What's the Difference Between 3G and 4G?

If you've ever researched a smartphone purchase, the terms 3G and 4G have probably shown up on your radar at some point. Both refer to a connection method for mobile devices and a "generation" of mobile technology.

The first generation of mobile phone technology (1G) refers to the initial analog signal that was the backbone of mobile connectivity. The transition to second generation (2G) was characterized by the shift from analog signal to digital. The last popular phone to make use of 2G technology was the original iPhone in 2007, although 3G technology was already widely available.

Introduced in 2001 and brought to consumer use in 2003, third generation (3G) mobile technology became the successor to 2G and ushered in the era of the smartphone. 3G capability was originally made available to the market through devices geared towards business users, such as BlackBerry and Palm mobile phone products. We currently stand on the bridge between 3G and 4G, and we'll discuss why you may want to hold off on that 4G upgrade for a little while longer.

3G: Today's standard3G represents a period in the timeline of mobile phone technology. Most mobile phones today run on some type of 3G network (depending on carrier) for their voice and data access. This access makes possible advanced phone functionality such as smartphone features of email, media streaming and downloading, and web browsing.

Theoretically, 3G speeds can reach up to 3 Megabits per second (Mbps), with average speeds tending to be closer to 1Mbps or lower. This means 1 million bits, or 125,000 bytes, of data are being transferred per second in equivalent speeds to most standard home DSL internet connections. At this download speed, it takes roughly 1 to 2 minutes to download a 4-minute MP3 file. 3G coverage spans most of the continental United States, with heavier coverage around major metropolitan areas.

4G: The speed of what's just aheadMost technologies branded as 4G aren't quite 4G systems, but a late form of the 3G technology more commonly called "Pre-4G." 4G development focuses around achieving ultra-broadband speeds, competing with and in some cases outstripping the speeds provided by your home internet connection.

These goals make 4G ideal for the mobile consumer who is seeking to replace a wifi network with speed-equivalent or faster mobile technology through smartphone tethering or mobile broadband devices. 4G average speeds are targeted to be in the 100Mbps to 1Gbps range, roughly 10 to 100 times (dependent on location) faster than 3G networks. At that rate, that 4-minute MP3 download would take you mere seconds.

The current iterations that attempt to reach 4G standards are referred to as Pre-4G because they do not yet reach these data rates. Even Sprint, the company with the apparent leg up in the 4G race, doesn't yet offer true 4G on its 4G devices. Sprint's service technically falls into the pre-4G category, along with Verizon's newly launched 4G network.

There is only one U.S. carrier that is offering true 4G service: Sprint. Sprint currently has two mobile phones, the HTC Evo and the Samsung Epic, which have been benchmarked to achieve speeds 10 times faster than 3G; coverage is still limited to major metropolitan cities. Outside of these areas, data speeds revert to 3G.

Tip of the day!

Glass, steel, and ceramic containers are safer for storing food and water compared to plastic containers.

Top 5 Qualities of a Good Entrepreneur

To be an entrepreneur is all about moving outside the comfort zone and then satisfying that urge of starting something new.

This is what people like Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Azim Premji did. But to carve a niche for yourself, you need to have those qualities which differentiate you from a normal career-man.
Let's take a look at them

Be Aware (and prepared) for the Risks Involved

A good number of people prefer not be an entrepreneur either because they prefer the comfort of a supervisor telling them what to do or because the fear the consequences if their venture goes wrong. Well, let's be honest, there are risks involved in being an entrepreneur. If you plan to step into this territory then you must be prepared for them.

Put on your “Creativity” Hat

While most people would do things in the same run-of-the-mill way, as an entrepreneur you need to think a bit differently and do things the smart way. An idea can actually change your life (and many other lives). Never ignore an idea. If you come across hundred different ideas, chances are that only 5 out of them would be worthwhile. But without those hundred less effective ideas, you won't find the five great ideas.
Also, try and think differently. For example, you see people are tired of eating fruits and vegetables to meet their nutritional needs, set up a plant which manufactures multi-vitamin tablets. Don't know how to meet single women? Try online dating.

Discipline

As an entrepreneur, you'll stumble upon many opportunities. Not only you need to grab them, you should also treat them with discipline and thus do complete justice to them. Mark Zuckerberg didn't build Facebook over a cup of coffee. Like him, you too have to be persistent in your efforts and not let the zeal diminish. A flimsy approach towards thing is quite likely to lead you nowhere.

Hard Work

Remember, there are no short cuts to success and no alternatives to hard work. Entrepreneurs should be doers and go-getters. If you are one of those who laze around a lot, then entrepreneurship is not for you. If you've picked up entrepreneurship, then you definitely need to choose between it and your bad habit of being slothful.

Having that “Vision”

It's something very critical for an entrepreneur. He should have the insight and determination to march forward and at the same time have an idea about his destination. He should not only be able to motivate himself, he also needs to be a guiding light for the people involved in his project. (MensXP.com)

Sony unveils its first tablets S1 and S2

Sony Corp. a laggard in the booming tablet market unveiled two tablet computers, the S1 and S2, in an ambitious attempt to grab second place in the market created and still dominated by Apple's iPad.

Live right, stop cancers

It Is a matter of concern to see a steady rise in cancers among women in recent years. It is unfortunate that women in their 30s, who do not have any family history, are suffering from cancers unlike in the old days when cancer was considered an age-related ailment. Clearly, urban living is taking its toll.

Simple preventive actions can reduce some of these risk factors.

Environment
Pollution is known to be one of the contributors for cancer, for example, pesticides in farming.
Stay safe: Choose a relatively clean area to live in. Limit exposure to pollution by using non-polluting modes of transport like the underground. Find out the source of your produce, poultry and fish. Organic food is a good option.
Diet
A fat-rich diet can be a contributor to cancer. The younger generation swaps green leafy vegetables, dietary fibre and whole foods for fast, packaged, heat-and-eat food which contain additivies and preservatives (carcinogens).
Stay safe: Eat home-cooked food with plenty of fibre (35 g/day) and whole foods. Green leafy vegetables, pulses and oats are a good source of fibre. Avoid refined sugar, flour, white bread, pasta, fries and other fatty foods.

Lifestyle
Tobacco is a major contributor to head and neck cancers. It can affect other organs as well. Smoking is a major cause of cancers. Passive smoking is known to expose women to non-small cell lung cancers. Avoiding breastfeeding is counter-productive as is the use of unhygienic sanitary napkins (exposure to infection and cervical cancers). Certain oral contraceptive pills (OCPs) and hormone replacement therapies (HRTs) can make patients vulnerable to cancer (although recent studies have actually proved the opposite). Delayed age of conception and obesity are also considered risk factors.
Stay safe: Stop smoking, plan your family early and make it a point to breastfeed your baby. Consult your gynaecologist before considering OCP and HRT. Make sure you exercise regularly and maintain a healthy weight.

My top tip
Move to clean, organic food; adopt a healthy lifestyle and schedule an annual check-up especially if you are above 40. You pay more upfront, but the costs are lower in the long term.

Huge rare earth deposits found in Pacific: Japan

Photo illustration of bastnaesite mineral containing rare earth from the United States, …
TOKYO (Reuters) - Vast deposits of rare earth minerals, crucial in making high-tech electronics products, have been found on the floor of the Pacific Ocean and can be readily extracted, Japanese scientists said on Monday.
"The deposits have a heavy concentration of rare earths. Just one square kilometer (0.4 square mile) of deposits will be able to provide one-fifth of the current global annual consumption," said Yasuhiro Kato, an associate professor of earth science at the University of Tokyo.
The discovery was made by a team led by Kato and including researchers from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology.
They found the minerals in sea mud extracted from depths of 3,500 to 6,000 meters (11,500-20,000 ft) below the ocean surface at 78 locations. One-third of the sites yielded rich contents of rare earths and the metal yttrium, Kato said in a telephone interview.
The deposits are in international waters in an area stretching east and west of Hawaii, as well as east of Tahiti in French Polynesia, he said.
He estimated rare earths contained in the deposits amounted to 80 to 100 billion tonnes, compared to global reserves currently confirmed by the U.S. Geological Survey of just 110 million tonnes that have been found mainly in China, Russia and other former Soviet countries, and the United States.
Details of the discovery were published on Monday in the online version of British journal Nature Geoscience.
The level of uranium and thorium -- radioactive ingredients that are usually contained in such deposits that can pose environmental hazards -- was found to be one-fifth of those in deposits on land, Kato said.
A chronic shortage of rare earths, vital for making a range of high-technology electronics, magnets and batteries, has encouraged mining projects for them in recent years.
China, which accounts for 97 percent of global rare earth supplies, has been tightening trade in the strategic metals, sparking an explosion in prices.
Japan, which accounts for a third of global demand, has been stung badly, and has been looking to diversify its supply sources, particularly of heavy rare earths such as dysprosium used in magnets.
Kato said the sea mud was especially rich in heavier rare earths such as gadolinium, lutetium, terbium and dysprosium.
"These are used to manufacture flat-screen TVs, LED (light-emitting diode) valves, and hybrid cars," he said.
Extracting the deposits requires pumping up material from the ocean floor. "Sea mud can be brought up to ships and we can extract rare earths right there using simple acid leaching," he said.
"Using diluted acid, the process is fast, and within a few hours we can extract 80-90 percent of rare earths from the mud."
The team found that sites close to Hawaii and Tahiti were especially rich in rare earths, he said.
He gave no estimate of when extraction of the materials from the seabed might start.
(Reporting by El Tan in Hong Kong and Yuko Inoue in Tokyo; Editing by Michael Watson)

London, July 18 (IANS) A flying car which usually finds its mention in children books or animated cartoon movies, may soon become a reality in Britain.

Aviation experts are saying a flying car could be in regular use in Britain within five years after a model was formally approved by US authorities, Daily Mail reported Monday.

The $250,000 Terrafugia Transition is a two-seater aircraft, which has a top speed of 115 mph, a range of 500 miles on a tank of fuel and requires just 20 hours training to fly.

The car, at the touch of a button, takes just 15 seconds for its wings to fold up automatically and the power to be re-routed from the propeller to the rear wheels.

It can then be driven at up to 65 mph and will comfortably fit in a standard size garage.

'It's like a little Transformer,' said Terrafugia founder Carl Dietrich, referring to the children's toys that were turned into a blockbuster movie franchise.

Although aimed primarily at buyers in the US where there are plenty of airstrips and 600 'fly-in' communities - Boeing 707 owner John Travolta being the best-known fan - more than 20 Britons have already declared an interest in the carbon-fibre vehicle.

The dealmaker

Having transformed a village in Uttar Pradesh so much so that it's now called Snapdeal.com Nagar, the e-commerce specialist, Kunal Bahl tells us how its done.

The start up
There weren't many career options I explored beyond academics growing up. I went to school at Delhi Public School RK Puram, New Delhi. We grew up in a middle class family and there was no concept of pocket money. But, if we wanted something, it was usually not refused, as long as the request was reasonable.
There was a significant focus on academics in our household from the beginning, and this discipline probably ensured that both my brother and I ended up doing reasonably well at studies. He went on to go to IIT-Delhi and then IIMCalcutta. I went to Wharton, which is honestly, something I regret in hindsight. But, it's never too late.
Nerves of steel
Entrepreneurship at a young age, especially if you have a good academic background, is a fairly irrational decision, because the short team economic opportunity costs as a result of becoming an entrepreneur would never make sense otherwise.
We faced every kind of challenge-funds, hiring good people, finding the right business model, dealing with daily problems, convincing potential partners that wisdom doesn't only come with age and 24 year olds can be good at something too. For both, me and my friend and co-founder, Rohit Bansal, giving up was never an option. After a certain point, we didn't know of a life outside building our company.
It was challenging, and continues to be. Rohit and my biggest contribution to our business is the team we built. Many respected people in the industry often tell us that Snapdeal has the best team in the Internet industry in India, and that's of course just not Rohit and I - it's our entire team of rockstar professionals.
Lose some, get some
Sacrifices are part of life and definitely a part of building a business. Both Rohit and I try our best to take time off to go on a vacation once or twice a year, or a Sunday off and play video games. We still go out for frequent dinners after work, which has been a ritual since the early days of the business. I would go as far as to say that our friendship when we first met in class 11th over a decade ago was based on our mutual love for food.
To be honest, professional life does take over most things, but as long as you are having fun, it doesn't really matter. One should spend time doing what they love and lead a regretless life. And for us that special thing is our company.
The good samaritan
We always wanted to build a socially responsible company, and recently we came across a situation where we found out about a village in Uttar Pradesh. The village has approximately 2,000 residents (about 650 families) and didn't even have access to basic necessities like water. We realised that we could solve this problem very easily. By investing a reasonably small amount of Rs 2 to Rs 3 lakh, we installed 15 hand pumps so that instead of walking 1 km everyday, the villagers now have easy access to clean water within 50-100m of their homes.
I spent a couple of days in the village, interacting with the villagers, and trying to understand how we can further help them, and how this initiative of ours, changed their lives. The community wanted to extend its gratitude through the gesture of renaming their village after our company to Snapdeal.com Nagar. One of our colleague's family hails from a place very close to Shiv Nagar and that is how the problems of the community were brought to our attention.
Food, movies and books
I love food and right now, I am experimenting with some innovative food related concepts, which may eventually be commercialised, but that is not the intent with which I am pursuing them. So, there is a lot of experimentation that is happening in my kitchen. In addition to food, I like reading and travelling, but my undying love is movies. Hopefully, one day I can write a book, which I can make a movie about. Now that would be something.