As summer beckons, it is time to consider a cooling solution that is not only affordable, but is also effective. There are a lot of variations between air conditioners when it comes to the features that they offer. This guide will serve to clarify a few of those, and inform users on what to look for when buying an air conditioner.

Kinds of air conditioners:

Air conditioners come in different variations to suit different needs. Let’s take a look at a few kinds of ACs that are available in the market:

• Window air conditioners: These ACs are economical, can be fitted into windows and are easily serviceable. They do tend to be a little noisy, however.
• Split air conditioners (without inverter): Split ACs run quietly, look sleek, and are mounted on walls. They use a single speed compressor motor which only has two modes, on and off. As soon as a desired temperature has been reached, the compressor switches off, and when it rises to a certain extent, the compressor starts cooling the room again.
• Split air conditioners (with inverter): These are similar to split ACs, but come with an inverter in-built. These ACs come with a variable speed compressor motor, which can adjust temperature dynamically without the need to switch off and on continuously. These ACs have been claimed to be 30% more energy efficient than split ACs without inverters. The image below gives an indication to how these mechanisms work.

Let’s see a few criterions on how various air conditioners are categorized.

Tonnage:

Star rating savings:

*(LG split AC running for 8 hours/day)
+(From non-star AC monthly)

Cost variations by brand:

*(1 ton 3 star split AC running for 8 hours/day)

These are a few indicators that should give users an insight when it comes to buying a new air conditioner.

How to Participate in Favorite Author Contest -

1. Please tell us who is your Favorite Author and how s/he has inspired you.

2. Post your reply in the Comment section below the question. You can post multiple answers.

3. You’ll have to Sign-in using FBconnect and Like our MSP Books page to participate in the contest.

4. Five Lucky winners will receive Landmark vouchers worth INR 1,000 each.

Contest Starts – Feb 11, 2013

Contest Ends – Feb 28, 2013

Other Terms & Conditions -

• - Participants can post multiple answers and each answer will be considered as one entry.
• - Lucky winner will be selected at random from the entries we receive before the end date of the contest.
• - Participant should have a shipping address in India to receive the vouchers.

So what are you waiting for! PARTICIPATE NOW

How to Win iPad Mini -

Just Shortlist your favorite products and WIN iPad Mini.
How to Shortlist products – click on the “Shortlist” Button (as shown below) and Add your favorite products to your list.

Fashion Category - 

Electronics Category -  

Terms - 

1. Browse through all the wonderful products we have for you on MySmartPrice.

2. Shortlist your favorite items by clicking the “Shortlist” button on the page.

3. You’ll have to Shortlist at least One product to enter the contest.

4. Sign-in to Shortlist your favorite products (please create an account if you don’t have one)

5. One lucky winner gets an iPad Mini

Contest Starts – Feb 7, 2013

Contest Ends – Feb 28, 2013

Other Terms & Conditions -

• - Lucky winner will be selected at random from the entries we receive before the end date of the contest.
• - One user account will be considered as one entry for the contest. Users will have to shortlist at least one item to enter the contest.

So what are you waiting for! Participate and Win iPad Mini NOW!

Google’s Great Online Shopping Festival (GOSF) was expected to bring some of the best deals to Indian eCommerce buyres. Unfortunately since this is the first time that such an event is taking place in India, there has been lot of confusion about what is a real deal, whether to buy a product from a specific store etc. We at MySmartPrice.com are tracking the best deals for GOSF 12/12/12. We will keep this updated throughout the day. Do let us know if your find some issue or if any deal goes Out of Stock.

For those of you wondering about how we identified these deals as the best, it was really simple. We collect a lot of data about each product being sold online on a daily basis. So once we had decided to bring the best GOSF deals to our users, we simply added the GOSF coupons into our database, processed them to adjust our pricing and then ran our data algorithm to see what products have the best deals.

If you find a better GOSF deal anywhere else, let us know. We shall update the excel so that others can benefit as well.

Apple have traditionally been famous for bringing out revolutionary products including the latest iPhone 5 and have always been known to make just the perfect entry into the market . Sadly though, its latest upgrade of iOS6 was marred by the absence of the faithful Google Maps, worse still Apple launched its own iOS Maps which suffice to say is next to useless. Critics, Fans and just about everyone were up in arms in no time and it resulted in a barrage of jibes and jabs at Apple. Within a matter of few hours thousands of articles, comics and tweets have been spawned and they are definitely getting all the attention they deserve. Here is a small round up of some of the most hilarious Comics and tweets picking on the Apple Maps. Enjoy and do share

Why iOS Maps Shipped Buggy

Why iOS Maps Shipped Buggy

All Things Digital has always been on the cusp of Technology and was one of the first to put up this comic made by joyoftech.com.  The comic is the brain child of Nitrozac and Snaggy. It portrays a review meeting for the iOS Maps before deployment and the folks supposed to attend the meeting are absent as they are lost.

Christopher Columbus uses IOS Maps

Christopher Columbus uses IOS Maps

Internet image and humor portal 9GAG .com had its own take on the new IOS maps attributing the discovery of America to the IOS Maps

Cast Away Meme

Apple Maps Cast Away Meme

Memes have become this generations method of expression, so it wasn’t surprising to get a  ”… they said” meme dedicated to the Apple Maps. People familiar with the Oscar nominated Cast Away will know just how hilarious is the attribution of iOS maps to the misfortune of Chuck Noland ( Tom Hanks).

Star Wars Meme

Star Wars meme

Luke and party find themselves heading straight for a space station instead of the Moon all thanks to the new Apple Maps. This Meme is a little bit “out there” but it is definitely one for Star Wars Buffs to be happy with.

Futurama Meme

Futurama meme

Following the Meme tradition even Philip J Fry of Futurama gets in on the iOS 6 Map beating with this meme. Found first on YFrog. com

“LOST” MEME

Lost Meme

Found on twitter, this Lost Meme equates the Apple Maps Development Team to the cast of famous Television series Lost. Literally Lost is the Keyword for most iOS Map users.

Motorola’s “#iLost campaign”

Motorola Campaign

Following Nokia and Samsung, even Motorola has decided to take the new iPhone 5 Headon with this teaser on the Maps. Motorola even wants people to take part in the twitter #iLost stream and tweet on their little iOS Map adventure.
Samsung Tweet zinger

Not one to be left behind on an opportunity to rip on its arch rival. Samsung did this tweet for its Galaxy phone users. Clever isn’t it?

Hitler Reacts to iOS maps

Seldom has any technological product or popular trend escaped the Wrath of Hitler ( from the movie Der Untergang). Apple’s new Maps too seem to have irked Hitler.

Apple Explains iOS Maps (Parody)

Critics and Technology buffs alike were not impressed with Apple’s statement on the iOS Maps, some calling it arrogant. Apple in its own tradtion have seldom come forward and accepted any flaws in their “near perfect” devices. So it was anticipated that they would probably deny if not stave off any criticism. Made by Tom Scott this video makes a hilarious explanation “on behalf”of Apple Inc on why IOS maps are actually not flawed at all.

Amazing IOS Maps website

Barely hours after the OTA of iOS6 began, people had started spotting errors on the map. It wasn’t long before a tumblr page would be spawned to catalogue just about every perceivable error that users could find on the map. Check out http://theamazingios6maps.tumblr.com/ for the full list of errors. Some are truly hilarious submissions.

London Tube submission

London Underground takes on Apple Maps

Even the offline world has taken to hitting on ioS6 maps. Seen first on the AmazingIos6Maps. This picture was submitted from the London underground taking on the IOS 6. Truly hilarious

Before we conclude here is a collection of Articles posted on various technology blogs around the world on their take on the Map Mishap.

Gizmodo Articles

Apocalyptical Horror Show

Apocalytical Horror Show

Gizmodo’s article takes a look at a collection of submissions on twitter that make some eeries images of the world. Check out  Apples New 3D Maps turn your world into an apocalyptic horror show for more such tweets.

Early Victims

Good grief! Just checked route from my place to Dad’s using Apple’s new Maps app. Sends me in completely wrong direction for ten miles.

— Friends of Darwin (@friendsofdarwin) September 20, 2012

Apple ios6 maps error: says turn right and there is a no right turn… Hmmm twitter.com/bradlind/statu…

— Brad Lindenberg (@bradlind) September 20, 2012

Within hours of the upgrade twitter was abuzz with tweets from users complaining about being Lost or finding the maps utterly useless. Gizmodo makes a collection of these tweets in this article titled 17 People Apple Maps has already horribly misled

That’s all Folks. Do share your own discoveries in the comment sections and share the humor with Friends and Folks.

MySmartPrice recently caught up with emerging writer Dipen Ambalia. Dipen Ambalia has recently launched a new book with a truly catchy title “Life of a Software Engineer aka LOSER”. Dipen was kind enough to give us this interview.

Hi Dipen, Great pleasure to have you on MySmartPrice for this short interview.

DA: Thanks so much. It’s my pleasure to be giving this interview.

Qn: Tell us a bit about yourself. How did the writing bug bite you?

DA: I am an electrical engineer from VJTI, Mumbai. I have been working in the IT industry since July 2004. I have worked with Polaris Software Labs Ltd., Mphasis (an HP Company), Citius IT solutions Ltd and am currently working with Hexaware Technologies, Mumbai.I have been through the SDLC (software development life cycle)i.e. I have done Development, Production Support, Testing, Business Analysis and am now in Presales.I am an author of two books – 1) In Their Shoes

Dipen Ambalia

… (released in April 2010)

2) LOSER (Life Of a Software EngineeR) – (already out in the market!. More details on www.aboutloser.com).

 

Qs: This book is about life as a Software Engineer. Are you still a Software Engineer or have you moved on and are now a full time writer?

DA: Yes, I am still a software engineer. Now I am in Presales. I wish to become fulltime writer, depending on the response from my dear readers.

Qn: How did you come up with L.O.S.ER? What inspired you to write this book ‘LOSER’?

DA: I am a big fan of Scott Adams.His2 books – 1) The Dilbert Principle 2) Joy at Work- are excellent work of satire on the marketing and management world in general. One day I thought that since I have been in the IT industry for so long – more than 7 years and have been though the whole SDLC, I am in a good position to make a satire on the IT world and then I wrote LOSER by mixing fiction, experience and exaggerating it to make the whole concoction humorous. So, in short LOSER is a satire on the IT world.

Qs: What can readers expect from your book. It it about a particular person or is it about life of a software engineer in general?

DA: Readers can expect real life situations exaggerated to the core! I have used everyday examples or analogies to explain the IT world. For eg: I have compared Arranged Marriages with the Software Development Life Cycle in the world. This comparison has been appreciated by a lot many readers. Similarly I have compared fictitious reports of the very (in)famous contemporary hindi news channels to the situations in the IT world. These things will surely make readers laugh their backside off! (atleast I hope so ). This book is not about any person in particular. It’s like the common man in the IT industry made to go through the various phases in the IT industry. LOSER is a narrative; i.e. it doesn’t have characters or a story as such. While reading the book, you will (or should ) feel as if I am sitting in front of you and talking to you about the software world (and we both laugh together!)

Qs: Will this book appeal to people who are not software engineers ?

DA: Yes, sure. Every and I mean every person in this country has at least one friend, sister, cousin, uncle or any other relative in the IT world. I as a kid used to wonder how one bhaiyya from my building used to enjoy his life in US and used to bring me chocolates when he used to come to India. I always used to be inquisitive about the life of a software engineer. I think that there would be many such people in this country who would like to know what the software engineers do so as to deserve high salaries. And since this book is a satire on the IT world and hence doesn’t glorify the IT world, it is going to be more fun for the non-IT people to read what the IT people actually do in the IT world!

Qn: Tell us a few factoids of your own life as a software engineer.

DA: I have always maintained a rating of 3 or 4 out of 5. I have never tried to excel at work because to get a rating of 5 out of 5 one has to work very hard/ be the project manager’s pet/ pass off colleagues work as yours, etc. My funda is to enjoy work and personal life and shift jobs in 2-3 years to get the necessary hike!

Qn: What is the best part about L.O.S.E.R?

D.A: The best part of LOSER is the humour generated out of unthinkable exaggerated analogies of real life situations with the IT world. In every chapter, the IT reader would feel “abe, haan yaar, mai to exactly aise hi manager ko ulloo banata hun… “ or “this is how the girl coming from onsite behaves re..” and the non-IT reader would laugh his heart out realizing what his IT friends do every day in office!

Qs: Will Software companies find it difficult to recruit once your book is released.

DA: Hahahaha… not sure. If this book is taken seriously then kuch problem ho sakta hai. But, if LOSER is read in the right spirit, then there won’t be any issues!

Qn: L.O.S.E.R is your second book after “In their shoes” . Could you tell us your experience about writing two books.

D.A: Writing books makes me happy. It gives me a creative relief. My first book “In Their Shoes…” was a serious book trying to highlight how ordinary people try to find out happiness in tough times. “In Their Shoes…” is a book about how the world looks like by being in the shoes of different people. I have taken 17 characters and tried to visualize the world from their angle. There are characters such as – a 24-year-old mentally challenged girl, a broke 77-year-old man thrown out of his own house, a 7-year-old girl – Bindiya- a Drummer’s daughter, an uneducated corrupt politician, etc… In short, this book is: By the ordinary, Of the ordinary & For the ordinary…! I got good reviews from people like Dr.Kiran Bedi and newspapers like Maharashtra Times, Loksatta, Dainik Jagran, Amar Ujala, etc…

LOSER belongs to the humour genre. So, writing this book was itself a fun-loving experience. There were a few chapters where I used to laugh after reading the just-written chapters.

Qn: Who among the present Indian Authors inspires you most.

D.A: As far as serious writing genre is concerned, I like Rohinton Mistry and Sudha Murthy. And on the humour front, I like Scott Adams (creator or Dilbert) and Cyrus Broacha (Karl, aaj aur Kal)

Qs. If you have to give one mantra for all software engineers, what will be it?

D.A: Don’t work so hard that you have waste your life in office to get a rating of 4 or 5 out of 5. Maintain a good balance between personal and professional life, be happy with a rating of 3 out of 5 and switch companies once in 2-3 years to get the necessary raise in salary! Life is not a race. Decide whether you were born to do only coding or something else in life. It’s always good to have a backup plan in life in case you get bored of the IT world one day!

Thank you very much for taking your time out for this interview. We wish that L.O.S.E.R emerges a winner among your readers.
DA: Thanks so much!

 

Grab your copy of LOSER at the Best Price from MySmartPrice.com. Click this link

As if all the help Cupid gives these lazy lucky guys this Valentine isn’t enough, Ecommerce stores have joined the brigade with some awesome deals for the last minute hunter. Unfortunately although i’ve found these amazing deals.. . I haven’t found that Valentine to give it to.

While I listen to Jagjit Singh songs, here is a list of awesome valentine’s day deals for the lucky few.

Yebhi



Yebhi has made a sweet deal for both the gents and ladies with a specialized section on Gifts for Him and Her. No need to sift through unnecessary deals to find your pick. Buy Shirts, watches or perfumes for your Man at discounts ranging from 3%- 50%. Sweep your dame off her feet with jewellery, Bags.

Koovs

Koovs is specializing in Valentine Hampers for this Valentine. Expect gorgeous jewellery , accessories and wonderful skin care products to be available at 20-40% discount.

Infibeam

Infibeam is offering massive discounts on cakes, chocolates and everything nice for NRIs. Now send gifts to your Valentine in India. Expect massive discounts on romantic music, videos too.

LetsBuy

Letsbuy is offering massive discounts for all your gadgets and toys this valentine.

Buy a stuffed Teddy bear for 34% off or watches at 15% off, if you love that special someone  a little more you may want to avail the massive discounts of 20-40% on Smartphones, Cameras and  DVD players

Flipkart

Flipkart is offering its customers a selection of combo packs of Romantic Books this Valentines. Expect massive discounts on all your romantic books from P.S I love you, A walk to remember  to classics like Gone with the Wind. Not just that, Flipkart has gone one step further and made some really good romantic music collections available at discount too.

Now that I’ve found a great Deal, All I need is a good Valentine…

In the mean time I’m reading the Top Romantic Books to woo that special Valentine.