Mobile Plan

Earn Money from Free Mobile SMS - Funny Online Cash

2008-12-28T16:06:00.002+05:30

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Latest from the Compete Blog

2008-12-26T17:34:00.001+05:30

Latest from the Compete Blog

Happy Holidays from Compete.com!

Posted: 25 Dec 2008 06:00 AM PST

50,000 techies may lose jobs in next six months/Indian firms seek best talents for small packages

2008-12-26T17:23:00.001+05:30

Daily Dose \|	Dec 26 2008

>> TOP NEWS

50,000 techies may lose jobs in next six months
It is really tough time for employees in IT and BPO sectors in India as worsening economy may cause to lose over 50,000 jobs in these sectors over the next six months.

Indian firms seek best talents for small packages
Many Indian companies seem to be making use of these tough times to upgrade their talents by easily finding experienced and talented professionals without offering beyond the present pay package and sometimes below the existing packages.

Sensex sheds 240 points despite ease in inflation

Finally, recession breaks firewalls of Silicon Valley too

>> TECHNOLOGY

Satyam's independent director resigns
Mangalam Srinivasan, independent director of Satyam Computer Services, has resigned from the board, the company said Friday.

NASA instrument on Chandrayaan finds minerals
The moon mineralogy mapper (M3), a scientific instrument of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) onboard India's first lunar mission Chandrayaan-1, found iron-bearing minerals on the lunar surface, the US space agency said.

Demand increases for BPO jobs

Chinese 'cyber pirates' leave T-Series sleepless

>> BUSINESS

Inflation dips further, drops to 6.61 percent
India's annual rate of inflation dipped further to 6.61 percent for the week ended Dec 13 from 6.84 percent the week before, official data released Friday said.

Fed grants GM's financial arm to avail bailout funds
The U.S. Federal Reserve Wednesday approved General Motor's financial arm GMAC Financial Services' request to become a bank holding company, allowing it to tap into the $700 billion federal bailout funds.

Indian shipping magnate buys Vienna's historic bookshop

Boom to gloom: Indian economy saw it all in 2008

>> VENTURE NEWS

Motion Computing secures $6 Million in new funding
Motion Computing, a mobile computing and wireless communications player, has received funding of $6 million from New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), G-51 Capital, and other new investors.

Lab21 closes funding round of 2.2 Million pound
Lab21, a specialist diagnostic services and products healthcare company has closed a 2.2 million pound financing round from international private equity investors.

>> OTHER NEWS

Obama seeks 'common purpose' in tough economic times
In a radio address released the day before Christmas, US president-elect Barack Obama has urged Americans to band together as the country battles a year-long economic recession that has caused many to cut down on holiday spending.

Newspapers not responsible for advertisers' claims
Newspapers and periodicals cannot be held responsible if there is a defect in a consumer product whose advertisements are printed in their pages, the Delhi High court has held.

Blagojevich scandal prompts Indian American soul searching

The World in 2008: A year of extremes

>> BLOGS

Benefits of Outsourcing - Hari Om Sharma
One of the most effective marketing tools to maximize profit is outsourcing which is a contract or dealing from an outside supplier or source. With its various advantages and benefits, a lot of companies have already adopted this kind of strategy which maximizes....

MAGAZINE

Cover Story

The online casual gaming in India has picked up like a wildfire in recent times. Find out how two of India's major gaming portals - Zapak and 7Seas are making a difference in the Indian gaming space

Guest Contributor

Providing the Total Customer Experience

By Naresh Wadhwa

President and Country Manager, Cisco Systems, India and SAARC

Featured Mentors

subramanian karaikurichy sankaranarayanan

Principal Consultant -
Cognitionsonsultants-
Management

Christopher Almeida

Financial Consultant

Video spotlight

How to Franchise Your Business : Indirect Marketing

SiliconIndia Books

Great Freedom Fighters

The 1857 War of Independence ended in disaster; the British succeeded in putting down the uprising and the people of India accepted British rule as a fact of life.
Buy now

The Village by the Sea

Untouched by the twentieth century, Thul, the small fishing village near Bombay, is still ruled by the age-old seasonal rhythms. Hari and Lila have lived in the village all their lives, but their family is now desperately down on its luck. Their father drinks; their mother is seriously ill...............

Buy now

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Latest from the Compete Blog

2008-12-25T17:34:00.001+05:30

Latest from the Compete Blog

Apple’s Secret Holiday Weapon: A Redesigned Macbook Pro

Posted: 24 Dec 2008 09:00 AM PST

A lot has been written about the phenomenal success of the iPhone, but another Apple product line, the Macbook, has been booming in the background. Macbook sales have skyrocketed over the last 2 years: Apple sold 1.675 million laptops in their fiscal Q4 2008, up 70% over the same period in 2006.

This holiday season, Apple appears poised to capitalize on this tremendous sales growth with a new line of Macbook and Macbook Pro computers that were launched to much fanfare on October 14.

This update marked the first ground-up redesign of Apple's laptop line since the models were introduced with Intel processors in early 2006, and traffic has been growing over time. If online interest in October is any indictor, Apple has a runaway success on their hands with the redesigned Macbooks. Here we're looking at traffic to Apple's Macbook Pro pages, the model of laptop Apple offers that has gone the longest without a redesign.

Traffic boosts may be due in part to the halo effect of the iPod and iPhone, but it looks like the introduction of upgrades to the Macbook Pro itself has had an impact since 2006.
Traffic to Apple's Macbook Pro product pages has experienced steady growth since the model was introduced in 2006, with significant increases in interest driven by hardware
upgrades like new screens or faster processors.

The complete redesign (and accompanying marketing push) was followed by unprecedented levels of interest in the Macbook Pro, with over 600,000 unique visitors checking out the new models in October.

Traffic declined sharply in November, but still is higher than any previous month tracked. If past trends hold, this could represent the MacBook Pro's new "base" level of interest.

Let's not forget that we're talking about a computer with a minimum price point of $1999. If Apple can drive this kind of interest in such a premium product during these difficult economic times, they should expect to see their sales continue to climb as well. I'm almost starting to feel bad for poor John Hodgman!

Latest from the Compete Blog

2008-12-24T17:38:00.001+05:30

Latest from the Compete Blog

November Search Market Share: Yahoo Officially Below 20%; We Debut Paid Search

Posted: 23 Dec 2008 09:00 AM PST

November in America. We got elections, Thanksgiving and the kickoff of the holiday shopping season with Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

All contributed to query growth this year, with the top search engines maintaining the 10b query record set the month before. November's 1% increase in query volume reflected Obamania, widespread anxiety over economic turmoil and bargain searching galore. That might not seem like a big increase, but consider that last month had 5 weekends and a holiday – times when search activity drops precipitously.

In terms of how the engines stacked up against each other, the song remains the same. Google added slightly to its commanding lead in market share, while most other sites declined a bit.

This month we also want to introduce sponsored search referrals. Sponsored search referrals are made when a searcher clicks the sponsored links at the top and side of search results pages, generating revenue for the search engine. Obviously sponsored search referrals are hugely important since they're how search engines make billions of dollars, one click at a time.

Google's share of search referrals reached 70.8% last month, up 0.3ppts from the prior month and 8.3ppts from November, 2007. Google also set a new record for query volume, which grew 1.7%. That was a bit slower than in November, 2007, when month/month query volume grew 2.3%.

Sponsored search referrals at Google jumped 1.0ppts in November to 7.9%, the highest monthly increase for Google all year.

Yahoo!'s search market share and query volume growth were essentially flat last month. This marked the third consecutive month when Yahoo!'s share has held below 20% and a new market share low for the embattled company. Sponsored search referrals at Yahoo! were up 0.3ppts to 8.0%, slightly edging out Google. As we've posted, Yahoo! leads when it comes to sponsored search referral efficiency.

MSN/Live had strong 8.0% query growth last month, making progress to regain market share and query volume highs set in November, 2007. MSN/Live's sponsored search referrals showed nice gains too, reaching a 2008 high of 4.3%, but still lagged behind Google and Yahoo!.

Club Live contributed 2.6ppts and nearly 300 million queries to MSN/Live. (To put things in perspective, Club Live gets more queries than either Ask or AOL.) Club Live continued to grow, with query volume up 3.4% versus the prior month and 7.2% for the year.

Ask and AOL were essentially flat in terms of both share and query volume. Sponsored search referrals at Ask dipped 1.0ppts to 3.0%.

The key points for November, 2008 (excluding Club Live from the market)…

Google sets yet another record of 70.8% market share, albeit on slowed 1.7% m-o-m query volume growth
Yahoo! hovered at 18.8% market share, mired by 0.5% m-o-m growth of query volume
Windows Live Search reclaimed 6.9% market share (with Club Live, it hit 9.5%)
Ask and AOL held on with 2.5% and 1.0% market share, respectively
Next month… the holiday shopping season roars into full swing and we take a special year-end look back at 2008!

If you want to get your hands on the actual data in this post and a lot more don't forget to check out Compete's Data Hub.

*Search market share includes web search only for the Adult US Online Population and is calculated based on unique queries within each session during the given month

World Bank debars Satyam for bribery/IT services exporters banking on emerging U.S. firms

2008-12-24T17:18:00.001+05:30

Daily Dose \|	Dec 24 2008

>> TOP NEWS

World Bank debars Satyam for bribery
Satyam Computers' cup of woes seems to be overflowing, with news surfacing Tuesday that the software vendor has been debarred by the World Bank for eight years for alleged data theft and bribing bank officials.

IT services exporters banking on emerging U.S. firms
Emerging IT companies in the U.S. could drive India's software services exports, with the second quarter of the next fiscal (2009-2010) proving to be the critical phase, a senior industry representative said here Tuesday.

Engineer killed for not contributing to Mayawati's birthday party

NSE alleges bug in FT's trading software

>> TECHNOLOGY

Notebook shipment surge, desktop drops
Despite the doomed economic outlook, notebook shipments have surpassed shipments of desktops for the first time in the third quarter, with the shipment of the former touching 36.5 million.

Chandrayaan II design complete
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Wednesday said the design for Chandrayaan II has been completed and it will be launched by 2012.

Wipro acquires Citi's captive IT unit for $127 Million

Online softwares auger well for tech firms in 2009

>> BUSINESS

India aims $58 Billion IT export in current fiscal
Despite the downturn affecting exports, India expects IT export to touch $58 billion by the end of the current fiscal.

Further rate cuts possible, says PM's economic adviser
A senior member of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council Tuesday said there was more room for rate cuts by the end of this financial year.

'India's Sapat eyes Britain's troubled Whittard'

UTV suspends all commercial deals with Pakistan

>> VENTURE NEWS

Solarflare adds $44 Million in private funding
Solarflare Communications, a provider of standards-compliant 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) silicon, has secured a new $32 million round in equity financing.

Jet to raise $500 Million from DBS Bank, shares plunge
The Mumbai based private carrier Jet Airways is planning to garner $500 million as a medium-term loan from Singapore-based DBS Bank.

>> OTHER NEWS

Regulator to probe Pyramid Saimira mystery
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) will investigate the origin of the 'issue open offer' advisory, dated Dec 19, sent under its letterhead to Pyramid Saimira Theatre, the market regulator said Tuesday.

Madoff investor commits suicide
A French investment manager and the co-founder of a firm that raised money in Europe to be put into Bernard Madoff's fraud-hit scheme has committed suicide in his office here, media reports said.

MCD will sack errant sweepers: Delhi mayor

Spying in Afghanistan is world's riskiest job

>> BLOGS

How to impress Interviewer in Interview? - Raja Chowdary Pamidi
Before going for any interview, the first thing that you should do is to know about the company where you are going. Make sure you know following things about the company:-a)Company name and the name of important management people.

MAGAZINE

Cover Story

The online casual gaming in India has picked up like a wildfire in recent times. Find out how two of India's major gaming portals - Zapak and 7Seas are making a difference in the Indian gaming space

Guest Contributor

Digitization driving rapid analog growth

By Biswadip (Bobby) Mitra

Managing Director, Texas Instruments India

Featured Mentors

Srinivasan K

Communication and PR
Consultant

Neeraj Sinha

CEO

Video spotlight

Brainstorming Great Ideas

SiliconIndia Books

Contemporary India: A Sociological View

Globalization, Hindutva, and the Mandal agitation have transformed our social landscape over the last two decades and confronted us with new problems and possibilities. This book seeks to critically re-examine what popular common sense tells us about these .

... .......

Buy now

The Great Indian Middle Class

In this powerful and insightful critique, the author examines the evolution of the Indian middle class during the twentieth century, especially since Independence. He shows us how the middle class, guided by self-interest, is becoming increasingly insensitive to the ...............

Buy now

Aim, swing and score

2008-12-23T20:10:00.001+05:30

Sony Ericsson

Update your profile

Fun & Downloads

Phone Setup
Internet, e-mail and MMS necessities.

Get those settings

Update profile
Changed address? Got a new phone?

Update your profile

Got it all?
Downloads and support for your phone.

Go get it!

	Editor's choice

	Call of Duty: World at War
	Need for Speed™ Undercover
	MySims™
	WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2009
	Playboy Games: Pool Party

This is the Sony Ericsson overall top 5 downloads and so some of the items may not be available in all countries.

	Latest news


	Photo guide 10 steps to your 'Wow picture'


	Who is Johnny X? Dive into the compelling story of Johnny's search for his identity!


	Maria's collection Get smashing with these Maria Sharapova-designed accessories!


	Musical memories What's your song? Share the story behind it.

Dear Mathi

He may be living in a world of deceit and betrayal, but at least he can trust his equipment: the C902 Cyber-shot - a camera phone so versatile, it just might make Q redundant - is the choice of James Bond. The new 007 film "Quantum of Solace" is in cinemas now.

F305, our new motion sensor-powered gaming phone, has just hit the stores. Make sure you get down to your store and try it out.

Finally, don't forget to check out our freshest music revelation: the W705 Walkman®.

Enjoy!

Agnes Gawel, Sony Ericsson team

Share music and video moments
Share the beats. Share the tempo. Share what gets your feet tapping.

The W595 gets you rocking with just about anyone. Its dual headphone jack, stereo speakers and YouTube™ lets you pass on the excitement - right when it happens.


	W595 Walkman® Phone

Essential mobile equipment
Bond is back. The new 007 film "Quantum of Solace" has just hit cinema screens worldwide. And as always, our favourite agent pays a lot of attention to detail and his equipment. That's why he chooses to face danger with the C902 at hand.

On our Bond site, we've got a lot of special stuff lined up for you. Learn more about the preferred products of James Bond, view the movie trailer, play games, get free downloads or win a trip to Monte Carlo.


	Access granted

A photographer's phone
The C905 Cyber-shot™ brings out the photographer in you. With 8.1 megapixels and an impressive feature set, you'll take pictures to be proud of.

Up close, far away, in the dark, sun shining bright: regardless of conditions, the C905 packs what it takes to reach picture perfection.


	Get the full picture

Built for games
Play bowling on the bus, go fishing at the train station or mount a racehorse in a café. The F305 has dedicated gaming keys and is powered by a motion sensor. Try out a motion game and let game-play get physical - grab the phone, swing your arm and see your score on the screen.

The F305 is in stores now.


	Let the games begin

Sony Ericsson at the MTV European Music Awards
The superstars of the music industry and new exciting mobile products all made their mark at the 2008 MTV European Music Awards in Liverpool. The W705 Walkman® phone delivers a clear audio experience. This slider phone will hit a store near you early next year.

The MBS-900 wireless home audio system was also launched - a full hi-fi experience paired with outstanding design.


	W705 - the sound quality champion

	MBS-900 - let your music take shape

What's the buzz in the mobile universe lately? These hot topics will give you something to talk about…

	Where to go to have your mobile phone stolen

	Lonely Planet brings its guides to Sony Ericsson phones

Have it your way
Manage your life, stay in touch - the XPERIA™ X1 lets you have things the way you want them.


	Learn more

Shut out the noise
Flick on Noise Cancelling and enjoy crystal-clear music on the go.


	All in due time

Talk non-stop
Make the most of your driving - keep chatting for your entire car trip.


	Buckle up and speak away

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This is the Sony Ericsson overall top 5 downloads and so some of the items may not be available in all countries.

Content we link to is placed on websites outside of Sony Ericsson and thus we have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites.The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them. On no account does or will Sony Ericsson take responsibility for the content of other sites.

Latest from the Compete Blog

2008-12-23T17:36:00.001+05:30

Latest from the Compete Blog

People will still buy GM cars: Fact or Fiction?

Posted: 22 Dec 2008 09:00 AM PST

No matter the resolution to the current state of the auto industry, the impact of a bailout on car buying behavior is much debated. Clearly people are concerned based on the traffic to gmfactsandfiction.com. With nearly 180,000 unique visitors in November; a 3000%+ increase over October.

How are people finding out about this site? In the chart below we can see that 3 of the top 10 sites referring people to gmfactsandfiction.com are GM brands.

Furthermore, at number 10 is YouTube with the below video.

But how will it impact vehicle sales? See a great piece of market insight from our cousins at TNS who recently survey consumers on purchase intent. The TNS survey showed that in either scenario (Government aid or bankruptcy) vehicle sales are likely to be impacted negatively. Bankruptcy, however, the worse of the two, could potentially cost the industry $50 billion in sales.

So will people buy GM cars? The facts show that it really depends on the bailout – either way hold your breath.

Firms cutting costs without affecting employees/Sensex sheds 241 points

2008-12-23T17:07:00.001+05:30

Daily Dose \|	Dec 23 2008

>> TOP NEWS

Firms cutting costs without affecting employees
The retrenchment saga has unveiled the inventive side of the Indian firms with each of them designing ways to cut cost without affecting the employees. While some have put a halt on air conditioning, some now prefer to use e-mails to posts.

Sensex sheds 241 points
Indian equities markets were subdued Tuesday, with a key index losing 2.43 percent (provisionally) over Monday's close.

Indian IT majors cut onsite staff

Bangalore expats scale down year-end celebrations

>> TECHNOLOGY

Telecom services: 3G players will be allowed in 2G space as well
Successful bidders for spectrum allocation for third generation (3G) telecom services will also be eligible to get spectrum space for second generation (2G) services, as and when any space becomes available, the Telecom Commission said.

IT firms to pay more for disruption-free internet
As an aftermath of the recent undersea cable disaster, IT firms and enterprises may have to put more cash on loose to ensure disruption free internet bandwidth.

TCS, Infosys focus on Australian bank for gain

Satyam Maytas deal not completely signed off

>> BUSINESS

Banks pour rewards to top executives amid financial crisis
Nothing seems to be affected to the organizations' policy on their reward to the top level employees amid the financial crunch. Banks that are getting tax payer bailouts have given their top executives nearly $1.6 billion last year.

Recruitment firms to focus on SMEs
To offset the economic downturn, recruitment firms are now moving on to not-for-profit and SME arena (small and medium enterprises) as IT majors continuously review their hiring plans.

Airlines unwilling to reduce fares

Global financial power to shift to Bric: Economic forecast

>> VENTURE NEWS

Provigent secures $10 Million in fifth-round funding
Provigent, a provider of System-on-a-Chip (SoC) solutions for the Broadband Wireless Transmission market, has closed a fifth-round of financing in the amount of $10 million.

Unitech to sell 10 percent stake to raise $350 Million
Haryana based real estate firm, Unitech is planning to sell 10 percent of its stakes to raise nearly $350 million.

>> OTHER NEWS

India says all options open, forwards Kasab's letter to Pakistan
India Monday sought to put an end to Pakistan's "policy of denial" when it handed over a letter written by Mohammed Ajmal Amir alias Kasab, the lone Mumbai attacker in custody, to the Pakistani envoy that he and his fellow gunmen were from Pakistan.

No Fuel price cut expected till February
The government will not take a decision on further reduction in fuel and cooking gas prices soon, a senior petroleum ministry official said here Monday.

Britain to bail out Jaguar Land Rover: Report

It was like taking a kid to a candy store: Viswanathan Anand

>> BLOGS

The Real Joker - Sanjay Singh
Pakistan is a failed state. No one needs to prove this. The fact that a joker rules it is enough to conclude that the future of Pakistan is in bad hands. After the recent Mumbai attacks by the terrorists from Pakistan, fingers have been pointed at Pakistan.........

MAGAZINE

Cover Story

The online casual gaming in India has picked up like a wildfire in recent times. Find out how two of India's major gaming portals - Zapak and 7Seas are making a difference in the Indian gaming space

Guest Contributor

Emerging Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in India

By S Ramdorai

CEO, TCS

Featured Mentors

Sanjay Joshi

Faculty in Electrical Engg

yogesh prajapati

Engineer at B.V.M Engg college

Video spotlight

python Tutorials 11_2

SiliconIndia Books

Get Smart: The Puffin Book of Games, Puzzles and Activities

Shashi Deshpande, daughter of the renowned Kannada dramatist and Sanskrit scholar Shriranga, was born in Dharwad. At the age of fifteen she went to Mumbai, graduated in economics, then moved to Bangalore, where she gained a degree in law. Her writing career began.

... .......

Buy now

Derek O 'Brien?s Essential Knowledge Quiz Book

The essential companion for any quiz enthusiast

Whether you're preparing for a quiz contest or a competitive exam, Derek O'Brien's Essential Knowledge Quiz Book has all the information you're looking for.

This definitive quiz companion packs in 3000 questions ...............

Buy now

There is a World of Wishes waiting for you.

2008-12-23T12:20:00.001+05:30

Dear Mathi,

We want to wish you Happy Holidays and all the best for 2009.

The spirit of peace and goodwill makes the world a better place, so join us and share your personal wishes for 2009 with friends and family all around the world.

Have a spectacular 2009!
The Sony Ericsson team

IITs need to be more practical to change India /Overseas graduates move back to India for job

2008-12-22T17:19:00.001+05:30

Daily Dose \|	Dec 22 2008

>> TOP NEWS

IITs need to be more practical to change India
The competency of the Indian Institutes of Technology can play a major role in changing India. "But they must be more practical," said Infosys CEO Kris Gopalakrishnan.

Overseas graduates move back to India for job
Those who went to foreign universities and graduated there in the hope for securing a better future are now moving back to India for a job. Around 25 students from the University of Chicago Booth, are on a tour to the country.

DoT to disconnect 25 Million cell phones

Technology vital to counter terror: PM

>> TECHNOLOGY

IT spends in logistics to cross $200 Million by 2013
The IT spends in the Indian logistics industry will grow to approximately Rs. 1,000 crores ($200 Million) from the existing Rs. 400 crores in the next 5 years at a CAGR of 20 to 22 percent.

Geospatial technology effective tool to counter terror: Sibal
Indian security forces need to effectively implement and use geospatial technology for targeted counter-terrorism operations, as it provides 3D imagery of a conflict area and can eventually help in saving lives, Science and Technology Minister said.

Samsung forays into Notebook, Netbook space

Warning about vulnerability in VLC Media Player

>> BUSINESS

New PF norms may make firm check expat recruitment
Expats eyeing Indian firms for employment may face disappointment if firms reconsider recruiting them as an aftermath of the new norms set for provident fund (PF).

Qimonda secures 325 Million euro rescue loan
German memory-chip company Qimonda has received a 325-million-euro rescue package by its parent company Infineon, the regional government, and a Portuguese state bank.

Job portals feel the pinch, issue job-cuts

TCS to hire PhDs from IITs without interviews

>> VENTURE NEWS

Overture Technologies closes $6 Million in series C Funding
Overture Technologies, which provides solutions that enable accurate lending processes, has closed $6 million in series C funding led by Capital Trust Ventures.

Nalanda Capital picks up $22 Million stakes in Sun TV
The Indian arm of the Singapore-based Nalanda Capital has picked up 1.78 percent stake in Kalanidhi Maran's Tamil Nadu based Sun TV Network for around $22 million (Rs.101.5 crores).

>> OTHER NEWS

'LeT terrorists used Google Earth to plan attacks'
Website Google Earth was used by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists to plan their attack on the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) post in this Uttar Pradesh town on Jan 1 this year.

Indian-built European satellite put into earth orbit
The Indian-built European satellite W2M was successfully placed early Sunday into geosynchronous transfer orbit, about 36,000 km above earth, 32 minutes after its lift-off on board Ariane-5 from Kourou in French Guiana at 4.05 a.m. IST.

Indian firm cuts cost with forced leaves

Corporates prefer service flats to big hotels

>> BLOGS

Just another wall - Sakshi Gaurav
Hey ! hey you .. yes I am talking to you Mr. Where are you looking ? look here am right in front of you . Stop! Stop whistling like that and get away from me okay. See I am warning you have just been given this new white dress , and now don't you dare dirty.......

MAGAZINE

Cover Story

The online casual gaming in India has picked up like a wildfire in recent times. Find out how two of India's major gaming portals - Zapak and 7Seas are making a difference in the Indian gaming space

Guest Contributor

A world of opportunities for global Indians

By Rajat Gupta

Senior Worldwide Partner, McKinsey

Featured Mentors

Phil Taylor

Webmaster

bhagirathi agrawal

businessmen

Video spotlight

Art Career Advice : How to Become a Freelance Artist

SiliconIndia Books

May You Be the Mother of a Hundred Sons

A Journey Among the Women of India

In this travelogue, Washington Post reporter in India Elisabeth Bumiller, goes to most parts of India examining the realities of the lives of Indian women: villagers, movie-stars, intellectuals, police-women and others.

... .......

Buy now

The Upanishads

The Upanishads contain not philosophy but central principles to guide us through life. They are therefore India's most precious legacy to humanity.

'What is that, by knowing which, all things are known?' 'What makes my mind think, my eyes see, my tongue speak, my body live?' 'What happens when this body dies?' ...............

Buy now

Latest from the Compete Blog

2008-12-20T17:32:00.001+05:30

Latest from the Compete Blog

Who is More Efficient: GM, Chrysler or Ford?

Posted: 19 Dec 2008 10:00 AM PST

Regardless of whether the Big 3 automakers survive as is, get loans or seek bankruptcy protection, they will need to operate more efficiently. Advertising is a huge portion of their operating costs and therefore is a key place to focus efficiency improvements.

One very basic, yet powerful, way to measure ad effectiveness is by comparing ad dollars spent to the number of in-market shoppers the advertising generates. The result (dollars per shopper) is a uniform way to measure ad spend efficiency across all automakers and across all ad spend types. To assess how the Big 3 are doing on this measure, Compete used its recurring demand measure and, in this case, ad spend data from our sister company, TNS MI. Here's what we found.

Clearly the domestics are less efficient, spending $192 per shopper vs. $168 per shopper for the other automakers. That means the Big 3 get about 5,200 shoppers for every million ad dollars spent, while the others get about 6,000 shoppers – an efficiency difference of 15%. Next, we looked at results at the brand level.

So what do we see? While Mercury looks to be a clear leader at first blush, the reality is that the brand slashed its ad spend in 2008 and its shopper counts will certainly follow, albeit more gradually (efficiency is great, but if you're not hitting your sales goals, you simply can't cover fixed costs). The true successes are those with relatively high spend and low costs per shopper, such as Ford. Those in need of improvement include those with low spend and poor efficiencies, like Hummer.

These results are a good foundation to understand and address the challenges facing the US auto industry. The next step is to add context around things like market conditions. For example, are the off-pace results for Hummer the result of poor advertizing, off-the-mark placement, or simply an impossible hill to climb when gas prices were so high for much of the year? And once that puzzle is solved, the next element is how effectively autos makers convert the demand they generate into sales.

You Better Watch Out, Best Buy, Walmart Is Coming to Town

Posted: 19 Dec 2008 08:12 AM PST

Recession doesn't seem to be having much of an impact on the market for high-end TVs. According to a recent survey by Consumer Reports, 23% of respondents said they plan to purchase an LCD or plasma TV this holiday season.

It's likely that some of the demand for these HDTVs is driven by the good deals right now. Price-conscious consumers may not be changing what they're shopping for, but they may be changing where they shop.

When you think of electronics stores, Best Buy probably comes to mind. And when you think of low-price retailers, you probably think of Walmart. Now that times are tough, it looks like consumers are connecting the dots between the two and spending more time and attention shopping for CE products at Walmart.com

While interest in TVs at Best Buy (measured by unique visitor traffic to TV product detail pages) has increased just 10% over the past year, interest in TVs at Walmart has surged 123% to slightly overtake Best Buy. To make matters worse for Best Buy, the number of people that visit BOTH Best Buy and Walmart to shop for TVs increased by 74% over the past year.

Walmart is also gaining ground on Best Buy in terms of search activity. In November 2008, 2.7% of searches for TVs resulted in a click-through to Walmart.com, up from 1.7% a year earlier. In contrast, Best Buy's share dropped from 2.5% to 1.8% in the same time period.

Will Walmart drive Best Buy out of the TV retailing business? Probably not, but consumers' decreasing brand loyalty and increasing price consciousness should be a cause for concern. Only a better understanding of consumers' increasingly sophisticated shopping behavior can keep marketers ahead of the game, allowing them to give consumers the products and shopping experience they want. Now that's a present I'm sure everyone would like under the tree this year.

IT to see 10 year low in December quarter/India destined to become world's knowledge park: PM

2008-12-19T17:43:00.001+05:30

Daily Dose \|	Dec 19 2008

>> TOP NEWS

IT to see 10 year low in December quarter
Because of a decline in offshoring business from U.S., Indian IT biggies like Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro and Infosys will witness the worst time in almost 10 years in the quarter to be ended December 31st.

India destined to become world's knowledge park: PM
India is destined to become the knowledge park of the world and the Indian government is geared to make this a reality, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared Friday.

Real estate slump may take away 20 percent jobs by 2009

Companies likely to cut planned salary hikes in 2009

>> TECHNOLOGY

Yahoo! goes for Call Ezee
The Indian market has drawn considerable interest of the Internet giant Yahoo! with it making its third investment in an India-based company, to include voice based search in its portal.

The key to success lies in organizational-diversification
Diversification is critical to the success of an organization. This was the unanimous verdict delivered at a panel discussion titled 'From Adversity to Advantage: Opportunities for Growth and Investment', at The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) summit.

Telesoft sets up telecom lab in India

Shaw Group to join largest nuclear trade mission to India

>> BUSINESS

Inflation drops further to 6.84 percent
India's annual rate of inflation dropped further to 6.84 percent for the week ended Dec 6 from 8 percent the week before, government data showed Thursday.

Chanda Kochhar named ICICI Bank CEO
Chanda Kochhar has been announced the next CEO of India's one of the leading banks ICICI, as the present CEO K V Kamath's term ends in April 2009.

World Bank to lend additional $3 Billion to India

'Insurance merger and acquisition rules will protect policyholders'

>> VENTURE NEWS

Tata Capital to raise $500 Million for PE Venture
Mumbai based non-banking financial company (NBFC), Tata Capital plans to raise $500 million as its first corpus of its private equity (PE) venture.

Pixim closes $13 Million in new funding
Pixim, a provider of image sensors and processors for enterprise security cameras, has closed $13 million in additional venture capital funding from existing investors Mayfield Fund, Ridgewood Capital and Tallwood Venture Capital.

Image Metrics completes $6.5 Million series B funding

JackBe adds $5 Million, appoints Wayne Jackson as Chairman

>> OTHER NEWS

Antulay remarks prompt NDA walkout from Rajya Sabha
Charging Minority Affairs Minister A.R. Antulay with speaking for Pakistan's spy agency ISI, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Friday walked out of the Rajya Sabha.

Nobel Committee tarnished by bribery?
Swedish prosecutors have launched a preliminary investigation into possible bribery tarnishing the Nobel awards after revelations that members of three Swedish Nobel Committees received free trips to China from the Chinese government.

Luxury haven for aged parents of NRIs

India not game, calls off cricket tour to Pakistan

>> BLOGS

A young girl's thoughts on the Madness in Mumbai - Avanish Khare
The siege on Mumbai left the most experienced of us stunned. Even those who have become immune to grief and tragedy stopped for a second. The 48-hour encounter with these extremely sophisticated and trained terrorists of....

MAGAZINE

Cover Story

The online casual gaming in India has picked up like a wildfire in recent times. Find out how two of India's major gaming portals - Zapak and 7Seas are making a difference in the Indian gaming space

Guest Contributor

Video Revolution

By Arun Netravali

Managing Partner, OmniCapital Group, LLC President (Emeritus), Bell Labs

Featured Mentors

Martin Jenkins

Social Entrepreneur

Sanjay Mehrotra

Director at COLT

Video spotlight

Career Counseling

SiliconIndia Books

Ram Charit Manas

The Ramayana is the oldest poem in Sanskrit.Hence its author is known as the Adi Kavi or pristine Poet.

The Ramayana is an integral part of our heritage. As th story spread far and wide ... .......

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Hitopadesa

The ever-popular Book of Good Counsels from ancient India

One of the best-known Sanskrit classics, Narayan's Hitopadesa is a fascinating collection of animal and human fables augmented with polished verse epigrams and gnomic ...............

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Latest from the Compete Blog

2008-12-19T17:34:00.001+05:30

Latest from the Compete Blog

Amazon.com is Fueling a Strong December for Online Retailers

Posted: 18 Dec 2008 09:07 AM PST

Whether you're an analyst, economist or a just a red-blooded American consumer, your eyes are probably fixed right now on the retail industry. We're all looking for a glimmer of hope that consumer spending during the holidays will survive the credit crunch, sputtering equity markets and corporate downsizing. And now that we're officially half-way through the holiday retail season, what better time to see how retailers are fairing online this year. Specifically, are online retailers ahead of or behind last year's pace?

For this analysis, we'll focus on a single metric: daily unique visitors to individual online retailing sites. This helps to isolate the impact of fewer available shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. Clearly, to get a more holistic picture you need to understand additional metrics such as order size and the impact of promotions on margins. Regardless of these two inputs, however, getting shoppers into your online store is a supremely important first step.

The graph above shows total unduplicated daily visitors to a group of ten retailers that Compete monitors as a harbinger for the rest of the retail industry. The blue area represents performance in 2007, and the red overlay charts this year's performance looking back to November 1. The data show that, as a group, these sites are ahead of last year in terms of driving people to shop their online stores. So the mix of promotional strategies that online retailers are using to lure shoppers in appears to be working.

This market level view is a great proxy for the performance of the industry at large, but yesterday's post shows that the fate and fortunes of individual retailers can vary widely – even those within the same retail category.

So how is the mother of online retailing, Amazon.com, performing so far this season? The chart above highlights Amazon's unique visitor traffic and shows that things seem to be going quite well. This chart graphs the accumulated daily shoppers at Amazon, overlaying season-to-date results for this year against 2007 actual performance. Specifically, the chart shows that Amazon is capturing more shoppers this year than it did last year; this is based on increased online shopping among consumers in general, as well as a battery of promotions from the company to spur sales. And the best part of the story for Amazon is that the daily spread is increasing – meaning that Amazon's performance is actually accelerating compared to the same period last year.

So there might be good news for retailers, the economy, and us consumers after all. If online retail trends continue in a positive direction – and yesterday's Citigroup note corroborates our positive findings, consumer spending this holiday season may actually be bucking some of the other negative forces in the market. And that would be a great holiday gift…

Latest from the Compete Blog

2008-12-18T18:32:00.001+05:30

Latest from the Compete Blog

Top 10 Biggest Winners and Losers This Holiday Season

Posted: 17 Dec 2008 11:05 AM CST

All retailers rely heavily on the holiday season to boost their sales - with more and more of these sales now taking place online. According to a recent report by Internet Retailer, publicly traded companies saw their online sales grow by a collective 21% in the 3rd quarter.

Below is a list of the Top 10 biggest winners and losers so far this holiday season in terms of attracting traffic to their Web sites. We looked at traffic to their sites for Thanksgiving week (2007) through the first 2 weeks of December, comparing data from 2007 and 2008. We then ranked the sites that have seen the greatest % increase and decrease in traffic during this same time period.

Biggest Winners

1.	eCost.com	+148%
2.	PCConnection.com	+112%
3.	BodenUSA.com	+103%
4.	Newegg.com	+98%
5.	Aeropostale.com	+87%
6.	Proflowers.com	+72%
7.	LaneBryantCatalog.com	+63%
8.	BabyStyle.com	+61%
9.	Walgreens.com	+59%
10.	Snapfish.com	+57%

Biggest Losers

1.	123inkjets.com	-86%
2.	LillianVernon.com	-67%
3.	Alloy.com	-64%
4.	Bose.com	-58%
5.	Fragrancenet.com	-52%
6.	Art.com	-48%
7.	BabyUniverse.com	-32%
8.	eToys + KBToys.com	-27%
9.	Abercrombie.com	-23%
10.	Blockbuster.com	-22%

Some interesting notes:

Proflowers is seeing a surge in their holiday traffic while 1-800-Flowers has seen a slight decline of -1%. With Valentine's Day just around the corner it will be interesting to see if 1-800-Flowers can change, or at least slow, this trend…
Similarly, while Snapfish has enjoyed a strong holiday season, traffic to rival Shutterfly has stayed relatively flat, and is down -1%. Read Compete’s recent article comparing these two companies here.
Blockbuster rival, Netflix, has seen their traffic remain flat Year/Year.
Traffic to Walmart.com and Target.com is up 12, and 11% respectively.
Gap, Inc. launched an integrated store and shopping basket strategy earlier this year combining Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Piperlime into one unified online location. While I personally love this idea and new site/s, traffic to these sites is down this holiday season:
- OldNavy.com -15%
- BananaRepublic.com -13%
- Gap.com -3%
Based on the early reports of strong holiday sales for Gap, Inc. it will be interesting to see the breakdown of online vs offline sales. It will also be interesting to perform an Online Sales Funnel Analysis of these new entities and learn if there are any marked increases.
Conversely, Sears Holdings also developed a unified online location for their entities, and traffic is up at their major stores:
- Kmart.com +37%
- Sears.com +17%
- LandsEnd.com +13%

Stanford sees huge opportunity in India/Piracy costs CD, DVD makers Rs.5 Billion annually

2008-12-18T18:12:00.001+05:30

Daily Dose \|	Dec 18 2008

>> TOP NEWS

Stanford sees huge opportunity in India
"The transformation of 'call-centers' into 'data-centers' and then into 'data-center hubs' would become an eventuality in the years to come," says Balaji Prabhakar, Associate Professor, Stanford University.

Piracy costs CD, DVD makers Rs.5 Billion annually
Increasing sales of pirated CDs, DVDs and other software has led to manufacturers in the national capital losing around Rs.5 billion annually, said a report by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).

Cyber crimes record 50 percent jump in India

Major job-generating sectors record decline in hiring

>> TECHNOLOGY

Patni pouches MphasiS CEO
Ex-MphasiS' CEO Jeya Kumar, has taken charge of Mumbai based Patni Computer Systems replacing Narendra K. Patni, CEO, Patni.

Citi cannot sell its Polaris stake to IT rivals
Amid rumours that Citigroup wants to sell a part of its 43 percent stake in Polaris Software, the other prime shareholder has pointed out that it cannot sell to companies that the IT firm looks at as its rivals.

To hell with recession, go lean and yield more from less

EDS, MphasiS initiate 'Operation Verify'

>> BUSINESS

Unorganized retail sector to grow to $496 Billion
The unorganized retail sector is expected to grow at about 10 percent per annum to reach $496 billion in 2011-12 despite the steady expansion of organized retailers, a study released Wednesday said.

Analysts, investors wary of Satyam's volte-face on Maytas
Satyam Computers' bid to buy out Maytas Properties and Maytas Infra has not gone down well with analysts, industry trackers and investors.

T-series lays off 230 employees in Noida

Oil plunges to $40 on disappointing OPEC cut

>> VENTURE NEWS

VC funds in clean technology may get tax exemption
The government of India is looking to consider a proposal to tax exemptions to venture capital funds investing in energy-efficient technologies, for attracting more investment in this segment.

Tata Power to set up joint venture with Indian Oil Corp
Tata Power Wednesday said it had signed a joint venture agreement with Indian Oil Corp (IOC) for establishing a coal-based power plant in Orissa.

>> OTHER NEWS

New bill to pinch celebrity endorsers
The new companies Bill 2008, which was placed in parliament in October proposes throwing celebrities for up to three years into jail if they use misleading claims to induce consumers to buy a company's product.

Storm as Antulay sees conspiracy in Karkare death
Minority Affairs Minister A.R. Antulay raised a storm Wednesday after saying that slain Maharashtra police officer Hemant Karkare was a "victim of terrorism plus something".

Indian American helps develop software to tag suspicious people

Online gambling tycoon Dikshit pleads guilty to wire fraud

>> BLOGS

MAGAZINE

Cover Story

The online casual gaming in India has picked up like a wildfire in recent times. Find out how two of India's major gaming portals - Zapak and 7Seas are making a difference in the Indian gaming space

Guest Contributor

Technology innovation: the future belongs to the passionate!

By Raju Vegesna

CEO, Sify

Featured Mentors

Martin Jenkins

Social Entrepreneur

Sanjay Mehrotra

Director at COLT

Video spotlight

Career Counseling

SiliconIndia Books

Tales of Birbal

Who hasn?t heard of Raja Birbal ? the wise and witty minister in the court of Akbar, the Great Mughal?

Though popularly known as Birbal, his real name was Maheshdas. It is believed that he belonged to a poor Brahmin family of Trivikrampur (now known as Tikawanpur). .......

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Krishna

Krishna is the most endearing and ennobling character in Indian mythology. He is at once the common cowherd engaging the milkmaids in playful banter and the supreme intellectual engaged in the exposition of the Gita philosophy.Krishna has a particular appeal ...............

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Latest from the Compete Blog

2008-12-17T18:32:00.001+05:30

Latest from the Compete Blog

Come Work for Compete!

Posted: 16 Dec 2008 12:00 PM CST

It seems like every time you turn on the news there is another story about major layoffs, but Compete is here to break through all that depression (economic and emotional) and restore holiday cheer by delivering some good news: Compete is hiring! We are looking for qualified applicants for several positions…

Product Manager
We're looking for an experienced product manager to help us build our product management organization. This is an exciting opportunity to work with us to develop and plan our product strategy for both new products and product enhancements.
Director - Telecommunications & Media Practice
You'll be responsible for managing and developing strong relationships with existing clients and playing a key role in new business development. As a senior member of the team, you'll manage internal work teams in the production of client deliverables and provide interpretation and insight to the findings uncovered by your teams. Come help us revolutionize the way the industry uses the Internet!
Research Manager
Looking to take the next step in your career? Come work with us to improve upon our existing market research offerings. You'll act as the key liaison between vertical business units and our research department with primary responsibilities to design and development primary research products across a variety of industries with particular focus on questionnaire writing.
Senior Quality Assurance Engineer
Do you enjoy a fast-paced environment where you'll be able to work independently on mission-critical tasks and make a difference? We need you on our team to help maintain the quality of our current products as well as work on manual test plans and cases as new products are developed and tested.
Senior Associate - Telecom
Are you great at building relationships with Clients and co-workers? We're looking for an outstanding, analytically-minded individual to join our telecommunications and media practice. This experienced team member will be responsible for managing and developing strong relationships with existing clients and will also play a key role in new business development.

Still have questions? Please contact Amy Cohn for more details.

Winter Sales Event: No Clear Winner

Posted: 16 Dec 2008 10:56 AM CST

We know it's that time of year when we first see it; a Lexus wrapped in a huge red bow could only mean one thing. Lexus's annual December to Remember sales event is certainly the most recognizable holiday/winter sales event by any measure. But, while the most recognizable, it's no longer the only one of its kind out there. Traditionally, December is the number one vehicle sales month of the year as dealers try to push out as many model years as possible before the next year's vehicles hit the showroom floors. Of course with the current state of the economy don't expect any sales records to be broken this December. However, that won't stop any of these special sales events, and Lexus has company this year with Acura running its Drive Home for the Holidays event as well as Mercedes Winter Event.

The strange thing though is that only Lexus appears to be spreading the word online with banner ads promoting the December to Remember event while it's almost impossible to find an ad for Acura or MB. While Lexus is promoting their current sales event, Acura and MB are concentrating their ad efforts on new model launches.

Of course the next logical question is; Has Lexus experienced any significant demand increases based on their dedication to this annual event? So I looked at the daily reach to each of these OEM's websites over the last month.

What stands out the most here is the big jump in mid-November for Lexus which coincides with the beginning of their sales event advertising. However, we can also see Acura making a significant jump during the same time frame. The trend for all three is the same over time, though. Interest might have peaked during the onset of the events, but they have leveled out and are on somewhat of a downturn recently.

So what's the conclusion? Is it that Lexus's sales event is so commonplace now that people simply come to expect it, or is that the current state of the economy has people holding off on new vehicle purchases? I tend to lean towards the lack of online promotion of these sales events being the key factor. We see them plastered all over TV but we hardly see anything online. Perhaps well-placed ads on sites known to be visited by luxury car enthusiasts would be the most effective.

Successful companies will weather global meltdown: Premji/India ranks second last in Quality Education

2008-12-17T17:44:00.001+05:30

Daily Dose \|	Dec 17 2008

>> TOP NEWS

Successful companies will weather global meltdown: Premji
Strong, successful companies would weather the current global meltdown and emerge stronger, while inept or weak firms would be wailing and asking for bailouts, Wipro chairman Azim Premji said here Tuesday.

India ranks second last in Quality Education
The draught of education in India has reached the extreme as it ranks sixth among the seven emerging economies of the world, in terms of education quality.

Worst still to come for IT, ITeS and realty staff

Under fire from investors, Satyam calls off Maytas deal

>> TECHNOLOGY

Motorola joins the pink-slip bandwagon
Motorola announced the retrenchment of 3000 of it's employees worldwide, 100 of which are in India, representing around five percent of their global workforce.

Mobile phone to be main Web tool in 2020: Survey
Browsing the internet in computers could become a thing of the past with a survey predicting that mobile devices will be more popular to connect to the web.

Global mobile phone market to fall by 6.6 percent next year

IIT alumni conference in Chennai from Friday

>> BUSINESS

Industry asks for fiscal package to boost growth
A leading industry lobby Wednesday asked the government for a bigger fiscal package to revive various sectors of the economy.

Kingfisher to decide on fare cut this week
Hours after Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel urged private operators to pass on the benefit of fuel price cuts to travellers, Kingfisher Airlines Tuesday said it would take a decision on this Dec 20.

India may consider further cuts in fuel prices: Chidambaram

Goldman Sachs incurs first loss since IPO

>> VENTURE NEWS

VC funding in each firm may shrink to $3 Million
The value of VC funding in India is likely to come down to three million as result of the ongoing recession, while companies with bright idea will continue to receive VC funding amidst slowdown.

State Bank to raise $3.6 Billion by March 2010
India's largest state-owned bank, the State Bank of India (SBI), will raise Rs.180 billion by March 2010 to meet its capital requirement, it announced Tuesday.

>> OTHER NEWS

ArcelorMittal fined $415 Million by French competition council
The French competition council Tuesday slapped a fine of about 302 million euros ($415 million) on ArcelorMittal, the steel giant, after a four-and-a-half-year probe into anti-competitive practices in steel sector.

Green IT unharmed by recession
The green IT will remain unharmed by the global slowdown even while the other industries face the crunch. As a matter of fact, twice as many companies are accelerating their green IT initiatives compared to firms that are scaling back green projects.

Now taxi available @ push of iPhone button

Obama asked to adopt 'carrot and stick' policy for Pakistan

>> BLOGS

Technology to Counter Terrorism - Venkata Subramaniam
The recent terror attacks in Mumbai left us stunned. Sixty hours that the whole nation saw on their TV screens. Hours that made us proud of our police forces, armed forces, NSG commandos but also hours that.....

MAGAZINE

Cover Story

The online casual gaming in India has picked up like a wildfire in recent times. Find out how two of India's major gaming portals - Zapak and 7Seas are making a difference in the Indian gaming space

Guest Contributor

Gaming: India is All Set!

By K Rajesh Rao

CEO,Dhruva Interactive

Featured Mentors

Martin Jenkins

Social Entrepreneur

Sanjay Mehrotra

Director at COLT

Video spotlight

Four Factors of Entrepreneurship

SiliconIndia Books

Pranayam Rahasya

It is by the concentrated and coordinated, tireless and unending efforts of one's body and mind, senses and reason, that an individual attains the prize of inner peace and tranquility and thus fulfils the ultimate quest of the soul to meet and be in union . .......

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The Arthashastra

An extraordinary detailed manual on statecraft and the science of living by one of classical India's greatest minds, Kautilya, also known as Chanakya and Vishnugupta, wrote the Arthashastra not later than 150 AD though the date has not been conclusively established ...............

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Latest from the Compete Blog

2008-12-16T18:32:00.001+05:30

Latest from the Compete Blog

The Housing Crisis Ripples Across the Web

Posted: 15 Dec 2008 11:00 AM CST

It's hard these days to be a homeowner. The housing-turned-credit crisis has sharply lowered home values across the country, and the proposed solutions have focused more on major industry players than on deed holders. This week, the New York Times reports that Bernanke's newest innovation is to lower mortgage rates to a level last seen around the time JFK was sworn in – but it would not apply to current residents looking to refinance. Yes, it's a bleak time for homeowners, and for the businesses that depend on them. As a bellwether of the industry at large, both Home Depot and Lowes are underperforming their annual trend of site traffic from last year.

Even though absolute volume of visitors to each site is greater than last year, a 4-month comparison of month-to-month changes shows negative movement for both home improvement giants when last year that movement was better, if not positive. This trend suggests fewer homeowners are able to shop for home improvement products, let alone spend money toward them. In July, those items were more geared to summer amenities such as dehumidifier, air conditioner and ceiling fans; in October, the products of the season were warmer: insulation, fireplace and heaters.

The site conversion data supports this case. Total transactions on HomeDepot.com and Lowes.com are down from October last year, by 28% and 37% respectively.

An assessment of month-over-month change tells a worse story: last October, each site almost doubled the number of transactions from September; this October, both Home Depot and Lowes saw that number dip. As the housing market declines, it will become increasingly difficult to turn around sales for these home-focused companies. And while they will likely outlast the economic downturn, it is uncertain how much time that will take.

Entrepreneurs least confident about Delhi/Asia's tech CEOs to embark on a hiring spree

2008-12-16T17:22:00.001+05:30

Daily Dose \|	Dec 16 2008

>> TOP NEWS

Entrepreneurs least confident about Delhi
The national capital is last on an entrepreneurial confidence perception survey that was released Tuesday.

Asia's tech CEOs to embark on a hiring spree
Unfazed by the concerns of an economic slowdown, head honchos of many tech companies in Asia are planning to increase the headcounts of their companies.

Now technology allows whole world to hurl shoes at Bush

SMEs hit badly as big firms delay payments

>> TECHNOLOGY

Infosys, Genpact bags global services deal
Infosys Technologies has bagged a five-year, multi-million dollar global services contract from British pharma major AstraZeneca, the IT bellwether announced here Monday.

Wikipedia founder scouting for R&D alliance in India
To take on the giant search engines like Google and Yahoo, Wikipedia founder James Wales has launched Wikia search and the company scouts for R&D alliance in India.

IT firms hike referral bonuses

IBM inks outsourcing deal with Rajasthan cooperative bank

>> BUSINESS

Realtor sells 262 housing units within 48 hours in Chennai
Despite slowdown in real estate sector, Alliance Group, a private real estate firm, sold 262 housing units within 48 hours of the launch of its premium housing colony in the northwest suburbs here, company officials said Monday.

IMF predicts 'very difficult' new year
International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said Monday that the global economy will continue "deteriorating", predicting a "very difficult" year 2009.

Contempt notice issued to Central Bank managing director

India may consider further cuts in fuel prices: Chidambaram

>> VENTURE NEWS

Icera secures $70 Million in funding
Icera, a wireless soft modem company, has secured $70 million in new financing. While a total of $60 million will be provided by current investors with the company, $10 million of debt financing has been provided by ETV Capital SA and MMV Financial.

Sebi gives breather to expired IPOs
Those companies whose IPOs' validity got expired have got a breather from the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

>> OTHER NEWS

India saw 336 suicides every day last year
India may be set to rule the economic world, but a recent report on the suicide rate in the country triggers thoughts on how strong is the mind set of Indians when it comes to deal with a crisis, be it economic or others.

In 2009, incentives for repeat visitors
Travellers from abroad who visit India in 2009 will have a chance to get an extra sample of the country's exotic adventure tourism and sublime eco, rural and wellness tourism in 2010 and 2011 too.

India nowhere near recession: Chidambaram

M&M and Electrolux to slash jobs

>> BLOGS

MAGAZINE

Cover Story

The online casual gaming in India has picked up like a wildfire in recent times. Find out how two of India's major gaming portals - Zapak and 7Seas are making a difference in the Indian gaming space

Guest Contributor

Million vs. billion paradox

By Shombhit Sengupta

International growth strategy consultant for top management

Featured Mentors

Raghavan Guruswami

Vice President

hbmax

international consultant

Video spotlight

Sales Management: Tap Into the Individuality of Your Team

SiliconIndia Books

Set of 100 comics from Amar Chitra Katha

Amar Chitra Katha comics promote learning about the rich heritage of India through colorful, interesting stories presented in every one of these books. These comics are a great way to learn or teach about the Indian culture. Interesting while informative . .......

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Tales Sai Baba

Nobody knows for certain when Sai Baba was born or who his parents were, or what his real name was. He arrived one day in 1872 at Shirdi in Maharashtra. He was dressed like a fakir (Muslim ascetic) and lived in a dilapidated mosque but ...............

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Kalam wants IISc among world's top 10 institutes/HCL, SKS Microfinance among most influential firms

2008-12-15T17:14:00.001+05:30

Daily Dose \|	Dec 15 2008

>> TOP NEWS

Kalam wants IISc among world's top 10 institutes
Former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Saturday tasked the century-old Indian Institute of Science (IISc) here to work towards ranking among the world's top 10 institutes by 2030.

HCL, SKS Microfinance among most influential firms
Even in these trying times, Indian firms keep on leaving their presence felt in the world scenario. The latest feat comes from HCL Technologies and SKS Microfinance.

Bangalore 4th top realty investment destination

Indian Americans involved in Illinois scandal: report

>> TECHNOLOGY

Qualcomm to introduce Rs.10, 000 laptop in India
Laptop gets cheaper and accessed with more technologies. San Diego-based wireless communication company Qualcomm will introduce its small low-cost laptops 'Kayak', worth only Rs.10,000 in India in the second half of next year.

E-books close to market breakthrough
After years of false start, e-books - thin, highly simplified displays - seem to be getting cheap enough for mass use. Thanks to a new technology known as e-ink, they can now function for weeks without a battery recharge

World's first eco-computer produced in Ireland

Google strive for creating fast lane for contents

>> BUSINESS

'India's accounting principles match global standards'
The European Commission, the European Union's (EU) executive body, has accepted that the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAPs) of India are equivalent to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

Indian LPOs bag more contracts, but least preferred job
It's flooding assignments for Indian legal process outsourcing (LPO) companies in spite of having a worst economic condition, while law graduates in the country are not at all interested in choosing LPO as a profession.

One job lost in every 10 seconds in the world

Snowberry foraying into Indian market with $50 Million investment

>> VENTURE NEWS

Semprus BioSciences secures $8 Million in series A financing
Semprus BioSciences, a privately held biomedical company, has secured $8 million in Series A financing co-led by 5AM Ventures and Pangaea Ventures.

Bivio Networks secures $15.8 Million in funding
Bivio Networks, a player in networking systems for deep packet inspection (DPI) enabled applications and services essential for network security, has secured $15.8 million in funding, led by Silver Creek Ventures.

>> OTHER NEWS

Taj hotel to reopen Dec 21
The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower Hotel announced Saturday that it will reopen Dec 21, exactly 25 days after it was targeted by terrorists who India says came from Pakistan.

Bangalore declared as 'nano city' of India
Vice President Hamid Ansari Saturday declared Bangalore the "nano city of India" after the Karnataka government announced that it would take measures to encourage research and development in nanoscience.

Banks cut interest rates on some home loans

Journalist hurls shoes at Bush during Iraq Visit

>> BLOGS

MAGAZINE

Cover Story

The online casual gaming in India has picked up like a wildfire in recent times. Find out how two of India's major gaming portals - Zapak and 7Seas are making a difference in the Indian gaming space

Guest Contributor

2-3 Difficult Quarters, Then New Opportunities Abound

By Dr. Anand Deshpande

Chairman and Managing Director, Persistent Systems

Featured Mentors

surendra mishra

Own SOftware Development
Company ERP SOlutions

MANOJ ONKAR

President Strategy
Management Advisor

Video spotlight

Configuration Management

SiliconIndia Books

Set of 100 comics from Amar Chitra Katha

Tales Sai Baba

Latest from the Compete Blog

2008-12-13T18:32:00.001+05:30

Latest from the Compete Blog

Where Laptop Searchers Land Online

Posted: 12 Dec 2008 11:07 AM CST

Although they won't get as much fanfare as the iPhone or the Wii, especially this holiday season, laptops remain a necessity. When it comes to purchasing one, consumers have a dizzying array of choices, everything from brand to operating system to size to where to buy.

To get a general idea of where laptop researchers are going online, I looked at where people who used terms including the word 'laptop' on major search engines were directed. The chart below shows the top 10 sites that these people were referred to by keyword share, or the percentage of all traffic generated by searches including the keyword 'laptop' that went to a particular site.

Manufacturers hold two of the top three spots: Dell, with nearly 5% keyword share, and HP, with just over 2.5%.
Aggregator sites, such as Yahoo!, eBay, Amazon and Nextag where you can shop from a variety of vendors for a variety of models, are popular, capturing 9% keyword share within the top 10.
Review sites like notebookreview.com and CNet, also appear in the top 10 list as consumers rely more and more on third party sites for advice.
The variety of sources in the top 10 search-referred domains suggests that researchers are turning to different kinds of sites both to gather information about laptops and to buy them, online or off. What does this mean for players in this market?
Dell and HP are doing something right. The prominence of Dell and HP suggests that their search marketing strategies, and likely the strength of their brands, are driving traffic to their websites. The next closest manufacturer by keyword share is Apple, ranked 12th, followed by Toshiba (#14), Lenovo (#22) and Acer (#29).
Online researchers want options. Whether they're out to compare features or price, the strength of aggregator sites suggests that people want to evaluate models, compare cost, and have flexibility to browse across brands and price levels.
Review sites are getting attention. Even though sellers' sites often provide user reviews, the presence of CNet and notebookreviews.com in the top 10 suggests that many consumers are looking for professional and peer reviews from a third party source.

Laptops may not be the flashiest item on the CE holiday list this year, but they are becoming an increasingly important tool at work and at home. With a better understanding of how people look for laptops on the web, manufacturers, retailers, and advertisers can reach consumers online, whether they're just browsing or ready to buy.

Going to the Consumer Electronics Show? Catch Adam Guy's presentation on Shifting Content Across Time, Place and Device at CES on January 9th. Contact Elaine Warner to set up a meeting at the show.

Latest from the Compete Blog

2008-12-12T18:32:00.001+05:30

Latest from the Compete Blog

Kicking off the Holiday Season: Walmart.com’s Sizzling Black Friday

Posted: 11 Dec 2008 11:08 AM CST

Where were you on Black Friday? If you were online, there is a pretty decent chance that you were looking for a sweet deal or two, and where better to find a deal than walmart.com? Well, you weren’t alone. Nearly 7% of all U.S. Internet users on Black Friday visited walmart.com, almost seven times the site’s average reach on any given day in 2008. But what was behind this remarkable spike? Using Compete Pro Analytics, we took a closer look at Walmart’s strategy to identify a few ways in which walmart.com blew away the competition.

Step 1: Using Compete Site Analytics, we ran a Daily Reach report for walmart.com. The graph below highlights our findings: walmart.com’s Black Friday Reach equaled that of amazon.com’s – nearly7% of all people online that day!

Step 2: Next, using Compete Referral Analyics, we drilled down to examine some of the sources of Walmart’s online traffic. One clear alliance that walmart.com forged was with key Black Friday specific sites. As you can see in the data below, walmart.com captured nearly twice the referral traffic share from the top ten Black Friday websites as the next closest competitor.

Step 3: Using Compete Ranked Lists, we ran a report on the top 15,000 Compete ranked sites in November, sorted that list by growth and examined the top ten Black Friday sites. On average, traffic to these sites grew by 1600% over the previous month, confirming that Walmart’s strategy of leveraging Black Friday site traffic lift was a good one.

Step 4: Finally, we honed in on Search data with Compete Search Analytics to see if Walmart’s multichannel media blitz was coupled with Search marketing. Using the Keyword Destination report, we ran a Broad Match for the term “Black Friday”, and sure enough, walmart.com was the top retailer site getting traffic from the keyword.

A carefully crafted and well-executed traffic acquisition strategy resulted in walmart.com kicking off the holiday shopping season with a bang.