Dear Readers,

The genesis of all beautiful creations is a dream! Dreams are made of the real aspirations that individuals strive for. Dreams are an important part of our being as they enable us to ascertain the quantum of aspiration by conjuring a world that we want for ourselves. What is important is to resonate the imagination with practicality and separate the ethereal from reality. But do dream and most importantly live your dream!!

Sports frenzy and academic deliberations kept all at NU busy for the entire month. NU expressed global solidarity to safeguard the earth’s precious resources on the occasion of the World Environment day. A blood donation camp organized at the campus accentuated the compassionate sentiments of NU members, especially the students. The BTech students were engaged in augmenting their technical acumen through workshops and the MBA students remained thoughtful while analyzing the fiscal situation and assessing the pros and cons of the budget. We feature various events and interesting insights from the students and faculty in this issue.

Our book review section, so effectively steered by the students is an endeavour to arouse interest in the different genres of fiction. Do read the books recommended by our literary expert and suggest your recommendations too.

Students of Class 12 finally got over with the Board Exams and now aspire to get into good colleges and universities. For them our message is – Passion, Patience and Perseverance will lead you towards success. Remember the odds may be stacked against you but the odds don’t know – that what you possess is much more powerful than them.

Dr. Shradha Kanwar
Editor, editor@niituniversity.in

The famous words of Abraham Lincoln , ‘If I was given six hours to chop a tree, I would spend the first four sharpening the axe’, definitely stresses the fact that practice and preparation can only enhance one’s chances for success in an interview.

Getting shortlisted for an interview is an achievement in itself and one should make the most of this opportunity.

University life is an exciting time for all, be it the BTechs or the MBAs – and to excel what one needs is adequate groundwork. As the adage goes, ‘Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity”, it is important to make the most of opportunities by being adequately prepared.

NU marked the occasion of the Earth Hour Day on March 31.Students at NU have always exhibited tremendous enthusiasm in developing amity with mother nature and as lights were switched off in the night, they cheered to the call to save energy on not just the one day but on all other days as well.

NU students organized a blood donation camp on the University premises on March26 . The partner institution was THE INDIAN RED CROSS SOCIETY. 79 members of the NU family donated blood and were awarded a certificate from NU and RED CROSS.

Mr Pranjal Sharma, noted Journalist and Columnist for the Business World conducted an interactive session on the Indian Budget for MBA students on March 22. Prior to this scheduled budget update session, a competition was organized among the students who had to write on three pros and cons of the recently announced Indian Budget. Thus the session was not a regular discussion but an incisive and thoughtful question and answer session where the students had to defend their stand through debate and discussion.

Movies are back and that too with a classic flavour!! On March 17,the screening of the classic film, THE GREAT DICTATOR, by Charlie Chaplin was a welcome change. This marked the re-start of the weekly film day.The second film earmarked for the NU community ROMAN HOLIDAY was able to strike a chord with many among the audience. Great weekends await the NU family!

Dr M.B.Rajani was invited to attend and participate in the Royal Society Indo-UK Scientific Seminar for the week March 5 to 10 at the Exeter University, UK. This seminar has been organized as part of the collaborative activities between Exeter University and India in which Dr Rajani has been involved in the last few years. She presented a paper titled ‘Space based remote sensing and its applications in India’ in the session on Remote Sensing and geospatial archaeology for landscapes.

Vikas Upadhyaya presented the two papers titled “OPTIMAL DESIGN OF CMOS OP-AMP VIA GEOMETRIC PROGRAMMING” in International conference on Computational Electronics & Nanotechnology at Amity, Jaipur on March 1-2 and “GEOMETRIC PROGRAMMING: A TOOL FOR CMOS OP-AMP DESIGN” in International conference on Advanced in Computer, Electronics & Electrical Engineering organised by UAEEE at VITS, Mumbai on March 25-27.

The festival of colours, Holi was a much happening event at NU. This beautiful occasion was celebrated on March 8, in the NU family and all participated with great enthusiasm.

There is an ever-increasing reliance on software to control systems in our everyday lives. When software controls expensive equipment (e.g. satellites and rockets) or safety-critical systems (e.g. hospital equipment and automobiles), the need for safe, reliable software is paramount. At NIIT University we recognize that tomorrow’s software developers will not only need to know how to write code, but to write verifiably correct code.

An example of software failure: Loss of Ariane 5 Flight 501 (June 4, 1996).
“Software verification” is the general term that captures efforts to verify software correctness. Due to the complexity of software, most software verification techniques suffer from a combination of being too slow and too inaccurate to be incorporated into mainstream software development. A recent series of technological breakthroughs, however, has breathed new life into this evermore critical domain, and has resulted in a slew of software verification tools.
One of the chief contributors has been Microsoft Research, whose Bangalore office is headed by Dr. P. Anandan (who is also the chair of NIIT University’s Research Advisory Board). The group at Microsoft Research India has played a key role in developing easy-to-use tools that are feely available here. The catchy names like Boogie, Poirot, and Dafny belie the serious underlying technology. If you know some programming, visit pex4fun.com for a flavour!
One of the tools, Dafny, has been integrated into the Discrete Mathematics (CS232) course at NIIT University. Students learn how to apply their mathematical knowledge to specify what their code is attempting to do. They then “ask Dafny” to prove that their code actually matches the mathematical specification. Not only does this provide an immediate application for the mathematical concepts under study, it prepares students to use the kind of software verification tools they are likely to encounter once they graduate. For although Dafny and her kin are still crawling their way out of the research labs where they were born, they are poised to revolutionize the way software is written and checked for correctness.

The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) has been used for the analysis of Indian industrial sector. The IIP has multiple problems. It uses old base year 1993-94, out dated weights and fixed basket of products as well as it includes many dormant companies. It has also been observed that new products and companies are not represented in IIP. A comparison of growth estimates provided by the IIP with actual sales growth of companies shows divergent results illustrating IIP inadequacy. The IIP has demonstrated unreliability in the past particularly for the recent years 2008-09, 2009-10 & 2010-11.According to the IIP data for 2009-2010, the rise in the manufactured products’ output was 10.9% but it was found that there was no growth or it was much slower. The growth in 2009-2010 for manufacturing sector was merely 2% as there was drop in the sales volumes due to inflation in the manufactured products and smaller coverage of registered companies for IIP (Report on outlook of Indian Industry, CMIE October 2010).

In 2008-09, the IIP understated the growth of the manufactured output; however in 2009-10 it overstated significant growth in particular for the seven out of 14 sectors. According to the IIP figures, the growth of machinery during 2009-10 was 21% whereas calculations from the CMIE data base showed merely 2.6%.This discrepancy is due to limited coverage of items by IIP. On the basis of sales revenue, in the IIP the weightage given to rubber & plastic is higher where as petroleum products are given lower weightage which is contrary to the actual state of affairs. The obsolete weights given to the products is the main reason for IIP’s failure to capture correctly the trend in the production in particular for rubber, plastic, petroleum & coal product group. Further IIP is unable to capture seasonality of industrial production. According to the two official papers by Mr. MC Sanghi of the Industry ministry and other by Mr. RK Kamra of Statistics ministry, IIP understates growth due to usage of old base year, unrevised weightages and obsolete basket of products. The index was constructed on the base 1993-94 but many items of production have become considerably important since then and other turned less so the composition of items was not correctly reflected. The unrevised weightage of products in the index have underplayed relative changes in the outputs. The Kamra&Chakarbarti study shows that correlation between the IIP and results provided by detailed Annual Survey of Industries is as low as 0.64, therefore for accurate estimates more frequent revisions of the base year is necessary. The IIP measures the output of select group of units every month whereas the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) is a comprehensive survey which is based on the data from annual statement of accounts of different units. According to international practice, the base year is revised quinquennially together with revision of weight of each item of production. In order to make the data comparable the financial data is converted into an output data and is mapped with IIP. The difference in the growth rate is as high as 15% for 1998-99.The lower IIP values indicates the continuation of the downward bias historically observed in IIP in comparison with ASI.

The new series with base year 2004-05 was proposed by the working group on IIP which will provide realistic reflection of the current industrial scenario. According to Mr. DK Joshi of CRISIL “the new IIP series will be more realistic as it includes part of unorganized sector and would capture production appropriately.” The weight of mining will rise from 104.7 to 141.5 and for electricity from 101.6 to 103.1 (Table 1).

The weight of food products and beverages in the new index will rise to 72.76 from 55.32 whereas for textile it will increase to 61.64 from 48.9 (Table 2).

The number of manufacturing items have been revamped, there is increase in manufacturing items in the new series from 473 to 620
(Table 3).

The 1993 – 94 based IIP series showed moderation of growth in the beginning of October 2008 whereas the new IIP series indicated a sharp contraction in the industrial production due to 2008 crisis. The new index shows the impact of crisis more severe as the industrial growth was red during April to October 2008 (Figure 1).

The export growth was negative during this period which was not captured by the old IIP series. The new base year has remarkable policy implication as it shows CG growth remains high indicating increase in the demand of CG based industry whereas consumer durable growth is less confirming that the people are not consuming more and have lowered their expectation which is contrary to the results based on old series.

Thus the new IIP index shows a close reflection of the current industrial scenario. It gives appropriate sectoral weightage, revamps manufacturing components, puts greater emphasis to the unorganized sector and captures industrial situation better ;consequently new IIP will provide realistic and reliable results.

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle.
And the life of that candle would not be shortened.

It’s been months now since my first Community Connect visit to one of the two small village schools of Majara Kath and Pratap Singh Pura adopted by NU; but the deplorable conditions of the school and the dispirited education provided to the students there, still disconcerts me.

What came as a respite after seeing such reprehensible learning conditions provided to those few who did actually manage to come to school, was their never-failing, ever-increasing belief in the idea of gaining the most they could. Their sheer zeal to learn took me by surprise, impelling me to give them the best I could.

In the weekly visits to these schools, we had almost an hour long sessions with our mentees. Before my first session of Community Connect, I was deep in thought, wondering how best to utilise that one hour so that my mentee actually benefits from the session. After making sure my mentee was quite comfortable, I helped him with his maths, which he was relatively good at. Learning to communicate in English, which almost no student there is well versed with, is what Tejaram aimed at.

Tejaram, my first mentee, spoke to me of his hardships; him being the only male in the family and having to collect wood in the morning and collect water, being responsible for the marriage of his two sisters which required him to look for a job. He also expressed his major concern ofunavailability of electricity at night because of which he could not study after completion of the daily chores. But still, trying!

Some sessions were planned for the kids to come and visit the campus; look around the place and choose a sport each which they wish to learn. It helped them get a lot of exposure and probably a motivation for many to study hard and be able to join a similar establishment once they grow up.

Through my various interactions with my mentee’s, I realised that not only are the students there very bright minded and hard working, but they realise the importance of educating themselves and are working on it. Even if little, these sessions with the mentors have made a difference. It is certainly a good way to help and educate those in whose hands lies the future of our country.

P.S. There’s hope and we can make a difference.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that crux of life’s learning can be effectively summed-up and implemented while someone is running a business. Hence to be able to successfully run a business would automatically entail having a good grasp of broad concepts like Finance, Marketing, Operations and Human Resource. Expertise in the fields of Arts and Science would only give a competitive edge to it. Hence, doing a Masters in Business Administration, in a true sense, is all about having an understanding on the key aspects that makes life a success.

This was what, I thought, should be the noble reason to pursue an MBA and when I just started my journey down the MBA path, I was thrilled when I learned to play with balance sheets, evaluate business models and understand intriguing marketing concepts. I knew that soon I would be abreast of the latest and the most advanced applied concepts in the field of Business. And that journals, research papers and business magazines would be more meaningful and useful to me. But three months since enrolling myself into it, my horizon of thinking broadened and I got delightfully surprised that these factors would make-up for just the ‘Business’ part of an M.B.A.

I came to a realization that it is the ‘Management’ part of an M.B.A. that would become the ultimate test in having imbibed the “crux of life’s learning”. As soon as the session began, I became part of numerous groups that were formed for the numerous projects, assignments and case studies that were required to be submitted throughout the term. And I believe that moment marked the actual beginning of my MBA. From here on started the struggle to be at the forefront of mastering the concepts and at the same time to be able to convince your teammates to follow a certain approach while working for a project submission deadline.

Sanest projects to work for are the ones having multiple submissions with deadline timings of something like 12 midnight whereas one of the craziest papers have only single submission per term and deadlines like 7 or 8 in the morning. The former ensures that the group sleeps by 1 am and in the latter ones, having a lot at stake, ensures that the group agrees to disagree on everything till 4 am. It is when the sheer exhaustion sets in, that the group comes to a forced consensus and manages to wrap it up just before the breakfast is served in the mess. Of course, the diversity of the batch too plays its part here. One may have to consider the issue from the perspective of someone coming from tourism sector to armed forces, from construction industry to pharma R&D sector, from financial sector to IT sector. Out of this joyous feeling of achievement, of having contemplated on the plethora of concepts just learned and having made a successful deliverable, teammates discuss the possibility of asking their lecturers to include more such submissions from next time on. This realization, of the worth of case discussions and having learned group dynamics, sets in immediately. It is much later that they realize the full impact of this exercise.

Initially when nobody knows each other and the groups are formed randomly, one’s focus is towards maximization of their learning and contribution and finally working for a best possible submission. Over a period of time, some groups and some of its key members are recognized as outperformers. They garner short run benefits when, people vie to get them in their group in the next round of group formation. In the long run, they wield a disproportionate influence over the entire batch as alumni and also have strong ties with senior and junior batches as well. In the world of professional and social networking and instant connectivity, this is a major factor in determining the latitude of one’s career.

To sum up, while doing MBA, ‘Management’ skills like leadership, planning and time management, interpersonal communication, writing and presentation skills gets automatically sharpened while we learn for ‘Business’ skills (like marketing, finance, operations, human resource etc.). It is due to this unique blend of learning (both the method and content) which makes MBA different from the league of other courses. Industry and Business world over know this and a major chunk of any organization’s management brass are MBAs. An MBA degree involves a lot of rigor (has 700+ contact hrs on an average and each hour requires 3 hrs of solid groundwork) and through various tools (projects, case studies, research, assignments, presentations etc) aims to build on the foundations of work experience (though fresh graduates are also fairly common) and culminating in imparting one with the necessary abilities to make a mark in real-lifebusiness scenarios.

Gravity stands Defied!!

"Who says an apple can only fall down… read on, we prove otherwise!"

"WingardiumLeviousa", muttered Hermione Granger and a little white feather began to rise upwards in professor McGonagall’s Transfiguration class. Levitation….to conjure upwards or cause to rise by magical means is what the standard Oxford dictionary says. Well, magic it might have been a while ago, briefly put it is an act of suspending something against gravity without any type of physical contact and with considerable relative stability. Yes, it might reaaaaalllyy be possible to leaven up human beings as any other material objects. Flying broomsticks, might not be that distant a dream. Seems out of the pages of the Harry Potter, doesn’t it. Let’s not get carried away way too far and focus on facts. As of now the theory is fully applicable only to micro beings. That’s not a dampener though!! Only an indication for what is in store for the future. There has been a lot of research over a period of time which has enabled levitation to be elevated from it being pure science fiction to a hardcore, practically implemental concept.

The Casimir force & its bearing on levitation
Levitation is related to the principle of reversing something known as the “Casimir force”. Ever heard about Casimir force? As per Quantum physics & a bit of mechanics, in the intervening empty space in between two objects of a special kind, all pervasive energy fields are present. These fields are fluctuating. As a result there exists a force of attraction between the atomic and subatomic particles contained within these objects, which causes the objects to stick together. The phenomenon can be understood easily from the illustration of a Gecko or a lizard being able to walk across the ceiling without ever falling down. Thus the Casimir force causes objects to stick together. The force is unrelated to that caused by gravity, electrical charges and thereof. It is more complex then this, but succinctly put, the above gives the essence in a gist.
Now the said force can be engineered to repel rather then attract, this is where levitation comes in. A couple of physicists from the University of St Andrews in Scotland came up with a special type of Lens. This Lens has a unique property of reflecting radiations caused by forces of attraction .i.e. including those caused by the Casimir effect. Effectively the objects demonstrating attraction stand repelled under the influence of such a field, causing them to rise. The amount of elevation of course depends on the nature of the objects and the strength of the generating Lens. When it comes to slightly bigger objects, the practicalities of designing the lens to do this are daunting but not impossible and levitation could happen over quite a distance.

The problems faced by the nano-world and the proposed remedies
When it comes to nanotechnology, size does matter! While designing circuits at this level the ingredients/components have an extremely irritating tendency to bind together, courtesy the casimir force. The force is at its peak here because the components are infinitesimal .This causes unwanted delays, aberrancies, inappropriate functioning ultimately leading to glaring faults in the designed circuit & its inherent hypothesis. It makes an already difficult task, all the more difficult & all the more complex. This has been the source of headaches for the designers’ right from the rudimentary stages. Also, the casimir force is the ultimate cause of friction in micro machines and micro-electromechanical devices, rendering them feeble. The devices are used to perform critical functions like inflating a car airbag during an accident through a mechanical trigger or to power tiny lab on chips during life saving operations and so on. The friction has been a major thorn in the flesh as far has development of these devices is considered.
The theory of levitation is no less then a God sent boon for the peeved nano-world. It enables the micro and nano machines to run smoothly by manipulating the undesired sticky force. This discovery could ultimately lead to frictionless micro-machines with moving parts that levitate, thus increased reliability along with efficiency. Electrical circuits on silicon chips, among others can be provided with the requisite separation through levitation, solving the age old designing woes.

Other Genres
There are other means too through which levitation can be achieved, magnetic, aerodynamic and electrostatic methods being foremost amongst them. As the means vary, so do the applications.

Magnetic levitation as the name suggests is based on the principle of magnetic repulsion through opposite poles. If you hold two permanent magnets close together, you see that one of them will jump strongly toward (or away) from the other. However, an active control circuit can get around this problem by rapidly adjusting the magnet’s strength.

The principle forms the basis of the working model Maglev trains wherein breakneck speed comparable to that of jet aircrafts are achieved along with precise control exercised through regulation of electromagnetic fields. What’s more, they are cent percent pollution free and save vital electric power!

Aerodynamic levitation employs jets of forced gasses from beneath to levitate the object upwards, finds its application in air hockey. Similarly, electrostatic levitation which is caused by forces exerted by electrical charges has widespread scope in space research.

Conclusion
All said and done, one thing is for sure that the yet immature technology can be a solution to a variety of problems concerned with gravity and friction. With the rapidly advancing science, the technology will open up new avenues for research and has potential to make the impossible, plausible. Though, we might be a long way away from seeing a Superman, a flying carpet, a Quidditch match or the 3D special effects used for action sequences in the movies in reality, the first steps towards achieving the same have been taken. The know-how supporting Levitation is on an up slide big-time people, and we have intimated you. As they say…when you want to fly, sky’s really the only limit. Miracles are passe, say levitaa to feel the magic!

This simple electronic kit uses magnetic levitation to suspend small objects up to about 1/2 ounce (15 Grams) or so in mid air.

Safe Haven By Nicholas Sparks

Genre: Fiction, Romance, Thriller, Mystery, Suspense

When my best friend gifted me this book on my birthday last year, like most of my peers, I was under the impression that it would be another one of Nicholas Sparks’ sappy romance novels. This was my first Sparks novel, so I was not in the mood for some mushy love story when I picked it up but guess what? It wasn’t.

First published in September 2010 by Grand Central Publishing in USA and by Sphere in Great Britain, Safe Haven is an epic love story with elements of suspense, mystery, thrill and drama, from #1 New York Times Bestselling author, Nicholas Sparks. Several of his books like The Notebook, A Walk To Remember, The Last Song, Dear John, Message In A Bottle, Nights In Rodanthe have been adapted into major films; The Lucky One is set to release on 20th April this year – which I’m definitely going to watch – and the movie Safe Haven is due to release in February 2013; I’m looking forward to both!

Sparks wrote this whopping 365-page novel in a little over 6 months and needless to say, he has done it wonderfully. After a really long time, I have come across such a beautiful page-turner. This novel has everything – love, drama, mystery, suspense, pain, suffering, an element of danger – simply an entertaining and enjoyable read.

The story begins with a new girl ‘Katie’ who shows up suddenly in the small town of Southport in North Carolina with no money for food or shelter hoping to start over. She takes up a waitressing job at Ivan’s and rents a small rundown cottage working hard on her off-days to make it habitable. She does her job well but pretty much keeps to herself until a very chatty neighbour ‘Jo’ moves in next door and she starts loosening up a little though she is still wary of sharing much about her past. Katie finds herself getting attached to the town and its quiet life as she unknowingly starts falling in love with ‘Alex’, the owner of the store Fisher’s, and his two lovely kids but there is a dark secret that prevents her from getting too comfortable in this close-knit homey community. As Alex and Katie spend time together falling just a little more in love each day, danger is creeping up slowly and steadily to wreak havoc in their lives.

Here’s an excerpt from this amazing novel:
Jo thought about Katie’s answer before leaning closer. "So you’re telling me that – assuming you had food, shelter and clothing and anything else you needed to simply survive – you’d rather be stranded on a desert island in the middle of nowhere, all alone, forever, for the rest of your life? Be honest."
Katie blinked, trying to keep Jo in focus. "Why would you think I wouldn’t be honest?"
"Because everybody lies. It’s part of living in society. Don’t get me wrong – I think it’s necessary. The last thing anyone wants is to live in a society where total honesty prevails. Can you imagine the conversations? You’re short and fat, one person might say, and the other might answer, I know. But you smell bad. It just wouldn’t work. So people lie by omission all the time. People will tell you most of the story…and I’ve learned that the part they neglect to tell you is often the most important part. People hide the truth because they’re afraid."
With Jo’s words, Katie felt a finger touch her heart. All at once, it seemed hard to breathe.
"Are you talking about me?" she finally croaked.
"I don’t know. Am I?"

Katie felt herself pale slightly…
Safe Haven is an intriguing and expertly plotted novel from one of the world’s most beloved storytellers of all time and very different from his previous novels. The preview of the novel reads ‘Love hurts. There is nothing as painful as heartbreak. But in order to learn to love again, you must learn to trust again.’ With this, I urge all you book-lovers out there to pick up this superb novel at your nearest store as this one’s definitely a keeper – you won’t be disappointed!

This is the eternal question that has boggled the mind of every astute marketer, does a consumer buy a product or the experience. Ask yourself, what does my brand stand for? Try to answer it in one sentence without using the name of the product your company sells. If looking at the present scenario you would have thought that low cost airlines are the future, think again- Richard Branson the maverick entrepreneur and billionaire started and still runs his “all – frills” airline Virgin Atlantic.

Virgin Atlantic has customers who are ready to pay a premium to fly with them; they don’t sell you a ticket but the experience of flying. Imagine the privilege of being attended to your every whim and fancy when onboard. In their waiting lounges you can ask for an expert masseur, a whole host of other beauty treatments while you wait for your flight. Workout or just sit and relax and be pampered. If waiting for your flight is such a pleasurable experience, imagine how flying would be. And even there they live up to your expectations. There are no plastic smiles around you, the “I am smiling because I get paid to do so” attitude. But that’s the “I love my job” smile. Then there are these surprises in store for you, for sometimes when Branson is flying he would just throw Virgin caps, jackets and t-shirts in the air..! That is not a journey that took 12 hrs, but an experience that will live with you and one which you shall generously share with others. They don’t need to employ an army of salesmen to sell their tickets for them, this happy customer is going to recount his experience and convert potential clients into virgin followers.

Richard Branson was once asked, “What does Virgin stand for?” He could have answered “a great airline,” but instead he answered with one word- “fun.” By focusing on fun from his earliest days as an entrepreneur, Branson’s vision allowed him the flexibility to move beyond a single product. Today the Virgin empire spans some 360 companies. Branson instinctively knew how to differentiate his brand. Branson was able to adapt, change, and take advantage of new opportunities because he sold an experience.

If you thought, technology and innovation rules, then take a look at Harley-Davidson. The Harley-Davidson Motor Company has had its ups and downs, and at times, the downs seemed as if they would end in bankruptcy. In the sixties, Honda, Kawasaki, and Yamaha invaded the American market, and sales at Harley-Davidson dropped drastically due to decreasing quality and increasing competition. The quality became so bad that dealers had to place cardboard under bikes in the showroom to absorb the oil leaking.

The sponsorship of a “Harley Owners’ Group” has been one of the most creative and innovative strategies that has helped create the experience of this product. Without realizing it, Harley executives had pioneered a new paradigm that would be increasingly embraced by other industries in their quest to increase profitability by converting their product into an experience. The company started to organize rallies to strengthen the relationship between its members, dealers, and employees, while also promoting the Harley experience to potential customers. The Harley Owners’ Groups became immensely popular; it allowed motorcycle owners to feel as if they belonged to one big family and Harley now boasts to have no less than 450,000 members.

This symbiotic relation that a man shares with his machine is what Harley sells the world over. Don’t they have competition? Of course they do- they are neither the fastest bikes (Suzuki Hayabusa is the fastest) nor the best in terms of looks or out of this world technology. But while their competitors concentrate on selling bikes, Harley sells an experience. They don’t have customers but followers. While others buy a bike and park it in their garage, you get married to a Harley and bring her home. As their website famously says-”It’s one thing to have people buy your products. It’s another for them to tattoo your name on their bodies”

In a recent interview, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, when asked what Zappos stands for, never mentioned the physical products that Zappos sells-shoes and clothes. Instead, he answered “happiness.” Without a hint of hesitation, Hsieh suggested that Zappos could be running an airline in 20 years. I can’t forecast whether Zappos will turn into a Virgin type of enterprise, but by promoting an experience-in this case, the joy customers feel when they deal with the company-Hsieh is setting up the brand for success should new opportunities become available.

The greatest entrepreneurs don’t sell products; they sell an experience like fun, happiness, or the ride of your life. What experience does your product offer? If you’re an insurance agent, do you sell annuities or “peace of mind”? If you’re a financial planner, do you sell mutual funds or “financial freedom”? Think hard about what your brand really stands for – it’s not always the product itself.

Communicate the value behind the brand and always try to sell something bigger than the physical product the company produces. Entrepreneurs and business owners should ask themselves one question: What does my brand stand for? Odds are there are hundreds, if not thousands, of competitors offering the same type of “product” that your business provides. Stand out by standing for something, make a deeper emotional connect with your customers.

The idea that you can access all of your work from anywhere, on any computer (with an internet connection) is a remarkable one. Cloud computing, though fairly new, embodies these ideas. To a layman, cloud computing is present in something as seemingly trivial as our iUniverses. In an iCloud, synchronization of all iDevices makes our daily work so much simpler. And that, in a nutshell is why Cloud Computing is such an attractive option. It’s convenient. It’s faster, better and cheaper, and it can, and will transform the field of Information Technology for the better.

Understanding this will be easier when cloud computing is thought of as a building. The front part, which comprises of the front door and say, the sitting room, is simplified and broken down for the user. It is, essentially, the user interface.

The back part of the house, on the other hand, represents the rest of the cloud system, i.e. the network. These two sections of the house are connected through the hall, or the middleware. Middleware helps computers connected on a network make connections with each other.

Cloud computing, like everything else, has its pros and cons.

Apart from the above advantages, it’s more flexible and mobile in its functioning. Also, it removes the dependence we have on IT workers, allowing them to concentrate their efforts otherwise (in innovation, perhaps?).

As for disadvantages, there is the obvious security and privacy issue. We are threatened by matters in areas like virtual switches and hypervisors. There are other disadvantages, but these are the greatest threats to cloud computing right now.

Like I mentioned earlier, cloud computing is fairly new. This means that vendors of this fantastic new technology are still immature, and bound to make mistakes. Cloud computing is definitely here to stay.

Technology has become a basic necessity of life in today’s world due to the penetration of the internet and availability of affordable personal computers and laptops. It has become possible for most of the students to leverage the technology and everything has changed since the past decade from our eating habits to the way we approach our academics. One cannot think of completing a comprehensive project without using the magic of “GOOGLE”. It has now become possible to access the data (most of it is free) from all over the world just by a simple click. This was not available to previous generation; this is one of the reasons why Indian MBAs are able to compete neck to neck with even foreign Ivy League MBAs.

As more and more technology tools become available for online education, there is an increasing interest among educators and other professionals in the potential application of the tools in online courses.

AN UNTOLD STORY
Hope or faith, or a memory of old?
Pages of past, or a story untold?
The breaking of dawn after a lonely night,
Blooming of flowers, sunshine bright.

A self breeze, a gentle wave,
Or the early morning dew.
Every hour every place reminds me of you

A sweet song, a cozy whisper,
Or just a silent smile,
A promise of unspoken words
To keep my love alive……

Though now apart,
Will meet again in different time.
Till then
Only for you will all my verses rhyme!

Winners of the March Issue
1. Yajur Mahendru (Btech 3rd Year)
2. Aseem Gupta (Btech 3rd Year)
3. ShivamVatsa (Btech 1st Year)