CIVIL SERVICES HELP: Jun 18, 2008

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Firefox web browser | Features: Faster, more secure, & customizable

Mozilla firefox 3

Must have: Firefox 3

When the Mozilla Foundation, the team behind the popular Firefox internet browser, launched Firefox 3 on Tuesday, the company's servers crashed under the weight of people attempting to download the software.

And looking at the latest version of this web explorer, it's not hard to see why. Firefox 3 turbo-charges the internet browsing experience, using up less of the computer's memory to display web pages in the blink of an eye.

It also offers one-click bookmarking, the ability to zoom in and easily out of areas on a web page, near limitless customisation and personalisation, and a handy password manager.

But the piece de resistance is the so-called "Awesome Bar", which provides a quick way to the sites you love - even if you can't remember the address - by matching your search term with words that have appeared in websites you've previously visited.

Firefox Features

Enough good stuff to change the way you use the Web.

Tags

Label a site with names or categories that are meaningful to you. For example, you can label the site www.bbc.co.uk with the "news" tag as well as the "foreign investments" tag, plus give www.nytimes.com the "news" tag, too. When you enter "news" into the location bar, both sites will be shown as results. A single site can have multiple tags, and there's no limit to the number of tags you can create. You may not remember the exact name of a site, but with a tag, you'll be able to find it in a way that makes sense to you.

Smart Location Bar

A quick way to get to the sites you love—even the ones with addresses you only vaguely remember. The new Firefox 3 location bar learns as you use it—it's so highly evolved that we like to call it the "Awesome Bar". Over time, it adapts to your preferences and offers better fitting matches. Type in a term and the autocomplete function includes possible matching sites from your browsing history, as well as sites you've bookmarked and tagged in a drop down. For example, you could enter the tag: "investments" to find "www.fool.com". Matched terms are highlighted, making the list of results easy to scan.

One-Click Bookmarking

Manage your bookmarks a lot or a little. One click on the star icon at the end of the location bar bookmarks a site. Two clicks and you can choose where to save it and whether to tag it. File bookmarked sites in easy-to-access folders and organize according to theme (like "job search" or "favorite shopping"). Find your bookmarked sites in a flash by entering the tag, page or bookmark name into the location bar. The more you use your tags and bookmark names in the location bar, the more the system will adapt to your preferences.

Smart Bookmark Folders

These dynamic folders give you easy access to your favorite sites and can be placed in your Bookmarks menu or Bookmarks toolbar. We've included some for you as defaults, including one that shows you the sites you visit most frequently (create your own by saving your searches in the Library).

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Security & Privacy

Instant Web Site ID

Want to be extra sure about a site's legitimacy before you make a purchase? Click on a site favicon for an instant identity overview. Another click digs deeper: how many times have you visited? Are your passwords saved? Check up on suspicious sites, avoid Web forgeries and make sure a site is what it claims to be.

Anti-Malware

Firefox 3 protects you from viruses, worms, trojan horses and spyware. If you accidentally access an attack site, you'll receive a full-sized browser message as a warning. A continuously updated list of attack-sites tells us when to stop you from browsing, so there's nothing for you to update or maintain.

Anti-Phishing

Shop and do business safely on the Internet. Firefox gets a fresh update of web forgery sites 48 times in a day, so if you try to visit a fraudulent site that's pretending to be a site you trust (like your bank), a browser message—big as life—will stop you.

Parental Controls

Enforce parental control settings you've entered on Windows Vista with Firefox 3—stop unwanted downloads and more. Firefox's intuitive design keeps you from second-guessing your setup.

Anti-Virus Software

Firefox 3 integrates elegantly with your antivirus software. When you download a file, your computer's antivirus program automatically checks it to protect you against viruses and other malware, which could otherwise attack your computer. [available in Windows only]

Add-ons

Firefox looks for a secure connection before installing or updating add-ons, 3rd party software, and Personas.

Password Manager

We've seamlessly integrated this feature into your surfing experience. Choose to "remember" site passwords without intrusive pop-ups. Now you'll see the "remember password" notification integrated into your view at the top of the site page.

Clear Private Data

Clear your private data automatically—with just one click or a keyboard shortcut. Your info is gone for good—on your own computer or the one at your local library. It's that easy.

Customized Security Settings

Control the level of scrutiny you'd like Firefox to give a site and enter exceptions—sites that don't need the third degree. Customize settings for passwords, cookies, loading images and installing add-ons for a fully empowered Web experience.

Automated Update

Our open-source security strategy lets us find—and fix—security issues in record time, making Firefox the safest way to surf. Install upgrades when you receive automatic notification or wait until you're ready.

Pop-Up Blocker

Banish pop-ups (and pop-under windows) from your surfing experience once and for all. Or, find a happy medium—choose to view blocked pop-ups or create an "allow" list of sites whose pop-ups you're okay with seeing.

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Customization

Add-ons Manager

You can now find and install add-ons directly in your browser. You no longer need to visit the add-ons Web site, simply fire up the new Add-ons Manager. Not sure which add-on is right for you? Ratings, recommendations, descriptions and pictures of the add-ons in action help you make your selection. The fully integrated Add-ons Manager even lets you view, manage and disable third-party add-ons in a few easy clicks.

Over 5,000 ways to customize

The sky's the limit with a growing library of over 5,000 Firefox Add-ons, little extras you choose to download and install for a browser that works your way. Manage online auctions, upload digital photos, see the weather forecast in a glance and listen to music all from the convenience of your browser. There's no need to open a new window or tab for each task. Discover add-ons that help you streamline coding and Web development, like Firebug, which lets you look deep into the structure of a web page.

Browser Look & Feel

Dress up your browser as you like it. With themes, choose a darkened control panel reminiscent of a space ship, faux wood paneling, or hundreds of other unique looks to surround your surfing. With Personas, add a simple, lightweight "skin" to your browser in an instant. (Personas is a Mozilla Labs project.)

Beyond Add-ons

Add-ons are the cornerstone of customization, but adapting Firefox to suit your style doesn't stop there. You can add new search engines, change toolbar preferences, display different sizes, shapes and styles for your browser's navigation buttons and more. With additional preferences, you can specify a Web mail client, such as Gmail, to open up when you click on an address from a Web page or set up a news reader application for the blogs you encounter.

Productivity

Platform-Native Look & Feel

The new Firefox looks and feels like home. Think of it as a Firefox who's really good at making friends. Whether you use Windows Vista, Windows XP, Mac or Linux, the browser seamlessly integrates into your computer's environment. A native look makes for a flawless interface that never gives you pause.

Feed Reader

You can read feeds using an online Web service, a client-side feed reader or by creating a Firefox Live Bookmark. So there's no need to comb the Web for the latest news and updates. See the latest headlines in the toolbar or menu and go directly to the articles that catch your eye.

Download Manager

An all new manager lets you download seamlessly, with even greater security. A pause and resume feature means there's no need to wait for a download to finish before you disconnect. So, if you're halfway through the latest White Stripes album and it's time to catch the bus, just pause and pick up downloading when you get home. The resume function also works if your system crashes or is forced to restart. The manager shows your download progress and lets you search your files by name or the Web address where the download came from.

Spell Checking

A built-in spell checker lets you enter text directly into Web pages— like blog posts and Web-based email—without worrying about typos and misspellings. Work directly with the Web and save yourself a step.

Session Restore

If Firefox unexpectedly closes, you don't have to spend time recovering data or retracing your steps through the Web. If you're in the middle of typing an email, you'll pick up where you left off, even down to the last word you typed. Session Restore instantly brings back your windows and tabs, restoring text you entered and any in-progress downloads. Restart the browser without losing your place after you install an add-on or software update.

Full Zoom

Visit your favorite news page and read the caption under the picture—or view the picture itself in a size you can see. An elegant new zoom feature lets you swoop in and see entire web pages. They scale in the way you'd expect them to, with all the elements of a page's layout expanding equally, so you can zero in on what matters.

Image Loading

If you want to save time and bandwidth, view a site without images. Firefox will remember your setting the next time you view the page.

Smart Keywords

Search the Web in record time with smart keywords. With a few clicks you can assign keywords to search engines, and then simply enter your key and search words in the location bar. With this feature, typing "book home building" can search Amazon.com, and take you right to books about home building without ever pausing at the homepage.

Search Suggestions

Start typing in the search bar and it will prompt you with a drop down of filled-in suggestions, plus you can use the search bar as a calculator, converter and more.

Integrated Web Search

Searching the Web is a breeze with the search box inline, just to the right of your location bar. Use the web engine of your choice to search by typing directly into the box. The width is adjustable so you can make it bigger if you need more space.

Hundreds of Search Engines

Access your favorite search engines quickly from the integrated search bar. You can use a new engine for each search, or stick to your favorite. Choose from a preset dropdown list of engines or select "manage search engines" from the same list to browse search engine options offered as add-ons. Check out your choices now.

Find

The find feature appears in a keystroke. Search for a word or phrase on an open Web page. Highlight text before using the feature and finder opens pre-filled with your selection. See all instances of your search at once, or scroll backwards and forwards through the appearances of the word on the page.

Tabs

Save on Exit

Now when you open Firefox, your tabs and windows look just like they did when you closed it down. No need to reopen all your windows each time you start a session.

Tabs

At first glance, they look like little labels living above the site you're currently visiting. But they are a brilliant way to browse multiple sites at once. Simple and easy, you can think of them as the electronic version of a well kept filing cabinet, with the tabs as the dividers and the sites as the content kept in folders. Each new site appears as a new tab (not a new window) and can be accessed in one click.

Reopen Closed Tabs

If you accidentally close a tab, you can reopen it in one click. Just view Recently Closed Tabs in the History menu and select the tab you'd like to reopen.

Drag & Reorder Tabs

Get your sites in order. Simply arrange the order of your tabs by dragging them in one swift move of your mouse.

Smooth Scrolling

Like to have all 20 of your favorite pages open at once? An elegant new feature lets you scroll through tabs easily to see them

Universal Access

Universal Customization

Go beyond translation and experience the web in a way that makes sense to you. Local developers who know what's best for their community have customized your Firefox browsing experience with local dictionaries, search providers, live bookmarks and Web feeds. Depending on where you live, you'll see things like BBC headlines tailored to your region or experience features that work with Baidu, the Chinese search engine.

The Language of Firefox

Firefox speaks your language like no other browser on earth. Because the Web is a worldwide resource and we believe that resource belongs to the people, we've made our browser available in as many local languages as possible. We have over 40 different translations, from French and Chinese to Finnish and Czech. Find your language.

Emphasis on Accessibility

By minimizing keystrokes, allowing users to zoom in on Web pages and supporting screen readers, Firefox is that much easier to use for those with mobility disabilities and visual impairments.

Improved Text Rendering

Read your language as it's written—more like real life. With a new graphics engine, Arabic, Persian, Punjabi and other script languages now render in a remarkably seamless way.

Performance

Improved Memory Management

With all new management functions in place, Firefox 3 keeps memory usage under control. The XPCOM cycle collector continuously cleans up unused memory. Plus, hundreds of memory leaks are now remedied.

Faster JavaScript

Firefox now empowers even greater Web development, with JavaScript 1.8—including expression closures, generator expression and array reduce.

Smaller Memory Footprint

Short and sweet, Firefox now uses less of your computer's memory while it's running.

Faster Page Load

A redesigned page rendering and layout engine means you see Web pages faster—and in the way they were meant to be seen.

Graphics Engine Improvements

Improved text rendering is just the beginning of the benefits of an all new graphic engine for Firefox 3.

Standards

Advanced Graphics

You have to see it to believe it. The rendering of text and graphics, including SVG and Canvas, is faster, sharper and more true-to-life than ever before, thanks to our new graphics engine.

Online Application Support

Expand the power of Web-based applications. In the past you'd click on an email address in a Web site and your computer's default email application would open up to send a message to the linked address—even if you never email through the program. Now you can choose a Web mail clients (like Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo! Mail) to launch when you click on that email address.

Support for Advanced Web Technologies

Brand new and enhanced functionalities enable Web site authors and developers to create advanced content and applications. Support is now available for CSS, ACID2, MathML, ECMAScript 4, Animated Portable Network Graphics (APNG) and Microformats, to name a few.

Color Profile Support

Photographers and photo fans, your view of the Web from Firefox just gets better. You can choose to enable top-of-the-line image display which uses technical data, like the amount of light available and relevant distance information, to render images in an amazing new way.

Offline Browsing

Take your computer offline and still have information at your fingertips. Certain enabled sites may allow applications—like your Web-based email—to stay with you at all times. Many sites are not yet configured to work with this feature. Learn more about what works and what doesn't.

Help

Live Support

Firefox experts waiting on stand-by to help you with questions that simply demand a live person and a real conversation. Now you can chat with knowledgeable Firefox community members who troubleshoot via our live chat site. You won't be put on hold or have to wait for a response—solve your problem on the spot.

Firefox Support

Help is right where you would expect it, as well as a few places you might not. A link at the top of your browser takes you to a support site with the answers you'll need. Want to dig deeper—or have a really tough question?

Tips for a happy and successful life

Ive seen this article in a website i want to share it with you guys.

Tips for happy and Successful life
Each and everyone wishes to have a successful life in his world, including yourself. We must know at least some factors that influence the success.

Whatever you are, you are unique. You can certainly make a significant mark. You must wake up and take up the challenge. You will definitely come up in life.

We usually say that a certain person, who was insignificant earlier, is now earning millions of dollars/ rupees and another person who had been very poor before, later on got educated with other's charity and now become international fame. May be they are very lucky people. Let them be so.

The golden word is: "Hard work is another name for luck. Leave nothing to chance".

Whatever be your status to start with, you must work hard sincerely and should become a great person, so that not only your family, the village/ town and the country should feel proud of you as the great son of the soil. So be prepared and rest assured.

How to lead a happy and successful life?

1. Be modest, face the dangers with valor
2. Anger be replaced by endurance, have a chaste-living.
3. Never bother about the past (impossible to change it), instead learning a lesson from the past and not to commit the same mistakes are the essential qualities of a wise man.

4. Know your strengths: These are the plus points and some of them are given below:

A. You have good health and able to get sound sleep every night,
B. You have the tenacity of the purpose,
C. You are well educated and the intention to acquire further knowledge in your field / profession
D. You have conversational skills
E. You are indifferent to criticism by others
F. You are very pragmatic and not mere day –dreamer
G. You have good family back ground
H. You have the leadership qualities,
I. You are ready to work any where and can maintain good relationship with the public.

5. Know your weaknesses (if you got any) also and try to overcome them:

Following are some of the weaknesses normally present in many persons:

1. Having laziness
1. Not able to express your views clearly and people cannot understand you properly
2. Not able to control your anger
3. You develop jealousy if others are successful
4. Finding fault with every person
5. You feel that, you physically not so attractive
6. Having the tendency of showing partiality towards your community people
7. You feel upset, if others criticize you
8. Not able to get rid of bad company of friends, etc.

Remember you have to do careful introspection to correctly identify your weaknesses and sincerely try to remove them from you, either by meditation or by taking counseling from experts.

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Books for public administration

REFERENCE BOOKS FOR PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION :

1. Indian Administration - Ramesh K. Arora & Rajni Goyal.
2. Indian Administration - S.R. Maheswari.
3. Administrative Theory - Avasti & Avasti
4. Public Administration - Avasti & Maheswari.
5. Administrative Thinkers - R. Prasad and Prasad.
6. Administrative Thinkers - S.R. Maheswari.
7. Public Administration - Sadan and Sharma
8. Local Government - S.R. Maheswari.
9. New Horizons of Public Administration - Mohit Bhattacharya.
10. Public Administration Theory and concepts - Rumki Basu
11. Public Administration (Manual) (TATA MC Graw Hill) - Laxmikanth.
12. Indian Constitution - D.D. Basup (or) Pandey.
13. Public Administration and Public Affairs - Nicholas Henry.
14. Modern Public Administration - Nigro and Nigro.

REFERENCE BOOKS OVERALL :

To put the subject in its proper context the historical development (evolution of public administration discipline) of the subject should be studied with great emphasis.

Public administration in theory and practice - M.P. Sharma and B.L Sadan
Public administration - Mohit Bhattacharya
Modern public administration - Nigro and Nigro
Theories and principles of administration : Administrative thinkers - Prasad & Prasad
Principles of management - Terry and Frankline
Administrative Behaviors: Managing organizational behavior - Paul Hersey & Kenneth Blanchard
Personal Administration - Public personal administration - O. Glennstal
Financial administration: Financial administration of India - M.J.K. Thavaray
Comparative administration : public administration a comparative perspective - Ferrel Heady or Comparative public administration - Ramesh
Control over administration : Public administration - Avasthi & Maheswari
Central administration in India: Central administration - A. Avasthi
Civil Services in India : Indian administration - S.R. Maheswari, State
District and local administration: State administration - J.D. Shukla
District administration -- S. S. Khera
Local Government in India - S.R. Maheshwari
Laxmikant's guide (for clearing conepts)
IGNOU Study Materials
IJPA articles on relevant topics
Current News Papers

Books for geography

REFERENCE BOOKS FOR PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION :

1. 6th to 12th NCERT Books for Geography.
2. Certificate of Physical Geography - Goh Cheng Leong.
3. Physical Geography -Savindra Singh
4.Physical Geography - Made simple series - Rupa Publications
5. Economic & Commercial Geography - Made Simple Series - Rupa Publications.
6. Human and Economic Geography - Leong & Norgan
7. Human Geography - Majid Hussain.
8. Geographical thoughts - Majid Hussain.
9. Field Work - 11 th NCERT.
10. Cartography - R.L. Singh
11. Geography of India - Gopal Singh
12. Economic & Commercial Geography of India - C.B. Memoria
13. Orient longman - Atlas.
14. TTK - Atlas
15. Dictionary of Geography - Penguin
16. Spectrum guide for Geography.
17. Siddhartha - Preliminary Question Bank.
18. Geography Guide - Narmadeshwar Prasad.
19. Brilliants

REFERENCE BOOKS FOR MAINS EXAMINATION :

Paper - I

Physical geography - Savinder Singh
The Earth's dynamic surface - K. Sidhartha
Physical geography - Strahler & Strahler
Climatology - D.S. Lal
Physical geography made simple - Rupa
Oceanography - Sharma & Vital
Biogeography - Savinder Singh
Evolution of geographical thoughts - Majid Hussain and Adhikari
Economic geography - K. Sidhartha
Economic and social geography made simple - Rupa
Urban geography - K. Sidhartha
Human geography - Majid Hussain
Geography of population - R.C. Chandra
Regional Planning in India - hand & Puri
Political geography - Dixit

Paper - II

Physical environment - NCERT
NCERT Class XII
India: Physical aspects - K Sidhartha
Geography of India - Mamoria
Agricultural geography - Majid Hussain
Agricultural problems in India - Sadhu and Singh
Economic & Commercial geography of India - Mamoria
India's urbanisation and urban systems - R. Ramachandran
Regional planning in India - Chand and Puri
Political geography - Dixit
India: political aspects - K. Sidhartha

REFERENCE BOOKS OVERALL :

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

NCERT Vol -1
Physical Geography - Bunnett
Certificate physical and human geography - Goh, Cheng Leong
Physical Geography made simple

HUMAN AND ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

Human and Economic Geography - NCERT
Economic Geography, Economic and Social Geography made simple
Penguim masters studies on geography
The Cultural Landscape - Rubeistein

INDIAN GEOGRAPHY

Indian geography - Rammorthy Gopalakrishnan
Physical geography of India - S.M. Mathur
General geography - NCERT
Mineral of India - NBT (Wadia)
Resources and regional development - NCERT
Catography - R.L. Singh
World regional geography - Fellnan
Work book - K. Siddhartha and S. Mukherjee
Question Bank - Surendra Singh, 1000
Geography quiz - Muthiah

Tips on facing interview

The Interview for the civil services examination also known as the Personality Test is exactly that. It is aimed at assessing the candidate's personality, whether he is suitable to be a competent administrator or not. The candidate is tested not only for his/her intelligence but also for his/her overall personality development, his/her attentiveness, balance of judgement and qualities of honesty, integrity and leadership. Therefore preparation for the Interview requires proper planning.

The selectors look out for some attributes in the candidate and decide whether he/she is suited for a career in civil services or not. For this,the candidate should have a positive attitude, should have an alert mind with quick reflexes, should be free from any sort of prejudice, should be good at making quick decisions and should have the ability to act under stress and to handle difficult situations.

Preparation for the Interview is a continuous process. This involves a wide reading of books, journals, magazines and at least two newspapers. One should try to improve his/her conversational skills with the right pronunciation. The candidate should be prepared to answer questions on his background, hobbies and extra curricular activities. It is a good idea to discuss current affairs and recent issues with friends. One good way of rehearsing possible questions would be to have mock interviews and discussion groups. The candidate should make a self analysis of his strengths and weaknesses and make a conscious effort to play on his strengths.

Some useful tips for a successful interview at UPSC are:

To have a positive body language
To have a good personal turnout and ensuring the right posture
To answer questions clearly and confidently
Try to remain calm and composed even when faced with provocative questions
Try not getting into long winded explanations and answer to the point.

Things To Be Avoided at the UPSC Interview

Avoid the expression, 'I am sorry.'
Avoid conversational cliches, like: 'as you know', 'that's correct', 'of course', 'indeed', 'obviously', etc.
Avoid technical jargon. However, if a member continues to probe you in any technical field, you can use technical expressions.
Maintain a cheerful disposition. Now and then you can appear serious; but most of the time keep smiling or look cheerful and composed. One caution here: if the board laughs, you should only smile. It is only when you maintain some amount of distance that the board begins to wonder about the depth of your personality.
Do not give long introductions. Come straight to the heart of the matter.
Show human concern whenever possible in your answers.
You should be logically consistent and analyse things rationally while talking. You are supposed to defend what you say, but with due respect to the views of the board. Stop trying to defend an answer if it becomes difficult to do so logically and fairly.
Do not make hasty or sweeping generalisations.

According to UPSC report, it has been observed that from 1979 onwards, 90 percent of the candidates who qualify for interview hover around the minimal percentage of 55 percent that is prescribed for the test. However to be assured of a Class I service, one has to generally obtain about 58 percent marks. It has been noticed that only those, securing 60 percent and above are sure of getting a service of their own choice. The figures clearly reveal that the marks in the interview test play a determining role in final selection of candidates.