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Consultants at firms like McKinsey, BCG, Bain opt to work on a flexible basis Kartik Dhar, a senior associate consultant spent close to 2.5 years at Bain before taking a six month break in September 2013. He and his IIT batch mate and fellow senior associate consultant Nitish Bhushan are starting-up Clothzy.com, which is an online portal that will connect designers and apparel stores to customers.  Dhar will rejoin Bain this April, but will also be involved with the start--up in a part time role. "I wanted to take some time to do something on my own, and I'm thankful to Bain for giving me this great opportunity to pursue my passion," he says.  His venture, Dhar says, is similar to Zomato, then Foodie Bay, when it was co-founded by ex-Bain consultant Pankaj Chaddah while he was working at Bain in 2008.  Like Dhar, more and more consultants at top firms like McKinsey, BCG, Bain and also those fr

Why Google Bought Nest and What It Could Mean for Your Home Google’s $3.2 billion acquisition of Nest, creator of the smart thermostat and smoke detector, caught many industry watchers by surprise But Google’s move to snap up one of the leading companies in the nascent field of devices that are paving the way for the “Internet of Things” is only surprising if you don’t know what Nest is all about See also: 5 Connected Objects to Smarten Up Your Home For the uninitiated, Nest is a company devoted to making everyday household objects smarter through advanced design and Internet-enabled features Nest CEO Tony Fadell, a former Apple employee who worked on the original iPod, refers to this dynamic as “the conscious home,” an environment in which nearly every formerly mundane and passive device suddenly becomes as advanced and upgradeable as your smartphone

In Depth: Vertical cloud: a dream for highly regulated industries? Cloud computing is being widely adopted by many businesses, however, for some organisations, one of the perceived barriers is the multitude of data regulation. Highly regulated industries such as finance and healthcare have a multitude of laws and rules governing data. For these industries, data ownership is a highly sensitive and extremely important issue which makes implementing cloud technology complex and difficult. For those wanting to take advantage of the benefits of cloud computing, could the answer lie in creating a vertical or community cloud? A vertical cloud would be a public cloud developed and delivered with regulations and compliance geared towards a particular sector. For example, a dedicated healthcare cloud could be created which followed the UK laws regarding patient data. Staying compliant For the finance sector, a cloud which

YouTube launches single management page for checking, responding to, and moderating comments   Just a few months ago, the YouTube Inbox could be used to manage comments from a single page, but when YouTube moved over to the new Google+ commenting system

1 Out Of Every Four Online Shopping Orders Is Returned Online shopping companies may have expanded their business extensively in the last year, but a disturbing fact of returned or cancelled orders has them concerned, indicate a new research. Logistics Company Gati, recently conducted an inventory based research and reached the conclusion that one out of every 4 orders placed on majority of the shopping portals, is returned. Speaking about the phenomenon, Harshall Bhoi, Head, e-Commerce Operations, Gati, said, “Nearly four lakh shipments are delivered across the country every day, 25% of them are returned, making it a growing concern for e-tailers.” Translated it means, about 1 Lakh orders placed via the online portals are either returned or cancelled. Needless to say, such a return-rate is certainly detrimental to the growth prospects of any portal. At present, technology and jewelry SKUs are the most returned items. Ho

Blogging platform Svbtle is now open to all for new signups (Update: back to invite-only access) UPDATE: When contacted, Curtis told TNW that Svbtle is not officially open yet, and the public access was only temporary as part of testing and experiments. As the server has been overloaded, Svbtle has gone back to being invite-only now. However, Curtis says it is likely that within a week or so, the blogging platform will once again open up to everyone — and this time for an extended period. Our original story follows. The blogging platform from designer  Dustin Curtis , Svbtle , was previously only open to a select number of users — you had to make your case via the email address listed on the site before you got a shot at setting up a blog there. However, it is now open to all for new signups . Simply key in your name, provide an email address and a password — and voila you’ve got your new blog. This may not be a permanent set-up though —

Verizon teams up with Oracle, offers middleware for beta cloud Tech giants Verizon and Oracle have announced a partnership whereby customers can use Oracle Database and Oracle Fusion Middleware on Verizon’s cloud. “This deal represents two market leaders coming together to create a compelling cloud offering that will help enterprises succeed in a highly competitive market environment,” Oracle president Mark Hurd trumpeted in a statement. He added: “Combining Verizon’s unique enterprise experience and capabilities with Oracle’s best in class cloud products will provide customers another easy and cost-effective choice for embracing the cloud.” Big words, yes, but what are the facts behind it? It’s worth noting that Verizon Cloud is currently in beta, with the service announced only in October. There’s also no information on when Verizon’s solution will hit full release, but with the latest announcement covering so

Acer to Expand Cloud Platform Acer said its consumer devices will be equipped with a new cloud-computing platform, as the unprofitable Taiwanese PC maker seeks to shift its weight toward software.

Updated: 12 best graphics cards for every budget Top graphics cards: choosing the right one Better than ever, and yet a lot worse. That just about sums up the contradictory, confusing state of PC graphics at the moment. On the one hand, has there ever been more choice than there is today? It's a full-time job keeping up with all the different GPUs, official SKUs, factory overclocked cards and more on the market at the moment. Whatever your budget, and however many pixels you want to pump, there's almost definitely a card that absolutely nails your requirements. Then there's the imminent arrival of the next-gen games consoles from Microsoft and Sony. With them comes the promise of all kinds of knock-on goodness for PC graphics and games. Honestly, it's all good - more on that in a moment. We're also much happier with the current state of graphics than, say, CPUs. With AMD and Nvidia keeping each o

1. Irrelevant Elements By far, the biggest issue I come across with new site launches is this: They use too many elements that bring no real value to the audience. In fact, these often just downgrade user experience considerably. There are too many crowded designs and too much text on one page. There are too many icons and photos. Does your site really need a search bar? Do you really need to show the tag cloud in your blog sidebar? Think hard. What are the 20% of elements that bring 80% of the results you're after? Start there. Always have a sound reason for adding new features, bells and whistles. Never add more stuff just because it seems "cool and hip." - Juha Liikala , Stripped Bare Media 2. Flash Intros Flash intros are annoying for the customer, take too long to load, don't work on Apple mobile devices and are not recognized by Google. It is best to avoid them entirely. - Josh Weiss , Bluegala 3. Photo Carousel A lot of sites stil

Vodafone India Introduces App Platform Vodafone India has  unveiled a platform that will enable all local and international partners and app developers  to build apps and sell them through telephone bills. The Vodafone Developer Platform will give developers access to network resources like subscriber profile, billing, location, messaging, through API access. Vivek Mathur, Chief Operating Officer, at Vodafone India said, “With the growth of smartphones and mobile internet, people are increasingly showing more interest in mobile applications and content services. To strengthen the ecosystem for application developers and content service providers and partner with them, we have launched the developer platform”. Developers interested in using the platform will need need to sign standard set of terms and conditions, which will govern the commercial and others aspects of the developers relationship with Vodafone India.

Five weird gadgets of CES 2014    Along with a host of cool gadgets, every year a number of wacky and weird gadgets too find their way to Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. While some of these are result of good intentions gone, well, a bit awry, a few others are demonstration of an imaginative idea running a bit too wild. We present to you five that really stand out the crazy weird world of CES: Intel Mimo Baby This one is not exactly a product. Instead, Mimo Baby is something that shows off a product - an tiny Intel processor called Edison that is capable of powering sensors which can monitor a baby and relay the information to parents. The clothes Mimo Baby is wearing has two green stripes that senses how it the baby is breathing. There is also a tiny square box with more sensors inside. It clips to clothes. The information these sensors collect can be seen on a smartphone, which means even if parents are not arou

11 cool gadgets of CES 2014 The recently-concluded Consumer Electronics Show was full of latest gadgets. Many of them were just proof of concept. Almost half of them would not come to the market. Many would hit the market but might take months, or even years, before you could buy them. But let's not worry about that. For now, take a look at 10 gadgets that we feel stood out in the crowded world of CES: Sony Xperia Z1 Compact There is a sizeable number of mobile users who love high-end Android phone but hate the big screens these devices have. Instead they want an iPhone like Android phone. Xperia Compact is a phone made for these users. Its size is similar to iPhone and unlike other small Android phones, it holds nothing back and packs in cutting-end hardware, including a 20.7MP camera. Pebble Steel One of the most popular smartwatches got a little chic this year. Pebble is putting a steal (or leather strap, if y

How to sync iCloud with non-Apple devices Apple's iCloud service for synchronizing personal data across devices is designed to work best with Apple's own hardware, but the company has software that brings iCloud to Windows computers too. As for using the calendar on an Android or another non-Apple portable device, you may be able to find apps or workarounds to help.  You can find Apple's instructions for setting up the full iCloud service on a Windows computer at apple.com/icloud/setup/pc.html; calendar updates are pushed to Microsoft Outlook on a PC. You can also log in to the family calendar with a desktop web browser (like internet Explorer, Firefox or Chrome) at icloud. com/#calendar from a Windows PC.    You may get error messages about having an unsupported browser if you try to log into the iCloud website from a mobile device, but apps like Smooth Sync for Cloud Calendar (available for less

PayPal revamps online payment process EBay's payments service PayPal has redesigned its online checkout process to let shoppers complete their payment on merchants' websites, rather than go to a separate PayPal site.  Simplifying the checkout process -- and having shoppers stay on an e-commerce site rather than click over to a separate PayPal page -- means they are more likely to complete the transaction. That could also mean more people will use PayPal.  PayPal said that it is testing out the new checkout process with a few merchants and will make it available to large businesses in the first half of this year. Medium- and small-sized businesses will also be able to use it down the line.  In addition, PayPal said it will make its " payment code" feature available to merchants that accept Discover cards or use Micros payments systems, starting in February. The feature lets shoppers pay f

Digital Marketing - Adapting To Change With the Internet revolutionising conventional marketing techniques,Digital marketing today has occupied the forefront. This has primarily accelerated business growth by catering to the diverse and dynamic needs of new ventures. In an economy which contributes to fluctuating marketing spends, and with a growing population that possess disposable income, and an attachment to technology, digital marketing is growing to be a preferred and viable option for both small and big scale enterprises to bank on.Now the question remains, “How effectively do we implement digital marketing strategies and how do we deliver the right impact?” One would wonder, how important digital marketing is in today’s industry. Let us begin with an example of where digital marketing is applicable. How impressive is the image sitemap? Is it compatible with the iPad version? How do we improve quality score and

Interview: SaaS, PaaS and IaaS: which cloud service model is for you?    The cloud has had a transformational impact on businesses of all sizes - from small and midsized businesses (SMBs) to large enterprises - and it's showing no signs of slowing down. According to analyst house Gartner, the use of cloud computing is still growing and will become the bulk of new IT spend by 2016, a year that the company predicts will see hybrid cloud overtake private cloud, with nearly half of large enterprises having deployments by the end of 2017. Despite its high uptake, the most suitable route into the cloud is not always so clear cut for many organisations moving on from the tried and tested client-server model. To shed light on the advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing's three main service delivery models - software-as-a-service (SaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS) and infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) - we spoke

Twitter Co-Founder's 'Jelly' Could Revolutionize Peer-Based Searching Micro-Blogging Network Twitter’s Co-Founder, Biz Stone has unveiled, Jelly, an attempt to realign the ‘Search’ with more social parameters. What’s the intention behind search? The co-founder realized early on that Search, as an activity, has traditionally been executed among humans, rather than being an exchange between a man and machine. Available as smartphone app, Jelly seeks to improve upon the way people search for and find information, by querying actual people instead of internet search engines. Essentially the platform attempts to shift information mining by enhancing inter-human communication instead of letting search be dominated by sophisticated, but automated search algorithms. Is Biz Stone thinking of competing with Google? There’s no doubt that Google is the leader in search engines today. By routinely updating search

Google Buys Nest for $3.2 Billion in Cash Google has entered into an agreement to acquire Nest, the business behind the smart thermostat and smoke detector, for $3.2 billion in cash. “They’re already delivering amazing products you can buy right now—thermostats that save energy and smoke/CO alarms that can help keep your family safe,' Larry Page, cofounder and CEO of Google, said in a statement. 'We are excited to bring great experiences to more homes in more countries and fulfill their dreams!” See also: How Nest and Smart Technologies Are Re-Inventing Climate Control Nest was founded by Tony Fadell, a former Apple employee who is credited with being the brains behind the iPod, in 2010. Fadell will continue to run Nest and the company will operate as a standalone brand under Google.

Hands-on with the Lenovo ThinkPad 8-a tablet that means business Driving two monitors through a USB 3.0 dock, the ThinkPad 8 is the tablet that thinks it's a desktop. Sean Gallagher    As CES was ending last week, I got a chance to pick up Lenovo’s new ThinkPad 8, an 8-plus-inch tablet that bridges the worlds of handheld and desktop. Designed for business use, the ThinkPad 8 is a little heavier than similarly sized tablets, and it doesn’t have all of the bells and whistles of strictly consumer options. But it does exceed the field as it can also plug into a USB 3.0 dock and become a respectable desktop machine—and it’s the first Windows 8 pure tablet that has made me think I might actually want a Windows tablet. There are a few things that are fairly average about the ThinkPad 8. Its eight-hour battery life, when taken out of context, is pretty much standard in the Windows tablet field rig

Google Brings Shoppable Hangout To India Via Myntra Google wants you to enjoy shopping with your friends with its latest initiative. The internet giant has teamed up with online fashion store Myntra to unveil  ’Shoppable Hangout’ that enables users to interact with each other and shop online simultaneously. The hangout which will be Asia’s first,will kick-start from January 20 and will be hosted by Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan. The actor who recently introduced  HRX, a private label for casual wear, will ‘hangout on air,’ on Myntra’s Youtube channel and other users will be able to talk to the star. Speaking on the occasion, Vikas Ahuja, CMO, Myntra said, “We are proud to present Asia’s first ever Shoppable Hangout in association with Google. Marrying the power of technology, social media, and e-commerce, we will provide our customers a novel, more personal, and interactive way to shop online on Myntra.com. In this

Apple to relaunch 8GB version of iPhone 4 in India as sales lag Apple is set to relaunch the 8GB version of the iPhone 4 in the Indian market after losing sales and market share in the middle segment to rival Samsung in the last quarter after pulling out the model as part of a global strategy. The US company, pressing hard to raise its market share in India, will price the device at around 15,000 through buyback and EMI schemes compared with its old retail price of Rs 26,500, Apple's four top trade partners in India said requesting anonymity due to confidentiality clauses. The model launched three years ago has been succeeded by the 4S, 5, 5c and 5s, the last of which starts at Rs 53,500. Since Apple stopped production of the iPhone 4 last August-September, the company is likely to source unsold inventory of the model from around the globe for the Indian market. However, this could not be independently verif

Women lag behind men by Rs 3.8 lakh in terms of pay: Study High-potential women in India's technology sector begin their careers on an equal footing with men, with aspirations similar to the highest levels including that of CEO. Despite this very promising start, a gender gap over the years results in women earning less and receiving fewer opportunities that lead to fewer women in critical senior-level positions and a pay gap that expands over time, according to a Catalyst report. The report, 'High Potentials under High Pressure in India's Technology Sector', examined 713 high-potential women and men working full time in high-tech organisations and/or technology roles in India. Of these, 31% were women, and 69% were men. The average age was 33. Globally, women MBAs start at lower positions and pay ($4,600 less on average) than male counterparts, while India Inc's high potential women and men in techno

What Secrets Your Phone Is Sharing About You Turnstyle's founder Chris Gilpin: 'We know there is more value to be extracted from this data. But we're wanting to move cautiously....' Brett Gundlock for The Wall Street Journal Fan Zhang, the owner of Happy Child, a trendy Asian restaurant in downtown Toronto, knows that 170 of his customers went clubbing in November. He knows that 250 went to the gym that month, and that 216 came in from Yorkville, an upscale neighborhood. Businesses are tracking their customers and building profiles of their daily habits using a network of startups that have placed sensors in restaurants, yoga studios and other sites. Chris Gilpin, founder of one such site, Turnstyle, joins the News Hub. And he gleans this information without his customers' knowledge, or ever asking them a single question. Mr.