Google's next Social Network - Socialstream

Socialstream is the result of a Google-sponsored capstone project in the Master's program at Carnegie Mellon University's Human-Computer Interaction Institute. This project was guided by three goals that built upon each other:

Initial Task: Rethink and reinvent online social networking

Refined Focus: Discover the user needs related to social networking and explore how a unified social network service can enhance their experience.

Prototype Goal: Create a system for users to seamlessly share, view, and respond to many types of social content across multiple networks.

Directed to help improve the online community orkut, the project's scope was not to simply redesign the interface. Our team considered how online social networking could bring greater value to users, especially for ages above twenty. After initial brainstorming and research, we chose to focus on the effects of a new model for online social networking: a unified social network that, as a service, provides social data to many other applications. Our user research examined needs related to online as well as offline social networking and considered how they related to a unified social network service model. Through this user research we identified a set of archetypes that represent common behavior patterns that existed across multiple study participants and also formulated a summarized list of their high level needs.

Socialstream is our response to these needs; it is the result of a rigorous user-centered design process that involved formal research and evaluation with over 30 participants.

FOREX

FOREX (Foreign Exchange)
The purpose of these articles is to introduce the forex market to you. As with many markets there are many derivative of the central market such as futures, options and forwards. Here we will only be discussing the main market sometime referred to as the Spot or Cash market.


The word FOREX is derived from the words Foreign Exchange and is the largest financial market in the world. Unlike many markets the FX market is open 24 hours per day and has an estimated $1.2 Trillion in turnover every day. This tremendous turnover is more than the combined turnover of the main worlds' stock markets on any given day. This tends to lead to a very liquid market and thus a desirable market to trade.

Unlike many other securities (any financial instrument that can be traded) the FX market does not have a fixed exchange. It is primarily traded through banks, brokers, dealers, financial institutions and private individuals.

Trades are executed through phone and increasingly through the Internet. It is only in the last few years that the smaller investor has been able to gain access to this market. Previously the large amounts of deposits required precluded the smaller investors. With the advent of the Internet and growing competition it is now easily within the reach of most investors. Click for more

Paypal

Student Loan

Home loan companies have started to lean heavily on some of their borrowers, asking them to prepay a part of their loans and raise their equated monthly installments (EMIs).

Interest rates on housing loans have risen by 400 to 500 basis points — one basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point — over the past two years.

The lenders are now realizing that it is no longer enough to merely tweak the EMI.

Many like HDFC and ICICI Bank are now asking customers to start looking at a combination of pre-payments and EMI increases to bring down their loan liabilities to manageable levels — a move that has started giving borrowers more pain than they had bargained for when they took the loans.

Others like the SBI are also in the process of sending out similar missives. Come July, the country’s largest bank will ask some of its home loan borrowers to pay higher EMIs. The SBI fears that such a directive could lead to some payment defaults.

A borrower, whose EMI went up last November after a rate rise, was spooked when he got another letter this week that said: “Your interest rate for your loan is 11.50 per cent effective June 1, 2007. Due to this change in the interest rate, the repayment tenure on your loan has stretched beyond the normal term of a loan. We request your immediate attention in this regard.

“One of the following actions from your side is recommended: alter the EMI suitably, consider a part prepayment of the principal, combination of Options 1 and 2, depending on your convenience.”

“This has come as a bolt from the blue,” said the borrower who wished to remain anonymous. “I looked over the rate hikes and found that my floating rate had risen five times in the past year with three of them coming in the past three months. I will have to pay them about Rs 1.5 lakh and hope that the interest rates don’t rise any further.”

There is no guarantee that rates won’t rise any further. The RBI has kept its cards close to its chest and will be looking closely at global cues.

Last week, the US Federal Reserve didn’t raise rates but said it would be watching inflation very closely. Central bankers often raise benchmark interest rates to collar inflation but there’s a danger that this could trammel economic growth.

Senior bankers do not expect Indian interest rates to rise further. With the inflation rate slowing to a 13-month low, many expect the RBI to refrain from tampering with key interest rates when it unveils the monetary policy review in July.

Vacancies in Central Government & Public Service Units

Sometimes I think about filling up application forms online for all the Government sector vacancies & Public Service Sectors. Later I found so many links to vacancies but didn't saved it for future use. Then I thought to save it for those who are visiting my site! & here it is...

Dedicated to all aspirants...

Categorized.

Defence

Armed Forces
www.nda.nic.in
www.ua.nic.in/haridwar/defence.htm
www.indianarmy.nic.in
www.indiannavy.nic.in/carofficers.htm
www.joinindianarmy.nic.in
www.careerairforce.nic.in
www.indianairforce.nic.in


Doctors

www.aiims.ac.in
delhigovt.nic.in/dept/health/medicalcare.asp


Engineers

www.kolkataporttrust.gov.in
hortibizindia.org
www.bhel.com
www.delhitransco.com
www.engineersindia.com


Management

agricoop.nic.in
www.railwayrecruitment.org
ssc.nic.in
www.upsc.gov.in
www.iimahd.ernet.in
www.iimb.ernet.in
www.iimcal.ac.in
www.iiml.ac.in


Banking

www.rbi.org.in
www.statebankofindia.com


Academics

www.jnu.ac.in
www.cbse.nic.in
www.du.ac.in
www.uohyd.ernet.in
www.iimc.nic.in


Accounts

www.icai.org
www.icsi.edu

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Life

Three things in life that, once gone, never come back
Time; Words; Opportunity


Three things in life that may never be lost
Peace; Hope; Honesty


Three things in life that are most valuable
Love; Self-confidence; Friends


Three things in life that is never certain
Dreams; Success; Fortune


Three things that make a man/woman
Hard work; Sincerity; Commitment


Three things in life that can destroy a man/woman
Alcohol; Pride; Anger

One thing that is truly constant -
GOD