INFO GURU

Backstreet Boys Song lyrics

2010-01-29T06:31:00.001+05:30

Quit playing games with my heart
Even in my heart I see
You?re not being true to me
Deep within my soul I feel
Nothing?s like it used to be
Sometimes I wish I could turn back time
Impossible as it may seem
But I wish I could so bad baby

Chorus
Quit playin? games with my heart
Before you tear us apart
I should?ve known from the start
Before you got in my heart

I live my life the way
To keep you coming back to me
Everything I do is for you
So what is it that you can?t see?
Sometimes I wish I could
Turn back time, impossible as it may seem
But I wish I could so bad baby
You better quit playin? games with my heart

Chorus

Quit playin? games
Baby, baby, the love that we had was so strong
Don?t leave me hangin here forever
Oh baby, baby, this is not right
Lets stop this tonight

Baby, quit playin games
Sometimes I wish I could
Turn back time, impossible as it may seem
But I wish I could
So bad, baby
Quit playin games with my heart

click here to play this song

Everybody in love

Everybody
Rock your body
Everybody
Rock your body right
Backstreet's Back alright

Oh my God we're back again
Brothers, sisters, everybody sing
We're gonna bring the flavor show you how
I've gotta question for ya
Better answer now

Pre chorus:
Am I original?
(yeah)
Am I the only one?
(yeah)
Am I sexual?
(yeah)
Am I everything you need?
You better rock you body now

Chorus

Now throw your hands up in the air
And wave 'em around like you just don't care
If you wanna party let me hear you yell
'Cause we've got it goin' on again

Pre-chorus
Chorus

So everybody, everywhere
Don't be afraid, don't have no fear
Gonna tell the world, make it understand
As long as there'll be music we'll be coming back again

Chorus
click here to play this song

Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely

Show me the meaning of being lonely
So many words for the broken heart
It's hard to see in a crimson love
So hard to breathe
Walk with me, and maybe
Nights of light so soon become
Wild and free I could feel the sun
Your every wish will be done
They tell me...

CHORUS

Show me the meaning of being lonely
Is this the feeling I need to walk with
Tell me why I can't be there where you are
There's something missing in my heart
Life goes on as it never ends
Eyes of stone observe the trends
They never say forever gaze
Guilty roads to an endless love
There's no control
Are you with me now
Your every wish will be done
They tell me

CHORUS - repeat

There's nowhere to run
I have no place to go
Surrender my heart' body and soul
How can it be you're asking me to feel the things you never show
You are missing in my heart
Tell me why I can't be there where you are
CHORUS - repeat

click here to play this song

As Long As You Love Me

Although loneliness has always been a friend of mine
I'm leaving my life in your hands
People say I'm crazy and that I am blind
Risking it all in a glance
And how you got me blind is still a mystery
I can't get you out of my head
Don't care what is written in your history
As long as you're here with me

Chorus:
I don't care who you are
Where you're from
What you did
As long as you love me
Who you are
Where you're from
Don't care what you did
As long as you love me

Every little thing that you have said and done
Feels like it's deep within me
Doesn't really matter if you're on the run
It seems like we're meant to be

Chorus

Bridge:
I've tried to hide it so that no one knows
But I guess it shows
When you look into my eyes
What you did and where you are comin' from
I don't care, as long as you love me, baby.

Chorus

Who you are
Where you're from
Don't care what you did
As long as you love me
(Repeat to fade)

click here to play this song

Backstreet Boys

2010-01-29T06:23:00.001+05:30

AJ McLean

Brian Littrell

Howie Dorough

Nick Carter

The Backstreet Boys is an American vocal group.They were formed in Orlando/ Florida and managed by producer Lou Pearlman, and have been together since 1993. They have 14 Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and have sold over 130 million records worldwide, making them one of the biggest selling boy bands of all time. According to US Billboard 200, the Backstreet Boys are the first artist since Sade to have their first seven albums reach top 10 on the chart.Their earlier songs still remain very popular. When they returned to the pop scene in 2005, their sound had changed drastically, incorporating only live instruments (some of which they play themselves) and a more guitar and piano driven pop-rock sound. After the 2005–2006 tour, original member Kevin Richardson left the group on June 23, 2006, to start a family,but the four-piece refused to rule out a possible return for the singer.The now four-member group consists of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell and A. J. McLean. The quartet has since released two albums, the most recent on October 6, 2009, titled This Is Us, which went back to pop music, although is still considerably different from their classic sound, with This Is Us being more R&B.

For more than 16 years, Backstreet Boys have delivered the very finest pop music has to offer – tightly crafted songs, floor-shaking rhythms, and unmistakable harmonies. The new “THIS IS US” showcases their preeminent pop mastery with a collection of indelible tracks that surely rank among their biggest and best hits. After mastering an organic, more adult contemporary flavor on 2005’s “NEVER GONE” and 2007’s “UNBREAKABLE,” the new album sees Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, and AJ McLean revisiting the groundbreaking dance-pop sound that first made them international superstars. Songs like “PDA” “Bye Bye Love,” and the RedOne-produced first single, “Straight Through My Heart” are classic BSB, bursting with big hooks, unforgettable melodies, and high-energy rhythms that both highlights the group’s classic sound and vision while also placing it squarely in the here and now.

iPAD-Technical Specifications

2010-01-28T07:06:00.001+05:30

Size and weight¹

Height:9.56 inches (242.8 mm)Width:7.47 inches (189.7 mm)Depth:0.5 inch (13.4 mm)Weight:1.5 pounds (.68 kg) Wi-Fi model;1.6 pounds (.73 kg) Wi-Fi + 3G model

Display

9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
1024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch (ppi)
Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously

Wireless and Cellular

Wi-Fi model

Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n)
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology

Wi-Fi + 3G model

UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz)
GSM/EDGE (850, 900,1800, 1900 MHz)
Data only²
Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n)
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology

Location

Wi-Fi
Digital compass
Assisted GPS (Wi-Fi + 3G model)
Cellular (Wi-Fi + 3G model)

In the Box

iPad
Dock connector to USB cable
10W Power Adapter
Documentation

Environmental Status Report

iPad embodies Apple’s continuing environmental progress. It is designed with the following features to reduce environmental impact:

Arsenic-free display glass
BFR-free
Mercury-free LCD display
PVC-free
Recyclable aluminum and glass enclosure

Capacity³

16GB, 32GB, or 64GB flash drive

Processor

1GHz Apple A4 custom-designed, high-performance, low-power system-on-a-chip

Sensors

Accelerometer
Ambient light sensor

Audio Playback

Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
Audio formats supported: AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
User-configurable maximum volume limit

TV and Video

Support for 1024 x 768 with Dock Connector to VGA adapter; 576p and 480p with Apple Component A/V Cable, 576i and 480i with Apple Composite Cable
H.264 video up to 720p, 30 frames per second, Main Profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats

Mail attachment support

Viewable document types: .jpg, .tiff, .gif (images); .doc and .docx (Microsoft Word); .htm and .html (web pages); .key (Keynote); .numbers (Numbers); .pages (Pages); .pdf (Preview and Adobe Acrobat); .ppt and .pptx (Microsoft PowerPoint); .txt (text); .rtf (rich text format); .vcf (contact information); .xls and .xlsx (Microsoft Excel)

Languages

Language support for English, French, German, Japanese, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Russian
Keyboard support for English (US) English (UK), French (France, Canada), German, Japanese (QWERTY), Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, Italian, Simplified Chinese (Handwriting and Pinyin), Russian
Dictionary support for English (US), English (UK), French, French (Canadian), French (Swiss), German, Japanese, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, Italian, Simplified Chinese (Handwriting, Pinyin), Russian

Accessibility

Support for playback of closed-captioned content
VoiceOver screen reader
Full-screen zoom magnification
White on black
Mono audio

Battery and Power⁴

Built-in 25Whr rechargeable lithium-polymer battery
Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music
Charging via power adapter or USB to computer system

Input and Output

Dock connector
3.5-mm stereo headphone jack
Built-in speakers
Microphone
SIM card tray (Wi-Fi + 3G model only)

External buttons and controls

On/Off, Sleep/wake
Mute
Volume up/down
Home

Mac system requirements

Mac computer with USB 2.0 port
Mac OS X v10.5.8 or later
iTunes 9.0 or later
iTunes Store account
Internet access

Windows system requirements

PC with USB 2.0 port
Windows 7, Windows Vista; Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 3 or later
iTunes 9.0 or later
iTunes Store account
Internet access

Environmental requirements

Operating temperature: 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C)
Nonoperating temperature: -4° to 113° F (-20° to 45° C)
Relative humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing
Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet (3000 m)

iPad Accessories

iPad Keyboard Dock

The Keyboard Dock is a dock for charging your iPad, integrated with a full-size keyboard. The dock has a rear 30-pin connector, which lets you connect to an electrical outlet using a USB Power Adapter, sync to your computer, and use accessories like the Camera Connection Kit. And an audio jack lets you connect to a stereo or powered speakers.

Apple's iPad

2010-01-28T06:53:00.000+05:30

THE BEST WAY TO EXPERIENCE THE WEB,EMAIL,PHOTOS AND VIDEOS.

All of the built-in apps on iPad were designed from the ground up to take advantage of the large, Multi-Touch screen. And they’ll work in any orientation. So you can do things with these apps you can’t do on any other device.

Mail

See and touch your email in ways you never could before. In landscape, you get a split-screen view, showing both an opened email and the messages in your Inbox. To see the opened email by itself, you just turn iPad to portrait, and the email automatically rotates and fills the screen. No matter which orientation you use, you can scroll through your mail, compose a new email using the large, on-screen keyboard, or delete messages, with nothing more than a tap and a flick. If someone emails you a photo, you can see it right in the message. You can also save the photos in an email directly to the built-in Photos app. And iPad will work with all the popular email providers, including MobileMe, Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, Hotmail, and AOL.

Photos

With its crisp, vibrant display, and its unique software features, iPad is an extraordinary way to enjoy and share your photos. For example, the new Photos app displays the photos in an album as though they were in a stack. Just tap or pinch to open the stack, and the whole album opens up. Then you can flip through your pictures, zoom in or out, or watch a slideshow. You can even use your iPad as a beautiful digital photo frame while your iPad is docked or charging. And there are lots of ways to import photos: you can sync them from your computer, download them from an email, or import them directly from your camera using the Apple Camera Connection Kit.

Video

The large, high-resolution screen makes iPad perfect for watching any kind of video: from HD movies and TV shows, to podcasts and music videos. You can also easily move between wide-screen and full-screen with a double-tap. And because it’s essentially one big screen, with no buttons or anything to distract you, the picture fills your line of sight. So you feel completely immersed in what you’re watching.

YouTube

The YouTube app organizes videos so they’re really easy to see and navigate. To watch one, you just tap it. When you’re watching in landscape, the video will automatically play in full screen. And with its high-resolution display, the latest YouTube HD videos will look amazing on iPad.

iPod

With the iPod app, all your music is literally at your fingertips. You can browse by album, song, artist, or genre, with a simple flick. To play a song, just tap it, and the now playing screen will show the album art at full size. Then you can listen to your music with either the powerful built-in speaker, or with wired or Bluetooth wireless headphones.

iTunes

Just tap on the iTunes Store icon, and you can browse and buy music, TV shows, podcasts — or buy and rent movies — wirelessly, right from your iPad. There are thousands of movies and TV shows (in both standard and high definition), along with thousands of podcasts, and millions of songs to choose from. You can even preview songs before you buy them. And you can sync iPad with the content you already have in your iTunes library on your Mac or PC.

App Store

iPad will run almost 140,000 apps from the App Store. Everything from games to business apps, and more. And new apps that have been designed just for iPad are highlighted, so you can easily find the ones that take full advantage of its features. Just tap the App Store icon on the screen and you’ll be able to browse, buy, and download apps wirelessly, right to the iPad.

iBooks

The iBooks app is a great, new way to read and buy books.¹ Just download the app for free from the App Store, and you’ll be able to buy everything from classics to bestsellers from the built-in iBookstore. Once you’ve bought a book, it’s displayed on your Bookshelf. To read it, all you have to do is tap on it and it opens up. The high-resolution, LED-backlit screen displays everything in sharp, rich, color, so it’s very easy to read, even in low light.

Maps

See more of the world with high-resolution Satellite and Street View images. You can even see topography with the new Terrain view. You can also search for a nearby business type (for example, “Restaurant”) and then tap on that business to see the route and directions from your current location.

Notes

With its expansive display and large, on-screen keyboard, iPad makes jotting down notes easy. In landscape mode, you get not only a note-taking page but a list of all your notes. It even circles the current note in red. So you can see where you are at a glance.

Calendar

iPad makes it easy to keep on schedule by displaying Day, Week, Month or List views of your calendar. That way, you can see an overview of a whole month, or the details of a single day. iPad will even show multiple calendars at once, so you can manage work and family calendars at the same time.

Contacts

The Contacts app on iPad makes finding names, numbers and other important information quicker and easier than ever before. A new view lets you see both your complete contact list, and a single contact, simultaneously. Need directions? Just tap on an address inside a contact and it’ll open Maps.

Home Screen

The Home Screen gives you one-tap access to everything on iPad. You can also customize your Home Screen by adding your favorite apps and websites, or using your own photos for the background. And you can move apps around to arrange them in any order you want.

Spotlight Search

Spotlight Search allows you to search across iPad, and all of its built-in apps. Including Mail, Contacts, Calendar, iPod, and Notes. It’ll even search apps you’ve downloaded from the App Store. So no matter what you’re looking for, it’s never more than a few taps away.

Facts about Engineers

2009-11-13T18:06:00.000+05:30

1) Studies reveal that capacity of the brain of an engineer reduces more than 20% by the time he completes engineering

2) 1st thing that 2 passed out engineer will discuss is cursing their colleges and faculties

3) Engineers are very focused ,even if sutta is being played at its loudest volume and his parents behind him, Engineers will be busy copying assignments

4) An Engineer never asks questions. JO BHI HAI LIKH DALO.

5) Engineers are a perfect suited for a job of watchman, they are awake till 2am completing their assignments

6) If you count the total no of files written by all Engineers of India in a year it is far more than the total sales of harry porter series

7) An Engineer sleeps 2 hours a day at home and rest in college

8) Proved fact : Arguing with your faculty in viva is like playing with pig in mud. No matter what you do, the pig will always enjoy.

9) When you have 5 assignments left ;have submissions in 1 hour and still chatting you are sure an engineer

) Most of the Engineers are virgin because they are busy writing their assignments

) Often after the student answers questions in viva , the teachers says that the chapter is not in course

) A guy with 14 flops becomes a good actor and a student with 4 ATKT’s becomes a good engineers

) What’s the most common question an Engineer asks while borrowing a book ?
Ans : When is the exam

) An Engineer is a good editor .The master copy may have 100 pages but the final copy has less than 10 pages

) Computer engineer are the only species who don’t care when they smoke cigarettes. As they care only for errors NOT for warnings.

) Engineer is extremely happy hearing the word “exam” coz exam means 1 month before vacation and 1 month after

) An Engineer is a very good cook as he’s always found in canteen

) Engineers are taken to jail as picnic

) Motto of Engineers “COPY AND LET COPY”

) Engineers’s favorite movie : TAARE ZAMEEN PAR

) The process of being an Engineer is like that of birth of a child. People are happy to see the outcome but only the hosts knows how difficult it is

) An Engineers always asks his teacher have I seen you before

) People often hire Engineers for Xerox.

) Engineers have a habit of conserving things.their son uses the same book they used in first year.

) Q : What will Engineers say to Harman baweja and pritam ?
Ans : we all are same copy cats

) Government has decided to transfer all hardcore criminals to Engineering college as its way more tortouring then jail.

) Want to become rich in no time ,open a theatre near engineering college

) If you are a girl then you have full chance of becoming an Engineer
Atleast you get full marks in internals

Three Words That Make Relationships Better

2009-11-10T20:37:00.000+05:30

Three-Word Phrases, can be tools to help develop every relationship.

There are many things that you can do to strengthen your relationships. Often the most effective thing you can do involves saying just three words. When spoken sincerely, these statements often have the power to develop new friendships, deepen old ones and even bring healing to relationships that have soured.

The following three-word phrases can be tools to help develop every relationship.

~ Let me help:
Good friends see a need and then try to fill it. When they see a hurt they do what they can to heal it. Without being asked, they jump in and help out.

~ I understand you:
People become closer and enjoy each other more when the other person accepts and understands them. Letting your spouse know - in so many little ways - that you understand them, is one of the most powerful tools for healing your relationship. And this can apply to any relationship.

~ I respect you:
Respect is another way of showing love. Respect demonstrates that another person is a true equal. If you talk to your children as if they were adults you will strengthen the bonds and become closer friends. This applies to all interpersonal relationships.

~ I miss you:
Perhaps more marriages could be saved and strengthened if couples simply and sincerely said to each other “I miss you.” This powerful affirmation tells partners they are wanted, needed, desired and loved. Consider how important you would feel, if you received an unexpected phone call from your spouse in the middle of your workday, just to say “I miss you.”

~ Maybe you’re right:
This phrase is very effective in diffusing an argument. The implication when you say “maybe you’re right” is the humility of admitting, “maybe I’m wrong”. Let’s face it. When you have an argument with someone, all you normally do is solidify the other person’s point of view. They, or you, will not likely change their position and you run the risk of seriously damaging the relationship between you. Saying “maybe you’re right” can open the door to explore the subject more. You may then have the opportunity to express your view in a way that is understandable to the other person.

~ Please forgive me:
Many broken relationships could be restored and healed if people would admit their mistakes and ask for forgiveness. All of us are vulnerable to faults, foibles and failures. A man should never be ashamed to own up that he has been in the wrong, which is saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday.

~ I thank you:
Gratitude is an exquisite form of courtesy. People who enjoy the companionship of good, close friends are those who don’t take daily courtesies for granted. They are quick to thank their friends for their many expressions of kindness. On the other hand, people whose circle of friends is severely constricted often do not have the attitude of gratitude.

~ Count on me:
A friend is one who walks in when others walk out. Loyalty is an essential ingredient for true friendship. It is the emotional glue that bonds people. Those that are rich in their relationships tend to be steady and true friends. When troubles come, a good friend is there indicating “you can count on me.”

~ I’ll be there:
If you have ever had to call a friend in the middle of the night, to take a sick child to hospital, or when your car has broken down some miles from home, you will know how good it feels to hear the phrase “I’ll be there.” Being there for another person is the greatest gift we can give. When we are truly present for other people, important things happen to them and us. We are renewed in love and friendship. We are restored emotionally and spiritually. Being there is at the very core of civility.

~ Go for it:
We are all unique individuals. Don’t try to get your friends to conform to your ideals. Support them in pursuing their interests, no matter how far out they seem to you. God has given everyone dreams, dreams that are unique to that person only. Support and encourage your friends to follow their dreams. Tell them to “go for it.”

~ I love you:
Perhaps the most important three words that you can say. Telling someone that you truly love them satisfies a person’s deepest emotional needs. The need to belong, to feel appreciated and to be wanted. Your spouse, your children, your friends and you, all need to hear those three little words: “I love you.” Love is a choice. You can love even when the feeling is gone

Seitz 6x17 Digital shoots at 160 megapixels

2009-11-08T22:39:00.000+05:30

When we first spotted this new cam from Seitz, our jaws hit the floor and rebounded a few times. No, it's not the highest megapixel count we've seen, but this megalith of a camera shoots at 160 megapixels to create a native 6 x 17-cm image, is packed with an ISO range from 500 to 10,000, a read-out speed of 300MB per second, and a shutter speed of 1/20,000th second. So the next question is, how are you going to store such huge image files (nearly 1 GB per uncompressed full panorama), certainly not on your off-the-shelf 16GB SDHC card, nor the upcoming 64GB CompactFlash cards -- but rather via gigabit Ethernet to Seitz's "state-of-the-art computer system", which translates to a decked out Mac mini. So what will this much imaging power cost you? 45,500 Swiss francs ($36,266) for the "mobile version" and 42,300 Swiss francs ($33,715) for the "studio version", and we're assuming that the Mac mini is included for that price. However, given that this camera isn't quite what you'd front for a down payment on a Swiss châlet, the 6x17 Digital surely must be affordable to average working-class Zürich banker set, no? You can catch a glimpse of this bad boy at the upcoming Photokina expo in Germany, or can throw down some serious Swiss coinage now to pre-order this gargantuan cam, which won't become available until early 2007. Also, be sure to click through for two more glamour shots.

GOOGLE WAVES

2009-10-18T09:17:00.002+05:30

What is a wave?

A wave is equal parts conversation and document. People can communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more.

A wave is shared. Any participant can reply anywhere in the message, edit the content and add participants at any point in the process. Then playback lets anyone rewind the wave to see who said what and when.

A wave is live. With live transmission as you type, participants on a wave can have faster conversations, see edits and interact with extensions in real-time.

What is Google Wave?

Google Wave is a product that helps users communicate and collaborate on the web. A "wave" is equal parts conversation and document, where users can almost instantly communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more. Google Wave is also a platform with a rich set of open APIs that allow developers to embed waves in other web services and to build extensions that work inside waves.

Some key technologies in Google Wave

What is the Google Wave API?

The Google Wave API allows developers to use and enhance Google Wave through two primary types of development:

Extensions: Build robot extensions to automate common tasks or build gadget extensions to provide a new way for users to interact
Embed: Make your site more collaborative by dropping in a Wave

Google Wave is currently available in a developer preview as the APIs and product continue to evolve. Accounts on the developer sandbox will be given out to people intending to build with the Google Wave APIs prior to the public release.

Happy birthday Gmail!

2009-04-07T08:04:00.000+05:30

Five years back Google launched its Gmail services with an offer of a gigabyte of storage on April 1 '04.

Google Mail was born out of an experimental project created by a few engineers at Google five years ago. From the beginning Gmail has been a faster, cleaner and more intuitive solution for people's email.

At first, the service was available by invite only, but opened to the public in 2007. Even though it has been around for five years, Gmail is still listed as a beta, and holds less market share than its rivals.

It was no joke, and Gmail has taken the world of free webmail by storm, forcing others to boost their storage and improve their features. At first, Google’s mail service was available by invite only. To join up, someone with a Gmail account had to send you one of their limited number of invites. It was only opened up to the public in February 2007.

And, despite being part of the Google family, it holds far less market share than its rivals. As of last year, Yahoo Mail had 55 per cent of the market in the US, followed by Microsoft’s Windows Live at 26 per cent. Gmail had just six per cent, according to the Hitwise statistics. That said, comScore reported that Gmail saw growth of 43 per cent last year, so maybe one day it will eventually catch up.

“Since 2004 we've continued to focus on making Google Mail easier and more fun by introducing additions like themes, video chat and Google Mail Labs. We're thankful that so many people have picked Google Mail over the past five years, and we're looking forward to providing them with more innovative features in the future’’, says Google. <

OPGDE.EXE

2009-04-07T08:00:00.000+05:30

File Behavior

OPGDE.EXE has been seen to perform the following behavior:

The Process is packed and/or encrypted using a software packing process
This Process Deletes Other Processes From Disk
This process creates other processes on disk
Creates a new Background Service on the machine
Loads and Executes a System Driver File
Adds a Registry Key (RUN) to auto start Programs on system start up
Writes to another Process's Virtual Memory (Process Hijacking)
Executes a Process
Injects code into other processes
Registers a Dynamic Link Library File

OPGDE.EXE has been the subject of the following behavior:

Created as a process on disk
Deleted as a process from disk
Added as a Registry auto start to load Program on Boot up
Executed as a Process
Executed from Temporary Folders
Copied to multiple locations on the system
This program is often downloaded from the web
Registered as a Dynamic Link Library File

Country Of Origin

The filename OPGDE.EXE was first seen on Feb 10 2009 in the following geographical regions of the Prevx community:

TURKEY on Feb 10 2009
SAUDI ARABIA on Feb 11 2009

File Name Aliases

OPGDE.EXE can also use the following file names:

HELP.EXE
OLHRWEF.EXE
13732192.PPE
DL1.EXE
2AAXAIY.EXE
DF2.EXE
DD3.EXE
DE2.EXE

Filesizes

The following file size has been seen:

108,067 bytes
169,012 bytes
168,690 bytes
109,724 bytes

Vendor, Product and Version Information

These files have no vendor, product or version information specified in the file header.

File Type

The filename OPGDE.EXE refers to many versions of an executable program.

File Activity

One or more files with the name OPGDE.EXE creates, deletes, copies or moves the following files and folders:

Creates c:\windows\system32\drivers\klif.sys
Deletes c:\windows\system32\drivers\klif.sys
Deletes c:\windows\system32\olhrwef.exe
Deletes c:\windows\system32\nmdfgds0.dll
Creates c:\windows\system32\nmdfgds0.dll
Deletes c:\opgde.ex
Copies filec:\windows\system32\olhrwef.exe to c:\opgde.ex
Deletes c:\autorun.in
Creates c:\autorun.in
Deletes d:\opgde.ex
Copies filec:\windows\system32\olhrwef.exe to d:\opgde.ex
Deletes d:\autorun.in
Creates d:\autorun.in

Registry Activity

One or more files with the name OPGDE.EXE creates or modifies the following registry keys and values:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run cdoosoft C:\WINDOWS\system32\olhrwef.exe
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced Hidden value:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced ShowSuperHidden value:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer NoDriveTypeAutoRun [REG_DWORD, value: 00000091]

Website Activity

One or more files with the name OPGDE.EXE interacts with the following web sites and pages. Web addresses have been deliberately modified to prevent unintentional use.

vfyte .com / xmfx / help1 .ra
TCP:127.0.0.1:1055 Port:17
Port 80 IP:221.1.204.243

Viruses could power devices

2009-04-07T07:58:00.001+05:30

A computer virus won’t help your laptop work — but a biological virus could. Tweaking their genes just so could engineer viruses for making the rechargeable lithium ion batteries that power devices such as laptops, iPods and cell phones, researchers report online April 2 in Science.

In previous research, the same team used viruses to construct the negative electrode, or anode, of the battery. In the new work, the researchers engineered viruses for the positive electrode, or cathode. When the two are put together, the virus batteries should perform better than traditional lithium ion batteries and also be environmentally friendly, the team reports.

“Because the viruses are living organisms, we had to use only water-based solvents, no high pressures and no high temperatures,” says Angela Belcher, a materials scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge and a study coauthor.

Lithium ion batteries store up and release electrical energy when lithium ions and electrons move between the anode and cathode. The cathode is often made of iron phosphate, a stable material that, when it reacts with lithium, has a high capacity to store energy. But it’s not a very good conductor. The movement of ions and electrons through the cathode is relatively slow, making the battery less efficient at releasing energy.

Ions and electrons can move through smaller particles more quickly. But fabricating nano-sized particles of iron phosphate is a difficult and expensive process, the researchers say.

So Belcher’s team let the virus do the work. By manipulating a gene of the M13 virus to make the viruses coat themselves in iron phosphate, the researchers created very small iron phosphate particles.

“We’re using a biological template that’s already on the nanoscale,” Belcher says.

Tweaking a second gene made one end of the virus bind to carbon nanotubes, which conduct energy well. The resulting network of iron phosphate-coated viruses and carbon nanotubes formed a highly conductive cathode, one that ions and electrons could move through quickly.

“This work is an exciting breakthrough,” comments battery chemist Kang Xu of the U.S. Army Research Laboratory in Adelphi, Md. “Belcher is the first to use viruses as a nano-template to assemble materials.”

Using different cathode materials could make the future batteries even better, Belcher says. “This paper proved that the concept works.”

HTC Touch Viva

2009-04-07T07:47:00.002+05:30

Brand / Type
Brand	HTC
Type	Touch Viva
Form factor	Candybar
Color	Grey
Network
Phone Network	EDGE, GPRS, GSM
Service	850, 900, 1800, 1900
Connectivity
Bluetooth	v2.0 with A2DP
Infrared	No
Wi-Fi (WLAN)	Yes
USB	Yes
Fax / Data	N/A
Display
Main display	Color TFT touchscreen
Color display	65000 colors
Dimensions	2.8 in.
Resolution	240 x 320 pixels
External display	Yes
Memory
Internal memory	256MB
External memory	Yes
Memory slots	Yes
Storage types	MicroSD
Basic
Battery	Standard battery, Li-Ion 1100 mAh
Standby time	270 hours
Talk time	8 hours
Calling
Vibrate alert	Yes
Photo ID	Yes
Ringtones	MP3, Polyfone
Camera
Camera	Yes
Megapixels	2.0 megapixels
Maximum photo resolution	1600x1200 pixels
Digital zoom	Unknown x
Optical zoom	Unknown x
Auto focus	N/A
Flash	N/A
Recording video	Yes
Second (front) camera	No
Messaging
SMS	Yes
MMS	Yes
T9 text function	Yes
E-mail	Yes
Internet browsing	Yes
Entertainment
FM radio	No
Java	Yes
Audio player	AAC, MP3
Video player	No
Features
Add ringtones	Yes
Organiser	Pocket Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF viewer), Voice memo
Video call	Yes
Other features	Built-in handsfree, Games, Video/audio album
Format
Weight	3.9 oz.
Dimensions (H x W x D)	4.1x2.3x0.6 in.

Nokia 5800 Xpress Music

2009-02-25T14:57:00.002+05:30

Size

Form: Classic with full touch user interface
Dimensions: 4.37 x 2.04 x 0.61 in
Weight: 3.84 oz
Touch user interface optimized for one-hand use with tactile feedback

Display and 3D

Main display
- Size: 3.2″
- Resolution: 640 x 360 pixels (nHD)
- Up to 16 million colors
- aspect ratio 16:9
- automatic orientation sensor (Accelerometer) for display rotation
3D image engine

Keys and input method

Stylus, plectrum and finger touch support for text input and user interface control (alphanumeric keypad, full and mini qwerty keyboard, handwriting recognition
Dedicated Media Bar touch key for access to music, gallery, share on-line, Video Center and web browser
Voice commands
Physical keys for application launch key (menu key), send & end, power, camera, lock, volume up & down

Colors and covers

Available in-box colors:
- Black
Available colors may vary by country.

Connectors

Micro-USB connector, USB 2.0 High Speed
3.5 mm Nokia AV connector
MicroSD card slot, small DC jack, Micro USB cable interface to PC (CA-101), TV out interface (CA-75U)

Power

BL-5J 1320 mAh Li-Ion battery
Talk time (maximum):
- GSM up to 8.8 hr
- WCDMA up to 5 hr
Standby time (maximum):
- GSM up to 16.75 days
- WCDMA up to 16.7 days
Browsing time with packet data (maximum): up to 3.4 hr
Video playback time (maximum): up to 5.2 hr, Video playback time (maximum, nHD/Mpeg4)up to 3.4 hr, VGA video playback using TV-Out with Stereo BT Headset up to 3.8 hr
Video recording time (maximum): up to 3.6 hr
Video call time (maximum):up to 3 hr
Music playback time (maximum): up to 1.5 days
Gaming time (maximum): up to 5.6 hr

Battery times are estimates only and depend on network configuration, signal strength, features used, battery age and condition, charging practices, temperatures to which battery is exposed, whether use is in digital mode (or analog mode, if any), and many other factors. The amount of time a phone is used for calls will affect its standby time. Likewise, the amount of time that the phone is turned on and in standby mode will affect its talk time.

Memory

MicroSD memory card slot, hot swappable, max. 16 GB
81 MB internal memory
8GB microSD memory card in-box

Operating frequency

WCDMA 900/2100 MHz
GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
Automatic switching between GSM bands
Flight mode

Data network

CSD
HSCSD
GPRS/EDGE class B, multislot class 32, maximum speed 296/177 kbps (DL/UL)
WCDMA 2100/900 MHz with simultaneous voice and packet data, maximum speed PS 384/384 kbps (UL/DL), CS maximum speed 64 kbps
HSDPA cat 6, maximum speed 3.6 Mbps (DL)
WLAN IEEE 802.11 b/g (3G version only)
TCP/IP support

Requires data service. Data services may not be available in all networks. Data transmission speeds may be as high as 3.6 Mbps, but may vary based upon network capabilities and other conditions. The establishment and continuation of a data connection depends on network availability, provider support and signal strength.

Local connectivity and synchronization

Bluetooth version 2.0*
- Bluetooth profiles: A2DP & AVRCP
MTP (Mobile Transfer Protocol) support
TV out with Nokia Video Connectivity Cable (CA-75U, in-box)
Support for PC synchronization with Nokia PC suite

*Bluetooth is a registered trademark of Bluetooth SIG, Inc.

Call features

Integrated hands-free speakerphone
Number screening for messaging and calls
Automatic answer with headset or car kit
Any key answer
Call waiting, call hold, call divert
Call timer
Logging of dialed, received and missed calls
Automatic redial
Speed dialing
Voice dialing: speaker independent dialing and voice commands (SIND)
Fixed dialing number support
Vibrating alert (internal), also with tactile feedback
Side volume keys
Mute/unmute
Contacts bar for 4 contacts with images and communication history (SMS, IM, email, web feeds)
Talking ring tones
Conference calling with up to 6 participants
(when supported by service provider)

Messaging

SMS
Multiple SMS deletion
MMS version 1.3, message size up to 600 kb
Automatic resizing of images for MMS
Nokia Xpress audio messagingM
(requires a service plan including data services)
Common inbox for SMS and MMS messages
Number screening for messaging
Distribution lists for messaging
Instant messaging client
Cell broadcast
Only devices that offer compatible multimedia message or e-mail features can receive and display multimedia messages. Content appearance may vary. Some images and ring tones can not be forwarded.

E-mail

Supported protocols: IMAP, POP, SMTP
Support for e-mail attachments
OMA e-mail notification support
Mail for Exchange 2008 in DL client, in 2009 embedded
Requires a service plan including data services

Web browsing

Supported markup languages: HTML, XHTML, WML
Supported protocols: HTTP, WAP, JavaScript
TCP/IP support
OSS browser
Nokia Mobile Search
Requires a service plan including data services

GPS and navigation

Integrated GPS for pedestrian and car navigation
Nokia Maps 2.0 Touch application
The availability and accuracy of GPS location services are dependent on wireless networks, satellite systems. It may not function in all areas or at all times. You should never rely solely on GPS products for essential communications like emergencies. May require a service plan including data services.

Photography

3.2 megapixel camera (2048 x 1536 pixels)
Image formats: JPEG
Carl Zeiss optics
3x digital zoom
Autofocus
Dual LED flash
Flash modes: On, off, automatic, red-eye reduction
White balance modes: automatic, sunny, cloudy, incandescent, fluorescent
Centre weighted auto exposure; exposure compensation: +2 ~ -2EV at 0.5 step
Normal, Sepia, Black&White, Vivid, Negative
Dedicated camera key
Landscape (horizontal) orientation
Photo editor on device
Direct printing to compatible picture printers

Video

Main camera
Video recording at up to 640 x 480 pixels and up to 30 fps (TV high quality), up to 640 x 352 pixels and up to 30 fps (widescreen quality), up to 320 x 240 pixels and up to 30 fps/15 fps (email high/normal quality), up to 176 x 144 and up to 15 fps (sharing quality)
- Up to 4x digital video zoom
Video recording file formats: .mp4, .3gp
Audio recording formats: WAV (normal), AMR (MMS), AAC/MP4 (high quality)
Video white balance modes: automatic, sunny, cloudy, incandescent, fluorescent
Scene modes: automatic, night
Color tone modes: normal, sepia, black & white, vivid, negative
Clip length (maximum): up to 1 hr 30 min (high or normal quality). Dependable on available memory.
RealPlayer
Video playback file formats: MPEG4-SP playback 30fps VGA, MPEG4-AVC playback 30fps QVGA, WMV9 playback 30fps QVGA, MPEG4-SP playback 30 fps nHD
Video streaming: 3GPP and CIF
Landscape mode video playback
Video editor on device
Video Center service supported: download and stream video content, WMV support, video feeds

Music and audio playback

Nokia Nseries digital music player
- Playlists
- 8-band graphic equalizer
- selection by artist, composers, album and genre
album graphics display and audio visualizations
bass booster, stereo widening, loudness
Music playback file formats: .mp3, SpMidi, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA
Dedicated volume keys & immediate access to Music Player from Media Bar, dedicated music keys in the headset control unit AD-54
Stereo FM radio (requires wired headset to be attached)
3.5 mm Nokia AV connector
Music Player
Nokia Music Manager
Ring tones: 3D stereo ring tones, 64-tone polyphonic, mp3 & video ring tones (3 videos and 9 mp3 songs built-in)
Integrated stereo speakers with surround sound (crystal clear hi-fi sound quality with dedicated audio chip)

Voice and audio recording

Voice commands
Speaker-independent name dialing (SIND)
Voice recorder
AMR, NB-AMR, FR, EFR
Digital stereo microphone

Personalization: profiles, themes, ring tones

Customizable profiles
Ring tones: 3D stereo ring tones, 64-tone polyphonic, mp3 & video ring tones
Themes

Fix Generic Host For Win32 and Svchost.exe Error

2009-02-19T05:59:00.001+05:30

we no longer have to worry about those so-called "Generic Host for Win32 Process" and "svchost.exe" errors that haunt our windows xp almost daily (If not cured). Below i will explain what are the symptoms of this evil problem and how easily it can be fixed:

Symptoms:

You are surfing the internet or are engaged any type of Internet activity when suddenly all your Network activity goes to hault. You can still see the Internet connected icon in the tray but you cannot surf, browse or do anything.
You get an error message something like "Generic Host Process for Win32 Services has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience."
Error message reporting about faulting netapi32.dll and svchost.exe.
You try to disconnect your Internet because of no activity observed but the Internet icon wont disappear.
You recieve an error message something like "Your PC has recovered from a serious problem" etc.

Solution:

Follow these simple steps and your Windows will be fully cured of this menace

Close Port 445:

1. Start Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) by clicking Start menu, and then click the Run icon.
2. In the small box that Opens, type: regedit then click the OK button. The Registry Editor will now have opened.
3. Locate the following key in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESystemCurrentControlSetServicesNetBTParameters
In the right-hand side of the window find an option called TransportBindName.
Double click that value, and then delete the default value, thus giving it a blank value.

Close Port 135:

1. Then you must now navigate to the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftOLE
2. You will see there is a String Value called: EnableDCOM
Set the value to: N (it should currently be Y)
3. Close the Registry Editor. Shutdown and Restart your computer.

Well thats all..........

Heal The World.....MJ

2009-02-03T06:20:00.003+05:30

spoken:
Think about the generations and to say we want to make it a better
world for our children and our children's children. So that they know
it's a better world for them; and think if they can make it a better
place.

There's a place in your heart
And I know that it is love
And this place could be much
Brighter than tomorrow.
And if you really try
You'll find there's no need to cry
In this place you'll feel
There's no hurt or sorrow.
There are ways to get there
If you care enough for the living
Make a little space, make a better place.

Chorus:
Heal the world
Make it a better place
For you and for me and the entire human race
There are people dying
If you care enough for the living
Make a better place for
You and for me.

If you want to know why
There's a love that cannot lie
Love is strong
It only cares for joyful giving.
If we try we shall see
In this bliss we cannot feel
Fear or dread
We stop existing and start living
Then it feels that always
Love's enough for us growing
Make a better world, make a better world.

Chorus:
Heal the world
Make it a better place
For you and for me and the entire human race.
There are people dying
If you care enough for the living
Make a better place for
You and for me.

Bridge:
And the dream we would conceived in
Will reveal a joyful face
And the world we once believed in
Will shine again in grace
Then why do we keep strangling life
Wound this earth, crucify it's soul
Though it's plain to see, this world is heavenly
Be God's glow.

We could fly so high
Let our spirits never die
In my heart I feel
You are all my brothers
Create a world with no fear
Together we'll cry happy tears
See the nations turn
Their swords into plowshares
We could really get there
If you cared enough for the living
Make a little space to make a better place.

Chorus:
Heal the world
Make it a better place
For you and for me and the entire human race
There are people dying
If you care enough for the living
Make a better place for
You and for me.

Refrain (2x)

There are people dying if you care enough for the living
Make a better place for you and for me.
There are people dying if you care enough for the living
Make a better place for you and for me.

You and for me / Make a better place
You and for me / Make a better place
You and for me / Make a better place
You and for me / Heal the world we live in
You and for me / Save it for our children
You and for me / Heal the world we live in
You and for me / Save it for our children

Endless Summer Night

2009-02-03T06:20:00.001+05:30

Summer came and left without a warning
All at once I looked and you were gone
And now you're looking back at me
Searching for a way that we can be like we were before

Now Im back to what I knew before you
Somehow the city doesnt look the same
I'd give my life for one more night
Of having you here to hold me tight
oh, please
Take me there again
Oh,

And I remember how you loved me
Time was all we had until the day we said goodbye
I remember every moment of those
endless summer nights

I still recall the walks along the beaches
And the way your hair would glisten in
the sun
Rising in the afternoon
Making love to you under the moon

Do you remember all the nights we spent in silence
Every single breath you took was mine
We can have it all again
Say that you'll be with me when the sun brings your heart to mine
Oh

Theres only so much I can say
So please dont run away from what we have together
Its onl you and me tonight
So lets stay lost in flight
Oh wont you please surrender

Dangerous-MJ Lyrics

2009-02-03T06:19:00.001+05:30

The way she came into the palce
I knew right then and there
There was something different
About this girl

The way she moved
Her hair, her face, her lines
Divinity in motion

As she stalked the room
I could feel the aura
Of her presence
Every head turned
Feeling passion and lust

The girl was persuasive
The girl I could not trust
The girl was bad
The girl was dangerous

I never knew but I was
Walking the line
Come go with me
I said I have no time
She said don't you pretend we didn't
Talk on the phone
My baby cried
And left me standing alone

She's so dangerous
The girl is dangerous
Take away my money
Throw away my time
You can call me honey
But you're no damn good for me

She came at me in sections
With the eyes of desire
I fell trapped into her
Web of sin
A touch, a kiss
A whisper of lvoe
I was at the point
Of no return

Deep in the darkness of
Passion's insanity
I felt taken by lust's
Strange inhumanity
This girl was persuasive
This girl I could not trust
The girl was bad
The girl was dangerous

I never knew
But I was living in vain
She called my house
And said you know my name
And don't you pretend
You never did me before
With tears in her eyes
My baby walked out the door

She's so dangerous
The girl is so dangerous
Take away my money
Throw away my time
You can call me honey
But you're no damn good for me
Dangerous
The girl is so dangerous
I have to pray to God
'Cause I know how
Lust can blind
It's a passion in my soul
But you're no damn lover
Friend of mine

And then it happened
She touched me
For the lips of
A strange woman
Drop as a honeycomb
And her mouth was
Smoother than oil
But her inner spirit and words
Were as sharp as
A two-edged sword
But I loved it
'Cause it's dangerous

I cannot sleep alone tonight
My baby left me here tonight
I cannot cope 'til it's all right
You and your manipulation
You hurt my baby

She's so dsngerous
The girl is so dangerous
Take away my money
Throw away my time
You can call me honey
but you're no damn good for me

Dangerous
The girl is so dangerous
Take away my money
Throw away my time
You can call me honey
But you're no damn good for me

Dangerous
The girl is so dangerous
I have to pray to God
Cause I know how
Lust can blind
It's a passion in my soul
But you're no damn lover
Friend of mine

As Long As You Love Me lyrics

2009-02-03T06:18:00.000+05:30

Title: Backstreet Boys - As Long As You Love Me lyrics
Artist: Backstreet Boys Lyrics

Although loneliness has always been a friend of mine
I'm leaving my life in your hands
People say I'm crazy and that I am blind
Risking it all in a glance
And how you got me blind is still a mystery
I can't get you out of my head
Don't care what is written in your history
As long as you're here with me

Chorus:
I don't care who you are
Where you're from
What you did
As long as you love me
Who you are
Where you're from
Don't care what you did
As long as you love me

Every little thing that you have said and done
Feels like it's deep within me
Doesn't really matter if you're on the run
It seems like we're meant to be

Chorus

Bridge:
I've tried to hide it so that no one knows
But I guess it shows
When you look into my eyes
What you did and where you are comin' from
I don't care, as long as you love me, baby.

Chorus

Who you are
Where you're from
Don't care what you did
As long as you love me
(Repeat to fade)

multiple login in firefox

2009-02-03T06:16:00.002+05:30

100% working
step 1: open system properties(by right clicking my computer), choose tab advanced, click to environment variables button. in system variables section, click new. type this information to each textbox.

variable name: moz_no_remote(should be all small letter)

variable value: 1

press ok to close all windows.

step 2: open firefox icon's properties(from desktop and quick launch). add extension -p to command line(like "c:\program files\mozilla firefox\firefox.exe" -p). press ok.

¦¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦

while starting Firefox u have to create two separate profiles of Firefox so that u can login to two accounts of any(orkut,yahoo,rediff or anything else).......
for three logins create three profiles of Firefox.........

Multiple Login in yahoo

2009-02-03T06:16:00.001+05:30

You can login with multiple id's on the same yahoo messenger without any download or patch .
Follow these steps
1. Go to Start ----> Run . Type regedit, then enter .

2.Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER --------> Software --->yahoo ----->pager---->Test

3.On the right pane , right-click and choose new Dword value .

4.Rename it as Plural.

5.Double click and assign a decimal value of 1.

That's it done!!
Now close registry and restart yahoo messenger .For signing in with new id open another messenger .

INTERNET EXPLORER LIGHTING-FAST STARTUP

2009-02-03T06:10:00.000+05:30

Isn't it annoying when you want to go to a new website, or any other site but your homepage, and you have to wait for your 'home' to load? This tweak tells Internet Explorer to simply 'run', without loading any webpages. (If you use a 'blank' page, that is still a page, and slows access. Notice the 'about:blank' in the address bar. The blank html page must still be loaded..). To load IE with 'nothing' [nothing is different than blank]:
1. Right-click on any shortcut you have to IE
[You should create a shortcut out of your desktop IE icon, and delete the original icon]
2. Click Properties
3. Add ' -nohome' [with a space before the dash] after the endquotes in the Target field.
4. Click OK
Fire up IE from your modified shortcut, and be amazed by how fast you are able to use IE

Make Ur Firefox 10x faster

2009-02-03T06:09:00.001+05:30

how to speed up your firefox 10x faster?

1. Type "about:config" into the address bar and hit enter. Scroll down and look for the following entries:

2. Alter the entries as follows:

Set "network.http.pipelining" to "true"
Set "network.http.proxy.pipelining" to "true"

set "network.http.pipelining.maxrequests" to some number like 30. This means it will make 30 requests at once.

3. Lastly right-click anywhere and select New-> Integer. Name it "nglayout.initialpaint.delay" and set its value to "0". This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it receives.

N99

2008-12-28T04:07:00.000+05:30

Product Description Specifications:
Model: N99
Band: Dual-band, GSM 900 / 1800 MHz
Screen: Resolution: 240 * 320
2.6" Touchscreen LCD / 260K colors TFT
Features: Dual Sim Card & two call standby
Weight: 120g
Dimensions: 106.5 * 51 * 16
Battery: 1150 mAH Li-Battery for EXTRA-LONG battery life
Talk Time: 8 Hours
Standby Time: 400 Hours
Video Camera
Camera: 2 MP camera on back side
Ring tones: 64 bit
Supports Bluetooth
Dual Speakers with 3D sound

Features:
MP3 (mp3, AAc, WAV, AMR, MIDI, & IMDY formats)
MP4
WAP 2.0 (web browsing)
SMS (text messaging)
MMS (multimedia message servicing - send picture, voice, & text messages)
Memory: 256 mb

Supports maximum 2 GB T-flash card
Phone book (stores up to 400 numbers)
Incoming call options (set specific rings, photos, or even videos for individual callers)
Assign MP3 files as ring tones
Languages: English & Chinese (English standard) and other languages.
Call waiting
Voicemail
Pre-loaded games
Calculator
World clock
Unit conversion
Exchange rate conversion
Calendar
Health management function
Memo / To do list
Alarm
Voice Recording
Image Viewer
File management
Key stroke recognition & keyboard input

Package includes:
GSM Dual-Band Cell/Mobile Phone
Lithium Batteries (2 pieces 1800mAh)
Power Adaptor
USB DataCable
256mb TF card (Installed in the phone)
Handwriting Stylus
Earphone
Manual

N98

2008-12-28T04:06:00.001+05:30

Here are the made up specs for this made up phone:

7.2 mega pixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens
5x optical zoom (20x with digital)
3.5″ inch touch screen
integrated GPS receiver
integrated TNT receiver (Télévision Numérique Terrestre - this is what French call digitally broadcast TV channels)
Symbian S70 3rd edition
3D graphics accelerator
bluetooth
Wi-Fi (b,g,n)
HSDPA
video recording at 720×576 and 30fps
Multimedia support

5x optical zoom made us laugh the hardest. It is not mentioned in this list but I’m sure the N98 will be able to handle microSD cards and have a battery that lasts 12 hours on a single charge.

N97

2008-12-28T04:03:00.003+05:30

New N-96 From Nokia Family

2008-09-10T07:27:00.002+05:30

Specifications
Turn on to great mobile entertainment.
video & TV
Immerse yourself in entertainment, watching news, sports, comedy or even live TV. Connect with ease to new video content and services.
music
Enjoy your favorite music tracks with superb sound. Control playback with the easy-to-use media keys. Discover new tunes with podcasts, FM Radio and Internet Radio.
maps
Discover and explore your surroundings, with Nokia Maps as your companion. Search and find addresses and local points of interest. Upgrade to voice-guided car and turn-by-turn pedestrian navigation.
photos
Take great pictures on the go. Share your moments with your friends online. Add a new dimension to your photography by tagging pictures with capture location.
internet
Connect to a world of information. Search and browse on the go. Connect with up to 3.5G speed, or find available hotspots. Get the latest news via RSS or the full web browser.
Technical specifications
Expand all Collapse all
General
General
Operating Frequency
• WCDMA2100/900 (HSDPA) / EGSM900, GSM850/1800/1900 MHz (EGPRS)
• Automatic switching between bands and modes
• DVB-H Class C, 470-750 MHz

Dimensions
• Volume: 92 cc
• Weight: 125 g
• Length: 103 mm
• Width: 55 mm
• Depth:18 mm, locally up to 20 mm

Memory Functions*
• 16GB internal flash memory, plus microSD memory card slot (hot swappable) for expandability and flexibility
• Approximate dynamic memory capacity indication with 16GB storage:
-Video: 40 hours**
-Music: 12,000 tracks***
• 128MB RAM, 256MB system memory (operating system plus dynamic user data area)

* Changes to product details are possible without prior notice. Application offering may vary. Dynamic memory means that the available memory is shared between dynamic memory functions. When any of these functions is used, there is less available memory for other functions which are also dependent on dynamic memory.
** Video capacity is based on H.264 768-kbps video at 320-by-240 resolution, combined with 96-kbps AAC audio. Music capacity is based on 3:45 min per track and 48 kbps eAAC+ encoding.
*** Capacity based on 3:45 per song with 48 kbps eAAC+ (M4A) encoding on the Nokia Audio Manager. Capacity with 128 kbps AAC encoding is up to [12,000] songs.

Power Management
• Battery: Nokia Battery BL-5F, 950 mAh
• Talk time: up to 150 / 220 minutes (WCDMA / GSM)
• Stand-by time: up to 200 / 220 hours (WCDMA / GSM)
• Video playback: up to 5 hours (offline mode)
• Music playback: up to 14 hours (offline mode)
• TV playback: up to 4 hours (DVB-H)

*Operation times may vary depending on radio access technology used, operator network configuration and usage.

Display and User Interface
• 2.8” QVGA (240 x 320 pixels) LCD TFT display with up to 16 million colors
• User Interface: S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 2
• Active standby screen, Multimedia menu

Data Transfer*
• WCDMA HSDPA 900/2100 MHz with simultaneous voice and packet data (PS max speed DL/UL= 3.6Mbps/384kbps, CS max speed 64kbps)
• Dual Transfer Mode (DTM) support for simultaneous voice and packet data connection in GSM/EDGE networks. Simple class A, multi slot class 11, max speed DL/UL: 177.6/118.4kbps
• EGPRS class B, multi slot class 32, max speed DL/UL= 296/177.6kbps
• GPRS class B, multi slot class 32, max speed DL/UL= 107/64.2kbps

* Actual achieved speeds may vary depending on network support.

Video
Video
Video Center
• Video center: central hub for video experiences
• Access to last played video and easy resume
• My videos: collection of stored videos
• Access to Internet Videos, compatible with RSS feeds and video podcasts, with direct wireless updates and downloads
• Service catalog to discover new Internet Videos

Video Codecs and Formats
• MPEG-4 Part 2 (H.263/SP), up to VGA 30 fps, hardware-accelerated codec, scaled to max QVGA on device screen, or max SDTV on TV-out
• MPEG-4 Part 10 (H.264/AVC), up to VGA 30 fps, hardware-accelerated codec, scaled to max QVGA on device screen, or SDTV on TV-out
• Windows Media Video (WMV9), up to CIF/QVGA 30 fps, hardware-accelerated codec, scaled to max QVGA on device screen, or SDTV on TV-out
• RealVideo QCIF at 30 fps
• Flash video support in browser
• DRM support: OMA DRM 1, OMA DRM 2, WM DRM

Live TV
• Broadcast Television (DVB-H) capable
-DVB-H based mobile TV with internal antenna
-DVB-H Class C, 470-750 MHz

Browser-based video access
• Support for download, streaming and progressive download
• Support for Flash video

Music
Music
Music Features*
• Digital music player – supports MP3, AAC, eAAC+, WMA, album art
• Playlist editing and sharing
• Equalizer and visualization
• Search, browse and purchase songs online in Nokia Music Store – with support for Windows Media DRM protected files

* Nokia Music Store availability varies by country.
Radio*
• Stereo FM radio (87.5-108MHz, 76-90MHz) with support for RDS, Visual Radio™ and use of FM radio in offline mode
• Nokia Internet Radio

FED Displays

2008-07-05T08:09:00.000+05:30

FED means field emission display

A field emission display is a type of flat panel display using field emitting cathodes to bombard phosphor coatings as the light emissive medium.

Field emission displays are very similar to cathode ray tubes, however they are only a few millimeters thick. Instead of a single electron gun, a field emission display (FED) uses a large array of fine metal tips or carbon nanotubes (which are the most efficient electron emitters known), with many positioned behind each phosphor dot, to emit electrons through a process known as field emission. Because of emitter redundancy, FEDs do not display dead pixels like LCDs even if 20% of the emitters fail. Sony is researching FED because it is the flat-panel technology that comes closest to matching the picture of a CRT.

Like LCDs, FEDs are energy efficient and could provide a flat panel technology that features less power consumption than existing LCD and plasma display technologies. They can also be cheaper to make, as they have fewer total components. As of yet, however, there are no consumer production models available in the United States, although small demo panels have been produced.

A field emission display (FED) is a low power, flat cathode ray tube type display that uses a matrix-addressed cold cathode to produce light from a screen coated with phosphor materials. The principle of the field emission display is similar to that of the traditional cathode ray tube display. Field emission displays, like cathode ray tubes, display a color image by emitting light of a predetermined color through the bombardment of electrons onto a field emitter array (FEA) coated with phosphor. They both emit electrons to hit the fluorescent medium on a substrate in vacuum. Electron emission includes field electron emission, secondary electron emission, and photoelectric emission, as well as thermionic emission. A cold cathode is the cathode that performs electron emission by field electron emission, which occurs due to a tunnel effect when a strong electric field is applied to the vicinity of the surface of a substance to lower the potential barrier on the surface. The cathode ray tube display emits electron beams by a single electron gun and controls the direction of the electron beams by using a polarization plate. Instead, the field emission display is composed of hundreds of thousands of active cold emitters, each of which corresponds to a pixel independently, so no polarization plate is needed. Field emission displays (FEDs) apply a strong electric field from a gate to a field emitter disposed on a cathode layer at regular intervals, thereby emitting electrons from the field emitter, colliding the electrons with a phosphor material of an anode layer, and emitting .light The cold cathode electron source is broadly divided into a field emission electron source and a hot electron type electron source. The former includes a spindt type electron source, a surface conduction type electron source and a carbon nanotube type electron source. The latter includes an MIM (metal-insulator-metal) type electron source stacked with metal-insulator-metal and an MIS (metal-insulator-semiconductor) type electron source stacked with metal-insulator-semiconductor. When displaying an image in the field emission display, a driving method called a line sequential scanning scheme is used standardly. Display in each of the frames is performed for each scan line (horizontally). All the cold cathode electron sources corresponding to the number of data lines on the same scan line are operated at the same time.

Field emission display (FED) technology has been proposed as a display technology that enjoys the advantages of allowing for wide viewing angles as well as being thin and light weight. The field emission display has the advantage of high image quality found with the conventional cathode ray tube display. Also, the field emission display has advantages of high yield, fast reacting time, good performance in displaying coordination, having high brightness, light and thin structure, wide range of color temperature, high mobile efficiency, excellent distinguishability of tilted direction, etc. in comparison with the conventional liquid crystal display that has the disadvantages of blurred view angle, limited range of usable temperature, and slow reacting time. Moreover, the field emission display emits light spontaneously. Field emission display has not only soft picture, rapid reaction, and clear brightness like CRT, but also possesses characteristics of lightness of flat display and low performance consumption. FED has advantages of light weight and thin profile, like liquid crystal display (LCD), and advantages of high brightness and self luminescence, like cathode ray tube (CRT). The image quality of the field-emission display is similar to that of the conventional cathode ray tube (CRT) display, while the dimension of the field-emission display is much thinner and lighter compared to the cathode ray tube display. Being self-illuminant, field emission display does not require a back light source like the liquid crystal display. In addition to the better brightness, the viewing angle is broader, power consumption is lower, response speed is faster, and the operation temperature range is larger. Through the construction of a high efficiency fluorescent film, the field emission display provides outstanding brightness performance even outdoors so it is thought as a quite competitive display panel and is even likely to replace the liquid crystal display. Field emission devices are used in a number of different applications, including displays, e-beam lithography, chemical analysis and space propulsion.

Nokia introduces four new handsets under Supernova series

2008-06-29T07:55:00.000+05:30

Nokia has unveiled its Supernova series with four new models namely 7210, 7310, 7510 and 7610 targeting the fashion conscious people.

There are a total of 4 phones announced at the moment, the 7210, 7310, 7510, and 7610. The 7210 and 7310 are candybars, the 7510 a flip phone and the 7610 is a slider.

The 7210 is a tri-band GSM phone with EDGE, along with a 2 megapixel camera and FM radio, set to launch in Q3 for around $189.

The 7310 is much like the 7210, but supports Nokia's Xpress-On faceplates, TV-out as well as support for GSM 850. These additional features add another $55 to the cost of the phone, which surprisingly, is available now.

The 7510 sports the ever-popular flip design, and will have similar specs to the 7310, and is scheduled for Q4 at around $283 and in colors such as “Fatal Red”.

And last, but certainly not least, the 7610 features a slider design, along with a juicy 3.2 megapixel camera, and is scheduled for next quarter at $354.

Intel's new Atom processor

2008-06-15T08:37:00.001+05:30

Intel have announced the Intel Atom processor - a new family of low-power processors designed specifically for mobile Internet devices (MIDs) and a new class of simple and affordable Internet-centric computers arriving later this year. The company also announced the Intel Centrino Atom processor technology for MID platforms, consisting of multiple chips that enable the best Internet experience in a pocketable device.

The Intel Atom processor is based on an entirely new micro-architecture designed specifically for small devices and low power, while maintaining the Intel Core 2 Duo instruction set compatibility consumers are accustomed to when using a standard PC and the Internet. The design also includes support for multiple threads for better performance and increased system responsiveness. All of this on a chip that measures less than 25 mm², making it Intel’s smallest and lowest power processor yet. These new chips, previously codenamed Silverthorne and Diamondville, will be manufactured in Intel’s 45nm process with hi-k metal gate technology. The chips have a thermal design power (TDP) specification in 0.6-2.5 watt range and scale to 1.8GHz speeds depending on customer need. By comparison, today’s mainstream mobile Core 2 Duo processors have a TDP in the 35-watt range. The Intel Centrino Atom processor technology, formerly codenamed “Menlow,” includes the Intel Atom processor, a low-power companion chip with integrated graphics, a wireless radio, and thinner and lighter designs.

In addition to the MID opportunity, Intel believes the demand for a new category of low-cost, Internet-centric mobile computing devices dubbed “netbooks” and basic Internet-centric desktop PCs dubbed “nettops,” will grow substantially over the next several years and the Intel Atom processor is designed to meet the needs of these new market segments. Intel said the Intel Atom processor also has potential for future revenue opportunities in consumer electronic devices, embedded applications and thin clients.

for more info plz visit INTEL

HTC P3350 Touchscreen Phone Launched in India

2008-06-14T07:48:00.001+05:30

HTC Corporation has launched P3350 phone in India. HTC P3350 features an in-built FM radio, and is capable of downloading music and audio-visual content. Equipped with an audio manager and an audio booster with a 10-band equalizer range, the phone has an additional 128MB flash memory.
The phone also supports high-speed WLAN 802.11b/g, quadband, GPRS, EDGE and Bluetooth v2.0. Running on a Windows Mobile 6.0 platform, HTC P3350 provides an ideal balance of performance and energy saving with TI OMAP, says the company. Along with 2.0 megapixel CMOS camera and a 2.8 inch QVGA display screen, P3350 has a 360-degree scroll wheel and 8-way touch pointer.

Ajay Sharma, country manager, HTC India, said, "The launch of the HTC P3350 is line with our efforts of offering a device that combines and supports data capabilities along with a platform to provide and support music and entertainment experience for users while on the move. We are positive that this device will be a big hit among music enthusiasts."

HTC P3350 also comes with a 128MB built-in ROM and 64MB RAM memory with persistent storage. This PDA phone is equipped with Microsoft Office programmes like Outlook Mobile, Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, PowerPoint Mobile, IE Mobile, DirectPush and Windows Media Player 10 Mobile. In addition, users can also have access to Adobe Reader (PDF), Activesync, Comm Manager, Internet sharing, Network Wizard, Audio Manager and Audio Booster or communicate with their peers through Pocket MSN. The device also includes Sprite Backup and GPRS Monitor.

HTC P3350 is available at all authorised resellers at a market operating price Rs 18,490.

Phone specification


Brand	HTC
Type	P3350
Form factor	Slide
Color	Silver

Phone Network	EDGE, GPRS, GSM
Service	850, 900, 1800, 1900

Bluetooth	Yes
Infrared	No
Wi-Fi (WLAN)	No
USB	Yes
Fax / Data	No

Main display	Color TFT
Color display	65.536 colors
Dimensions	N/A
Resolution	240x320 pixels
External display	No

Internal memory	64MB
External memory	Yes
Memory slots	1
Storage types	MicroSD

Battery	Lithium Ion 1200 mAh
Standby time	200 hours
Talk time	4 hours

Vibrate alert	Yes
Photo ID	No
Ringtones	MP3, Polyfone

Camera	Yes
Megapixels	2.0 megapixels
Maximum photo resolution	1600x1200 pixels
Digital zoom	No
Optical zoom	No
Auto focus	No
Flash	No
Recording video	Yes
Second (front) camera	No

SMS	Yes
MMS	Yes
T9 text function	Yes
E-mail	Yes
Internet browsing	Yes

FM radio	No
Java	Yes
Audio player	AAC, MP3
Video player	Yes
Features
Add ringtones	Yes
Organiser	Calculator, Calendar, Reminders, Currency convertor, Document viewer
Video call	No
Other features	Built in hands free, Voice dial, Voice memo

Weight	4.6 oz.
Dimensions (H x W x D)	4.3x2.3x0.7 in.

Hearing loss danger with iPods!!!

2008-06-13T19:22:00.000+05:30

The massive popularity of iPods and other portable music players could mean many more people will develop hearing loss, according to experts.

If the volume through headphones is too high, there is a real risk of permanent damage to hearing, they say.

Sydney's National Acoustic Laboratories found a quarter of personal music system users in a random sample listened to music at dangerous volumes.

Millions of people now own MP3 players and Apple has sold more than 20 million iPods.

A recent study by the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) found 39% of 18 to 24-year-olds listened to personal music players for at least an hour every day and 42% admitted they thought they had the volume too high, according to the BBC News website.

The RNID regards 80 decibels as the level at which hearing is threatened - 20 less than a pneumatic drill.

Some MP3 players can reach 105 decibels. EU iPods have a sound limiter to comply with noise safety levels; however, sometimes users hack through this in order to listen to it louder.

The RNID said it was possible that any rise in popularity of personal music players might lead to more cases of hearing loss in the future.

Graham Frost, chairman of the British Society of Audiology, said the risk of damage increased with noise level and duration of use of personal music systems.

He said it could take months or years for that become apparent to the individual.

Enhancer v0.17...Take control of ur sound

2008-06-12T13:18:00.004+05:30

This program is designed to make the audition more enjoyable by compensating the lack of fidelity in an usual audio system connected to the PC. If you have a very good audio system, most of the times this program will make it sound even better.(thanks to the creator)
If you want it to function at its maximum capacity, you will need at least a Pentium 233 or an equivalent processor (for all it's features in stereo mode) and, of course, Winamp 2.xx or another program that supports winamp dsp plugins.
As far im considered this the most effective winamp dsp plugin with extreme quality bass,treble,ambience(especially for home theatres).........with harmonic,drum bass controls........

Harmonic bass is a very deep bass. It is especially designed for large speakers (or good headphones). It is a large expansion of low frequencies as high harmonics have been previously added. You can even hear infrasound through these high harmonics. If there are some low frequencies, harmonic bass will make them hearable due to the high sound amplification followed by sound compression.
Drum bass reacts mostly to dynamic variation of the sound volume, especially on drums.
Ambience regulates the amount of reverberated sound. It is based on the Schroeder/Moorer reverb model.
click here to download enhancer(pasword : abhi)
click here to download enhancer skins

Kaspersky....Make Blacklist Key into Whitelilst, TESTED AND WORKING!!!

2008-06-12T09:00:00.001+05:30

Here is the Patch that make blacklist key into whitelist and you can also update regularly without problem !!

Here is instruction how use patch
Before applying the patch go to kaspersky-Settings-Service
and dissable Self-Defence option

2. Delete Any current key you install in kaspersky

3. Exit kaspersky by right click in the taskbar menu.

4. copy patch in to kapsersky lab folder C:\Program Files\Kaspersky Lab

5. Press Clean Button

6. Then click to Patch Kaspersky Internet security or Kaspersky Antivirus
(depends on what is the version you installed in your computer KIS or KAV)

7. Then exit the patch and Open kaspersky,enable self-defense option and apply a new key.

Thats all. It's doesn't Matter that key is blacklist or white list.........Enjoy !!

This patch makes all the blocked kaspersky licenses to working ,
from blacklist to whitelist,and it also protects them from blacklisting,
the "black.lst" file that is updated from kaspersky update will not be a problem anymore,

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

Gmail Rolls Out 13 New Features

2008-06-12T05:12:00.003+05:30

Gmail rocks and all of you knew it already, but even so, users always want to see more features from Google’s mail service. Regardless if we’re talking about folders or a different UI, people have always requested new functions. Because of that, Google has recently rolled out Gmail Labs, a special testing platform which incorporates test versions of the upcoming Gmail features which could be used by all users of the mail service.
"People often ask how we decide what to build next. It's usually a mix of factors, like how many users are asking for it (think delete button, vacation responder, and IMAP, among others), how useful we think it will be (think chat, conversation view, etc.) or how much fun it will be to work on (this is actually really important). We have all sorts of debates about each option, we weigh the pros and cons, and then some of the time we probably make the wrong decision," Keith Coleman, Product Manager, mentioned the reasons for implementing the new platform.

In other words, Gmail Labs is a testing platform designed by Google based on your feedback.If you and lots of other users request the same feature, Google designs it and integrates into Gmail Labs, in order to see what other people think about it. In case positive feedback is received, Google may bring the functionality in final version and upgrade it from Gmail Labs. "The idea behind Labs is that any engineer can go to lunch, come up with a cool idea, code it up, and ship it as a Labs feature," the Google official explains. "Labs is now out to all English users (US and UK), and administrators using Google Apps can choose to enable Labs by checking the ‘Turn on new features’ box in Domain Settings."

At this point, no less than 13 functions are available under the Gmail Lab link included in all Gmail accounts. All you need to do is to navigate to Settings and click on the last tab called Labs. Here you can find all the available experimental features. For instance, you can now choose new chat emoticons, mouse gestures for Gmail, custom keyboard shortcuts, custom date formats and many others. Obviously, the main goal of this testing platform is actually to get feedback, so feel free to send your opinion about the new features to Google.

Meet the First New Google Favicon in 8.5 Years

2008-06-12T04:50:00.002+05:30

In case you’ve accessed the Google website in the last few days, you have surely noticed that there’s a new favicon displayed in your browser once the website is

isfully loaded

Moreover, in case you have bookmarked the Google Search page, there’s a new "g" appearing next to the page title. Well, Google rolled out their first new favicon in the last 8.5 years and according to the company’s officials, creating such an icon is more difficult than it may sound.

"The design process we went through was rigorous and interesting, so we thought we would share more of it here. We tried in total more than 300 permutations. It was much harder than we thought at first. We wanted something distinctive and noticeable, so we aimed toward transparency or semi-transparency, so the image would have a more distinctive noticeable shape than just a block," Marissa Mayer, VP Search Products & User Experience, and Micheal Lopez, Web Designer, explained the design process of the new favicon.

"We wanted something that embraced the colorfulness of the logo, yet wouldn't date itself. Since we don't really have a symbol that means Google, we felt it best to work with the logo and letters within it."

Other icons which could be used as Google favicons

‘But what’s the reason for creating a new favicon?’ you may ask. According to the two Google officials, the need for such an icon was brought by the expansion of Google search, a search technology which is now available on multiple web platforms. "The reason is that we wanted to develop a set of icons that would scale better to some new platforms like the iPhone and other mobile devices," they explained.

However, it seems the Mountain View-based company might consider replacing the current favicon again, depending on consumer reaction and the results it may get after the design process. "By no means is the one you're seeing our favicon final; it was a first step to a more unified set of icons," the Google officials mentioned. In case you have your own favicon which could be used by Google, you are encouraged to send it to the company. "We'll do our best to work them in, and maybe your idea will be the one that people see billions of time per day."

Remove USB Viruses

2008-06-11T06:02:00.003+05:30

Since the development of USB Drive disk and memory cards,
new type of viruses emerges affecting mobile phones, mp4 players, mp3 players,
ipod devices and other similar gadgets. And when inserted on a PC, just by double clicking the USB drive, the virus is easily installed. Some of the leading
Antivirus detect it, but mostly are not, because this type of viruses are new and can easily be updated with a new variant. These viruses are programmed using Visual Basic Script, and AutoIt Program they install automatically and spreads automatically, until you realized that your PC is running slow, always restarting, and when a typical program is opened it's just automatically shuts down, registry are disabled as well as the taskbar manager, so you have no way of stopping the processes. The virus may steal some information about you, and even passwords.
Common viruses such as ’Ravmon’ , ‘New Folder.exe’, ‘Orkut is banned’ etc are spreading through USB drives Most anti virus programs are unable to detect them and even if they do, in most cases they are unable to delete the file, only quarantine it. Here are the things which you can do if you want to remove such viruses from your USB drives

Whenever you plug a USB drive in your system, a window will appear similar to the one shown below

Don’t click on Ok , just choose ‘Cancel’. Open the Command Prompt by typing ‘cmd‘ in the run box. In the command prompt type the drive letter: and press enter . Now type dir /w/a and press enter.

This will display a list of the files in the pendrive. Check whether the following files are there or not

Autorun.inf
Ravmon.exe
New Folder.exe
svchost.exe
Heap41a
or any other exe file which may be suspicious.

If any of the above files are there, then probably the USB drive is infected. In command prompt type attrib -r -a -s -h *.* and press enter. This will remove the Read Only, Archive, System and hidden file attribute from all the files. Now just delete the files using the command del filename. example del Ravmon.exe. Delete all the files that are suspicious. To be on a safer side, just scan the USB drive with an anti virus program to check whether it is free of virus or not. Now remove the drive and plug it again. In most of the cases, the real culprit turns out to be the “Autorun.inf” file which mostly gets executed when someone clicks Ok in the dialog window which appears above. Thus the infections can spread

Security Tip

Disable the Autoplay feature of USB drives. If you disable the Autoplay feature of USB drives, then there are lesser chances of the virus spreading. A tool which can perform such a function is Tweak UI. Download it from here install it.

Run the program. Now you can disable the Autoplay feature of the removable drives as shown above. By following the above steps, you can keep your USB drives clean. If there are any other methods which you use, then share it with me through comments.

How To Clean Your LCD Screen

2008-06-11T05:35:00.000+05:30

Flat Panel Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) Screens are now commonplace in the industry with the major computer companies shipping them to customers who purchase new computer systems. And as a result of the falling prices of these LCD Screens, Notebooks sales have been steadily increasing.below is a technical brief depicting how to properly clean and maintain your LCD Screen.

First of all Turn off the computer or display.

The major computer outlet stores are now starting to carry LCD cleaners for Flat Panel Monitors and Notebooks that do not contain the chemicals found in some commercial glass cleaners. These cleaners will definitely do the job nicely, but you do have to purchase them. If you do not wish to purchase these factory made cleaners, then you can clean your LCD Screen in the following manner.

You can use Water,Water with a tiny amount of soft liquid soap,Isopropyl Alcohol,Hexane,Petroleum Benzine,Commercial glass cleaners that do not contain ammonia.
Avoid using Acetone,Ammonia,Ethyl acid,Ethyl Alcohol,Methyl chloride,Toluene,Commercial glass cleaners containing ammonia.

You should clean your LCD Screen display by applying the cleaner to a soft, clean cloth. Then you should wipe the cloth across the display from left to right, moving from the top of the display down to the bottom of the display. If your display contains grease or some other contaminant, then you should dampen your cloth with water instead of a commercial cleaner as the cleaner may smear the contaminants across the screen.

General Maintenance: You should avoid subjecting your LCD Screen display to extreme temperatures and humidity and avoid exposures to direct sunlight. You should also avoid physical shocks to your display. If you have a notebook, then you should avoid stacking books or other objects upon the notebook with the screen closed etc.

Recover lost images from your digital camera memory card!!

2008-06-11T04:17:00.004+05:30

Runs on Windows 95 / 98 / Me / 2000 / NT / XP / Vista

Free Art Plus Digital Photo Recovery tool can help you recover lost images from corrupted or accidentally formatted digital camera memory cards.

Works with ALL types of memory cards!
It's able to recover images from formatted cards!
Reads corrupted cards (even if they're not recognized by Windows)!
Recovers JPG, TIF and most of RAW files!

Program should be able to read all memory cards currently available on the market and recover lost JPG, TIF and most of popular RAW file formats. While it's not optimized for that task, this program can actually also read damaged floppys, CDs and DVDs.

See What's New in version 3

As of release 3.0 Art Plus Digital Photo Recovery can recover several new RAW file formats so the list of supported file types now includes JPG, TIF, DNG, Canon CR2, Konica-Minolta MRW, Nikon NEF, Olympus ORF, Pentax PEF, Sony ARW, SRF and SR2 and still some other RAW formats that may not be fully supported but can also be restored but possibly with incorrect extension (saved as TIF).

Also, support for more complex recovery options has been added that may help in some cases of really physically damaged cards or at least speed up the process in case of really large cards (4 or more GB) or in case you're running the program on slower computer. In version 3.0 you can create the card image file (mirror) without parsing it right away to save time. You can parse the file to actually extract restored images later. If the program finds damaged areas on the card, you will be offered to abort or skip the damaged part. Earlier versions of the program would at that point simply stop and images beyond the damaged part were not accessible.

click here to download

Remove Orkut Virus

2008-06-11T04:15:00.000+05:30

Have you experienced the new ORKUT virus which is quite annoying ? It does not allow the words Orkut or youtube or Mozilla to be typed on the address bar of your IE window. The browser simply closes the first time. But from the second time, strange messages come with the violent laugh MUHAHAHAHAHA!...
I found the most convinient way of deleting this virus that i like to sharing with u...(I thank the anonymous author)
The virus travels through Flash-drives. The affected Flash or Pen-drive will have a new file, Microsoftpowerpoint.exe which when double-clicked spreads the virus. Therefore whenever you find such file, just don't open it, but delete it.
To remove the virus, first open the Task Manager, by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Delete.

if you are getting the message "Task Manager has been disabled by your Administrator" Do as follows....

Click Start and then click Run
Type gpedit.msc and click OK.
Now the Group Policy window opens.
Next, navigate as follows, by clicking on the + button:
User Configuration / Administrative Templates / System
Now click on the folder "Ctrl+Alt+Delete Options"
You will see on the right part of the window
Remove Task Manager
Double-click the "Remove Task Manager" option.
A new window opens. In this window, select "Not Configured" and click OK.
Now press Ctrl+Alt+Delete simultaneously. Your task manager opens.

If the Group Policy window (or gpedit.msc) is disabled...click here

After the Task Manager window opens, click on Processes and examine all the listed processes. There will be several svchost.exe files. Ignore them and focus on svchost.exe with username as your username. (Sometimes it may be administrator if you have not created a user name at all).

Note that there are several types of svchost.exe in Task manager. The task manager shows the files as follows:

svchost.exe SYSTEM
svchost.exe LOCAL SERVICE
svchost.exe NETWORK SERVICE ETC.

Suppose your user name is Rahul (Your user name is shown on Top, beside your Icon, when start button is pressed).
Then you will see an entry in Task manager as follows, only if your computer is affected by Orkut Virus:
svchost.exe Rahul

This svchost.exe file with KARTHIK will be the virus file or the duplicate file and this alone should be deleted. If you delete other svchost.exe files for system, network etc, your computer will crash and recovery is difficult.

1. Therefore, first close the virus process in Task manager. To do this, select the "svchost.exe Rahul" and click "End Process". This will end this virus functionality in Memory. (otherwise you cannot delete the file in step 2).
2. Then open Internet Explorer and type orkut in the explorer's address bar; and you will see nothing will happen.
3. Then to remove the virus permanently, go to system32 folder in windows and delete only "H svchost.exe" with icon H preceding the file. Don't delete other svchost.exe files as it would damage the Operating (boot) System.
4. Then press start button, click run and type regedit and click ok. Your registry will be opened.
5. Then press F3 and find dialogue box opens.
6. There type heap and search. Wherever it stops and gives any values corresponding to "Heap", just press delete button on key board and delete it.
7. Then Press F3 once again and so ... on, till you delete all heap folders and values.
8. Then restart the computer. Your MUHAHAHA virus is gone for ever !!!!

Multiple login in Firefox

2008-06-10T06:22:00.007+05:30

step 1: open system properties(by right clicking my computer), choose tab advanced, click to environment variables button. in system variables section, click new. type this information to each textbox.

variable name: moz_no_remote(should be all small letter)
variable value: 1
press ok to close all windows.

step 2: open firefox icon's properties(from desktop and quick launch). add extension -p to command line(like "c:\program files\mozilla firefox\firefox.exe" -p). press ok.

while starting Firefox u have to create two separate profiles of Firefox so that u can login to two accounts of any(orkut,yahoo,rediff or anything else).......
for three logins create three profiles of Firefox.........

Here comes mt9 format with 6 audio channels

2008-06-08T11:01:00.000+05:30

Watch out MP3, AAC, WMA, FLAC, and Ogg Vorbis--there's a new digital audio format about to be introduced and it's creators are setting their sites on it becoming the new "de facto standard" for digital audio. The new format is called Music 2.0 and it will use MT9 as its file extension:

The new MT9 format first conceived by Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, Korea and being shaped into commercial use by venture company Audizen, has separate controls on the sound volume for each musical instrument, such as guitar, drum, base and voice — an ideal tool for music lovers of different tastes as well as karaoke fans. The new MT9 format, which has a file extension format of MT9 and a commercial title of Music 2.0, is poised to replace the popular MP3 file format as the de facto standard of the digital music source. The distinctive feature of MT9 format is that it has a six-channel audio equalizer, with each channel committed to voice, chorus, piano, guitar, base and drum. For example, whether a user turns off the voice channel, it becomes a karaoke player. Or one can turn off all the instrumentsand concentrate on the voice of the main singer as whether he or she is singing a cappella. Korean Giants Samsung and LG are both interested in equipping their mobile phones with an MT9 player and their first commercial products are likely to debut early next year.

If selected as an universal format, the MT9 technology can earn big for both Audizen and ETRI, a Korean governmental research institute. ETRI said that it holds three worldly and six domestic patents for the technology and is planning to file two more that year. The MT9 files are served in an album package. Audizen is currently selling a limited choice of albums at 2,000 won to 3,000 won on its Web site.

How to clean a DVD disc

2008-06-08T10:03:00.001+05:30

Use a soft cloth

Use a soft cloth and a special cleaning solution for your DVDs. You should avoid using any kind of organic solvents. Also refrain from using harsh solvents like acetone and benzene as these will dissolve the polycarbonate material on the DVD. As a result, your DVD will be damaged beyond repair. Instead, you should use mild solvents like alcohol and methanol. Mild solvents have the tendency to evaporate quickly, so the polycarbonate material on the DVD will not be dissolved.

Water-based cleaners

You can use special water-based lens cleaners as well. These cleaners are available at all local electronics and computer stores at very reasonable prices. Water-based detergents can also be used. The DVD's surface is made up of polycarbonate substrate, which is transparent and delicate. Therefore, when the surface is cleaned with a solution, there is a risk of contamination or scratching of the DVD. To prevent damage while cleaning your DVDs, you should follow the tips that are mentioned below.

Steps for cleaning DVDs

First of all, use an air puffer to blow off any dust that has settled on the DVD. Then use a dry and soft cotton cloth to wipe the disc carefully. Wipe with the dry cloth before you apply any solution on the DVD. Do not wipe the DVD in a circular direction. You should start wiping from the center of the disc and then moving to the edge in a series of direct swipes. Never use paper products such as lens paper in order to clean the DVD. Do not use any abrasive on the surface of the disc. Remove heavy accumulation of dirt from the DVD by rinsing it with water. Use only special water-based detergent formulas for cleaning the optical surface.

DVDs should be cleaned no more than once a month with a non-abrasive damp cloth. Do not use hard water; you should use bottled water instead. Use lukewarm water. When you are using air to blow off the dust, do not use canned air, as it can be very cold and can cause the DVD to crack.

The World's Largest Subwoofer

2008-06-08T09:40:00.002+05:30

In addition to being the world's largest subwoofer, the "MATTERHORN" just might be the most powerful as well -- built by Danley Sound Labs. Continue reading for an overview and video.

Don't let the 20' x 8' x 8' shipping container fool you -- the "MATTERHORN" consists of 40 subwoofers, 40 1,000-Watt amplifiers, 1100' of 12-gauge speaker cable, and 23-pounds of 0.030 welding wire. This subwoofer was built to military specifications.

Amazing Facts

2008-06-08T09:09:00.003+05:30

Did you know???

The only 2 animals that can see behind itself without turning it's head are the rabbit and the parrot.

A zebra is white with black stripes.

A whip makes a cracking sound because its tip moves faster than the speed of sound.

"Almost" is the longest word in the English language with all the letters in alphabetical order.

Snails produce a colorless, sticky discharge that forms a protective carpet under them as they travel along. The discharge is so effective that they can crawl along the edge of a razor without cutting themselves.

The word "listen" contains the same letters as the word "silent".

A hippopotamus can run faster than a man.

The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.

Electricity doesn't move through a wire but through a field around the wire.

Hummingbirds are the only animal that can fly backwards.

It is impossible to lick your elbow.

All the planets in the solar system rotate anticlockwise, except Venus. It is the only planet that rotates clockwise.

Names of the three wise monkeys are: Mizaru (See no evil), Mikazaru (Hear no evil), and Mazaru (Speak no evil).

A 'jiffy' is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.

India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of history.

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is the fear of long words.

Phobatrivaphobia is a fear of trivia about phobias.

Sanskrit is the mother of all higher languages. Sanskrit is the most precise and therefore suitable language for the computer software - a report in Forbes magazine.

India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta.

Chess (Shataranja or AshtaPada) was invented in India.

Twenty-Four-Karat Gold is not pure gold; there is a small amount of copper in it. Absolutely pure gold is so soft that it can be molded with the hands.

The blue whale is the largest animal on earth. The heart of a blue whale is as big as a car, and it's tongue is as long as an elephant.

Socrates became famous for asking questions about almost everything !!

The mother of all European languages is Sanskrit, which is considered the most suitable language for computer software

The average lead pencil can draw a line that is almost 35 miles long or you can write almost 50,000 words in English .....

Did you know the first bicycle that was made in 1817 by Baron von Drais didn't have any pedals? People walked it along

The Industrial Revolution in Europe first saw the beginning of air pollution, which gradually became a major global problem.

The major air-polluting industries are iron, steel and, cement.

Of the 35-40 million tonnes of flyash generated annually by thermal power plants in India, only 2-3 percent is productively utilized.

The worst industrial disaster in India, occurred in 1984 in Bhopal the capital of Madhya Pradesh. A deadly chemical, methly isocyanate leaked out of the Union Carbide factory killing more than 2500 and leaving thousands sick. In fact the effects of this gas tragedy is being felt even today.

Every year some 50million cars are added to the world’s roads. Car making is now the largest manufacturing industry in the world.

In India the number of motorized vehicles have increased from 0.2 million in 1947 to 36.3 million in 1997.

The number of registered vehicles in Delhi is more than the sum total of registered vehicles in Mumbai, Calcutta, and Chennai.

Major contributor to Delhi's air pollution are vehicles.

Nearly three-fourths of India's population, which is rural, bears 84% of the burden of exposure to air pollution.

Growing population, poverty, and inadequate access to clean fuels in rural areas have perpetuated the use of biomass, thereby condemning more than 90% of rural households and more than 35% of urban hoseholds to high levels of indoor air pollution.

One of the most important measure to counter pollution is planting trees. With neem and peepal being the largest emitters of oxygen, planting them in the gardens purifies the surrounding air and helps in maintaining hygienic conditions. While champa, mogra and chameli have better chances of surviving pollution in summer, bulbous varieties do better in winter. Courtesy http://edugreen.teri.res.in/

Pictures of Lightning Striking a Plane in Japan

2008-06-07T07:46:00.002+05:30

This amazing image of an aircraft being struck by lightning circulates via email and has also been posted on various websites, blogs and forums. A video loop that also comes with the message shows what happened before, during and after the strike.

also check

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/images/lightning-strike.gif

The video is genuine and was indeed taken over an airport in Japan some years ago. The still image and video were discussed in a University of Florida scientific publication titled "The interaction of lightning with airborne vehicles". According to the report, the image and video loop show "a commercial aircraft initiating lightning at low altitude after take off from an airport in Japan during winter". The report notes that the lightning was probably initiated by the aircraft itself. This conclusion is validated by the video loop of the incident, which shows lightning branching downward and upwards from the aircraft. In fact, notes the article, "about 90 percent of the lightning discharges to aircraft are thought to be initiated by the aircraft themselves. The initiation apparently involves a bidirectional leader whose positive and negative parts develop from opposite sides of the aircraft."

Although the lightning strike certainly looks spectacular, there are no reports that indicate that the aircraft sustained any serious damage in the incident. In fact, while aircraft lightning strikes are not uncommon, serious damage or crashes caused by lightning are quite rare. According to a Scientific American article about lightning strikes and aircraft, its is "estimated that on average, each airplane in the U.S. commercial fleet is struck lightly by lightning more than once each year". However, the article notes that the last crash directly attributed to a lightning strike occurred back in 1967 when the fuel tank exploded.

Understanding of the potential effects of lightning strikes have increased substantially since then and modern commercial aircraft go through stringent lightning certification tests. After a strike, electricity from the lightning will normally travel through the conductive metal skin of the aircraft and then exit, in most cases, causing little or no damage. Short-term problems with aircraft instruments and lighting are sometimes reported.

Application secrets(XP)

2008-06-07T07:16:00.003+05:30

Lock Windows to protect computer :
You can lock Windows to protect the computer when leaving the station easily by creating a shortcut with the path rundll32.exeuser32.dll, LockWorkStation. The Windows key + L is also a shortcut to this feature.

Edit sysoc.inf to list all software :
To show all software that can be removed from your computer (including protected Windows services), you can manually edit (using notepad for example) the sysoc.inf file located in Windows\inf\. Just remove the word hide next to the software pack.
Note - use this at your own risk. Removing critical components of the system will make Windows instable.

Defrag
Secret - Hidden Command Line Switch
Instructions - Go to "Start", "Run" and Type defrag c: -b to defragment the Boot and Application Prefetch information.

Notes - Windows XP will run this automatically every three days or so, during system idle periods. BootVis will evoke this when you run the "Optimize System" function. There is no need to manually run this unless you wish to immediately optimize a newly installed application's load time.

Disable system services for maximum performance :
There are system services that you can disable to free up the system's load. To access the interface that permits you to make changes to system's services, type services.msc and the command prompt.
This is a list of services that are *usually* useless and can be safely disabled.

Alerter
Application Layer Gateway Service,
Application Management
Automatic Updates
Background Intelligent Transfer
Clipbook
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Distributed Transaction Coordinater
Error Reporting Service
Fast User Switching Compatibility
IMAPI CD-Burning
Indexing Service
IPSEC Services
Messenger
Net Logon
Net Meeting
Remote Desktop Sharing
Network DDE
Network DDE DSDM
Portable Media Serial Number
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
Remote Registry
Secondary Logon
Smartcard
SSDP Discovery Service
Uninterruptible Power Supply
Universal Plug and Play Device Host
Upload Manager
Webclient
Wireless Zero Configuration
WMI Performance Adaptor

NOTE: Make sure you don't need them since some applications you're using could depend on them. If you make any application to fail by disabling any of the services, go back and enable it again.

IExpress
Secret - Hidden Install Creator
Instructions - Go to Start, Run, type iexpress -

Notes - IExpress is a technology designed to simplify creation of a setup program. Using the step-by-step IExpress Wizard, you can create self-extracting files that automatically run the setup program contained inside. The setup program can be an .inf file or an executable program. IExpress technology automatically removes the setup files after installation, saving the user time and frustration.

MS-DOS Editor

Secret - Hidden Text Editor
Instructions - Go to Start, Run, type edit

Notes - Windows XP comes with another text editor besides Notepad - it's called the MS-DOS Editor, and it's commonly referred to simply as Edit. It has features similar to Notepad, as well as additional features such as the ability to work with multiple text files and change the background and text colors.

Netmeeting

Secret - Hidden Internet Conference Application
Instructions - Go to Start, Run, type conf -

Notes - Windows XP is the last version of Microsoft Windows to include NetMeeting. NetMeeting delivers a complete Internet conferencing solution for all Windows users with multi-point data conferencing, text chat, whiteboard, and file transfer, as well as point-to-point audio and video.

Notepad

Secret - Create a Log File
Instructions - Launch Notepad, Type .LOG on the first line, and then press Enter to move to the next line. On the File menu, click Save As, type a descriptive name for your file in the File name box, and then click OK. When you next open the file, note that the date and time have been appended to the end of the log, immediately preceding the place where new text can be added. You can use this functionality to automatically add the current date and time to each log entry.

Paint

Secret - Image Trails
Instructions - Open an image and hold down Shift then drag the image around to create an image trail.

Secret - 10x Zoom
Instructions - Open an image and select the magnifying glass icon. Left-Click exactly on the line below the 8x.

Private Character Editor

Secret - Hidden Font Editor
nstructions - Go to Start, Run, type eudcedit -

Notes - You can use Private Character Editor to create unique letters and logos for your font library.

Windows Chat

Secret - Hidden Windows Chat Program
Instructions - Go to Start, Run, type winchat -

Notes - You can use Windows Chat on your computer to communicate with someone on another computer. Both computers must be connected to the same network (for example, a local area network [LAN] or the Internet). Also, each computer must be running a similar protocol, such as TCP/IP.

Windows Media Player 5.1

Secret - Hidden Windows Media Player
Instructions - Go to Start, Run, type mplay32

Windows Media Player 6.4
Secret - Hidden Windows Media Player
Instructions - Go to Start, Run, type mplayer2 -
Notes - Windows Media Player 6.4 (Classic) is installed along with Windows Media Player 7. The only update is that it now supports the latest codecs.

At a glance: The Byron Review

2008-05-12T04:13:00.000+05:30

On 6 September 2007, the UK government commissioned a review of the risks children faced from exposure to harmful or inappropriate material on the internet or in video games.

Psychologist Dr Tanya Byron was asked to lead the six-month review and the report detailing the work was published on 27 March.

Here are some of the key points taken from the report.

CONCLUSIONS

Children will be children - pushing boundaries and taking risks.

The safety of children should be a central concern for parents and society as a whole.

The report wants search sites to show when searches are safe

[The] remit has been to look at the grey areas - of legal, adult material such as 18 rated video games, and the risks to children online from a huge range of potentially harmful or inappropriate (but legal) content, contact with others and their own conduct.

Mixed research evidence on the actual harm from video games and use of the internet does not mean that the risks do not exist.

To help measure and manage those risks there needs to be a focus on what the child brings to the technology and use our understanding of children's development to inform an approach that is based on the "probability of risk" in different circumstances.

Efforts should be focused on reducing the availability of harmful and inappropriate material in the most popular part of the internet.

Parents also have a key role to play in managing children's access to such material.

Parents need help to keep up with their children online

The internet cannot be made completely safe. Because of this, children's resilience to the material to which they may be exposed must be build up to ensure they have the confidence and skills to navigate these new media waters more safely.

There are also steps that need to be taken in the UK and on a global platform to make the waters of new technology easier to navigate safely. This is about providing children and their parents with the proper tools, clear standards and signposts and somewhere to go when things go wrong.

Alongside new technology a new culture of responsibility is needed, where all in society focus not on defending entrenched positions, but on working together to help children keep themselves safe, to help parents to keep their children safe and to help each other support children and parents in this task.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Create a UK Council on Child Internet Safety that leads development of a strategy with two core elements:

1) better regulation - in the form of voluntary codes of practice that industry can sign up to.

2) better information and education, where the role of government, law enforcement, schools and children's services will be key.

The report wants games clearly labelled with age ratings

The council should investigate how the law around harmful and inappropriate material could be usefully clarified (including suicide websites) and explore appropriate enforcement responses.

Develop an independently monitored voluntary code of practice on the moderation of user generated content, including making specific commitments on take-down times.

All computers sold for home use should have kitemarked parental control software and ISPs should offer and advertise this prominently when people sign up.

The council should ensure search providers agree to make it obvious what level of search is on (e.g. safe or moderate) and give users the option to "lock it" on. Every search engine clearly link to child safety information and safe search settings on the front page of their website.

A properly funded public information and awareness campaign on child internet safety to change behaviour.

Sustainable education and children's services initiatives to improve the skills of children and their parents around e-safety.

Creation of a "one stop shop" for child internet safety within the DirectGov information network, based on extensive research about what different groups of users want.

The report wants new home computers fitted with filters

100% of schools should have Acceptable Use Policies that are regularly reviewed, monitored and agreed with parents and students.

Ofsted take steps to hold schools to account on their performance on e-safety.

Sustained, high profile and targeted efforts by industry to increase parents' understanding and use of age-ratings and controls on consoles.

That the statutory requirement to age classify games be extended to include those receiving 12+ ratings.

Introduce a hybrid classification system with BBFC logos on the front of all games (18,15,12,PG and U). Pegi to rate all 3+ and 7+ games and their equivalent logos (across - all age ranges) will be on the back of all boxes.

That there should be focused efforts to monitor enforcement of the statutory age ratings at the point of sale.

The BBFC and Pegi develop a joint approach to rating online games and driving up safety standards for children and young people in the games, under the auspices of the UK Council for Child Internet safety.

New Yahoo tool

2008-05-11T07:13:00.000+05:30

Separating wheat from the chaff during Internet searches can be a challenge: major search engines tend to substitute quantity for quality, returning many thousand results few users have the time to go through.

When it guesses that the user might be looking for more in-depth information, a new Yahoo tool provides, a lot of additional material — mostly visual — to provide an encyclopaedia-like page of multimedia reference material. It is called Yahoo Glue Pages — and it was substantially developed at the Bangalore end of Yahoo’s R&D labs.

Interestingly, the initial or beta release, of Glue Pages, is limited to India — and to the www.yahoo.in portal. “This is the first time that Yahoo India is launching a product ahead of the rest of the world,” explained Tapan Bhat, Yahoo’s U.S.-based senior vice-president.

While a normal Yahoo search at Yahoo.com, on “Aishwarya Rai” sees a list of conventional links; the same search if done at the ‘glued’ Yahoo.in site, brings up videos of her interview on American late night David Letterman Show; a clip of her Miss Universe triumph from You Tube; music tracks from her films; a portfolio of photos from the Flickr photo sharing site — as well as leads to related terms.

More about Touch Screen

2008-04-12T05:59:00.000+05:30

A touch screen is a computer display screen that is sensitive to human touch, allowing a user to interact with the computer by touching pictures or words on the screen. Touch screens are used with information kiosks, computer-based training devices, and systems designed to help individuals who have difficulty manipulating a mouse or keyboard. Touch screen technology can be used as an alternative user interface with applications that normally require a mouse, such as a Web browser. Some applications are designed specifically for touch screen technology, often having larger icons and links than the typical PC application. Monitors are available with built-in touch screen technology or individuals can purchase a touch screen kit.

Touchscreens have become commonplace since the invention of the electronic touch interface in 1971 by Dr. Samuel C. Hurst. They have become familiar in retail settings, on point of sale systems, on ATMs and on PDAs where a stylus is sometimes used to manipulate the GUI and to enter data. The popularity of smart phones, PDAs, portable game consoles and many types of information appliances is driving the demand for, and the acceptance of, touchscreens.

The HP-150 from 1983 was probably the world's earliest commercial touch screen computer. It actually does not have a touch screen in the strict sense, but a 9" Sony CRT surrounded by infrared transmitters and receivers which detect the position of any non-transparent object on the screen.

Touchscreens are popular in heavy industry and in other situations, such as museum displays or room automation, where keyboards and mouse do not allow a satisfactory, intuitive, rapid, or accurate interaction by the user with the display's content.

Historically, the touchscreen sensor and its accompanying controller-based firmware have been made available by a wide array of after-market system integrators and not by display, chip or motherboard manufacturers. With time, however, display manufacturers and System On Chip (SOC) manufacturers worldwide have acknowledged the trend toward acceptance of touchscreens as a highly desirable user interface component and have begun to integrate touchscreen functionality into the fundamental design of their products.

A touch screen kit includes a touch screen panel, a controller, and a software driver. The touch screen panel is a clear panel attached externally to the monitor that plugs into a serial or Universal Serial Bus (USB) port or a bus card installed inside the computer. The touch screen panel registers touch events and passes these signals to the controller. The controller then processes the signals and sends the data to the processor. The software driver translates touch events into mouse events. Drivers can be provided for both Windows and Macintosh operating systems. Internal touch screen kits are available but require professional installation because they must be installed inside the monitor.

There are three types of touch screen technology:

Resistive: A resistive touch screen panel is coated with a thin metallic electrically conductive and resistive layer that causes a change in the electrical current which is registered as a touch event and sent to the controller for processing. Resistive touch screen panels are generally more affordable but offer only 75% clarity and the layer can be damaged by sharp objects. Resistive touch screen panels are not affected by outside elements such as dust or water.
Surface wave: Surface wave technology uses ultrasonic waves that pass over the touch screen panel. When the panel is touched, a portion of the wave is absorbed. This change in the ultrasonic waves registers the position of the touch event and sends this information to the controller for processing. Surface wave touch screen panels are the most advanced of the three types, but they can be damaged by outside elements.
Capacitive: A capacitive touch screen panel is coated with a material that stores electrical charges. When the panel is touched, a small amount of charge is drawn to the point of contact. Circuits located at each corner of the panel measure the charge and send the information to the controller for processing. Capacitive touch screen panels must be touched with a finger unlike resistive and surface wave panels that can use fingers and stylus. Capacitive touch screens are not affected by outside elements and have high clarity.
Infrared
An infrared touch screen panel employs one of two very different methods. One method used thermal induced changes of the surface resistance. This method was sometimes slow and required warm hands. Another method is an array of vertical and horizontal IR sensors that detected the interruption of a modulated light beam near the surface of the screen. IR touch screens have the most durable surfaces and are used in many military applications that require a touch panel display.
Strain gauge
In a strain gauge configuration the screen is spring mounted on the four corners and strain gauges are used to determine deflection when the screen is touched. This technology can also measure the Z-axis. Typically used in exposed public systems such as ticket machines due to their resistance to vandalism.
Optical imaging
A relatively-modern development in touch screen technology, two or more image sensors are placed around the edges (mostly the corners) of the screen. Infrared backlights are placed in the camera's field of view on the other sides of the screen. A touch shows up as a shadow and each pair of cameras can then be triangulated to locate the touch. This technology is growing in popularity, due to its scalability, versatility, and affordability, especially for larger units.
Dispersive signal technology
Introduced in 2002, this system uses sensors to detect the mechanical energy in the glass that occur due to a touch. Complex algorithms then interpret this information and provide the actual location of the touch. The technology claims to be unaffected by dust and other outside elements, including scratches. Since there is no need for additional elements on screen, it also claims to provide excellent optical clarity. Also, since mechanical vibrations are used to detect a touch event, any object can be used to generate these events, including fingers and styli. A downside is that after the initial touch the system cannot detect a motionless finger.
Acoustic pulse recognition
This system uses more than two piezoelectric transducers located at some positions of the screen to turn the mechanical energy of a touch (vibration) into an electronic signal. This signal is then converted into an audio file, and then compared to preexisting audio profile for every position on the screen. This system works without a grid of wires running through the screen, the touch screen itself is actually pure glass, giving it the optics and durability of the glass out of which it is made. It works with scratches and dust on the screen, and accuracy is very good. It does not need a conductive object to activate it. It is a major advantage for larger displays. As with the Dispersive Signal Technology system, after the initial touch this system cannot detect a motionless finger.
Frustrated total internal reflection
This optical system works by using the principle of total internal reflection to fill a refractive medium with light. When a finger or other soft object is pressed against the surface, the internal reflection light path is interrupted, making the light reflect outside of the medium and thus visible to a camera behind the medium.
Development
Virtually all of the significant touchscreen technology patents were filed during the 1970s and 1980s and have expired. Touchscreen component manufacturing and product design are no longer encumbered by royalties or legalities with regard to patents and the manufacturing of touchscreen-enabled displays on all kinds of devices is widespread. The development of multipoint touchscreens facilitated the tracking of more than one finger on the screen, thus operations that require more than one finger are possible. These devices also allow multiple users to interact with the touchscreen simultaneously.With the growing acceptance of many kinds of products with an integral touchscreen interface the marginal cost of touchscreen technology is routinely absorbed into the products that incorporate it and is effectively eliminated. As typically occurs with any technology, touchscreen hardware and software has sufficiently matured and been perfected over more than three decades to the point where its reliability is unassailable. As such, touchscreen displays are found today in airplanes, automobiles, gaming consoles, machine control systems, appliances and handheld display devices of every kind. The ability to accurately point on the screen itself is taking yet another step with the emerging graphics tablet/screen hybrids.
Ergonomics and usage
An ergonomic problem of touchscreens is their stress on human fingers when used for more than a few minutes at a time, since significant pressure can be required and the screen is non-flexible. This can be alleviated with the use of a pen or other device to add leverage, but the introduction of such items can sometimes be problematic depending on the desired use case (for example, public kiosks such as ATMs). Also, fine motor control is better achieved with a stylus, a finger being a rather broad and ambiguous point of contact with the screen.
Yet all of these ergonomic issues can be bypassed simply by using a different technique, provided that the user's fingernails are either short or sufficiently long. Rather than pressing with the soft skin of an outstretched fingertip, the finger is curled over, so that the top of the forward edge of a fingernail can be used instead. (The thumb is optionally used to provide support for the finger or for a long fingernail, from underneath.) The fingernail's hard, curved surface contacts the touchscreen at a single very small point. Therefore, much less finger pressure is needed, much greater precision is possible (approaching that of a stylus, with a little experience), much less skin oil is smeared onto the screen, and the fingernail can be silently moved across the screen with very little resistance, allowing for selecting text, moving windows, or drawing lines. (The human fingernail consists of keratin which has a hardness and smoothness similar to the tip of a stylus, and so will not typically scratch a touchscreen.) Alternately, very short stylus tips are available, which slip right onto the end of a finger; this increases visibility of the contact point with the screen. Oddly, with capacitive touch screens, the reverse problem applies in that individuals with long nails have reported problems getting adequate skin contact with the screen to register keystrokes (note that styluses do not work on capacitive touch screens nor do gloved fingers).

Samsung Introduces First HSUPA Handset

2008-04-10T20:18:00.000+05:30

HSUPA (High-Speed Uplink Packet Access) aims to offer mobile broadband for cellular phones. Conventional 3G offers upload and download speeds of around 384Kbps, whereas HSUPA (High-Speed Uplink Packet Access) allows upload speeds to 2Mbps.

Samsung has joined the league of phone-makers offering HSUPA by launching its very first handset that supports this technology. Called the SCH-M470, the phone is a slider-type handset and features a 2 megapixel camera.
Along with HSUPA, the phone promises to offer efficient Wi-Fi connectivity, Bluetooth 2.0 support, video-calling, push-button email, and Google search functions. The phone is compatible with Windows Mobile.

Gartner, a market research firm, has predicted that global HSUPA mobile phone market would grow from 77 million units in this year to 280 million units in 2009, and 600 million units in 2010.

Here comes the part which will not please most Indians. As of now, the SCH-M470 is only available for the Korean market; which shouldn't actually bother them because 3G in India is still on its way. Nevertheless, the price of phone ranges from 600,000KRW and 700,000KRW, which is equivalent to around 24,500INR to 28,500INR respectively.

Attending an interview: Chapter 1

2008-04-06T09:57:00.000+05:30

When You Are Preparing For The Interview:

Great news, give yourself a pat on the back and well done you’ve got an interview for a new job. You have obviously impressed your future potential employer with your CV and your application form to be offered an interview in the first place. You have probably beaten many other applicants but something in your application has made you stand out from the other candidates.

An employer isn’t looking to employ any old person to fill their job hence they have already sifted through all of the applications and compiled a shortlist which you are on! Now all the interviewer needs to do is choose which candidate to fill their job and the only way they are going to do this is meet each applicant in person. There are many variables in choosing a new person for a job, what one employer classes as an important quality another may not. Some feel experience is an important factor others value qualifications or team management skills or a combination of both. What you have got to remember is that you will have to make a lasting impression on the interviewer to get you nearer to securing that new job. Your future employer is going to have to make a choice from several applicants one which inevitably will be a hard decision to make. After all, summing up candidates suitability in a few short hours isn’t easy for any interviewer so you must make an impression. Its no easier sitting in an interviewers shoes than being a candidate. If you go well prepared then you are able to manipulate an interviewer to your benefit to get across your strengths.

Prior To The Interview:

Remember your employer knows all about the job they are looking to fill - what it entails and what qualities they are looking for in a potential candidate. They also have a fair amount of information about you – your CV and application form and it’s always a good idea to take a copy of this with you to the interview. The interviewer will have a checklist of areas they are looking to satisfy themselves over to ensure you can do the job which will encompass some general interview questions and some questions specifically about you as a person such as your interests, hobbies and what you like outside of the workplace.

How Will The Interview Be Structured?

Most interviews follow a fairly similar simple format. Usually you will be invited into the interview room, offered a drink of tea, coffee or water etc and then sometimes a bit of casual chat such as “how was your journey?” – you get the idea! Next your interviewer will ask some general questions, such as “Tell me about yourself” or “Are you an organised person”. They may then ask you questions about your CV such as “You say you are good at time management can you give us an example”. Once the interviewer feels that they have satisfactory answers to all their questions they will then give you the opportunity to answer any questions you may have about the job, the company etc.

Convincing Your Interviewer & Offering Them Reassurance:

It is really important at the interview stage that the interviewer feels happy about all of the areas they have covered. They may keep going back to specific questions if they don’t feel they have got the answer they require – this is often a good sign as it means they are taking your application serious and they may just want reassurance in one or two areas. If you can put their mind at rest it will may you a far stronger contender. If you haven’t been asked any questions you have either done a fantastic job at clarifying all of their concerns and queries or you are unlikely to have got the job. So try and be as open as you can be – without going on and on. Also - and I know it’s not always easy to judge - if you think there is an area that the interviewer has covered and is uncomfortable with try get your point across. There are certain areas that can will cause concern to an employer such as lack of experience or missing periods or employment during your career which have simple answers to them but if your potential employer doesn’t have a good because they haven’t asked you a question about them they are going to be wary so if you think something is bothering the interviewer try and offer a good form of explanation. If you are well prepped before the interview and you think there is an area of your career history that might make your interviewer a little wary you will can have a sensible answer ready and avoid feeling left speechless when the interviewer says – “Why is there a 18 month gap in your employment history”.

Being Interviewed For A Job By Your Existing Employer:

An interview is an interview! Should you be applying for promotion or a change of job in your existing company then your existing employer will have a lot of the current information about you already, such as timekeeping or time management skills, your personal details etc, etc. Other than these details the interview will follow the same structure as any other interview however specific questions about your current position may well come into play and have a more dominant effect on the meeting. It may be that there are certain areas that the interviewer will already know about you but they still may ask you about them things like “How well do you work under pressure and meeting targets?” they will already know this as you work form them but it may well be that they want you to answer this question anyway so just go ahead and give them the answer they want to hear!

Just because you already work for this employer don’t treat the interview any differently to an interview being conducted by a new employer. Sure the interviewer may already know you so the start of the interview may well be a little less informal in their greeting but once you get down to business and the interview commences treat the interview as if you were applying for a job outside of your current employer. Good point of useful information; don’t crack jokes about people you work with or perform chit chatter about Joe in accounts – it isn’t perceived professional and it will do you no favours in your career advancement.

Be Prepared For The Questions That Will Be Asked:

It’s almost impossible to know exactly what questions are going to be asked at the interview but you can expect that there are certain areas that will be likely to be explored. So brief yourself on the skills required to do the job including the experience you have to do it. Think about questions that may arise from the answers you have given on your application and lastly consider any questions that may arise regarding your CV as previously mentioned such as breaks in your career, work experience and so on. If you work in a sales role you will already understand the importance of preparation prior to meeting a new customer or trying to close a deal and it’s no different when presenting yourself at an interview trying to win a new job. You need to “Prepare Your Offensive”, “Do Your Research”, and “Prepare For The Meeting”. The better prepared you are the more professionally and accurately you will be able to answer each question and this will put both you and the interviewer at ease.

Prepare Your Offensive:

Hey going into an interview is no different to going into battle and the end result is to come out the winner! The better your offensive is the more chance you have at winning the interviewer over. Your objective is to win. How are you going to do this? Well you need to know where you are going and how you are going to get there. You need to know what traps or pitfalls there are along the way so the best practice is to plan and be prepared. Simple isn’t it – so what have you got to do? Well you have got to win over the interviewer and the only way of doing this is by convincing him, or her, that you are the man, or woman, for the job. You are going to do this by showing the interviewer that you know about their organisation, know about the job, know how to do the job and would be the best person for the role. The only way you are going to do this is by preparation so you can present yourself as cool, calm, collected but not too cocky! If you have ever played a new computer game or purchased a new item of equipment you know that your job is going to be much easier if you get the instructions our first to work out how to operate the thing than to go rushing in all guns firing without doing any research.

Do Some Research About The Employer:

Now I am no easy employer to work for, I have allocated time to you to attend my interview and by doing so I have had to spend some time reading through your CV and particulars. So in return I think as I have invited you to attend an interview the least I expect is for you to have taken the time to do a bit of research about my company and what we do. Not every employer takes this stance but many do. If you do a little research this will show the interviewer or employer that you have at least put some effort into trying to get this job. Besides which, are you really looking to apply to work for a company you know nothing about, if so you can’t really be that serious about the interview. It’s really simple to do research on a company by getting hold of the companies sales brochures, report and accounts (not so easy if it is only a small employer), looking at the companies web site, or by researching local news items by visiting the local library and searching the newspaper archives outlining press releases – it’s easy to do just visit your local library and explain what your after and I am sure they will help you out. Remember you get out of life what you put in – invest time and effort and your efforts will be rewarded. If you want a copy of the report and accounts the easiest thing to do is ring up the receptionist and ask for a copy, you could say something like “I’ve got an interview with your company and I would like to find out a bit more about the firm so could you send me some information” hey, most secretaries are helpful if they think you are a potential “newbee” and in any case they usually have some info just lying around.

Be Prepared For The Interview:

There are several areas that you must be ensure you have covered when preparing for the interview, the first fundamental one being not to be late for the meeting!. A few days before the big day plan your route, if you are going by car have a trial run and see how long it takes you to get there, the same goes for if you are going by bus or train. When you have determined how long it is likely to take you add half an hour to the journey. If you’re early so what? You can always have a drink or read your magazine but one thing is for sure you will be calm and ready whereas if you are running late you will be on edge – not a good start to an interview. Take a phone with you (or money to use a phone box) just in case something happens. It is very discourteous to be late and it really annoys some people so you aren’t going to get off to a good start on that basis. Just as a pointer it’s always a good idea to take a pen and paper with you or alternatively a briefcase or handbag with a pen and paper in it.

Do First Impressions Count? You Bet They Do!

You would be very surprised at what can be ascertained from the first few moments in some ones presence. An interviewer or employer will discover a great deal about you in a relatively small amount of time by use of their experience in body language. It’s a bit like when you make new friends, generally speaking you know within a few moments of meeting a person for the very first time whether you will like them or not (despite knowing very little about their background). I personally think it is some form of basic primate instinct. So your first few seconds are fairly vital when you walk into that interview room or are greeted by your employer. We all give out different signals and these can be influenced by the way you dress to your body language. In my opinion good body language starts with a firm handshake (that’s firm - don’t shake their hand off!) and being smartly dressed. Don’t bathe in perfume or aftershave as strong smells often give off an overpowering smell and can be very off putting. Not everyone has the same taste in cologne and there is nothing worse than being stuck in a room with a smell that makes you feel ill. It’s always best to be clean and neutral!

Prior To Attending Your Job Interview:

It’s always a good idea (and I think a courteous one which shows manners and initiative) to confirm with your prospective interviewer the interview arrangements by letter once you have been invited to attend the interview. This doesn’t need to be a long winded letter it can just be brief confirming the time and place of the interview. It also gives you the opportunity to send in any documents that the interviewer may wish to see in advance or anything you may have omitted to send when you originally enclosed your CV and job application form.

Dress Code - What Clothes Should You Wear For Your Job Interview?

It’s always a tough call when trying to decide what to wear for a job interview. Traditionally men always wore their smartest suit and tie and the same could be said for women – either a nice skirt and blouse or a suit. However things have changed a lot since the old days, for example if you are going to work for an IT firm or Graphic Designers then the dress code may be smart but casual - by the same token if you are going to work for a firm of Solicitors, Accountants or Insurance Brokers then the chances are the dress code is going to be formal so it can be a hard call to decide what to wear for your interview. If you are applying for an internal job then this won’t apply to you as you will already know what standard of outfit is or isn’t acceptable at your place of work. There are two fairly simple ways to ascertain what type of dress code your potential future employer demands and these are as follows:

1. Drive up to the offices or workplace at a time when the staff will be arriving or leaving – this will give you a good indication of what types of clothes the other employees are wearing.

2. Pick up the phone and ring up the interviewers’ secretary and ask her what is the typical dress code of the company – as previously mentioned secretaries generally speaking are always keen to offer assistance to the “newbie’s”!

As a pointer it’s always a good idea to “Dress Above The Rest” at an interview – remember you are out to make a special impression so although you will want to fit in if you get the job you need to be appointed first! So a pretty simple rule - if the companies dress code is casual then you need to be dressed casually but a little smarter, for example if the other employees are wearing trousers and open neck shirts then it would be a good idea for you to wear trousers, a tie and a smart jacket. If the dress code is a suit and tie then you need to wear your best suit and tie – get the picture it’s pretty easy for you to judge for yourself. Another good point is when you are invited into the interview don’t ever remove your jacket without be asked. If the room is hot – well quite frankly that’s just a bit of tough luck. I have to admit I have always kept my jacket on even when my interviewer has offered for me to remove it – my reason being that we all perspire during stress and there is nothing worse than seeing perspiration marks around the arms of your shirt!! So what type of clothes should you wear at your interview? Well it’s an individual’s choice really. However I would steer well clear of bright outrageous ties if you are a man as not every interviewer will share your love of cartoon characters such as the Simpson’s - try and settle on neutral colours. Finally as previously mentioned it’s a bad idea to wear overpowering aftershave or perfume – it can be very off putting to others.

On Arrival At Your Job Interview:

If you are organised you will have arrived at your interview in good time and if so you will have a few moments to compose yourself and utilise the rest room before your big moment. If at the office there are some bathrooms in the waiting area (or if not just ask someone to direct you to them) go and make a few final checks on your appearance. You might want to comb your hair, use the lavatory (make sure you do up your zippers) or adjust your make up if you are a lady. This time will give you the opportunity to make sure you are ship shape and looking a million dollars, it will also give you reassurance so that once you are in the interview you don’t have to worry about whether you have done your zips up or whether your hair looks tidy – issues that are important but that you don’t want to have to worry whilst trying to win over the interviewer. It’s always a good idea if you have a briefcase and are wearing a tie to take a spare just in case you spill something down it before going into the interview. It’s easily done I was once attending an interview and on the way I stopped to drink a can of coke as I had arrived early. To say I was mortified when I spilt it down my tie is an understatement. I had no spare and apologised profusely to my interviewer who was very kind and said it didn’t matter but I still spent the entire interview worrying about it and my performance was definitely hindered by it. A lesson learned to say the least!

When Your Interviewer Comes Out To Take You Into The Interview – Or When You Are Called Into The Interview Room:

OK, in my opinion this is the most stressful time of the interview – and when my heart beats the most! This is the time when you are entering the unknown – new surroundings, new people (sometimes as many as four or five) a strange room. As I have stated before you need your maximum concentration at this point as “First Impressions” do count. So how do you greet your interviewer? Firstly look your interviewer in the eyes and smile, everyone likes a smiley face, I don’t mean beam like a Cheshire cat - just a pleasant friendly smile. Secondly, offer your hand out to shake (remember don’t squeeze the interviewers hand until it turns blue – just a firm professional handshake) and offer a greeting (“Hello very pleased to meet you” or something like that). Your interviewer will then either take you into the interview room (or you may already be in there as you have been called in) and offer you a seat. Please do not just sit down when you enter the room, wait to be offered a seat – it’s good manners.

The interview is going to start along the lines of chit chat, you will probably be asked how you journey was etc, etc and then offered a drink. Depending on the type of person you are and how well you cope with nerves (and remember we all have them, from the person applying for a job flipping burgers in a burger house to the Executive applying for a new £ 250K per year position) it’s up to you whether you decide to accept a drink. You won’t be thought of any less should you not accept a drink (and if you think your hands are going to be shaking like a coconut tree in a hurricane every time you pick your cup up) it’s probably a good idea to decline. That way you won’t chance spilling the liquid all down your front should you really lose your nerves!

Nerves – Yep love them or hate them we all have them and they apply to everything we do in life – whether it’s a new job, a date, going to the dentist or being reprimanded. What are nerves? Well they are your bodies’ way of dealing with stress usually caused by a fear of the unknown, your body putting up a protective barrier to help you deal with the unknown. Symptoms include; dry mouth, shaky hands, sweating, thumping heart, faintness, feeling like you need to go to the bathroom – sound familiar! Everyone is nervous when attending a job interview – after all you are doing all this because you want to get that new job. Your body is releasing chemical called adrenalin which assists you in focusing your mind completely on the situation that you are dealing with. The secret is being able to manipulate and control your frame of mind and use that adrenalin to your advantage and not let it take over completely.

Attending an interview: Chapter 2

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How Can I Control My Nerves?

The secret to controlling your nerves is to convince your brain that you have little to worry about. The reality is that we all get ourselves worked up far too much in the first place – we convince ourselves that we are going to under perform or embarrass ourselves beyond belief. After all I am sure you will have been in many situations where you have been a nervous wreck and once the situation is over (like at the end of an interview or coming out of the dentists) felt the overwhelming experience of calmness. Yes this is caused by your body relaxing and the adrenalin ceasing. So how can you combat this? Well it is really simple - all you need to do is be prepared and calm yourself and the nerves, to a degree, will be far less. I am sure you will have heard of the term “Mind Over Matter” well it is true. The brain and body are complicated things, you can convince yourself of anything if you want to and this can have a negative as well as positive outcome. So to deal with this issue and put your mind at rest (hence reducing your nervousness) it’s always a good idea to try and address the areas you need to deal with where you feel you will be an absolute failure if things go badly wrong. So lets just look at the major areas:

1. Drinks - should you or shouldn’t you? As I have mentioned before if you are offered a drink, be it tea, coffee or water and you think you are suddenly going to have an explosive fit and chuck your cup three foot in the air then don’t accept one. The only exception I can recommend here is Water. The reason being is that if you have a glass of water no one is going to notice if you did or didn’t drink it. However if you get stuck for something to say when asked a difficult question or you find your mouth is getting irritably dry it’s a good excuse to take a sip. While it doesn’t buy you a great deal of time it does give you chance to pause and reflect on the question a few moments before you give an answer.

2. Awkward Questions – Well unless you have a crystal ball you are not going to know what questions you are going to be asked at your interview. However if you know anything about the job then you can have a good second guess at what sort of questions are likely to come up and figure out some answers accordingly. Just remember how it was when you sat exams at school – you didn’t know which questions were going to come up so you revised all of them. Again as previously mentioned if there is a discrepancy in your CV and you think it may be an issue then try and think of an appropriate answer – don’t just ignore it and think to yourself “I hope they don’t mention that” – be prepared it will take the worry.

3. Shaky Hands! – Well I have to admit I always get shaky hands (and I am sure I am not alone on this issue!). There is no real definitive way of dealing with shaky hands really the only thing you can do is keep them under control by placing one hand on top of the other and keeping them on your lap. As you gain confidence throughout the interview and your mind drifts away from the issue you will find that the shaking will naturally ease and it should no longer prove a problem.

4. Dropping Or Tripping Over Your Briefcase Or Handbag – Come on, there’s absolutely no need to be clinging onto that briefcase or handbag. Place them on the floor (under your chair preferably) that way you aren’t going to drop them or fall over them when you get up! If you need a pen and paper (and it’s always good to have one) take them out of your attaché at the start of the meeting

5. Fear Of Sneezing or Having a Runny Nose – Again it all comes down to being prepared, make sure you take a handkerchief or tissue and have it somewhere accessible. It’s no good locked in your handbag or briefcase, place it in your pocket so you can get at it quickly should you need to.

Make Life Easier For Yourself At The Interview:

Now I am not trying to teach my grandmother to suck eggs but the night before your interview try and get a good nights sleep. Eat your evening meal earlier than usual and go to bed a bit earlier. Don’t go out on the lash with your mates until 2.00 am in the morning or for a curry or other meal that gives off a strong smelling after odour. As you will no doubt be aware garlic smells dreadful the next day and will ooze out of your pores for a good 24 hours after eating it so try and steer clear of meals that include this. Also alcohol stays in the blood stream for a fair while and you don’t want to be turning up at your new job interview feeling hung over and tired. If you are worried about your breath smelling then eat a mint before you go into the interview or use a menthol spray, you can but little handy ones from the chemist which will fit in your pocket.

On the morning of the interview (if the interview is in the morning) try and have some breakfast, I know it’s difficult to eat on a stomach that’s turning around faster that a washing machine on a full cycle spin, but food is for the brain and it will help you keep your mind on the job. Besides which if you don’t eat and have an empty stomach it is very likely that you will experience that intensely dreadful sickly feeling. If you have an interview during the afternoon see if you can catch an early lunch or if the interview is early evening try and eat a decent breakfast and catch a late lunch. Ideally you don’t want to eat more than two hours before the start of the interview to give your body the chance to digest your food.

If you are really strung out and feeling uptight just before your job interview begins then you can always try some breathing exercises. Now I am no therapist but I always find that breathing in deep breaths through your nose, holding it in for a few seconds and breathing out through your mouth helps. My doctor told me to try this when I was a bit younger and had problems dealing with stress and it seems to work for me to help me relax. Try and think happy thoughts whether they are about your children, your wife, husband, partner or whatever but try and think of something that makes you smile. It takes far more muscles to make you frown than it does to make you smile and using this technique you will automatically begin to feel the element of wellbeing. It will also temporarily take your mind off the situation ahead which will ease your stress and worry. When you get into the interview and are seated try and relax and get comfortable, I don’t mean slouch in the chair, but try and pick a position where you are not all screwed up like the hunchback of Notre Dame. Being comfortable will help relax all of your muscles including your legs, abdomen and chest ultimately making your breathing more relaxed. During your interview make sure you listen to each question posed to you properly, don’t try and think of an answer while your interviewer is still asking the question.

During The Interview – Selling Yourself:

So I have explained the ins and outs of preparing for your new job interview and dealing with the stress element leading up to and entering into the interview environment. You are now well dressed, have greeted your interviewer (s) correctly, created your comfortable sitting posture and are now ready to convince your interviewer that you are the man or woman that they have been searching for to fill that job opening. To some the actual performance comes easily, for others they have to work at it. Some people are natural born sales people and know how to sell themselves others are not so lucky. Generally speaking if you already work in a sales role (as I do) what I will explain next is really second nature and it is unlikely that I will be offering you anything that you don’t already know. Sales people are natural born performers whether it be due to their personality or due to the nature of the work they have previously carried out but the term “life is a stage and your on it” has never spoken truer than at a job interview. I have been on hundreds of sales courses and read many sales books over the course of my career such as “how to win friends and influence people” but it all comes down to one thing and that is getting a stranger to believe in you and or your product. At an interview you are one in the same and you therefore need to put on a good performance. There are many different qualities the interviewer is going to be looking for in their potential candidate which will encompass qualifications, experience, you as a person and the way that you integrate with others, your previous employment history, and your enthusiasm towards your career along with many, many other factors. So here are a few areas to consider – they are all really interlinked and if you can employ all of them at interview stage you are well on your way to getting that new job:

Show Your Interviewer That You Are Enthusiastic:

So what exactly is an interviewer employer looking for? Well firstly I would say enthusiasm. If someone asks you a question and you give a one word answer it doesn’t really look very enthusiastic. So the way to deal with this is to answer the question as deeply as you can. For example; Interviewer “Your background is in commercial liability underwriting but I see you are now involved in commercial property underwriting” don’t simply answer with a Yes or No answer, expand on it – so you could answer something along the lines of “Yes I was originally trained in liability underwriting, an area I spent several years working in which I thoroughly enjoyed. However I had the opportunity to expand my overall underwriting skills to encompass property underwriting so I jumped at the chance as I felt it would enhance my experience overall within my team”. Obviously you can tailor this to your own circumstances but you see what I am getting at – be enthusiastic don’t just give one word answers, make your interviewer interested in you and what you have done, show him that you really are passionate about everything you do. To the interviewer this shows that you will have enthusiasm and dedication to your new job should they decide to employ you.

Show Your Interviewer You Are A Confident Candidate And That You Know Your Stuff:

Another area where all sales people are naturals – confidence! I know it’s not always easy when you are under pressure and nervous to ooze confidence, but this is a really important area. The more confident you are (and I don’t mean being cock sure of yourself and making the interviewer look an idiot by being a smart arse!) the more chance you will have of bagging the job. Try and expand on your answers again in this area if you are asked a negative question try and respond with a positive confident answer. For example; Interviewer “You don’t appear to have done much cold calling for a while and this job will involve quite a large amount of self lead generation how do you feel about that” – you could answer along the lines of “Yes I haven’t been involved in cold calling for 6 months which has been quite disappointing to me as I thoroughly enjoyed it and felt that it was one of my strong areas. I really have missed this element of my work because I got the opportunity of speaking to new people each day and I really got a buzz when I finally closed a deal that I new I had generated from start to finish. Cold calling is an area I am keen to get back into and it’s a talent that I feel comes naturally to me”.

Show Your Interviewer That You Are Positive:

It’s easy to become negative about anything in life but in work life and a career environment but a positive person in the workplace can be a real asset to an employer. Positive people give off positive vibes and those good vibrations nearly always rub off on other employees. The end result creates a happy, proactive, enthusiastic work force which ultimately creates a better working environment and more efficient team. If you can demonstrate this quality to your interviewer at interview stage you will definitely impress them.

Watching Your Body Language:

Body language is an area that many interviewers will take seriously. What we do and how we do it can show underlying areas that do not have to be spoken to be picked up upon. Body language is an area that has been analysed for many, many years by professionals and interviewers alike and really is amazing what you can learn from someone just by their mannerisms. Just to give you an example - and as I have previously stated before I am no expert my knowledge has been gained from experience and research but if you ask a person a question and their eyes gaze up thoughtfully to the left hand side of their eyeball you know that the chances of there answer being true are high. If on the other hand they look up to the right of their eyeball the chances are they are searching for a made up answer to your question! There are certain exceptions to the rule but the theory is based upon the fact that the left side of your brain is where you retrieve data from, the right, is the fictional side of your brain! Interesting isn’t it and one to be aware of! Other areas that give off body language signals (without you knowing about them) are as follows:

Don’t:

1. Crossing Your Arms: Makes you look defensive.

2. Sit on the edge of your seat.

3. Mess with your face or play with your jewellery or hair.

4. Rock on the seat.

5. Interrupt when being asked a question.

6. Give one word answers (unless the answer dictates a one word answer!)

Do:

1. Smile as frequently as possible (especially when you are asked a question and respond to the person who has asked the question) but don’t over do it!

2. Keep your hands in your lap don’t wave them around all over the place.

3. Keep eye contact at all times (I don’t mean stare out your interviewer). If there is more than one interviewer flick from person to person.

4. Be articulate and listen carefully to each question before giving your answer.

5. Keep calm and don’t panic!

General Interview Guidelines – The Do’s and The Don’t’s!

Once your interview gets under way and the list of general questions that need to be asked by the interviewer are answered and providing at his point you haven’t managed to throw your tea cup 6 foot into the air because you have the jitters you should, if you have taken in what I have already said, begin to be feeling a little less nervous so you can really get down to business. Try and answer all of the questions the interviewer throws at you in a precise and confident manner. If your interviewer is asking a question and halfway through you wish to make a comment don’t interrupt (unless you really think that it is very, very appropriate – it’s bad manners). Ideally wait for the question to be fully delivered to you and give your answer even if it means saying to your interviewer “can I just pick up on the point you made in a previous question”. It is really difficult in this instance where you feel you want to pass comment on something you really feel passionate about but you have to try and bite your tongue. Nobody likes being interrupted and in my experience interviewers are all full of self importance and feel that their question is more important than your answer!

Answering Questions Posed To You By The Interviewer:

Your potential new employer is looking for a candidate that can do the job and will fit into his or her business. The chances are that the candidate is undoubtedly going to need to be a team player and a person who can listen and give enthusiastic and positive input into their job and daily work life. As the questions start to flow try and remember not to go on and on when giving your answers.

Try and keep your answers as precise (but not yes and no answers) as possible. If you are asked a specific question that requires you to provide an example of how you have dealt with a situation or closed a sale then give an example that makes your achievement stand out, if you have won the salesman of the year award then give a little background into how you achieved it. Inevitably there will be times when you run out of steam and these moments can be quite frustrating so just sit back and relax and take a few seconds to compose yourself before you deliver your answer to the question.

There are some people think that talking is more important than listening but they would be totally wrong. Being able to listen to a question without interruption is an art especially if you are genuinely interested in the subject but showing this quality will impress. If you are asked a question that you do not know the answer to try not to be tempted by lying and if you do you better make sure you keep your story straight. Answering a question with a lie can get you into big trouble and really achieves very little, after all the questions have been laid down to see if you are the person the interviewer is looking for and if you can’t give a straight answer then the chances are you are not the person for the job – don’t do it, it will all end in tears!

There are some employers that will ask you what you think of your previous boss. This is a trick question! They are really not in the slightest bit bothered whether you think your previous boss was a complete moron all they are trying to ascertain is whether you were a loyal employee and can act in a professional and neutral manner. After all if they offer you the job they will be your next boss! You also have to bear in mind that what goes around comes around – slating your old boss won’t achieve anything other than making you look petty and bitter – save that experience for when you are in the pub with your mates!

Different Types Of Interview Questions:

An interview will have a structured format and there will be several different types of interview questions set to enable the interviewer to gauge your response to technical as well as hypothetical questions. For example a Technical Question may involve specifics about the way a certain type of application is dealt with. Lets say you are applying for a job in the construction industry there may be certain questions set out to see how you would deal with a particular problem within a mechanical process. Hypothetical Questions can apply to any type of job role and they are designed to ascertain how you would deal with a situation or chain of events. Some less professional interviewers may also throw questions at you which are deliberately set to get your back up to judge how you deal with the situation but this is fairly rare and in any event to be honest any interviewer who engages in this type of underhand manoeuvre I don’t think would be a particularly good employer – just my opinion.

Types Of Interview:

If you haven’t had a lot of experience with attending interviews then you will not be aware of the different ways that employers are able to conduct interviews and the way that they are held. Aside from a traditional interview – one candidate and one interviewer, there are three different types of interviews and dependent upon the position involved will depend upon the type of interview you may have.

Firstly there is the Telephone Interview. This involves an interviewer calling you up and having a chat with you over the phone to judge your telephone skills. This often happens where the job may entail working in a call centre and the emphasis is on how well you perform on the telephone. This method is also sometimes used if the interviewer is trying to shortlist a group of candidates in a quick manner and is often carried out by an external recruiter such as an agency. You may or may not be told that you will be having a telephone interview it depends on the employer but if you have applied for a job where heavy telephone use is likely to be a major part of the job then this may be an option your interviewer will choose. The interview should be treated as any other interview and it’s a good idea to make notes as you go along if you can. If you are successful it may be that your interviewer will ask you there and then to attend a face to face interview so make sure you have a pen and paper to hand.

Another type of interview is what is known a Panel Interview. These are a bit more tricky and stressful than a one to one interview. A panel interview will usually have anything from three to six interviewers sitting in on the meeting. Basically this is a way of cutting down on time where the decision for the applicant needs to be discussed by several different members of the business. It could be that you are applying for a sales post and the interview needs the Sales Manager, HR Manager, Head Of Department and if the role involves some form of IT work one of the IT Managers. It’s always difficult attending these interviews as it can feel like you are one against many but it’s not set up like this for any nasty reason it’s just easier for the company. If you are faced with a Panel Interview try and always answer each question posed by each member of the panel back to the individual who has posed the question whilst casually glancing at the other members of the panel. Also when you enter the room you will obviously shake hands with the head of the panel or the person who has taken you in but whether you decide to shake all of the panels hands is a decision you will need to make at the time. If they all stand and offer their hands your decision will be made easier.

The final type of interview is a Sequential Interview. This can also be a tough type of interview leaving you feeling absolutely drained. Basically how this works is you will be interviewed by a series of different people, it might be that the HR Manager interviews you first, then the Sales Manager interviews you and then the Local Director. The chances are that each member of staff will have a different question to the last but there may be some overlap and you might find yourself answering the same questions twice!

Attending an interview:Chapter 3

2008-04-05T21:52:00.000+05:30

Closing And Leaving The Interview:

Once the interview has finished and this should be fairly obvious as the interviewer will intimate that it has you will want to stand, pick up your briefcase or handbag from under the chair (if that’s where you put them) and shake hands with the interviewer (again in a firm but not grip wrenching manner!). Try and avoid the temptation to wipe your sweaty hands on your clothes in front of the interviewer – a better tactic is to just clench your hands together and rub them a couple of times gently to remove any wetness. Thank the interviewer for the time that they have afforded to you, say goodbye in a nice smiley manner and leave the room. Some people will escort you out onto the main floor others may see you out of the building but whichever try and stay as professional as possible – the jobs not yours until you have signed on the dotted line!

Generally speaking there are going to be certain questions that arise at your interview that you can pretty much expect to get asked at any other interview you attend. The great thing about this is the fact that you can rehearse your answers to these questions and with enough practice they will flow off your tongue easier than honey sipping down your throat! These questions are likely to be fired at all candidates applying for the job so although they may sound personal to you and they are to a degree these are pretty standard interview questions. So here goes you have to bear in mind that these are the responses that I would consider giving, they are obviously not set in stone and you will need to adapt answers according to your situation:

Tell Me About Yourself – Sounds a bit like the sort of question you get asked on a date! This isn’t as straight forward to answer as at first it might seem. Don’t start rambling on about how much you love watching the Simpson’s on the TV that isn’t what the interviewer is looking to hear. You probably need to answer this question with a question. Perhaps you could try saying “What would you like to know about me?” This then gives your interviewer the chance to get you to tell him exactly what information he is looking for. If possible try and keep this part of the interview to a minimum, you will know what the interviewer is looking for following his additional question which will probably have been something based around your job. If you can see if you can build into your response positives which relate to the job you are applying for. For example if it’s a sales role you could say “I am a very organised person who enjoys finding a new prospect, working with it and closing the deal, carrying out the completion from start to finish”. Sometimes your interviewer might ask about your hobbies and again you should pick out points that relate to the job your are applying for whether remote or not.

What Is the Most Enjoyable Part Of Your Current Job? - This is a fairly straight forward question but has a bit of a double meaning. Obviously there are going to be parts of your existing job that you don’t like doing – or you wouldn’t be applying for this new position would you, but your job can’t be that great either or you wouldn’t be applying for this job! Don’t get led down this route, just answer something along the lines of “your existing job is great and you can’t really put your finger on any part of your current job that you dislike you are just looking to further your career” and leave it at that. It is possible to use this question to your benefit but you need to make sure you pick something that is going to compliment the job you are applying for.

Tell Us About The Biggest Challenge You’ve Ever Faced In Your Career? - Oh wow, this is a really great question to help you shine! You are more than likely to be asked this question and it is a really great opportunity for you to blow your own trumpet or so to speak. Pick a challenge where you have been successful and explain how you overcame the challenge and the outcome. This question can also be used by the interviewer to gauge what you consider to be a challenge so this is a bit of a crafty one as well.

Why Do You Want To Leave Your Present Job? - This is a bit of a stupid question really as the chances of the interviewer getting a straight answer are fairly limited. Lets face it if the job your in doesn’t pay very well and you want more money you are going to be looking for a new job. It might be that your current boss is a complete idiot and you don’t like him, it could be you can’t stand working with John in accounts, lets face it you aren’t going to say any of these are you. I think a standard response along the lines of “I feel that I have outgrown the company I am in and I feel my contribution as part of a team could be put to much better use with a larger or more focused company where I can expand my skills further. I am really interested in……..but my existing employer doesn’t have the resources to let me advance in this area” and leave it at that. Just try not to be negative about the job you are leaving it doesn’t look good.

What Is Your Present Boss Like? - Another question posed by interviewers to gauge your loyalty and integrity. It is not a good idea to be critical about any of the employers you have ever worked for. Lets face it very few of us actually like our bosses (well most of us just placate them and tell them what they want to hear), after all why would you possibly want to be best buddies with a person who holds you career prospects in their hands! If you get asked this question the most appropriate reply is “I like my boss and get on very well with him, I respect his experience and he is good at his job”. You really don’t need to expand any further on this issue at interview stage. You have to remember that the person interviewing you may well, at some point in the near future, become your boss and they are weighing up your loyalty and integrity.

What Do You Think This Job Entails? - Now when you are applying for a new job the chances are you are going to know something about what your new job would entail. For example, if the job is a secretarial role and you are a secretary you will know what sort of work you are going to be involved with. In any case you will have been given a brief description of the job role and what responsibilities it carries with it so you should be able to make a fairly calculated guess at what the job entails.

What Do You Know This Organisation? - Now if you have taken my earlier advice you will have done your research and read up about what the company is involved in, its products, its turnover and its strategy. You will really impress your interviewer if you are able to show that you have done some research about their company. As previously mentioned people like to think that if you are really eager to work for them you will have done some research about what they do and how they do it. So lets say you are applying for a job with someone like Marks & Spencer you could say something like “I notice that you are one of the leading stores who operate a “Fair Trade Policy” when purchasing your goods from third world countries I have to say that I am very supportive of this and it’s nice to work for an employer who cares about the impact their business has on people in the outside world”.

What Made You Apply For This Job And Why Do You Want It? - This is a bit of a double edged question. Your interviewer isn’t necessarily looking for an answer here that is straight forward – you know you are applying for the job because you think you would enjoy doing it, the package is right and you think you would be able to advance your career with this firm – but the interviewer wants to see if there are some specifics that really attract you to it (other than the £ 50,000 per year and BMW 3 series!). So dependent upon what the role is you could use an answer such as “I am a very well organised person and this role involves exceptional management skills. I thrive under pressure and it makes me perform to my full ability which makes me think that I would really enjoy it”. Obviously you can tailor this answer to whatever role you are applying for.

What Qualities Do You Think You Can Bring To This Job Position? - Again, you know that you can do this job and that is why you have applied for it. Not only do you know that you can do the job, you will do it better than any one else so you will be aware of the qualities you are going to bring to this business. You will have reviewed the job spec and the key responsibilities so you will be able to select several areas where you feel your qualities will stand out. Perhaps you could therefore give an answer along the lines of “I have experience working in the complaints department where a sympathetic touch is required dealing with disgruntled customers. I am very tactful and am able to defuse situations using my personal skills”.

How Long Would You Expect To Work For Our Organisation? - Let’s face it no employer wants to go through the hassle and cost of hiring a new candidate if the candidate only stays with them for 6 months and then decides to apply to another firm. The recruitment process is a long an expensive one especially where agencies are used to introduce the candidate. This could cost your potential employer as much as 30% of your first year’s package! It’s probably a good idea therefore to intimate that you would like to work for this firm for several years minimum and you could provide an answer along the lines of “I like the way your company is continuing to expand and I would like to be part of that on a long term basis. So I would like to think that I could continue to work for you for a lengthy period of time providing my career continues to progress”.

What’s Your Greatest Strength? - Only you can answer this question, but it is a question that will more than likely be asked, after all, the interviewer wants to know what you are good at. This question gives you pretty much an open mandate to really show off, or so to speak. When answering this question try and provide strengths that relate to the role that you are applying for, so if the job requires the need to be organised and a good team leader provide these as strengths within your answer.

What Is Your Biggest Weakness? - Bit of a tricky question this, after all no one wants to show their weaknesses but we all have them. The most comprehensive way of dealing with this question is to try and turn it into a “positive” from a “negative”. So you could perhaps say “my biggest weakness is buying the kids sweets when they ask for them in the shop” or “I really dislike washing the car at the weekend but once I have done it I always feel a real sense of satisfaction”.

Where Do You See Yourself In Five Years Time? - Don’t say as I have heard so many times “sitting in your job!” although I have a sense of humour most interviewers don’t. The remark often has an element of truth hanging in the background and you don’t want your interviewer thinking you are potentially a threat to his or her job in the future. I am sure you will have ideas about where you want to be in a few years most people, whether they put them down on paper or not, have a good idea of their long term career objectives. Try and answer the question positively but not too arrogantly – perhaps you could say offer an answer such as “I have always been very career minded and ambitious. I would like to keep progressing up the career ladder and feel that your organisation will be able to offer me that opportunity”.

What Would Your Work Colleagues Say About You? - This question provides another opportunity for you to demonstrate that you are easy to get on with, a team player and a generally amenable person who works well with other people. You could answer this question with a quote such as “I am an organised, approachable, dependable, easy to get on with team member who is always willing to offer my advice or assistance to colleagues where needed”. Don’t go over board with your answer making out you are something you are not – you may get away with stretching the truth but if you are not a “natural team leader” don’t say you are!

What Would Your Friends Say About You? - Obviously this question is similar to the one above. If you are a popular, kind, caring person who can be counted on and would help a friend out at the drop of a hat then let your interviewer know.

What Interests Do You Have Outside Of Your Work? - This will be a definite question (in my opinion) and is posed by your interviewer to try and ascertain what you are like outside of your working environment. If you don’t like football or snooker don’t say that you do, just provide honest answers. There is nothing worse than saying you follow a sport and then it turning out that the interviewer is mad about the subject and starts asking you questions you can’t answer you will look a fool and your honesty will be under scrutiny!

What Type Of Books Or Publications Do You Like? - This question needs and honest answer. Just because you think the interviewer is looking to hear you tell them that you have just finished “Marketing Skills Made Easy” and that it was the best read of your life it isn’t a good idea to make it up. If you have genuinely read “David Jason’s” autobiography or “Stephen Kings” latest books then tell the employer what you enjoyed about them. Of course if you work within certain industries, read the trade publications and have recently read an interesting article about the latest “blue widget release” then by all means use this as an example.

We know all interview questions are tough but these are the real hard ones! Generally these questions aren’t asked to make your life difficult or to make you squirm they are simply asked so that the interviewer can find out what he wants to know in the best possible way. When you are posed with a difficult question which you find awkward to answer it puts you under pressure. Therefore there may be certain questions that are delivered to you to see how well you deal with that pressure – not an unreasonable request if the new job you are applying for is likely to carry and element of pressure. Just remember there is no need to get worked up or frightened, as I keep saying, if you have done your research and prepared properly for the interview these questions won’t be half as difficult as you think. When a question is posed to you try and keep calm, think about the question for a few moments and deliver your answer accordingly. So here we go!

Are You A Good Leader? - Your interviewer is looking to ascertain whether you can manage or lead well in your job and how you deal with the people who work under you. Perhaps you could answer this question along the lines of “I feel that my team leading qualities are exceptional. I am always firm but fair with the people who work for me and find that I get a good deal of respect by operating in this manner”.

How Do You Feel About Taking Direction From Your Superiors? - This is a very valid question from any potential employer. If you have a boss who is delegating work to you your boss will want to know that you are able to deal with his requests and execute them in the manner dictated. You will therefore want to be answering this question along the lines of “I take direction from my superiors well. After all no team can work properly unless they are able to accept instructions from their superior”.

How Do You Feel About Carrying Out Mundane or Repetitive Work? - Nearly every job carries an element of routine to it so this could well be a frequently asked “difficult” question. The answer could be something like “I understand all jobs have some element of repetitiveness but I take all aspects of my job seriously regardless of whether they are mundane or not and I always give 100% to my job”.

Are You A Natural Born Leader? - Some of us are natural born leaders and they are usually the people heading up teams or managing departments. Natural born leaders are chosen for the role of management or leadership because of their ability to guide and deal with people. They are usually people who possess enthusiasm, confidence and good leadership qualities. Try and build something into your answer that shows these qualities, it hasn’t necessarily got to include areas of your work life, however it’s better if it does, but you could use and example of something in your personal life such as being “head of the local under 16’s football team” or “head of your local cricket team” but whatever you choose try and choose something that makes your leadership qualities stand out.

How Well Do You Handle Criticism? - Everyone gets criticised in the job they do at some point in their career whether you feel that the criticism is right or wrong there are always two sides to every situation. An ideal answer to this question might be “We all at some point make mistakes and I am more than happy to take on board any constructive criticism that is given to me as it helps me understand and learn from the situation”.

How Well Do You Work Within A Team Environment? - Teamwork is very important to an employer. A properly functioning team will create a happy workplace and smooth, efficient production regardless of the product or service involved. Everyone has a different approach to how they deal with their colleagues so you will need to tailor the answer to this question to your own approach. Perhaps you could offer an answer like “I really enjoy working as a member of a team. There is a feeling of comradeship in that we are all working towards the same goal and that when we meet our objective we all benefit from the feeling of success”.

What Motivates You? - Your interviewer is not looking for an answer along the lines of “£ 100,000 per year and a Bentley Turbo!” lets face it that’s what we would all like! Try and give a constructive answer such as “I get a real kick out of completing a project. This drives me along the way and I get satisfaction at each stage of the project knowing that I will have made a contribution to the end result”.

Are You Good At Getting The Best Out Of Your Team? - An interviewer asking this question is looking for an answer that shows how you manage and run your team that work for you in order to achieve the best performance out of them. Your answer should include areas that show your leadership qualities and how they benefit the people that work for you such as communication skills and praise.

You Have Only Been With Your Employer A Very Short Time - Why? - As I have mentioned before the recruitment process is a long and expensive one. Where recruitment agencies are used to source candidates their fee may be as much as 30% of your first years annual package let alone the costs associated with any additional training you may need so the last thing an employer wants to do is employ a candidate who is only going to work for them for five minutes and then look for another job! If you have been with previous employer for a short period of time then you need to find an answer that is going to reassure the interviewer’s doubts and put his mind at rest. It is possible in this situation that you could use a line such as “Yes I have only been with my existing employer a relatively short period of time and have found that I have had to more to gain more experience and enhance my career but I feel that I am now ready to settle down in a position I am comfortable with for a long period of time”.

How Do You Deal With Interpersonal Problems Within Your Team? - Nothing runs smoothly all the time and from time to time there will be disputes amongst members of your team. Obviously your answer will probably come from your own experience here but areas such as being fair by hearing both sides of the dispute, dealing with the problem in private and not causing embarrassment in front of others and looking for a compromise between the individuals may all come into play.

How Would Your Current Boss Describe You? - “Your useless and should look for another job before I fire you!!”. Just kidding (or maybe not in some cases!!). Remember at some point in the future the man or woman sitting in the chair opposite you could well be your future employer. When you answer this question provide an answer in a way that you think you would like your boss to actually think of you. So perhaps you can say something like “I get on very well with my boss and we have an excellent working relationship. I think that the reason we get on well is due to the fact that we have mutual respect for each other. My boss considers me as a hard working, loyal and efficient employee who is able to work well using my own initiative and can trust me to carry out the work given to me without having to bother him”. It’s not a terribly good idea to blatantly lie about your relationship with your boss if it’s horrendous as it may come out in references that are taken later however under the employment law past employers have to be very careful how they word references and are not allowed to tear your personality apart!

What Part Of Your Job Do You Dislike The Most? - Well the answer to this can’t be “I am completely happy with my job and I enjoy every aspect of it as it fulfils my daily working hours with joy and happiness and I just wish I could do it 24 hours a day 365 days a year!!”. Why not? Because you wouldn’t be applying for this job if it was would you!? Don’t give answers that are purely motivated by money and benefits – even if that is the case. You might genuinely love your job but the money is crap but that isn’t what the interviewer wants to hear. Perhaps you could use a line like “I really do enjoy my current job and quite frankly there aren’t really any areas of my work that I can honestly say I dislike. However, the company I work for is small and I don’t get much chance to deal with new business very often which is an area I really find exciting and feel that this job would be able to offer me that opportunity”. Of course there may be an area you dislike in your job but if you decide to bring it up then try and create a positive out of it. For example “I used to find doing my filing at the end of the day a bit time consuming as I would always get distracted by more important issues to deal with so I decided that I would come in a bit earlier each morning to deal with this enabling me to start the day fresh and be left with a bit of spare time at the end of each day should something really important come up”.

If You Were Starting Out Again In Your Career Are There Any Decisions You Would Choose Differently? - Hey come on what a nonsense question really. No one can turn back the clock so it’s completely irrelevant isn’t it but this is one of those questions some interviewers like to pose. The only answer I can think of giving is “I wouldn’t change anything. I have been more than happy with all of the decisions I have made in my career and don’t feel that I can gain any benefit out of looking back and analysing something I cannot change”.

You Have Been With Your Employer A Long Time - Why? - To be honest I think this question is a bit unfair. There could be many reasons why you have shown loyalty to your existing employer for a lengthy period of time – it may be that you just liked your job and the people you have worked for but circumstances have changed or it might be that you have had a wide and varied career working in different parts of the company doing different job roles or you may have worked overseas for the same company. People don’t generally stay with the same employer in this day and age predominantly because it isn’t always easy to get promoted internally within an organisation so it could look to an interviewer that you have been unable to get another job. Of course this probably isn’t the case so build your answer around the facts.

Do You Feel That Your Career Has Been A Success To Date? - Again, another no brainer question that really has no bearing on whether you are capable of doing the job you are applying for or whether or not you are the right person for the job! Success can only really be measured by the person who it applies to, what one person thinks is successful another may think is unsuccessful and I genuinely think very few people actually feel that their career has been a failure. The only way to address this question is to say “Yes I feel my career has been successful to date and I have been more than happy with my career progression. I have always put emphasis on enjoying the job I do and not how much it pays or what benefits I can gain from it and have found so far that this strategy has worked well for me”.

We Think You Might Be Overqualified For This Job! - If you were overqualified for this job would you be applying for it? Well I guess in an interviewers mind it could be that you are desperate, or it may be that you are desperate! A future employer doesn’t want to think he is going to take you on if you are going to get bored in five minutes because the job is too easy and then start looking elsewhere again. This is a difficult question to answer but you could intimate that you have a very low boredom threshold and that everything you do, you do to the best of your ability.

Attending an interview: Chapter 4

2008-04-05T21:50:00.000+05:30

If You Were Appointed To This Position How Long Would It Be Before You Would Expect To Be Promoted? - Lets face it most of us want promotion as soon as possible. Promotion usually leads to more money and better employment benefits (of course it also usually entails more work and stress!) but you should consider your answer to this question carefully. If you answer “I’d expect promotion within 12 months of being appointed” you allocate a timescale which of course may not be acceptable to your future employer – they may not be looking to promote you for a good few years and they may feel that you would become despondent and leave if you didn’t achieve what you want. In all honesty the right kind of answer to this question is going to be something like “I couldn’t give a timescale in which I would expect to be promoted as I feel I would need to prove myself to the company in terms of my ability, leadership skills and experience I would bring to the business. I feel that promotion is a reward, not a right and as with all rewards I am a great believer in that you have to earn them”.

How Have You Managed To Attend This Interview In Works Time? - Another naughty question often posed by interviewers but at the same time it does bear some relevance. If you are attending an interview when you would normally expect to be in work then your potential employer wants to know what type of excuse you have come up with to blag your existing employer. Really this is a question of honesty and the reality is that you won’t have asked your existing boss for time off to attend an interview for another job. It may well be that you have blagged the time by telling your boss that you have had to take your pet anaconda to the vets or you might have thrown a sicky but that isn’t what your future employer wants to hear. One straight forward answer to this question is “I have taken some holiday to take part in this interview”. If you are feeling really clever and you want to impress your interviewer you could say “Unfortunately I didn’t have any holiday left so I asked my employer if I could take a days unpaid leave because I had a personal issue I needed to deal with. I preferred to take that action as I don’t feel it fair on my existing employer to attend this interview whilst he was paying me – I do not think its right to cheat”.

You Have Read The Job Description And A Summary Of The Job Role So What Areas Of This Job Appeal To You The Least? - Hmm….It’s a nasty one this isn’t it! At this point in your interview you don’t want to go and start making out that there is anything at all that you don’t fancy doing in this new job. I am not one for one sentence answers but if you get this one dropped on you I think it’s good to get off the subject as quickly as possible and use the damage limitation technique. I think a simple “Having reviewed the job summary and description I have to say that I can’t find anything that doesn’t appeal to me in this job at all”. If you do find something about the job that looks less than appealing make sure it isn’t a major part of role and if you can’t find anyway of turning the duty from a negative to a positive leave it well alone.

What Sort Of People Do You Find It Difficult To Work With? - There’s always someone in the office that doesn’t work with the team and the rest of the team ends up carrying but that’s life at the end of the day and it’s up to your boss to sort that problem out. This often causes bad feeling amongst the team and irritates the other members. However, when you are attending an interview you really don’t want to be seen to be moaning about individuals in your current organisation. The easiest way to deal with this interview question then is to give your answer based on the fact that although you are a very amenable and easy to get on with person, you are very much a team player and the most difficult people to work with are the ones that do not carry the same high standards in their work that you do.

Have You Attended Other Interviews As Well As This One? - This is a great question and one that you can manipulate to your advantage. If the interviewer thinks that one of their competitors is after you it makes you a much better catch should they get you. You have to remember many (not all) employers are like sheep and the bigger the company the more likely it will be that they are after a stereotypical candidate – but one that’s just a little bit better than the last. If you give the impression that you are talking to other firms as well and that you have made the last batch of interviews with them you are going to be a far more attractive prospect. So whether you are or are not talking to other companies make sure you give the impression that you are in demand.

What Do You Think About The War In Iraq, Privatization (or something that has a social political bearing) - The idea behind this question is for your interviewer to see if you take an interest in what goes on in the world, current affairs and so on and to show that your interest in the world doesn’t stop when you shut your front door at night. Your answer is likely to give your interviewer an insight into your values whether they be moral or otherwise and how you address life itself. Politically correct answers aren’t always the right ones, what you need to do is show the interviewer that you have the ability to see recognise all sides of a debate, that you don’t see things simply in black and white and that you have the ability to debate a subject properly and at the same time that you are open minded enough to form your own opinion on a subject. What you don’t want to do is jump on your high horse and fire off with your own political views without being able to show that you understand the subject. This question can be particularly relevant to certain industries, for example if you are applying to work for an oil company you may be asked your opinion on global warming and whether the work green peace does is right or wrong alternatively if you are applying for a job working for a company that manufactures for example make up you may be asked for your views on whether the work that animal rights campaigners carry out is justified – you get the picture.

What Sort Of Decisions Do You Find The Most Difficult To Make? - “Should I have prawn or beef sandwiches for lunch!” or “Should I buy the 28 or 32 inch flat screen TV!” Most of us at some point have had to make difficult decisions whether in our personal or work lives. If you have ever had to fire someone or make them redundant it’s not a nice decision to make, or job to carry out for that matter, not from the point of view that you don’t really like the person but most people have a conscience and realise that if they take away a persons job it will have a direct impact on their whole life. This is therefore a good example to use as an answer to this question.

What Is Your Current Bosses Biggest Weakness? - Wouldn’t you just love to say it - “Lunchtime Binge Drinking!” You must remember regardless of what a dick you think your boss is the person that is sitting in front of you may one day be the same boss you are criticising and anyway it wouldn’t achieve anything and would only make you look cheap. So if you get this one thrown at you why not try something like “My boss is great really and we get on very well, he is pretty damn good at his job, one which he wouldn’t have got it in the first place if he wasn’t, and I respect him for that. I am sure he may have weaknesses but I have to say that if he has I haven’t picked up on them”.

What Do You Think Of Your Existing Company? - Now you might think that your existing company are cheap skates, run old machinery, never want to invest in the plant or the future of the business, use every spare amount of cash they have to improve the cars parked in the Directors car park and so on and so forth. However that just isn’t the right answer! Your standard response to a question such as this should be that you have really enjoyed working for your current company and that you are thankful for the opportunities, training and career progression that they have afforded you to date.

What Is Your Current Salary? - It’s a bit of a cheeky question this one and you want to give a non committal answer. You must try and remember that all companies want to save as much money on salaries as they can and if you are offered the job the chances are they are going to indicate a package either similar or slightly more than the one your on. If you go straight in with “I earn £ 23,000.00 plus expenses plus a BMW 318I and free weekend tickets to the Manchester United games” you are setting a bench mark that you may find difficult to the negotiate around. Therefore an appropriate answer to this interview question might be “it’s not really the salary that is important to me it’s the whole package that I would be more interested in”. By saying this you are being non committal and it will make negotiating an acceptable package far more easy.

What Salary Would You Be Expecting For This Position? - Again another cheeky one which, ideally, you don’t want to be too committal over. If you commit to a salary at this stage you wont be able to negotiate later on and if you ask for too much they will think they cant afford you! If you don’t know what level of salary a position pays you can do some research on the internet there are several sites that collect data about average industry and job role remunerations. So you could ask the interviewer a question in response to his question such as “What level of salary would you be expecting to pay for this position?” If the interviewer doesn’t want to divulge this then it’s not unreasonable for you to decline to answer too. If your interviewer quotes you a salary of say £ 19,000 then try and come back with something like “Well I was looking for a salary in the region of £ 22,000 to £ 24,000. Your employer will always start with their bottom figure first so by asking for a little more it sets you a slightly higher bench mark. It may be that your interviewer can only go to the level he quotes but it’s fairly unlikely.

I have A Pen Here – Sell It Me! - I’ve been on loads of sales courses and this has always been a question posed to me to see how good I am at selling the benefits of a product – not just the product itself. This is an interesting question and some employers will ask you to do this even if you aren’t applying for a job that involves selling. As I have said the reason behind this is to see if you can sell the benefits of the pen rather than the object itself. For example as a pen itself – it is just a Bic biro with a roller ball and plastic coating. However, its benefits would be – it’s a Bic biro and the roller ball is really smooth and gives excellent presentation, it is leak proof and slim and sits discretely in your pocket. This is all about the bigger picture. If you are able to outline the benefits of the pen you will impress your interviewer. Obviously if you are applying for a sales role the chances are your interviewer will definitely ask you this question, however, it might not necessarily be a pen it could be something else sitting on your interviewers desk.

How Well Do You Work In A Stressful Environment? - Most jobs carry an element of stress whether its working to very tight deadlines or your in a position where by you are handling lots of different projects and having to manage your time effectively. Your answer to this question should encompass examples of situations where you have operated well under stress and also point out that you get a buzz out of a working in stressful environment as it keeps you mind focused and it assists you in your performance.

Some of the things you should ask at the time include:-

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Don’t:

1. Crossing Your Arms: Makes you look defensive.

2. Sit on the edge of your seat.

3. Mess with your face or play with your jewellery or hair.

4. Rock on the seat.

5. Interrupt when being asked a question.

6. Give one word answers (unless the answer dictates a one word answer!)

Do:

1. Smile as frequently as possible (especially when you are asked a question and respond to the person who has asked the question) but don’t over do it!

2. Keep your hands in your lap don’t wave them around all over the place.

3. Keep eye contact at all times (I don’t mean stare out your interviewer). If there is more than one interviewer flick from person to person.

4. Be articulate and listen carefully to each question before giving your answer.

5. Keep calm and don’t panic!

Oh No – I hear you cry help! Well you shouldn’t. Psychometric testing is becoming more and more popular now to vet potential candidates and you can use these in your favour. If you’ve never taken one before it can be a little bit worrying, it’s a bit like going back to school and sitting an exam doing those multiple choice questions with puzzles! These need not be a worry and are not once you understand what they’re for, how they work and what they are set out to achieve. In my experience it is really no wonder why companies have taken to using these tests to gauge applicants as nowadays there are some many well qualified applicants for each job that if you were to interview them all you would be there until doomsday. These tests are a good way to assess which candidates are most likely to be the best for the job. If you are the right person for the position then it will just give reassurance to the interviewer and you will be in a good position. On the basis that you have never sat a psychometric test or heard of one for that matter I will give you some brief information about them.

A psychometric test isn’t really a test and that is because you cannot really fail one. It is called a test because - well in all honesty how else can you categorise something where you are asked to carry out a task which you will then be assessed on. What these do is ascertain how you think and whether you think in the same format as the company you are applying to but these tests don’t tend to be used on their own in the interview and selection process. Basically psychometric tests – are split into four areas and can include one or all of the following; An Ability Test, A Personality Test, An Aptitude Test and Motivational Test. Each test speaks for itself really, the ability test is looking to assess your overall general ability, the personality test is assessing what type of personality you have, the aptitude test is carried out to test the skills you have that are specific to areas of the job that you are applying for and the motivational test which is set to find out what motivates you. Don’t panic if you are on your way to an interview and you suddenly get a thought go through your head like “oh no I wonder if I will be asked to sit a psychometric test at this interview”. It is very unlikely if you haven’t been informed that a psychometric test will form part of the interview that it will be sprung on you – after all that would be a bit of a dirty trick to play on an unsuspecting candidate. These tests are often carried out on the same day as the interview but generally speaking you will be given advance warning if this is going to form part of the day.

Should you be asked to sit a test as part of the interview then the chances are your interviewer of the HR manager will brief you beforehand as to what the test is about, what you need to do to complete the test and which type of test you will be asked to complete. If they do not brief you (which is fairly unlikely) then you might want to ask them a few questions about the test – things like how will the test be taken, what type of test will you be taking and what will the information be used for etc, etc. There is plenty of information readily available about psychometric tests on the internet so if you want examples or more information on this subject just go to Google and search for “psychometric tests”. If you know you are going to be taking a test then make sure you have everything you need before attending (it’s just like going into an exam without a pen or your glasses) make sure you are prepared you don’t want to add to your worries by leaving something important at home that’s going to hinder you. You should use the same type of formula when taking the test as you would if you were taking an exam – for those of you have been left school or University for a while and forgotten then here are a couple of pointers:

1. Sit down, keep your cool and follow all of the instructions given on the paper. Read them thoroughly and take them in. If you rush you may misunderstand the way in which the test is being set and end up answering questions incorrectly.

2. If at the start of the test there is an area that you are unsure of or do not fully comprehend then ask the assessor for help.

3. As with any exam you need to answer as many questions as possible correctly so be careful if the time spent on each question. If you are not sure of the answer or don’t understand the question don’t get flustered, leave it and move on, you can always return to the question again at the end if you have time left over.

4. Finally, if when you have finished all of the questions there remain some unanswered ones go back and have another go and by all counts if you still don’t know the answer just guess – you might come out lucky!

I will try and give you some insight into what you can expect from the different types of tests and how to answer them, I am no expert at the end of the day I can only go off my past experience and information I have read up on the subject.

Ability/Aptitude Tests:

Ability and aptitude tests are set to assess your specific skills. You will sit the test and the resultant mark you get will indicate to your future employer your overall level of ability. The content of the test may be general questions set to see how you think, how you deal with specific circumstances and what type of logic you are using to come up with your answer. These tests are frequently designed using multiple choice questions (or what we called multiple guess questions in my day at school!). Sometimes these tests will be set using far more questions than can possibly be answered in the allotted time but it is quality not quantity the examiner will be looking for as your overall score will be a percentage of the right questions answered not how many questions have been answered. It is fairly easy to do some preparation for aptitude tests, most of these tests are based around logical thinking which is something that we all do in everyday life. If you really want to try and increase your logical thinking you could try the doing the daily crossword in your newspaper, Sudoku which you can get from most local shops (or even play it on the internet for free) or you could try buying one of those puzzler magazines from WH Smiths or Sainsbury’s. What I am getting at here is that you need to get your mind working in a logical thinking way and by carrying out exercises that involve mathematical puzzles and problem solving you will give yourself a good start. Remember the more practice you get the better you will become at doing these tests.

Motivation Tests/Personality Tests:

Motivation questionnaires are set to specifically analyse what “motivates” or “drives” you as a person and how you are likely to integrate that into your work, how much stamina you have or how much enthusiasm you dedicate to a project. These tests are likely to set using a question followed by several possible answers. Personality tests are very similar to Motivation Tests and are designed to assess what type of person you are, unlike Aptitude tests which are created to analyse what type of logic you use to address problem solving. There are no right or wrong answers to Personality tests because everyone thinks differently and these tests are designed more to see if you will fit in with the companies way of thinking or the type of job you will be doing. Generally speaking there will be no time limit set at a personality test so they are not as pressurised as aptitude tests. It is not possible to analyse what sort of information the employer is looking for when you take a personality test as different employers will be looking for different qualities and they may be aimed at how well you are going to fit into their team and company. However, the general type of areas your employer may be looking to quantify are what your attitude is to your work life and personal life, how well you communicate with others, what drives you and how you deal with sorting out and solving problems.

There are many different ways for an interviewer to shortlist candidate’s, I have looked at general interviews, telephone interview, psychometric testing and so on and so forth. Another area that potential employers use, to assess potential candidates capabilities, are what’s known as assessment centres. Again these are not generally used in isolation they will form part of the whole selection process. An assessment centre is a place where you will take a test but it will probably involve some form of practical work.

Some jobs, by their nature alone, are going to be dependent upon a fully interactive well oiled team and it may be very, very important to the employer that the candidate who is offered the job is able to thoroughly interact with his colleagues to ensure that each project that is carried out runs smoothly and efficiently. For example you may be put with a group of other candidates and given a project to do – it could be something fairly simple like you are give a model bridge to build and you have to construct it as a team but there is a deliberate problem built into the project. What will happen is you will work together as a team to solve the problem and complete the project while you are being observed by the assessors or interviewer. What they will do is make notes about each candidate and the chances are they will be looking out for certain aspects, such as who takes the lead of the team (who is the natural born leader), how well you interact with each other etc, etc.

It is often the case that you will get two or more people with the same type of leadership skills in one of these projects (hence possibly causing a clash of personalities) so your assessor will also be looking at how well you can communicate with the other people. If you are a true team player or a natural leader then these type of tests are a real opportunity to show your skills off and I think are far less imposing than some of the other tests. If you enjoy being creative and interacting with others these assessments can be quite enjoyable. Aside from carrying out little projects you may also have to get involved with group discussions, tasks where you are given a situation that has to be resolved and role play amongst many other exercises. Some tests may involve physical exercises which take you away for a couple of days and involve getting from one destination to another via an assault course to evaluate your team and leadership skills etc, etc.

Remember that you are under scrutiny by your assessors for each and everything you do whilst you are carrying out your tasks. Don’t try and pretend you are a different person or something you are not, these tests can take anything from several hours to several days to complete and trying to make out that you are a natural born leader when you are not will show through and your assessor will spot it a mile off.

Finally one thing I would add is that even if you are not a natural born leader you must contribute and get involved, if you just sit there and have no input or say nothing it won’t look good at all. Remember not to get into arguments with your team mates – try and discuss any issues calmly – as I have mentioned it’s always easy to start getting frustrated if you find yourself clashing with another team member and it is an issue that is fairly likely to raise its ugly head. If you get involved, stay cool headed and professionally and try and enjoy the experience then it is a great way to enhance your interview skills and even in some cases make new friends!

Attending an interview: Chapter 5

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Waiting to hear about the job

If you have been invited back for a second interview then things are looking good! You have obviously managed to impress your interviewer in the first place or else you wouldn’t have been invited back for another go. Don’t get complacent here though; it is just as important to do your preparation prior to the second interview as it was your first. Your interviewer has probably invited you back to get a little more information about you or it may be that at second interview stage a more senior member of staff wants to meet you to ask you some questions. It may have been that the interviewer has decided that you are the best candidate in his opinion but needs his superior to meet up with you and Vito his decision – who knows. Many employers use recruitment agencies to carry out the first set of interviews on their behalf to save them time and get a pre-qualified shortlist of candidates, they will have briefed the agency as to what type of candidate they are looking for, qualifications, interpersonal skills etc, etc so this interview may be the first opportunity you have actually had to meet your potential new boss. If you have not already sat a psychometric test or aptitude test then it may be that this will be a requirement at the second interview although, again, if this is to be the case then the chances are that you will have been briefed about it before you attend your second interview. Sometimes time may have been against an interviewer at the first meeting and there may well have been more questions that needed to be asked so this could be another reason you have been invited back for a second interview to clarify any outstanding points that your interviewer couldn’t ascertain in the first place. Remember that the second interview shortlist may have several other candidates on it and you’re your interviewer may want to explore your experience or interpersonal skills in a more in depth manner. One thing is for sure though if you have got this far things are looking positive so you will want to be giving this next meeting your very best.

Your second interview therefore is unlikely to follow the same format as the first. If another more senior member of staff is attending this second interview then the chances are that the interviewer will have already briefed them as to your background and shared any thoughts or concerns with them however there may be one or two questions asked that you answered at the first interview. It could be that there are certain specific areas of concern that your interviewer has and it may well be that they will address these questions in a straight manner. There are going to be specific questions your interviewer is looking to find answers to or clarification of and they are likely to be questions aimed at your ability to do the job should they offer it you or questions based around your past performance with your present or previous employers. So it’s a fair assumption that some of the questions will be along the lines of “give me an example of a project you have undertaken to increase your sales turnover” or “how did you manage to increase your weekly output from x to x”. These questions as mentioned are likely to be aimed at specifics.

It is fair to say that most second interviews usually follow a more informal approach than the first interview. In addition, the chances are you will already have met your interviewer once and you therefore may feel a little less nervous than on the first occasion so if you didn’t accept a beverage when it was offered the first time because you were worried you would throw the cup up in the air 6 foot whenever you were asked a question, you may feel confident to accept one in a less informal environment. Sometimes your interviewer may decide to conduct the second interview outside of the office in either a pub or restaurant. This can be done for a couple of reasons – it may be that the interviewer feels if you are in a more relaxed environment you will let your guard down and he feels that any questions he asks you may attract answers that are more truthful as it appears you are now his friend. Secondly, it could be that your interviewer wants to assess your interpersonal and communication skills outside of an office environment – something that may be relevant to the interviewer if the job role is going to entail entertaining clients socially. Whatever happens don’t get lured into a false sense of security, keep professionalism at the forefront of your mind and only say something you would be prepared to say if the interview was being conducted back at the office. If you are offered an alcoholic drink by all means accept one if you think the circumstances are right (obviously if you don’t drink you can say so) but try and keep it to one – alcohol is a natural relaxant and if you do drink too much you may let your guard down and you might end up saying something you regret – like telling a joke that was perhaps not really suitable for the occasion!

“Thank God for that” I hear you say when you get home and sit down with a cup of tea and the feeling of overwhelming stress starts to drift from your body and a warm feeling of relief enters your soul! However, there is still one more job to do before you sit back and wait for the post to drop on your door mat with the job offer and that is write a letter to your interviewer offering your thanks for the time afforded to you – and you need to do it immediately prior to a decision being made about the job. After all it is only courteous and professional to thank someone for the time they have given you. A short letter of thanks to the interviewer is going to give the impression that you have manners, that you really have appreciated the time given to you, that you are a professional person who has good and upstanding morals and that you want to stand out from the crowd to prove that the job really is important to you. It sounds old fashioned but for most employers these are all qualities that an interviewer will be looking for in their ideal candidate and if the decision in close between you and a competitor it could tip the scales in your favour. There is another purpose to writing a thank you letter and that is that you will be one of the few that will bother to put any effort into doing so. What will this achieve? Well when it comes to selection time if you are the only person to have written a thank you letter that will be a plus point above everyone else. In turn you will stand out from the crowd and your name will undoubtedly leave a lasting impression in the interviewers mind. I am not saying that this is going to swing the job in your favour, as there are going to be many factors involved when the interviewer is making his or her decision, but it could do!

What does the letter need to say? Only you can decide what to put in your letter but it could be something along the lines of “Thank you for giving me the opportunity of meeting with you this afternoon I very much appreciate the time you have afforded to me. I would like to say that I am very interested in the job and should there be anything further you would like me to clarify please contact me on my mobile number provided on the top of my CV. I look forward to hearing from you in due course.” It might be that there was something you forgot to tell them about yourself at the interview and you could add this but keep it brief and only add it if it really is relevant. The idea is for the interviewer to read and remember the letter not have to spend fifteen minutes reading it.

Once you have finished your letter and rushed down to the post box to get it off first class it’s probably a good idea to go back and reflect for a short time on how the interview went. There might have been areas where you felt you said the wrong thing or there were things you wished you had said but forgot. You may have made comments that your interviewer appeared impressed by, points that you may undoubtedly wish to use in the future at other interviews should you not get this job or by the same token, questions you didn’t feel you gave good answers to – you get the drift, try and analyse the whole interview as best as you can and jot down any plus points you can come up with or ways in which you can improve your general technique for the future. If you don’t jot them down within a day or so you will have forgotten them so even if you only have a scrap piece of paper write them on it – you never know when they may come in useful.

If u get thejob

Thump! – The post has arrived – you open your letter and YES, you have been offered the job! However, it might be that you have decided that you don’t want this job after all and that you couldn’t stand the interviewer or the company. If that is the case then you should let the employer know politely and turn them down in a professional manner and as soon as possible – after all there may be someone out there that really does want the job. It is always prudent to remember that you never know when or if you and your interviewers paths might cross again and the last thing you want is to find you’ve happily settled into your new job and six months down the line your new manager happens to be the interviewer who has now joined your company! A lot happens in industry, takeovers, mergers, reverse takeovers, you name it, and most industries are very incestuous. So it’s not a good idea to tell them to shove their job “where the sun don’t shine” or anything else along these lines – so if you have changed your mind and don’t fancy the job anymore just decline it professionally and you then don’t have to worry about “what goes around comes around!”

Life is never simple, if it were, we would all be living in mud huts feeding our children by living off the land and never worrying about a thing - no complications, decisions to make or anything else. But that isn’t the case. The problem you may have is if you have applied for several jobs and attended several interviews and then you get offered a job it may not be your preferred choice. It may be that you are still waiting on an answer, from another company (which is the job you would really like) but have not yet had a reply from them. You don’t want to accept the first job and then find out a couple of days later that you’ve been offered the second one it would be a disaster. Well there’s a couple of ways you can play this. The first thing you need to do in this position should be to try an create yourself some breathing space – buy a bit of time. You could contact the employer and say to them that you’re really pleased that they have chosen to offer you the job you’d just like a day to make your mind up for certain or discuss it with your wife - after all changing jobs is a big decision, one that you are not going to make lightly. This isn’t an unreasonable request and as long as you keep the time extension short then they wont think anything of it. If you start asking for a week to think about it then your potential new employer is going to start getting suspicious and you could be risking the offer – don’t forget they’ve been around the block a few times and know their job. No one wants to play second best and if they think you’re looking for a better offer with another company you could blow your chances – once and for all!

Now you really are in the driving seat! You have a job offer on the table for a job that you really wouldn’t mind doing at all because you know you could do it well – you have little to lose providing you play your cards right. So what do you do next. A good idea would be to contact the company whose decision you are waiting on and explain the situation. Chances are they will be glad to hear that they are your first choice and it always looks good if every one else wants to employ you and that you are in demand – wow what a catch you would be! However just because you are the next Gordon Gecco it’s fairly unlikely that they will give you an answer there and then but it may be that they will get back to you the following day with their decision – it really doesn’t matter if its no because all of your doors are open! It isn’t a good idea to play this game if you haven’t been offered another job (although it seems tempting) because the end result could be disastrous – you don’t want to lose the chances of getting this job by being over zealous if time is just a matter of course.

Negotiating Your Salary & Benefits Package:

Lets get down to business now comes the really important part! It’s always wise to leave negotiating salary and any benefits package until you’ve been offered the job. The reason being once your future employer has decided that you’re the employee for them your are in a great position to negotiate a mutually acceptable package. Negotiating a deal is not just about money and benefits, its about negotiating your whole contract (which includes salary, benefits, holiday entitlement, working hours and of course those free season tickets to your favourite football team or use of the corporate hospitality box!!). By negotiating your deal it will give the perception that you know what your you are actually worth (of course this isn’t necessarily what you are going to get) but that you are not prepared to settle for just any old offer (without being over the top). This might not be exactly what your employer wants, on the basis that they will be paying you more than they really want to, but it will show that you have good negotiating qualities, a strong personality and good negotiation skills (something that will have a good bearing should you be entering a sales orientated role) which you will be able to apply to the job once your in it – it’s a good quality to have. There’s little point in trying to squeeze them like a lemon with unrealistic sums, at the end of the day they can only pay you what they can afford and you might end up losing the job at the last minute – something you won’t want to do due to greed.

So the big question here is how are you going to determine how much they value you and what are they willing to pay you? Well in all honesty it’s no good just plucking a figure out of the air. When you applied for the position the chances are that there would have been an indicative offer in salary whether that being an “Salary In The Region Of X” or “Basic Salary In The Region Of X With On Target Earnings Of X” or “Salary Between X and X Subject To Experience”. Aim for the top end of the scale or if you are really cheeky you could try and squeeze them for 5% – 15% more than the quoted figure, they can only say no and the chances are you will end up getting more than they would have offered you in the first place! Remember that if you can prove to your future employer that you are better than the average “Joe” you will have a far better chance of negotiating your way to the higher level of the salary bracket. So how do you prove this? Well your qualifications are always a good start. If you have more qualifications than were originally advertised for the position then that’s a plus point. You will definitely need to prepare some justifications for asking for the top dollar rate but you could say something like “I’m not only ACII qualified but am four parts FCII qualified and you were originally looking for candidates who were working towards completing their FCII” or “The advertisement for the job stated that the candidate must have two years sales experience for the position whereas I have five years including 12 months experience in pure new business lead generation”.

At the end of the day you have been offered the job based on your experience along with other attributes and because you were an overall better candidate than the other applicants so all you really need to do is point out these qualities and use them in your negotiation techniques.

Additional Employment Benefits:

There are other package benefits that may apply that are not necessarily salary orientated. They are things such as holiday entitlement, luncheon vouchers or expenses, performance related bonuses, commission, overtime, profit sharing, private health insurance, share options, childcare contribution, sports / gym facilities, company car, mobile phone, rail or travel ticket and non contributory pension. This list is not exhaustive and it would be unrealistic to ask for all of these benefits, the best thing to do is choose maybe two or three and see how you get on. It may be that your employer doesn’t want to provide a company car but he may be prepared to finance your travel to and from work so compromise is as always the golden rule.

Hey lets face it some hard ball managers (whether they be HR Managers or Heads of Department) are going to try and get you as cheep as possible so there could be some dirty tactics at play at negotiation stage. You can just bet your bottom dollar that they will be holding a card up their sleeve to try and get you to agree to a lesser package or make you take on more responsibilities that the job role originally stated. Generally speaking this is a little bit “Un British” and ruthless and the chances are they will pull this one out of the hat just when you have almost struck your salary deal. A good example of this is where your employer tells you his right hand man is off sick and is likely to be off for at least six months and would you therefore mind taking over his work. Its not that you don’t want to demonstrate what a hard working person you are or that you can’t do the job but you’ve basically agreed on a salary that was acceptable and now you’re finding out the job is twice as involved – it’s now much harder to go back and negotiate and your employer knows this! All is not lost however. You can prevent this situation happening by you both laying down your cards at the start. All you might say is “We need to talk about my salary, benefits package and holiday entitlement. Are there any other areas of issues concerning the job role or workload that you feel we could do with discussing at whilst we talk about my salary and benefits package?” You have now made it extremely difficult for your employer not to mention the fact that his right hand man is off sick and you will be required to do his job as well as your own for the next six months – hence you can use this in your salary negotiation.

Confirmation Of Your Employers Job Offer:

When you have agreed everything with your employer, salary and benefits package, working hours, holiday entitlement etc, etc and both you and your employer have agreed on the final points of the deal then your employer should issue you with a letter of confirmation of the offer, this should encompass all of the agreed areas such as your salary and benefits package, the title of the job being offered, working hours, the date in which your contract will commence and any conditions that apply to the job offer. Once you receive this confirmation and are satisfied that everything is correct that you should formally respond to your new employer agreeing the terms and conditions outlined in the offer letter and off you go!

Crazy thoughts

2008-04-04T16:12:00.000+05:30

1. Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?
2. How come the Bible is the most stolen book, and one of the ten comandments is "thou shall not steal"?
3. Why isn't the caps lock capitalized?
4. If there's a hole straight through the earth, from the south pole to the north pole, and you jump through it what would happen? would you keep falling forever, or fall back down when you get to the middle, or is it physically impossible?
5. If someone with a nostril ring takes it out, then blows their nose, do they have to cover that hole as well as their nostril holes so that snot does'nt blow out everywere?
6. Isn't it weird that if you rearange the word "teacher" you get "cheater"?
7. How come whenever you start to sing, you automatically sing in a higher voice than you talk?
8. How come people say they ate the last piece of gum, when they really just chew it?
9. If a pope goes to the bathroom, is it considered holy crap?
10. You know the saying "throw ya hands in the air like ya don't care"? why bother doing that if you dont care?
11. Why is there no pine or apple in pineapple?
12. If "Fantasy Island" really granted wishes, why wasn't Tattoo 6'6" ?
13. Why do water bottles have a "best if used by" date?
14. If you called the police station to talk to an officer and he was not there, would that be considered a cop out?
15. Can bald people get a hair line fracture?
16. Why do they put holes in crackers?
17. How come on TV the bell always rings and then the kids go to class, but in real life you need to be in class before the bell rings?
18. Why can the saying "it's all downhill from here." mean both that it will be easy and that it is going to get worse?
19. If all of ACME's products backfire, why does Wile E. Coyote keep buying them?
20. Why do "cool" and "hot" mean the same thing?
21. If you sneeze and fart at the same time, does a vacuum form in your stomach?
22. Why does triangularly cut bread taste better than square bread?
23. Does a baby feel the umbilical cord being cut off?
24. Is it legal to name your kid "Anonymous"?
25. Why is it that no matter what color of bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?
26. If you have a pet with 2 heads do you have to name both heads?
27. Why can't liquor freeze?
28. If you dig a hole in the south pole are you digging up or down?
29. How come they don't add the time that we are in our mom's to our age?
30. Why do people squint their eyes when they can't see? Wouldn't that just make it less space to see out of?
31. What is a hacky, and why is it in a sack?
32. Who was in the kitchen with Dina?
33. Why do we have to pay a toll on "freeways"?
34. Why do they call them pepperoni if there is no pepper in it?
35. How old does something have to be to become an antique?
36. Can a school teacher give a homeless child homework?
37. Why do they say "an alarm going off," if it is really going on?
38. Do babies produce more spit than adults?
39. How come French fries are not considered a vegetable, they are just deep fried potatoes?
40. Do cows have calf muscles?
41. Why is shampoo clear but conditioner not?
42. If conjoined twins participate in sports, do they count as one or two players?
43. If a singer sings their own song during a karaoke party, is it considered karaoke?
44. Why do mattresses have designs on them when they're always covered with sheets?
45. If you died with braces on would they take them off?
46. If a person suffered from amnesia and then was cured would they remember that they forgot?
47. Can someone have their head in the clouds and be down-to-earth at the same time?
48. Why is Joey short for Joe, when Joey has more letters?
49. If you were a pastor, and you were getting married, would you hire a pastor, or would you do the wedding yourself?
50. Is there a certain temperature at which it stops being qualified as cold? At what temperature does it qualify as hot?
51. Why is most lunchmeat bigger than the bread?
52. Why is it that whenever you sing to the radio, your voice is higher? Even when you have a low voice?
53. How come toy hippos are always blue, or purple, when real hippos are brown?
54. Have ex-punsters been expunged?
55. Have ex-mathematicians become dysfunctional?
56. Have ex-locomotive engineers been derailed?
57. Have ex-civil lawyers been distorted?
58. Have ex-bankers become disinterested?
59. Are there seeing eye humans for blind dogs?
60. You know that little indestructible black box that is used on planes, why can't they make the whole plane out of the same substance?
61. After eating, do amphibians have to wait an hour before getting out of the water?
62. Can fat people go skinny-dipping?
63. You know how most packages say "Open here". What is the protocol if the package says, "Open somewhere else"?
64. Would a fly without wings be called a walk?
65. Why isn't there mouse-flavored cat food?
66. Why isn't phonetic spelled the way it sounds?
67. Why isn't "palindrome" spelled the same way backwards?
68. Why is there only ONE Monopolies Commission?
69. Why is there an expiration date on SOUR cream?
70. Don't you have to get up to get to the tape?
71. Why is the word "abbreviate" so long?
72. Why is the alphabet in that order? Is it because of that song?
73. Why is Mickey Mouse bigger than his dog Pluto?
74. Why is it, whether you sit up or sit down, the result is the same?
75. Why is it when two planes almost hit each other it is called a "near miss"?
76. Why is it that when you're driving and looking for an address, you turn down the volume on the radio?
77. Why is it when a door is open it's ajar, but when a jar is open it's not adoor?
78. Why is it so hard to remember how to spell MNEMONIC?
79. Why is it called 'after dark', when it is really after light?
80. Why is it called a TV "set" when you only get one?
81. Why is it called a bust, when it stops right before the part it is named after?
82. Why is it called a "building" when it is already built?
83. If you only have one eye...are you blinking or winking?
84. If you have a gun and you ask, "can I ask you a question?" and they say "fire away" should you shoot them?
85. What is a chickpea if it is neither a chick nor a pea?
86. Why is it called the People's Republic Of China when China's not a republic?
87. Why are dandelions considered weeds when daisies are considered flowers?
88. Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant?
89. Whenever an adult is kidnapped why isn't it called adultnapped??
90. Why do blacklights look purple?
91. Did Yankee Doodle name the feather, hat, town, or his pony Macaroni?
92. Why is it that people duck in the rain, do they really think the rain won't hit them?
93. Why is it that if something says, "do not eat" on the packaging it becomes extra tempting to eat?
94. How come we say 'It's colder than hell outside' when isn't it realistically always colder than hell since hell is supposed to be fire and brimstone?
95. In that song, she'll be coming around the mountain, who is she?
96. Why is it illegal to park in a handicapped parking space but its ok to use a handicapped toilet?
97. If an atheist has to go to court, do they make him swear on the Bible?
98. Why don't the hairs on your arms get split ends?
99. Can you get cornered in a round room?
100. Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet soup?
101. If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?

How To Talk To Your Parents

2008-04-04T02:26:00.000+05:30

Find a time that you and your parents can be comfortable and relaxed together.
Make sure no one is focusing on something else while you're together No paying bills, playing Playstation, making dinner, or watching TV!
These first two steps might take some effort and patience. Be persistent.
If you just want to shoot the breeze try to bring up something they're interested in. Ask them questions about their day. Parents love this!
If you have something specific you want to talk about let them know exactly what it is. Don't beat around the bush.
If they react badly to what you tell them really listen to them. Don't react back.
Let them finish and don't interrupt. Ask them to do the same for you.
When you feel like you've told them what you wanted to thank them for listening. Remain respectful and keep your voice calm even if you're upset.
If you feel like there are still things that need to be talked about set up a time with them to talk about it another day. Don't continue talking if things have grown tense. Calm down and try to have the talk again at another time.

Tips:

Show them respect by focusing your attention on the conversation, looking them in the eyes, and by not being sarcastic or rolling your eyes.
Be honest. Honesty builds trust. And life is good when your parents trust you.
Stay cool. If you stay calm when things get heated up you're showing maturity and your parents will respect that.

World's first diamond cricket ball

2008-04-03T23:49:00.000+05:30

World's first diamond cricket ball

Alston Koch, managing director, Fior Drissage, holds a perfect made-to-scale diamond and gold cricket ball, which has been brought to Australia to celebrate the start of the cricket season and the opening of their jewellery store in Melbourne.

Making a claim for the Guinness Book of Records as the only one of it's kind in the world, it is made with 2704 diamonds and 18 carat gold stitch.

The ball, which was made in Sri Lanka, weighs 53.83 carats and has a pure 'gold' seam of 125 grams. The material used to keep the diamonds on the ball is similar to the one used on the wings of NASA space shuttles.

Drilling into a climate hotspot

2008-04-03T23:25:00.000+05:30

By Martin Redfern
BBC Radio Science

High science: On Mount Haddington for the summer drilling season

Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey have just returned from one of the most ambitious projects of the season: to drill an ice core from the top of a mountain high on the Antarctic Peninsula.

"The Peninsula is the fastest warming place in Antarctica and one of the three fastest-warming in the world," explained team leader Dr Robert Mulvaney.

"Over the last 50 years, it has probably warmed about 2 .5C, which is spectacular," he told Discovery on the BBC World Service.

From the broad 1,630m summit of Mount Haddington, the highest point on James Ross Island near the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, you get a spectacular view.

Far to the west are high ice cliffs, 1,000m high, leading up to the mountains of the mainland peninsula.

Had you been standing there in 1916, you might have seen the remnants of Ernest Shackleton's party drifting past on sea-ice following the loss of HMS Endurance.

The latest vessel to bear that name, which carried us and the scientists, was able to sail right into the channel that separates James Ross Island from the mainland.

Twenty years ago that channel was permanently blocked by ice.

Different views

Fifty kilometres to the south, there used to be the vast Larsen B ice shelf which broke up spectacularly in 2002 over the space of a few weeks.

The core records climate conditions over thousands of years

Now, the Wilkins ice shelf on the other side of the peninsula appears to be disintegrating.

All these changes would seem to be signs of global warming, but are they just a recent phenomenon or part of a natural cycle?

There is controversial evidence from sediment cores drilled from where the Larsen B Ice Shelf used to be that suggest it may have broken up previously.

"Marine sediments tell us that an ice shelf break-up happened around 5,000 years ago as well. This core will tell us for certain if it got warmer then, too," Dr Mulvaney said.

It should also tell him about how the great Antarctic ice sheets began to retreat at the end of the last ice age.

Open water: A sight Shackleton would have liked to have seen

"I have drilled two cores in the region; this one and on Berkner Island, 1,500km to the south," he explained.

"These were both part of the western Antarctic ice sheet in the last ice age, but that retreated rapidly as the ice age came to an end.

"That gives some feeling for how fast the ice sheets can actually retreat. So, it gives clues about how the ice sheet might retreat from other areas if they warm in the future."

To the base

To complete this borehole, helicopters from HMS Endurance had to transport 20 tonnes of supplies and equipment to the mountaintop.

A team of seven scientists lived there in tents for 50 days, working in shifts so that they could continue drilling 16 hours a day.

The main working tent itself had to have a slot in the roof and trench in the floor to accommodate the tall drill, and enable it to swing to the horizontal to extract the ice core.

Ash layer: Evidence of past eruptions

At intervals in the ice, there are grey bands of volcanic ash. James Ross Island and some of its neighbours are volcanic, though there is no sign of activity there today.

After some initial bad weather and snow drifting over and even into their tents, the drill team made good progress and, by mid February, had reached a depth of 363m. It was Robert Mulvaney's turn to work the drill.

"I got 20cm into my run (normally you try and drill 1.5m on each run). I got just 22 cm and the drill got stuck. Of course, my colleagues said, you're rubbish at drilling, let me take over," he recalled.

"But we brought the drill back to the surface and we knew straight away that we had got to the bottom. You can't go further than that."

The team managed to drill a small amount of the frozen clay and rock fragments from beneath the ice. This should enable the researchers to date when ice first covered the region.

'Night life'

Completion of core saw a small celebration.

"Next day, two Twin Otter planes took out the ice cores and left empty the ice cave in which we had stored them. So we set it up with Tilly lamps and candles and we sat around on food boxes and partied well into the next night.

"We called it 'The Pit' - the most exclusive nightclub venue in the region," said Dr Mulvaney.

Now, the ice cores are on their way back to the UK for analysis.

When the team pulled out, all its equipment went too

Trapped within the ice are tiny bubbles of ancient air which should reveal atmospheric composition - and in particular carbon dioxide concentrations - well back into the last ice age, possibly 30,000 years ago.

The proportions of different types, or isotopes, of oxygen in the ice should give the team the sea temperature at the time to an accuracy better than one degree. When the sea is warmer, a greater proportion of the heavier oxygen isotope evaporates to leave its signature in the ice.

There are also tiny traces of other chemicals in the ice layers.

The amount of some of them, notably sea salt, should show if there was open sea nearby at the time the layers formed. If there is very little salt, then there were probably extensive ice shelves preventing it getting blown onto the island.

The helicopters from HMS Endurance eventually returned to retrieve the "Antarctic night-clubbers". Everything was shipped out. Nothing but clean white snow drifts across the summit of Mount Haddington.

"When we leave the site, we take everything with us," said Dr Mulvaney.

"We've left nothing in the hole, nothing on the surface. Everything goes out. That's very important to us."

You can listen live to Discovery on the BBC World Service at 1230 GMT on Wednesdays. Follow the link to the website to listen again