Tips and Tricks Continued

This is the next post in the series of tips and tricks on computer/internet/softwares etc

This is about some keybpard shortcuts which not many people use :

Use Alt+tab to switch between open windows quickly. This is especially useful when you have to switch back and forth between 2 windows.

Use Ctrl+tab to switch between open tabs like in a browser say firefox. This is especially useful when you have to switch back and forth between 2 tabs.

Use Winkey+D to show desktop, ALt+F4 to close a window.

Tab,Home, End etc can be used to a great effect saving time of moving mouse and clicking it

Use Ctrl key to select multiple items, Keep Ctrl key pressed and the click using mouse to select multiple items. Ctrl-C to copy, Ctrl-V to paste save a lot of time.

More to follow.. keep watching

Trip to Puri, Bhubaneshwar, Kolkata, Nepal from Hyderabad to Jaipur

This is the schedule which we are planning to follow while visiting Puri, Bhubaneshwar, Kolkata, Nepal from Hyderabad to Jaipur. This schedule can be used as a template for someone planning such visit. The schedule is incomplete right now. I will post the remaining schedule in next post.

24-1-2009 Saturday	Start from Hyderabad, Reach Bhub 25-1-08 Morning 4:30
25-1-2009 Sunday	Catch train from Bhub to Puri , Train leaves Bhub at 5:30 and reach Puri at 7:30 AM (Train No. 2837 Howrah Puri Express) Another train : 8478 Haridwar Puri Utkal Express Leaves Bhub at around 5 AM, Also Other Pessanger Trains and a lot of other trains . Visit Temple and other places in Puri , Night stay at Puri
26-1-2009 Monday	Visit places around Puri like Sakshi Gopal etc , Night stay at Puri
27-1-2009 Tuesday	Tour Bhubaneshwar and Night stay at bhubaneshwar.
28-1-2009 Wednesday	Leave Bhubaneshwar for Howrah by train at 1:30, Night stay at Howarah

interviews tips

This post is about some common tips which one would find immensely useful in interviews :

Be Prepared and Confidant
Be on time
Figure out all possible questions and their possible answers
Do not talk too much or too little
First impression matters most
Be Enthusiastic and positive
Keep your phone switched off
Eye contact
Dress well
Be honest
Be inline with what you have written in your resume

Lots to follow in coming posts..

Recently encountered viruses/trojens

This post is dedicated to a few viruses which messes up might computer a week ago and how I managed to overcome them ( lot of gratitude to norton )

The first one was a process name ROOTDNL.exe which prevented my system from shutting down when connected to internet. Probably it was busy downloading something.

Simple cure : I searched for this exe and deleted . Of course first killed the process from task manager.

Second one was more complicated . there were a trojens .. something named Backdoor something . it was detected by symantec in some temp directories but it failed to repair(delete/quarantine) it. .

Cure: I hd to boot my system in safe mode and then scan the system. Symantec was able to fix one of them but not the other. So to remove the second I had to manually delete the file from cmd prompt and this fixed the problem.

Third one was the autorun virus which caused my drives to open in a new window when doublw clicked. It is basically bec it craetes an autorun.inf file in drives.

Cure: I found out that I had to delete these autorun.inf files ..but how ?? windows dint even show them. I then used cmd promp and I had to do an attrib -r -h -s commnad to remove the readonly, hidden and system file attributed from the file. Then i could delete it.. but it was not that easy. It was created automatically after a few secs. So now what to do ??
Again safe mode worked. I followed the same steps in safe mode and it all worked. the virus disappeared.


Enough for this post.

recommendation letter

A lot of times , I found my self in a situation where I needed to get recommendation from someone say a professor and the professor would ask me to get a draft of reco letter and I was like frm where on earth I know what a professor writes in reco letter. So I googled a lot, consulted a lot of senoiors and came up with a good reco letter which I could use any time any situation .


Sharing it for you...

I have known Mr. XYZ for the last n years as an undergraduate student of in Electronics & Communication Engineering in this department. I had ample opportunity to observe and evaluate his academic potentials during this period.

I have instructed him in the courses of ABC in his junior year, along with its tutorial classes. During this period I have seen that he is open to new ideas & is quick to grasp new concepts. He is among few students who is very focused and has a clear picture of his career objective.

In the Junior Year, I guided him in his summer Project titled “PQR". With his hard work and sincerity he won the prestigious” MNO: award I have found ABC an ability to conduct research both at an individual level as well as a part of the team.

He has a good command over spoken and written English and is able to communicate effectively. He has excellent Analytical and Quantative scores in GRE, which makes him ideal for research in science subjects. With his many abilities, I think, he is eminently suited for higher studies and research and would make a fine research/teaching assistant.

On the above basis, I would rate him among the top 5 % of the students. I strongly recommend ABC for admission to the graduate program at your university with full financial aid so that he can devote himself fully to the pursuit of learning and thus bring laurels to your as well as our Institute.

Tips and Tricks ..continued

Just a couple of passing tricks:

If you browse a lot through your directories in windows, just try this and you will do wonders with your speed:
use the folder option provided on the menubar at the top of any window in windows. click on that button and a left navigation bar will appear. now use that to go anywhere than the double clicking on every folder stuff.

The second tip : Many times you will find yourself in a situation where you want to access a file and you are not able to bec of some reason..probably a virus. You are just stuck. e.g you just cant open one of your drives or say pen drive. Windows smd prompt is at your rescue. open cmd and go to the file path and just copy it to one of your accessible drives and bang you are done.

GRE words not in Barrons/Kaplans

During my preparation for GRE I made a list of words which were not there in Barrons book but that had appeared in GRE.

Sharing the list for all :

splay -spread wide apart

Orc - A mythical monster of varying descriptions; any of several cetaceans especialy the grampus of the dolphin family

Laryngitis - Inflammation of the larynx;

Exponent - One that speaks for, represents, or advocates; one that expounds or interprets; expository; explanatory; advocate

Vouchsafe - To condescend to grant or bestow (a privilege, for example); deign;

Paroles - Key words or signals used to establish mutual identification

Ballon - To curve outward past the normal or usual limit; stand out, stick out; increase rapidly; swell; a rounded or irregularly shaped outline containing the words that a character in a cartoon is represented to be saying; a flexible bag designed to be inflated with hot air or with a gas, such as helium, that is lighter than the surrounding air, causing it to rise and float in the atmosphere

Daft - Mad; crazy; foolish; stupid; scots; frolicsome

Hoarse - Rough or grating in sound; having or characterized by a husky, grating voice; raspy in voice

Lop - To decrease, as in length or amount, by or as if by severing or excising; to hang limply, loosely, and carelessly; cut off from a whole

Enfeeble - To deprive of strength; make feeble; make very weak

Tarpaulin - Material, such as waterproofed canvas, used to cover and protect things from moisture; a waterproof cloth, esp. one used in large sheets for covering anything exposed to the weather

Hellion - A mischievous, troublesome, or unruly person

frills- extra things that are added to something to make it more pleasant or more attractive, but that are not necessary:


Bumptious - Crudely or loudly assertive; pushy; self-assertive offensively self-assertive

Batten - Grow fat,thrive upon others

Conch - Large seashell

Orison - Prayer

Carpophagous - Feeding on fruit; fruit-eating

Fustian - A coarse sturdy cloth made of cotton and flax; pretentious speech or writing; pompous language; pompous, bombastic, and ranting


Afferent - Carrying inward to a central organ or section, as nerves that conduct impulses from the periphery of the body to the brain or spinal cord; transmitting impulses from sense organs to nerve centers

. Pelf - Wealth or riches, especially when dishonestly acquired


Denude - To divest of covering; make bare; to expose (rock strata) by erosion


Shrivel - To become or make much less or smaller; dwindle; to become or make shrunken and wrinkled, often by drying; to lose or cause to lose vitality or intensity; dehydrate, dry up

Caginess - Having or showing a clever awareness and resourcefulness in practical matters; secretive; wary; careful; shrewd

Semitic - Of, relating to, or constituting a subgroup of the Afro-Asiatic language group that includes Arabic, Hebrew, Amharic, and Aramaic; of or relating to the Semites or their languages or cultures

Futon - A thin mattress of tufted cotton batting or similar material, placed on a floor or on a raised, foldable frame; mattress consisting of a pad of cotton batting that is used for sleeping on the floor or on a raised frame

Cron - A time unit equal to 1000000 years; used in reference to evolutionary processes

Croon - To sing softly or in a humming way


Tort - Law. damage, injury, or a wrongful act done willfully, negligently, or in circumstances involving strict liability, but not involving breach


Happenstance - An unexpected random event

Hull - Dry outer covering of a fruit or seed or nut; the frame or body of ship

diazepam - A tranquilizer (trade name Valium) used to relieve anxiety and relax muscles; acts by enhancing the inhibitory actions of the neurotransmitter GABA

Folly - A lack of good sense, understanding, or foresight; an act or instance of foolishness: regretted the follies of his youth

Marrow - The most central and material part; the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience


Shuck - A husk, pod, or shell, as of a pea, hickory nut, or ear of corn. The shell of an oyster or clam

sagitte :a small constellation in the northern hemisphere between
Cygnus and Aquila and crossed by the Milky Way


Sagittal - Of or relating to the suture uniting the two parietal bones of the skull;

Formulaic - Being of no special quality or type

41. Budge - To move very slightly; overformal; pompous

Pettifogging rules or details are too small and unimportant to give attention to.

Slattern- a woman who has many sexual partners, for pleasure or payment


muckraking /"mVk%reI.kIN/ noun [U] DISAPPROVING
the activity, especially of newspapers and reporters, of trying to find out unpleasant information about people or organizations in order to make it public:
There was so much muckraking about his family life that he decided not to stand for election

en·feoff /?n'f?f, -'fif/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[en-fef, -feef] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–verb (used with object)
1. to invest with a freehold estate in land.
2. to give as a fief


svelte-slender and graceful; suave; polished.

Bust - A sculpture representing a person’s head, shoulders, and upper chest

anon: soon; shortly. Used as an abbreviation, anon. means “anonymous”

antebellum: before the war; especially before the American Civil War. This word is formed from the Latin Prefix ante (“before”) and the root bellum (“war”)

betimes: early; promptly; before it is too late.


prosthesis-replacement for a missing part of the body.

simian-of or like a monkey or an ape.

tumescence-swelling.

vasectomy-the surgical removal of a duct that conveys the male sperm—the vas deferens


Cruet - A small glass bottle for holding a condiment, such as vinegar or oil; a small vessel for holy water or for water or wine used in the consecration of the Eucharist

Dab - To spread with a greasy, sticky, or dirty substance; a tiny amount; a person with a high degree of knowledge or skill in a particular field

Hamstring - To restrict the activity or free movement of; handicap; to destroy or hinder the efficiency of; frustrate; any of the tendons at the rear hollow of the human knee

Bunion - A bunion is an abnormal enlargement of the joint; a painful, inflamed swelling of the bursa at the first joint of the big toe, characterized by enlargement of the joint and lateral displacement of the toe

37. Hospice - A shelter or lodging for travelers, pilgrims, foundlings, or the destitute; a program that provides palliative care and attends to the emotional and spiritual needs of terminally ill patients at an inpatient

Jerry - A German, especially a German soldier; offensive terms for a person of German descent

Banister - A handrail, especially on a staircase; a railing at the side of a staircase or balcony to prevent people from falling

Puckish - Mischievous; impish; naughtily or annoyingly playful

Benedict - A newly married man who was previously considered a confirmed bachelor

Grouch - A habitually complaining or irritable person; a grumbling or sulky mood; complaint; a grudge

Ream - 500 sheets of paper
37. Ladle - a long-handled spoon with a deep bowl for serving soup, stew etc

Eamark - to set aside or apart for a specified purpose; an identifying feature or characteristic; reserve

Moxie - the ability to face difficulty with spirit and courage; aggressive energy


Tintinnabulation- the ringing or sounding of bells

Skein - a length of thread or yarn wound in a loose long coil; a flock of geese or similar birds in flight

Manna - hardened sugary exudation of various trees; food that God gave the Israelites during the exodus

Japery - acting like a clown or buffoon; a trick or practical joke

Pert - trim and stylish in appearance; jaunty; impudently bold; saucy; high-spirited; vivacious

Enfeoff - to invest with a feudal estate or fee

Xerophagy - dry eating or fasting

pal·ter
1. to talk or act insincerely or deceitfully; lie or use trickery.
2. to bargain with; haggle.
3. to act carelessly; trifle.

Nave - central part of the church

Vulgaris - Being of the usual type; common

Treacle - Cloying speech or sentiment; a medicinal compound formerly used as an antidote for poison

Cool Tips and Tricks

Today I am starting this series of posts where I will be posting cool tips and tricks related to computer, windows, internet et al.

To start with, consider a simple scenario

Suppose you have recently edited a document and you want to open it again for some purpose .
How will you so it

Some novice users will go to the folder location on windows do structure and open it from tehre by double clicking.

Some smart ones might open it directory from "my recent documents " list on windows.

Some experts might open word first and then open it from my recent docs in word list

Some geeks might type winword.exe filename to open it directly from the run menu.

and so on.. u can choose which one fits u most..

Enough for this post

Bangalore visit

Google invited toppers from all IITs to participate in a conference .. basically a lecture given by Vint Cerf.. Chief Internet Evengelist of Google.

The lecture was very inspiring... uploading a part of lecture for you..