Orkut, the social networking site from Google, is used by twice as many software developers in India than either MySpace or Facebook according to an Evans Data survey of over 300 software developers in India.
Indian developers showed much more interest in social networking sites in general than do developers in other parts of the world, and 73 percent of them said they had used Orkut, as compared to 35 percent for Facebook and 32 percent for MySpace.
"While Facebook has been heavily promoting its platform to developers, Google's Orkut has quietly taken the largest share of developers in India," said John Andrews, President and CEO of Evans Data Corp. "Capturing mindshare with developers in fast growing emerging development markets like India and Brazil gives them a strategic advantage going forward in further cultivating this very important community."
Google's Orkut has become so popular with developers in both Brazil and India that they have recently released new domains specific to those countries.
Other highlights from this in-depth tactical marketing survey of over 300 software developers in India include:
* Technology or platform vendors are considered the most credible source of information on emerging technologies by Indian developers.
* Almost half of all Indian developers, 47 percent, get involved with coding contests.
* Over half of Indian software developers are single, and are much younger than their counterparts in North America or Europe.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Monday, July 07, 2008
Section 80C, tax planning and investments
Learning how to plan your taxes is a major part of choosing an investment strategy. In this article we will look at Section 80C, one of the most important provisions for investors in the tax laws.
What is Section 80C?
The government, in order to encourage savings, gives tax breaks to certain financial products as discussed in Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. These investments are often referred to as 80C investments.
Up to a limit of Rs 1 lakh, the money that you invest in these products is deduc
tible which means that you don't have to pay income tax on it. Thus if you are in the 30 per cent tax bracket and you invest the maximum allowed you save Rs 30,000 in taxes.
Small savings schemes
These include the public provident fund (PPF) and National Savings Certificate (NSC). They offer a return of around 8 to 8.5 per cent which is quite low compared to typical returns in equity products. Furthermore, there is a relatively long lock-in period, 15 years for the PPF and 6 years for the NSC. Their main advantage is that they offer a guaranteed return unlike equity-based products.
Equity linked savings schemes
These are basically mutual funds which are specially created to provide tax benefits. As with regular mutual funds there is no guaranteed return and you can lose money in a period of falling stock prices as has happened in the first half of 2008. However, ELSS usually provides a higher return than small savings schemes and also a lower lock-in period of three years.
Examples of ELSS include Franklin India Taxshield and HDFC [Get Quote] Taxsaver. As with regular mutual funds, these schemes pursue a range of investment strategies: For instance, some may focus on large cap stocks while others may focus on small and mid cap stocks. It makes sense to invest in more than one scheme to diversify some of your risk.
Making a choice
How do you decide to allocate your Rs 1 lakh 80C limit? This will depend on your other financial decisions; for example whether you have taken a home loan or purchased life insurance. As to the decision between small savings schemes and ELSS two of the most important factors are your attitude to risk and inflation.
What is Section 80C?
The government, in order to encourage savings, gives tax breaks to certain financial products as discussed in Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. These investments are often referred to as 80C investments.
Up to a limit of Rs 1 lakh, the money that you invest in these products is deduc
tible which means that you don't have to pay income tax on it. Thus if you are in the 30 per cent tax bracket and you invest the maximum allowed you save Rs 30,000 in taxes.
Small savings schemes
These include the public provident fund (PPF) and National Savings Certificate (NSC). They offer a return of around 8 to 8.5 per cent which is quite low compared to typical returns in equity products. Furthermore, there is a relatively long lock-in period, 15 years for the PPF and 6 years for the NSC. Their main advantage is that they offer a guaranteed return unlike equity-based products.
Equity linked savings schemes
These are basically mutual funds which are specially created to provide tax benefits. As with regular mutual funds there is no guaranteed return and you can lose money in a period of falling stock prices as has happened in the first half of 2008. However, ELSS usually provides a higher return than small savings schemes and also a lower lock-in period of three years.
Examples of ELSS include Franklin India Taxshield and HDFC [Get Quote] Taxsaver. As with regular mutual funds, these schemes pursue a range of investment strategies: For instance, some may focus on large cap stocks while others may focus on small and mid cap stocks. It makes sense to invest in more than one scheme to diversify some of your risk.
Making a choice
How do you decide to allocate your Rs 1 lakh 80C limit? This will depend on your other financial decisions; for example whether you have taken a home loan or purchased life insurance. As to the decision between small savings schemes and ELSS two of the most important factors are your attitude to risk and inflation.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
How to access Blocked Websites
If you are a student, employee, or part of the military, you've probably experienced the frustration of not being able to access certain websites or even your webmail. Fortunately there are some things you can do to access these blocked sites. Here's how...
http://www.web4proxy.com/
http://www.web4proxy.cn/
http://doclovenow.info
http://dating.thetechbachelor.com
http://www.coinfero.com/
http://hosting.kmm88.com
http://www.colosurf.info/
http://college.artisties.com
http://www.space-links.net
http://college.smartfox.us
http://digital.embeddedsw.org
http://www.senorproxy.info
http://www.cognes.net/
http://college.joparty.net
http://get.hiddencorner.org
http://sdflkj.info/
http://proxy-uk.giaidieu.mobi/
http://0xy.bz
http://unblockdns.info/
http://www.cocondi.com/
http://yourbabynameguide.com/
http://college.startcity.nl
http://facebook-proxysite.info/
http://cheekychipmunk.info
http://stealthrealm.com
http://www.web4proxy.com/
http://www.web4proxy.cn/
http://doclovenow.info
http://dating.thetechbachelor.com
http://www.coinfero.com/
http://hosting.kmm88.com
http://www.colosurf.info/
http://college.artisties.com
http://www.space-links.net
http://college.smartfox.us
http://digital.embeddedsw.org
http://www.senorproxy.info
http://www.cognes.net/
http://college.joparty.net
http://get.hiddencorner.org
http://sdflkj.info/
http://proxy-uk.giaidieu.mobi/
http://0xy.bz
http://unblockdns.info/
http://www.cocondi.com/
http://yourbabynameguide.com/
http://college.startcity.nl
http://facebook-proxysite.info/
http://cheekychipmunk.info
http://stealthrealm.com
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Office Stress lets also follow the same
We all now days sees the same situation in our office.. so when it happens lets learn from this video !!!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
How to go OOTY from bangalore
The shortest route to Ooty is to first go to Mysore (You can take a train, less than 3 hrs..134 km)
From mysore take one of the sight seeing cabs to Ooty and ask them to drop you in ooty. That is because these cabs take you through a route where bigm buses can not go. By doing this you save 1.5 hrs. The cab will take about 2.5 hrs from Mysore.
If you are hell bent to taking a train, you have to first go to Coimbatore, there is a morning train that reaches C'tore around 1'O Clock afternoon. From C'tore you have to take a train to Metupalayam, about an hour... From Metupalayam, you have a hill train to Ooty. It is a lovely ride. So three trains in all and more than double the time needed by the Mysore route...Even if you do not reach Ooty by train, my recommendation is to take a ride on the hill train for the sheer sights that it offers you...
Refer here
From mysore take one of the sight seeing cabs to Ooty and ask them to drop you in ooty. That is because these cabs take you through a route where bigm buses can not go. By doing this you save 1.5 hrs. The cab will take about 2.5 hrs from Mysore.
If you are hell bent to taking a train, you have to first go to Coimbatore, there is a morning train that reaches C'tore around 1'O Clock afternoon. From C'tore you have to take a train to Metupalayam, about an hour... From Metupalayam, you have a hill train to Ooty. It is a lovely ride. So three trains in all and more than double the time needed by the Mysore route...Even if you do not reach Ooty by train, my recommendation is to take a ride on the hill train for the sheer sights that it offers you...
Refer here
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Skincare for this hot, hot summer !
Your skin is your shield against the environment. When excessive temperatures threaten to overheat your body, your skin protects the delicate inner organs and maintains a steady body temperature. However, in the process it bears the brunt of the heat and gets sunburned, tanned, wrinkled, blemished or damaged.
Hygiene: Half of summer-related skin infections would not occur if people maintained proper hygiene.
Sun protection : Second to moisturiser, sunscreens are the most ubiquitously used skincare product -- and also the most incorrectly used! Each brand contains different ingredients -- some are UBA-blocking agents, some for UVB, some are chemical sunblocks and others (like zinc oxide or titanium dioxide) are physical sunblocks ie they form an opaque barrier against the penetration of UV rays.
Antioxidants (the internal sun protectors): Oxidative damage by ultraviolet radiation can be mitigated by adequate intake of antioxidants
Moisturisers : Sweating makes us forget just how much we need moisturisers. Heat saps moisture from the skin, leaving it dry and rough.
Click here to read more
Hygiene: Half of summer-related skin infections would not occur if people maintained proper hygiene.
Sun protection : Second to moisturiser, sunscreens are the most ubiquitously used skincare product -- and also the most incorrectly used! Each brand contains different ingredients -- some are UBA-blocking agents, some for UVB, some are chemical sunblocks and others (like zinc oxide or titanium dioxide) are physical sunblocks ie they form an opaque barrier against the penetration of UV rays.
Antioxidants (the internal sun protectors): Oxidative damage by ultraviolet radiation can be mitigated by adequate intake of antioxidants
Moisturisers : Sweating makes us forget just how much we need moisturisers. Heat saps moisture from the skin, leaving it dry and rough.
Click here to read more
Thursday, February 28, 2008
6 simple tips to a better SOP
A well-written Statement of Purpose (SOP) is an essential ingredient to any application process. Here are 6 simple tips to make your SOP more effective.
Plan
Take time to sketch out an entire outline before beginning to put down sentences. The outline will assist in picking good content as well as developing a good flow of thought for the essay.
Begin well
Universities go through hundreds of SOPs routinely. Opening your SOP well is extremely important to capture the attention of the reviewer. The beginning is where you can establish your uniqueness. Use quotations, short anecdotes even couplets to spark the reader's interest in you.
Keep it simple
Your SOP is not the place to show off your vocabulary. Flowery phrases and long winding Proustian prose are sure turn-offs. Use simple words and short sentences to convey your ideas. Simplicity does not mean discounting passion. The SOP is fundamentally supposed to reflect your sense of purpose.
Divide the essay into short paragraphs each encapsulating an idea. If you do the planning properly, it will be easy to connect each paragraph to the next so that the flow is never broken. If you like to discuss disconnected topics, then subheadings can be used. Basically, having a structure with head, body and end is a must.
Be honest
Sincerity can easily delight the experienced eye of the reviewer. By the same token, deliberate lies and fraudulent claims are much more easily spotted that imagined by the writer. It is your personality that needs to be etched through those lines. So stick to your own thoughts and life experiences and be judged fairly.
Avoid cliches
Avoiding cliches is the easiest way to establish your uniqueness. Dime-a-dozen sample SOPs are available all over the place. Closely imitating them leads to dozens of SOPs appearing to be carbon copies of each other packed with "power phrases", "catchy verbs" and "must have adjectives".
Revise
The SOP should evolve into its final form over a period of time passing through multiple rewrites. Use the revisions to trim each sentence, paragraph and idea. All unnecessary words should be avoided. The SOP should be clear and concise, smart and simple and all the great writers of the world agree that such a product demands several patient hours of editing.
Source:Rediff
Plan
Take time to sketch out an entire outline before beginning to put down sentences. The outline will assist in picking good content as well as developing a good flow of thought for the essay.
Begin well
Universities go through hundreds of SOPs routinely. Opening your SOP well is extremely important to capture the attention of the reviewer. The beginning is where you can establish your uniqueness. Use quotations, short anecdotes even couplets to spark the reader's interest in you.
Keep it simple
Your SOP is not the place to show off your vocabulary. Flowery phrases and long winding Proustian prose are sure turn-offs. Use simple words and short sentences to convey your ideas. Simplicity does not mean discounting passion. The SOP is fundamentally supposed to reflect your sense of purpose.
Divide the essay into short paragraphs each encapsulating an idea. If you do the planning properly, it will be easy to connect each paragraph to the next so that the flow is never broken. If you like to discuss disconnected topics, then subheadings can be used. Basically, having a structure with head, body and end is a must.
Be honest
Sincerity can easily delight the experienced eye of the reviewer. By the same token, deliberate lies and fraudulent claims are much more easily spotted that imagined by the writer. It is your personality that needs to be etched through those lines. So stick to your own thoughts and life experiences and be judged fairly.
Avoid cliches
Avoiding cliches is the easiest way to establish your uniqueness. Dime-a-dozen sample SOPs are available all over the place. Closely imitating them leads to dozens of SOPs appearing to be carbon copies of each other packed with "power phrases", "catchy verbs" and "must have adjectives".
Revise
The SOP should evolve into its final form over a period of time passing through multiple rewrites. Use the revisions to trim each sentence, paragraph and idea. All unnecessary words should be avoided. The SOP should be clear and concise, smart and simple and all the great writers of the world agree that such a product demands several patient hours of editing.
Source:Rediff
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
