Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Tuesday : Site of the Week: Mouthshut

Founded in 2000, MouthShut is India's first and largest User Generated Content Company. MouthShut has evolved into an online community where the world's most vocal and influential consumers come together to write and read reviews and compare hundreds of thousands products and services. MouthShut is also the only rare repository in the world which offers consumers the option of recording and posting video reviews.

MouthShut means many things to many segments of society.

Speak your mind and share your product experience

Enjoyed the movie you just saw? Found yourself glued to a book you read from cover to cover? Just can't resist talking about the latest gadget you bought? Share what you feel at MouthShut. You can also compare products on the basis of features, price, reviews and ratings. Liberate yourself from advertising jargons and make a choice that's unbiased and honest.

The belief is: Consumer is king.

The fact is: MouthShut provides the consumer his kingdom.


I personally feel it is a great website. We can write reviews on any thing possible. Just make a request that's it.

You can follow me on MouthShut link : my reviews
Any type of comments are most welcome

the website is : Mouthshut






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Monday, July 28, 2008

Seven Elements of A Timeless Brand

A fantastic article on Mint newspaper.
An article by Nabankar Gupta.
He is a founder and CEO of Nobby Brand Architects and Strategic Marketing Consultants.

read the article at :

Corpdepot



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My Article on The Free Press Journal


I Will digitize this article later.
Please review the article

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Simple Productivity: 10 Ways to Do More by Focusing on the Essentials

Here are 10 simple ways to be more productive with less effort:

  1. Clear your head. It's impossible to gain perspective, and to know what is truly essential, if we are in the middle of an information stream. Take an hour, or half a day if possible, to shut off the information flow, and to get a larger view of your life and your job. The time you take off will be well worth it. Tell everyone that you are unavailable, shut off all communications, shut yourself in somewhere private, and take some time to think about what is important. What do you want? Where are you going? What will it take to get there? Another good way to clear your head, which is necessary for focus, is to write down everything that you need to do, all your tasks and projects and ideas. Dump the contents of your mind on paper, and then stop thinking about them for a little while.
  2. Focus on the essential tasks. Once you've gotten your head cleared, you need to figure out what tasks are most essential. Ask yourself this magic question: "What task can you do that will get you the most return on your time?" Figure out the project that will get you the most recognition, win you awards, or get you the most business. Something that will pay off big. Not something you'll forget about in a week, but something that others will remember you by. This is an essential task. Make a list of these types of tasks — they're your most important things to do this week.
  3. Eliminate the rest. Now look at your overall list. What's on there that's not essential? Can you just drop them from your schedule? Or delegate them to someone else? If not, put them on a "waiting list". Then, as you focus on your essential tasks, check back on this waiting list every now and then. Sometimes you'll realize that the less essential tasks weren't really necessary at all.
  4. Do essential tasks first. If you've got a list of things to do today, and one or two of them are truly essential, do those items first thing in the morning. Don't wait until later in the day, because they'll get pushed back as other urgent stuff comes up. Get them out of the way, and your productivity will truly soar.
  5. Eliminate distractions. You can put essential stuff on your list all year long, but if you are constantly interrupted by email notifications, IM, cell phones, your RSS reader, gadgets and widgets, social media, forums and the like, you'll never be productive. Turn these things off, disconnect yourself from the Internet if possible, clear your desk of all papers, clear your walls and surrounding areas, and allow yourself to truly focus.
  6. Use simple tools. Don't fidget with a bunch of gadgets or the latest and coolest applications. Find a simple notebook for writing things down, a simple to-do list (no frills) and the simplest application possible for doing your work. Then forget about the tools and think only of the task at hand. If you're too worried about the tools, you're not actually doing anything.
  7. Do one thing at a time. Multi-tasking is a waste of time. You can't get things done with a million things going on at once, pulling for your attention. Focus on the essential task in front of you, to the exclusion of all else, and you are much more likely to get it completed, in less time, with less effort.
  8. Find quiet. In addition to a quiet working environment, you need time every day that you can call your own, where you don't have to do work. This could be through reading, taking a bath, walking in nature, going swimming at the beach, going jogging, meditating. Not reading your feeds. Get away from the information overload and find that peace that will allow you to truly focus when you do work, and to review your day in your mind, and to get the perspective to see what is essential.
  9. Make the most of your work. It's one thing to write something great, or to create something fantastic. But it's entirely another thing to make that great thing explode, to get you attention, to earn the recognition you deserve — which will lead to more business or more opportunities. Once you've created the Next Great Thing, promote it, show it to others, find a way to have it carry you as far as it can take you. Don't just create something and move on to the next thing. Use your energy and talents to their fullest extent.
  10. Simplify some more. Once you've simplified down to the essential, and eliminated distractions, you should become productive. But distractions and the unnecessary have a way of creeping back in and accumulating. Every now and then, take a look at what you're doing, at the information coming into your life, at how you spend your time and the tools you use. Then simplify some more.

Leo Babauta blogs regularly about achieving goals and becoming productive through daily habits on Zen Habits. Read his articles on 10 Ways to Reduce Your Work Week, Zen To Done (ZTD), the Top 50 Productivity Blogs, doubling your productivity, keeping your inbox empty, becoming an early riser, and the Top 20 Motivation Hacks.

source : lifehack.org
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Friday, July 25, 2008

Hummer H3 (2006)





The Hummer H3 is a vehicle from General Motors' Hummer division, introduced in 2005. The H3 is the smallest of the three Hummer models, and though the H3 concept car was a pickup truck, the final vehicle is a conventional SUV. Its GMT345 platform is based on the GMT355 which underpins the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickup trucks. Built on a modified Colorado/Canyon pickup truck frame (with more crossmembers and more frame boxing), the H3 shares many major components with its siblings.

The H3 is built at GM's Shreveport, Louisiana factory. Export versions will also be produced at the General Motors South Africa facility in Struandale, Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

In the American market, the H3 is priced from $29,500 to just under $40,000. Sales have been strong, with the 33,140 sold in 2005 making up 58% of Hummer's total sales for the year. For the first two months of 2006, 8,071 H3s were sold, 74% of all Hummer sales.

Specifications

The H3 uses the 3.5 L (3464 cc) Atlas straight-5 engine.The same engine that is used in the Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon pickup trucks. This 20-valve DOHC unit produces 220 hp (164 kW) at 5600 rpm and 225 ft·lbf (305 N·m) at 2800 rpm. It is available with a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic transmission that includes GM's Stabilitrak vehicle stability control. Its 111.9 in wheelbase is 1.1 in shorter than the GMT360 SUVs. It includes an electronically-controlled dual-speed transfer case and electronic locking differential.

Since it is rated at less than 8500 lb (GVWR), Hummer is required to provide official fuel economy ratings. It is rated at 16 mpg in the city cycle with both transmissions and 19 mpg with the automatic or 20 mpg with the manual on the highway. While the Hummer H2 will ford 20 inches of water, the H3 will handle 24 inches of water (it has been tested in depths up to 31 inches). The H3 is the only vehicle in its class to have a 2-speed transfer case standard.

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Hummer H2 (2004)



The H2 is the second vehicle sold under the Hummer marque of General Motors. It is a large SUV (though smaller than the Hummer H1) with room for five passengers and substantial off-road ability. The rearmost part of the H2 SUV was modified to a pickup truck bed for the 2004 H2 SUT ("Sport Utility Truck").

Overview

The H2 is built under contract by AM General at a specially constructed plant in Mishawaka, Indiana, USA. Although it shares GM's GMT820 truck platform with the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon, those vehicles differ in many ways and are constructed in three other GM plants. The H2's final frame assembly is made up of 3 sections: The front uses a modified GM 2500-Series utility frame, the mid-section is all new and is completely boxed, and the rear section uses a modifed GM 1500-Series frame which is upgraded for the 8000 pound (3629 kg) gross vehicle weight.

H2 sales were initially strong, but fell to 28,898 for 2004 and 23,213 for 2005.

The H2 was nominated for the North American Truck of the Year award for 2003.

Engine

2003–2005 6000 6.0 L (366 in³) V8

Capabilities

With its high ground clearance, large tires, protective underbody plates, and low gearing, the H2 is capable of climbing over a 20-inch-high (0.4 m) step-up wall. A massive truck frame and wide track offer stability against overturning compared to some of the more common light truck SUVs, although objective tests have not been performed by the government or other outside parties due to its specialised vehicle class.

Fuel economy

For typical travel on improved roads, users report fuel economy of between 10 and 14 miles per gallon, which converts to between 14 and 17 L/100 km. Worst case urban driving is said to be in the range of 8 to 14 U.S. mpg (21 to 25 L/100 km). Although General Motors does not provide official H2 fuel economy ratings, most reviews have observed high single to low double-digit mileage, similar to the numbers above.

It should be noted that other large vehicles also have poor fuel economy especially with optional larger engines including the Dodge Ram 1500 series pickup trucks equipped with either the 8.3L V10 (MSRP US$48,500) or the 4.7L V8 Flexible Fuel engine running E85 fuel (MSRP US$31,300). Both of these engines are rated at 9 U.S. mpg city and 11 U.S. mpg highway by the E.P.A. as one example.

Tax benefits

Under the United States income tax code, the cost of vehicles over 6,000 pounds (2722 kg) can be deducted from income. This deduction was enacted decades ago to assist self-employed people in purchasing a vehicle for business use. The weight minimum was intended to limit the deduction to commercial-type trucks. For many years, the deduction remained below the average cost of a new vehicle, since large trucks were relatively inexpensive. Since it is a reduction in taxable income, the actual value of this deduction averages 30% of the price of the vehicle in question.

The increasing popularity of these vehicles in the last decade, however, pushed their average price to nearly double the average passenger car cost. In response, the 2002 Tax Act increased this "Section 179 depreciation deduction" to US$75,000, and it rose again to US$102,000 for the 2004 tax year. This is more than three times the current average cost of a passenger car in the United States and covers a large number of luxury models, including the Hummer H2. In late 2004, the deduction was again reduced to US$25,000.

Criticism

The Hummer H2 is one of the most severely criticized civilian vehicles on the market today. Critics have expressed concern at the fuel economy which they cite as being among the most inefficient of vehicles. The Environmental Protection Agency does not test them for fuel economy because of their weight, they are thus categorised as light trucks and thus are not bound to fuel economy standards.

The Hummer H2 is criticised for contributing towards petroleum comsumption in the United States. In addition, they are criticized for obstructing the views of drivers behind them with their large vehicles. Criticism is also leveled at the H2 by safety advocates who have expressed concern that their size and height make them far deadlier to smaller vehicles as well as bicyclists, and pedestrians since the front of the Hummer H2 will likely strike the head and/or chest where injuries are far more life-threatening instead of the knees where regular cars are most likely to impact a pedestrian.

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