations, No frills OS
2. MS Office 2007-  outlook, powerpoint, and word mostly (Outlook Hotmail Connector is a must)
3. 7Zip-     Nothing zips better
4. Windows live-   skydrive, messanger, mail, writer
5. Photoshop-   mine is CS2, tiny PC, remember...
6. Dreamweaver-   Weaves dreams, Web Design
7. Lightroom-    Adobe is great.... better than picasa
8. Adobe reader-   necessary evil
9. Apex DC++ - Necessary for p2p in campus
10. Ava Find-    best file search utility I know of
11. AVG Free antivirus-  Fast and Cute, low RAM, CPU use
12. AVG PC Tuneup-  need it to get grime out of those hard to reach places
13. Bittorrent-    You know what it is
14. Gedit-    For programming and having a great feeling about it
15. Google Chrome- Best browser till date, way faster than anything I've used
16. Doomi - Smart and small task manager
17. Dropbox - For peace of mind that all your hard work is safe online
18. Evernote - You dont know when you'll need it. Project managing genius
19. Format factory-  occasional video audio transcoding for phones, ipods
20. IDM-     Best download manager
21. Jolicloud-    That linux geek you talked about
22. Klite codec pack-  To make WMP play awesome videos of all formats
23. Launchy-    Cant live without it. It is the saviour my desktop
24. Mozilla firefox-   Browser for geeks, if you know how to use it
25. Media Monkey - Audio manager, better than the rest
26. Nokia Ovi suite-   make use of that silly old phone of yours
27. Skype-    occasional calls
28. SMART-  smart process optimizer
29. Trillian-    All your IMs at one place and working
30. TweetDeck-   For the inseparable tweeter inside you
31. Picasa-    Photo organising can't be better
32. PrimoPDF-    Print to a pdf file
33. Teracopy-    Copies waaay faster and doesnot hang
34. UltraISO-    ISO manager, Virtual drive, Bootable USB maker
35. Ultrasurf- For that iota of privacy, when college authorities ban websites
36. VLC media player-  Necessary for quick audio and video
37. Wireshark-   Spy on the loose
38. XBMC-    personal media center, nice looks and features
39. XAMPP-    for that homemade server on your lappie
40. Your Uninstaller-  To remove any of the above, anytime I want, without leaving any freaking trace.

More or less, your computer will become a great tool for an above average user.

Anna and the need to change the system

The current system of government in India has been there for too long. Stagnation invariably causes problems.

Let's try Anna's approach for a while and if it does not turn out good, there are still over a billion people who would change it for something else in maybe 20-30 years from now.

Any new system starts off as very effective, then wanes until it becomes unbearable and needs changing. A different system takes it place. And the cycle continues. A little shaking off is necessary to get rid of this situation and it is precisely what Anna is doing.

Insights on human behavior and war

Sometimes I ask myself why people divide each other on basis of place, caste, creed, colour (or so called politics you might be aware of).

Lately I’ve been thinking on it and I have finally come to a conclusion.

Its basic human nature, hardwired deep in humans due to millennia of evolution and survival of the best.

No matter how high the thinking becomes, humans are inherently biased. See for example, a normal person still divides people on basis of caste. Those with a higher thinking divide on basis of religion or state. Most of the people divide on basis of country. Europe divides on basis of Continent. Even when you say ‘i am a human’, you mean you are superior to other creatures.

Smaller differences vanish in face of larger ones.

When a war among countries erupt, differences on basis of states vanish and all states join hands to fight the enemy. similarly, during Hindu Muslim riots, differences on basis of caste disappear. During inter caste clashes, mutual differences on basis of  subcastes or Gharanas vanish. And all of this is related to survival. When two or more ‘groups’ join to fight a common competitor, the chances of survival of the individuals comprising them increases. Hence people divide themselves on the basis of these ideologies.

Theory is pretty simple; If you want your country to be united, start fighting with another one. If you want your religion to be united, fight with another religion. If you want all humans to be united, choose something like pollution or global warming to fight with.

Imagine, if creatures from an alien planet attack us, we will divide ourselves on basis of planet and fight them off and then mutual differences on basis of country will vanish and the whole Earth will be united.

Ironically, the only way to achieve mutual peace is to start a fight with a common enemy.

Insights on human behavior and war

Sometimes I ask myself why people divide each other on basis of place, caste, creed, colour (or so called politics you might be aware of).

Lately I’ve been thinking on it and I have finally come to a conclusion.

Its basic human nature, hardwired deep in humans due to millennia of evolution and survival of the best.

No matter how high the thinking becomes, humans are inherently biased. See for example, a normal person still divides people on basis of caste. Those with a higher thinking divide on basis of religion or state. Most of the people divide on basis of country. Europe divides on basis of Continent. Even when you say ‘i am a human’, you mean you are superior to other creatures.

Smaller differences vanish in face of larger ones.

When a war among countries erupt, differences on basis of states vanish and all states join hands to fight the enemy. similarly, during Hindu Muslim riots, differences on basis of caste disappear. During inter caste clashes, mutual differences on basis of  subcastes or Gharanas vanish. And all of this is related to survival. When two or more ‘groups’ join to fight a common competitor, the chances of survival of the individuals comprising them increases. Hence people divide themselves on the basis of these ideologies.

Theory is pretty simple; If you want your country to be united, start fighting with another one. If you want your religion to be united, fight with another religion. If you want all humans to be united, choose something like pollution or global warming to fight with.

Imagine, if creatures from an alien planet attack us, we will divide ourselves on basis of planet and fight them off and then mutual differences on basis of country will vanish and the whole Earth will be united.

Ironically, the only way to achieve mutual peace is to start a fight with a common enemy.

Insights on human behavior and war

Sometimes I ask myself why people divide each other on basis of place, caste, creed, colour (or so called politics you might be aware of).

Lately I’ve been thinking on it and I have finally come to a conclusion.

Its basic human nature, hardwired deep in humans due to millennia of evolution and survival of the best.

No matter how high the thinking becomes, humans are inherently biased. See for example, a normal person still divides people on basis of caste. Those with a higher thinking divide on basis of religion or state. Most of the people divide on basis of country. Europe divides on basis of Continent. Even when you say ‘i am a human’, you mean you are superior to other creatures.

Smaller differences vanish in face of larger ones.

When a war among countries erupt, differences on basis of states vanish and all states join hands to fight the enemy. similarly, during Hindu Muslim riots, differences on basis of caste disappear. During inter caste clashes, mutual differences on basis of  subcastes or Gharanas vanish. And all of this is related to survival. When two or more ‘groups’ join to fight a common competitor, the chances of survival of the individuals comprising them increases. Hence people divide themselves on the basis of these ideologies.

Theory is pretty simple; If you want your country to be united, start fighting with another one. If you want your religion to be united, fight with another religion. If you want all humans to be united, choose something like pollution or global warming to fight with.

Imagine, if creatures from an alien planet attack us, we will divide ourselves on basis of planet and fight them off and then mutual differences on basis of country will vanish and the whole Earth will be united.

Ironically, the only way to achieve mutual peace is to start a fight with a common enemy.

Insights on human behavior and war

Sometimes I ask myself why people divide each other on basis of place, caste, creed, colour (or so called politics you might be aware of).

Lately I’ve been thinking on it and I have finally come to a conclusion.

Its basic human nature, hardwired deep in humans due to millennia of evolution and survival of the best.

No matter how high the thinking becomes, humans are inherently biased. See for example, a normal person still divides people on basis of caste. Those with a higher thinking divide on basis of religion or state. Most of the people divide on basis of country. Europe divides on basis of Continent. Even when you say ‘i am a human’, you mean you are superior to other creatures.

Smaller differences vanish in face of larger ones.

When a war among countries erupt, differences on basis of states vanish and all states join hands to fight the enemy. similarly, during Hindu Muslim riots, differences on basis of caste disappear. During inter caste clashes, mutual differences on basis of  subcastes or Gharanas vanish. And all of this is related to survival. When two or more ‘groups’ join to fight a common competitor, the chances of survival of the individuals comprising them increases. Hence people divide themselves on the basis of these ideologies.

Theory is pretty simple; If you want your country to be united, start fighting with another one. If you want your religion to be united, fight with another religion. If you want all humans to be united, choose something like pollution or global warming to fight with.

Imagine, if creatures from an alien planet attack us, we will divide ourselves on basis of planet and fight them off and then mutual differences on basis of country will vanish and the whole Earth will be united.

Ironically, the only way to achieve mutual peace is to start a fight with a common enemy.

Top Ten Myths About Introverts

Myth #1 – Introverts don’t like to talk.

This is not true. Introverts just don’t talk unless they have something to say. They hate small talk. Get an introvert talking about something they are interested in, and they won’t shut up for days.

Myth #2 – Introverts are shy.

Shyness has nothing to do with being an Introvert. Introverts are not necessarily afraid of people. What they need is a reason to interact. They don’t interact for the sake of interacting. If you want to talk to an Introvert, just start talking. Don’t worry about being polite.

Myth #3 – Introverts are rude.

 Introverts often don’t see a reason for beating around the bush with social pleasantries. They want everyone to just be real and honest. Unfortunately, this is not acceptable in most settings, so Introverts can feel a lot of pressure to fit in, which they find exhausting.

Myth #4 – Introverts don’t like people.

On the contrary, Introverts intensely value the few friends they have. They can count their close friends on one hand. If you are lucky enough for an introvert to consider you a friend, you probably have a loyal ally for life. Once you have earned their respect as being a person of substance, you’re in.

Myth #5 – Introverts don’t like to go out in public.

Nonsense. Introverts just don’t like to go out in public FOR AS LONG. They also like to avoid the complications that are involved in public activities. They take in data and experiences very quickly, and as a result, don’t need to be there for long to “get it.” They’re ready to go home, recharge, and process it all. In fact, recharging is absolutely crucial for Introverts.

Myth #6 – Introverts always want to be alone.

Introverts are perfectly comfortable with their own thoughts. They think a lot. They daydream. They like to have problems to work on, puzzles to solve. But they can also get incredibly lonely if they don’t have anyone to share their discoveries with. They crave an authentic and sincere connection with ONE PERSON at a time.

Myth #7 – Introverts are weird.

Introverts are often individualists. They don’t follow the crowd. They’d prefer to be valued for their novel ways of living. They think for themselves and because of that, they often challenge the norm. They don’t make most decisions based on what is popular or trendy.

Myth #8 – Introverts are aloof nerds.

Introverts are people who primarily look inward, paying close attention to their thoughts and emotions. It’s not that they are incapable of paying attention to what is going on around them, it’s just that their inner world is much more stimulating and rewarding to them.

Myth #9 – Introverts don’t know how to relax and have fun.

Introverts typically relax at home or in nature, not in busy public places. Introverts are not thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies. If there is too much talking and noise going on, they shut down. Their brains are too sensitive to the neurotransmitter called Dopamine. Introverts and Extroverts have different dominant neuro-pathways. Just look it up.

Myth #10 – Introverts can fix themselves and become Extroverts.

Introverts cannot “fix themselves” and deserve respect for their natural temperament and contributions to the human race. In fact, one study (Silverman, 1986) showed that the percentage of Introverts increases with IQ.

With due apologies to whoever thought of it. Obviously it isn't mine.

 

 

Why do techies/coders avoid marketing guys.

A lot of startups would be interested in providing their services to people. And it would soon become clear to them that the lot toughest to appease/impress are the techies and programmers. 

 

These guys won't talk at all, trying to find a sloution on their own. They don't seem to care about the time and energy spent to find a solution that someone else could have easily provided. A normal/non-geek manager often listens to these salespeople and takes their as they seem fit. This lack of communication becomes frustrating and often forces one to wonder what went wrong.

 

Here is a brief summary compiled from a discussion in a forum that I happen to be attached to.

• Sales people are not usually technically literate, at least they don't stand a chance infront of a geek. They make for it by making stuff up. This leads to the client distrust, and ends up in a failed discussion.
• Coders usually don't believe on the word of mouth. They would actually like to see the product in person. An exhaustive summary of the product is what they would prefer.
• Sales people use sales tactics, (aka social engineering). Coders, mostly, are bright enough to see through it and the effort has negative impact. Not to mention it makes sales people look like an idiot.
• Coders and techies usually have higher IQs than the sales people. They are usually not ready to talk to a dumb person who is trying to make money off them. The best sales people for these clients would be developers themselves, as they know exactly how the brains work as well as technical details of the product.
• Coders are very efficient and consider verbal discussions with sales people a waste of time. They would rather read an email and decide within a few minutes wether to make a deal or not.
• Coders are not social animals and use their words frugally. Combine it with impatience and you have got a hard to please client.
• Sales people usually focus on the best aspects of their products while techies are interested in its limitations.
• Coders/techies usually figure out the limitations of the product on their own. If in trouble, their peers would help them out. So using sales people to lure them is pretty useless. 
• Plus, when the startup grows, so does its sales team. These new sales guys can never understand the product as well as the developer does, and convincing a techie  client becomes very difficult.

Attention Deficit Disorder: a discussion

ADD/ADHD or Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder is a fairly common though very misunderstood type of condition of the human brain. It is not easy for common people to discern a ADDer. It is an inherited neurobiological abnormality. 

These people have a technical bent of mind and a high percentage of people in High tech industry such as Web design, IT, entrepreneurs, marketing,media etc have symptoms of ADD. People often misunderstand a diagnosis of ADD as an illness or as a problem. However, I am going to list the benefit that this unique wiring of brain provides. The following has been adapted from a post by Pete Quily, who is himself an ADDer and loves to talk about it. And so am I.

1. Ability to Hyperfocus

Hours of full engagement and concentration on a task, 'IF' you find it interesting enough. When immersed in such a task, time and space don't matter. 

2. Rapid Fire Mind

The brain processes information at very high speeds. You can do things in minutes that take other people hours to complete. Downside if you are in a slow system.

3. Multitasking

An ADDer has the ability to focus at multiple tasks at will. You would be able to switch between tasks with ease. Especially when the tasks lead to a certain common end goal.

4. High Stamina

In mental sense, an ADDer is able to keep going on a project, if it is interesting. Long hours are never a problem. 

5. Highly Creative

Thinking out of the box comes naturally to ADDers. Since you take in information at a much higher rate than a normal person, you get distracted easily. Also, ADDers pay attention to detail and are likely to view a problem from different angles and can come up with many possible solutions. Such people like to choose the road less traveled and 

6. Quick Learner

If a subject is interesting enough, it takes a fraction of the time compared to peers to understand a concept. After all, symptoms of ADD appear mostly when you are bored. Boring tasks can crash an ADDer, rendering him ineffective.

7. Awareness of the Environment

An ADDer is constantly looking for details in his surroundings and finds information that others tend to miss. Allows you to see problems before they arise, and also opportunities.

8. Great in a Crisis

If the situation is intense, normal people feel matters slipping out of their hands, count on ADDers. You can work much more effectively than others in a chaotic environment. You thrive on stimulation and are intuitive, think ahead of the game and very resourceful.

9. Risk Taker

Impulsive, more willing to take risks. You believe in fast, shallow analysis and act while the opportunity is still hot. Due to special wiring in the brain, your shallow analysis is more often the correct one.

 

The benefits come with their own downsides, such as:

1. You don't usually overestimate themselves, telling people exactly "who they are". This results in people misunderstanding you as a bragger or someone with low self worth.
2. ADDers have difficulty with absolute authority (authority without explanation or choice). Often termed as Difficult-to-Handle kids
3. You will simply refuse to do certain repetitive or boring things (such as waiting for turn). Gets bored very easily. You get frustrated with systems that are ritual oriented or don't require creative thought.
4. Tend to leave a lot of projects unfinished. ADDers get bored very easily, so if a job gets boring, you leave it there. One of the reasons why they don't always become very successful.
5. You seem to find better or different way of doing things, often turn out to be the "system busters".
6. ADDers seem antisocial and shy unless they are with someone of their own kind. You hate social chitchat, which are a waste of time . Often have difficulty with schooling.
7. Sometimes you get insightful and appear to be spiritual or philosophical, often wondering why others don't share thoughts that come so easily to you.
8. ADDers have great difficulty in remembering details that they can easily find elsewhere. Your wiring simply chooses to erase the non essential details which clutter the brain of normal people. Difficulty in remembering dates, faces, phone numbers, rote answers to textbook questions are a common occurrence.
9. People with ADD and a high IQ are most prone to be misunderstood because they can mask their social behavior with the help of high IQ. Many such people will probably never know the reason of their sloppy work, missed deadlines, creative spell followed by long unproductive periods, and stubbornness.

 

If you think you are an ADDer, you are not a psycho or mentally ill. Meet a psychiatrist to confirm your condition and choose the way of life that you feel good with. After all, it is a gift.

Some ADDers, who made it large:

Tommy Hilfiger

Will Smith

Tom Cruise

Jim Carey

Steven Spielberg

Walt disney

Pablo Picasso

Thomas Edison

Albert Einstein

What makes us human?

Have you ever pondered this question:' What makes us Human?' 

I would try to answer it now from what I have learnt. The answer is, according to me, Prefrontal Cortex. Simple.

Now, we know that our body organs, physically are similar to those found in other animals. Our muscles operate in a fashion similar to that of animals. So physically, we are almost like a rat, or a cow, or a baboon. So what sets us apart? You got it right, The brain, and a particular part of it, the Prefrontal Cortex.

The brain is what makes us a tad bit different from rest of the occupants of the Blue marble. 

What does this Prefrontal Cortex do?

In layman's terms, it governs most of the feelings that you express. It helps us to wait for reward. Setting of goals and working to achieve them are the job of this little part of brain. Feelings and emotions are partly controlled by this part of the brain.

While other animals do things solely for instant gratification, we humans can think in greater detail. We can analyse past, present and future and decide our next actions accordingly. This is the ability that enables us to choose partners, to stop us from using inappropriate thoughts, actions, feelings. It helps chalk out a plan, a sort of mental map, using factors not currently relevant, in other words, plan for future. It sets aims, motivates us, and oversees that we do not harm ourselves, like some sort of personal executive. Now you would understand when a friend asks you to think it through.

Other animals too have a brain that is similar to human, but with a slight difference. And, clearly enough, they have underdeveloped prefrontal cortex.

Our brain has become triple compared to our ancestors 5 million years ago. And our Prefrontal cortex has grown over 6 times during that period. This is the magic of evolution and Darwin's theories.

And now I would like to point out that in certain situation, we act like animals. That is because during times of stress, or under influence of certain chemicals, the prefrontal cortex fails to work as it should. During stress, brain falls back to its 'default' setting. Rather than thinking over the situation and then acting, during which you might get hurt, the brain shuts down higher order thinking and concentrates on imminent problem. In such a condition, people do what would later prove as bad moves.

It could possibly explain why people babble when facing a large audience for first time. Their stressed out brains simply shut down those parts of brain which created that speech in the first place. This theory could easily be extended to other areas...

How to access your email from behind a HTTP proxy

 
Well, You will have to believe that not every body can use mail clients to download their mail. Many people are behiind an HTTP proxy, which stands between your computer at work or LAN, blocking POP, SMTP, IMAP, basically any protocol other than HTTP(one that browsers use) to pass through them. The reason being misuse of precious bandwidth. Well then, we'll use http to download our mail.

 
Outlook uses Activesync, which is based on HTTP to download mail from your Hotmail account. And Hotmail has features to import POP mail from, say, Gmail and other services. Combine them both and your gmail gets delivered to your desktop.

You can have mail delivered to desktop client, read them even without active internet, compose offline messages and send them whenever you are

online. You can download all your mails on your computer and it will be in sync with your online account. Can be used with a hotmail account natively, and with gmail and other POP/IMAP services with a little more action. 

 
Here is how to do it:

1. Open MS Outlook
2. Open your browser and go to hotmail.com.
3. If you have an account, great, otherwise create a new account (necessary).
4. Get your Hotmail account working online. Send email messages to check and confirm that you can access it.
5. If you get an option to use HTTPS connection, ignore it. HTTPS creates problems for Outlook.
6. If you have https enabled, click on OPTIONS at the top right of the Hotmail website(when you are viewing your inbox)>more options>advanced privacy settings>go to https settings>don't use https automatically>save.
7. Download the Outlook Hotmail connector form at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=39db2b89-af2e-41f... '''or'''http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/microsoft-office-outlook-hotma...
8. 64 bit links can be found somewhere in the above pages, at the bottom mostly.
9. Save .exe and install it.
10. Open internet explorer>internet options>advanced>restore advanced settings> OK. close it.
11. Open Outlook, allow it through any firewall.
12. Add new account dialog>other>ms outlook hotmail connector> fill name, username, pass>OK.
13. New account dialog can be opened anytime by clicking tools>account settings>email tab>new.
14. Done!
15. Let it connect online and download all your mails.
16. Now set up up Gmail and other POP accounts. You will be using Hotmail to download mail from all your accounts and send to your Outlook.
17. Now go to your Hotmail inbox in a browser.
18. On your browser, click on options>more options>managing your accounts>sending/receiving email from other accounts.
19. Find 'You can receive mail from these accounts' below it, click on add an email account.
20. Enter your email address(complete address, like abc@def.com), password and let Hotmail draw all your new emails.
21. Don't panic if only new emails are visible. Hotmail sometimes downloads emails later than time of setting up of the account.
22. If Hotmail fails to configure your email automatically, click on advanced options and enter the account server and port details These details can fe found on the settings page of most mail services. You will have to look for it. Click next.
23. Select a New folder, leave default if you don't wish to change.
24. A message will be sent to your Gmail/pop/imap account. Click on the link provided in it and activate it (open Gmail to so so).
25. You are good to go. Open Outlook and press send/receive. If your internet explorer can access internet, you will get your mails downloaded in Outlook. Remember to allow it through any firewall.
26. Still not working, reread the above steps and try to find where you lost me.
27. Still have problems? this method is not for you; use webmail instead.

 Hope that This was useful for you.

insights on a hybrid car

What if?

What if someone decides to build a hybrid car? Now I am not a mechanical engineer, CAD expert, or anything in particular. Just another schoolboy who has read a few books too many. Here is how I would go about it.

An important feature of a hybrid car seems to be a diesel/gas engine, batteries or other energy storage solution, and electric motors. Clutch and gears are likely to be obsolete as motors can provide varied RPM at high torques. Step on gas and your speed will go as high  as possible (200+ mph). Today's motors are easily capable of sports car like performance.

I would go about it with two concepts in mind. Generators working at constant engine parameters are much more efficient than Normal car engines. So instead of putting an IC engine that powers the wheels directly, with a lot of wasted fuel in accelerating, decelerating, we can introduce a dynamo and convert the engine power into electricity.

Now any high school kid might tell you that converting Mech Energy into Electrical and back again is not going to be very efficient. But it may work in situations such as cities where brakes waste an awful lot of energy. Regenerative braking takes the momentum out of your vehicle fast enough to absorb at least 60% Kinetic energy of a moving vehicle and puts it back when you release the brakes.

Now the energy inefficiency has been taken care of, we can proceed to more practical uses.

Ohkay, now we have got a portable 220 v generator in our garage which is very efficient and silent. This could prove a boon for any place with an unreliable electricity supply such as developing countries. Camping will definitely become more fun with ability to power external lights, speakers, projectors and whatever the people might conceive. Commuters in city won't even need to refill their gas tank as the batteries may be charged by cheap electricity and will have at least the range enough to get from home to office and back again.

Recent researches point out that soon even the engine will become obsolete. Batteries will be like gas tanks, you pour charged electrolyte, drive as much as the charge gets you, drain the discharged electrolyte at nearest gas station and refill with charged electrolyte. Another system plans to incorporate charging by Tesla coils embedded into asphalt, charging your vehicle as you drive. Much like wireless cell phone chargers of the present day.

The vehicles may become more safe as batteries and engine are pretty heavy and placed low in the vehicles body resulting in a low center of gravity. For all I know, you could even get a submersible automobile, which would work underwater as well as over land. Maybe someday, some comapany will work on such a system or probably is working on one..... Lets wait and watch.

Updates,

A new wave disk generator system aims at a revolutionary compact and efficient IC engine. It does away with piston and other parts and uses a very radically designed disk with grooves which combined with a lot of ingenuity has been able to achieve 60% efficiency and a weight much less than current engines.

The BMW i3 and i8 concepts are pretty close to what I think an hybrid vehicle should be like.

Insight on a social feed aggregator

From where I see, a social aggregator should be simple enough for even a fool to understand. I don't know why most of the social feed aggregators find it so difficult to be simple.

I am not a programmer, but, if I were, I would design a website described as follows:
A simple blue bar on the top of the page. Name of the webpage, and tabs:

[Social] [Feeds] [WALL] [Mail] [Contacts] [Find] along with a search box (nice, square). Additional services would include NEWS, Forum, etc.

In the social tab, would be a thin column to the left stating the services you use like FB, Twitter, Buzz, GTalk, blogger, wordpress, diigo, Stumbleupon, and others; each with number of updates in red text.

Subtopics would be there too, such as:

Posts on walls: what other friends are posting on each others' walls.

Mentions:Fb and Tw.

Retweets, reposts, FB shares

Comments fb, forums, blog

Replies:Fb, twitter, Forums, YouT ,

Status updates,  FB, Tw, Goog, and wherever user has to update.

Links, FB, Tw, Stumble, Diigo, digg, etc

Ppictures, FB, Tw, Picasa, Flicr,

TEXT, FB notes, Blog, forum posts, Documents, how tos, wiki, books

Clicking on any name would open their respective contacts page

Groups: would include updates from your groups.

In Feeds tab, feeds from various selected services would be shown. Such as lifehacker, gizmag, Smashing magazine, and the like.

In WALL, Options to manage personal feeds would be there. Options to post to FB, twitter, blogger, wordpress, mil, SMS, email, messages and most of the services used would be there. along with a timeline view. Indicators would indicate the most neglected services and the most used too.

In mail, various email services  would be shown in a nice and simple layout along with your FB messages. In a timeline view with a few but intuitive buttons. Subtopics would include various services and their subfolders.

Contacts page would give a combined dossier of a person. Info would be collected from various services they use. Option to mail, message, write on wall would be there. Features to merge, add, manage, group contacts would be there.

Find would be used to provide random data like random blog posts, people. suggestions. Along with a search box. An extensive search protocol must be built in spanning through status updates, news, blogs, notes, etc.

All communications must be encrypted, because the info is pretty important. All data must be transferred using HTTPS protocol because that is one protocol that is used pretty much everywhere. And all the data, including mail, updates would have an option of local storage. By this I mean a desktop app which stores everything locally, thus reducing the burden on its own servers. (At least mail).

Anyone trying to design such a system must pay attention to design such that minimum number of mouse clicks are required to access data of choice.