2nd ManipalBlog Short Story and Poetry Competition: Illuminati 2012 (India)

Monday, May 7, 2012

Deadline: 1 June 2012

After Illuminati 2011 received a good response,with 90 poems and 19 short stories,we announce the second edition of the ManipalBlog annual short story and poetry contest – Illuminati 2012.

We encourage student writers in India to explore and celebrate their talents by sending in their new, untried work. Writers may try their hand in both the categories: Short Story and Poetry.

MANIPALBLOG ANNUAL SHORT STORY AND POETRY COMPETITION: ILLUMINATI 2012

Illuminati 2012: the 2nd ManipalBlog Annual short story and poetry contest

Entries will be accepted between 12:00 AM , 1st May 2012 and 12:00 AM 1st June 2012. The entries will be published online at Manipalblog.com, on 1st June 2012 and one month will be given for our readers to appreciate and vote for them. Results will be announced on 15th August 2012 !

1. Eligibility:

• The contest is open to all student residents in India.
• Only original, unpublished, fictional short stories of 1500 words or less and written in English without profanity are eligible.
• Multiple entries in each category are allowed.
• Each article must contain solely the entrant’s original ideas and language. Your submission of the article and entry form is your guarantee that you are the sole author and copyright holder of the article.
• Entrants under the age of 18 may enter only with the permission of their parent or guardian.
• Administrators, Editors and Family members of ManipalBlog.com are not eligible to enter.

2. Restrictions: Entries may not be submitted for publication or published elsewhere (either digitally or in print). Incomplete or illegible entries and entries that do not meet the Eligibility standards in these official rules may be disqualified.

3. Short story requirements

• Be between 1000 to 2000 words.
• Be on the topic or theme provided.
• Be written in the English language.
• Be wholly the original work of the entrant, written solely by the entrant.
• Not be copied from any other source.
• Not have been previously broadcast or otherwise distributed or disseminated in any media or format.
• Not be in the public domain.
• Not be in violation of or in conflict with the trademark, copyright, rights of privacy, rights of publicity or any other rights, of any kind or nature, of any other person or entity.
• Not include any language or other content that is inappropriate, offensive, pornographic, or otherwise unfit for dissemination or broadcast, as determined by ManipalBlog.com in its sole discretion.
• Meet the deadline.

4. Poetry requirements

• No single poem should exceed 60 lines.
• Both metered and free verse qualify, as well as prose poems that are so designated by the poet are accepted.
• Be on the topic or theme provided.
• Be written in the English language.
• Be wholly the original work of the entrant, written solely by the entrant.
• Not be copied from any other source.
• Not have been previously broadcast or otherwise distributed or disseminated in any media or format.
• Not be in the public domain.
• Not be in violation of or in conflict with the trademark, copyright, rights of privacy, rights of publicity or any other rights, of any kind or nature, of any other person or entity.
• Not include any language or other content that is inappropriate, offensive, pornographic, or otherwise unfit for dissemination or broadcast, as determined by ManipalBlog.com in its sole discretion.
• Meet the deadline.

Entries not satisfying these criteria in any respect will be disqualified. If ManipalBlog.com, in its sole discretion, has reason to believe that any entry contains any material that may infringe or violate any law or any rights of a third party, or that the use or broadcast of such entry in the manner described herein may infringe or violate any law or any rights of a third party, ManipalBlog.com may immediately disqualify such entry

5. How to Enter: There is NO FEE to enter this contest. Follow these steps to enter:

• Complete the contest entry form here, and attach the word/.txt document and click on the submit form button.
• The entries must be received by 11:59pm on May 31st, 2012. The link will be inactive thereafter.
• By submitting a story entry, the entrant grants to ManipalBlog.com:
• The right to edit the Story for grammar, spelling and punctuation; and
• A non-exclusive, assignable, perpetual, license to produce, publish, distribute, transmit, exhibit, exploit, and license the Story and any portions thereof in any format (collectively “distribute” or “distribution,” as applicable) by any and all means, uses and media, whether audio, print, audiovisual or otherwise, now or hereafter known, throughout the universe in all languages without financial compensation.
• Incomplete or illegible entries may be disqualified.

6. Judging and Awards

• Like last year, we will be having prizes in the popular choice and critics choice categories for both short stories and poetry.
• The popular choice awards will be based on the traffic, Facebook ‘Likes’ and Tweets the short story/ poem generates between 1st June 2012 and 1st July 2012.
• Critics choice awards will be based on the scoring by our judging Panel. The judging panel may include: teaching professionals, librarians, children’s author, illustrators, and editors. Judging will begin on June 2, 2010 and the winners will be announced on or about August 15th, 2010 at the website www.manipalblog.com . The decisions of the judges are final and binding.
• Certificates will be given away to all the participants via mail or in person if they live in Manipal/Mangalore.
• Cash prizes for first place , second place , and third place will be offered in each of the categories (short stories and poetry).
• 5 entries in each category will receive online gift vouchers.
• There will be separate awards for popular and critics choice winners.
• The prizes in each category will be announced on 2nd June 2012. (Last year the total prize money was Rs. 10000/-and this year it will be much more than that!)
• Prizes will be awarded in Cash (If based in Manipal/Mangalore) or via Bank transfer only! We will not be mailing cheques or Demand Drafts to the winners.
• ManipalBlog.com reserves the right to refuse to award prizes in any category if the entries are considered to be of insufficient merit.

Entries that do not follow all of these instructions will be disqualified.

THE TOPICS AND THEMES for the Annual ManipalBlog Short Story & Poetry competition: Illuminati 2012 are as follows:

Short Story Topics:

• The first day of college, a love note, and I suddenly saw a light at a distance…
• A young student, corruption in the college, joins politics to save country
• The Tablet, 21/12, Technology saves humanity from the Mayans.

Poetry Themes:

• The girl at the fair
• Wonderland
• The sweet taste of Revenge

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For inquiries: mail to contests@manipalblog.com with Illuminati 2012 as the subject line

For submissions: visit www.manipalblog.com/illuminati2012

Website: http://manipalblog.com

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Mozilla Releases Firefox 10 Today!

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

The new improved Firefox 10 is here!

Firefox 10 has been released today. Open-source browser from Mozilla is continuing commitment to the release cycle every six weeks that have been implemented since last year. Firefox 10 was released with new features. The browser is also available for Windows operating systems XP, Vista, and 7.


The browser is also available for Intel Mac OS X version 10.5, 10.6 and 10.7, are also available for Linux operating systems. 10 is a Firefox feature tweaks designed to improve the compatibility of previous add-on compatible with Firefox 4 will be compatible with the browser without any additional updates from the developer of add-on.

This feature will reduce the burden on the user's Internet connection for upgrades and add-on and make way for Firefox Firefox Updater which is scheduled to launch next June 13. Firefox hides the buttons are rarely used and only displays the buttons that actually often used.

Firefox 10 supports the implementation of anti-aliasing for WebGL and improve support for CSS3 (Cascading Style Sheet 3), also adds support for full screen mode on Mac OS X Lion. As quoted from Anandtech, Firefox 10 is the first browser to offer "Extended Support Release" or long-term support.

ESR feature of this function is to provide support for older versions such as Firefox Firefox 3.6, Firefox 4, it is intended to 'cure' disappointment over the user quickly cycles the release of Firefox. You're curious to try Firefox 10 this? Please download it here .

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Valuing Real Options Using Real Options - The Venture Capitalist

Friday, January 27, 2012

Venture Capital (VC) is an important source of funding for the development of innovative start-up companies. Typically, after the initial injection of funds, additional funding is provided as the firm reaches certain performance targets. The payment of the first funding round is comparable to an initial option premium. Further payments are contingent claims: the right but not the obligation to continue financially supporting the project. If at any point, the venture capital firms cease to pay, the project is assumed to end. Therefore, the venture capital firms can be thought of injecting funds that not only keep the project alive but also retain the right to pay the remaining payments in the future.

Most investment managers report time – weighted returns but with private equity funds there are problems:
Money is committed to a fund. Not all of the money is taken at once – it is drawn down when needed for investment so it is spread over time. Similarly the money is usually not returned all al once – only when investments are exited so there is no simple portfolio value at the end of the year.

Venture capital is important for economic development in general, and the development of entrepreneurship in particular. This has been demonstrated in many countries particularly in developed countries.  If the venture capital business is prudently managed, associated risks can be reduced and both entre-preneurs and venture capitalists can obtain lucrative returns.

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The iPhone that swore!

Monday, January 2, 2012

This unique case of an iPhone swearing at a boy occurred in London, England. Whether due to an error or because 'Ms. Siri' wouldn't answer a question not from it's owner, the iPhone used swear words in its answer! Like what?

The story begins when Charlie Le Quesne 12-year-old boy was trying to iPhone 4S latest in a store. Idly the boy asked the telephone: "How many people in the world?".

And the result, wow! Instead of answering the questions Charlie Le Quesne, 'Ms. Siri' instead cursed the boy with what was an inappropriate sentence. This rude response etched clearly on the screen of his iPhone 4S.

"I thought my ears were problematic and that I misheard. But when I asked the same question, he replied with the same answer, " said Kim Le Quesne Le Quesne Charlie's mother to the Daily Mail.

The store owner said,the iPhone 4S purchased by Charlie Le Quesne seems to have been set up for fun by certain individuals.

So what about the fate of the iPhone 4S which 'does not know good manners'? According to a spokesman for Tesco, the smartphone has now been returned to Apple for further testing.

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Is your Friend an Android addict? Recognize Physical Characteristics Here!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Although the position of Google Android in the mobile market still continues to be fragmented until today, the rise in prestige of the mobile operating system is arguably the most meteoric. Recent statistics say that 46.9 percent of smartphones that are used in America are based on Android. Not to mention that in developing countries like India that sales of Android gadgets are ever on the rise.

In fact, about a month ago the head of the business section of the Google Android Andy Rubin claimed that more than 700,000 Android handsets are activated every day across the world. This figure increased sharply when compared with November, which only reached 550,000.

So, how do you identify someone who really wants to buy a smartphone Android? There is a new infographic from Data provided by 145,000 respondents of BlueStacks and Facebook Fans, which gives a glimpse at the demographic and physical attributes of the typical Android user.

From these survey results is known that there is interesting information on 'Mr Android' ie 33% of them have never bought an Android application, and 13% have 50 more Android applications. About 9% of the Android lovers have Android tablets , and 38% of them using Android to support their work. Average of the data used by Mr.Android is 582 MB per month.

To see clearly how the physical features of the Android enthusiast you can see the picture next to this (click image to enlarge the image).

1. Haircut

• crew-cut 32%
• Simple usual / common / usual  51%
• Long-haired 6%
• Curly haired 5%
• Men ponytail 3%
• 3% haircut mohak

2. Hair Color

• 47% black-haired man
• Brown-haired man 38%
• Blonde-haired man of 9%
• Red-haired man 3%
• Other color haired man with 3%

3. Physical characteristics of the face

• Bespectacled man of 37%
• Men with black spots on the cheeks of 30%
• Men's head-sized standard 78%
• Men with large head type 18%

4. Attire

• Formal Shirts 18%
•  T-shirts 71%
• Jeans 62%
• Plain Trousers21%
• Khakis 6%

5. Footwear that is often used

• Sneakers 41%
• Sandals 5%

6. Accessories

• More like wearing a watch 45%

7. Status

• Married 63%
• Single 37%

8. Country of Origin

• Europe 27%
• America 36%
• Asia 28%

9. Other

• 9% have a tablet but not the Android phone
• 62% of users use Android to play games
• 38% of them using Android at work

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4 Tips to Keep Your Facebook Account Secure In the Year 2012

On December 7, Mark Zuckerberg had a number of his personal photos leaked to a photo sharing site Imgur with the title 'It's Time to Improve Security Weaknesses Facebook'. The Social networking site later confirmed that the security defects that occurred were caused by the inclusion of new code on the page and can were 'live' for a matter of a very limited time.

However, the presence of the above situation is scary to a lot of people who are still afraid about the security of Facebook accounts. There are still many people thinking, what would happen if the personal confidential data or even information on your account (if you advertise on FB) fall into irresponsible hands. Senior Mike Geide Facebook's security system claimed that the existing security system in Facebook is upgraded from year to year and tested to be better, yet he also admits there is still room for improvement.

Well, there's no harm in it we were on guard to maintain the security of our own Facebook account. Want to know how? Here are tips on maintaining the security of Facebook so that you awake in the new year this 2012.

1. Always use SSL Encryption
In the past Facebook used HTTPS-Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure-when you enter the password on this page. The same thing happens when you are shopping online or using internet banking. It is characterized by the padlock section of your browser window or a change in the color green. Now Facebook applying SSL Encryption for all applicable people browsing the website, so if one day you're accessing the FB through the cafe, coffee shop, or a PC then switch it on this feature.

The trick is login to your Facebook later section 'Account Settings' select 'Security'. There will be a choice of 'Secure browsing' and select 'Edit' and check these items and do not forget to click 'Save' to save the changes you have done.

2. Beware of all the information you have shared
Personal information that you specified in the 'Profile' your FB account does not seem to harm yourself, but make no mistake small things could be even useful for hackers. For example, your date of birth information, is not most people who use the password to a date of birth or a combination thereof. By keeping this information in a closed session will be better able to maintain your security

Another thing you can do is turn on a feature where only you and your friends can know where you are. Usually where your presence information in a certain time used by spamer to start a conversation like, 'Hi, I met you at XYZ last week'. To use these features then view the first go 'Privacy Settings' then select 'Edit Settings' and 'How Tags Work' select 'On' and do not forget to click 'Save'.

3. Use a separate Application and Game
There used to be instances where application of a person able to hijack your FB account. Since then Facebook and then assign a new protocol for users who want to download an application, one of which is to use 'App Password'.

App Password is an application that will provide a disposable password when you will download an application, without having to give your FB password. In this way the password is not revealed your Facebook account and your account becomes more secure.

To be able to use the App password then go to the Account Settings lalau select 'Security' and App Password. Another way is to always use applications from sources completely trusted.

4. Do not forget to always 'log out' when you are finished using the FB
Forgetting to log out is one common mistake made by many FB users.

If you often forget to always log out then there are tips that one can make logs out automatically by activating the 'Active Sessions'. way is to go to the page 'Account Settings' and select 'Security' and 'edit' and then check the section 'Active Sessions'.

Good luck!

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Apple rumored Using New Technology to Screen Notebook 3

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Apple is reportedly getting ready to switch to a new display technology for the iPad 3.

As quoted from TGDaily, iPad 3 will use the technology IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide) panel capable of displaying graphics High Definition (HD).

IGZO panels will be manufactured by Sharp that has a high production capacity to screen tablet.

Some analysts said the use of these technologies makes the iPad 3 into commercial mobile devices that use the most advanced screen.

With the advanced screen technology and powerful, it is estimated iPad 3 will be slightly thicker than its predecessor, iPad 2 , because the battery needed extra capacity to support the display backlighting.

Apple itself has not released an official statement regarding the use of technology in the screen IGZO iPad 3.

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