How to Export & Import Contacts using vCard File in HTC

After going through a number of websites, I couldn't found the best way to backup my contacts. I have tried many different methods and tried to use apps such as MCBackup from the Play Store, but none of them was as per my requirements. For instance, MCBackup duplicated my phone contacts and whatsapp contacts. Then, I started looking for any options within my phone without the help of any app. To my surprise, I found the below method, which is easy and doesn't require the help of any app.

Export/Backup Contacts from HTC Smartphone

1. Open People and go to Menu.
2. Click on Manage Contacts.
3. Click on Import/Export Contacts.
4. Select Export to Storage card from the pop up menu.
5. Select Phone from another menu that pops up.
6. A vCard file will be stored on the Storage card.
7. Copy this vCard file from the Storage card and save it to your computer and to your cloud storage account such as Dropbox, SkyDrive or Google Drive.

Import/Restore Contacts to HTC Smartphone

1. Copy a vCard file to the Storage card from your computer or any cloud storage service..
2. Open People and go to Menu.
3. Click on Manage Contacts.
4. Click on Import/Export Contacts.
5. Select Import from Storage card from the pop up menu.
6. Select Phone from another menu that pops up.
7. All contacts will now to imported to your phone.

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My IELTS Experience

I appeared for my IELTS exam on 8th June, 2013 through British Council. After preparing for about 45 days, I finally decided to take the test. I used IELTS 5,6,7 & 8 books to prepare for the exam, These official books are the best source of information.

Listening - Practice as much as you can. Whenever you get any questions wrong, go back and listen that part again. This helps you to avoid mistakes in future. Mark questions only on the basis of what you listen. I find section 4 the easiest as I rarely lose out in this section.

On the exam, I made a few mistakes in the first section and lost concentration in the middle of second section. This might have got me a few questions wrong.

Reading - Again practice is the key to success. Don't analyse too much while practising. Just focus on what is given in the passage. Infer very little. Try to complete all the three passages in 1 hour straight. Focus on accuracy first, then improve on the timings.

On the exam, I was very much concerned about my accuracy, which costed me at the end. I had to mark the last 3 questions in less than a minute as the time was over. So, accuracy and timing both play an important role.

Writing - This was my weak part. I did a lot of writing practice, which helped me get a decent band, but not a 7 as I was expecting. To improve on this section, practice is a must. Apart from that, the most important thing is to understand the marking scheme of the IELTS examiners by looking at sample answers and examiner's comment for that essay. You can also try to rate your essay based on the sample essays given in the passage.

On the exam, I received the essay which I had done in some other form while practising back home. Though I was able to complete the essay on time, I couldn't revise it.

Speaking - Please do not ignore this section as I have seen many people doing this. The best way to practice this section is to switch on the recording button on your phone and record your answer responses to the questions from the IELTS book. I did all the speaking tests from IELTS 7 & 8. After recording your responses, listen to the recording. Check for the timing as it is very crucial. Moreover, avoid grammatical mistakes while speaking and avoid stammering if possible.

On the exam, in the first part I was asked about my home and family. In the second part, I was asked to speak on a toy which I enjoyed playing in my childhood. Though I framed an artificial response, I could speak only for about 2 minutes. I thing the examiner was expecting more from me. In the third part, I was asked questions about more in depth questions from the same topic. It went fairly well.

The IELTS exam bands are allotted out of 9. My target score was at least a 7 band in each section, with a overall band of 7. I needed an overall 7 band to be eligible to apply to the college of my choice.

Below are my actual scores:

Listening - 8.5
Reading - 7.5
Writing - 6.5
Speaking - 7

Overall - 7.5

When I saw my result, 7.5 overall, I was very excited. Although listening and reading bands were a bit beyond my expectation, writing band disappointed me as I was expecting a 7 or 7.5 after practising so much in this section. But, I decided not to retake the test as this score would be sufficient for me to get admission in the college of my choice.

Good Luck for your exam!!!

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BEL Probationary Engineer Computer Science Paper 2011

I gave the BEL Probationary Paper in Computer Science on 26th July 2011 in my final year of Engineering.

There were a total of 150 questions (120 - Technical & 30 – English + Aptitude) to be done in 2.30 hrs. Each correct answer gives you +1 mark whereas one wrong answer would fetch you -0.25.

Here is a brief description of the questions (subject wise) that I faced in the examination.
(Answers of some questions are given in bold in bracket at the end of the question)

Technical (120 questions)

Data Structures (10-12 questions)

1. 2 questions based on insertion of 7 elements in max heap sort.
2. Worst Case complexity of Selection Sort (nlogn).
3. A figure was given, we had to tell what type of sort it was (quick sort).

Operating Systems (15 questions)

1. A table was given with arrival time and burst time of processes; we need to calculate the turnaround time.
2. A table was given with arrival time and burst time of processes; we need to calculate the average waiting time of process P2.
3. Two questions based on Belady’s Anomaly.
4. 2 reasoning questions asking “If we increase the no. of frames in FIFO, then page fault increases”.
5. FCFS, SJF, Round Robin, Multi-Level Queue Scheduling are examples of (Scheduling Algorithms).

Programming Skills (15 questions)

1. 3-4 questions were from C Language in which the program was given and we need to find the output (mostly basic questions and very difficult, just tricky).
2. 4 questions were from Java regarding necessary files required in a program.
3. A question relating keyword int from C# to .NET.
4. OOPS was first used in :- ( a. Java b.C++ c. Small Talk d. Simula) (d)
5. The keyword goto is :- (a. Defined in both C# and Java, used in C#, but reserved in Java b. Defined in both C# and Java, used in Java, but reserved in C# c. Not defined in both C# and Java d. Defined and used in both C# and Java)

Data Communications & Computer Networks (15 questions)

1. One numerical based on Go Back N-ARQ.
2. 2 questions related to IP addresses.
3. In Manchester Encoding :- (a. Bit rate is same as baud rate b. Bit rate is twice of baud rate c. Bit rate is half of baud rate d. None)
4. What is Manchester, Unipolar, NRZ, etc. :- (a. Encoding b. Decoding c. Encryption d. Decryption) (a)

Digital Electronics (8-10 questions)

1. Questions based on no. of NOR gates required to make f= AB+C.
2. Some questions based on finding the result of a given gate (m0+m1+m2+m3).

DBMS (10-12 questions)

1. 3-4 questions were based on Normal Forms, i.e., 1NF, 3NF, BCNF, etc.
2. Some questions related to Relational and logical database.

Others (25-30 questions)

1. 3-4questions from Microprocessor.
2. 4-5 questions from Theory of Automation from grammars.
3. 4-5 questions were from Compiler Design.
4. Where are variables stored in compilation :- (a. Symbol Table b. Parser Table)

English + Aptitude (30 questions)

1. 3 fill in the blanks and 2 sentence error finding question.
2. 2 reasoning questions.
3. A passage was given with 4 questions which followed it (very easy).
4. 2-3 questions were from probability (12th Maths but a bit tough).
5. 1 question from limits (12th Maths).
6. 2 questions from differential equations (12th Maths).
7. 1 question from Newton Raphson method.
8. 3 logical reasoning questions based on 5 men, 5 color ties and 5 sponsoring companies.
9. 3 more logical reasoning questions based on the passage (Really Difficult).
10. 4 questions based on information given in the pie chart.

My views about the paper

Overall, the paper was a bit lengthy. So you have to be really fast and don’t waste much time solving a difficult question. About 60% percent of the technical questions were theory based and one word answers. Some of the questions were really easy, but there were some questions that were real hard and were based on general knowledge about things you might not have studied, like UNIX OS (which was asked in the paper) and many others.Overall, I found OS and Programming easy. So have to prepare thoroughly for the paper and time management is very important.

Best of Luck…!!!

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Happy New Year 2011

As we say goodbye to the year 2010, there are many things which we feel should not go away with this year.
Some might have completed their college, some might have switched to good jobs, some might have earned a huge profit from share market, etc. For some people, this might be a bad year, some people might have lost their jobs, some might have not got the right salary for their job.
We need to just forget what happened this year and start working for the next year as the past never comes back and future will always come and will bring lots of happiness with it. So, I wish you all Happy and Prosperous New Year 2011.

Best of Luck!!!

Please feel free to comment.