Edunology - Saumya Aggarwal

  "Yaar kya baat karein", "tum sunao", "aur batao" 

Do you hear these phrases a lot in your relationship? Chances are pretty high that you do. Talking and communicating in a relationship is a tough task. No doubt about that. Initially its all hunky dory, you cannot wait to talk to your beloved, in fact there are millions of things you end up talking about. And not trivial daily things, real actual interesting conversations about each other, your likes, dislikes and much more..and after sometime, zip...you feel you have run out of topics. 


We often hear the advice that Communication is the key to relationship. It certainly is, to an extent. In our current lifestyle, the pace of life has multiplied to a level where keeping up regular communication is quite a task combining time management with content generation. Naturally, we somehow begin to feel pressurized that we have to talk somehow. It begins to feel as if alarms are going off, that its soon going to be a very risky situation regarding the communication gap in the relationship and hence you frantically dial your beloved's number or maybe ping them on fb or skype and after initial greeting comes the dreaded question "aur batao"..and that's where you hit the wall. The obvious answer "nothing much". Which is quite true. There is nothing interesting enough to talk about. And your daily life is not exactly very happy unless you are either ShahRukh Khan's personal assistant or SRK himself. (if you are, hi!! :D) 


So then what to do?? Not talk?? Well simply put, Talk when you really want to talk and you actually have something to talk. Otherwise, learn to realize that not everyday is going to be a chatty date over internet or phone. A few simple questions. Not to intruding and especially ones that don't make you sit and ponder for minutes as to what would be the right answer. Keep it simple, plain and short. Make it sort of a tradition. ask how they are, if possible, (especially in long distance relationship) discuss your dates and the ones you are planning to have. The main task here is to feel connected in a short time without forcing either of you into a panic attack to actually talk. Let it be. If you do not have something to talk, don't. Just send a text about how you love him/her. Try not to use the sentence "I miss our conversations". For you, it might be a personal confession, but for them, it may make them feel guilty about not talking enough. This will only result either in them forcing themselves to talk without any particular topic (hence boring you) or by withdrawing further. 


Relationships initially are filled with conversations because we are eager to share ourselves with this wonderful person we have met. Its beautiful. Its natural. You get millions of topics in your head to tell them about because you want to know them better through their opinions, ideas, dreams, ambitions. The lull that comes after it has its own reasons. You know each other better now. He knows what she likes to talk about. She knows what he likes to talk about. Its a comfort level that is established between both through constant sharing. But the lull aches them to talk further. Its okay. Truth is, there is nothing bad about this. Learn to enjoy these shorter conversations. You can do these twice a day if you wish. Call or text in morning wishing them a good day. Talk in the night, ask casually if he or she would like to talk about his day, if he does, listen intently. Do not butt in with your own day description in the middle of what he/she is saying. Allow him/her to tell you completely and then you can do your own talking. Listening to them will make them understand that it is now their turn to be patient and be interested in your day too. Its a mutual gesture of respect. 


Lastly, conversations die out routinely. We all have our highs and lows. There will be days when you will spontaneously find yourself having a great conversation after a long time. Cherish it. But don't let it become a moment that you constantly pine for. It is only gonna put your beloved under the spotlight to be at par with this moment everytime you talk, and that is only going to cause stress. Learn to enjoy the silences. You are free to fill these lulls with fantasies about you two together. So that the next time you talk, you can make him/her laugh with your silly fantasies about how you two enjoyed the cotton candy at the marine drive. ;) 

eBay India has announced the eBay India Battle of Gadgets 2011, which ranks India’s most popular electronic gadget purchases online over a 12 month period based on an analysis of all eBay transactions. The research report showcases interesting trends of India’s Top Gadget Cities, Models; Brands across 7 popular gadget categories - Laptops, Cameras, Mobile Phones, Televisions, Gaming Consoles, Pen Drives and MP3 Players.

Mr. B. Muralikrishnan, Country Manager, eBay India, says,
    “Gadgets have always been very popular on eBay India with as much as 50% of all transactions coming from the electronics category. We see a great demand for gadgets from consumers across both metros;tier II and tier III cities. We believe that the rankings of popular gadgets from eBay Battle of the Gadgets 2011 will be a useful guide to gadget shoppers across the country.”

eBay Battle of the Gadgets 2011 reveals:

Delhi is India’s Top Gadget Hub with the most Gadget purchases in the country
Delhi has topped the list of India’s top 10 gadget cities followed by IT city Bengaluru. Mumbai takes up the third position before Hyderabad and Chennai. The other cities include Pune, Kolkata, Kanchipuram, Ahmedabad and Kochi.

Sony is India’s Most Popular Gadget Brand
Sony’s multibrand portfolio; Nokia’s mobile phone dominance puts them in first; second place with Samsung, Apple, Seagate making up the Top 5 Gadget Brands. Micromax, LG, Canon, Dell & Lenovo also feature in the Top 10 list.

Top Mobile Brands
Nokia has emerged as the most popular brand in mobile phones category while Micromax and HTC take the second and third position respectively. The fourth and fifth position is ruled by Sony Ericsson and Blackberry.

Top Mobile Models
Sony Ericcson Xperia X10 is the most popular mobile model in India followed by Micromax Q1, HTC Wildfire, Blackberry Curve 8250 & Nokia E7.

Top Camera Brands
Demand from photography enthusiasts has allowed Nikon to capture the first position followed by Sony and Canon. Olympus and Fuji rank fourth and fifth, respectively.

Top Camera Models
The Nikon L22 is the most popular camera model in the country followed by Nikon S3000, Canon A495, Nikon P100 & Nikon L110.

Top Laptop Brands
Dell is the most popular brand for laptops amongst gadget lovers. Other laptop brands preferred by consumers are Acer, Sony Vaio, Lenovo and HP.

Top Laptop Models
The Dell Inspiron 15 is the country’s most popular laptop model followed by MacBook Air, Samsung N148, Samsung N150; Acer 5742.

Top Gaming Consoles
The Microsoft Xbox is the most popular console amongst gaming enthusiasts. The Sony Playstation Portable ranks second followed by the Sony Playstation 3, SonyPlaystation 2 and the Nintendo Wii.

Top TV Brands
While Sony has leaped to the top among TV brands, Samsung and Toshiba enjoy the second and the third position, respectively. LG and VU rank fourth and fifth in the category.

Top TV Models
Sony KLV-32BX300 is India’s most popular TV Model followed by Sony KLV-40BX400, Sony KDL-32CX520, Sony KLV-32BX320 & LG 22LE530.


Top Memory Device Brands
When it comes to storing data, Sandisk is the most reliable brand followed by Transcend and Seagate. Other brands in the top 5 category are Western Digital and HP.

Top MP3 Brands
Transcend keeps India hooked to portable music & has topped the list of favorite MP3 players. Apple and Sony rank second and third followed by Sandisk and Phillips in this product category.

Top MP3 Player Models
The iPod Touch is India’s most popular MP3 Player Model, followed by the iPod Nano, IPod Shuffle, Transcend MP860 & Transcend MP330.
eBay Battle of the Gadgets Methodology: eBay Battle of the Gadgets 2011 research findings were based on an analysis of all online gadget purchases by Indians on eBay between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011.

eBay India also revealed some other interesting stats about itself: "On an average day on eBay India, A portable storage device or pen drive sells every 4 minutes, A mobile handset sells every 5 minutes, A laptop sells every 27 minutes, A MP3 player sells every 28 minutes, A digital camera sells every 39 minutes; A video game console sells every 39 minutes."

Are you also “3G me busy”??  Probably yes since you have been trying to download something which needs a reasonably good speed. No doubt you are busy and perhaps a little irritated too. Do you have a solution? Well, of course you do! Wi-Fi is an amazing alternate to your problem.

Being Apple’s founder and CEO was just one of the things Steve Jobs will be remembered for. His vision and work has touched many industries ranging from PCs, movies, music, cellphones, gaming and even retail among many more. It is no surprise that Jobs garnered respect among his peers. despite being involved in cut-throat competition with them. Hit the break to read some tributes from them on his passing away.

I’m truly saddened to learn of Steve Jobs’ death. Melinda and I extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends, and to everyone Steve has touched through his work. Steve and I first met nearly 30 years ago, and have been colleagues, competitors and friends over the course of more than half our lives. The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come. For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it’s been an insanely great honor.  I will miss Steve immensely.

I want to express my deepest condolences at the passing of Steve Jobs, one of the founders of our industry and a true visionary. My heart goes out to his family, everyone at Apple and everyone who has been touched by his work.

Steve’s passion for simplicity and elegance leaves a legacy that will endure. Thoughts of all at Nokia are with his friends and family.

Steve, thank you for being a mentor and a friend. Thanks for showing that what you build can change the world. I will miss you.

I am very, very sad to hear the news about Steve. He was a great man with incredible achievements and amazing brilliance. He always seemed to be able to say in very few words what you actually should have been thinking before you thought it. His focus on the user experience above all else has always been an inspiration to me. He was very kind to reach out to me as I became CEO of Google and spend time offering his advice and knowledge even though he was not at all well. My thoughts and Google’s are with his family and the whole Apple family.

Today the world lost a visionary leader, the technology industry lost an iconic legend and I lost a friend and fellow founder. The legacy of Steve Jobs will be remembered for generations to come. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and to the Apple team.

I’m so sad. It’s such a terrible loss. For the whole world. I’ll never forget him. He did so much for me.

We have all lost someone special today. I had a number of opportunities to meet and talk with Steve Jobs over the years. He was always a bold visionary and a risk taker, and a tough businessman as well. The products and technologies he and his team at Apple worked on will continue to influence the wireless industry and people’s everyday lives for many years to come. I offer my condolences to his family, friends and the employees of Apple.

Michelle and I are saddened to learn of the passing of Steve Jobs. Steve was among the greatest of American innovators – brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it. By building one of the planet’s most successful companies from his garage, he exemplified the spirit of American ingenuity.  By making computers personal and putting the internet in our pockets, he made the information revolution not only accessible, but intuitive and fun.  And by turning his talents to storytelling, he has brought joy to millions of children and grownups alike. Steve was fond of saying that he lived every day like it was his last.  Because he did, he transformed our lives, redefined entire industries, and achieved one of the rarest feats in human history: he changed the way each of us sees the world. The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented. Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayers to Steve’s wife Laurene, his family, and all those who loved him.

True genius is measured by the ability to touch every person on the planet. Steve did that, not just once, but many, many times over his amazing life. We at Intel were privileged to have known him and worked with him as he brought his creations to life. Our hearts go out to his family and to his many friends and co-creators throughout the world.