~ What is the maximum length of a valid email address? ~

Recently, a client reported an issue related to the length of an email address. This prompted me to Google for the same. 

To be frank, I had never bothered much about the length and always thought it be the local part to be about 30 characters. Practically it doesn't make sense for someone to have an email address with 60 characters. 

But then we have RFC and revision. The post by Dominic Sayers shows how much discussion happens over what we consider to be trivial J

http://stackoverflow.com/a/574698

You can validate an email address over here. http://isemail.info/abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz%40gmail.com

~ Andrew Kim | Design genius ~

I have been following Andrew Kim's blog for about 4 years now. From 2009, I have enjoyed his photographs with various cameras, starting from D90, GF1, X100 to his latest RX1. Always loved his compositions; Be it cars, people, streets, product reviews.

Then there is his design work across - technology, lifestyle, daily-use. Occasional review of consumer products which he bought. The reviews done by Andrew has always focused on the product aesthetic & design. Each time I read the review of a product, makes me wanna own one. It could be a pen, notebook, watch, etc. His recent review of non-technology products like shoes & car makes me drool.

Andrew got the limelight when his personal project of unifying the brand *Microsoft* published on his blog got picked by numerous design & technology blogs across the world. Those who follow his blog know that he has been a big Apple & Jobs fan. Despite that, he took up the job offer presented by MSFT. 

Back in April Andrew got to witness the legendary Dieter Rams, Iconic industrial designer at Braun, give graduation address.

Dieter Rams giving his graduation address. http://t.co/NexPQ9uKNV

— Andrew Kim (@pushingatoms) April 21, 2013

The connection between the two did not end there, Andrew got to showcase his work & also have lunch with the Legend. You can read more about the meeting of design minds in Andrew's words - My lunch with Dieter Rams

Has been a while since I paid visit to his blog, was quite surprised to see him doing reviews on non-tech these days. The one that stood out was his new car Mercedes-Benz SLK. I have watched enough Car shows which do reviews about engine, tires, performance, design, etc. The review from Andrew might not be pure from technical aspects like your typical Top Gear show, but from a design perspective. The eye for details across various sections & User Experience (UX) gives a whole new dimension to how a car can be reviewed. Do check out the review - Mercedes-Benz SLK review

Follow Andrew on Twitter | Blog | Instagram

Note: All the photographs used here are photographed by Andrew Kim. Have sourced it from his blog.

~ Copy like Chinese ~

I have seen fakes of iPod & iPhone 3S in Bangalore. All of them are made in China. We all have read about the famous fake Apple stores that were mushroomed across China. 

Fake Apple Stores: BBC | Guardian | The Atlantic 

Today I came across another piece of article which is the mother of all copies. The Chinese have ventured into copy Architecture. The funny thing is that the 'copy' might even be completed before the 'original'. The stakes are pretty high for the Architect Zaha Hadid & her team to complete the original before the fake steals all the limelight.

Original Galaxy SOHO

Wangjing SOHO minus one building 

Source: Spiegel 

Indian companies aren't far behind. If you haven't seen Micromax A110 Canvas yet then check it out. It looks very close to Samsung Galaxy S3. Samsung should be feeling the heat, because the price of A110 is Rs 10000/- ;)

I just read About Us on Micromax page, "Our Strategy focuses on innovating, designing and using the latest technologies to develop products at affordable prices." Not sure if these are guys are innovating in copying other products or creating a design remix out of the HTC + Samsung. 

How many companies do you know of in the current era who are actually ORIGINAL in their design process & build something new. I bet there are very few companies currently in that space. Isn't there joy in creating something original? I hope 2013 has some kind of competition from players in their  design approach than copying Apple or anyone else.

~ Remix for better ~

If you haven't watched the series called Everything is a Remix or Steal like an Artist, then you should be doing it right now.


There is no point in boiling an ocean or re-inventing a wheel. You build upon something which already exists to make it even better. That's the power of ideas. 


What triggered me to write this post was the simple UX flow of the ever growing mobile OS - Android. Android so far in its latest iteration i.e. ICS has evolved & has much better UX than the previous versions (Note: Am referring to Stock Android devices). But, even the stock UX doesn't come close to what Sharp AQUOS has to offer. I'm taken by the simplicity & minimal event triggers across various actions.

OEMs (Samsung, Sony, HTC, Motorola) who patch a layer of SHIT over stock Android should be watching this video to learn more about UX, Design & Minimalism. Above all, Google should be paying more attention to this video.

You should ONLY remix original if you can offer something better. Else don't remix.




The power of being open - where you have the option to create / improvise, something better than the original. Unlike WALLED gardened products or approach.

More about Sharp AQUOS

Via @Cotton