Developing Employability Skills...

 

A lot of people in our industry haven’t had very diverse experiences. So they don’t have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions without a broad perspective on the problem. The broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have.

 :Steve Jobs

Although we have been talking about skills as a part of the collection of qualities that combine to make you an individual, this does not mean that these skills are as fixed as your height, or as difficult to change as the shape of your nose. Personal skills can be acquired, developed and improved.
A shy person may be able to speak fluently and confidently when discussing a subject (e.g. politics; a favourite writer) which they know well and feel strongly about; somebody who considers themselves "hopeless at maths" on the grounds of a low GCSE grade may happily work out their living expenses for each term and evaluate the various loan options available. Your interests may also influence the skills that you choose to develop.
You should now have a short-list of skills that you wish to improve: you may also have noted down some ways in which you might do this. These could include the following:-

Play sport! The Sport Industry Research Centre calculated that the average graduate who played sport while studying earns £5,824 (18%) more than those who didn't. 21% of graduates who played sports had experienced unemployment compared to 27% of those who didn't. Sporting students develop skills such such as team work, communication and leadership.

Through extra-curricular activities e.g.

• Teamwork (in a sports team, organising a society event);
• Lateral Thinking (thinking of ways to raise money during Rag Week);
• Writing (writing for the student newspaper).

Through your home life

e.g. Organisation and Planning (combining running a home and family with your studies if you are a mature student).

Through your course

Course projects, dissertations and extended essays can be particularly valuable here. As well as the skills of independent research, and planning and organising your own work which they bring, sometimes you can choose the topic so that it is relevant to the type of work you wish to enter, giving a strong plus point for your CV.

The sort of people that we’re looking for are the people who will go out and find the opportunities. The opportunities are out there. You’ve got sports societies, the student union, the university squadron, voluntary work, paid employment: it’s out there, it’s just whether people can be bothered to go and do it…I think it’s down to the individual. Royal Navy

• Analytical skills: the ability to debate and argue a case interpreting complex material; picking out inconsistencies in reasoning; analysing data from an experiment.
• Written Communication: expressing yourself clearly, using language with precision; constructing a logical argument; writing reports; proper writing up of experiments and projects.
• Verbal Communication: entering into discussion and debate in seminars; expressing yourself clearly and confidently; thinking quickly.
• Investigating: gathering material for essays; comparing sources of information and selecting from them to support your argument; using databases to search for material; researching for a project.
• Numeracy: interpreting and constructing statistics; analysing data and presenting it in graphical format.
• Planning and Organising: managing the workload of several courses simultaneously; meeting essay deadlines; designing and carrying out surveys; balancing academic work with extra-curricular activities and/or employment.
• Teamwork: group projects, seminars.
• Information Technology: entering data onto a spreadsheet, using the Internet to find information. Designing a web page. Programming.
• Technical Skills: knowledge of specific techniques. e.g. NMR, chromatography, practical lab. skills developed on placements.

Through work shadowing

e.g. Investigating (talking to people about their work); Decision Making (whether or not to pursue this career further).

Through vacation and part-time work

"Academic qualifications are not our only important requirement. We will also expect you to have taken on positions of leadership and responsibility and show real ability to take initiative." MARKS AND SPENCER

While it is possible to get vacation work experience with relevant employers (e.g. accountants, computer companies) financial pressures mean that most students have to take any vac. job they can get. Later on, when they make applications for permanent jobs and employers enquire about their work experience, they find it hard to believe that these jobs can be of relevance to their future career.
Students often say "I haven't done any real vacation work - not anything that would be relevant to a career - just a bit of shop work, bar work, waiting on tables and so on. I couldn't put anything like that on an application form".
But what employers tell us is that they do value this type of work experience and wish that students would make more of it on their application forms!

Here are some of the skills that you might gain from shop, bar or restaurant work:

• Dealing with customers (courtesy, social confidence, tact)
• Handling money (numeracy, integrity)
• Working under pressure
• Organisation & planning (to meet peak demand)

Some popular employers (the Civil Service, solicitors’ firms) recruit early. The best opportunities for taking part in employers' undergraduate vacation training schemes are available in the summer vacation after your second year - but you may need to apply for these opportunities before the Christmas vacation in some instances.
The Careers Service has a vacancy database listing vacation jobs and courses. Also see our Work Experience page

Examples of ways to develop skills.

You could also use these as evidence in an application to show you had these skills.

WRITING skills Writing up a project or dissertation Writing for the student newspaper Writing a report for a course placement Essays, dissertations, project reports Secretary of student society Publicity materials for a charity Letter to raise sponsorship for an event	SPEAKING skills Joining a campus drama group. Public speaking or debating Seminars Working as a receptionist in a vacation job Market research, telesales, bar work Showing 6th formers round campus Course presentations Student radio presenter	ADAPTABILITY Year abroad or independent travel abroad Working part-time while studying Changing courses Combining study with family Shift work or working at short notice
CO-OPERATING skills Working on a group project Rag fund-raising Team sports Working as a clerical assistant in a busy office Group project Duke of Edinburgh's Award Team sports Playing in an orchestra or band	ANALYSING skills Preparing Student Election Statistics Analysing data from an experiment Vacation job as a market research interviewer Voluntary work for a publisher Creative solutions to coursework problems Chess, computing, role playing Overcoming obstacles to achieve an ambition e.g. Raleigh International	INITIATIVE Suggesting changes to a course when a student representative Getting relevant work experience/project work/sponsorship Starting your own business: selling on Ebay Starting a new society Creating a website Coping with a sudden crisis Stretching your loan to go further
PLANNING and ORGANISING skills Organising your revision schedule Planning a trip round Europe with friends Stage manager for a play Campsite representative for Eurocamp Managing a course project Organising sporting events Organising charity events Students' union activities Organising concerts for the elderly	LEADERSHIP skills Leading a group project Chairing a student society Captaining a sports team Being a playscheme helper Guide leader Air training corps Course or hall representative Mentor in school	SELF RELIANCE Duke of Edinburgh's Award Young Enterprise Music band: playing concerts regularly Competitive sport Amateur drama
NEGOTIATING skills Negotiating the rent with your landlord Negotiating the late handing in of essays Staff-student liaison committee Resolving an argument between friends	PERSUADING skills Arguing your case in a seminar Getting club members to turn up for events! Fund-raising for a local charity Telesales job in the vacation	NETWORKING Careers fairs Speculative applications for work
INVESTIGATING skills Researching for coursework in the library Student journalism Finding out about different careers through work shadowing Market research interviewer in a vac. job Building your own computer	LISTENING skills In lectures! Helping the student telephone counselling service Working as a waiter or barmaid	LEARNING NEW SKILLS Learning a new language Taking up a new sport Improving your computing skills First aid Music grades
DECISION-MAKING skills Deciding which modules to take next year College Welfare Representative Buying an expensive item (car or computer) Targeting appropriate customers in a sales job	NUMERACY Working in a pub or bank Budgeting your expenses over the year Interpreting a statistical table for your course Treasurer of committee Fantasy share portfolio e.g. BullBearings	COMMERCIAL AWARENESS Current affairs interest Taking business options on a course Organising events Reading financial pages of a newspaper Fantasy share portfolio e.g. BullBearings

How to Manipulate People...??

Manipulating others is a great way to get what you want – whether you want to trick your boss into giving you a raise or get your boyfriend to whisk you away on a romantic vacation. Whatever your reason for manipulating someone, if you want to play your cards right, you have to hone your manipulation skills, try out a variety of manipulation techniques, and learn how to manipulate people in a variety of situations. If you want to learn how to manipulate others faster than you can shed a fake tear, then follow these steps.

Method 1 of 3: Hone Your Manipulation Skills

 

1.) Take an acting class. A big part of manipulation is learning how to master your emotions and make other people receptive to your contrived feelings. If you want to know how to appear more distressed than you really are, or to use a variety of other emotional techniques to get your way, then taking an acting class is a perfect way to improve your powers of persuasion.

Don’t tell other people that you’re taking an acting class if you’re only doing it to learn how tomanipulate people. Otherwise they’ll grow even more suspicious of your tactics 

2.) Take a debate or public speaking class. While acting classes can help you master your emotions and convince others that you’ll be very distressed if you don’t get what you want, taking a debate or public speaking class will help you learn how to convince people to give you what you want in a calm and rational manner. Not only will you learn to organize and present your thoughts in a more constructive way, but you’ll also learn techniques for making your needs sound very convincing.

3.) Establishing similarity is another way of manipulating people creating an impression that you are like them. you can do this by method called 'pacing', where you can mirror their body language,your intonation pattern and so on.
The calm and persuasive method is great for convincing your boss or coworkers to do something. Being emotional may not work in a professional setting.

 

4.) Be Charismatic :Charismatic people have a natural tendency to get what they want. If you want to manipulate people, then you need to work your charisma. You should be able to smile and light up a room, have approachable body language to make people want to talk to you, and be able to hold up a conversation with absolutely anyone, from your nine-year-old cousin to your history teacher. Here are some other ways to be charismatic:

• Make people feel special. Make eye contact when you talk to them, and ask them about their feelings and interests. Show them that you really care about getting to know them—even if you don’t.
• Exude confidence. Charismatic people love who they are and what they do. And if you have faith in yourself, then people will be much more likely to take you seriously and to give in to your needs.

 

5.) Learn from the masters. If you have a friend, family member, or even an enemy who is a master manipulator, you should study this person and even take notes to see how he always manages to get what he wants. This will give you new insight into how to manipulate people, even if you end up getting tricked in the process.

• If you’re really committed to learning how to manipulate people, then you may even find yourself equipped with the skills to manipulate one of the people you’ve been studying.

 

6.) be confident when you say something whether it's true or just another creation try to be glib while speaking out with your subject(you want to manipulate).

7.) Learn to read people. Every person has a different emotional and psychological makeup and is therefore manipulated for different reasons. Before you start plotting your latest manipulation scheme, take the time to study the person you want to manipulate to understand what makes him tick and to see the best approach for getting this person to bend to your needs. Here are some different things you may find when you read people:

• Many people are susceptible to emotional responses. These people are emotional themselves, cry at movies, love puppies, and have strong powers of sympathy and empathy. To get them to do what you want, you’ll have to play to their emotions until they feel sorry for you and give you what you want.
• Other people have a strong guilt reflex. Some people were raised in a restrictive household where they were punished for doing every little thing wrong and now go through life feeling guilty about everything they do. With these people, the answer is obvious—make them feel guilty for not giving you what you want until they give in.
• Some people are more receptive to the rational approach. If your friend is very logically minded, reads the news often, and always needs facts and evidence before he makes a decision, then you’ll have to use your calm persuasive powers to get what you want instead of using your feelings to manipulate him.

 

With New iPhones, It's What's Inside That Counts

With New iPhones, It's What's Inside That Counts                       

Molly Wood, The New York Times, September 17, 2014

   

             

Bigger. Bigger. Bigger.

The new Apple iPhones going on sale this week, the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus, have crisper screens, faster processors and sharper cameras.
And, as you might have heard, they are also bigger than previous iPhones - the 6 Plus by a long shot - joining the stampede toward bigger handsets. But after almost a week of trying the phones, it became clear that the hardware was not the best part of the package. In its quest to deliver bigger phones to a market clamoring for them, Apple has made one phone that is actually a little too small and one that's a little too big.
The best part of the new phones is actually the new software inside, which is available for some older models, too, starting on Wednesday. The software, iOS 8, combines some of the advanced features of Android with Apple's ease of use and reliability.

Because of the software, it's hard to see many iPhone fans straying from Apple, even if they don't buy new iPhones immediately.

The iPhone 6 is a 4.7-inch device, up from 4 inches on the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s. It's a little wider than those phones, too.

Those dimensions make it slightly smaller than the top Android and Windows devices on the market, helping it fit easily in jeans pockets. Compared with a Samsung Galaxy S5 or the HTC One (M8), though, the iPhone 6 screen feels constrained. The iPhone 6 starts at $200 with a new contract.
The iPhone 6 Plus is a behemoth. It has the same size display as the LG G3, at 5.5 inches, but is significantly taller. It's longer even than the Galaxy Note 3, which has a 5.7-inch display. It starts at $300 with a new contract.

Both the 6 and 6 Plus get thinner, flatter and more rounded shapes than their predecessors, losing the squared-off sides on the more recent models. The effect looks sleek, but feels slippery. Dropping seems imminent as you stretch your thumb across the larger screens.

Apple takes some small steps to mitigate the finger stretch with a feature called Reachability, which lets you touch (not press) the home button twice to shift the screen down to the bottom half of the display.

The feature works nicely for one-handed scrolling and finding app icons, but it doesn't do much else. If you're in an email, for example, you can't get access to any actions like Reply or Archive.
Apple could have taken a cue from other makers of so-called phablets (a blend of the words "phone" and "tablet") and come up with powerful ways to take advantage of those bigger screens.

For example, the forthcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 4 will let users resize app windows using a finger or stylus and view multiple windows simultaneously on its 5.7-inch display, as on a desktop computer. The 5.5-inch LG G3 lets you open two apps at once and resize them as you like.
The iPhones do include some tricks created for bigger phones, like a zoom feature that lets you subtly increase the size of app icons and text in native apps.

And when you turn the phones sideways, into landscape mode, the keyboard in the built-in apps like Mail and Messages has more options - a microphone, undo key, period and comma and others on the iPhone 6, and even more on the iPhone 6 Plus, like dedicated copy and paste keys.

Those extra iPhone 6 Plus keys disappear if you choose the zoomed display, however. And the iPhone 6 Plus is so big that in landscape mode, I had a hard time reaching the keys to type.

Even the built-in Apple keyboard doesn't get any extra keys when holding the phone upright, the way the Samsung and LG keyboards include number keys above the letters, and period and comma keys.
As for the features that people love about their iPhones, they only get better. The iPhone 6 cameras, for example, are outstanding.

Both rear-facing cameras have new sensors that deliver faster autofocus, better face detection and the ability to capture high-resolution panoramas. The faster focus is immediately obvious, even in casual use.

The iPhone 6 Plus in particular uses optical image stabilization to deliver better photos in low light and reduce overall shake and blur. Sadly, that nice feature is not on the iPhone 6.

And filmmakers are swooning over the iPhones' high-definition video, faster frame rates (which lead to smoother video) and higher-quality slow-motion capture. Cinematic video stabilization helps smooth out video taken while moving and a time lapse mode snaps a shot every second or so and stitches them together.

Of course, all the videos and photos look great on the bigger screens, especially the iPhone 6 Plus. For camera buffs, that bigger phone is likely to be a must-have.

Call quality on the new phones is excellent and I found battery life on the smaller iPhone 6 to be impressive. I went almost two full days without a charge. Battery life on the iPhone 6 Plus is more like a day of constant use and not much more, but that's not terrible on a phone that size.
The real magic, though, happens because of Apple's new operating system.

The iOS 8 software doesn't look greatly different, but many refinements make it more powerful and flexible. Some of the features catch up to competitors and some are totally new.

The upgrade adds iCloud Drive, for example, which lets you more easily share documents across devices, as you can with Dropbox or Google Drive. A Family Sharing feature will let you share your purchased books, movies, music and some apps with up to six family members, so they don't have to log in to your account to watch a movie or use an app you have purchased.

After OS X Yosemite, the new operating system for Macs, is released in October, Apple's Continuity feature will let you view incoming text messages across all devices, hand off documents between a phone and computer and send a text or make a call from your Mac.

Smaller improvements - expiring messages and voice memos, Spotlight searches that include Web results, and recently used contacts that show up when you double-press the home button to switch between or close apps - add up to a refined mobile OS.

Some of the features aren't perfect, and many of the sexier features are still down the road. Right now, for example, the Health app simply doesn't do much. It depends on integration with third-party apps (scheduled for release with the phones) and the coming Apple Watch.

The new operating system comes on the new phones and can be installed this week on the iPhone 5s, 5 and iPhone 4S. People who have those phones and whose two-year cellphone contracts have not yet expired can rest easy. They will get many of the best features of this year's upgrade cycle.

The slim new iPhones aren't a big-screen slam-dunk, but they work well, as we have come to expect from Apple. Ultimately, it's what's on the inside that keeps them just in front of their competitors.

© 2014 New York Times News Service

 

Ten Cool Things You Didn't Know You Could Do With Google :-O

                           

Why click thrice when once will suffice? Of late, this seems to be Google's mantra for search results. You might have noticed that one no longer needs to click on articles to gather information. Google's Knowledge Graph puts a tonne of information next to search results in an attempt to become the world's most powerful database of knowledge.                         

    

 Here are some of the best ways to use this massive trove of information to speed up searches and tasks:

1. Your Personal information

Google knows everything about you - as long as you're signed in to your Google account. If you have a contact in your smartphone with your name and email address, Google can show you your contact details via search results. If you use Google contacts, you can search for any contact with these keywords: "what is ...'s number". Just fill the blank with the name of the contact. Remember that this result will only be visible to you as long as you're signed in to your Google account.

There's more Google can tell you about yourself though - search for "what is my IP address" or "where am I" and it will answer in a box under the search bar.

2. Translation and dictionary

Found someone online who doesn't speak your language? Fear not, just search for "translate", followed whatever the person said. We tried this with phrases in European and Indian languages and found the translations to be useful when working with short phrases, but not always accurate when we had long sentences.
You can add modifiers, like "translate from", or "translate to", to set the operative languages - for example, "translate reis from german to hindi".
Google can also help you with the meanings of words, or finding synonyms and more. For best results, put define (or synonyms, or antonyms) before the word you want to look up.
You can also use Google to get on-the-spot meanings of words. Simply add the prefix define - e.g. "define Schadenfreude".

3. Time, weather, and even a timer

Time and weather are another cool function of Google search. Just search for "Time in New York" or any other city and country. The same thing works for the keyword "weather".
You can also use Google as a timer. Just search for "timer" and Google will show you one. By default it is set to 5 minutes, which you can change by clicking on the time. It supports full-screen mode and rings when the time is up.
4. Flight information

All you need to know is the flight number of any aircraft, and Google Knowledge Graph can show you arrival and departure times and the flight's destinations in a neat graphic that shows the departure time, arrival time, and even the terminal and gate.
We found this very useful when planning trips, but we really wish Google could make a similar feature for trains.



5. Converting units and currencies

Not sure how many teaspoons to use when the recipe mentions tablespoons? Just Google for "2.5 tablespoons to teaspoons," to get your answer. The same format can be used for other like "feet to cms" too. You can also search for "USD to INR" or "$30,000 to INR" to get the current exchange rate and trends over the past few years.
Google's units conversion tool supports temperature, fuel consumption (MPG to km/litre, etc), length, mass, speed, volume, area, time and even digital storage (from Gb to MB, for example).

6. Location and directions

Google search is very good at finding places and telling you how to get there. Whether you know the entire address or just a pin code, a quick search will show a map marking the area. For example, searching for "110001" will show which areas fall under the pin code.
Google has a fairly large database of addresses of public buildings and commercial complexes. Queries such as "where is India Gate" or "where is the nearest hospital" will either show you the answer in a big box above the search results or show a map preview with the locations marked.
And in case you're about to hit the road, searching for "directions to" (say "directions to Khan Market") your destination will show you a map preview with how much time it will take to get there in current traffic conditions.

7. General Knowledge

Not surprisingly, Google is really good at answering general knowledge questions. Some queries will only land you the answer, while some other queries will show you answers to related questions as well. For instance, "when was Mahatma Gandhi born" also shows the birth dates of Jawaharlal Nehru, Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela.
It can answer questions such as "who is the prime minister of Japan" and "who is the richest man in the world".

8. Astronomy guide

What's bigger, Mars or Venus? How about the relative difference between the Moon and the Earth? Search for "Mars vs Jupiter" to get the comparison, while searching for "Moon to Earth", or "Earth to Aplha Centauri" will show you the distance between the two. To find how far the others are from Earth, try searching for "how far is ... from Earth". Fill in the blank with the celestial body (or man-made satellites such as Voyager I) to find the distance.

9. Popular culture including show timings

Google Knowledge Graph can also give you information about films, television shows, books and comics - when you search for an actor, book or film, this carousel shows up with information on related people or works. A search for "best graphic novels" or "best films of 2014" will show you what other people are searching for.
Google can also name the films currently in movie halls. It can also list show timings. Search for "'movie name' show timings" or simply "films" for this.

10. Sports and stock information

Google can be used to track sporting events and even schedules. A search with the name of the team, such as "India cricket team" or "Arsenal FC" shows you the result from the previous match, live score (if a game is on) and when the next match is scheduled. Google also shows some other information about the team and its achievements, pulled from Wikipedia.

If you search for a company's name followed by the word stock, you will see the results right away, and while the default view shows you the day's valuation, you can set this to 5 days, a month up to the time the company was first listed - try entering "Wipro stock" or "Google stock" to see.



With these ten tips, you should be able to save time with Google. In case you come across some handy uses for Google that we haven't listed, tell us via the comments.

 

How Google Glass Can Be the Next Big Thing for Agriculture??? :-O

Imagine being able to look at a cotton crop, taking field notes and snapping pictures, sending videos of exactly what you're looking at to experts, or dictating notes, all hands-free. At a farm, especially larger ones, daily checks for problems like pests, rodents and fungal infestations is critical, and it is the job of a crop scout to check the fields and gather data after visual inspection to prevent damage before it gets out of hand.

That's where Basecamp Networks comes into the picture. This Georgia based company has developed IntelliScout, an application that uses Google Glass to make it easier for the crop scouts to log any issues they find, without having to pull out a camera or even a smartphone. The wearable makes it possible for the scout to share exactly what she is seeing, dictate notes or even shoot a small video and instantly mail it, while still at the farm.
Craig Ganssle, Founder and CEO of Basecamp Networks, has been a Google Glass developer for a year now. Ganssle he says he came up with the idea of IntelliScout as a way to make crop scouting hands-free and always accessible to farmers; something he believes will be useful not just for the big conglomerates but also small and medium scale farms in the US. Testing the app began in March this year, and Ganssle and his team have been working on mapping different crops which are grown in different parts of the world.
"IntelliScout allows for image recognition of crop types, crop diseases, insects and other defects," says Ganssle. "We are testing it using various crops so that it can be used by farmers everywhere."
One of the crops that IntelliScout has been tested with is rubber - a traditional cash crop in India. "The image recognition will allow for automating certain functionalities, for instance IntelliScout can be used for spotting imperfections in rubber sheets," says Ganssle. "It can detect the problems of the sheets better than the human eye. In the case of the corn crop, it will be used for automated kernel counting. In the case of cotton it can be used to count the nodes."

What Ganssle hopes is that the app will also make it possible for farmers around the world to share data and learn from each other.
"The scout can wear the Glass and take pictures, shoot a video and even take notes. The farmers can sync the data and share it via the cloud," he says. This sharing, he believes, will make it possible for farmers from small and medium farms to access data from large conglomerates, and vice versa too.
For now, Ganssle says Basecamp is in discussions with "several companies in the US" about implementing IntelliScout (which will be officially unveiled this week at the InfoAg Conference in St. Louis, Missouri) but adds that it will take adoption by the big conglomerates before the app gets picked up in smaller farms and other parts of the world.
Ganssle says he wants to branch out internationally and work with farmers and local governments in places where agriculture is still dependent on traditionally accepted practices.
"We are seriously looking at growing internationally," he says. "We will have to look at the bigger companies which work in these areas to help promote IntelliScout and Google Glass in places like Africa and Asia. Tthe main benefit as we see is, [that] IntelliScout will help reduce the time lag between diagnosing the problem and applying the solution. This is of prime importance in places like India."

A hard sell?
People often think of the subsistence farmers in impoverished villages when they think of farming in India, but the truth is that in parts of the country at least, things have come a long way.
Concepts like soil solarisation and vertical farming are just some of the new ideas being implemented. In 2011, in Haryana, the Indian government  set up the Indo-Israel Centre of Excellence for Vegetables near Karnal, to help farmers learn new techniques and gain access to entirely new kinds of crops.

Agro-tech India regularly organises trade fairs for farmers, distributors and everyone else involved in the food industry, and showcases everything from rice polishing machinery to end-to-end systems for food retailing. You'll see All Terrain Vehicles instead of tractors, and even meteorological equipment at these trade shows, though you still won't see too many apps like IntelliScout yet.
However, that doesn't mean that smartphones and other data based applications have no use in India. Mobile Harvest is an Android app being developed by a Delhi-based team. According to the creators, they took inputs from various stakeholders, and took the working prototype for testing in Andhra Pradesh, where it was received with enthusiasm by farmers and rural entrepreneurs. Since it uses only audio prompts and pictures, and doesn't require text, the app can be used by anyone, regardless of their literacy levels. With the increasing affordability of smartphones in India, this kind of use is only going to grow.
For IntelliScout, issues like connectivity will continue to be a hurdle, although Ganssle talks about storing the data offline in areas with poor connectivity. Another challenge that will definitely come in the way of adoption of Glass at this early stage is its high cost.
"We are aware of the price involved in using something like this," says Ganssle. "But it can be subsidised through strategic partnerships involving the big companies, the government, and the farmers. Once we can gather and share the data worldwide, it will only aid farmers in helping improve and increase the food production the world over. It about taking small, medium, and large companies to a more efficient platform as a whole."

 

 

Building the Cheapest Gaming PC You'll Actually Want to Buy :-D

                            

A gaming PC can be a lot cheaper than a console, and you also have a lot more flexibility about your budget - you can skimp now, and upgrade to the monster rig of your dreams later if you choose.

There's an intimidating number of choices available but we can help you build a budget rig on your own. Our focus is on building the cheapest gaming rig that still delivers an acceptable experience. Clearly, this machine will not be for purists - we'll do that at a later stage - but something that you can use as a reference point if you are looking to take your gaming a little bit more seriously.

                                               

         

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You can then choose to step up from there depending on how much you're able to spend and what level of graphical quality you're looking for.

What you need
The basic considerations you need to budget for are a CPU, which you'll typically buy from Intel or AMD; a graphics card, based on a GPU from Nvidia or AMD; a hard drive; and RAM. First, let's talk about some of the different choices, and then we'll move on to our sample configuration.

On the CPU front, AMD does not have anything compelling to offer at the moment, but the excellent Intel Pentium Anniversary Edition (the G3258), is a low-priced monster that runs beautifully and can easily exceed speeds of 4GHz when pushed beyond its official specifications.

The GPU market is constantly in flux. Prices are not stable, as Nvidia and AMD keep trying new tricks to outdo each other. Nvidia's recently launched GTX 750 and 750 Ti are based on the new Maxwell core which performs well and consumes very little power.
For AMD, it's less clear, but repeated price drops and some pretty interesting deals on free bundled games are promising.The newly launched Radeon R9 285 is yet to show up in shops in India, but it will replace the R9 280 at a potentially lower price.
RAM prices have doubled since the start of 2013, and will likely stay this way for a while. As a result, we have to allocate more of our budget to memory or change our expectations.
Hard drive prices are fairly reasonable now, but SSDs are becoming more and more tempting. An affordable SSD that's only enough for the OS and applications will still make a huge difference, but it might not fit in our entry-level build's budget.
We've given ourselves a budget of Rs. 40,000 all inclusive. This will give us modest but consistent performance, and leave the doors open to multiple upgrades over time. Here's the best we managed to do, considering high import duties and a weak exchange rate. Note that prices fluctuate every day and vary from area to area, so you might need to tweak this a little.
The build
If you're looking for a simple list of things to buy, then the table below has you covered. But we also talk about what you can change and tweak in this list, so read on to know more.


This basic build is a little above what we'd budgeted, but you should be able to save some money by reusing your current mouse, keyboard and/or monitor if you have a PC already.
With this basic setup, you should be able to get 40-60 fps with high detail settings in most current games at the monitor's native resolution. If you want to step up to HD 1080p, you'll need a better GPU and monitor, which would add at least Rs. 10,000 to the budget.
Intel's Core i3s are fast and don't consume a lot of power - they don't quite have the muscle of a quad-core i5 but do a decent job as far as games are concerned. Disappointingly though, the i3s can't be overclocked.
The most affordable motherboard option we were comfortable with was MSI's H87M-E35. You'll get all the important features such as multiple USB 3.0 ports, SATA 6Gbps, HDMI and PCIe 3.0.
A year ago, you would have would have been able to fit 8GB of DDR3-1600 RAM into this budget, but we have to step down to 4GB due to market forces. The same budget considerations lead us to suggest Sapphire's Radeon HD 7770. It is a potent GPU for the price, and should handle gaming at 1366x768 quite well.
As expected, we can't include a solid state drive, but Western Digital's Blue line is a good choice. You can get a 500GB model for about Rs. 3,000 but you can double that capacity for relatively little more.
Corsair's VS450 is a nice, affordable and stable power supply, with  enough PCIe, SATA and Molex cables for a budget build.
If you don't have an LCD monitor already, the AOC unit we've listed is a good place to start. A 1080p monitor like Dell's S2240L is a nice option for Rs.9,000 but it requires a more powerful graphics card as well.

Upgrade options
As far as the motherboard is concerned, you may want to step up to a more feature complete board such as the Gigabyte H87M-DH3. Overclockers should consider something with the Z prefix, like MSI's Z97 PC Mate, which appears to be the cheapest 9-series chipset available. Pair it with the Intel Pentium Anniversary Edition for overclocking, or the Core i5-4430 and above if you just want that extra oomph without the fuss.
RAM is simple: get DDR3-1600 with timings of 9-9-9-24 or tighter, but don't pay extra for anything beyond this, because it's usually not going to be worth it as far as games are concerned. G.Skill, Corsair and Kingston are good choices. We'd recommend 8GB at the minimum, if you can afford it. Try and buy RAM sticks in identical pairs to ensure a stable dual channel configuration.
Graphics is a highly scalable market. The more you pay, the more performance you usually get, so it comes down to how smooth you want your gaming to be and at what resolution. While the 7770 is good till 720p resolutions, we'd recommend getting at least a GTX 750 Ti for higher ones (900p or 1080p). It is priced between Rs.10,500 and 11,500 online, and we certainly wouldn't pay more.
The next step up would be an AMD R9 270X at around Rs.14,000, and it's a solid deal considering it's basically a higher clocked Radeon HD 7870. Note that you still won't always get 60 fps at 1080p. The GTX 760 is a good way to achieve that; prices start from Rs. 17,000.
Finally, the R9 280X and GTX 770 are the highest we'd mention in this article; both cost around Rs. 25,000 and provide a solid 1080p gaming experience.
As far as hard drives are concerned, Western Digital and Hitachi are known to be reliable, so just pick any as your secondary storage drive. For the boot drive, pick an SSD from Intel, Samsung or Corsair, and you should be good to go.
Cabinets are 80 percent functionality and 20 percent personal taste and aesthetics. A decent cabinet can mean the difference between awkwardly crammed components and a nice, clean, easily serviceable system.
While the Elite 311 will get the job done, look towards cases from Fractal Design, Antec, NZXT, Corsair or higher end cases from Cooler Master itself, like the HAF 912 Advanced.
Easily removable filters, good airflow and fan/water cooler mounts, relevant front panel ports  and space for cable management are all things to look for. The case should be tall and wide enough to accommodate the CPU cooler you want to use, and deep enough for the graphics card of your choice. Removable drive bays and a CPU cutout are good ideas too.
CPU Coolers are fairly simple: From a pure functionality standpoint, the Hyper 212 EVO from Cooler Master sells for around Rs. 2,000 and is quite excellent. Noctua's NH-D14 is probably the only other air cooler you should consider; it's one of the best there is (but over twice as expensive). Of course, smaller cases may need smaller coolers like Noctua's NH-L9i 95mm SSO2, or you may want something fancy-looking like the Cooler Master V8 GTS.
If you're not overclocking, the boxed cooler is usually sufficient, but if it spins up too often and gets too noisy, or the CPU starts hitting temperatures above 80*C, you may want to consider getting a third-party one.
Power supplies are mostly simple too. Antec, Seasonic, Corsair, and certain Cooler Master PSUs are good choices. You won't usually need more than 550W for a single GPU build, unless you're using a GTX 780 Ti and Haswell-E CPU together, in which case it would be on the safer side to consider a 600W PSU.
Otherwise, just make sure you have the appropriate connectors (especially PCI-e for the graphics card) and that they're long enough to route behind the motherboard tray. 80%+ efficiency is also a good thing.
With that in mind, consider the Corsair VS 550, Seasonic ECO 500 or Antec VP 550. You may want a modular PSU to reduce wire clutter and increase airflow inside the case, or for Micro-ATX and Mini-ITX enclosures. Such PSUs are appropriately marked (usually with an 'M' somewhere in the name, like CX430M or M12II 520) and usually more expensive. Try and avoid fully modular PSUs (in which all wires can be removed), as some undesirable electrical characteristics can be more pronounced on the higher power rails with such designs.

One last point to consider
If you're considering sinking Rs. 20,000 into a GPU today, we say save up till the end of September, as Nvidia is about to announce a new generation, which will be well worth the wait. High-end cards usually launch first, which means your budget might have to expand a little, but the difference in performance will be equally noticeable.
We hope this serves as a guide for inexperienced DIY gamers and also as a refresher and template for more advanced users. If you have some suggestions about different components, tell us via the comments.

 

How to Clean Up Your Gmail Inbox ???

 

  Most people have a Gmail account these days, and at least some of you might have realised - with an unpleasant shock - that the space in your inbox is getting filled up. Gmail has a pretty huge 15GB limit, but over the years, mail tends to build up, and many of us are probably reaching those limits now.
Luckily cleaning up your Gmail inbox isn't a challenge, thanks to some Gmail's own tools and some third party apps as well. We've found a few reliable ways to quickly clean your Gmail inbox. Start now and we promise it won't take more than half an hour.                                             

        

Gmail search filters

Gmail doesn't have the option to sort files - you can't get the inbox to display mails alphabetically, or according to the date received, or size. This might sound like a problem, but as is to be expected from a Google company, Gmail has a superb search function, which can be used to solve the problem easily. Follow these steps to clear up the emails you don't need:

1. Sign in to Gmail > go to the big search bar at the top.
2. First, let's clear out the emails taking up the most space. Type Larger:10M in the search bar > hit enter or click the magnifying glass icon.
3. This will find emails taking up more than 10MB. Now select the mails you don't want > delete (trash can icon).
4. You can experiment with different file sizes, depending on how much you need to delete.
5. The obvious next step is to clear out emails from the long ago. You can use Before:YYYY/MM/DD to specify a cutoff date, or older_than:years if you want to search for mails that are one, two or more years old. For example, if you want mails that are older than one year, you can type older_than:1y > press enter to see the list, and then select mails > delete to make space.
6. You can use combinations of commands, so if, for example, you want to delete old mails with attachments that are more than 1MB in size, then type the following into search: has:attachment larger:1M older_than:1y > press enter, then see the list, and select items > delete mails.
7. In case you're starting to worry about remembering all these operators, then you will be happy to know that Google has you covered. Click on the downward pointing arrow at the right corner of the search bar, and you will see the advanced search, which lets you apply all these filters in a simple menu.



Find Big Mail
Find Big Mail was the only way to - well - find big emails in Gmail, until Gmail added the filters we mentioned already. The app is still pretty useful because it automates the process of finding mails that should be deleted and also creates labels so you can find them again later without any difficulty.
Follow these steps to clean up that messy inbox:

1. Head to the Find Big Mail website > enter your Gmail address in the big form > click Find Big Mail.
2. Now Google will ask you to authorise this service. Enter your password (if you haven't logged in already) > click Allow access.
3. The service will now begin scanning your inbox. It claims that it only sees the size of your emails and not the content. Once scanning is complete, you will get an email alert. Ignore the email.
4. On the left side, under the links for inbox, sent mail, etc., you will see new labels. If you don't see this, expand the labels menu. You will see four labels: FindBigMail - Top, FindBigMail > 1MB, FindBigMail > 5MB, FindBigMail > 10MB. Click any of these > select the emails you don't need > delete.
5. The advantage of this method is that you don't need to repeat the search later to find the worst offenders, if you're running out of space again.



Mailstrom
If you're willing to use a paid service, then we really liked Mailstrom. The app works great and you can delete up to 660 emails for free, to get an idea of how it works. Unfortunately, using it beyond this limit involves a payment of around Rs. 300 per month.
With that said, Mailstrom's feature set is fairly advanced. It sorts emails by sender, let's you unsubscribe from newsletters quickly and bundles related emails so that you can delete several at once. Follow these steps:
1. Open the Mailstrom website > enter your Gmail address in the form > click Start Free Trial > click Authorize With Google > enter email and password > Sign in.
2. Now you will see your inbox through Mailstrom. It will take some time to sort all your emails. Once done, you will see all emails grouped by sender. We found surprisingly large numbers of emails from people we hadn't spoken to in years. We started by deleting these.
3. You can quickly clear emails using the left sidebar, which lets you view emails by size, time, emails from social networks and has a handy Unsubscribe link to help clear the clutter.
We recommend Mailstrom for those who are facing a serious email overload and have abandoned all hope of ever cleaning up their inboxes. We managed to clear over 200 emails within a minute using Mailstrom. For the average user though, the free methods we already described are probably the better choice.

These are my favourite methods for cleaning the Gmail inbox. What are yours? Tell us via the comments.