Nokia Developer Conference 2009

Forum Nokia Developer Conference 2009 is happening on Dec 7, in Bangalore at Hotel Taj Residency.

This year’s event promises to be very special with live demos, real-life mobile application stars who ‘wowed’ the world with their mobile applications to win fame and fortune, and much more. Also, explore how Nokia’s new Ovi Store ensures developers have easy access to publish applications and content to millions of Nokia devices through a unified publishing channel. Get to know the dynamic technology platforms for creating truly compelling user experiences. Get to learn new skills, new connections, and new ideas to create tomorrow’s technologies.

You can find more details at http://bit.ly/FNDC09 .

Besides there is a Nokia N97 up for grabs too. So check it out!

Top ten geek business myths

Source: Here

Since I’ve started my new career as a venture capitalist I have become keenly aware of some of the classic mistakes that geeks make when trying to raise money for a new business. Instead of writing the same comments over and over again I thought I’d try to summarize some of the mistakes that people — especially smart people — make when they decide to try to turn their bright ideas into money. Here then is my top-ten list of geek business myths:

Myth #1: A brilliant idea will make you rich.

Reality: A brilliant idea is neither necessary nor sufficient for a successful business, although all else being equal it can’t hurt. Microsoft is probably the canonical example of a successful business, and it has never had a single brilliant idea in its entire history. (To the contrary, Microsoft has achieved success largely by seeking out and destroying other people’s brilliant ideas.) Google was based on a couple of brilliant ideas (Page rank, text-only ads, massive parallel implementation on cheap hardware) but none of those ideas were original with Larry or Sergey. This is not to say that Larry, Sergey and Bill are not bright guys — all three of them are sharper than I can ever hope to be. But the idea that any of them woke up one day with an inspiration and coasted the rest of the way to riches is a myth.

Myth #2: If you build it they will come.

There is a grain of truth to this myth. There have been examples of businesses that just built a product, cast it upon the ether(net), and achieved success. (Google is the canonical example.) But for every Google there are ten examples of companies that had killer products that didn’t sell for one reason or another. My favorite example of this is the first company I tried to start back in 1993. It was called FlowNet, and it was a new design for a high speed local area network. It ran at 500Mb/s in a time when 10 Mb/s ethernet was the norm. For more than five years, FlowNet had the best price/performance ratio of any available network. On top of that, FlowNet had built-in quality-of-service guarantees for streaming video. If FlowNet had taken over the world your streaming video would be working a lot better today than it does.

But despite the fact that on a technical level FlowNet blew everything else out of the water it was an abysmal failure as a business. We never sold a single unit. The full story of why FlowNet failed would take me far afield, but if I had to sum it up in a nutshell the reason it didn’t sell was very simple: it wasn’t Ethernet. And if we’d done our homework and market research we could have known that this would be, if not a show-stopper at least a significant obstacle. And we would have known it before we spent tens of thousands of dollars of our own money on patent attorneys and prototypes.

Myth #3: Someone will steal your idea if you don’t protect it.

Reality: No one gives a damn about your idea until you actually succeed and by then it’s too late. Even on the off chance that you do manage to stumble across someone who is as excited about your idea as you are, if they have any brains they will join you rather than try to beat you. (And if they don’t have any brains then it doesn’t matter what they do.)

Patent protection does serve one useful purpose: it can make investors feel warm and fuzzy, especially naive investors. But I strongly recommend that you do your own patent filings. It’s not hard to do once you learn how (get the Nolo Press book “Patent it Yourself”). You’ll do a better job than most patent attorneys and save yourself a lot of money.

Myth #4: What you think matters.

Reality: It matters not one whit that you and all your buddies think that your idea is the greatest thing since sliced pizza (unless, of course, your buddies are rich enough to be the customer base for your business). What matters is what your customers think. It is natural to assume that if you and your buddies think your idea is cool that millions of other people out there will think it’s cool too, and sometimes it works out that way, but usually not. The reason is that if you are smart enough to have a brilliant idea then you (and most likely your buddies) are different from everyone else. I don’t mean to sound condescending here, but the sad fact of the matter is that compared to you, most people are pretty dumb (look at how many people vote Republican and they care about dumb things. (I just heard about a new clothing store in Pasadena that has lines around the block. A clothing store!) If you cater only to people who care about the things that you care about then your customer base will be pretty small.

Myth #5: Financial models are bogus.

As with myth #2 there is a grain of truth here. As Carl Sagan was fond of saying, prophecy is a lost art. There is no way to know for sure how much money your business is going to make, or how much it will cost to get to market. The reason for doing financial models is to do a reality check and convince yourself that making a return on investment is even a plausible possibility. If you run the numbers and find out that in order to reach break-even you need a customer base that is ten times larger than the currently known market for your product then you should probably rethink things. As Dwight Eisenhower said: plans are useless, but planning is indispensible.

This myth is the basis for one of the most classic mistakes that geeks make when pitching their ideas. They will say things like “Even if we only capture 1% of the market we’ll make big bucks.” Statements like that are a dead giveaway that you haven’t done your homework to find out what your customers actually want. You may as well say: there’s a good chance that only 1 customer in 100 will buy our product (and frankly, we’re not even sure about that). Doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.

Myth #6: What you know matters more than who you know.

Reality: You’ve been in denial about this your whole life. You were either brought up to believe that being smart mattered, or you just didn’t believe your mother when she told you that getting along with the other kids was more important than getting straight A’s.

The truth is, who you know matters more than what you know. This is not to say that being smart and knowledgable is useless. Knowing “what” is often an effective means of getting introduced to the right “whos”. But ultimately, the people you know and trust (and more importantly who trust you) matter more than the factual knowledge you may have at your immediate disposal. And there is a sound reason for this: business decisions are horrifically complicated. No one person can possibly amass all the knowledge and experience required to make a broad range of such decisions on their own, so effective business people delegate much of their decision-making to other people. And when they choose who to delegate to, their first pick is always people they know and trust.

Ironically, C programmers understand this much better than Lisp programmers. One of the ironies of the programming world is that using Lisp is vastly more productive than using pretty much any other programming language, but successful businesses based on Lisp are quite rare. The reason for this, I think, is that Lisp allows you to be so productive that a single person can get things done without having to work together with anyone else, and so Lisp programmers never develop the social skills needed to work effectively as a member of a team. A C programmer, by contrast, can’t do anything useful except as a member of a team. So although programming in C hobbles you in some ways, it forces you to form groups whose net effectiveness is greater than the sum of their parts, and who collectively can stomp on all the individual Lisp programmers out there, even though one-on-one a Lisper can run rings around a C programmer.

Myth #7: A Ph.D. means something.

Reality: The only thing a Ph.D. means is that you’re not a moron, and you’re willing to put up with the bullshit it takes to slog your way through a Ph.D. program somewhere. Empirically, having a Ph.D. is negatively correlated with business success. This is because the reward structure in academia is almost the exact opposite of what it is in business. In academia, what your peers think matters. In business, it’s what your customers think that matters, and your customers are (almost certainly) not your peers.

[UPDATE: this is not to say that getting a Ph.D. is useless. You can learn a lot of useful stuff by getting a Ph.D. But it's the knowledge and experience that you gain by going through the process that is potentially valuable (for business endeavors), not the degree itself.]

Myth #8: I need $5 million to start my business

Reality: Unless you’re building hardware (in which case you should definitely rethink what you’re doing) you most likely don’t need any startup capital at all. Paul Graham has written extensively about this so I won’t belabor it too much, except to say this: you don’t need much startup capital, but what you do need is a willingness to work your buns off. You have to bring your brilliant idea to fruition yourself; no one else will do it for you, and no one will give you the money to hire someone to do it for you. The reason is very simple: if you don’t believe in the commercial potential of your idea enough to give up your evenings and weekends to own a bigger chunk of it, why should anyone else believe in it enough to put their hard-earned money at risk?

Myth #9: The idea is the most important part of my business plan.

Reality: The idea is very nearly irrelevant. What matters is 1) who are your customers? 2) Why will they buy what you’re selling? (Note that the reason for this could very well be something like, “Because I’m famous and I have a huge fan base and they will buy sacks of stale dog shit if it has my name on it.” But in your case it will more likely be, “Because we have a great product that blows the competition out of the water.”) 3) Who is on your team? and 4) What are the risks?

Myth #10: Having no competition is a good thing.

Reality: If you have no competition the most likely reason for that is that there’s no money to be made. There are six billion people on this planet, and it’s very unlikely that every last of them will have left a lucrative market niche completely unexploited.

The good news is that it is very likely that your competition sucks. The vast majority of businesses are not run very well. They make shoddy products. They treat their customers and their employees like shit. It’s not hard to find market opportunities where you can go in and kick the competition’s ass. You don’t want no competition, what you want is bad competition. And there’s plenty of that out there.

Special bonus myth (free with your paid subscription): After the IPO I’ll be happy.

If you don’t enjoy the process of starting a business then you will probably not succeed. It’s just too much work, and it will suck you dry if you’re not having fun doing it. Even if you get filthy stinking rich you will just have more time to look back across the years you wasted being miserable and nursing your acid reflux. The charm of expensive cars and whatnot wears off quickly. There’s only one kind of happiness that money can buy, and that is the opportunity to be on the other side of the table when some bright kid comes along with a brilliant idea for a business.

All these myths can be neatly summarized in a pithy slogan: it’s the customer, stupid. Success in business is not about having a brilliant idea. Bright ideas are a dime a dozen. Business is about taking a bright idea and assembling a team that can turn that idea into a product and bring that product to customers who want to buy it. It’s that simple. And that complicated.

Good luck.

Plasma vs LCD

Which one to Buy

Plasma

1. Viewing angle of 178 deg (Sitting at the extreme right or left corner of the screen, you will be able to see a clear picture).
2. Heavy due to intrinsic internal components. Best place is a Table/TV trolley. Mounting on the wall req. additional support.
3. Heats up Real fast. So, Some also come with a fan inserted at the back.
4. Life Span is between 30,000 to 60,000 hours.
5. Major problem is burn-in. It is a process in which prolonged display of the graphical elements can create a permanent ghost-like image on the screen. This happens over the time when phosphor loses its luminosity, levaing faint images of the menu or other frequently used areas of the screen visible to the eye, even when other images are playing out on the screen.
6. When it comes to Colour and Contrast – Best.

LCD

1. full HD support.
2. Available from 14inches to 108inches.
3. Viewing angle of 175 deg.
4. Life Span is between 40,000 to 60,000 hours.
5. No burn-in.
6. Thinner than plasma. Easily mounted on the wall.
7. Refresh rates are as low as 8ms. So its good for movies and games.
8. Consumes less power

Final Word.

A head-to-head comparison of Plasma and LCD indicates that LCD have a better edge over the gas displays. Though LCDs make your wallet a lot lighter, they also give much more to the viewer – the highest resolution, good picture quality, lower power costs. If you think that TV’s in short term and plan upgrades every few years, then plasma’s are the way to go.

When and Why: Plasma vs LCD

SIZE

Plasma’s are not available in sizes lower than 32inches. So, if you want a Tv for a smaller space – LCD

RESOLUTION

If you want to enjoy HD movies and games, LCD supports 1080p resolution. Remember, the world is moving towards Blu-Ray tech

PRICE

LCD’s are more expensive compared to Plasma’s of the same size.

POWER CONSUMPTION

The bigger the size of the flat panel the more power it consumes.LCDs win here again. Tehy consume 30% less power.

50 Common Interview Q/A

(Excerpted from the book The Accelerated Job Search by Wayne D. Ford, Ph.D, published by The Management Advantage, Inc.)

1. Tell me about yourself:
The most often asked question in interviews. You need to have a short
statement prepared in your mind. Be careful that it does not sound
rehearsed. Limit it to work-related items unless instructed otherwise.
Talk about things you have done and jobs you have held that relate to
the position you are interviewing for. Start with the item farthest
back and work up to the present.

2. Why did you leave your last job?
Stay positive regardless of the circumstances. Never refer to a major
problem with management and never speak ill of supervisors, co-workers
or the organization. If you do, you will be the one looking bad. Keep
smiling and talk about leaving for a positive reason such as an
opportunity, a chance to do something special or other forward-looking
reasons.

3. What experience do you have in this field?
Speak about specifics that relate to the position you are applying for.
If you do not have specific experience, get as close as you can.

4. Do you consider yourself successful?
You should always answer yes and briefly explain why. A good
explanation is that you have set goals, and you have met some and are
on track to achieve the others.

5. What do co-workers say about you?
Be prepared with a quote or two from co-workers. Either a specific
statement or a paraphrase will work. Jill Clark, a co-worker at Smith
Company, always said I was the hardest workers she had ever known. It
is as powerful as Jill having said it at the interview herself.

6. What do you know about this organization?
This question is one reason to do some research on the organization
before the interview. Find out where they have been and where they are
going. What are the current issues and who are the major players?

7. What have you done to improve your knowledge in the last year?
Try to include improvement activities that relate to the job. A wide
variety of activities can be mentioned as positive self-improvement.
Have some good ones handy to mention.

8. Are you applying for other jobs?
Be honest but do not spend a lot of time in this area. Keep the focus
on this job and what you can do for this organization. Anything else is
a distraction.

9. Why do you want to work for this organization?
This may take some thought and certainly, should be based on the
research you have done on the organization. Sincerity is extremely
important here and will easily be sensed. Relate it to your long-term
career goals.

10. Do you know anyone who works for us?
Be aware of the policy on relatives working for the organization. This
can affect your answer even though they asked about friends not
relatives. Be careful to mention a friend only if they are well thought
of.

11. What kind of salary do you need?
A loaded question. A nasty little game that you will probably lose if
you answer first. So, do not answer it. Instead, say something like,
That’s a tough question. Can you tell me the range for this position?
In most cases, the interviewer, taken off guard, will tell you. If not,
say that it can depend on the details of the job. Then give a wide
range.

12. Are you a team player?
You are, of course, a team player. Be sure to have examples ready.
Specifics that show you often perform for the good of the team rather
than for yourself are good evidence of your team attitude. Do not brag,
just say it in a matter-of-fact tone. This is a key point.

13. How long would you expect to work for us if hired?
Specifics here are not good. Something like this should work: I’d like
it to be a long time. Or As long as we both feel I’m doing a good job.

14. Have you ever had to fire anyone? How did you feel about that?
This is serious. Do not make light of it or in any way seem like you
like to fire people. At the same time, you will do it when it is the
right thing to do. When it comes to the organization versus the
individual who has created a harmful situation, you will protect the
organization. Remember firing is not the same as layoff or reduction in
force.

15. What is your philosophy towards work?
The interviewer is not looking for a long or flowery dissertation here.
Do you have strong feelings that the job gets done? Yes. That’s the
type of answer that works best here. Short and positive, showing a
benefit to the organization.

16. If you had enough money to retire right now, would you?
Answer yes if you would. But since you need to work, this is the type
of work you prefer. Do not say yes if you do not mean it.

17. Have you ever been asked to leave a position?
If you have not, say no. If you have, be honest, brief and avoid saying
negative things about the people or organization involved.

18. Explain how you would be an asset to this organization
You should be anxious for this question. It gives you a chance to
highlight your best points as they relate to the position being
discussed. Give a little advance thought to this relationship.

19. Why should we hire you?
Point out how your assets meet what the organization needs. Do not
mention any other candidates to make a comparison.

20. Tell me about a suggestion you have made
Have a good one ready. Be sure and use a suggestion that was accepted
and was then considered successful. One related to the type of work
applied for is a real plus.

21. What irritates you about co-workers?
This is a trap question. Think real hard but fail to come up with
anything that irritates you. A short statement that you seem to get
along with folks is great.

22. What is your greatest strength?
Numerous answers are good, just stay positive. A few good examples:
Your ability to prioritize, Your problem-solving skills, Your ability
to work under pressure, Your ability to focus on projects, Your
professional expertise, Your leadership skills, Your positive attitude

23. Tell me about your dream job.
Stay away from a specific job. You cannot win. If you say the job you
are contending for is it, you strain credibility. If you say another
job is it, you plant the suspicion that you will be dissatisfied with
this position if hired. The best is to stay genetic and say something
like: A job where I love the work, like the people, can contribute and
can’t wait to get to work.

24. Why do you think you would do well at this job?
Give several reasons and include skills, experience and interest.

25. What are you looking for in a job?
See answer # 23

26. What kind of person would you refuse to work with?
Do not be trivial. It would take disloyalty to the organization,
violence or lawbreaking to get you to object. Minor objections will
label you as a whiner.

27. What is more important to you: the money or the work?
Money is always important, but the work is the most important. There is
no better answer.

28. What would your previous supervisor say your strongest point is?
There are numerous good possibilities:
Loyalty, Energy, Positive attitude, Leadership, Team player, Expertise,
Initiative, Patience, Hard work, Creativity, Problem solver

29. Tell me about a problem you had with a supervisor
Biggest trap of all. This is a test to see if you will speak ill of
your boss. If you fall for it and tell about a problem with a former
boss, you may well below the interview right there. Stay positive and
develop a poor memory about any trouble with a supervisor.

30. What has disappointed you about a job?
Don’t get trivial or negative. Safe areas are few but can include:
Not enough of a challenge. You were laid off in a reduction Company did
not win a contract, which would have given you more responsibility.

31. Tell me about your ability to work under pressure.
You may say that you thrive under certain types of pressure. Give an
example that relates to the type of position applied for.

32. Do your skills match this job or another job more closely?
Probably this one. Do not give fuel to the suspicion that you may want
another job more than this one.

33. What motivates you to do your best on the job?
This is a personal trait that only you can say, but good examples are:
Challenge, Achievement, Recognition

34. Are you willing to work overtime? Nights? Weekends?
This is up to you. Be totally honest.

35. How would you know you were successful on this job?
Several ways are good measures:
You set high standards for yourself and meet them. Your outcomes are a
success.Your boss tell you that you are successful

36. Would you be willing to relocate if required?
You should be clear on this with your family prior to the interview if
you think there is a chance it may come up. Do not say yes just to get
the job if the real answer is no. This can create a lot of problems
later on in your career. Be honest at this point and save yourself
future grief.

37. Are you willing to put the interests of the organization ahead ofyour own?
This is a straight loyalty and dedication question. Do not worry about
the deep ethical and philosophical implications. Just say yes.

Alternte Answers:

- “I shall struggle to make them coincide”. Nobody is going to believe you if you start saying that any organization is more important for you than yourself, and saying the opposite might seem coming out as arrogant to the interviewer.

- If you need a way to show how unfair this question is, ask them if the company is willing to put your interests above its own . If they need an example, ask them if they’ve ever had a layoff. The only time this question is valid is if the job truly requires a career-only, no-family employee and pays/rewards accordingly. So your answer should be NO and try to remember that when you’re working there.

38. Describe your management style.
Try to avoid labels. Some of the more common labels, like progressive,
salesman or consensus, can have several meanings or descriptions
depending on which management expert you listen to. The situational
style is safe, because it says you will manage according to the
situation, instead of one size fits all.

39. What have you learned from mistakes on the job?
Here you have to come up with something or you strain credibility. Make
it small, well intentioned mistake with a positive lesson learned. An
example would be working too far ahead of colleagues on a project and
thus throwing coordination off.

40. Do you have any blind spots?
Trick question. If you know about blind spots, they are no longer blind
spots. Do not reveal any personal areas of concern here. Let them do
their own discovery on your bad points. Do not hand it to them.

41. If you were hiring a person for this job, what would you look for?
Be careful to mention traits that are needed and that you have.

42. Do you think you are overqualified for this position?
Regardless of your qualifications, state that you are very well
qualified for the position.

43. How do you propose to compensate for your lack of experience?
First, if you have experience that the interviewer does not know about,
bring that up: Then, point out (if true) that you are a hard working
quick learner.

44. What qualities do you look for in a boss?
Be generic and positive. Safe qualities are knowledgeable, a sense of
humor, fair, loyal to subordinates and holder of high standards. All
bosses think they have these traits.

45. Tell me about a time when you helped resolve a dispute betweenothers.
Pick a specific incident. Concentrate on your problem solving technique
and not the dispute you settled.

46. What position do you prefer on a team working on a project?
Be honest. If you are comfortable in different roles, point that out.

47. Describe your work ethic.
Emphasize benefits to the organization. Things like, determination to
get the job done and work hard but enjoy your work are good.

48. What has been your biggest professional disappointment?
Be sure that you refer to something that was beyond your control. Show
acceptance and no negative feelings.

49. Tell me about the most fun you have had on the job.
Talk about having fun by accomplishing something for the organization.

50. Do you have any questions for me?
Always have some questions prepared. Questions prepared where you will be an asset to the organization are good. How soon will I be able to be productive? and What type of projects will I be able to assist on? are
examples.

Source: Bhuvana Sundaramoorthy

20 Best Pieces of Advice from 20 Top Executives

Who doesn’t want to climb the ladder of success to that private high-rise corner office in the sky? You’ve taken everyone’s advice on success from your Uncle Herb to the barista from that Starbucks down the block, but if you’re going to take anyone’s advice, why not take it from the big shots? The wisdom offered from businessmen (and women) from past and present might just be the key to landing your next dream job!

1. “It’s been my observation that most people get ahead during the time that others waste.”
-Henry Ford founder of Ford Motor Company

Make sure you stay on the ball. If you haven’t found that ideal job you’ve been hunting for don’t give up, keep looking. The more time you spend dillydallying the more time you waste and in that time you’ve wasted some body else may come and scoop up all your once in a lifetime job opportunities.

2. “You cannot push anyone up the ladder unless he is willing to climb.”
-Andrew Carnegie Steel magnate

If you ever want to achieve success one of the most important key factors you need to remember is that you have to be willing to work for it. You can’t expect your success to unfold within the course of one day; in order to reach the levels of success you dream of it takes time, effort, and perseverance. You’re the only one in control of your future; you steer the way on the road to your success. The assistance of others will be of no service if you are unwilling to help yourself; you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.

3. “It is wrong to assume that men of immense wealth are always happy.”
-John D. Rockefeller founder and Chairman of Standard Oil

Success is not always necessarily measured monetarily. Success can simply be found by unveiling your passions and dedicating your life’s work to them be it dog grooming or hedge funds. Evaluate what success means to you and then begin to create your goals around your resolutions. It’s key to remember that a high paying salary and happiness do not always coalesce.

4. “The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow.”
-Bill Gates Chairman of Microsoft

Though this may not be as big an issue in today’s world as it would have 15, 20 years ago, plenty of people are still lost when it comes to the Internet and/or computers. If you happen to be one of those individuals it cannot be stressed enough how important it is to familiarize yourself with computers. The computer industry is seeping its way into almost every field out there, it cannot be escaped. Therefore, you need to equip yourself with the right precautionary measures necessary for when you come face to face with your new and most likely computer oriented career. Even if your career happens to dodge the expansion of the computer into new fields it is still a great skill to possess and can help lead to new opportunities down the line.

5. “The first rule is not to lose. The second is not to forget the first rule.”
-Warren Buffet Chairman & CEO of Birkshire Hathaway

Always make the attempt to put your best foot forward and take the time to make the right decisions. Don’t set yourself up for failure due to a careless lack of caution.

warren-buffet

6. “Success is not built on success. It’s built on failure. It’s built on frustration. Sometimes it’s built on catastrophe.”
-Sumner Redstone Chairman of National Amusements

If you do find yourself staring failure in the face, relax. Failure isn’t always a bad thing. Failures can open the door for growth, knowledge, and experience. Although it may be a difficult task, try to embrace failure when it rears it’s ugly head, learn from it, it may make you more appreciative or at least aid you in changing your bad habits.

7. “For every failure, there’s an alternative course of action. You just have to find it. When you come to a roadblock, take a detour.”
-Mary Kay Ash founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics

When you encounter a problem, solve it. Don’t give up; find a solution to the problem and work your way around it, there are always solutions. If today’s interview didn’t go well, don’t interpret it as an all-encompassing sign that no one will hire you. You need to be prepared to take the initiative to dig up inventive solutions when issues arise. Inventiveness in times of crisis is a trait that will set you apart from the rest of the herd (and make you shine in the eyes of employers.)

8. “A man can succeed at almost anything for which he has unlimited enthusiasm.”
-Charles Schwab founder & CEO of Charles Schwab Corporation

If your goal is to achieve success it is of grave importance to be in the field you love. If you hate your line of work you can kiss the very thought of success goodbye. You’ll never succeed if you do not hold a boundless passion for your career. It’s crucial to find a career you are enthusiastic about; you cannot expect to find success in a career you dread waking up to morning after morning. Sit down and ruminate about your life’s passions and what to you is worth working towards. What is worth devoting your life’s work to?

9. “I’ve never run into a guy who could win at the top level in anything today and didn’t have the right attitude, didn’t give it everything he has, at least while he was doing it; wasn’t prepared and didn’t have the whole program worked out.
-Ted Turner founder of CNN

Have the right outlook in life, the right attitude: a positive attitude. You won’t get very far with a chip on your shoulder. Negativity and bitterness is never the answer, it will only hold you back and repel employers and coworkers. You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. You can only harm yourself with negativity; the wrong attitude is detrimental to success. The best employers can detect your attitude during the job interview, and if they sense your attitude is negative, your chances of getting the job are slim.

10. “Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it to be.”
-Jack Welch former Chairman & CEO of General Electric

Although it is okay to fantasize from time to time it’s important to not lose your head in the clouds. Stay grounded and be realistic, you’ll set yourself up for failure if you are too idealistic. While idealism is a great characteristic to possess too much can leave you living in a dream world, it’s a smart idea to have a balance between the two.

11. “You can’t know enough in a one-hour interview. So, in the end, it’s ultimately based on your gut. How do I feel about this person? What are they like when they’re challenged? I ask everybody that: ‘Why are you here?’ The answers themselves are not what you’re looking for. It’s the meta-data.”
-Steve Jobs co-founder, Chairman & CEO of Apple Inc.

Be prepared for anything an interviewer can throw your way. Practice interviews beforehand; run through possible questions you may be asked and rehearse. Make sure you’re sending out the right impressions; know what is to be expected of you, arm yourself with the knowledge of the right body language as well as the right communication and social skills. Be sure there’s nothing masking the true hardworking, loyal future employee you will be.

12. “There are a lot of things that go into creating success. I don’t like to do just the things I like to do. I like to do things that cause the company to succeed. I don’t spend a lot of time doing my favorite activities.”
-Michael Dell founder & CEO of Dell, Inc.

A little bit of sacrifice is needed in order to become successful, sometimes more than little. You must be willing to give up a bit of free time to lay the foundation of your future success. Nothing ever got done without a little sacrifice, whether it’s putting in a few extra hours of overtime, missing out on a night out at your local bar, or taking a rain check on that golf game; a little sacrifice in the name of success never hurt anyone.

13. “Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming.”
-Richard Branson Chairman of Virgin Group

Don’t get down in the dumps if a business opportunity turns out to be a bust. If you always keep the door open and a positive attitude a new and perhaps better opportunity is bound to walk in sooner or later.

14. “No one’s going to be able to operate without a grounding in the basic sciences. Language would be helpful, although English is becoming increasingly international. And travel. You have to have a global attitude.”
Rupert Murdoch Chairman & CEO of News Corporation

Knowledge is of importance if your plans are to make it big. The ability to speak a foreign language if not multiple languages is always a good quality to possess and offer to employers. Although there are some who managed to weasel their way around the schooling process and still landed in the graces of success, it never hurt to receive an extensive education. If you really want to go places it’s best to start with schooling, education plays a huge role in your career’s advancement.

15. “As long as you’re going to be thinking anyway, think big.”
-Donald Trump Chairman & CEO of Trump Organization

Try to reach for the seemingly impossible (within reason, we’re not talking chocolate paved roads and gumdrop evergreens here), to have a goal to strive for at all times keeps you on your toes and ignites the diligence to keep working in the direction of success.

16. “We aren’t here to hope and hang on. We wanted to win.”
-Eric Schmidt Chairman & CEO of Google Inc.

Don’t settle for that mediocre job that pays the bills. It’s okay to do what you need to in order to survive; if surviving means working that nightshift over at the drive-thru of McDonalds it’s okay but don’t get too comfortable, do what you can to land that career you love that does more than just pay the bills. Don’t settle for scraping by, be determined and stay on the path to success.

17. “You don’t have to be the biggest to beat the biggest”
-Ross Perot founder of Electronic Data Systems & Perot Systems

If you weren’t born with a silver spoon in your mouth you can still make it to the top. You don’t have to start out as the best to one day surpass the best. It may take blood, toil, tears and sweat to pull yourself up the climb to success but you can do it.

18. “There’s no good idea that can’t be improved on”
-Michael Eisner former Chief executive of The Walt Disney Company

Be a team player and be open to change. Show willingness to compromise and learn to accept constructive feedback positively. Even though it may be challenging at times try not to be too hardheaded and acknowledge the input and improvements of others on your ideas. A little maturity and grace go a long way toward landing your dream job!
19. “Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.”
-Conrad Hilton founder of the Hilton Hotel chain

Successful people take action; it’s as simple as that. A successful person will take the required steps of action to take them where they want to go. They do not sit and watch their mistakes pile up nor do they quit. If you desire to be a success you have to keep pushing forward in spite of all your mistakes and shortcomings. For job-seekers, this means getting out there for as many interviews as it takes to land your desired position.

20. “It is only the farmer who faithfully plants seeds in the Spring who reaps a harvest in the Autumn.”
-BC Forbes founder of Forbes Magazine

Don’t forget to have faith in yourself, with a lack of faith you can sure count on your aspirations never taking off. It’s all good and well to have goals and dreams but what use are they without faith and trust in those ambitions? Ignore unbelievers who tell you what can and cannot be done, again you need to clasp onto that positive mindset. Be an optimist!

Assume anything is possible – because it is!

How Harvard Gets its Best and Brightest

Sure, students work hard to get into this elite college. But so does the admissions committee, assures Dean Bill Fitzsimmons

I thought that because Harvard is so prestigious that it could sit back and let the best and brightest students come to it. I was wrong. In “How Harvard Gets Its Best and Brightest,” BusinessWeek reporter William Symonds explains the Harvard recruiting process.

In the spring it starts recruiting juniors who will graduate in a year. These juniors have stellar test scores, and Harvard buys their names from College Board, the organization that administers admission tests. The Harvard admission team goes to 140 cities in the U.S. and overseas. It also taps Harvard coaches, teachers, and alumni to find the best and brightest.

After the rigorous selection process, the admissions team recruits teachers, alumni, and students to start calling the students that it has accepted. In April Harvard invites prospective students to visit the campus for a weekend of where the admissions team has “something remarkable going on every minute.

This all sounds like great marketing to me.

Source: “How Harvard Gets Its Best and Brightest,” and GuyKawasaki

Downloading (leeching) from YouTube may become a history

Youtube doesn’t need an introduction at all. I am sure everyone of us visit youtube at least once a week. But some people like me who download and archive video’s from youtube have some bad news. Youtube has made up a strategy to monetize from the downloads after all. Its gonna allow its partners or users who upload videos to charge a fee for downloading the video to view it offline payable via Google Checkout.

In favour for the partners Youtube is on a hunt to cut down the download via the FireFox plug ins, websites and software’s which used to leech the video for you. Over the few week you may start noticing those free services being shut down or hunting for an alternate way to get the job done.

Well the good news is partners like khan-academy, household-hacker and pogo-bat are using this for generating revenue through distribution where as University partners like Stanford, Duke and UC Berkeley and using it to distribute free downloads of lectures and events.

Cross your fingers so that your favorite channel or uploader is not gonna make a hole in your pockets.

Flash Drive vs Virus

I received an email from a friend today about how to detect and delete virus from the pen drive. I think its useful to someone who doesn’t know. I never used to use a Anti-Virus till recent after only discovering the exe virus which destroyed many of my valuable files i have started using Avast. One advantage i have seen over other software’s is that Avast doesn’t consume much ram as Norton or McAfee does. Here is the email and the credit goes to the person who composed it and to Varun for sharing it.

1. Plug your pen drive or USB device to the computer.

2. After a few moments, a dialog box will pop up. Ignore this dialog box by clicking Cancel.

3. Now go to Start –> Run and type cmd to open the Command Prompt window.

4. In the Command window, type the USB drive letter and then press Enter. For instance, the drive letter for your USB device may be “E:” In this case, type “E:” in the Command window and press Enter.

5. Then, type dir/w/o/a/p and press Enter.

You will now get a list of files. In the list, see if you have any of the following:

• Autorun.inf
• New Folder.exe
• Bha.vbs
• Iexplore.vbs
• Info.exe
• New_Folder.exe
• Ravmon.exe
• RVHost.exe
• Any other files with .exe extension

If you notice any of the files above, type attrib -h -r -s -a *.* and press Enter.

Now delete each of the above files by typing the following command: del “filename” (for instance, del autorun.inf).

That’s all there is to it! Now just scan your USB drive with the anti-virus software you have to ensure that your pen drive is really free of all viruses.