In India, there are quite a few movies that you can enjoy ONLY together with a big bunch of friends. That was the idea behind a movie show on April 6th. The moved called Houseful 2 is a romantic comedy running in major theatres across the country. The entire team got together for a Friday night show and had a blass.

Team ALW extends its hearties wishes to the following team members on their birthday:

• Rameshwer Dhanora - 05 April
• Gaurav Darak – 12 April
• Ashish Gavshinde – 17 April
• Shashank Vyas – 19 April
• Vipul kasera – 20 April

Back to the salt mines

Meaning: Saying that you have to go back to the salt mines is a humorous way of talking about returning to work, usually with some reluctance.

Usage: "We get two days off at Christmas and then it's back to the salt mines!"

Cog in the machine

Meaning: If you say that someone is a cog in the machine, you mean that, while they are necessary, they only play a small part in an organization or plan.

Usage: "The police quickly realized that the suspect was just a cog in the machine."

Make cold calls

Meaning:If you make cold calls, you telephone potential customers from a list of people you do not know.

Usage: "In my first job I had to make cold calls using the telephone directory."

Carlos Slim is currently the richest man in the world. He is a Mexican business tycoon and philanthropist who is the Chairman of Telemax and America Movil. He has won the position for the third consecutive year. Lets ponder over some of his thoughts.

• When you live for others' opinions, you are dead. I don't want to live thinking about how I'll be remembered.
• I think one of the big errors people are making right now is thinking that old-style businesses will be obsolete, when actually they will be an important part of this new civilization. Some retail groups are introducing e-commerce and think that the "bricks" are no longer useful. But they will continue to be important.
• When there is a crisis, that's when some are interested in getting out and that's when we are interested in getting in.
• When we decide to do something, we do it quickly.
• I don't believe in working 20 hours or 16 hours or 14 hours. When you work too much, it is because your job is beyond you. If you need to work 15 hours, 16 hours, this is because you're not organized. You don't have delegation of your responsibility, and I don't believe that in any business, in any activity, you need to work 15 or 16 hours, and you don't have time for yourself or for your family or for anyone.
• All times are good time for those who know how to work and have the tools to do so.
• I'm a paper man, not electronic. My children gave me a lap top for Christmas, but all I know how to do so far is push the on button.
• I spend most of my time studying new technologies. My main task is to understand what's going on and try to see where we can fit in.
• We started doing something similar for Telmex employees about a year ago. We sold 28,000 computers at a very low, accessible price to employees. Eventually, we want all of the workers in several of our companies to have computers so that they and their families can use them. You can't attend your Internet clients well if you yourself don't know how the system works.
• Do not allow negative feelings and emotions to control your mind. Emotional harm does not come from others; it is conceived and developed within ourselves.
• Live the present intensely and fully, do not let the past be a burden, and let the future be an incentive. Each person forges his or her own destiny.

Often it so happens that little things make all the difference in the world. For example, a few hours of power cut during Earth Hour last month helped save much electricity. This month, we shall talk about the three very essential electric appliances, which, if used wisely can be a great source of power saving.

Microwave Ovens

• A microwave can be so used that it can save electricity consumption by 50 % compared to conventional electric / gas stoves.
• Avoid baking food items in bulk or in large quantities.
• Use preheat option sparingly ie. Only when specified.
• Each opening of oven door leads to a temperature drop of 25º C. Do it only when required.

Electric Stove

• If you turn off electric stoves several minutes before the specified cooking time, you will save a lot of power.
• If you use flat-bottomed pans, they will make full contact with the cooking coil, thus saving cooking time.

Refrigerator

• Do not open door frequently.
• Set thermostat in medium cooling position
• Keep adequate space from wall.
• Do not overload the refrigerator.
• Defrost your refrigerator regularly.
• Regularly defrost manual-defrost refrigerators and freezers; frost buildup increases the amount of energy needed to keep the motor running.
• Leave enough space between your refrigerator and the walls so that air can easily circulate around the refrigerator.
• Don't keep your refrigerator or freezer too cold.
• Make sure your refrigerator door seals are airtight.
• Cover liquids and wrap foods stored in the refrigerator. Uncovered foods release moisture and make the compressor work harder.
• Do not open the doors of the refrigerators frequently.
• Don't leave the fridge door open for longer than necessary, as cold air will escape.
• Use smaller cabinets for storing frequently used items.
• Avoid putting hot or warm food straight into the fridge.

(Excerpts from a blog)

Greetings of the season. You are already aware of the establishment of the Project Delivery Department in the company ever since the start of the year. I am happy to inform you now that due to this, there has been a major improvement in our processes especially in terms of coding standards and security. For the last three months, we have improved in our methods while our QA testing has also got us amazing results followed by substantial improvement. The QA team is already being expanded. We are now providing automated testing to the clients if they ask, all thanks to a better monitoring that has come about in our team.

We have also improved in our project documentation as we target bigger projects and focus more on project delivery. Our seniors have been religiously checking all the project scores – something that has brought about more accountability in terms of performances.

We are now working on the advance development project on Wordpress apart from working on advanced custom plug-ins for online marketing. The new trainee batch is in place and it has talented people from Indore and outside places like Jaipur and Pune. We are bringing in Senior PHP developers now and trying to build a stronger PHP team.

Hope you have been enjoying work and life lately. I wish to share some more good news next month. Till then take good care.

Cheers

Nidhi Mongia, COO