Monthly Archives: March 2009

Pranav Mistry at TED showing future-gadget

This is the demo presented last month at TED. Researchers are from MIT Media labs, Pattie Maes, Fluid interface group with her student Pranav Mistry, the guy responsible for this future-gadget Sixth sense.
You can read details http://www.ted.com/index.php/themes/what_s_next_in_tech.html at TED’s official website.

When is the right time to take the GMAT

This is the most common question/concern I hear from GMAT students. And I’ve answered it plenty of time. & let me tell you, the answer never change: the short version of the answer is: When you think you’re ready for the test; just take it.
But this time we have special occasion. & I would write a long answer. If you’re reading this article, most probably you’re facing this question currently and still haven’t booked date for the GMAT. I think you’re  fortunate if you’re in that boat. Because you still have the freedom to decide and schedule your preparation according to the date of GMAT exam you opt for.
Unlike the CAT (the national level Indian entrance test), GMAT can be taken any day, any month of the year/season. Therefore this question becomes very critical. (CAT on the other hand happens nationwide once in a year.)

I usually do not suggest to post-pone, delay/extend or per-pone the GMAT test. But specifically for this period, if you’re thinking of taking GMAT this or next month (ie. March/April 2009) I would suggest you to wait for NEW OG. It’ll be beneficial to you if you refer to new book, study it thoroughly and then take the test. If you’re in the middle of the preparation but haven’t booked the date for the GMAT, this is right opportunity to you to buy OG 12. Once you have OG 12 GMAT review book, add some 6 weeks to your preparation & book the date accordingly. It’s very important & I feel you very lucky to be in this situation. Having new OG fresh n young is like a goldmine, my reasoning for this para/statement: I’ll explain it in my next article. (stay tuned).

OG, the official guide, if you dont know already is called the bible of GMAT preparation; published by the people behind GMAT test (GMAC). Its latest edition is out on stores. Check out the following link of OG12
The Official Guide for GMAT Review, 12th Edition.
(My Indian visitors fyi the book will hit in most of the Indian book stores by month end. or you can always order online via the link above.)
The new edition has new set of questions, ( I’ll make a post about the detailed review on this book later in the 3rd part of this article) & it’s highly recommended that you should go through these new set of questions. I’ll explain you later why it is important to buy OG 12th edition even if you have earlier editions of offcial guide. (ie. OG 11, OG purple & OG green)

DataFox updates

I wanted to make a post exclusively for this firefox addon called datafox. I was looking for the reason…
It’s very critical addon & comes very handy to monitor your bandwidth usage. It’s my most favourite add-on of firefox.
This applies to all BSNL’s & MTNL’s broadband subscribers. I know there are hell lot of you out there who use BSNL’s DataOne or MTNL’s triband.
It’s new version update 1.7 hence the post. If you dont have this addon  grab it now from the official site.
Note that this is a firefox addon & you need to use Firefox browser to leverage this monitoring tool.
(You can download the firefox by clicking on the its image on the right sidebar.)

webhosting affiliates commission fraud.

I just received an email (the spam) offering me $40 just for signing up to new web-hosting company.
Here’s the transcript of the mail I got:


I will pay you $40 to your PayPal within 24 hours if you sign-up with a web-hosting website for just $0.01 with your own PayPal.
You just have to spend $0.01 from your PayPal to earn the $40 from me by PayPal.
Are you interested ?
If yes …..
1. Then plz go to : [ http://www.commission link] and on that page on the left-below, you’ll see a plan called “Personal” and a little below it, there is an
“Order Now” button. Click on it.
2. Now click on the “I will update my nameservers on an existing domain Or I will register a new domain.” radio-button. After that remember one of the domain
name you own and enter it in the blank field saying “www”. Then click on “Click to Continue”.
3. On the next page, click on “Add to Cart”.
4. On the next page, enter the coupon “1CentPersonal” (without the double quote) in the “Promotional Code” field. And then click on “Validate Code”.
5. Then you will see that the Total price has come down to just $0.01. (The $6.99 fee is to be deducted from next month and you will cancel this subscription
later on) Now click on the “Checkout” button.
6. On the next page, fill up your details. Then click on “Complete Order” button.
7. On the next page, on the top-right you will see a yellow-coloured PayPal subscribe logo – click on it.
8. On the next page, log on to the PayPal.
9. Here you will see that the website is charging you only $0.01 and a small monthly fee of $6.99 payable after 30 days. This is a subscription. That website
will automatically deduct a monthly fee of $6.99 from the next month.
IMPORTANT NOTE : You will accept this $0.01 payment and the $6.99 subscription (payable after 30 days) for the time being only but after 7 days, you will
have to cancel the $6.99 monthly subscription, so that I can recover my affiliate fee from that website.
10. After you have paid, plz go to the website and browse the website for 5 minutes and then log out.
//////////
After this, plz send me an invoice of $40 by PayPal to me to [email address] and write your email adress with which you have signed-up with that
website in the “Message” field (so that I can verify whether you have indeed signed-up or not) and within 24 hours, I will pay you $40 to your PayPal.
Thax and have some action ! Happy earning !
[The name of the spammer]

You can see the ad on this website about BlueHost webhosting, yes it’s one of the ads I publish on every page of this blog. & it pays more commission per signup/conversion than this spammer offers so it means that anyone can do such spamming & make money. Most of webhosts I know who offer affiliate programs pay more than this spammer has to offer (~$65) So, I think web hosting companies should make more robust plan to stop such loop holes.
I hope you’re hearing bluehost!! (My webhost) 😀

Scholarship for GMAT preparation & MBA application

We are back to scholarship season. I just love this period of the year, I start promoting the scholarship competition & BTG starts receiving applications. This year is no different. Beat The GMAT forums is been doing this since four years and it’s always bigger next year.
This time we’ve doubled the cash price to $500 for each five winners. Manhattan GMAT awards full fledged GMAT course to all winners. (worth $1500 !!) But the prizes from consultation service varies with the rank of the winner. Stacy Blackman Co. is sponsoring consulting for MBA admission & b-school applications.
Rest of the things are the same as usual. Eligibility criteria, application details/format, the essay questions and even the due date! You can verify the details on the official page Beat The GMAT scholarship.
Five winners will be chosen by the panel of Beat The GMAT, Manhattan GMAT & Stacy Blackman Co.
For further information, hints and tips, you can bump this blog back & comment or if you’re member of the forum you can put your queries directly on the 2009 GMAT scholarship forum.
Now that you’re here anyways: let me give you the essay questions of this competition. All the best guys. :thumbsup:
Two/three essay questions:
1. (500 word limit): Why do you deserve this scholarship?
2. (300 word limit): Why do you want to go to business school?
3. (300 word limit) OPTIONAL: Are there any special circumstances you want us to mention? Examples: financial need, major life event etc.

year 2070: lets learn from the future

This slideshow really MOVED me. The files has been on my desktop since quite a while. It’s one of the forwarded mails I got some years back. But I think it’s very unlikely to be found on other PCs.
The reason is it’s sad tone. well cant deny you got to face the reality, right?

GMAT local, GMAT events near you.

Introducing GMAT study resources respective to your local area, event happening where you live.
Beat The GMAT has recently launched three features related to your regional/city specific GMAT needs.

  1. Directory of free GMAT events

  2. Directory of GMAT coaching classes near you (in your city)

  3. Directory of city threads of local study group

Let me talk about it in detail,
The live GMAT events are mostly (I am most certain that they are free) available for free, maybe a trial class or a free workshop hosted by big GMAT coaching institute or MBA admission consultant. Take a sneek-peek of a sample description of live events at North River Chicago by ManhattanGMAT. Then there’s region wise classification of GMAT classes (read: point no. 2). See, for example GMAT test prep courses abailable at NYC New York city.
You will notice that the first two links/points are only available for US of America. However, in future it would show events across the globe. We’ve seen overwhelming response to our Lets meet up forum & thus to make this easier for our members searching for the local study group, I’ve created a directory of city threads. Check out the thread, you’ll be surprised we’ve covered more than 70 regions (& still counting). People have formed study group and I think, they meet occassionally to discussi GMATF strategies and their MBA admission blues.
Exciting isn’t it? 🙂 So what are you waiting for? Find your regional thread for meet ups and more.