How to prepare for a gd

Group Discussions :

Many institutes are now making group discussion as the first criteria for screening the candidates for interviews.Hence if you can't clear then then you ain't going any further.So lets discuss them in detail
Why GD's :

• GD's have become popular as they serve as an excellent means for mass elimination!!!
• Also they can test an individual on the the major skill sets that are needed eg.

1. Communication skills,
2. Reasoning ability,
3. Leadership skills,
4. Ability to think on ones feet

Some must Do’s in a GD :

Initiate the GD:

• Initiating the GD shows your leadership skills. But keep in mind - Initiate the group discussion only when you have understood the GD topic clearly and have some knowledge on it. Speaking without proper subject knowledge is a complete no no.

Seek clarifications :

• If you have any doubts regarding the subject before the discussion commences please seek for clarifications.

Listen :

• Pay attention while others are speaking and if you do not have much to speak on the topic try to relate things from what others are speaking, this can indeed be a life saver.

Keep it short and simple :

• You will not get selected on the basis of how much you speak but on what you speak.Hence rely entirely on quality.

Intervene :

• If and only if you think that the GD is going off track then please do not hesitate to interrupt but in a polite way

Speak clearly:

• Speak politely and clearly. Use simple and understandable words while speaking. Don’t be too aggressive if you are disagreeing with someone

Eye contact :

• Looking at the evaluators is the biggest mistake that people do. Keep eye contact with every team member while speaking and not the evaluators.

Time to organize thoughts :

• Don’t suddenly jump to any conclusion. Think before you speak so that you don’t speak anything irrelevant to the topic being discussed.

Conclude :

• If the evaluators have given your group time to conclude then grab the opportunity but make sure you do so periodically.

Also many ask me on how to deal with an unknown topic in GD ?

• Listen and first and try to relate things accordingly
  
• Make up your mind on some issues that were discussed and elaborate on them. Don't take rigid stands.
• Take your chance to sum up the GD to show that you were an active participant and a listener
  

HOW TO RUIN YOUR GD :

Finally some tips on how to ruin your GD :

• Start shouting right from the beginning. This way you can make sure that no one gets a chance to speak anything. Also, you should make sure that if someone else also shouts, you should make aggressive and threatening gestures. A fist can be useful.
• Keep changing your stand continuously.
• Always contradict what others have to say.
• Maintain a sardonic smile on your face throughout the GD. This way you will be able to tell the examiners that you are much superior to the other members of the group.
• Ask some other members of the group to shut up.
• Use your pet words like “Yaar” etc. This will lend a touch of ethnic elegance to the whole affair.
• Laugh loudly and heartily. This shows that you are jolly person.
• Point out the errors of others and make fun of them.
• Keep yawning from time to time. Maintain a blank look on your face.

For my previous post on GD Topics visit below :

http://eravandi.blogspot.com/2009/04/some-gd-topics.html

Feedback would me much appreciated

Palmistry mounts on hand

Mounts


In the previous chapter we discussed about the major lines in palmistry.Refer below for the same

http://eravandi.blogspot.com/2009/05/palmistry-how-to-read-palms.html

• The mounts are raised areas within your palm which like astrology are linked with the qualities associated with the planets.
  
• If you cup your hand slightly and look down through your wrist into your palm you will be able to see the mounts as slightly raised areas looking like hills rising up around your palm
  
• As indicated in the figure below the mounts are shown in red color.
  
• The major mounts are : Mount of Jupiter, Saturn, Apollo, Mercury and Venus. Lets look at them in detail.
  

Mount of Jupiter :

• Mount of Jupiter is situated at the base of the index finger. It represents power, leadership, organization and authority.
• The Jupiter finger can be looked upon as the trigger finger.
• A high set Jupiter finger is an indication of a high need to feel respected
• Persons with well-developed mount of Jupiter are always prepared to help others.
• Persons with over developed mount of Jupiter are selfish and proud
• Persons with no mount of Jupiter will have none of the qualities as mentioned above
  

Mount of Saturn :

• Mount of Saturn is situated below the middle finger.
• Positively expressed Saturn can be prudent, responsible, cautious, serious, practical, solid, constructive, patient and self disciplined. Negatively expressed Saturn can be fearful, cranky, irritable, mean, limited, uninspired, dull, selfish, despondent,acquisitive, materialistic, dogmatic and depressive
• It is preferable to see no development of the actual Saturn mount

Mount of Apollo :

• The ring finger and the mount just below it are ruled by the Sun and know as mount of Apollo
• This mount is associated with success happiness and achievement.Hence a person with well developed mount of Apollo is associated with fame.
• They are of cheerful nature and work in close co-operation with friends.
• Sometimes a vertical line is present on the this mount. This is also known as the success line.The line is not present in every hand but when it is it is a sign of happiness and achievment

Mount of Mercury :

• The little finger and the mount just below it are ruled by Mercury.
• Person with well developed mount of Mercury would be interested in inventions and have an aptitude towards sciences
• A star on the Mount of Mercury indicates a successful professional career.
• A cross on the mount indicates diplomacy

Mount of Venus :

• The mount that forms the ball at the base of the thumb is ruled by Venus.
• Venus is associated with love, passion and appreciation of beauty
• Person with well developed mount of Venus are always an attraction to the opposite sex
• A cross on the Mount of Venus indicates the person will find true love in their life
• A star at the base of the Mount of Venus indicates trouble in finding true love in life.

Palmistry How to read Palms

PALMISTRY


Palmistry is an ancient art and one that has many interpretations.It is extremely difficult to master the art, however it is easily learned by understanding a few basics.
In palmistry the fingers, mounts, signs, lines as well as shape of the hand needs to be analyzed
Lets now discuss them in detail :

Lines Of Hand :

There are 3 major lines in hand. Life line,Head line and Heart line and 6 major mounts . See in the figure below.Mount are shown in red color and lines in blue color

Life Line :

• This line extends from the edge of the palm above the thumb and travels in an arc towards the wrist.
• It represents the person's vitality and vigor, physical health and general well being.The life line does not indicate how long you will live. What the line reveals is the quality of your life.

Appearance:

• A perfect line, without breaks, crosses, or irregularities of any kind, promises a healthy and active life.
• A chained life line indicates a delicate health.
• Lines running in the opposite direction cutting the line of life show worries and obstacles

Branches :

• A branch from the life line leading to the Jupiter mount is a sign of academic achievement. branch that leads to the Saturn mount indicates taking on some extra responsibility such as buying a house or taking a new .A branch towards the Apollo mount indicates monetary gain. branch towards the Mercury mount indicates business success.
• Even small branches that rise upwards but do not reach the mounts indicate minor achievements

Click below to view the next chapters on the other major lines as well :

• Head Line
• Heart Line
• Fate Line

The next chapter would give a detailed view on Mounts

http://eravandi.blogspot.com/2009/05/palmistry-mounts-on-hand.html

*****Please note that there are various signs like islands, stars, grill, triangle, crosses that can be found on these lines and when they appear they have a special significance. However I would be covering them in detail only in the later chapters

DELL vs SONY vs HP vs Others

Mentioned below are the pros and cons of major laptop vendors :


DELL :

Legendary Direct sales model, favorite vendor for corporate houses due to aggressive pricing, one of the cheapest option for any given configuration and excellent customization

Pros :

• Configure and customize as you wish

• Just like an assembled PC, Dell allows its customers to choose the exact configuration they want and pay for only those features required. Other PC vendors usually release several pre configured models which cannot be customized beyond a limit

• Relatively cheaper than competition for a given configuration

• Only vendor who gives original OS media (With others you need to create recovery discs)

• Available in Multiple colours (Inspiron Studio and XPS series)

• Built to Order: Dell units are assembled only after an order is confirmed. This gives you fresh technology, directly from factory to your home. In other companies, products do spend some time in shelf, in factory, in warehouse, with distributor/reseller etc before you pick it up

Cons :

• Need to wait for few days/weeks for delivery

• Earlier you could not see and feel the product before purchase, however this is not the case now as most of their models are available in showrooms

• Trouble shooting can be a headache if you’re a computer novice.

• Strong up-selling tactics can make you spend more than what you originally budgeted

• Other laptop dealers/service center staff may refuse outright to fix a dell unit or charge heavily for the service. (Reason being, since Dell deals directly with customers these people are loosing commission)

HP :

Quite popular among domestic consumers-Competitive pricing, good sales and service network, lots of features and occasional promo offers

Pros :

• Lots of value added features: Like Remote Control, Fingerprint recognition, Webcam etc, not available in most of the competition models of similar configuration
• Decent sales and service network
• HP imprints can give good look to your unit (it is a sticker kind of thing with attractive images/scenery etc which you can stick to back of monitor)
• Excellent collection of Accessories

Cons :

• No option to make any changes in the specifications
• Not so robust compared to Dell and Sony.
• Very few models in high end segment.
• HP gift redemption process is a pain

SONY :

Some of the most expensive notebooks available,used more as a style statement.

Pros :

• High resale value and excellent brand recognition
• Good build quality and attractive colours
• Latest processors incorporated readily
• Excellent screen clarity
• Sony is the first company to launch flash based memory

Cons :

• Relatively expensive
• No option to make any changes in the specifications
• Very few models in low segment.

ACER :

• Sub 20k notebooks are available with Acer.
• In the past, they lost to the competetion because they were lagging in specs. However, recently they seem to be doing better than/as good as the rest in that department.
• Hritik Roshan has been commissioned to sell this brand and strong advertising is going on.Most of their products are extremely cheap when compared to other major brands however it may be prone to issues. I have not used any of their laptops hence will not comment much

For tips on how to select a Laptop visit below :

http://eravandi.blogspot.com/2009/05/how-to-select-laptop.html

How To Select A Laptop

Different people have different needs for using a laptop . Whatever these needs are, there are some general tips that you can use to select a laptop that would suit your need and your budget.

Generally, notebook computers are categorised as follows:

Entry-level notebooks :

These are notebook that are catered to the budget conscious. In general, they usually meet the minimum specifications required for the operating system. They are also not as reliable as the other categories of notebooks because many reliability or high-performance features are sacrificed to fit a small budget. If you are one who prefers reliability & performance for a period of three to five years, it would be more worthwhile to invest a little more in a higher quality notebook.

High Performance notebooks -

These are notebook computers that do not stinge on features & capabilities. They, of course, are also a pricey lot. Price aside, these notebook computers are created for the tough road warrior who is also a power user of the computer.

Highly Mobile notebooks -

These are notebook computers that focus on mobility and style while trying not to compromise on features. They can be expensive as it would naturally cost more to design and build a notebook that is smaller, more reliable, more robust, and more resistance to the accidental bumps and drops.

What kind of notebook computers should I be looking for?

Unless budget is the ultimate constraint, I would recommend to go for a high performance notebook that would last you for a number of years. Entry-level notebooks don't usually last and tend to breakdown after their warranty period is over. If you are alright with that, you can go for a entry-level notebook computer.

What should I look out for when selecting a notebook ?

1. Comfort

Inspect the keyboard layout of the notebook . Make sure the layout is the same as the current keyboard that you have been using all this while. If they are not at the "usual" places, you would need to face a learning curve after you have bought the notebook computer.

Try to type on the keyboard and see if the keys are too wide or too close together. If they are too wide or too narrow, it could put a strain on your hands if you type a lot using the keyboard.

2. Processor Speed

Unless you are a super power user, it actually doesn't matter whether or not you get the latest available processor. When selecting the processor, choose a recent model and not the latest model unless your budget fits the bill. Otherwise, it's alright to choose a slightly slower processor as you would not feel a visible difference in the processing speed. Spend your money on more RAM and storage space.

3. RAM or Computer Memory

This is one area you don't want to compromise on. If you are using Windows XP Home, 512mb of RAM is a good minimum to start with. If you are using Windows XP Pro, 768mb or 1GB of RAM is recommended for optimal performance. Beyond that, let your budget do the talking.

4. Display Memory

Most entry-level computers share part of the RAM for video display memory, which also explains why entry-level notebooks are cheaper in a certain way. This also means your memory performance is somewhat compromised and you won't have as much RAM as you want for your notebook computer. For example, if your notebook has 256mb of RAM, and the computer specifications for video display states 64mb of shared memory, it means that you only have 192mb of RAM available for the operating system to use. Generally, this translates to a slower performing notebook computer.

The high performance computers usually have a separate display memory card built-in that gives the high performance, while the highly mobile computers may also deploy a shared memory strategy for display memory, similar to entry-level computers, due to the need to keep the form factor small.

If you budget allows, go for a independent display memory of at least 128mb.

5. Hard Drive Storage

The cost of hard drive storage have come down quite dramatically these days. Plan to have at least two partitions ( C: drive & D: drive ) for your harddrive. Store only programs on your C: drive and all your data on your D: drive.

6. Other considerations

After the first 5 considerations, other considerations are optional. Example,
- whether to have two USB or four USB ports
- whether to have any firewire ports
- whether to have your USB ports available in front, at the side or behind, etc.

I've got my notebook. Now what?

The default configuration that comes with your notebook is generally good for immediate use, but not ideal if you are concerned about keeping your data safe when your notebook "crashes" on you so make necessary backup.

For a comparison on all the major Laptop brands read below :

http://eravandi.blogspot.com/2009/05/dell-vs-sony-vs-hp-vs-others.html