Posted by Nirav Ashara in , on Saturday, March 28, 2009

Top 5 ways to Make Money on the Internet


5. Selling stuff on eBay


It's a fairly straightforward concept that most people are familiar with by now -- if you have a bunch of stuff that you don't necessarily need but others want and are willing to pay extremely inflated
prices for, you can auction off the items on eBay or other online auction sites. Simply gather your goods, create a seller's profile and start selling.

It sounds simple, but takes some practice to sell successfully. Creating persuasive and legitimate product pages for the goods you're selling will help get buyers interested. It's also important to set reasonable minimum bids to ensure that people will buy. And remember to deliver the kind of customer service that will garner positive feedback rat
ings and to communicate with buyers to let them know you're reliable. The more positive feedback you receive, the more people will be willing to do business with you. And that, of course, means more money.

4. Blogging

If you have a particular passion for something, whether it's a hobby or an obsessio
n, and yo
u have something to say about it, blogging could be a profitable way to pour out your endless
stream of thought. The key here, as with many other services on the Internet, is in
selling advertising.

After starting up a personal blog, many writers
sign up for ad services like Google AdSense, which post those familiar sponsored links you often see at the top and on the sides of Web sites. The
more times your blog readers click on those
ads, the
more money you'll make through the ad service. This works fine if you're a casual blogger, and you may make some extra spending money. But if the blog is consistently interesting, well-written and really takes off, you may be approached by co
mpanies who want to reach your fan base with graphical advertising around your blog. Some of the more suc
cessful blogs, like I Can Has Cheezburger? and Boing Boing, have become pop-culture phenomena, and their creators have been able to quit their day job
s and blog full time because of the money they make from advertisers.

3. Dsigning & Selling T-shirts

As you walk around most high school and college campuses, you're likely to come into contact with lots of words. But it won't be material from textbooks or term papers -- those are probably in backpacks or sitting unfinished at home.
Instead, they're the simple phrases or logos -- most of which are ironic or amusing -- printed on the T-shirts on the backs of the students.

Usually, the more unique and offbeat the design is, the more desirable the T-shirt is. The growth of the Internet has made it possible for vendors to sell T-shirts all over the world. In fact, sites like CafePress.com and SpreadShirt.com allow you to set up your own store, create your own designs and sell them yourself. If you create your own shirt design with a clever catchphrase or come up with your own unique statement and people like it, you can start making money.

2. Freelancing

Freelancing is similar in some ways to blog
ging. For one thing, you get to work from y
our own home or office most of the time. But there are a few important distinctions. First, if you're thinking about freelance writing, chances are you need to have more experience than the average blogger. Many freelance writing positions cover specialized topics for online publications and may require expert knowledge on a subject. However, if you're passionate abou
t things like travel or food and know how to write, a freelancing job can provide you with good income.

Writing's not the only way to make money freelancing, of course -- anyone with graphic design or programming experience can find contract jobs that pay well and provide challenging work, too.

1. Domain Name Flipping

Based on luck, strategy and business savvy, domain name flipping can be one of the more lucrative ways to earn a living online. The term comes from the real estate trick that involves buying old, undervalued houses, fixing them up to make them more attractive and modern-looking and selling them for a much higher price.

n this case, the old and outdated place is not a house, but rather a domain name -- the main address for a Web page. With a little bit of searching, dedicated domain flippers locate unused, poorly maintained Web sites that have generic and recognizable identifiers and buy them. They usually pay a few hundred or even a few thousand dollars, but after extensive updates that make the site more business- and user-friendly, the domain name can fetch several times more than it was originally worth. The domain bird-cage.com, for instance, was bought for a mere $1,800 in 2005 -- after a redesign two years later, the site was sold for $173,000 to a bird cage vendor [source: Bhattarai].

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Posted by Nirav Ashara in

How to Add RAM to your Laptop


1. Choosing RAM

When most people refer to a computer's "memory," they're talking about random access memory, or RAM. RAM is considered important to your laptop's central processing unit (CPU), because memory allows you to run several programs at once without too much interruption. How do you know if you need more RAM, though?

The telltale sign of too little RAM is slow performance. Usually, when you purchase a new laptop, it takes very little time to start the computer and run its existing programs. But as you add files and perform more tasks simultaneously, things start to slow down. If you boot 
up your computer and it takes several minutes for everything to work properly, chances are you could use more RAM.

Fortunately, adding RAM to your laptop is probably the easiest and most inexpensive method to boost computer performance. Even getting a new CPU for your laptop might not do as much as adding RAM. But if you do a little bit of searching on the topic of RAM, you'll find there are several different kinds and many different sizes available. What's the right RAM for your computer?

First of all, you need to judge the performance of your laptop and ask yourself what kind of work you'll be doing. If you play games on your laptop or run lots of programs that take up a lot of processing power, you'll want a good amount of RAM -- 2 GB of RAM or more. If you're using your laptop for simple day-to-day work, you probably won't need more than 512 MB of memory [source: Crucial]

So once you've chosen the right kind of RAM, how do you get it into your laptop?

2. Adding RAM

Once you've purchased the necessary RAM module, you're ready to add more memory to your computer. Before you start anything, make sure the laptop is completely turned off and unplugged from any power sources for the sake of safety. It's also recommended that you use an antistatic wrist strap while you're handling a RAM module.

Once everything is powered down, you'll need to find the memory compartment door. Different manufacturers put these slots in different places, but on most laptops, you'll find a small door on the underside of the machine. Using the appropriate screwdriver, open the door and take a look inside. There are typically two slots for RAM. If both slots are full, you'll have to remove one of the modules and replace it with a module with more memory to upgrade your laptop's RAM. You can remove a RAM module by pressing on the little ejector clips that hold the module in place. If one of the slots is empty, you can simply place the new module in the slot. Adding a module is fairly straightforward -- it should just slide into place and, once you give it a little push, it'll lock down with the help of the clips. Again, your experience may be different depending on the company that made your computer, so make sure to check your owner's manual or support Web site before you start opening your laptop's case.

Once you have everything back into place, replace the access door and turn on your computer. If everything goes well, your laptop should automatically recognize the extra memory. You'll find that your computer will boot much faster, run applications more smoothly and switch between programs with less lag time.

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Posted by Nirav Ashara in on Friday, March 27, 2009

How to Download YouTube Video

There's no question that the popular video content Web site YouTube has caught our attention. Since its launch in 2005, the site has grown to attract more than several hundred million views per day, which is an astronomical number in terms of Web traffic. Whether it's your favorite artist's new music video, instructional videos, video blogs, kittens, funny bloopers or stunts reminiscent of "America's Funniest Home Videos," people seem to like short bursts of entertainment, especially when it's just once click away.

Usually, YouTube visitors watch videos streaming over the Internet. Without an Internet connection, however, there's no way to visit the site or run a search for your favorite footage. What are you supposed to do when there's no working Internet and you feel the urge to watch the video of the laughing baby for the hundredth time?

If it's online, digital and doesn't take up too much space on your hard drive, you can bet there's a way to download a copy of it, and that goes for YouTube videos, too. There are many different services that will help you copy and save your favorite clips. Often the only thing you'll need to do is download a specific piece of software and copy and paste the video's Web address. You won't always have to chain yourself to your desktop or laptop, either -- once you have the file, you can upload your downloaded videos onto your iPod or other MP3 player with video capabilities or even burn files onto a DVD and watch them on your television. Keep in mind before choosing software, though, that some programs are free, while others will cost money and may only work with certain browsers.

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Posted by Nirav Ashara in on Thursday, March 26, 2009

The Nano impact

Now everyone can own a car! The family of four struggling for space in a dangerously wobbling two wheeler, on a rickety road inspried Ratan Tata to think of launching an affordable car for the masses. Ofcourse to set the thought in motion, gather together the brains, the infrastructure, the resources and meet the challenges enroute took around six long years but the big Nano moment is finally here! Intitial reports claim that the car is a cleverly designed smart piece of auto engineering, which comes with an affordable price tag and attractive looks!

Touted as next in line of "People cars"

The economics of it, the first information reports of the test drives taken, and the looks of it are factors that is getting everyone excited about the model, the make and the manufacturer. Tata operates around the USP of bringing products to the masses, making them as affordable as possible. Time will tell how the future of this move pans out. So far the initial response for the product has been mostly positive.

Safety a key factor for upgrading from a two-wheeler

It will definitely eat into the two wheeler pie, as a car offers more safety than a two wheeler and its more likely that more and more youngsters and people who have to commute long distances to work, and small families who travel within the city together will find the Nano a safer and more comfortable alternative. Designed for a family of four, though shorter by around 8% in length compared to the average small car, its is reported to have around 21% more spacious interiors.

Likely value for money for the used car buyer

People who have the option for buying a small used car to reap the benefits of affordability and fuel efficiency, could choose to buy a new car in the form of Nano. With 624 cc engine  Nano is a city car that is claimed to have a fuel efficiency of around 20 km per litre. The average Km per litre range of most other small cars is between 10km and 14 km per litre within the city.

The small car segment vs Nano

Though the impact of Nano on the two wheeler segment and used car segment could be relatively high compared to its impact on the small car segment, this again depends on the performance of the car, how it stabilises and user reviews of initial performance once it hits the roads. In recent times, a host of new products have been launched in the small car segment by popular brand names like Maruti, Hyundai, Chevrolet and the like. The high selling point of the Nano at this point in time,  is the extremely affordable price tag and the fact that it looks quite fetching in terms of looks and gives consumers the snazzy feel of commuting in a hi-tech “cool” car. It comes with an Engine Management System (EMS), components of which have been designed by Bosch and has safety features like the fuel injection being cut off if you reverse the car too fast and a warning light displayed on the dash board with a buzzer chime being set off in case of high engine temperature, engine misfire, over speeding etc.

However the disadvantage seems to be the long waiting period that the car buyer is likely to face in purchasing the Nano. An aspiring small car buyer who cannot afford to wait for too long, may tread with caution with regard to opting for a 100% payment for booking and then waiting for months before owning the car.

The lending scenario

The consumer perspective

All the former two wheeler aspirants who were looking to purchase one in the range of 40,000 plus will want to upgrade their choice, tilting the scales in favour of the Nano. They may take a loan for the remainder of the money. People who had been saving up a downpayment to buy a brand new small car, could decide against taking a loan ( as the popular sentiment towards debt has always been one of caution as far as Indian consumer is concerned) and opt to go with the Nano instead.

The lender perspective

Reports suggest that the two wheeler loan segment shows higher delinquency rates and hence the interest rates of two-wheeler loans generally range between 21 and 23%. As Nano aspirants are also largely expected to fall under this category, according to the credit profile of the consumer the interest range could have been anywhere between 17% and 19% or higher. The ongoing interest rates for car loans with most banks is in the range of around 14%.  Also, banks who finance loans for the most affordable cars, tend to hike up the required downpayment as this particular segment of auto loans is likely to fall under the high default category.

In the wake of such a scenario, the exclusive SBI- Tata agreement for funding the purchase of Nano seems to pave way for the masses as a first step towards having access to the most affordable car in the market. The Nano car loan is available for a maximum tenure of  7 years at an interest rate that ranges between 11.75 and 12% p.a.

Through this tie-up, more than 1350 branches of State Bank of India would assist in the booking process, besides, Tata Motors passenger car dealerships nationwide, Croma and Westside stores. SBI will be managing and marketing the application form sale from 11,111 plus branches. Applicants have the option of making the full booking payment by themselves or seek financing for Nano booking from SBI with a downpayment that starts from Rs. 2.999/- onwards.

As there is a very high demand for Nano compared to the actual supply currently, bookings are being taken only for 100% payment with a possibly long waiting period. Tata is likely to face more challenges especially in catching up with the demand, as such a product will invoke mass demand hinging pretty close to the demand seen for two-wheelers. This would especially hold true if the new launch stands the test of time.

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Posted by Nirav Ashara in , on Friday, March 20, 2009




How Tunnel Works

At its most basic, a tunnel is a tube hollowed through soil or stone. Constructing a tunnel, however, is one of the most compl ex challenges in the field of civil engineering. Many tunnels are considered technological masterpieces and governments have honored tunnel engineers as heroes. That's not to say, of course, that some tunnel projects haven't encountered major setbacks. The Central Artery/Tunnel Project (the "B

ig Dig") in Boston, Massachusetts was plagued by massive cost overruns, allegations of corruption, and a partial ceiling collapse that resulted in a fatality. But these challenges haven't stopped engineers from dreami

ng up even bigger and bolder ideas, such as building a Transatlantic Tunnel to connect New York with London.

In this article, we'll explore what makes tunnels such an attractive solution for railways, roadways, public utilities and telecommunications. We'll look at the defining characteristics of tunnels and examine how tunnels are built. We'll also look at the "Big Dig" in detail to understand the opportunities and challenges inherent to building a tunnel. Finally, we'll look at the future of tunnels.


Tunnel Basics
A tunnel is a horizontal passageway located underground. While erosion and other forces of nature can form tunnels, in this article we'll talk about man made tunnels -- tunnels created by the process of excavation. There are many different ways to excavate a tunnel, including manual la

bor, explosives, rapid heating and cooling, tunneling machinery or a combination of these methods.

Some structures may require excavation similar to tunnel excavation, but are not actually tunnels. Shafts, for example, are often hand-dug or dug with boring equipment. But unlike tunnels

, shafts are vertical and shorter. Often, shafts are built either as part of a tunnel project to analyze the rock or soil, or in tunnel construction to provide headings, or locations, from which a tunnel can be ex

cavated.

The diagram below shows the relationship between these underground structures in a typical mountain tunnel. The opening of the tunnel is a portal. The "roof" of the tunnel, or the top half of the tube, is thecrown. The bottom half is the invert. The basic geometry of the tunnel is a continuous arch. Because tunnels must withstand tremendous pressure from all sides, the arch is an ideal shape. In the case of a tunnel, the arch simply goes all the way around.


Tunnel engineers, like bridge engineers, must be concerned with an area of physics known as statics. Statics describes how the following forces interact to produce equilibrium on structures such as tunnels and bridges:

  • Tension, which expands, or pulls on, material
  • Compression, which shortens, or squeezes material
  • Shearing, which causes parts of a material to slide past one another in opposite directions
  • Torsion, which twists a material
The tunnel must oppose these forces with strong materials, such as masonry, steel, iron and concrete.

In order to remain static, tunnels must be able to withstand the loads placed on them. Dead load refers to the weight of the structure itself, while live load refers to the weight of the vehicles and people that move through the tunnel.

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Posted by Nirav Ashara in ,

How Do ATMs Work?

An ATM is simply a data terminal with two input and four output devices. Like any other data terminal, the ATM has to connect to, and communicate through, a host processor. The host processor is analogous to an Internet Service Provider (ISP) in that it is the gateway through which all the various ATM networks become available to the cardholder (the person wanting the cash).

Most host processors can support either leased-line or dial-up machines. Leased-line machines connect directly to the host processor through a four-wire, point-to-point, dedicated telephone line. Dial-up ATMs connect to the host processor through a normal phone line using a modem and a toll-free number, or through an Internet service provider using a local access number dialed by modem.

Leased-line ATMs are preferred for very high-volume locations because of their thru-put capability, and dial-up ATMs are preferred for retail merchant locations where cost is a greater factor than thru-put. The initial cost for a dial-up machine is less than half that for a leased-line machine. The monthly operating costs for dial-up are only a fraction of the costs for leased-line.

The host processor may be owned by a bank or financial institution, or it may be owned by an independent service provider. Bank-owned processors normally support only bank-owned machines, whereas the independent processors support merchant-owned machines.

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Posted by Nirav Ashara in , ,

The top 10 mobile phones selling globally - they're HOT!


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Posted by Nirav Ashara in , on Sunday, March 1, 2009

How Virtual Laser Keyboards Work

At their most basic, all keyboards, whether they're physical or virtual, are input devices -- once you type in a certain series of keystrokes, you're telling the keyboard to deliver a command to your computer. This allows you to write in a word-processing document, close out a program or write out a Web site's URL in a browser. But apart from the science-fiction element, what sets a virtual laser keyboard apart from a regular keyboard?

A traditional keyboard, one that hooks up to a desktop computer or is part of a laptop, is very much like another smaller computer. If you take it apart, it has a processor and circuitry similar to the insides of your computer. Underneath each key is a grid of circuits, and once you press a key, the switch closes. This sends a small electrical current through the grid, which the processor recognizes and analyzes. The processor, in turn, sends the information regarding your keystrokes to your computer, and it can do this several ways. Most desktop users connect their keyboard using cables, although common wireless technologies like Bluetooth let you type from a distance, as long as the computer has the necessary receiver. Laptop keyboards, on the other hand, connect directly to the computer's hardware.

When you type on a virtual laser keyboard, there aren't any switches involved. In fact, there aren't any mechanical moving parts at all. The device projects the image of a QWERTY keyboard onto a flat, non-reflective surface using a red diode laser. The laser, similar to the kind you see on those cheap laser pointers people wave at rock concerts, shines through a Diffractive Optical Element (DOE), which is simply a tiny image of the keyboard. The DOE, along with special optical lenses, expands the image to a usable size and projects it onto a surface.

But a simple image of a keyboard won't get you anywhere -- something needs to analyze the information you type in. Situated near the bottom of the device is an infrared (IR) laser diode, which shoots out a thin plane of infrared light. The plane, which is invisible and runs parallel to the surface, rests only millimeters above the image of the keyboard. When you start typing, you pass your fingers through certain areas of the infrared light. A CMOS (complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor) images your finger's position within the area of the keyboard, and a special sensor chip called a Virtual Interface Processing Core analyzes the location of the intended keystroke. The device then sends this information to the computer receiving the commands.

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