How to prepare an attaractive Curriculum Vitae (CV) ?

                          A Curriculum Vitae (CV) is the mirror which gives a company complete picture of the candidate. CV is a medium to market yourself.

Most people underestimate the importance of a CV (resume). Many of us put off writing our CV until last moment and do an inadequate job. Others feel that they know it all and treat the job of writing a resume far too casually.
Actually, you would be well advised to ensure that both your resume and covering letter are so well prepared that they stand out among a thousand others, not only in content but also in presentation. Any compromises at this stage and you may not be short listed for the interview.

CV -Crucial in getting an Interview
Your CV is your first communication with the perspective employer. It serves as personal advertisement for you and must therefore, be organized in such a manner so as to make it interesting, attractive, brief and informative. Whether the interview is granted or not depends to a large extent on the impression created by the CV. If you wish to be one of the few to be called for an interview, you must ensure your CV is distinct from the hundreds of other CVs of candidates who may be as experienced or as well qualified as you. Today a good 20 to 30 per cent of candidates get rejected because they have not presented their CVs well.

Moreover, your perspective employers do not have the time or the inclination to meet all the people who may be interested in an opening, that makes it more important that among the other thousands of CVs, yours must stand out; not only in contents but also by the way it is formatted

Essential Information that must be mentioned
There are certain items which must be included in every CV. Other items may or may not be mentioned depending on whether they are relevant or not. The items which must be included are given below:

Personal Information: Name, date of birth, marital status, language known, address, telephone number.
Educational Background: Institutions attended with years, marks obtained, qualifications, achievements, computer literacy.
Employment History: Name of organization(s), years, designation(s), responsibilities, achievements and training programme attended. Include any part time or summer employment if you do not have any full time experience.


Stick to the Basic Rules
Stick to these proven guidelines for writing a CV:

• The term "Bio-data" is out. Curriculum Vitae (CV) has replaced it.
• Do not make a mistake of beginning your CV with the title "Bio-data" especially if you are applying for the managerial position.
• Before writing your CV sit down and think through what information you want to highlight. Include your achievements, your hobbies and interests, academic qualifications, details of your work experience (if any) and your job objectives. Don't write a final CV without including all these.
• Begin your CV with a section on personal particulars. Exclude family background.
• Write your date of birth and not your age. If your CV were to go in a databank, only to be retrieved 2 or 3 years later, it would be difficult to make an estimate of your age.
• You must give your phone number even if you do not have your own phone. Give a phone number of your friend or a relative who can pass on a message to you quickly. This is very essential as many vacancies have to be filled urgently and interviews have to be set up at a very short notice. Always mention the STD code of your town of residence if applying outside the city and remember to mention country code as well when applying abroad.
• Don't clutter your CV with irrelevant information. Mention your nationality only when applying abroad or when specifically asked to do so.
• Mention your father's occupation when applying for a position at the entry level or a junior level non-management job, or when specifically asked.
• Try and give maximum possible information in minimum space.
• You may include a job objective at the beginning. Your objective should be as specific as you can make it or it can be tailor-made to exactly correspond with the requirements of an advertisement to which you are replying.
• Make sure that the reader is quickly able to assess your accomplishments. If you have had work experience, start with your most recent experience and then the experiences that you have had with the organizations you were previously in. Your most recent experience will be the one most relevant to your new job. So mention it first and your previous experiences later.
• Similarly, start your academic background with the most recent qualification.
• Make sure that your CV is not longer than two pages. It should, at the same time, not be so short that your prospective employer does not know anything about you after going through it. It must be concise and should be informative.

Presentation
Make sure your CV looks good. Presentation is of  utmost importance. You must:

(a) Avoid spelling mistakes.

(b) Use good quality paper.

(c) Do not send curriculum vitae with spelling errors corrected by whitening fluid or by hand.

(d) Use proper margins and spend time formatting it properly.

(e) Send the printed laser outputs instead of photocopying. It may cost you more but it says a lot about you.

Don't lie even if it is a small lie. Usually such lies are about achievements, grades and marks or summer projects. The personnel departments in most companies do take pains in verifying claims.

References
You may include references at the end of your CV. These are names, addresses and phone numbers of two or three people who could vouch for your character, competence and commitment. Ideally, these should be people who have worked with you, or your college professors. Many job seekers starting out in their careers feel that important people's references will impress prospective employers. Nothing could be further from the truth. A big name will communicate that you are a name-dropper who gets by on his father's contacts rather than achievements. An experienced interviewer will be far more impressed with the references of people who know you professionally. In any case, your prospective employer will check with referees, so make sure you ask your referees' permission before putting their names in your CV.

Use one or at best not more than two typefaces while preparing your CV. If you are looking for visual relief and highlighting then you can use block capitals, italics, bold type, underlining, varying font sizes, or any combinations of these. Choose a font that is simple and easy to read. Do not go in for a fancy typeface. It will take away legibility of your CV.

Don't leave gaps in your CV. If you have lost some years between your +2 and graduation or after your graduation, explain the gap. 

How to prepare a Curriculum Vitae (CV) for FRESHERS ?

Special Tips for the Freshers

Even if you have a professional degree from a prestigious institution and are looking for a position at entry level, you need to market yourself effectively to get a good offer. If you are not from a coveted institution your task becomes much harder because a number of top recruiters may not even visit your campus.

Your basic task is of communicating the fact that your skills, school and college education work experience, achievements, projects and extracurricular activities - all add up to make you the right person for the job.You must be able to convince the recruiters that the you are the best for the job.

You need to highlight your achievements whatever they are and project you skills ans strengths in your CV. If you include details of positions and responsibilities you have undertaken in your college life , it will convey a message that you are able & talented.

Don't underestimate the value of your part-time jobs, and your extra curricular activities. These are opportunities to use skills related to the job. They are often more job related than the academic qualification itself.

The skills that you can demonstrate through any project or extracurricular activity include leadership skills, an ability to negotiate, plan and organise. In the absence of any direct organisational experience these add real expose to your CV.

In other words, they helps you to tell them that 'whats sets you aprt from others'and are often the most interesting part in your CV. Be sure to include all projects that you were in either alone or as a team and anything 'extra' you did.

Let usn ow take a look at some of these in detail.

Part time jobs: Normally any interview will include questions on Part time jobs to test whether you understand the industry, the organisation and area of relevance. You are expected to be an expert in the area directly related to your work.

Extracurricular activities: These usually demonstrate interpersonal, communication , coordination and leadership skills. Were you elected to various offices? Did you organise any college festival? Were you instrumental in organising a seminar or a technical event ? Did you contribute to the college magazine and how ? Quite often any projects or extracurricular activities, are the most interesting part of you. If these are presented and defined well these activities can be a useful marketing device to crash land you with the right job, at right time.

Many companies have standardised application forms on the basis of which they shortlist candidates. Typically, the application form may be required to be filled in two or three methods before the interview and would include a statement of purpose. Many a candidate has slipped up in the interview even when all was going well in the interview. It is simply because what he said during the interview was inconsistent with the application form.

Therefore, we would recommend that you keep photocopies of all your completed application forms carefully, especially of the statement of purpose, till the interview.

How to prepare a Curriculum Vitae (CV) for FRESHERS ?

Special Tips for the Freshers

Even if you have a professional degree from a prestigious institution and are looking for a position at entry level, you need to market yourself effectively to get a good offer. If you are not from a coveted institution your task becomes much harder because a number of top recruiters may not even visit your campus.

Your basic task is of communicating the fact that your skills, school and college education work experience, achievements, projects and extracurricular activities - all add up to make you the right person for the job.You must be able to convince the recruiters that the you are the best for the job.

You need to highlight your achievements whatever they are and project you skills ans strengths in your CV. If you include details of positions and responsibilities you have undertaken in your college life , it will convey a message that you are able & talented.

Don't underestimate the value of your part-time jobs, and your extra curricular activities. These are opportunities to use skills related to the job. They are often more job related than the academic qualification itself.

The skills that you can demonstrate through any project or extracurricular activity include leadership skills, an ability to negotiate, plan and organise. In the absence of any direct organisational experience these add real expose to your CV.

In other words, they helps you to tell them that 'whats sets you aprt from others'and are often the most interesting part in your CV. Be sure to include all projects that you were in either alone or as a team and anything 'extra' you did.

Let usn ow take a look at some of these in detail.

Part time jobs: Normally any interview will include questions on Part time jobs to test whether you understand the industry, the organisation and area of relevance. You are expected to be an expert in the area directly related to your work.

Extracurricular activities: These usually demonstrate interpersonal, communication , coordination and leadership skills. Were you elected to various offices? Did you organise any college festival? Were you instrumental in organising a seminar or a technical event ? Did you contribute to the college magazine and how ? Quite often any projects or extracurricular activities, are the most interesting part of you. If these are presented and defined well these activities can be a useful marketing device to crash land you with the right job, at right time.

Many companies have standardised application forms on the basis of which they shortlist candidates. Typically, the application form may be required to be filled in two or three methods before the interview and would include a statement of purpose. Many a candidate has slipped up in the interview even when all was going well in the interview. It is simply because what he said during the interview was inconsistent with the application form.

Therefore, we would recommend that you keep photocopies of all your completed application forms carefully, especially of the statement of purpose, till the interview.

How to prepare a Curriculum Vitae (CV) for FRESHERS ?

Special Tips for the Freshers

Even if you have a professional degree from a prestigious institution and are looking for a position at entry level, you need to market yourself effectively to get a good offer. If you are not from a coveted institution your task becomes much harder because a number of top recruiters may not even visit your campus.

Your basic task is of communicating the fact that your skills, school and college education work experience, achievements, projects and extracurricular activities - all add up to make you the right person for the job.You must be able to convince the recruiters that the you are the best for the job.

You need to highlight your achievements whatever they are and project you skills ans strengths in your CV. If you include details of positions and responsibilities you have undertaken in your college life , it will convey a message that you are able & talented.

Don't underestimate the value of your part-time jobs, and your extra curricular activities. These are opportunities to use skills related to the job. They are often more job related than the academic qualification itself.

The skills that you can demonstrate through any project or extracurricular activity include leadership skills, an ability to negotiate, plan and organise. In the absence of any direct organisational experience these add real expose to your CV.

In other words, they helps you to tell them that 'whats sets you aprt from others'and are often the most interesting part in your CV. Be sure to include all projects that you were in either alone or as a team and anything 'extra' you did.

Let usn ow take a look at some of these in detail.

Part time jobs: Normally any interview will include questions on Part time jobs to test whether you understand the industry, the organisation and area of relevance. You are expected to be an expert in the area directly related to your work.

Extracurricular activities: These usually demonstrate interpersonal, communication , coordination and leadership skills. Were you elected to various offices? Did you organise any college festival? Were you instrumental in organising a seminar or a technical event ? Did you contribute to the college magazine and how ? Quite often any projects or extracurricular activities, are the most interesting part of you. If these are presented and defined well these activities can be a useful marketing device to crash land you with the right job, at right time.

Many companies have standardised application forms on the basis of which they shortlist candidates. Typically, the application form may be required to be filled in two or three methods before the interview and would include a statement of purpose. Many a candidate has slipped up in the interview even when all was going well in the interview. It is simply because what he said during the interview was inconsistent with the application form.

Therefore, we would recommend that you keep photocopies of all your completed application forms carefully, especially of the statement of purpose, till the interview.

How to prepare a Curriculum Vitae (CV) for FRESHERS ?

Special Tips for the Freshers

Even if you have a professional degree from a prestigious institution and are looking for a position at entry level, you need to market yourself effectively to get a good offer. If you are not from a coveted institution your task becomes much harder because a number of top recruiters may not even visit your campus.

Your basic task is of communicating the fact that your skills, school and college education work experience, achievements, projects and extracurricular activities - all add up to make you the right person for the job.You must be able to convince the recruiters that the you are the best for the job.

You need to highlight your achievements whatever they are and project you skills ans strengths in your CV. If you include details of positions and responsibilities you have undertaken in your college life , it will convey a message that you are able & talented.

Don't underestimate the value of your part-time jobs, and your extra curricular activities. These are opportunities to use skills related to the job. They are often more job related than the academic qualification itself.

The skills that you can demonstrate through any project or extracurricular activity include leadership skills, an ability to negotiate, plan and organise. In the absence of any direct organisational experience these add real expose to your CV.

In other words, they helps you to tell them that 'whats sets you aprt from others'and are often the most interesting part in your CV. Be sure to include all projects that you were in either alone or as a team and anything 'extra' you did.

Let usn ow take a look at some of these in detail.

Part time jobs: Normally any interview will include questions on Part time jobs to test whether you understand the industry, the organisation and area of relevance. You are expected to be an expert in the area directly related to your work.

Extracurricular activities: These usually demonstrate interpersonal, communication , coordination and leadership skills. Were you elected to various offices? Did you organise any college festival? Were you instrumental in organising a seminar or a technical event ? Did you contribute to the college magazine and how ? Quite often any projects or extracurricular activities, are the most interesting part of you. If these are presented and defined well these activities can be a useful marketing device to crash land you with the right job, at right time.

Many companies have standardised application forms on the basis of which they shortlist candidates. Typically, the application form may be required to be filled in two or three methods before the interview and would include a statement of purpose. Many a candidate has slipped up in the interview even when all was going well in the interview. It is simply because what he said during the interview was inconsistent with the application form.

Therefore, we would recommend that you keep photocopies of all your completed application forms carefully, especially of the statement of purpose, till the interview.

INTERVIEW TIPS

Before your interview find out what you can about the company. Use the Internet for research and make yourself aware of issues in the news about the company concerned. Prepare some good answers to the questions your interviewers might ask you. Try to anticipate the general questions which will be asked and prepare some questions to ask the interviewer. Remember to find out whether this company can offer you the career you are looking for. To do well at the interview you will need to convince your interviewer that you are technically qualified to do the job and you will also need to show that you are sufficiently motivated to get the job done, and that you will fit well within the company's organizational structure and the team in which you will work. Your Echo consultant will help with interview technique advice prior to interview.

Preparation:
It is vital to arrive adequately prepared for interview, with sufficient knowledge about the company. Time spent prior to the interview researching the organization will pay off on the day. In order to approach the interview successfully you should also carry out a mini self-assessment of your professional profile and experience to date, the qualifications you possess and where you want to go with your career. Write down a few points about your strengths and weaknesses so that you have a clear idea of what to say (or not) in the interview.

Examples to consider:
>  Self-confidence 
>  Leadership by example 
>  Commitment and determination 
>  Enthusiasm and stamina 
>  Good judgment and confident decision-making 
>  Willing to take responsibility 
>  Initiative and creativity 
>  Organizational ability 
>  Sensitivity to people

 

Ask yourself:
>  In which areas can I really improve? 
>  What were the tasks and situations I had the most difficulty with? 
>  In which instances did my colleagues react negatively towards me? 
>  Why am I leaving my present job? 
These could be some of the questions asked at the interview and this task will help you formulate suitable answers.
Essential Interview Dos and Don'ts:
>  DO smile and maintain good eye contact throughout 
>  DO dress conservatively 
>  DO come prepared with a list of questions to ask - showing an interest in the company with
           intelligent questions is the best way to impress 
>  DON'T answer questions with just a "yes" or "no" - always back up answers with  examples 
>  DON'T be the first one to bring up the subject of salary
The most important thing to take with you to the interview is a positive attitude. Remind yourself that you have been short-listed from many other applicants; therefore you stand a pretty good chance of getting the job. 

A Guideline for Project Work

Project is the first work a student is going to participate with, other than the regular class room and laboratory assignments. With the present schedule a maximum of 4 months may be available for the completion of the project work. Some key considerations in the project design and development are,

 1    The objective of a project work is to get involved into and derive a possible solution to a practical problem which attracts interest among a group of students or general/social interest.

2.    It is a group task where the selection of group members, their individual contributions, interest in the topic and the taste for group activity etc are some of the major factors affecting the success of the work.

3.    A project work is an important record of an assignment in which we are using the real engineering skills in materializing the theoretical knowledge captured from class room discussions and general reading.

How to Form the Group?  

• 1.   The optimum No. of group members is4 and can have a maximum of 5. If the No. is more than 5, some individuals are likely to contribute nothing to the work.
  2.   In forming the group, it is natural that the friendship among the members becomes an important factor. But at the same time care should be taken to consider weak students in the class to form a mixture of students with theoretical interest and practical interest and co-ordination skills.
  3.    It will be convenient to have a project leader for the easy interaction with the guide / co-coordinator. It should be noticed that the leader do not have a special privilege in awarding the marks or any other consideration.

How to Select The Project Topic ?

. In case of mini projects the completion and final observable outputs are expected. The planning and the selection of the topics should therefore be done with good care.

2. In the case of major projects some times it is so natural that we will not be able to finish the entire work within the prescribed time schedule depending on the nature of some topics. This will not be treated as the failure of the group provided the work is of such a gravity and the amount of work finished by the group constitute the key / major part of such topics. A junior batch can  think of  finishing the remaining part of the topic in such special cases.

3. It should be noticed that we are not going to have some increased credits for the novelty of the idea alone. Credits will be given for the completion of the work, the total performances of the group and their involvement in the assignment etc, once the idea is been approved by the co-coordinator.

4.  In fact there require no comparison with the topics of other batch / groups. We should only select topics which is well with in the span of knowledge and capacities we posses and such ideas which could be implemented with the time schedule and facilities available in the institution
.
5.  It will be better to select hardware oriented topics for the mini project. In the case of main projects, software oriented projects like MATLAB algorithm development in signal Processing, Image Processing and Neural Network problems can be selected. Implementation of selected IEEE or other relevant papers can also be considered in this contest. We should ensure in this case that a distinct contribution could be made by us in solving the problem.

How To Plan The Assignment?

There should be a well detailed planning of the task for the successful completion of the same. The major points to be considered in such a planning can be summarized as below.
a)  Time should be given for preliminary study / literature survey of the topic, component selection and their availability study, design, bread board implementation and testing, final implementation on PCB, report preparation and presentation. If out side consultancy / expert opinion is required, this should also be well planned in advance. It is suggested to prepare a detailed time table with all the details mentioned here.
b)  work should be divided among group members so that each individual should have participation in the intelligent part of the project other than data collection, report preparation etc.
c) There should be proper interaction with the project guide and the co-coordinator. The project file should be updated every week with the details of the work finished, data collected on components and design aspects, short coming s in achieving the goals etc. This will be useful at the final end in preparing the project report.
How to Write the Report?
     The report is very important document on the work we have finished and should be prepared with at most care and attention. Next is a short guide line for the report preparation.
                                   THE GENERAL FORMAT
1. The Preliminaries
  a) The title Page
b)  Preface (Including acknowledgments and abstract)      
      c)  Table of contents (Mention page numbers against each item)
d)  Abbreviations used
e)  List of tables (Table number & page number)
f)   List of figures / illustrations. (Figure number & Page number)
Note: The preliminaries pages are numbered using small Roman numerals ( i, ii, iii, etc) at the bottom of the page without punctuation and is at 25mm above the bottom edge of the paper.
2. The Text
         a) Chapter-1 Introduction (The problem statement , significance, setting for the work,                                                                                                  limits of the work can be included)
b) Main body of report in 2-5m chapters. Give the details of the work you have carried out               along with the detailed circuit diagrams, flow charts etc. Give detailed discussion of your findings and results. All the figures should be numbered in relation to the chapter( eg. Figure 3.1 for the first figure in the third chapter) and captioned. The figures should be referenced in the text matter at least once and should be inserted immediately after the first reference to it. Photographs of the product, work setup etc is desirable. U are expected to give a brief description of the platform / environment on which you were working. This can be as a separate chapter or separate section according to its importance in the project. The information given here is only a guideline. You are free to change organization of the chapters in consultation with your internal guide. More chapters also may be added. The chapter titles may be selected to suit the contents.
c) Conclusion results and scope for future work. Give the important results and conclusions of the work in this chapter. Any scope for immediate future work as a continuation also may be given here. Comments / inferences are also possible here to substantiate your work status.
 3. The Reference Material
        a) Appendix (appendices) - Data sheets, PCB details and layouts, important long       derivations, relevant computer programs etc can be included. Full Data sheets of commonly available components are not to be attached. You may include the relevant portions from the data sheets to read through the circuits diagrams, if you wish. The circuit diagram and internal block diagram of any special purpose hardware module that you use in your product should be attached as appendix.
            The source codes are not to be attached as appendix. Those who are doing FPGA / MATLAB based projects can included the source programs if you feel it necessary for the completion of the project report. You are encouraged to attach a CD at the end of the report. All source codes , data sheets, soft copy of the report, separate copy of abstract and synopsis etc. can be included in this.
b) Bibliography
         1.  When the reference is text book the format will be Benjamin C Kuo, Automatic Control System, Prentice hall Inc.(India), 2nd Edition 1986, pp.31-45, Ch.2
         2. When the reference is a journal article, the format will be Ejbee G.C, Wollenberg B.F, automatic Contingency Selection, IEEE Transaction on power Apparatus and Systems, Vol.98, No.3, Jan / Feb.1989, pp 97-108.
         3. In addition to this the relevant websites can also be included in the references. In case of web references, exact URL has to be given.
Note: The appendix should be headed like APPENDIX-A, APPENDIX-B etc
4. Page and Chapter Format
         1. Spacing -The body is usually double /1.5 line spaced.
         2. General page numbers should appear in the top right hand side of the paper. (Arabic numerals 1, 2 3...)Number may be placed 1 inch from bottom and right hand edge of the paper. Page number can also be placed at the bottom right hand side edge. Page numbers are usually avoided from the top of character headings.
         3. Margins. Left -37.5mm (for binding), Top, Right and Bottom -25mm. Use the Times New Roman letter type with font size 12 for the matter.
         4. It will be better to align the paragraphs using 'justify' in MS-WORD.

Memory techniques

The art of true memory is the art of attention.
                                        …………Samuel Johnson
Your brain never loses anything. Once it is put in your memory, it remains there for the rest of your life. What we call “forgetting” is either the inability  to recall stored information or the failure to store information.

Memory techniques:

ORGANISE IT

1. Learn from the general to the specific.  

Scan through the whole book and get an idea of the course content. Then start learning chapter by chapter or section by section.

1. Make it meaningful. How much this mechanics course relates to your goal of becoming a mechanical engineer?
   When the information helps you to get something you want, it is easier to remember that.
   
2. Create associations Think of something related to the topic and create associations with it. This helps the memory process.
   
   USE YOUR BODY
3. Learn it once, actively. Involve your body the first time you learn something. Sit up, sit on the edge of your chair or walk while studying. Some believe that the brain works better in a standing position.
   
4. Relax When we are relaxed ,we absorb new information quicker and recall it with greater accuracy.
   
5. Create pictures Use diagrams and cartoons to connect facts and illustrate relationships.
   
6. Recite and repeat When you recite something aloud, you anchor the information by hearing and by seeing. The combined result is synergetic. When you repeat something, you create a trail through the pathways of your brain, making the information easier to find
   
7. Write it down. Writing a note to yourself helps you to remember an idea, even if you never look at the note again.
   
   USE YOUR BRAIN
8. Reduce interference Don’t sit near a TV or a refrigerator while studying. These may distract you.
   
9. Escape the short term memory gap. A short review within minutes or hours of a study session can move material from the short term memory to the long term memory.
   
10. Distribute learning Marathon study sessions are not very effective. You can get far more done in three one hour
    sessions  than in one three hour session. Change subject of study after one hour to a new subject.
    
11. Beware of attitudes People who believe that math is difficult will have difficulty in remembering maths. We remember what we find interesting.
    
12. Use daylight for study Study the most difficult subjects during day hours. The early morning hours can be more productive for most people.
    
13. Overlearn Learn more than what is needed. Do the assigned problems and then do more problems.
    
14. Choose what not to store in memory Decide what is essential to remember from a reading assignment or lecture .
    Extract the core concepts. Then apply the memory techniques to those concepts .
    
15. Combine memory techniques Choose two or three techniques to use on a particular assignment. Experiment for yourself with these techniques.
    
    RECALL IT
16. Remember something else When you are stuck up and can’t remember something you know you know, remember something else that is related to it. If you can’t remember your aunt’s name, then try to remember your great aunt’s name.
        
         18.  Notice when you do remember      
    Some people are best at remembering information they have read. Others   remember best what they have seen, heard or done. Notice your style and follow   it.
    
    19.  Use it before you lose it       
    To remember something, access it a lot. Read it, write it, speak it, listen to it,  apply it.
         20.   And remember you never forget        
    Develop a strong belief that you will never forget it.  Keep saying “my memory serves    me well” . Or even  “I never forget.”
    

Water-Powered Mobiles

Samsung Electro-Mechanics announced Thursday that it has developed a micro-fuel cell and hydrogen generator that runs on H2O.

“When the handset is turned on, metal and water in the phone react to produce hydrogen gas,” explained Oh Yong-soo, vice president of Samsung Electro-Mechanics’ research center. “The gas is then supplied to the fuel cell where it reacts with oxygen in the air to generate power.” Other fuel cells need methanol to produce hydrogen, while Samsung’s needs only water.

Since the micro-fuel cell can generate up to three watts of electricity, it could be used in mobile devices, the company said. The new fuel cell could power a handset for 10 hours, twice as long as rechargeable batteries.

“If the user uses the phone for four hours a day on average, they would have to change the hydrogen cartridge about every five days,” Oh said. “Later handsets will be developed that don’t need the hydrogen cartridges to be changed, and would only need to be filled with water.”

The water-powered cell phones are expected to enter the market by 2010. Samsung Electro-Mechanics unveiled the new technology at the 2007 Korea Electronics Show at the Korea International Exhibition Center in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province.

So get ready for the water powered mobile phones, there might be a time in the future where you say my phone is running out of water instead of low battery! 

Augmented Reality Based Enhanced Vision Technology by GM

Technology really never ceases to amaze us, a new Enhanced Vision Technology currently being developed by General Motors aims to turn the ordinary car windshield into augmented reality based virtual display that uses lasers, night vision, eye tracking and GPS to assist you in driving. Enhanced vision technology can pin point obstacles in the path, mark the road using lasers during night and can even display your destination using the GPS technology on your windshield in real time.

Body Heat Could Charge Your Cellphone

January 13th, 2008 | by Anil |

Scientists believe to have discovered a much more efficient way to use silicon to convert heat into electricity – for use in a variety of products ranging from cars to portable electronics.

The concept of converting waste heat into electricity isn’t exactly new, but it never really materialized due to efficiency hurdles. Now, scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California at Berkeley think they may have found a key increase the conversion efficiency by a factor of 100.

Imagine a time in which you would not have to plug in your cellphone or iPod over night to recharge the battery. Instead you would power and charge a device simply by wearing it close to your body. Few months back there was an announcement by Samsung which hinted the possibility of water powered mobiles.

Galileo Telescope Reaches 400th Anniversary

This is a reconstruction of the Galileo telescope

The telescope was the first instrument to extend human senses, revolutionising our view of the heavens and our place in the world.
Exactly 400 years ago on 25 August 1609, the Italian astronomer, mathematician, physicist and philosopher Galilei Galileo showed Venetian merchants a new creation, a telescope, the instrument that was to bring him both scientific immortality and, more immediately, a whole lot of trouble.

Portrait of Galileo Galilei

The earliest known working telescopes appeared in 1608 and are credited to Hans Lippershey. Among many others who claimed to have made the discovery were Zacharias Janssen, spectacle-maker in Middelburg, and Jacob Metius of Alkmaar. The design of these early refracting telescopes consisted of a convex objective lens and a concave eyepiece. Galileo used this design the following year. Galileo who made the instrument famous. He constructed his first three-powered spyglass in 1609, presented an eight-powered instrument to the Venetian Senate in August, and turned a twenty-powered instrument to the heavens in October or November.

The telescope was one of the central instruments of what has been called the Scientific Revolution of the seventeenth century. It revealed hitherto unsuspected phenomena in the heavens and had a profound influence on the controversy between followers of the traditional geocentric astronomy and cosmology and those who favored the heliocentric system of Copernicus.

1.2 GHz Dual Core CPUs Coming to Smartphones

Qualcomm has announced the availability of the advanced 1.2 GHz dual core Snapdragon CPUs that will power the future smartphones, Currently 1GHz CPU is the standard norm in the high end smartphones, this will change once these new breed of highly capable mobile processors hit the market, with these processor chips you would also be able to play 1080p video on your smartphone or you can use the TV Out feature to play the high definition content on your HDTV.

These second generation of Snapdragon processors MSM8x55 and QSD8x50A will also include a powerful GPU with 3D/2D engines for Open GLES 2.0 and Open VG 1.1 acceleration along with low power GPS and audio engine.
A third generation of Snapdragon chips MSM8260, MSM8660 and QSD8672 are also planned which will take the speeds to a whole new level of 1.5 GHz.
Qualcomm 1.2 GHz mobile chips will soon be made available to the Manufacturers, So you can expect 1.2 GHz smartphones by the end of this year.
Check Out Related Posts:Qualcomm has announced the availability of the advanced 1.2 GHz dual core Snapdragon CPUs that will power the future smartphones, Currently 1GHz CPU is the standard norm in the high end smartphones, this will change once these new breed of highly capable mobile processors hit the market, with these processor chips you would also be able to play 1080p video on your smartphone or you can use the TV Out feature to play the high definition content on your HDTV.

These second generation of Snapdragon processors MSM8x55 and QSD8x50A will also include a powerful GPU with 3D/2D engines for Open GLES 2.0 and Open VG 1.1 acceleration along with low power GPS and audio engine.

A third generation of Snapdragon chips MSM8260, MSM8660 and QSD8672 are also planned which will take the speeds to a whole new level of 1.5 GHz.

Qualcomm 1.2 GHz mobile chips will soon be made available to the Manufacturers, So you can expect 1.2 GHz smartphones by the end of this year.

Mobile Social Networking Booming

The number of people using their mobile phones to access social networking sites such as Facebook and Bebo and keep in constant touch with their friends has rocketed this year, according to new research reported by Guardian.

Almost all the handset manufacturers like Nokia, Blackberry, Apple releasingnew handsets and smart phones that are capable of high speed internetaccess and comfortable screen sizes for internet browsing. The combination of cheap or unlimited internet access tariffs and handsets which make it simple for people to log onto their favorite sites has created a boom in social networking, the study by Orange found.

The mobile phone company did not even keep count of the number of its customers that were using their phones to access social networking sites a year ago, as there was little interest. By the end of September, however, 640,000 of its UK users were accessing a social networking site every month, clocking up 66m page views and in the company’s fourth digital media index it has split social networking out for the first time.

Intel Photonics Link: Intel Achieved Lightning Speed of 50 Gbps Data Transfer

What? Really? That’s the kind of reaction i had when i first read about this breakthrough innovation from Intel. To just give you an idea about the intensity of this experiment, 50Gbps data transfer speed can transfer an HD movie in just a second.

Idea behind this technology is quite simple, but effective. Photonic Link uses lasers (photons) to transfer data, rather than electrons, hence, dramatically increasing the data transfer speeds. To add to your excitement, this is just the starting phase for this technology, and Intel expect to achieve as much as 1Tbps (1000Gbps) speed in future.

Explanatory and demo video of Photonics Link:

Silent Sound Technology: An End To Noisy Communications

March 4th, 2010 | by Anil |

You are in a movie theater or noicy restaurent or a bus etc where there is lot of noice around is big issue while talking on a mobile phone. But in the future this problem is eliminated with ”silent sounds”, a new technology unveiled at the CeBIT fair on Tuesday that transforms lip movements into a computer-generated voice for the listener at the other end of the phone.

The device, developed by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), uses electromyography, monitoring tiny muscular movements that occur when we speak and converting them into electrical pulses that can then be turned into speech, without a sound uttered.

‘Silent Sound’ technology aims to notice every movements of the lips and transform them into sounds, which could help people who lose voices to speak, and allow people to make silent calls without bothering others. Rather than making any sounds, your handset would decipher the movements your mouth makes by measuring muscle activity, then convert this into speech that the person on the other end of the call can hear. So, basically, it reads your lips.

“We currently use electrodes which are glued to the skin. In the future, such electrodes might for example by incorporated into cellphones,” said Michael Wand, from the KIT.

The technology opens up a host of applications, from helping people who have lost their voice due to illness or accident to telling a trusted friend your PIN number over the phone without anyone eavesdropping — assuming no lip-readers are around.

The technology can also turn you into an instant polyglot. Because the electrical pulses are universal, they can be immediately transformed into the language of the user’s choice.

“Native speakers can silently utter a sentence in their language, and the receivers hear the translated sentence in their language. It appears as if the native speaker produced speech in a foreign language,” said Wand.

The translation technology works for languages like English, French and Gernan, but for languages like Chinese, where different tones can hold many different meanings, poses a problem, he added.

Noisy people in your office? Not any more. “We are also working on technologyto be used in an office environment,” the KIT scientist told AFP.

The engineers have got the device working to 99 percent efficiency, so the mechanical voice at the other end of the phone gets one word in 100 wrong, explained Wand.

“But we’re working to overcome the remaining technical difficulties. In five, maybe ten years, this will be useable, everyday technology,” he said.

Scientists Recreate Big Bang Successfully

March 30th, 2010 | by Anil |

Physicists at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN)  broke a record with their atom smasher Large Hadron Collider when they managed to collide protons at 3 times the energy previously achieved.

Earlier in the day, scientists stepped up efforts to detect the elusive ‘God Particle’ by triggering collision of two proton beams in the world’s largest atom smasher located on the Franco-Swiss border on the outskirts of Geneva.

The two proton beams, set in motion in opposite directions of two 27-km long pipes of the LHC in November last year, were previously moving at 3.5 trillion electron volts (TeV) with each beam of the protons going around the device 11,000 times every second.

Physicists achieved the feat while attempting to collide the two beams at 7 TeV, creating conditions similar at the time of the Big Bang — that is believed to have created the universe.

The success triggered rounds of applause and cheers from the scientists and journalists gathered in the circular control room, while allaying concerns that the experiment would create a black hole and destroy the universe. 

The breakthrough heralds the beginning of a new era in efforts to try to understand profound scientific questions, including whether the sub-atomic particles – quarks – inside the protons and neutrons can be freed; and why these latter particles weigh some 100 times more than the quarks of which they are composed.

The protons in the LHC, which requires 100 megawatts of power to operate, collided at more than 7 tera – or trillion – electronvolts (TeV), a measure of energy given to an electron as it accelerates through a potential of one volt. This was more than triple the levels of previous experiments.

A view of the LHC (large hadron collider) in its tunnel at CERN (European particle physics laboratory) near Geneva

Broadband Internet Speeds 2009-2010: The Top 10 Countries

April 15th, 2010 | by Anil |

The results of the second annual global study on the quality of broadband connections done at end of 2009 reveal that 62 out of the 66 countries analyzed had improved the quality of consumer broadband services since last year. However, new data from the study highlights the extent of the digital quality divide between urban and rural areas and, for the first time, compares the quality of fixed and mobile broadband services.

The first groundbreaking Broadband Quality Studywas published in September 2008 to highlight each country’s ability to benefit from next-generation web applications and services. The research team found that broadband quality is linked to a nation’s advancement as a knowledge economy and countries with broadband on their national agenda had the highest broadband quality. This year’s report covers an additional 24 countries and includes new analysis on broadband quality in more than 240 cities.

Highlights / Key Facts:

• Overall average broadband quality increased across the globe:
  • Global average download throughput increased by 49% to 4.75 Megabits per second (Mbps)
  • Global average upload throughput increased by 69% to 1.3 Mbps
  • Global average latency decreased by 21% to 170 milliseconds
• South Korea tops the 2009 Broadband Leadership table.

		Broadband Penetration (% of households)	Broadband Quality Score 2009	Broadband Leadership 2009
1	South Korea	97%	66	139
2	Japan	64%	64	115
3	Hong Kong	99%	33	111
4	Sweden	69%	57	110
5	Switzerland	90%	40	108
6	Netherlands	83%	46	108
7	Singapore	96%	32	107
8	Luxembourg	99%	27	107
9	Denmark	82%	45	106
10	Norway	84%	38	102

• South Korea rose just above last year’s broadband quality leader Japan with a 72% improvement in its Broadband Quality Score (BQS). This improvement has been driven by continuous efforts by the government to strengthen the country’s position as one of the world’s ICT leaders. Combined with higher broadband penetration, South Korea rises above Japan in the global Broadband Leadership rankings.
• Japan stands out as having the cities with the highest BQS in the world, with Yokohama and Nagoya leading the BQS rankings and Sapporo not far behind.
• Sweden has the highest quality broadband internet in Europe. It is rapidly catching up with Japan and South Korea as its BQS improves 38% from 2008. Sweden is the most successful country in closing the broadband quality gap with residents outside the most populated cities enjoying better quality than those in the cities.
• Lithuania, Bulgaria and Latvia come just behind Sweden in quality boosted by recent city-based fibre rollouts and cable improvements but low broadband penetration means these countries have yet to break into the broadband leaders’ category.
• 39 countries have a BQS above the threshold required to deliver a consistent quality of experience for the most common web applications today, such as social networking, streaming low-definition video, web communications and sharing small files such as photos and music.
• Nine countries, South Korea, Japan, Sweden, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Latvia, The Netherlands, Denmark and Romania, were found to have the broadband quality required for future web applications, such as high definition Internet TV viewing and high-quality video communications (such as home telepresence) that will become mainstream in the next 3 to 5 years. In 2008, only Japan exceeded this threshold.

• The research compares countries according to their stage of economic development :
  • Amongst the developed, innovation-driven economies, South Korea achieved the greatest improvement in broadband quality over the past year with a 73% increase in BQS. Sweden, the USA and the Czech Republic also saw significant above average improvements.
  • Amongst efficiency-driven economies, Bulgaria topped the most improved list with a 57% increase in BQS from 2009. Lithuania, Romania and Latvia also achieved above average improvements.
  • Amongst factor-driven economies, Kenya actually trebled its BQS but the overall score for Kenya remains well below the threshold required for today’s applications. Vietnam and Qatar followed Kenya as having made the most progress in broadband quality for countries in this stage of economic development.

• The cities with the highest BQS of all the countries in the study were:

Top 10 Cities	BQS	Next 10 Cities	BQS
Yokohama, Japan	85	Rotterdam, The Netherlands	55
Nagoya, Japan	82	Riga, Latvia	54
Kaunas, Lithuania	79	Copenhagen, Denmark	53
Sapporo, Japan	72	Bucharest, Romania	52
Seoul, South Korea	68	Stockholm, Sweden	51
Malmo, Sweden	67	Vilnius, Lithuania	50
Osaka, Japan	65	Zurich, Switzerland	49
Wuhan, China	60	Tokyo, Japan	49
Uppsala, Sweden	57	Goteborg, Sweden	49
Sofia, Bulgaria	56	Kosice, Slovakia	48

• The research team compared the difference between the BQS in the most populated cities with the BQS in the rest of the country. Although a digital quality divide was found in the majority of countries, 13 countries showed significant differences in BQS between its major cities and the rest of the country. Lithuania, Russia and Latvia had the biggest digital quality divide, while rural residents in Sweden, United Arab Emirates and Iceland enjoyed similar, if not slightly higher quality broadband services than their city counterparts.
• The country with the highest broadband quality outside of its major cities was Japan, followed by Korea and Sweden.
• The study also included data on the quality of mobile broadband services for the first time. On average, mobile devices connecting to WiFi services meet the broadband quality threshold required for today’s mobile Internet applications. The average BQS of 3G and 3G+ technologies do not currently meet the threshold due to low upload throughput.