Today in Tech: Superstorm Sandy, Apple's Skeuomorphic Design after Forstall and more

Superstorm Sandy All major IT companies with offices along the east coast closed down their offices, as US faced one of its worst natural disasters. Infosys has offices in six locations, HCL Technologies in five and TCS in four in the affected regions. Cognizant is head quartered along its path. US accounts for more than two thirds of Indian IT companies revenues, and a good part of it comes from financial services, most of them head quartered in New York.

Yet, Hurricane Sandy is unlikely to have a big impact on the revenues of IT companies. Most of the work is done offshore, and even in US, it's spread across the country. When the results come out its impact on revenues - which is likely to be around a few basis points - would probably be forgotten.

What will be remembered though are individual stories - for example, this - and hopefully, the bigger lessons, such as this one from Walt Mossberg on his Facebook Wall: "Many of us spend all day immersed in tech, and impressed by it. But nothing trumps the awesome, sometimes deadly, power of nature. Nothing"

Apple's skeuomorphic design after Forstall
Apple is best known for the way it brought technology and design together. So, it comes as no surprise that many conversations around the exit of Scott Forstall, its software products chief and the bigger role for Jonathan Ive, its design boss are about the impact this shakeup will have on its design - specifically its digital skeuomorphic design.

Here's a revealing paragraph from a Fast Company story that made rounds a while ago:

"It’s visual masturbation," says one former senior UI designer at Apple who worked closely with Steve Jobs. "It’s like the designers are flexing their muscles to show you how good of a visual rendering they can do of a physical object. Who cares?"
Inside Apple, tension has brewed for years over the issue. Apple iOS SVP Scott Forstall is said to push for skeuomorphic design, while industrial designer Jony Ive and other Apple higher-ups are said to oppose the direction. "You could tell who did the product based on how much glitz was in the UI," says one source intimately familiar with Apple’s design process.

Also of interest

• iPad mini review roundup: An impressive mid-size tablet that comes at a price: TheNextWeb
• Applied Materials crafts the giant machines to make ultra-high definition displays: Venturebeat
• Computer Vision System Helps Diagnose Autism in Infants: Technology Review
• How to Delete Regrettable Posts from the Internet: Technology Review
• 4 million Windows 8 upgrades sold already, says Ballmer: NBC
• University of Tokyo turns real paper and ink into a display, could share doodles from a distance : Engadget
• I.B.M.'s Watson Goes to Medical School: NYTimes Blog

The thoughts and opinions shared here are of the author.