Entry level candidates use coding tests to showcase talent

Do not have programming experience? Fret not. You can still compete with pros in your field, and prove you are better than them by taking part in online coding contests. Not only does it allow you to compete directly with seasoned professionals, it also gives you an edge over other candidates who are looking for similar job roles in the market.

According to Techgig.com data, candidates with 1-3 years of experience are the most active participants in such coding contests. Around 35% of those who take part in such contests have 1 year experience; followed by 21% with 2 years experience and 11% with 3 years experience. Just 1-3% of the participants have 8-11 years of experience.

According to Nikhilesh Tiwari, co-founder, Helical IT Solutions, “With no experience to showcase their expertise, coding contests can act as a perfect platform for a student/fresher to impress prospective employees with their technical expertise and coding abilities. Whereas, seasoned professionals have a solid track record of projects handled, companies in which they have worked for to prove their case. This is one of the prime reasons why freshers' are more active in coding contests.”

Vishnu Gopal, CTO, MobMe Wireless Solutions Ltd., adds, “This could be because freshers’ are always looking for a platform to showcase their talent. Experienced professionals, unfortunately, quickly become specialised in their respective fields and don’t value these coding contests much.”

Experts believe that participation in such online contests opens up opportunities to interact with industry leaders. Not only do fresher’s get to meet more people by participating, they also get to know what would be the ideal way to code (by following major coding guidelines, ideal way of using variables, classes, etc.), how to approach a problem and developing a solution keeping these things in mind. “If these contests are run correctly, I can see it being a good bullet point on a fresher’s resume,” adds Gopal.

This kind of participation also opens up job avenues for entry level candidates. These contests are platforms where employers notice the right kind of talent and freshers gain access to opportunities in their dream companies. From an employer’s perspective though, there are specific skills that companies look for among the contest participants.

According to Tiwari, some of the skills are:
-    Their approach towards finding a solution i.e. problem solving ability
-    Coding expertise
-    Database related knowledge
-    Attitude and perseverance towards the problem in hand.

Experts add that companies also look for good teamwork skills, programming knowhow and ability to work towards a given deadline.

Cost-cutting often means layoffs for small businesses. Here's a guide on how to do it the right way.

With the New Year upon us, and the future prospects of the economy still in flux, many small businesses might be taking a fresh look at how they can shave costs and, hopefully, boost profits for 2012. But cost cutting, especially when it impacts the payroll, can often have negative side effects, as well—especially on employee morale. That means that while you might succeed in adding a few dollars to the bottom line, you might actually suffer a net loss in the productivity of your employees. Given that challenge, here are six strategies to consider in pulling off a cost-cutting effort without cutting morale at the same time.

1. Communicate Thoroughly. “I had to make some cuts later last year, and it wasn't easy,” says Kelly Reeves, owner and CEO of KLR Communications, a public relations firm in Newport Beach, Calif. “It's important to communicate everything with employees: what's happening, what are the plans to resolve the matter, how long it'll take and what they can expect.” In other words, employees will respond better to bad news when they’re given as much information as possible as to why the cuts are taking place. “Communication is all about framing the purpose,” says AmyK Hutchens, CEO of AmyK International, an executive development firm specializing in leadership and sales. “Are you cutting to survive and make payroll or are you cutting to create lean efficiencies that will position your company to stabilize and eventually thrive again? Word choice is very important so that people can buy into a positive future.”

2. Be Transparent. It’s all too common for employees to assume the worst of their boss or the owner of the company, usually along the lines that he or she is cutting costs to line their own pockets. But if the company’s future is truly at stake, being as transparent as possible can actually result in greater loyalty. “Business owners must demonstrate foolproof integrity and do the right things for the right reasons and be totally transparent,” says Roy Saunderson, president of the Recognition Management Institute, a division of Rideau. “If it means opening the accounting books to show the reality of why cuts are needed, so be it. You can’t ask for restraints without being fully open with employees.”

3. Ask For Ideas. When it comes down to finding ways to cut costs, sometimes business owners overlook their most valuable assets: their own employees. “Resources are wasted everyday in businesses, on systems and products that are simply not working and having a negative impact on the bottom line,” says Marla R. Gottschalk, Ph.D., a practice manager with organizational development firm Rand Gottschalk & Associates in Lansing, Mich. “Employees have first-hand knowledge and can alert business owners to these areas of waste.” In other words, by asking your employees for ideas on how to cut costs, you might actually be able to boost morale in the process. Gottschalk admits that it can take some planning to create a channel where employee ideas on cutting costs can be brought up, but when it’s done well, great rewards follow. “I usually suggest a monthly idea forum for small businesses, whereby submitted ideas can be presented and evaluated. Owners can also post specific problems for employees to solve, such as a cost cutting challenge.”

4. Lay People On, Not Off. Many companies rely on lay-offs to trim payroll costs. But what if you turn the equation around? Case in point: “A publishing company which went through a tough spell during the recent recession risked laying people off,” says Saunderson of the Recognition Management Institute. “Instead, the owner asked if all employees would be willing to work an extra hour a day. Employees could see the dilemma and accepted the challenge. After the first three months they cleared the downturn and after six months showed a 15 percent increase in productivity. Similarly, Jeff Milano, CEO of The People's Chemist, says that the best way to offset payroll cuts is to then offer a bonus program, based on profit sharing. “If everyone works together and a goal is reached, then everyone shares in the reward,” says Milano. “This keeps the doors open and the cooperation high.”

5. Celebrate Small Successes. “Even the little things count,” says Reeves of KLR Communications. “Praise and recognition for a job well done are crucial if you’re going through a restructuring. Giving little gifts like $5 Starbucks cards or iTunes gift cards can also make them feel like they're a valuable asset to the company even if compensations have been cut or they've seen their co-workers laid-off.”

6. Recognize Sacrifices. Even when the cash registers are dry, employers should make the effort to recognize the efforts of those employees who continue to keep the firm going, says Saunderson of the Recognition Management Institute. “What employees won’t forget is how managers treated them during the tough times. That means you should be increasing the amount of time spent one-on-one with employees, writing appreciation notes, listening to concerns and thanking them over and over again for saving the day.”

Source: https://www.openforum.com/members/darrendahl

Nokia phone with 5.2-inch screen, quad-core CPU leaked

Nokia recently unveiled its biggest-ever smartphone, Lumia 625 with a 4.7-inch display. However, it seems that the Finnish manufacturer is taking the screen size game even higher with the upcoming Lumia 825 smartphone.

A Chinese news website has leaked details of this upcoming device, which will not only be the biggest Nokia handset but also likely to be its first with a quad-core processor. All current Nokia smartphones (including top-end models like Lumia 1020 and Lumia 925) come with dual-core processors. The report also says that the phone will support display resolution of 1280x720p.

Mobile benchmark testing website GFXBench had earlier reported about this device, which was running on Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 MSM8X26 chipset. This chipset's quad-core CPU is clocked at 1.2GHz and supports dual-sim technology, Bluetooth, NFC and Quickcharge 1.0 fast-charging.

Windows Phone 8 operating system currently does not offer quad-core support, which will come with the GDR3 update that is scheduled to be released this fall. This update will also bring support for 1920x1080p resolution for screen displays to phones running on Microsoft's mobile OS.

Hacker posts Facebook bug report on Zuckerberg’s wall

A Palestinian information system expert says he was forced to post a bug report on Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook page after the social network’s security team failed to recognize that a critical vulnerability he found allows anyone to post on someone's wall.

The vulnerability, which was reported by a man calling himself ‘Khalil,’ allows any Facebook user to post anything on the walls of other users - even when those users are not included in their list of friends. He reported the vulnerability through Facebook’s security feedback page, which offered a minimum reward of US$500 for each real security bug report. 

However, the social network’s security team failed to acknowledge the bug, even though Khalil enclosed a link to a post he made on the timeline of a random girl who studied at the same college as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

“Sorry, this is not a bug,” Facebook’s security team said in response to Khalil’s second report, in which he offered to reproduce the discussed vulnerability on a test account of Facebook security expert.

After receiving the reply, Khalil claims he had no choice but to showcase the problem on Mark Zuckerberg’s wall.

Screenshots on his blog show that Khalil shared details of the exploit, as well as his disappointing experience with the security team, on the Facebook founder’s wall.

Just minutes after the post, Khalil says he received a response from a Facebook engineer requesting all the details about the vulnerability. His account was blocked while the security team rushed to close the loophole.

After receiving the third bug report, a Facebook security engineer finally admitted the vulnerability but said that Khalil won’t be paid for reporting it because his actions violated the website’s security terms of service.

Although Facebook’s White Hat security feedback program sets no reward cap for the most “severe” and “creative” bugs, it sets a number of rules that security analysts should follow in order to be eligible for a cash reward. Facebook did not specify which of the rules Khalil had broken.

Somewhere between the second and third vulnerability reports, Khalil also recorded a video of himself reproducing the bug.

In its latest reply, Facebook reinstated Khalil’s account and expressed hope that he will continue to work with Facebook to find more vulnerabilities.

Microsoft blasts Google over YouTube block, claims reasons are 'manufactured'

Earlier today Google confirmed to The Verge that the company is blocking Microsoft's newly released Windows Phone YouTube app. Though both companies committed to work with each other on a YouTube app, Google wasn't happy when Microsoft released an updated app earlier this week. Microsoft now claims that Google is purposely attempting to block a YouTube Windows Phone app, and that the search giant's objections "are nothing other than excuses."

In a blog post outlining what Microsoft deputy general counsel David Howard describes as "the limits of Google’s openness," the struggles between both companies are clear. Microsoft alleges that Google is blocking it from building a native version of YouTube for Windows Phone, an experience that Microsoft wants to be on par with the Android and iPhone equivalents. "Google asked us to transition our app to a new coding language – HTML5," says Howard. The Android and iOS equivalents are not based on HTML5, but both of those apps are officially supported and built by Google.

It appears there are technical limitations in Windows Phone that are preventing Microsoft from building the YouTube HTML5 version. "It seems to us that Google’s reasons for blocking our app are manufactured so that we can’t give our users the same experience Android and iPhone users are getting," claims Howard. "The roadblocks Google has set up are impossible to overcome, and they know it."

Microsoft's original app didn't include ads and the company built a download option in for offline YouTube videos. Google objected to both, and requested Microsoft remove the app from the Windows Phone Store. Instead, Microsoft updated the app to remove the download option, and then agreed the app would be removed to facilitate both companies working on a new version.  The recently released app now includes ads support, but The Verge has learned the ads haven't been implemented in the way Google wants them displayed. "We’ve asked Google to provide whatever information iPhone and Android get so that we can mirror the way ads are served on these platforms more precisely," says Howard. "So far at least, Google has refused to give this information to us." Howard notes that Microsoft is confident it can fix the ad issues with Google's cooperation.

Howard also calls out Google over its concerns for branding and a degraded experience, noting that Microsoft previously shipped a simple YouTube app for Windows Phone that redirected users to the mobile version of the service. "If Google were truly concerned about a degraded experience, it would allow our users access to the new YouTube app they love," says Howard. The accusations and frustrations are hard to ignore, and it's clear there's a bitter war of control and ecosystems being played out behind closed doors. Howard finishes his note with a simple plea: "we once again request that Google stop blocking our YouTube app."

Google blocks Microsoft's new YouTube Windows Phone app

Microsoft's recently released YouTube application for Windows Phone is being blocked by Google. In a statement issued to The Verge, Google confirms that the application has been blocked for violating the terms of use. Despite the two companies collaborating on an app based on HTML5, Microsoft's app is still breaking YouTube's terms of use. "Microsoft has not made the browser upgrades necessary to enable a fully-featured YouTube experience, and has instead re-released a YouTube app that violates our Terms of Service," says a Google spokesperson. "It has been disabled. We value our broad developer community and therefore ask everyone to adhere to the same guidelines."

The application was released earlier this week and was working for Windows Phone users before errors started to display. The Verge understands that Google simply revoked the API key Microsoft was attempting to use as the software giant had reverse-engineered YouTube's ad code. Microsoft's re-released app appears to have taken Google by surprise, despite the promise of a collaborative effort to build a Windows Phone YouTube application.

Update: Microsoft says it's working on resolving the issue with its updated YouTube app. "Google is blocking our updated YouTube app for Windows Phone," says a Microsoft spokesperson. "We are working with them to resolve the issue."

Hyperloop: Faster than a plane, cheaper than a train and completely green!

Elon Musk unveiled his plans for the Hyperloop, a high-speed transportation system that could deliver passengers to their destination at speeds up to 800 miles per hour. Musk's estimates the project will cost around $6 billion for a people-only version, and around $10 billion for a version where people could bring along their cars.

Musk envisioned the system as a 'fifth mode' of transportation: an alternative to boats, aircraft, automobiles, and trains. Musk stated that it "could revolutionize travel".

A hyperloop employs an elevated tube through which capsules move. The tube is partially evacuated to reduce friction. The capsule rides on a cushion of air forced through multiple openings at the capsule's bottom, further reducing friction. The capsules would be propelled by linear induction motors placed at intervals along the route.

According to the initial "Alpha" design released on August 12, 2013, a hyperloop would enable travel from the Los Angeles region to the San Francisco Bay Area in 35 minutes, meaning that passengers would traverse the proposed 354 miles (570 km) route at an average speed of just under 598 mph (962 km/h), and a top speed of 760 mph (1,220 km/h). The suggested route runs from the northern San Fernando Valley to the Hayward/Castro Valley area, paralleling the Interstate 5 corridor for most of its length.

Now, send SMS, email to get cheaper vegetables

Over 300 farmers from Mulashi near Pune, organised under the Abhinav Farmers' club, plan four months in advance who will grow what.

More than 1,300 women, organised in 117 groups, do attractive packaging of organic vegetables, earning Rs 150 a day (for just 4-5 hours' work).

The fresh vegetables, fruits and grains will be delivered at door step as per the orders booked through e-mails, voice SMS and over phone in Mumbai and Pune.

Metro Cash and Carry, Reliance Fresh, D Mart and other organised retailers are directly sourcing vegetables from farmers as per the state government's cap on the selling price. The organised retailers are also part of the 106 centres in Mumbai, where the state government started direct marketing of vegetables in July.

Young and enterprising farmers of Krishi Vigyan Mandal, Kalvadi, near the tomato cluster of Narayangaon, about 80 km from Pune, supply two tonne of fresh vegetables every day to 15 centres managed by aggregators. The sorting and grading of vegetables is done in the village, while the farmers' vehicles will distribute the produce from Ghatkopar to Malad from 1 am to 7 am. The aggregators are the only people between the farmers and consumers.

As vegetable prices show no sign of slowdown, direct marketing of vegetables is increasingly becoming popular as it ensures best price to the farmers and consumers. "Direct marketing centres helped reduce vegetable prices by 40% in Mumbai," said Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil.

Now, the state government is planning to open farmer-to-consumer direct marketing centres in all the cities and urban centres. "When we do doorstep delivery, our price realisation becomes double," said Aruna Shelake from Mulashi taluka, who has been part of the direct marketing system of Abhinav Farmers' Club for the last 11 years.

Google - Project Loon

Project Loon is a research and development project being developed by Google with the mission of providing Internet access to rural and remote areas. The project uses high-altitude balloons placed in the stratosphere at an altitude of about 20 km (12 mi) to create an aerial wireless network with up to 3G-like speeds. Because of the project's somewhat outlandish mission goals, Google dubbed it "Project Loon".

The balloons are maneuvered by adjusting their altitude to float to a wind layer after identifying the wind layer with the desired speed and direction using wind data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Users of the service connect to the balloon network using a special Internet antenna attached to their building. The signal travels through the balloon network from balloon to balloon, then to a ground-based station connected to an Internet service provider (ISP), then onto the global Internet. The system aims to bring Internet access to remote and rural areas poorly served by existing provisions, and to improve communication during natural disasters to affected regions.
Reference:  http://www.google.com/loon/
                    http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/08/googlex-project-loon/all/