Web pages used to be simple affairs, where everything you needed to do could be done in HTML, there was really one set of rules and one set of expectations. Today's world is far more complex.
Web pages can be more complex and customers expect more from web pages. Terms like PHP and ASP now compete with HTML when starting a web page and it can be hard to figure out what option best suits your needs.
If you've ever driven an import car, you can appreciate the importance of being able to find support that meet your needs, if you're going to kick the tires with your website and turn it into something exception, having a large community that can support you is critical.
PHP, Personal Home Pages has more support on the internet than ASP - Active Server Pages. The larger user base gives you more allies; more people who can help you develop your own talents and your website.
Another advantage of PHP is that it's based on unix, giving it more cross platform capability than ASP as increasing demands of Microsoft's operating systems level the cost playing field between Microsoft products and Apple, this is ever more important.
And did we mention that in the grand tradition of unix, PHP is free, while ASP needs support software that isn't? For add-ons and additional tools, PHP's open source has a strong base of free tools, whereas ASP demands that you purchase these tools.
You can find help for your PHP programming from free to paid. Most professional ASP support is very expensive by comparison.
Also, you have to consider the costs associated with a web hosting on Windows Server compared to Linux Servers. For most cases, you will notice a substantial difference in prices.
Not only that, but Windows severs do tend to be unstable and prone to failures, are more likely to be attacked by viruses, Trojans and exploits. Linux servers on the other hand are much more stable and the attacks windows servers suffer in a daily basis are non-existent in Linux.
If you are considering either a dedicated server or a shared hosting, your fist choice should be Linux. I've yet to find a problem that can't be solved using PHP and Linux.
With all this, you might wonder why ASP still is out there at all. Part of it stems from ASP being based on the same methodology that's used to make macros in other Microsoft products.
People that have invested the time learning how to use macros in Word or Excel will be more comfortable using ASP. PHP is based on C++, a robust computer programming language.
Before this intimidates you, the free tools that exist out there allow for a lot of this to be hidden, until you're ready to take advantage of the power behind PHP.
Putting it all together, the power, the cost, flexibility, stability and support of PHP is far superior to that of ASP. If you're going to commit to building the best web page you can, commit to using the best tools you can.
Investing in learning PHP will pay off when you're able to pop the hood, invite your friends over and transform your web page from a normal, average, page to a sophisticated and highly toned performance page.
9/29/07
How To Stop Spyware
This is an additional method that should be used in conjunction with an anti-spyware product.
How can this method prevent spyware from "calling home" with your personal information? It works by letting Windows filter the IP addresses that you place in the hosts file.
What is the host file and how does it work?
The host file resides in the Windows folder on your hard drive and it loads into system memory each time the computer is turned on. For each IP address that is placed in the hosts file, it is cross-referenced with a saved domain name.
Siince the Internet only understands numeric IP addesses, this cross-referencing with domain names is required. These translations between IP addresses and domain names reside on various Domain Name Servers (DNS) that are distributed around the Internet.
IP addresses are in the form of a block of numbers arranged in quartets as in the following example: 125.0.48.220.
They way it works is, as you enter a domain name (URL) in your browser, the first thing that happens is that your computer will check for any IP addresses that are in your hosts file. If it finds the relevant domain name, it will not bother searching the external DNS servers on the Internet.
Before there was the current high-speed connections that we use everyday to connect to the Internet with, it was quicker to find an IP address that was stored on the local computer.
Once you activate a link that is associated with Spyware, by clicking on it, or sometimes just moving the mouse over it, the Spyware in most cases attempts to "call home" back to its server somewhere on the Internet. It can then create an ad server, scrape your personal data and send it back to its server.
Since we now have faster Internet connections, the need for hosts files have just about been eliminated.
Whenever you run into a malicious domain, just add it to your hosts file, and instead of cross-referencing it to a valid IP address, translate it to a fake IP address that connects to a void inside your computer. Then the Spyware thinks it is calling home to its servers, however the call goes nowhere.
The hosts file has entries in it with the following format:
#hosts file from windows directory
127.0.0.1 localhost
123.45.67.89 testsite1.com
51.126.0.189 testsite2.com
The # sign indicates comment lines that the computer will ignore.
In using the hosts file as a Spyware or adware blocker, you will always see the localhost setting in the first line of the file.
Notice that these IP addresses are all the same: 127.0.0.1 -this points only to your own local computer.
You will also see the all of the other IP entries will have the same address as the localhost, as in the following example:
# host file from windows directory
127.0.0.1 localhost
127.0.0.1 testsite1.com
127.0.0.1 testsite2.com
When an infected webpage tries to connect your computer to testsite1.com, the browser looks up the IP address for testsite1.com, and in this situation will find it in the hosts file. Since the IP address translates to 127.0.0.1, the call cannot go out back to its server out on the Internet.
This works simply because the domain is stored on the local computer in the hosts file and Windows will not try to resolve it on the external DNS servers.
Using this methodology will also reduce the time is takes to access normal web pages since it does not have to wait for all of the ads and images to download.
This should not be used as the only solution for Spyware. It should only be used with another proven Spyware product.
The steps with this procedure are not straight-forward as one might think. You have to:
a) detect each bit of Spyware
b) look up the domain name
c) modify the hosts file for each event
It is a constant struggle because not only are companies who produce Spyware and spam are always adding new domain names.
You should not be discouraged however, since you can download very detailed hosts files from the Internet that do not have any costs associated with them. You can visit specific sites that offer this service and download their files. Just remember to constantly check and download the latest updates to these files.
You can also let an anti-spyware program do it for you, such as SpyBot. It will automatically include these problem sites in your hosts file.
How can this method prevent spyware from "calling home" with your personal information? It works by letting Windows filter the IP addresses that you place in the hosts file.
What is the host file and how does it work?
The host file resides in the Windows folder on your hard drive and it loads into system memory each time the computer is turned on. For each IP address that is placed in the hosts file, it is cross-referenced with a saved domain name.
Siince the Internet only understands numeric IP addesses, this cross-referencing with domain names is required. These translations between IP addresses and domain names reside on various Domain Name Servers (DNS) that are distributed around the Internet.
IP addresses are in the form of a block of numbers arranged in quartets as in the following example: 125.0.48.220.
They way it works is, as you enter a domain name (URL) in your browser, the first thing that happens is that your computer will check for any IP addresses that are in your hosts file. If it finds the relevant domain name, it will not bother searching the external DNS servers on the Internet.
Before there was the current high-speed connections that we use everyday to connect to the Internet with, it was quicker to find an IP address that was stored on the local computer.
Once you activate a link that is associated with Spyware, by clicking on it, or sometimes just moving the mouse over it, the Spyware in most cases attempts to "call home" back to its server somewhere on the Internet. It can then create an ad server, scrape your personal data and send it back to its server.
Since we now have faster Internet connections, the need for hosts files have just about been eliminated.
Whenever you run into a malicious domain, just add it to your hosts file, and instead of cross-referencing it to a valid IP address, translate it to a fake IP address that connects to a void inside your computer. Then the Spyware thinks it is calling home to its servers, however the call goes nowhere.
The hosts file has entries in it with the following format:
#hosts file from windows directory
127.0.0.1 localhost
123.45.67.89 testsite1.com
51.126.0.189 testsite2.com
The # sign indicates comment lines that the computer will ignore.
In using the hosts file as a Spyware or adware blocker, you will always see the localhost setting in the first line of the file.
Notice that these IP addresses are all the same: 127.0.0.1 -this points only to your own local computer.
You will also see the all of the other IP entries will have the same address as the localhost, as in the following example:
# host file from windows directory
127.0.0.1 localhost
127.0.0.1 testsite1.com
127.0.0.1 testsite2.com
When an infected webpage tries to connect your computer to testsite1.com, the browser looks up the IP address for testsite1.com, and in this situation will find it in the hosts file. Since the IP address translates to 127.0.0.1, the call cannot go out back to its server out on the Internet.
This works simply because the domain is stored on the local computer in the hosts file and Windows will not try to resolve it on the external DNS servers.
Using this methodology will also reduce the time is takes to access normal web pages since it does not have to wait for all of the ads and images to download.
This should not be used as the only solution for Spyware. It should only be used with another proven Spyware product.
The steps with this procedure are not straight-forward as one might think. You have to:
a) detect each bit of Spyware
b) look up the domain name
c) modify the hosts file for each event
It is a constant struggle because not only are companies who produce Spyware and spam are always adding new domain names.
You should not be discouraged however, since you can download very detailed hosts files from the Internet that do not have any costs associated with them. You can visit specific sites that offer this service and download their files. Just remember to constantly check and download the latest updates to these files.
You can also let an anti-spyware program do it for you, such as SpyBot. It will automatically include these problem sites in your hosts file.
Web Design, Development And Testing
Many organizations are interested in building web applications for their business but are unaware of the various steps that are needed to build a compelling web application. In this article I will attempt to put together the various pieces of the puzzle. Application development involves several distinct efforts that need to come together to build a compelling end product. A compelling end product is the combination of design, development architecture, development implementation, automated regression and functional testing and performance and load testing.
Design: People often confuse design with development. Moreover even within design, user interface design is often confused with graphics design. Web user interface design involves the design of the flow of the website and the layout of the specific web pages within the website. The web user interface designer concentrates on the usability of the application. The user interface designer will typically develop "wireframes" using tools like Adobe Photoshop to convey the design. These are often initially developed as prototypes and usability testing is carried with user groups out to ensure that the web application will be intuitive and easy to use. Graphics design on the other hand relates to the aesthetics of the page. The graphics designer is responsible for the aesthetic layout of the pages and the creation of the various graphical objects inside the pages such as images and flash objects. The graphics Designer will typically use a combination of tools such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Captivate to create the actual graphics objects. A designer will need to work closely with other groups to make sure the design process does not compromise the performance of the application by making sure that the graphics objects are small thus ensuring that the various web performance metrics are unaffected.
Development: This involves converting the design into an actual application. The development typically involves an architectural phase where the underlying modules that make up the application are scoped out. If persistent data storage is needed, a database schema should be designed to accommodate the data storage needs. The choice of the operating system (e.g. Windows, Linux or Solaris) where the web application will run, the web server (e.g. Microsoft IIS, Apache or Tomcat) which will run the web application and the back end database (e.g. Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL or Postgres) which stores the data will need to be made. Various development frameworks are available to build web applications. The most common ones are ASP and ASP.NET from Microsoft, Java Servlets and JSP from Sun, PHP and Perl that are open source. The choice of the application framework is typically dictated by the strengths of the members of the development team. The architectural phase is followed by the implementation phase. This is typically the longest part of the project and during this phase the actual code is written using the design specifications and graphics objects developed by the design team. The programming will typically be done using a combination of the application frameworks mentioned earlier together with HTML, JavaScript and CSS style sheets.
Quality Assurance and Testing: A surprising number of people are of the view that quality assurance and testing is desirable but is not actually needed. Unfortunately this view has its roots in total ignorance of the process that is needed to build a good end product. Regardless of how pretty or slick we make the application, if it does not work as expected, users will reject it. Quality assurance and testing involve two different kinds of tasks. Functional and regression testing is used to verify that the developed application is doing what it is supposed to do. This is achieved by test automation using a functional testing tool. Load and Performance testing is used to ensure that the application performs as intended when it is subjected to the typical load of a production environment. Load testing is practically speaking impossible to perform without using an automated load testing tool since it involves the simulation of a large number of concurrent virtual users. This effect cannot really be achieved manually and needs the assistance of an application that is designed to subject the application to a specified load and then measure its performance when it is subjected to that load. Quality Assurance teams will need to track the bugs or defects in the application using bug tracking tools. Such tools will allow defects to be tracked by all members of the team.
The three groups mentioned above tend to be specialized for their skill set. As an example, people often make the mistake of using developers as quality assurance testers. This is not a wise strategy because most developers who are good at writing software are quite poor at finding bugs or defects in their own software.
Writing good and compelling web applications requires an understanding of all phases of the process, design, development and quality assurance. Skipping phases or taking shortcuts will result in low quality software that will generally cost more in the long run.
Design: People often confuse design with development. Moreover even within design, user interface design is often confused with graphics design. Web user interface design involves the design of the flow of the website and the layout of the specific web pages within the website. The web user interface designer concentrates on the usability of the application. The user interface designer will typically develop "wireframes" using tools like Adobe Photoshop to convey the design. These are often initially developed as prototypes and usability testing is carried with user groups out to ensure that the web application will be intuitive and easy to use. Graphics design on the other hand relates to the aesthetics of the page. The graphics designer is responsible for the aesthetic layout of the pages and the creation of the various graphical objects inside the pages such as images and flash objects. The graphics Designer will typically use a combination of tools such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Captivate to create the actual graphics objects. A designer will need to work closely with other groups to make sure the design process does not compromise the performance of the application by making sure that the graphics objects are small thus ensuring that the various web performance metrics are unaffected.
Development: This involves converting the design into an actual application. The development typically involves an architectural phase where the underlying modules that make up the application are scoped out. If persistent data storage is needed, a database schema should be designed to accommodate the data storage needs. The choice of the operating system (e.g. Windows, Linux or Solaris) where the web application will run, the web server (e.g. Microsoft IIS, Apache or Tomcat) which will run the web application and the back end database (e.g. Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL or Postgres) which stores the data will need to be made. Various development frameworks are available to build web applications. The most common ones are ASP and ASP.NET from Microsoft, Java Servlets and JSP from Sun, PHP and Perl that are open source. The choice of the application framework is typically dictated by the strengths of the members of the development team. The architectural phase is followed by the implementation phase. This is typically the longest part of the project and during this phase the actual code is written using the design specifications and graphics objects developed by the design team. The programming will typically be done using a combination of the application frameworks mentioned earlier together with HTML, JavaScript and CSS style sheets.
Quality Assurance and Testing: A surprising number of people are of the view that quality assurance and testing is desirable but is not actually needed. Unfortunately this view has its roots in total ignorance of the process that is needed to build a good end product. Regardless of how pretty or slick we make the application, if it does not work as expected, users will reject it. Quality assurance and testing involve two different kinds of tasks. Functional and regression testing is used to verify that the developed application is doing what it is supposed to do. This is achieved by test automation using a functional testing tool. Load and Performance testing is used to ensure that the application performs as intended when it is subjected to the typical load of a production environment. Load testing is practically speaking impossible to perform without using an automated load testing tool since it involves the simulation of a large number of concurrent virtual users. This effect cannot really be achieved manually and needs the assistance of an application that is designed to subject the application to a specified load and then measure its performance when it is subjected to that load. Quality Assurance teams will need to track the bugs or defects in the application using bug tracking tools. Such tools will allow defects to be tracked by all members of the team.
The three groups mentioned above tend to be specialized for their skill set. As an example, people often make the mistake of using developers as quality assurance testers. This is not a wise strategy because most developers who are good at writing software are quite poor at finding bugs or defects in their own software.
Writing good and compelling web applications requires an understanding of all phases of the process, design, development and quality assurance. Skipping phases or taking shortcuts will result in low quality software that will generally cost more in the long run.
9/26/07
Are Myspace Backgrounds Really Necessary?
Since Myspace is an online community site, which is used for networking, most people take it for granted. They think that all they need to do is write some industry jargon for the sake of a community site. However they could be very wrong. Not only is the content important, the backgrounds and the complete layout of the profile need to be very interesting.
Because it is a networking site, there are millions of users on this site. And these millions will naturally not be related only to one industry. They will be related to various groups such as music, religion, art etc. These users are bound to keep looking for people to keep growing their groups on this site. After all this is the purpose of the networking site.
Thus, all those how have registered on this site must take some effort to make their profiles look good. And this is where the Myspace backgrounds will be useful. They are of course necessary because they lend a hand with the creativity of the profile. The backgrounds can be used for the various divisions of the profile. They will include the ones about the users, the blogs, interests etc.
Users have a great deal of fun too while applying these backgrounds. They not only have a large variety to choose from, they will also be able to apply them very easily to the profile. All Myspace backgrounds come with easy codes that can be applied easily to where it is needed on the profiles. This makes the profile definitely more interesting.
This is because each user is going to have different content on the profile. Based on this content, users may choose their backgrounds as it suits it. It could be a background full of cartoons if one is a cartoonist, and it could be one of a music instrument if one is a musician. All people need is a little patience with which they can look through the hundreds of backgrounds that are available.
Many sites are dedicated to these backgrounds, as there are millions of users who use this community site. Backgrounds are being updated every day, and you really need not know specifically about the sites before choosing one. Sites with Myspace backgrounds are very easy to find, and they will be accessible easily as well. They are separated into categories, so people may just look in the specific ones for what they need.
The backgrounds are available in plenty and they come in gorgeous colors as well. They would suit any kind of profile that a user will have. The backgrounds are people who look at the specific profile will know that a lot of effort has been taken to make the profile extremely interesting. With this they will come to the conclusion that the person is worth taking the time to talk to.
Because it is a networking site, there are millions of users on this site. And these millions will naturally not be related only to one industry. They will be related to various groups such as music, religion, art etc. These users are bound to keep looking for people to keep growing their groups on this site. After all this is the purpose of the networking site.
Thus, all those how have registered on this site must take some effort to make their profiles look good. And this is where the Myspace backgrounds will be useful. They are of course necessary because they lend a hand with the creativity of the profile. The backgrounds can be used for the various divisions of the profile. They will include the ones about the users, the blogs, interests etc.
Users have a great deal of fun too while applying these backgrounds. They not only have a large variety to choose from, they will also be able to apply them very easily to the profile. All Myspace backgrounds come with easy codes that can be applied easily to where it is needed on the profiles. This makes the profile definitely more interesting.
This is because each user is going to have different content on the profile. Based on this content, users may choose their backgrounds as it suits it. It could be a background full of cartoons if one is a cartoonist, and it could be one of a music instrument if one is a musician. All people need is a little patience with which they can look through the hundreds of backgrounds that are available.
Many sites are dedicated to these backgrounds, as there are millions of users who use this community site. Backgrounds are being updated every day, and you really need not know specifically about the sites before choosing one. Sites with Myspace backgrounds are very easy to find, and they will be accessible easily as well. They are separated into categories, so people may just look in the specific ones for what they need.
The backgrounds are available in plenty and they come in gorgeous colors as well. They would suit any kind of profile that a user will have. The backgrounds are people who look at the specific profile will know that a lot of effort has been taken to make the profile extremely interesting. With this they will come to the conclusion that the person is worth taking the time to talk to.
Myspace Layouts Make A Big Difference To A Profile
On Myspace there are various profiles to look at, as there are millions of users on this site. Every user is going to have a different type of profile, and they will all need different looks as well as a feel. So using a good layout will make a good difference to the profile. They are all theme based, and thus the layouts may be matched with the type of profile.
Myspace layouts come in hundreds, under various categories as well as themes. They may be picked according to the activity of the profile. This will include the interests of the users, as they may be interested in art, writing or movies. There are Myspace layouts that will match just about any theme, and thus will make a good difference if chosen well.
Choosing the right layout will also reflect on the profile and much before reading the content visitors may even guess the actual interest of the person. For example, if the user has used the layout of a movie, then the reader knows that the person has particular interest in movies. This will then create interest in the likeminded, and will them to read on.
If that is not the interest of the reader, they will just move on. Since the site is all about networking all this will make sense. As people are always on the lookout for new friends as well as business associates, using good Myspace layouts will count. Choosing one is also not difficult as there are various sites that offer a great choice in the layouts.
Almost every theme is available, and they are accordingly categorized. Thus there is no need for anyone to keep hunting for good layouts. All they need to do is look for any particular category, and they will get what they want. Sites are also there in plenty and they may also be updated every day, as and when new designs are being made.
Giving the profile a very different look and feel is very important, as many millions of users will be searching for new friends. Besides friends there are also people who will have business networking. They may be on the lookout for freelancers or even people with various fields of interests. This is a place where one can easily promote their interests and gather new groups, so good layouts are essential.
The layouts will also make a difference as no one wants to look at dull profiles. Once a little effort is taken for a better presentation, profiles will surely get more interest. Through this all users can network with as many people as they want. This will make sense, as this is what the social networking is all about. Myspace layouts are extremely versatile too, and thus can be changed often.
Myspace layouts come in hundreds, under various categories as well as themes. They may be picked according to the activity of the profile. This will include the interests of the users, as they may be interested in art, writing or movies. There are Myspace layouts that will match just about any theme, and thus will make a good difference if chosen well.
Choosing the right layout will also reflect on the profile and much before reading the content visitors may even guess the actual interest of the person. For example, if the user has used the layout of a movie, then the reader knows that the person has particular interest in movies. This will then create interest in the likeminded, and will them to read on.
If that is not the interest of the reader, they will just move on. Since the site is all about networking all this will make sense. As people are always on the lookout for new friends as well as business associates, using good Myspace layouts will count. Choosing one is also not difficult as there are various sites that offer a great choice in the layouts.
Almost every theme is available, and they are accordingly categorized. Thus there is no need for anyone to keep hunting for good layouts. All they need to do is look for any particular category, and they will get what they want. Sites are also there in plenty and they may also be updated every day, as and when new designs are being made.
Giving the profile a very different look and feel is very important, as many millions of users will be searching for new friends. Besides friends there are also people who will have business networking. They may be on the lookout for freelancers or even people with various fields of interests. This is a place where one can easily promote their interests and gather new groups, so good layouts are essential.
The layouts will also make a difference as no one wants to look at dull profiles. Once a little effort is taken for a better presentation, profiles will surely get more interest. Through this all users can network with as many people as they want. This will make sense, as this is what the social networking is all about. Myspace layouts are extremely versatile too, and thus can be changed often.
9/25/07
What Makes Myspace Layouts More Popular?
Myspace being the most popular online social networking community has various layouts. All users may choose from these layouts, as there is plenty of variety. The use of Myspace layouts itself is very versatile and that is the first reason that they are so popular. People who have profiles on this community need not hunt too much for what they want.
There are plenty of free sites that offer such layouts, and they come in various designs as well as colors. There will seem to be a never-ending array of designs and colors, and this is what any user will want. When they have such a variety, there is a lot of excitement about how they can present their profiles. They have a great choice, and they will be able to change it every day too if they want.
Myspace layouts are popular because their application is very easy. All one has to do is apply the codes that are offered by the side of the layouts. Once these are copy pasted on to the home page of the profile then automatically the page is updated with the layout as required. There are several categories that would fit the use of any person.
There are cartoon related layouts as well as nature related layouts. This is also a reason for its popularity, as there are hundreds of designs being updated every day. To top it all, there is the cost factor that can be related to this. They are absolutely free of cost and will not cost anyone a single penny.
They only need to access the right sites, and they will be allowed to update the profiles, as they want. The right sites that offer Myspace layouts are very easy to find too. Besides having popularity on other sites, they can be found through search engines too. Designers are always coming up with very innovative designs, and they offer their designs for free use.
There are plenty of free sites that offer such layouts, and they come in various designs as well as colors. There will seem to be a never-ending array of designs and colors, and this is what any user will want. When they have such a variety, there is a lot of excitement about how they can present their profiles. They have a great choice, and they will be able to change it every day too if they want.
Myspace layouts are popular because their application is very easy. All one has to do is apply the codes that are offered by the side of the layouts. Once these are copy pasted on to the home page of the profile then automatically the page is updated with the layout as required. There are several categories that would fit the use of any person.
There are cartoon related layouts as well as nature related layouts. This is also a reason for its popularity, as there are hundreds of designs being updated every day. To top it all, there is the cost factor that can be related to this. They are absolutely free of cost and will not cost anyone a single penny.
They only need to access the right sites, and they will be allowed to update the profiles, as they want. The right sites that offer Myspace layouts are very easy to find too. Besides having popularity on other sites, they can be found through search engines too. Designers are always coming up with very innovative designs, and they offer their designs for free use.
How to tell which DVI cable you need
DVI (Digital Video Interface) first came to light when manufactures of computer graphics cards required a faster connection speed than the old VGA standard was capable of providing. When the LCD monitors came out it paved the way for a new video standard – DVI (although most of todays graphics cards now include both a VGA output port and a DVI output port). There are three types of DVI cable: DVI-D which is Digital, DVI-A which is Analog and DVI-I which is both Digital and Analog.
DVI-D cables also know as true digital video cables and are used for a true digital connection between two electronic components (normally a video card and an LCD monitor). All video cards ever created have always been able to create a digital output, the only downside before DVI came about was that this output had to be downgraded to analog before being sent to the monitor - where it was then converted back to digital by the monitor! Using a DVI-D cable means this process isn't required and therefore the end result is a very quick and extremely high quality visual output.
DVI-A cables also known as high resolution analog cables and are used to transmit a DVI signal to an analog display unit (normally a CRT monitor and becoming more used on HD televisions). Although this type of output isn't as good as DVI-D (due to the loss of data in the digital to analog conversion processes), it still gives a much improved output than the display from a standard VGA output.
DVI-I cables are capable of transmitting between two devices in either a digital to digital format or an analog to analog format, but (and that's a big BUT) it will not connect two dissimilar devices (i.e. digital to analog or analog to digital).
Note: DVI digital and DVI analog formats are not interchangeable, basically this means that a DVI-A cable will not work on a digital system and a DVI-D cable will not work on an analog system. You must know before purchasing a DVI cable what format your two devices are, remember that only equipment with a DVI port labeled DVI-I will accept both a DVI-A and DVI-D signal.
So how can you tell what type of DVI cable you currently have? The easiest way is to read the manual for the devices you are connecting, or by looking at the DVI cable. There are two ways to determine what DVI format a device is by looking at the end of the DVI cable face on: 1. There is always a flat pin on one side of the DVI cable, a flat pin alone denotes a DVI-D connector and a flat pin with four surrounding pins can be either a DVI-I or DVI-A connector. 2. The pins on the DVI cable denote whether the cable is single or dual link, 24 pins in 3 rows of 8 means it's a DVI dual cable, while two lots of 9 pins with a gap in the middle means you have a DVI single link cable. Note: To work out if a cable is DVI-I or DVI-A you need to look at the number of pins on the DVI cable end, 24 pins means you have a DVI-I cable and a set of 8 pins with a gap to a set of 4 pins denotes a DVI-A cable.
DVI-D cables also know as true digital video cables and are used for a true digital connection between two electronic components (normally a video card and an LCD monitor). All video cards ever created have always been able to create a digital output, the only downside before DVI came about was that this output had to be downgraded to analog before being sent to the monitor - where it was then converted back to digital by the monitor! Using a DVI-D cable means this process isn't required and therefore the end result is a very quick and extremely high quality visual output.
DVI-A cables also known as high resolution analog cables and are used to transmit a DVI signal to an analog display unit (normally a CRT monitor and becoming more used on HD televisions). Although this type of output isn't as good as DVI-D (due to the loss of data in the digital to analog conversion processes), it still gives a much improved output than the display from a standard VGA output.
DVI-I cables are capable of transmitting between two devices in either a digital to digital format or an analog to analog format, but (and that's a big BUT) it will not connect two dissimilar devices (i.e. digital to analog or analog to digital).
Note: DVI digital and DVI analog formats are not interchangeable, basically this means that a DVI-A cable will not work on a digital system and a DVI-D cable will not work on an analog system. You must know before purchasing a DVI cable what format your two devices are, remember that only equipment with a DVI port labeled DVI-I will accept both a DVI-A and DVI-D signal.
So how can you tell what type of DVI cable you currently have? The easiest way is to read the manual for the devices you are connecting, or by looking at the DVI cable. There are two ways to determine what DVI format a device is by looking at the end of the DVI cable face on: 1. There is always a flat pin on one side of the DVI cable, a flat pin alone denotes a DVI-D connector and a flat pin with four surrounding pins can be either a DVI-I or DVI-A connector. 2. The pins on the DVI cable denote whether the cable is single or dual link, 24 pins in 3 rows of 8 means it's a DVI dual cable, while two lots of 9 pins with a gap in the middle means you have a DVI single link cable. Note: To work out if a cable is DVI-I or DVI-A you need to look at the number of pins on the DVI cable end, 24 pins means you have a DVI-I cable and a set of 8 pins with a gap to a set of 4 pins denotes a DVI-A cable.
Understanding HDMI
HDMI stands for High Definition Multimedia Interface. Most electronic devices that are attached to television (i.e. DVD player) have to convert a digital signal into an analog output; this process downgrades the quality due to information loss incurred in this conversion process. However, with HDMI output you can transfer a digital signal (i.e. DVD player) digitally; this results in a pure digital stream sent via a HDMI cable direct to your HDMI or DVI television.
The HDMI standard was created by many of the leading manufacturers, these include: Panasonic, Hitachi, Philips, Sony, Thomson (RCA), Silicon Image and Toshiba. HDMI is not just a used in video transfer, it also has embedded multi-channel audio support.A lot of people out there find all these new "options" that have come with HD technology very confusing (i.e. Deep colour and DVD audio). So below is a brief guide to some of the options that are available below.
Deep colour: This in simple terms allows you HD television to go from a display using millions of colours to a display of billions of colours. It also increases the contrast ratio, therefore allowing more grey shades between white and black. Colour banding lines are completely eliminated and this gives the viewer unrivalled colour accuracy and vividness due to the smooth transitions and grading between colour and tone.
How much better is 1080p than 720p: In purely technical terms it’s 225%. The sound quality is also improved by a further 50% with the new totally lossless, bit-for-bit Dolby True HD and DTS Master HD multi channel audio content.
xvYCC / xv Colour: This is a new standard brought in with HDMI 1.3 (IEC 61966-2-4, more commonly known as xvYCC, the shorthand term for “Extended YCC Colorimetry for Video Applications”. This standard has the brand name “x.v.Colour”). This new standard has 1.8 times more display colours than the previous standard, enabling a more pleasurable viewing experience.
DVD audio: This digital format allows a range of audio channels from single through 5.1 channel surround sound. The audio quality of a DVD Audio disc can be substantially higher than a standard audio CD. DVD Audio supports bit depths up to 24-bit and sample rates up to 192 kHz, CD audio can only reach 16-bit and 44.1 kHz. Cabling has always been an issue with recent electronic advances, for example you need this type of cable and can’t go over a certain length, etc, etc. HDMI technology has been designed to use a standard copper cable construction. In order to allow cable manufacturers to improve their products through the use of new and emerging technologies, the HDMI standard specifies the required performance of a cable but does not specify a maximum cable length. Cables are now available in lengths of up to 15 meters.
In summary; HDMI digital interconnectivity provides a superior, uncompressed digital video and audio quality. A popular interface enabling the transmission of high definition data and various content, with a simple, user friendly connector that replaces the maze of cabling behind your television.
The HDMI standard was created by many of the leading manufacturers, these include: Panasonic, Hitachi, Philips, Sony, Thomson (RCA), Silicon Image and Toshiba. HDMI is not just a used in video transfer, it also has embedded multi-channel audio support.A lot of people out there find all these new "options" that have come with HD technology very confusing (i.e. Deep colour and DVD audio). So below is a brief guide to some of the options that are available below.
Deep colour: This in simple terms allows you HD television to go from a display using millions of colours to a display of billions of colours. It also increases the contrast ratio, therefore allowing more grey shades between white and black. Colour banding lines are completely eliminated and this gives the viewer unrivalled colour accuracy and vividness due to the smooth transitions and grading between colour and tone.
How much better is 1080p than 720p: In purely technical terms it’s 225%. The sound quality is also improved by a further 50% with the new totally lossless, bit-for-bit Dolby True HD and DTS Master HD multi channel audio content.
xvYCC / xv Colour: This is a new standard brought in with HDMI 1.3 (IEC 61966-2-4, more commonly known as xvYCC, the shorthand term for “Extended YCC Colorimetry for Video Applications”. This standard has the brand name “x.v.Colour”). This new standard has 1.8 times more display colours than the previous standard, enabling a more pleasurable viewing experience.
DVD audio: This digital format allows a range of audio channels from single through 5.1 channel surround sound. The audio quality of a DVD Audio disc can be substantially higher than a standard audio CD. DVD Audio supports bit depths up to 24-bit and sample rates up to 192 kHz, CD audio can only reach 16-bit and 44.1 kHz. Cabling has always been an issue with recent electronic advances, for example you need this type of cable and can’t go over a certain length, etc, etc. HDMI technology has been designed to use a standard copper cable construction. In order to allow cable manufacturers to improve their products through the use of new and emerging technologies, the HDMI standard specifies the required performance of a cable but does not specify a maximum cable length. Cables are now available in lengths of up to 15 meters.
In summary; HDMI digital interconnectivity provides a superior, uncompressed digital video and audio quality. A popular interface enabling the transmission of high definition data and various content, with a simple, user friendly connector that replaces the maze of cabling behind your television.
Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 Great Plains Remote Support – overview
Microsoft Great Plains ERP has rich accounting and business processes automation functionality, however in this small article we would like to concentrate on remote support, version upgrade
GP technical problem solving scenarios and if you need to get info on specific GP modules features: GL, SOP, POP, etc. please find it in others GP related materials, such as module user manuals, whitepapers
1. ERP remote support technologies in general. Web session tools, such as gotomeeting, allow ERP consultants, being remote, lead web presentation, when your users, supposedly sitting in one conference room at your office and watching projected to the wall screen computer monitor. Web session allows consultant to take mouse and keyboard control as well as give it back to trainees
2. Phone conferencing. If you are in the same country, you can typically use your regular office phone and call to conference supporting phone from gotomeeting or other web conferencing service provider. If you are in several countries, the best and cost efficient solutions might be internet telephony, such as skype: if your remote users have skype ID – this is all you need to get everyone in the conference
3. Problem Solving advises. As, regardless of theoretical efficiency of web conferences, your human face-to-face interaction is to some extent restricted, there should be nurtured the culture of well structured technical questioning. For example, try to be very specific: what exactly you were doing, what error message you received (provide screen shots of error messages) – this technique will let technical support engineer to skip “clarification” phase and go down to the problem solving immediately
4. Version upgrade, data fixing remote support technologies. Web session being good for user training, is probably not optimal solution for day-to-day data repair tasks. Web session requires both sides to be in the session, which is not really required for data fixing scenarios – you as GP user, describe the issue and remote support technician will connect to your desktop remotely and will fix the problem when he will have this task to be scheduled by manager. Remote desktop technologies typically include VPN connection and Remote Desktops.
5. Customization Support and Design remotely. Microsoft Great Plains Dynamics GP has its own proprietary modification technology – Microsoft Dexterity, it can be developed remotely on local testing system, however in order to debug Dex customizations on your test environment, Dexterity installation on your remote connection server is recommended – this will reduce programmers getting-into-project curve
6. Version update hints. GP is currently on version 10.0 and if you are on earlier version: 4.0, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, 7.0, 7.5, 8.0 or 9.0 – you should make your homework on upgrade scenarios. One of the examples would be migration from Pervasive SQL 2000 (former Btrieve) or Ctree/Faircom to Microsoft SQL Server 2005, or 2000
GP technical problem solving scenarios and if you need to get info on specific GP modules features: GL, SOP, POP, etc. please find it in others GP related materials, such as module user manuals, whitepapers
1. ERP remote support technologies in general. Web session tools, such as gotomeeting, allow ERP consultants, being remote, lead web presentation, when your users, supposedly sitting in one conference room at your office and watching projected to the wall screen computer monitor. Web session allows consultant to take mouse and keyboard control as well as give it back to trainees
2. Phone conferencing. If you are in the same country, you can typically use your regular office phone and call to conference supporting phone from gotomeeting or other web conferencing service provider. If you are in several countries, the best and cost efficient solutions might be internet telephony, such as skype: if your remote users have skype ID – this is all you need to get everyone in the conference
3. Problem Solving advises. As, regardless of theoretical efficiency of web conferences, your human face-to-face interaction is to some extent restricted, there should be nurtured the culture of well structured technical questioning. For example, try to be very specific: what exactly you were doing, what error message you received (provide screen shots of error messages) – this technique will let technical support engineer to skip “clarification” phase and go down to the problem solving immediately
4. Version upgrade, data fixing remote support technologies. Web session being good for user training, is probably not optimal solution for day-to-day data repair tasks. Web session requires both sides to be in the session, which is not really required for data fixing scenarios – you as GP user, describe the issue and remote support technician will connect to your desktop remotely and will fix the problem when he will have this task to be scheduled by manager. Remote desktop technologies typically include VPN connection and Remote Desktops.
5. Customization Support and Design remotely. Microsoft Great Plains Dynamics GP has its own proprietary modification technology – Microsoft Dexterity, it can be developed remotely on local testing system, however in order to debug Dex customizations on your test environment, Dexterity installation on your remote connection server is recommended – this will reduce programmers getting-into-project curve
6. Version update hints. GP is currently on version 10.0 and if you are on earlier version: 4.0, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, 7.0, 7.5, 8.0 or 9.0 – you should make your homework on upgrade scenarios. One of the examples would be migration from Pervasive SQL 2000 (former Btrieve) or Ctree/Faircom to Microsoft SQL Server 2005, or 2000
9/17/07
Inside the Personal Computer
We may become used to computers at our office and homes, but the innards always remain a mystery of sorts. What lies inside the box? What creates the dazzling images and almost reads your mind? The components which make up a personal computer are barely few.
The biggest part of a PC is the mother board. It is called so because it acts as a substratum on which other components are mounted. The motherboard itself has many slots in which other parts can be added. First of all, the motherboard requires power to operate. Being a digital component, it works on direct current. The conversion from the usual alternating current supply to direct current is accomplished by the power supply. The power supply gives off heat and therefore requires a fan to cool it down. This is the whirring sound which you normally hear from the back of a PC box. This box which contains the modules and the motherboard is called a mini tower or a full tower depending on its size.
The heart of any PC is the microprocessor. This device accepts, modifies and presents data. Intel and AMD are two companies which manufacture microprocessors. The microprocessor is designed in a compact form and sits in the slot provided on the motherboard. It can be recognized by the fan which is mounted right on top of it.
The motherboard also has slots for the video card, audio card and the internet card, which is also called a network interface card. The latest motherboards have all features built into itself and therefore does not need cards to be added. Video cards are connected to the output device or what we know as a monitor.
The advanced video cards have their own memory for faster operation .They are called video RAM or Video random access memory.
The PC requires some other essential components called the memory. Memory itself can be divided into three categories. The ROM or read only memory is in the form of a chip which is mounted on the motherboard. The information residing on the ROM cannot be altered. This memory is used to boot strap the PC or in simple words it is used while the computer is being started. There are slots built into the motherboard for RAM, or random access memory. This memory is used while the microprocessor is storing temporary data. Another important kind of memory is the hard disc drive which is connected externally to the motherboard. This memory stores processed information.
We may also find a floppy disc drive or FDD (which has almost become redundant). A CDROM or DVDROM drive has replaced FDD as the main source of storage and retrieval of external data.
Add input devices, which are for providing data to the PC, like a keyboard and a mouse and we have a fully working PC, right in front of us.
The PC essentially has input devices which provide data, the microprocessor to process this information and output device to display the results. Memory in different forms is required to store data. This in short is what a PC is made of.
The biggest part of a PC is the mother board. It is called so because it acts as a substratum on which other components are mounted. The motherboard itself has many slots in which other parts can be added. First of all, the motherboard requires power to operate. Being a digital component, it works on direct current. The conversion from the usual alternating current supply to direct current is accomplished by the power supply. The power supply gives off heat and therefore requires a fan to cool it down. This is the whirring sound which you normally hear from the back of a PC box. This box which contains the modules and the motherboard is called a mini tower or a full tower depending on its size.
The heart of any PC is the microprocessor. This device accepts, modifies and presents data. Intel and AMD are two companies which manufacture microprocessors. The microprocessor is designed in a compact form and sits in the slot provided on the motherboard. It can be recognized by the fan which is mounted right on top of it.
The motherboard also has slots for the video card, audio card and the internet card, which is also called a network interface card. The latest motherboards have all features built into itself and therefore does not need cards to be added. Video cards are connected to the output device or what we know as a monitor.
The advanced video cards have their own memory for faster operation .They are called video RAM or Video random access memory.
The PC requires some other essential components called the memory. Memory itself can be divided into three categories. The ROM or read only memory is in the form of a chip which is mounted on the motherboard. The information residing on the ROM cannot be altered. This memory is used to boot strap the PC or in simple words it is used while the computer is being started. There are slots built into the motherboard for RAM, or random access memory. This memory is used while the microprocessor is storing temporary data. Another important kind of memory is the hard disc drive which is connected externally to the motherboard. This memory stores processed information.
We may also find a floppy disc drive or FDD (which has almost become redundant). A CDROM or DVDROM drive has replaced FDD as the main source of storage and retrieval of external data.
Add input devices, which are for providing data to the PC, like a keyboard and a mouse and we have a fully working PC, right in front of us.
The PC essentially has input devices which provide data, the microprocessor to process this information and output device to display the results. Memory in different forms is required to store data. This in short is what a PC is made of.
Ecommerce – Get Absobred in the Vast World of Ecommerce Packages!
The world of Ecommerce has a number of offers to make but success here is all about making the right decision. It may be quite confusing at the onset but understanding your requirements and then making the right decision is the key to success here. You can decide to take in a complete solution or choose small parts of many and thus, have a tailor made solution, one that suits your requirements and is the best for you in terms of value for money.
Some of the points to be considered while choosing an Ecommerce solution include:
Domain Name Registration: Set up your own domain name, it would be a better deal than buying it along with an Ecommerce solution. Understand the technicalities involved, if required take advice from an expert because you would be better off handling domain name registration on your own.
Web hosting: Web hosting is another area where Ecommerce solution providers charge very heavily. It would be better to conduct a good survey and understand as to what are the offers available before actually committing to any particular solution provider as regards web hosting. The web hosting charges would vary depending on the size of the website.
Construction of the website: Earlier building a website involved work right from start, but now with the readily available website templates the task has become simpler. The Ecommerce solution template packages come as a boon for both the developer as well as the client because it saves a lot of effort and time both for the developer and the client. The client is able to get the final output within a shorter time frame and is able to see how the site would look immediately. Any changes whatsoever in the looks can be made then and there and with the content uploaded the Ecommerce site is all ready for starting business.
Shopping Cart: Most of the good web hosting packages comes with the shopping cart software and therefore, its best to make these enquiries right in the beginning so that you are sure of what is available to you as part of the package.
Merchant Accounts: Merchant account is an important component of a , professional ecommerce web design so as to cater to the requirements of the individual customer. The formalities as regards the merchant account may involve some time as it would involve procedures like confirmation of identity and such other things. Therefore, it would be ideal to take care of the formalities regarding the merchant account right at the beginning so that it is ready by the time your ecommerce website is ready to start and there is no time lag that would affect your business adversely. It would be best to check with your banker or else there are also other good alternatives like PayPal that are available for convenience in online trading. The above essential elements of an ecommerce solution must be kept in mind before actually opting for a particular package. A good market research and analysis of what is available would help you in finding the best offer that is not only cost effective but also one that is best suited for your requirements.
The above are the basic requirements for a typical ecommerce solution; remember that a little research in these areas can save you a lot of money and effort in the long run.
Some of the points to be considered while choosing an Ecommerce solution include:
Domain Name Registration: Set up your own domain name, it would be a better deal than buying it along with an Ecommerce solution. Understand the technicalities involved, if required take advice from an expert because you would be better off handling domain name registration on your own.
Web hosting: Web hosting is another area where Ecommerce solution providers charge very heavily. It would be better to conduct a good survey and understand as to what are the offers available before actually committing to any particular solution provider as regards web hosting. The web hosting charges would vary depending on the size of the website.
Construction of the website: Earlier building a website involved work right from start, but now with the readily available website templates the task has become simpler. The Ecommerce solution template packages come as a boon for both the developer as well as the client because it saves a lot of effort and time both for the developer and the client. The client is able to get the final output within a shorter time frame and is able to see how the site would look immediately. Any changes whatsoever in the looks can be made then and there and with the content uploaded the Ecommerce site is all ready for starting business.
Shopping Cart: Most of the good web hosting packages comes with the shopping cart software and therefore, its best to make these enquiries right in the beginning so that you are sure of what is available to you as part of the package.
Merchant Accounts: Merchant account is an important component of a , professional ecommerce web design so as to cater to the requirements of the individual customer. The formalities as regards the merchant account may involve some time as it would involve procedures like confirmation of identity and such other things. Therefore, it would be ideal to take care of the formalities regarding the merchant account right at the beginning so that it is ready by the time your ecommerce website is ready to start and there is no time lag that would affect your business adversely. It would be best to check with your banker or else there are also other good alternatives like PayPal that are available for convenience in online trading. The above essential elements of an ecommerce solution must be kept in mind before actually opting for a particular package. A good market research and analysis of what is available would help you in finding the best offer that is not only cost effective but also one that is best suited for your requirements.
The above are the basic requirements for a typical ecommerce solution; remember that a little research in these areas can save you a lot of money and effort in the long run.
9/13/07
Email Systems Security: Dedicated Appliances Are The Key
Maintaining an in-house email system involves major appraisal of security risks and implications for the smooth running of any business. This can involve activity far beyond the task of installing and maintenance of Microsoft Exchange systems - it involves a major focus on the security required to ensure your Exchange Server stays up and running effectively. For a full and frank assessment, it is wise to discuss your individual situation with an expert IT security consultant - every business has different needs. However, here are a few hints and tips to help direct such a discussion, and focus on the key elements of email systems security.
Mail Server
A mail server is a standard computer whose dedicated job is to distribute emails into and out of your company. Consider it rather like an electronic mailroom. As with a real mailroom, in small companies an existing PC can be used to manage mail. Larger companies require dedicated computer hardware to distribute and store emails.
Spam
Spam is unwanted email. It's fairly harmless and generally just wastes your time and clogs up your system; although it can also cause offence. An integrated security system can, for example, use removal lists and sophisticated pattern-matching to weed out spam email and equally ensure wanted emails get through.
Viruses
Viruses are more serious than spam. Viruses are malicious attacks on networks in general, or even your business in particular. The motive may be to disable your system, find out information about your business, theft, or simply malice. Either way, you need protection - and now's the time to get it. Any business, even a sole trader, cannot afford to be without anti-virus protection in today's corporate environment.
Webmail and VPNs
Webmail is the function whereby your staff can pick up their email on the move or from home. VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) are systems which allow information to be securely transferred online between branch offices or other physically removed locations over the internet. Email protection products allow you to set up such services so that whilst you're protected, your staff has no need to sacrifice remote working.
Firewalls and Perimeter Security
Ignoring the complexities, the logic of a good firewall is to prevent any rogue activities from getting into your computer systems by stopping them at the front door before they come anywhere near your own systems. A wise move is to configure a separate, dedicated security appliance as a first and major first line of defence between the wider internet and your mail server.
About Security Appliances
You have probably heard of anti-virus software- it sits on your computer and protects against software attacks. However, a security appliance takes such protection orders of magnitude further. With a security appliance, the protective software lives on its own piece of hardware. This has several benefits. For example, all your own equipment is freed up to run your business, dedicated machinery cannot itself be compromised - it is designed to do one job alone; maintenance costs are low, as problems are easier to diagnose, and a security appliance will take care of spam and viral threats, leaving you to get on with running your business. There are many proprietary names in this field, and any IT network consultant would be able to advise on procurements and costs.
Mail Server
A mail server is a standard computer whose dedicated job is to distribute emails into and out of your company. Consider it rather like an electronic mailroom. As with a real mailroom, in small companies an existing PC can be used to manage mail. Larger companies require dedicated computer hardware to distribute and store emails.
Spam
Spam is unwanted email. It's fairly harmless and generally just wastes your time and clogs up your system; although it can also cause offence. An integrated security system can, for example, use removal lists and sophisticated pattern-matching to weed out spam email and equally ensure wanted emails get through.
Viruses
Viruses are more serious than spam. Viruses are malicious attacks on networks in general, or even your business in particular. The motive may be to disable your system, find out information about your business, theft, or simply malice. Either way, you need protection - and now's the time to get it. Any business, even a sole trader, cannot afford to be without anti-virus protection in today's corporate environment.
Webmail and VPNs
Webmail is the function whereby your staff can pick up their email on the move or from home. VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) are systems which allow information to be securely transferred online between branch offices or other physically removed locations over the internet. Email protection products allow you to set up such services so that whilst you're protected, your staff has no need to sacrifice remote working.
Firewalls and Perimeter Security
Ignoring the complexities, the logic of a good firewall is to prevent any rogue activities from getting into your computer systems by stopping them at the front door before they come anywhere near your own systems. A wise move is to configure a separate, dedicated security appliance as a first and major first line of defence between the wider internet and your mail server.
About Security Appliances
You have probably heard of anti-virus software- it sits on your computer and protects against software attacks. However, a security appliance takes such protection orders of magnitude further. With a security appliance, the protective software lives on its own piece of hardware. This has several benefits. For example, all your own equipment is freed up to run your business, dedicated machinery cannot itself be compromised - it is designed to do one job alone; maintenance costs are low, as problems are easier to diagnose, and a security appliance will take care of spam and viral threats, leaving you to get on with running your business. There are many proprietary names in this field, and any IT network consultant would be able to advise on procurements and costs.
Cloudmark SpamNet Review
Cloudmark is one of the most effective anti-spam products available in the market. In the present world, internet is the core of communication, and the security of internet communication is as essential as your personal security. The only method to prevent the invasions into computer systems is to install the specific prevention programs. Cloudmark is a security filter, which gives comprehensive protection against spams, viruses and phishing. According to reviews, Cloudmark is almost 98% effective in checking the junk mails.
Cloudmark is a proven anti-spam product in the market, which is available in different configurations, according to the purpose of use. Cloud mark is providing focused anti-spam products for home and home office, service providers, businesses, and partners. The specific products are prepared such to give importance to the functionality of the group. The head to head analysis reveals that the spam filter is far ahead of its competitors in the overall accuracy of the spam protection. Moreover, it is also particular to avoid false judgments about necessary emails as spams or phishing.
As every other anti-spam product, the primary attention of Cloudmark Spamnet will be to monitor the junk mails thoroughly. It monitors the incoming emails thoroughly, to find out and sort the blacklisted spams. But, the real specialty of the Cloudmark products are the community based filtering system. If any new message comes to the inbox, it cross check in the network for any suspected possibility of spam, virus and phishing, and the email is sorted according to the result from the network. The Cloudmark anti-spam products in the all around the world are networked with its servers, which is working in an adding up policy. The cyber criminals develop new devastators day by day, and if any kind of such new threats are addressed or any new filter is introduced; the addresses, URLs, subject lines, and text in the junk messages are communicated to the rest of the products in the network for better security. The community based anti-spam networking thus attributes cutting edge to Cloudmark, in a field with extreme competition, with a total security and up to date technology.
Cloudmark anti-spam program can be downloaded from the internet and installed in your computer. You can have a free trial period of 15 days, after which, you can subscribe the software in nominal prices. However, the needy ones will not hesitate to subscribe Cloudmark in the name of cost as the features are certainly cost effective. As the basic criterion of every successful program, Cloudmark is also a user friendly program, which can be customized according to the personal preferences. The regular clean up of the space is also undertaken by Cloud mark effectively, to avoid the storage constrains. Cloudmark also has a unique rating system for its users in the network. In the network, the persons, who are more using the Cloudmark, will get more influence in the network.
Cloudmark works efficiently in Outlook and Outlook Express. However, it can be also a drawback for the anti-spam software since email support is not available for customers working in any other platforms. Cloudmark anti-spam software cannot be given the perfect anti-spam titles because of these simple disadvantages. The other incapability of Cloudmark is that it cannot monitor the web based emails. Also, it cannot provide help system other than online.
Cloudmark is one of the useful anti-spam products in the market, which has certain significant attributes such as community networking. Even though it is not a perfect suggestion, Cloudmark is constantly revising its features and get updated according to the present moment strategies.
Cloudmark is a proven anti-spam product in the market, which is available in different configurations, according to the purpose of use. Cloud mark is providing focused anti-spam products for home and home office, service providers, businesses, and partners. The specific products are prepared such to give importance to the functionality of the group. The head to head analysis reveals that the spam filter is far ahead of its competitors in the overall accuracy of the spam protection. Moreover, it is also particular to avoid false judgments about necessary emails as spams or phishing.
As every other anti-spam product, the primary attention of Cloudmark Spamnet will be to monitor the junk mails thoroughly. It monitors the incoming emails thoroughly, to find out and sort the blacklisted spams. But, the real specialty of the Cloudmark products are the community based filtering system. If any new message comes to the inbox, it cross check in the network for any suspected possibility of spam, virus and phishing, and the email is sorted according to the result from the network. The Cloudmark anti-spam products in the all around the world are networked with its servers, which is working in an adding up policy. The cyber criminals develop new devastators day by day, and if any kind of such new threats are addressed or any new filter is introduced; the addresses, URLs, subject lines, and text in the junk messages are communicated to the rest of the products in the network for better security. The community based anti-spam networking thus attributes cutting edge to Cloudmark, in a field with extreme competition, with a total security and up to date technology.
Cloudmark anti-spam program can be downloaded from the internet and installed in your computer. You can have a free trial period of 15 days, after which, you can subscribe the software in nominal prices. However, the needy ones will not hesitate to subscribe Cloudmark in the name of cost as the features are certainly cost effective. As the basic criterion of every successful program, Cloudmark is also a user friendly program, which can be customized according to the personal preferences. The regular clean up of the space is also undertaken by Cloud mark effectively, to avoid the storage constrains. Cloudmark also has a unique rating system for its users in the network. In the network, the persons, who are more using the Cloudmark, will get more influence in the network.
Cloudmark works efficiently in Outlook and Outlook Express. However, it can be also a drawback for the anti-spam software since email support is not available for customers working in any other platforms. Cloudmark anti-spam software cannot be given the perfect anti-spam titles because of these simple disadvantages. The other incapability of Cloudmark is that it cannot monitor the web based emails. Also, it cannot provide help system other than online.
Cloudmark is one of the useful anti-spam products in the market, which has certain significant attributes such as community networking. Even though it is not a perfect suggestion, Cloudmark is constantly revising its features and get updated according to the present moment strategies.
The Ethics of P2P Peer to Peer File Sharing
Peer to peer file sharing is regarded as either illegal theft of artists’ work or a fair return to listeners or viewers for the money they have paid to get these artists where they are. Which side you take is dependant on whether you are a drug addled artist or a consumer sick of being ripped off for pieces of overpriced plastic or tape.
Do not take me the wrong way here, since not all artists and actors are drug ridden, but many are. Many others do a fine job, but we are still paying for the excesses of what I consider to be the majority, not the minority.
Most people take a middle view, and can understand the frustration of artists and movie makers whose work is being downloaded without payment being made. However, they also understand the view of the consumer, who has paid a considerable sum of money over the years to stars who live a lifestyle far in excess of their abilities. It is that unfairness that prompts many people to take the view that pop and film stars have earned enough from the hard working masses, and should not complain when some use a perfectly legal software system to download some of their so-called ‘work’, albeit illegally.
Peer to peer file sharing software is not illegal: it is the way that we use it that is illegal. Many new acts do not complain when we download their work, since that gives them publicity, but once they become famous and they no longer need us, then they complain. That, to me, is hypocrisy though I am willing to listen to the arguments of those who disagree.
It seems strange that bands that were unheard of until they offered free downloads of their work take law suits against the fans that got them to the top for downloading their music. Does that make sense? Or am I missing something? To me, they are nothing but prats that should crawl back to the hole the crept out of.
Many take the view that as long as those who make money from the music and film industry continue to break the laws of most countries in the world and get away with it, then what rights should they have to complain when others do the same, but in a less socially disruptive fashion.
Sure, it is certainly true that breach of copyright is illegal. By definition, therefore, it is illegal for people to use p2p file sharing software to download music and movie files that are protected by copyright. However, which is the greater offence: to download a copyright file or to deliberately break the drugs laws of your country of residence, or of the country you are visiting, and escape the appropriate punishment because your are ‘a star’?
Most of us know the answer to that, so as long as the stars break the law, then they should stop bleating about us doing the same and keep it shut until they conform. Once they conform, then we might too. Until then, however, the morality of the situation is that we are trying our level best to help them by cutting their income to a minimum so that they can no longer afford to buy drugs using our money. We will no longer pay for their rubbish music, and let’s face it, most new music these days is total crap, until they clean up their acts and start to set our kids an example that they would be proud to set their own kids.
Until then we will continue to share our best movies and music tracks throughout our networks. We are members of clubs, and as such, we have the industry’s welfare at heart. After all, without them we would have nothing to listen to or to watch. We would have nothing to copy or watch illegally. Once they are clean, then we will become clean.
We have banded together, and will stay banded together, to ensure that we help these drug-ridden stars by depleting them of the resource to purchase drugs and booze so that they will be more able to provide decent movies and music to our children in the future by being clean and working with clear heads. Surely that is an aspiration to be applauded. We are providing a social service and should be commended, not prosecuted.
That is why P2P should be provided with government grants and not hounded. We are not only doing good to the stars by showing them the error of their ways, but are helping the future of the children of our respective nations.
Do not take me the wrong way here, since not all artists and actors are drug ridden, but many are. Many others do a fine job, but we are still paying for the excesses of what I consider to be the majority, not the minority.
Most people take a middle view, and can understand the frustration of artists and movie makers whose work is being downloaded without payment being made. However, they also understand the view of the consumer, who has paid a considerable sum of money over the years to stars who live a lifestyle far in excess of their abilities. It is that unfairness that prompts many people to take the view that pop and film stars have earned enough from the hard working masses, and should not complain when some use a perfectly legal software system to download some of their so-called ‘work’, albeit illegally.
Peer to peer file sharing software is not illegal: it is the way that we use it that is illegal. Many new acts do not complain when we download their work, since that gives them publicity, but once they become famous and they no longer need us, then they complain. That, to me, is hypocrisy though I am willing to listen to the arguments of those who disagree.
It seems strange that bands that were unheard of until they offered free downloads of their work take law suits against the fans that got them to the top for downloading their music. Does that make sense? Or am I missing something? To me, they are nothing but prats that should crawl back to the hole the crept out of.
Many take the view that as long as those who make money from the music and film industry continue to break the laws of most countries in the world and get away with it, then what rights should they have to complain when others do the same, but in a less socially disruptive fashion.
Sure, it is certainly true that breach of copyright is illegal. By definition, therefore, it is illegal for people to use p2p file sharing software to download music and movie files that are protected by copyright. However, which is the greater offence: to download a copyright file or to deliberately break the drugs laws of your country of residence, or of the country you are visiting, and escape the appropriate punishment because your are ‘a star’?
Most of us know the answer to that, so as long as the stars break the law, then they should stop bleating about us doing the same and keep it shut until they conform. Once they conform, then we might too. Until then, however, the morality of the situation is that we are trying our level best to help them by cutting their income to a minimum so that they can no longer afford to buy drugs using our money. We will no longer pay for their rubbish music, and let’s face it, most new music these days is total crap, until they clean up their acts and start to set our kids an example that they would be proud to set their own kids.
Until then we will continue to share our best movies and music tracks throughout our networks. We are members of clubs, and as such, we have the industry’s welfare at heart. After all, without them we would have nothing to listen to or to watch. We would have nothing to copy or watch illegally. Once they are clean, then we will become clean.
We have banded together, and will stay banded together, to ensure that we help these drug-ridden stars by depleting them of the resource to purchase drugs and booze so that they will be more able to provide decent movies and music to our children in the future by being clean and working with clear heads. Surely that is an aspiration to be applauded. We are providing a social service and should be commended, not prosecuted.
That is why P2P should be provided with government grants and not hounded. We are not only doing good to the stars by showing them the error of their ways, but are helping the future of the children of our respective nations.
5 Easy Steps to Improving Your Computer Performance
You don't have to be a computer expert to realize that your computer isn't working as well as it once was. Over time, that brand new computer - laptop or desktop - begins to have troubles. It runs slowly or it freezes up for no apparent reason, ruining your computer experience. But before you run out to the store for a new model, you need to try these five steps. All of them are easy enough for anyone to do - and you will see a vast improvement in just a few minutes.
Get Rid of Extra Files
If you've ever tried to find something in a room that's cluttered, you already know how difficult that can be. The same can be said of your computer. When you have too many files and too many programs, it can lead to troubles with the performance. What you need to do is get rid of the excess bloat that's on your computer. But while this is easy, you do need to be careful along the way. There are some programs on your computer that you do not recognize by name that are vital to your computer's performance - and these should not be deleted.
The good news is that most PCs are careful about letting a user delete something that might be important, so you will be warned if you are heading into dangerous territory.
Right now, you might want to go into your Documents menu to remove any excess files that don't need to be there. If you do need these files, think about storing them on a flash drive instead of on your hard drive. In the documents folder, you will also see that you have pictures and other files that you are storing. If you don't need them or they can be taken off the hard drive - take them off.
Get Rid of Extra Programs
When you get a new computer, not only does it have the latest specifications, but it also tends to have extra programs on it - programs that you may never use. To help your computer's performance, you will want to remove as many of these as possible.
In a PC, go into your control panel folder to 'Add/Remove Programs.' You will find a list of all the games and other programs on your hard drive. Each of these programs is not only taking up space on your drive, but they can also be potentially slowing down the performance. Take some time to look through these files to see what you use and what you can remove. Games tend to be a big filler on a computer's hard drive, so unless you play these regularly, they can be removed. Just follow the prompts on your computer screen in this folder.
Free Up Space on your Hard Disk
To further help your computer's performance, you will want to head back into your control panel to the option to free up space on your hard disk. This is helpful especially to a computer user that doesn't know a lot about what is okay to delete and what isn't. This program gathers the information on the computer (temporary internet files, things in the recycling bin, etc.) that can be easily deleted without any troubles. All you need to do is click on this option, allow the computer to gather the files, and then tell the computer to remove them.
Defragment Your Computer Regularly
Another option in your Control Panel is to defragment your hard drives. This option allows your computer to rearrange the remaining files on your computer so that they run more quickly and efficiently. This process basically assesses your current hard drive and then sees how it can rearrange everything. The process should be done on a regular basis, even weekly if you can. It's best to do this after you have deleted the excess files because you can then just rearrange all of the remaining programs and files in the process.
There may be some files that can not be moved during the defragmentation process, but this does not cause any major problems for most people.
Add More Memory
If all of these steps simply do not help your computer, your best bet is to add more memory to your hard drive. This will help your computer to run better and more efficiently. When all the programs have enough room to run, this will enhance the speed of your programs as well as your ability to run multiple programs at the same time.
These simple steps will help you improve the performance of your computer without necessitating any additional costs, unless you need more memory. And this adds up to savings for you and for your computer. When you can maintain the performance, you will be able to keep your computer for a longer period of time without having to replace it.
Get Rid of Extra Files
If you've ever tried to find something in a room that's cluttered, you already know how difficult that can be. The same can be said of your computer. When you have too many files and too many programs, it can lead to troubles with the performance. What you need to do is get rid of the excess bloat that's on your computer. But while this is easy, you do need to be careful along the way. There are some programs on your computer that you do not recognize by name that are vital to your computer's performance - and these should not be deleted.
The good news is that most PCs are careful about letting a user delete something that might be important, so you will be warned if you are heading into dangerous territory.
Right now, you might want to go into your Documents menu to remove any excess files that don't need to be there. If you do need these files, think about storing them on a flash drive instead of on your hard drive. In the documents folder, you will also see that you have pictures and other files that you are storing. If you don't need them or they can be taken off the hard drive - take them off.
Get Rid of Extra Programs
When you get a new computer, not only does it have the latest specifications, but it also tends to have extra programs on it - programs that you may never use. To help your computer's performance, you will want to remove as many of these as possible.
In a PC, go into your control panel folder to 'Add/Remove Programs.' You will find a list of all the games and other programs on your hard drive. Each of these programs is not only taking up space on your drive, but they can also be potentially slowing down the performance. Take some time to look through these files to see what you use and what you can remove. Games tend to be a big filler on a computer's hard drive, so unless you play these regularly, they can be removed. Just follow the prompts on your computer screen in this folder.
Free Up Space on your Hard Disk
To further help your computer's performance, you will want to head back into your control panel to the option to free up space on your hard disk. This is helpful especially to a computer user that doesn't know a lot about what is okay to delete and what isn't. This program gathers the information on the computer (temporary internet files, things in the recycling bin, etc.) that can be easily deleted without any troubles. All you need to do is click on this option, allow the computer to gather the files, and then tell the computer to remove them.
Defragment Your Computer Regularly
Another option in your Control Panel is to defragment your hard drives. This option allows your computer to rearrange the remaining files on your computer so that they run more quickly and efficiently. This process basically assesses your current hard drive and then sees how it can rearrange everything. The process should be done on a regular basis, even weekly if you can. It's best to do this after you have deleted the excess files because you can then just rearrange all of the remaining programs and files in the process.
There may be some files that can not be moved during the defragmentation process, but this does not cause any major problems for most people.
Add More Memory
If all of these steps simply do not help your computer, your best bet is to add more memory to your hard drive. This will help your computer to run better and more efficiently. When all the programs have enough room to run, this will enhance the speed of your programs as well as your ability to run multiple programs at the same time.
These simple steps will help you improve the performance of your computer without necessitating any additional costs, unless you need more memory. And this adds up to savings for you and for your computer. When you can maintain the performance, you will be able to keep your computer for a longer period of time without having to replace it.
POS Hardware Solutions
POS is a short form for point of sale. POS hardware is basically used at trade or retail level, a checkout counter in a shop, or changeable sites where a deal occurs in this type of environment like restaurants, hotels, stadiums, casinos, as well as retail environments. POS hardware uses computers and dedicated workstations that are connected with money records, barcode readers, ocular scanners and magnetic band readers for correctly and right away capturing the business. POS hardware includes label printers, cash drawers, Barcode scanners, pole display, card swiper or reader, POS Monitor, POS Touch Screen and receipt printers. To use POS hardware, retailers need to know about them.
A vital element of POS hardware is the cash drawer. It is used to store Money, credit card receipts and other paperwork. Cash drawers receive a signal from the computer or receipt printer. The cash drawer should be compatible with the rest of the system if purchasing the POS hardware separately. Cash drawers should be strong and survive the steady opening and closing. Pole display is an elective POS hardware. It is a lighted display used to display the transaction totals, sum tendered and to display feature modified messages or to show advertisement.
POS Monitors may be a flat-panel LCD monitor or a standard CRT monitor; the LCD monitor may be more expansive than the standard but takes up less space at the checkout counter. POS Touch Screens are easy and faster to use than traditional keyboards and monitors and save counter space. The keyboards serve as a main POS hardware. Keyboards could differ in complexity and technology. They range in choices from a standard 101-key model like you may have on your home PC to industry-specific POS keyboards. Where special functions are required like Grocery stores and restaurants, only programmable keyboards are used.
Bar code scanners are used at many shops and restaurants for checking out the price of the product. They can be of a different size and technology. Hand-held scanners are the most common in use for the small retailers. Bigger stores with important checkout doings may require an embedded scanner, which mostly can be seen in supermarkets. Barcode scanners read a series of numbers and the barcode, decode the information, and send that information to the computer. Credit card readers or swipers may be included in the POS hardware. The Credit Card Reader is used for credit card reading. In addition to credit and debit cards there are some devices, which can work with gift cards and other loyalty programs, these are called signature capture devices. These devices help in making more efficient transactions and lessen the costs and errors linked with deposit documentation.
Conversely, receipt printers are used to print a documentation of the transaction for the customer. Receipt printers may be a Serial dot-matrix printer or a Thermal receipt printer. Dot matrix printers are normally cheaper than Thermal receipt printers but not as durable. However, Thermal receipt printers are very expansive and are suitable for long use.
A vital element of POS hardware is the cash drawer. It is used to store Money, credit card receipts and other paperwork. Cash drawers receive a signal from the computer or receipt printer. The cash drawer should be compatible with the rest of the system if purchasing the POS hardware separately. Cash drawers should be strong and survive the steady opening and closing. Pole display is an elective POS hardware. It is a lighted display used to display the transaction totals, sum tendered and to display feature modified messages or to show advertisement.
POS Monitors may be a flat-panel LCD monitor or a standard CRT monitor; the LCD monitor may be more expansive than the standard but takes up less space at the checkout counter. POS Touch Screens are easy and faster to use than traditional keyboards and monitors and save counter space. The keyboards serve as a main POS hardware. Keyboards could differ in complexity and technology. They range in choices from a standard 101-key model like you may have on your home PC to industry-specific POS keyboards. Where special functions are required like Grocery stores and restaurants, only programmable keyboards are used.
Bar code scanners are used at many shops and restaurants for checking out the price of the product. They can be of a different size and technology. Hand-held scanners are the most common in use for the small retailers. Bigger stores with important checkout doings may require an embedded scanner, which mostly can be seen in supermarkets. Barcode scanners read a series of numbers and the barcode, decode the information, and send that information to the computer. Credit card readers or swipers may be included in the POS hardware. The Credit Card Reader is used for credit card reading. In addition to credit and debit cards there are some devices, which can work with gift cards and other loyalty programs, these are called signature capture devices. These devices help in making more efficient transactions and lessen the costs and errors linked with deposit documentation.
Conversely, receipt printers are used to print a documentation of the transaction for the customer. Receipt printers may be a Serial dot-matrix printer or a Thermal receipt printer. Dot matrix printers are normally cheaper than Thermal receipt printers but not as durable. However, Thermal receipt printers are very expansive and are suitable for long use.
All About Rare Items In Runescape
Yes it's sad but true. Personally I don't know why Jagex did this, but I'm sure they have their reasons.I suppose the holiday drops and rare items show how long that someone has been playing, so you can show them off as an achievement. Or perhaps they don't like the fact that some people (Smart people) will hoard loads of holiday drops for themselves, buying them from anyone else that has them, or starting bogus accounts and collecting holiday drops, then when the holiday drop event is over and it's not longer possible to get them, the hoarder would charge a TON of money for each one. Since they're no longer available, people will pay big money for them.
Personally I don't think that it's a horrible thing, but it does present people with an opportunity to collect large ammounts of gold and sell it on ebay for example, that's a bad thing as it's against the rules and encourages people to use auto miners etc to gain gold.
Okay, now that we've established a bit of background information on the rare items in runescape, it's time to get down to the specifics of a few of the more popular holiday drops.
The most commonly talked about runescape rare item is the party hat, sometimes called phats for short. They come is 6 different colours, red, yellow, blue, green, white and purple. Pretty bad graphics by it's one of the rare items in runescape and presumably it's value will constantly increase.
Another rare item is the santa hat. This was a christmas holiday drop in 2002. Again, very rare and highly priced. Not sure about how much it costs compared with the party hats.
And finally, the last tradeable runescape rare item holiday drop that I'm going to talk about, is the halloween masks. As far as I know there were only 3 colours and other than that, they looked exactly the same. It could have been picked up on halloween 2002.
In 2003 and beyond, holiday drops were made to be no longer tradeable, and will never be tradeable for the forseeable future. So if you want holiday drops you'll have to either shell out massive sums of money for the old ones that are tradeable, or wait until the next holiday event to be able to get your own, for free of course :) I hope that has helped you gain a bit of insight into the world of rare items and holiday drops in runescape. I also hope to teach you much more in the future, such as how to get a ton of money in runescape.
Personally I don't think that it's a horrible thing, but it does present people with an opportunity to collect large ammounts of gold and sell it on ebay for example, that's a bad thing as it's against the rules and encourages people to use auto miners etc to gain gold.
Okay, now that we've established a bit of background information on the rare items in runescape, it's time to get down to the specifics of a few of the more popular holiday drops.
The most commonly talked about runescape rare item is the party hat, sometimes called phats for short. They come is 6 different colours, red, yellow, blue, green, white and purple. Pretty bad graphics by it's one of the rare items in runescape and presumably it's value will constantly increase.
Another rare item is the santa hat. This was a christmas holiday drop in 2002. Again, very rare and highly priced. Not sure about how much it costs compared with the party hats.
And finally, the last tradeable runescape rare item holiday drop that I'm going to talk about, is the halloween masks. As far as I know there were only 3 colours and other than that, they looked exactly the same. It could have been picked up on halloween 2002.
In 2003 and beyond, holiday drops were made to be no longer tradeable, and will never be tradeable for the forseeable future. So if you want holiday drops you'll have to either shell out massive sums of money for the old ones that are tradeable, or wait until the next holiday event to be able to get your own, for free of course :) I hope that has helped you gain a bit of insight into the world of rare items and holiday drops in runescape. I also hope to teach you much more in the future, such as how to get a ton of money in runescape.
Learn Excel - Where Is Excel® Used?
Whether you work at an accounting firm, a marketing company, an auto dealership, a school attendance office, a manufacturing plant’s human resources department, or an office associated with city, county, state or federal government, chances are, you’ll be called upon to use and learn Excel.
Just about every workplace has a demand for Excel, the computing world’s most commonly used software program for comparative data analysis. Excel has been available in various incarnations for more than a decade. Each subsequent release takes the program to new territory.
Popularly known as the best spreadsheet program on the market, Excel is powerful, easy to use, and remarkably efficient. Excel is highly interactive. Its spreadsheet cells are arranged in a collection of rows and columns, each of which can hold a number, a text string, or a formula that performs a function, such as calculation. It’s easy to copy and move cells as well as modify formulas. The spreadsheet is displayed on the computer screen in a scrollable window that allows the document to be as deep or as wide as required.
Working for a major newspaper in Northern California, I was one of several reporters involved in the annual evaluation of our county’s economy. The job involved collecting data that would be punched into Excel spreadsheets that ultimately ranked information according to the category of statistics being reviewed.
The beauty of Excel, from the standpoint of newspaper research projects, is that you can use formulas to recalculate results by changing any of the cells they use. With this model, you can use the same spreadsheet data to achieve various results by simply defining and changing formulas as desired. It is this feature that makes Excel so useful in so many different arenas.
With a click of the mouse, we reporters were able to get answers to a wide variety of questions. Which employers had the greatest number of workers? Which ones had the highest amount of gross annual receipts? Which ones appeared to be growing and which ones had declining sales? What was the volume of real estate loans and had there been a decline or increase from the previous year?
We looked at local and national retail, services, financial institutions, government entities, agriculture, the wine industry, tourism and hospitality, manufacturing, residential and commercial real estate, everything imaginable.
Excel allowed us to examine ratios, percentages, and anything else we wanted to scrutinize. Finally, we were able to use Excel to compare the results to data from previous years.
Since reporters tend to be former English majors, most of those who worked on this annual project were more familiar with Microsoft® Word than any other software program. Therefore, most were required to undergo Excel training. For some, learning Excel was easier than for others. A few relied on guides such as Microsoft Excel Bible or Excel for Dummies. Some reporters underwent an Excel tutorial while others learned by doing.
Not only were the Excel spreadsheets crucial to the research, the format of each was published in the newspaper. Here is where some additional Excel functions came into play. Editors were able to make the spreadsheets more visually appealing by using colors and shading, borders and lines, and other features that made the spreadsheets easy for readers to decipher.
Wearing another of my several hats in the newsroom, I often wrote articles concerning the local job market. I found proficiency in Excel was a requirement for a wide variety of employment positions and that area recruiting firms offered their clients opportunities to take free or low-cost Excel tutorials in preparation for the workplace. Most employers expect job candidates to already know the software that the work will require and don’t want to have to train new hires.
Don’t kid yourself. If you’re seeking any kind of office work, you’ll need to know not only Microsoft Word but also Excel.
Excel and Microsoft are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation, registered in the U.S. and other countries.
Just about every workplace has a demand for Excel, the computing world’s most commonly used software program for comparative data analysis. Excel has been available in various incarnations for more than a decade. Each subsequent release takes the program to new territory.
Popularly known as the best spreadsheet program on the market, Excel is powerful, easy to use, and remarkably efficient. Excel is highly interactive. Its spreadsheet cells are arranged in a collection of rows and columns, each of which can hold a number, a text string, or a formula that performs a function, such as calculation. It’s easy to copy and move cells as well as modify formulas. The spreadsheet is displayed on the computer screen in a scrollable window that allows the document to be as deep or as wide as required.
Working for a major newspaper in Northern California, I was one of several reporters involved in the annual evaluation of our county’s economy. The job involved collecting data that would be punched into Excel spreadsheets that ultimately ranked information according to the category of statistics being reviewed.
The beauty of Excel, from the standpoint of newspaper research projects, is that you can use formulas to recalculate results by changing any of the cells they use. With this model, you can use the same spreadsheet data to achieve various results by simply defining and changing formulas as desired. It is this feature that makes Excel so useful in so many different arenas.
With a click of the mouse, we reporters were able to get answers to a wide variety of questions. Which employers had the greatest number of workers? Which ones had the highest amount of gross annual receipts? Which ones appeared to be growing and which ones had declining sales? What was the volume of real estate loans and had there been a decline or increase from the previous year?
We looked at local and national retail, services, financial institutions, government entities, agriculture, the wine industry, tourism and hospitality, manufacturing, residential and commercial real estate, everything imaginable.
Excel allowed us to examine ratios, percentages, and anything else we wanted to scrutinize. Finally, we were able to use Excel to compare the results to data from previous years.
Since reporters tend to be former English majors, most of those who worked on this annual project were more familiar with Microsoft® Word than any other software program. Therefore, most were required to undergo Excel training. For some, learning Excel was easier than for others. A few relied on guides such as Microsoft Excel Bible or Excel for Dummies. Some reporters underwent an Excel tutorial while others learned by doing.
Not only were the Excel spreadsheets crucial to the research, the format of each was published in the newspaper. Here is where some additional Excel functions came into play. Editors were able to make the spreadsheets more visually appealing by using colors and shading, borders and lines, and other features that made the spreadsheets easy for readers to decipher.
Wearing another of my several hats in the newsroom, I often wrote articles concerning the local job market. I found proficiency in Excel was a requirement for a wide variety of employment positions and that area recruiting firms offered their clients opportunities to take free or low-cost Excel tutorials in preparation for the workplace. Most employers expect job candidates to already know the software that the work will require and don’t want to have to train new hires.
Don’t kid yourself. If you’re seeking any kind of office work, you’ll need to know not only Microsoft Word but also Excel.
Excel and Microsoft are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation, registered in the U.S. and other countries.
What makes a good requirement?
Most project teams know the importance of gathering requirements -- what the project is to accomplish -- and analyzing them before starting out. A good set of requirements is the foundation upon which a successful project is built. Ill-formed requirements lead to misunderstandings, rework, and, potentially, total project failure. But what is a “good” requirement? Certainly, like all the other elements of project documentation, it must be clear and succinct. But in addition, a good requirement is testable, assignable, and cost-effective.
Testable
We all probably have been on projects with requirements that read something like “The product shall be easy to use.” Ease of use is desirable to be sure. And if the final product is not, the project team will certainly hear about it. But stating this desire as a requirement gives no real guidance on how to proceed. During the course of design and construction there is no objective way of measuring how well the team is satisfying it. It is just verbiage that gets in the way and creates expectations that might not be realized. If a requirement is not testable, it is not a requirement. It has to be fixed. It is as simple as that. If you encounter an untestable requirement during requirement analysis, you can fix it in one of two ways. First, you can rework it so that it does become testable. Useability requirements are particularly hard in this regard of course, but even something like “Eighty percent of a test group shall rate ease of use at least a 4 on a scale of 1 to 5” is superior to “The product shall be easy to use”. The reworking does not guarantee a great design but it is something that the project team can work towards during development, testing, and user acceptance. The second way to handle an untestable requirement is to move it to the goals or objectives section of the requirement document. You do not want to get rid of the desire all together so the thought does need a home --- but not as a requirement.
Assignable
Eventually the final product of the project is tested against the list of (hopefully) testable requirements. Often it is discovered that not only do some requirements fail because of flaws but also because, oops, the functionality was just never implemented. Good practice, of course, is to ensure that each and every requirement is assigned to an element of the design. This can be a multi-step process in which requirements are first assigned to the top-level elements. Then within each element they are further assigned to sub-elements, continuing down to the purview of the single individual responsible for a portion of the design or implementation. A rigorous application of assignment helps ensure that no requirement is forgotten. But even with rigorous assignment, requirements can still “fall between the cracks”. One of the main reasons this happens is that some requirements, as written, are applicable at a high level and no designer ownership is ever assigned. For example for a software project, “The response time from pressing the Enter key until the screen updates shall be less than one second” is a testable requirement. The problem is that the delay consists of input verification on a client computer, network messaging, application server processing, network messaging again, and finally client presentation. Each of these pieces of the design might be the responsibility of a different individual. There is no ownership of the requirement. The solution to this problem is to create what are called derived requirements. Derived requirements are children of a parent requirement. If all of them are satisfied than the parent requirement is satisfied as well. In the example, the derived requirements could be “Input verification shall be less than .1 second” and so on for the rest with the total for all of the pieces summing to 1 second. Specifying the allocated delays is a hard problem. A project team often can only guess. But by doing so, requirements can be assigned to individual elements. Every designer knows his responsibility. During testing the allocated times can be shifted as needed. The key point is that no requirement falls between the cracks.
Cost-Effective
Not all requirements are created equal. Some are easy to implement, such as “Name, street, city, zip, and state shall be displayed”. Others are complex, hard to implement and hard to test, such as “When the system loading exceeds 80%, the backup process shall be initiated which copies all in-memory records to disk”. Although it is impossible to do this in reality, consider the thought experiment in which you assigned the actual project cost to design, develop, and test every single requirement. Now sort these costs from the least to the most expensive and sum them up, that is, create a graph of the cost of satisfying one requirement, then two, then three, and so on up until all of the requirements are satisfied, including the most costly ones. The curve you get would start off slowly and then grow increasingly sharper as you progress to more and more expensive requirements. Most of the requirements are satisfied reasonably. A few, however, contribute a disproportionate amount to overall project cost. A cost-effective project only implements requirements up to where the curve begins to rise sharply. In real life we do not have such a quantitative curve, but usually we do have a gut feel for which the hard requirements are. You can do one of three things with these requirements. First, review just how important they are. They indeed might not be worth the cost. Second, move them to goals or objectives. Keep them around but not as requirements. Third, prototype them before beginning the major development effort. Often prototyping provides design insights that greatly reduce the final costs. Testable, assignable, cost-effective -- hallmarks of a good requirement. Checking for them is an essential part of requirement analysis.
Testable
We all probably have been on projects with requirements that read something like “The product shall be easy to use.” Ease of use is desirable to be sure. And if the final product is not, the project team will certainly hear about it. But stating this desire as a requirement gives no real guidance on how to proceed. During the course of design and construction there is no objective way of measuring how well the team is satisfying it. It is just verbiage that gets in the way and creates expectations that might not be realized. If a requirement is not testable, it is not a requirement. It has to be fixed. It is as simple as that. If you encounter an untestable requirement during requirement analysis, you can fix it in one of two ways. First, you can rework it so that it does become testable. Useability requirements are particularly hard in this regard of course, but even something like “Eighty percent of a test group shall rate ease of use at least a 4 on a scale of 1 to 5” is superior to “The product shall be easy to use”. The reworking does not guarantee a great design but it is something that the project team can work towards during development, testing, and user acceptance. The second way to handle an untestable requirement is to move it to the goals or objectives section of the requirement document. You do not want to get rid of the desire all together so the thought does need a home --- but not as a requirement.
Assignable
Eventually the final product of the project is tested against the list of (hopefully) testable requirements. Often it is discovered that not only do some requirements fail because of flaws but also because, oops, the functionality was just never implemented. Good practice, of course, is to ensure that each and every requirement is assigned to an element of the design. This can be a multi-step process in which requirements are first assigned to the top-level elements. Then within each element they are further assigned to sub-elements, continuing down to the purview of the single individual responsible for a portion of the design or implementation. A rigorous application of assignment helps ensure that no requirement is forgotten. But even with rigorous assignment, requirements can still “fall between the cracks”. One of the main reasons this happens is that some requirements, as written, are applicable at a high level and no designer ownership is ever assigned. For example for a software project, “The response time from pressing the Enter key until the screen updates shall be less than one second” is a testable requirement. The problem is that the delay consists of input verification on a client computer, network messaging, application server processing, network messaging again, and finally client presentation. Each of these pieces of the design might be the responsibility of a different individual. There is no ownership of the requirement. The solution to this problem is to create what are called derived requirements. Derived requirements are children of a parent requirement. If all of them are satisfied than the parent requirement is satisfied as well. In the example, the derived requirements could be “Input verification shall be less than .1 second” and so on for the rest with the total for all of the pieces summing to 1 second. Specifying the allocated delays is a hard problem. A project team often can only guess. But by doing so, requirements can be assigned to individual elements. Every designer knows his responsibility. During testing the allocated times can be shifted as needed. The key point is that no requirement falls between the cracks.
Cost-Effective
Not all requirements are created equal. Some are easy to implement, such as “Name, street, city, zip, and state shall be displayed”. Others are complex, hard to implement and hard to test, such as “When the system loading exceeds 80%, the backup process shall be initiated which copies all in-memory records to disk”. Although it is impossible to do this in reality, consider the thought experiment in which you assigned the actual project cost to design, develop, and test every single requirement. Now sort these costs from the least to the most expensive and sum them up, that is, create a graph of the cost of satisfying one requirement, then two, then three, and so on up until all of the requirements are satisfied, including the most costly ones. The curve you get would start off slowly and then grow increasingly sharper as you progress to more and more expensive requirements. Most of the requirements are satisfied reasonably. A few, however, contribute a disproportionate amount to overall project cost. A cost-effective project only implements requirements up to where the curve begins to rise sharply. In real life we do not have such a quantitative curve, but usually we do have a gut feel for which the hard requirements are. You can do one of three things with these requirements. First, review just how important they are. They indeed might not be worth the cost. Second, move them to goals or objectives. Keep them around but not as requirements. Third, prototype them before beginning the major development effort. Often prototyping provides design insights that greatly reduce the final costs. Testable, assignable, cost-effective -- hallmarks of a good requirement. Checking for them is an essential part of requirement analysis.
A Wonderful Simulation Game Kindergarten
Wow… this is the coolest game! I love babies, so playing KINDERGARTEN was so exciting for me! The colors and graphics are great. The details of the babies are amazing! You can totally see kids in their laughing as well as weeping moods. KINDERGARTEN is a fun-filled, colorful and interactive management simulation game where you play Mila, the super sweet owner of the KINDERGARTEN! KINDERGARTEN is a high quality & entertaining cell animation game…which makes this game so incredibly interactive and fun!
Mila Says:
“Hi! I am Mila together we will manage a KINDERGARTEN, this means taking care of babies”
Parents bring their babies to Mila’s KINDERGARTEN, and you have to help Mila take care of the babies. All of these different babies have many different needs and they will for sure keep you occupied! If a baby goes pee-pee or does a doo-doo, you have to help Mila take the baby in her arms and change its diapers! When the baby gets hungry, you will have to help Mila prepare a bottle of formula. Once the bottle is heated up in the Bottle Warmer, Mila can give the bottle to the baby! Usually it takes a while for a bottle to heat up. Once Mila earns more money you will be able to buy a faster Bottle Warmer with her!
You have to make sure that you take good care of the babies and that you keep them happy! The happier the babies are, the more money you can earn from the parents that drop off their babies! If you fail to keep babies happy, you will be penalized and you will not earn any money!
Mila says:
“We will start with two babies and if we do well our KINDERGARTEN will get more babies to take care of. With the money earned, we upgrade the interiors and exteriors of the KINDERGARTEN. Eventually more parents will bring their babies—and the KINDERGARTEN will start to grow!”
Once you earn money in the game, you can start using it to upgrade and expand interiors and exteriors of your KINDERGARTEN! Mila only has a few toys in her KINDERGARTEN, and she plans to buy more toys once she earns more money! You will have to help her!
I love the fact that you can do so much in this simulation game, like hire people. You can chose different types of employees and decide what kind of agency you want to use. Another neat thing is that you can decide whether you want to hire people permanently or just temporarily. The selection of employees to help you run your KINDERGARTEN is great! You can hire a nanny, a receptionist, and more. You can even hire a clown to keep the babies happy! So cool! I love it that you can expand your KINDERGARTEN as well with the real estate agent; like add stuff to it (such as a bedroom, kitchen, etc.). The shop is great! You can buy the greatest stuff to upgrade your KINDERGARTEN from the inside (such as beds, cribs, etc.). This game is definitely a challenge for anyone! Youda Games has really done a good job making this game!
Mila Says:
“Hi! I am Mila together we will manage a KINDERGARTEN, this means taking care of babies”
Parents bring their babies to Mila’s KINDERGARTEN, and you have to help Mila take care of the babies. All of these different babies have many different needs and they will for sure keep you occupied! If a baby goes pee-pee or does a doo-doo, you have to help Mila take the baby in her arms and change its diapers! When the baby gets hungry, you will have to help Mila prepare a bottle of formula. Once the bottle is heated up in the Bottle Warmer, Mila can give the bottle to the baby! Usually it takes a while for a bottle to heat up. Once Mila earns more money you will be able to buy a faster Bottle Warmer with her!
You have to make sure that you take good care of the babies and that you keep them happy! The happier the babies are, the more money you can earn from the parents that drop off their babies! If you fail to keep babies happy, you will be penalized and you will not earn any money!
Mila says:
“We will start with two babies and if we do well our KINDERGARTEN will get more babies to take care of. With the money earned, we upgrade the interiors and exteriors of the KINDERGARTEN. Eventually more parents will bring their babies—and the KINDERGARTEN will start to grow!”
Once you earn money in the game, you can start using it to upgrade and expand interiors and exteriors of your KINDERGARTEN! Mila only has a few toys in her KINDERGARTEN, and she plans to buy more toys once she earns more money! You will have to help her!
I love the fact that you can do so much in this simulation game, like hire people. You can chose different types of employees and decide what kind of agency you want to use. Another neat thing is that you can decide whether you want to hire people permanently or just temporarily. The selection of employees to help you run your KINDERGARTEN is great! You can hire a nanny, a receptionist, and more. You can even hire a clown to keep the babies happy! So cool! I love it that you can expand your KINDERGARTEN as well with the real estate agent; like add stuff to it (such as a bedroom, kitchen, etc.). The shop is great! You can buy the greatest stuff to upgrade your KINDERGARTEN from the inside (such as beds, cribs, etc.). This game is definitely a challenge for anyone! Youda Games has really done a good job making this game!
How to Upload Powerpoint Presentation to Youtube
YouTube-The most awesome video sharing website
YouTube has now become the number one place on the internet to find interesting news clips and videos, and many of us upload our own videos for the world to see.
Show your PowerPoint slides on YouTube
Anyone will have to say that having videos play on a YouTube is very cool, then how about upload PowerPoint presentation to YouTube, wouldn’t that wow you friends and make you look more professional and attractive on the internet? And why don’t you take a little time to learn how to add slideshow to your YouTube as well? Here is a simple example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUcZG38_hoI
Undoubtedly, you can use PowerPoint to create a much better video presentation than that!How to upload
Since YouTube accepts only video files from most digital cameras, camcorders, and cell phones in the WMV, AVI, MOV, and MPEG file formats. But we all know that our PowerPoint presentations are not video formats and Microsoft also doesn’t support this conversion. So we need a third party software to complete this process, and we also don’t want to lose any vice-over, movies, animations and transitions in the PowerPoint during the converting. The converted video PowerPoint presentation should play as the original. A product called Wondershare PPT2Video Converter will make this work like a piece of cake! Wondershare PPT2Video Converter is an all-in-one PowerPoint to video converter. It can convert PowerPoint presentations to almost all popular video formats such as MPEG, AVI, MP4, WMV, ASF, FLV, MOV, 3GP, 3GP2. Ideal for trade show, digital signature, in-store displays and ready for video podcast. You can download the product here to have a free try:
http://download.sameshow.com/ppt2video_trial.exe
If you are using the trial version and the convert failed, you’d better contact the Customer Service of the company to give you a full version or order it! Because the trial version has water mark and sometimes doesn’t work very well!
If you want to know more about its features, view this website:
http://www.sameshow.com/powerpoint-to-video.html
When you decided to use this tool to convert your PowerPoint presentation to video, we recommend the following settings:• MPEG4 (Divx, Xvid) format• 320×240 resolution• MP3 audio• 30 frames per second
Resizing your video to these specifications before uploading will help your videos look better on YouTube. Once you’ve finished editing your video, made sure it’s less than 10 minutes, smaller than 100MB, and in an acceptable format, you’re ready to upload it.1. Click “Upload Videos” in the upper-right-hand corner of any YouTube page.2. Enter as much information about your video as possible, including Title, Description, Tags, and Category. The more information you include, the easier it is for users to find your video!3. Determine if you want your video set to Public or Private.4. Click the “Continue Uploading” button.5. In the next window, click the “Browse” button to browse for the video file. Select the file you want to upload.6. Click the “Upload Video” button.
After you have uploaded the video, you have to wait for a few minutes or more, be patience, because YouTube has to convert your video to certain format that supported by the website.What are you waiting for, convert your wonderful PowerPoint slides to video and upload to YouTube now!Share with others
After you have uploaded the converted video, you can share your PowerPoint presentations with others, because each video on YouTube has a unique URL, you only need to tell your friend the address of your video, click on the “Share” button at the bottom of the video player, and enter the email addresses or YouTube usernames of the people to whom you want to send it. Click the “Send” button, and you’re all done! Besides, you can insert the URL to your Blog so that you can view your PowerPoint presentations on the blog.
YouTube has now become the number one place on the internet to find interesting news clips and videos, and many of us upload our own videos for the world to see.
Show your PowerPoint slides on YouTube
Anyone will have to say that having videos play on a YouTube is very cool, then how about upload PowerPoint presentation to YouTube, wouldn’t that wow you friends and make you look more professional and attractive on the internet? And why don’t you take a little time to learn how to add slideshow to your YouTube as well? Here is a simple example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUcZG38_hoI
Undoubtedly, you can use PowerPoint to create a much better video presentation than that!How to upload
Since YouTube accepts only video files from most digital cameras, camcorders, and cell phones in the WMV, AVI, MOV, and MPEG file formats. But we all know that our PowerPoint presentations are not video formats and Microsoft also doesn’t support this conversion. So we need a third party software to complete this process, and we also don’t want to lose any vice-over, movies, animations and transitions in the PowerPoint during the converting. The converted video PowerPoint presentation should play as the original. A product called Wondershare PPT2Video Converter will make this work like a piece of cake! Wondershare PPT2Video Converter is an all-in-one PowerPoint to video converter. It can convert PowerPoint presentations to almost all popular video formats such as MPEG, AVI, MP4, WMV, ASF, FLV, MOV, 3GP, 3GP2. Ideal for trade show, digital signature, in-store displays and ready for video podcast. You can download the product here to have a free try:
http://download.sameshow.com/ppt2video_trial.exe
If you are using the trial version and the convert failed, you’d better contact the Customer Service of the company to give you a full version or order it! Because the trial version has water mark and sometimes doesn’t work very well!
If you want to know more about its features, view this website:
http://www.sameshow.com/powerpoint-to-video.html
When you decided to use this tool to convert your PowerPoint presentation to video, we recommend the following settings:• MPEG4 (Divx, Xvid) format• 320×240 resolution• MP3 audio• 30 frames per second
Resizing your video to these specifications before uploading will help your videos look better on YouTube. Once you’ve finished editing your video, made sure it’s less than 10 minutes, smaller than 100MB, and in an acceptable format, you’re ready to upload it.1. Click “Upload Videos” in the upper-right-hand corner of any YouTube page.2. Enter as much information about your video as possible, including Title, Description, Tags, and Category. The more information you include, the easier it is for users to find your video!3. Determine if you want your video set to Public or Private.4. Click the “Continue Uploading” button.5. In the next window, click the “Browse” button to browse for the video file. Select the file you want to upload.6. Click the “Upload Video” button.
After you have uploaded the video, you have to wait for a few minutes or more, be patience, because YouTube has to convert your video to certain format that supported by the website.What are you waiting for, convert your wonderful PowerPoint slides to video and upload to YouTube now!Share with others
After you have uploaded the converted video, you can share your PowerPoint presentations with others, because each video on YouTube has a unique URL, you only need to tell your friend the address of your video, click on the “Share” button at the bottom of the video player, and enter the email addresses or YouTube usernames of the people to whom you want to send it. Click the “Send” button, and you’re all done! Besides, you can insert the URL to your Blog so that you can view your PowerPoint presentations on the blog.
9/12/07
Small Businesses and IT Support
Putting up a small business is quite challenging. With the intense competition in the market, your online system must be reliable and dependable. Having limited resources might make you want to take a short cut and divert your resources. This could be one of the biggest business mistakes you will ever make. Fortune 500 companies spend a considerable amount of their budget for support, monitoring and maintenance of their IT support services. Surprisingly, you can do the same but at a more affordable cost. For your all your IT support needs, you should consider Computer Support San Diego.
Located in sunny California, Computer Support of San Diego is a one-stop shop for IT support needs. Targeting small to medium-sized businesses in San Diego, this company offers products and services that are surprisingly affordable and yet, of excellent quality. Among its services are security management, network security design and managed security services. In addition, there is their trademark Oasis Total Managed IT, Applause Outsourced IT and Simple IT Support.
Applause Outsourced IT: San Diego businesses today are becoming smarter and always go for a cost-effective solution to their requirements. Small businesses especially need to allocate their budget accordingly and avoid scrimping on IT support monitoring and maintenance. Computer Support San Diego understands this completely and came up with Applause Outsourced IT which is one of the IT support solutions packages. It comes with highly-experienced engineering support staff that ensures proper monitoring and maintenance of the infrastructure. And because this package is quite affordable, small and medium businesses can effectively lower their network ownership cots and increase revenue.
Oasis Total Managed IT: some small businesses in San Diego require more than IT support to ensure the smooth running of their business. Computer Support San Diego came up with a solutions package that includes enterprise monitoring, scheduled audits done regularly, virus scanning, proactive maintenance, asset reporting and tracking, managed file and print server, safe remote access and managed firewall. In addition to these services, small businesses will be delighted with the help desk system and unlimited phone, remote and email support. They could even purchase hardware without any markup.
Simple IT Support: knowing that your business, although small, is running smoothly and prepared for any technical problems that may arise will give you peace of mind. Computer Support San Diego works hard to ensure that all your basic IT support requirements are covered. The Simple IT Support plan is very dedicated and yet, affordable. Your business will enjoy engineering support for a specified number of hours in a month. The support staff is composed of highly-skilled and experienced engineers whose tasks include ensuring the proper monitoring and maintenance of your infrastructure. Being budget conscious does not mean having to neglect important aspects of your business.
San Diego small and medium businesses can now enjoy the same things that Fortune 500 companies do, at a very affordable price. For more information, visit www.computersupportsandiego.com and discover a world of difference.
Located in sunny California, Computer Support of San Diego is a one-stop shop for IT support needs. Targeting small to medium-sized businesses in San Diego, this company offers products and services that are surprisingly affordable and yet, of excellent quality. Among its services are security management, network security design and managed security services. In addition, there is their trademark Oasis Total Managed IT, Applause Outsourced IT and Simple IT Support.
Applause Outsourced IT: San Diego businesses today are becoming smarter and always go for a cost-effective solution to their requirements. Small businesses especially need to allocate their budget accordingly and avoid scrimping on IT support monitoring and maintenance. Computer Support San Diego understands this completely and came up with Applause Outsourced IT which is one of the IT support solutions packages. It comes with highly-experienced engineering support staff that ensures proper monitoring and maintenance of the infrastructure. And because this package is quite affordable, small and medium businesses can effectively lower their network ownership cots and increase revenue.
Oasis Total Managed IT: some small businesses in San Diego require more than IT support to ensure the smooth running of their business. Computer Support San Diego came up with a solutions package that includes enterprise monitoring, scheduled audits done regularly, virus scanning, proactive maintenance, asset reporting and tracking, managed file and print server, safe remote access and managed firewall. In addition to these services, small businesses will be delighted with the help desk system and unlimited phone, remote and email support. They could even purchase hardware without any markup.
Simple IT Support: knowing that your business, although small, is running smoothly and prepared for any technical problems that may arise will give you peace of mind. Computer Support San Diego works hard to ensure that all your basic IT support requirements are covered. The Simple IT Support plan is very dedicated and yet, affordable. Your business will enjoy engineering support for a specified number of hours in a month. The support staff is composed of highly-skilled and experienced engineers whose tasks include ensuring the proper monitoring and maintenance of your infrastructure. Being budget conscious does not mean having to neglect important aspects of your business.
San Diego small and medium businesses can now enjoy the same things that Fortune 500 companies do, at a very affordable price. For more information, visit www.computersupportsandiego.com and discover a world of difference.
Best DVD Copy Software Features - Top 3 DVD Copy Software
Features of Top DVD Copy Software
DVD’s are amazing but very costly. Overtime they can become scratched, damaged and rendered unusable. By using DVD copy software, you can quickly and easily create backups of your entire DVD collection. You will be protecting your original investment in movies.
DVD copy software is so fast and easy that even the most inexperienced computer users can successfully backup their DVD collection
One does not need specific technical expertise in order to run these applications. In a short period of time you will be able to create your own DVD Copy of personal software, without hassles.
The proper DVD copy software allows you to convert DVD to VCD, MPEG, AVI and DivX without difficulty.
What does one need to look for in DVD copy software?
The software should be simple and quick to install, irregardless of a person’s computer skills. Look for DVD copy software that has easy to use features. Also you want a software that will make copies that are the highest of quality. Your DVD’s should be able to be copied without complications and the software you choose should interact well with your other programs.
What kind of features should the DVD copy software you choose contain?
Compression capabilities
Retains or omits bonus footage
Restores defective or scratched DVD’s
Supports multiple disc formats
Decodes CSS decryption
Copies PlayStation and other computer games
Don’t find yourself in the position of finding your favorite movies unusable due to a scratch or other damage. Protect you investment by backing them up with DVD copy software.
Top 3 DVD Copy Software
1. 1Click DVD Copy
2. CloneDVD
3. DVDNextCopy
DVD’s are amazing but very costly. Overtime they can become scratched, damaged and rendered unusable. By using DVD copy software, you can quickly and easily create backups of your entire DVD collection. You will be protecting your original investment in movies.
DVD copy software is so fast and easy that even the most inexperienced computer users can successfully backup their DVD collection
One does not need specific technical expertise in order to run these applications. In a short period of time you will be able to create your own DVD Copy of personal software, without hassles.
The proper DVD copy software allows you to convert DVD to VCD, MPEG, AVI and DivX without difficulty.
What does one need to look for in DVD copy software?
The software should be simple and quick to install, irregardless of a person’s computer skills. Look for DVD copy software that has easy to use features. Also you want a software that will make copies that are the highest of quality. Your DVD’s should be able to be copied without complications and the software you choose should interact well with your other programs.
What kind of features should the DVD copy software you choose contain?
Compression capabilities
Retains or omits bonus footage
Restores defective or scratched DVD’s
Supports multiple disc formats
Decodes CSS decryption
Copies PlayStation and other computer games
Don’t find yourself in the position of finding your favorite movies unusable due to a scratch or other damage. Protect you investment by backing them up with DVD copy software.
Top 3 DVD Copy Software
1. 1Click DVD Copy
2. CloneDVD
3. DVDNextCopy
Photo Editing Software Feature Review - Top 3 Photo Editing Software Programs - Become a Pro
What are the Features and Advantages of using Photo Editing Software?
Photo editing software brings the photo finishing lab to your computer desktop for a minuscule of the cost. Never again will you have to worry about capturing just the right angle with just the right amount of light.
You will be able to upload from a digital camera, a removable storage device (CD, or zip flash drive), scanner or digital camcorder to easily edit your images. Photo editing software allows one to import and export using several different files and methods.
Share your photos with anyone in the world. Because once you have used your software to make the necessary changes to your photos they will be ready for emails, prints, online galleries, slideshows not to mention the many other options that are available.
Important features to shop for when purchasing photo editing software include:
Ease of Use: Start with your list of exactly what you personally want to do to your photos. After you have decided what characteristics of photo editing software are important to you, the next step is finding a user friendly program. These types of programs cover a broad spectrum from very simple to quite complicated. Look for programs that provide tutorials and “Wizards” to fix the most common problems with photos such as poor lightning, crooked images, red eyes etc.
Formats for Exporting and Importing: There are quite a few formats the software program you choose should support, JPG, GIF,TIF,PICT, EPS, PDF, BMP are considered the most common ones. File formats are continually changing so the more the better.
Editing: Choose a Photo editing program that will enable you to improve poor lighting, remove red eyes, add texts, special effects and so on.
Photo Sharing Capabilities: Look for tools that give you the ability to optimize your photos for the type of sharing method you wish to use. So keep in mind file size, resolution, and image size. There are a variety of different methods for sharing your photos such as cell phones, online galleries, emails, PDA’s and print just to list a few.
Output Features: A good photo editing program will allow you to store images in several versatile ways so they can be used in a number of environments such as printing, online photo galleries, emails, cell, phones, slideshows etc.
Organizing: Shop for photo organizing capabilities. Can you easily review thumbnails of your photos? How does the software search for images? Does it use keywords, or ratings? Are you able to view EXIF (digital camera data)? Does this software allow you to store your pictures in a permanent album? Can you archive your images? These are important features to search for.
Documentation, support and help: Is the documentation provided explanatory and useful? Does the program offer technical support in the form of FAQ’s, phone and email? What, if any, tutorials are available to explain difficult features and or options?
Documenting your life with family and friends with photo editing software is what is referred to as high tech fun!
Top 3 Photo Editing Software Programs
Nero Ultra
Photo Elements
Paint Shop Pro
Photo editing software brings the photo finishing lab to your computer desktop for a minuscule of the cost. Never again will you have to worry about capturing just the right angle with just the right amount of light.
You will be able to upload from a digital camera, a removable storage device (CD, or zip flash drive), scanner or digital camcorder to easily edit your images. Photo editing software allows one to import and export using several different files and methods.
Share your photos with anyone in the world. Because once you have used your software to make the necessary changes to your photos they will be ready for emails, prints, online galleries, slideshows not to mention the many other options that are available.
Important features to shop for when purchasing photo editing software include:
Ease of Use: Start with your list of exactly what you personally want to do to your photos. After you have decided what characteristics of photo editing software are important to you, the next step is finding a user friendly program. These types of programs cover a broad spectrum from very simple to quite complicated. Look for programs that provide tutorials and “Wizards” to fix the most common problems with photos such as poor lightning, crooked images, red eyes etc.
Formats for Exporting and Importing: There are quite a few formats the software program you choose should support, JPG, GIF,TIF,PICT, EPS, PDF, BMP are considered the most common ones. File formats are continually changing so the more the better.
Editing: Choose a Photo editing program that will enable you to improve poor lighting, remove red eyes, add texts, special effects and so on.
Photo Sharing Capabilities: Look for tools that give you the ability to optimize your photos for the type of sharing method you wish to use. So keep in mind file size, resolution, and image size. There are a variety of different methods for sharing your photos such as cell phones, online galleries, emails, PDA’s and print just to list a few.
Output Features: A good photo editing program will allow you to store images in several versatile ways so they can be used in a number of environments such as printing, online photo galleries, emails, cell, phones, slideshows etc.
Organizing: Shop for photo organizing capabilities. Can you easily review thumbnails of your photos? How does the software search for images? Does it use keywords, or ratings? Are you able to view EXIF (digital camera data)? Does this software allow you to store your pictures in a permanent album? Can you archive your images? These are important features to search for.
Documentation, support and help: Is the documentation provided explanatory and useful? Does the program offer technical support in the form of FAQ’s, phone and email? What, if any, tutorials are available to explain difficult features and or options?
Documenting your life with family and friends with photo editing software is what is referred to as high tech fun!
Top 3 Photo Editing Software Programs
Nero Ultra
Photo Elements
Paint Shop Pro
Learn More Using Computer
Wow, the computer industry has phenomenally taken over the world. Did you ever think back in the 80s that computers would be our right hands? I mean, we use them for practically everything these days. From banking online, to ordering clothes, to sending a message. This is why computer education is becoming so imperative for work in today's society. We all use and need computers for some aspect of our lives. If you're not taking advantage of them at work, then you're surely browsing the World-Wide-Web at home. These magnificent innovations certainly aren't going anywhere; therefore you better make sure you receive your proper computer education for what lies ahead.
Did you receive a decent computer education in high school? I have to say the Internet was just coming about when I was graduating. It was during my college career that I took a dive into computer education and modern technology concerning the Internet and more. I soon realized that I would need computers for pretty much any career path I chose. This prompted me to take a few additional computer courses and broaden my computer education. I learned all about Microsoft Office, hardware, software, viruses, creating presentations, graphs, and more. This basic knowledge is truly necessary to vie in today's job market. I noticed after graduation that every job I was interested in required some computer education and skills. Some occupations more than others. I was relieved that I had the mandatory tools of the trade.
If you ponder the amount of time you interact with computers on a daily basis, you will probably be shocked. Essentially all of us, regardless of our current job, encounter computers all the time. Many of us have even resorted to online conveniences, which in turn save us a considerable amount of valuable time. Home computers and the Internet are our friends. If you lack basic computer education and wish to get a better hold on modern technology and the future that lies ahead, it's time to take action. It's easy these days to take a computer course at your local college, or even online. This way you will have a better understanding of how the incomparable systems work. If you are not even Internet savvy, you can always ask a friend to aid you in getting online to take a course in computer education. It's for your future.
Did you receive a decent computer education in high school? I have to say the Internet was just coming about when I was graduating. It was during my college career that I took a dive into computer education and modern technology concerning the Internet and more. I soon realized that I would need computers for pretty much any career path I chose. This prompted me to take a few additional computer courses and broaden my computer education. I learned all about Microsoft Office, hardware, software, viruses, creating presentations, graphs, and more. This basic knowledge is truly necessary to vie in today's job market. I noticed after graduation that every job I was interested in required some computer education and skills. Some occupations more than others. I was relieved that I had the mandatory tools of the trade.
If you ponder the amount of time you interact with computers on a daily basis, you will probably be shocked. Essentially all of us, regardless of our current job, encounter computers all the time. Many of us have even resorted to online conveniences, which in turn save us a considerable amount of valuable time. Home computers and the Internet are our friends. If you lack basic computer education and wish to get a better hold on modern technology and the future that lies ahead, it's time to take action. It's easy these days to take a computer course at your local college, or even online. This way you will have a better understanding of how the incomparable systems work. If you are not even Internet savvy, you can always ask a friend to aid you in getting online to take a course in computer education. It's for your future.
game tournaments
If your passion in life is to play free games online, then you have spent a great deal of time in front of your computer monitor honing your skills on your favorite free online games and Flash games such as Drag Racer V2, Pinch Hitter 2 and so many other action games. If you are ready for a new gaming challenge, there are several online gaming tournaments where you will have a chance to compete with others in a friendly atmosphere and shine at your favorite free Internet games.
There are different types of tournament classifications. Although member tournaments require you to be a member of a particular website or organization, open tournaments are available for everyone to enter.
Some websites that offer game tournaments also provide other helpful information to help you enter and prepare for the big event. Tournament rules will also likely be listed. Each game tournament offered will likely be listed separately and played in its own rounds so that there will eventually be a championship winner for that particular game. You should be able to sign up for as many different games as you wish to participate in, and at that time you can designate at which skill level you would like to play. Tournaments can take a round robin format where participants are randomly grouped together, and the winners from the initial games advance to further rounds. This process of competition in rounds progresses until there is a final round, the winner of which is named the game champion. Some tournaments set time limits for how much time you are allowed in which to make your move, so be sure to read your specific tournament rules for these types of instructions. Some gaming sites that offer tournaments may also have a Tournament message board, so that there is one central place to look for tournament information. You might also find available tournaments that are currently in progress, and learn about past tournament results as well.
Some superior gaming sites offer online gaming tournaments for the online Battleship game, for example. You might have played this fun game many times against the computer as your enemy, but what a great deal of excitement will be yours when you play with a real enemy opponent, who might physically be thousands of miles away from you. You could play against friends you have made playing online Battleship, or you might play against complete strangers. Either way, you will have a competitive time matching wits against other excellent players.
Some gamers become so good at game tournaments that they enter professional game tournaments. These individuals have sponsors and play for big money prizes. There is even an idea in the works to televise these competitions. No matter what level of competition at which you would like to compete, there is an online gaming tournament ready for you to join in.
Jonathon Blocker enjoys playing online video and flash games. In addition to spending his time playing his favorite Free Online Games, he also competes in online gaming tournaments. His descriptions on where to find Free Internet games and what to look for in a quality flash game can help add some variety into your gaming life.
There are different types of tournament classifications. Although member tournaments require you to be a member of a particular website or organization, open tournaments are available for everyone to enter.
Some websites that offer game tournaments also provide other helpful information to help you enter and prepare for the big event. Tournament rules will also likely be listed. Each game tournament offered will likely be listed separately and played in its own rounds so that there will eventually be a championship winner for that particular game. You should be able to sign up for as many different games as you wish to participate in, and at that time you can designate at which skill level you would like to play. Tournaments can take a round robin format where participants are randomly grouped together, and the winners from the initial games advance to further rounds. This process of competition in rounds progresses until there is a final round, the winner of which is named the game champion. Some tournaments set time limits for how much time you are allowed in which to make your move, so be sure to read your specific tournament rules for these types of instructions. Some gaming sites that offer tournaments may also have a Tournament message board, so that there is one central place to look for tournament information. You might also find available tournaments that are currently in progress, and learn about past tournament results as well.
Some superior gaming sites offer online gaming tournaments for the online Battleship game, for example. You might have played this fun game many times against the computer as your enemy, but what a great deal of excitement will be yours when you play with a real enemy opponent, who might physically be thousands of miles away from you. You could play against friends you have made playing online Battleship, or you might play against complete strangers. Either way, you will have a competitive time matching wits against other excellent players.
Some gamers become so good at game tournaments that they enter professional game tournaments. These individuals have sponsors and play for big money prizes. There is even an idea in the works to televise these competitions. No matter what level of competition at which you would like to compete, there is an online gaming tournament ready for you to join in.
Jonathon Blocker enjoys playing online video and flash games. In addition to spending his time playing his favorite Free Online Games, he also competes in online gaming tournaments. His descriptions on where to find Free Internet games and what to look for in a quality flash game can help add some variety into your gaming life.
Finding the Right Ecommerce Solution and Ecommerce Web Design in This Competitive Online World
The internet has brought the world closer and made the concept of a global economy truly possible. In this highly competitive world, an Ecommerce website is what you need to achieve your business goals. The internet has however, made available a whole variety of options and so has made tough the task of finding the right ecommerce solution from the hundreds of options available today. The ecommerce solution should be such that it is simple for the visitor or prospective customer to understand and also operate. For an ecommerce site it is important to make available to the prospective customer an option regarding the mode of payment for the purchase made or else with so many sites having very attractive offers you will fail to generate any kind of interest.
Security is another important consideration for the customer and thus, in turn it ranks high in priority for you. The Ecommerce site should have a secure server which provides security to the client. The customer should be assured of security with regard to the personal and financial information provided at the time of making the purchase or registering with the website or else you would fail to establish a trustworthy reputation which in turn would do only harm to your business.
For success in the field of Ecommerce development, you must have a website that accepts credit card as a mode of payment. Credit cards are being increasingly used by customers for making payment online. Credit cards have come to be an accepted and convenient way of making payment and thus, for a successful ecommerce site it is important for you to accept credit cards as a mode of payment for the purchases made. You can even consider the option of opening a merchant account after taking into account the various aspects such as the cost incurred in using such facilities. All major credit cards should be accepted by your Ecommerce web designso as to enhance your business.
Credit cards have come to be a major mode of payment but there are also other accepted and equally popular payment options like Paypal, digital payments, debit cards to name a few. The Ecommerce web site design should thus, also cater for other modes of payment too. Other than online purchases the Ecommerce solution should also provide for other forms of purchase like a toll free phone number for placing orders. The Ecommerce solution opted for should be such that it caters to the needs of the individual customer and provides a variety of options to choose from. Some of the important requirements to consider while opting for an efficient Ecommerce solution would be:
* The cost factor
* Security offered
* Options made available to the prospective customer
* Payment options
The Ecommerce solution chosen should be one that caters to all your requirements and is able to provide the required services to the prospective customer making him feel special and also incorporate safety in the transactions. And this job of course can be done by an ideal and experienced ecommerce company. So, get a hold of a great ecommerce solution to excel in ecommerce world.
Security is another important consideration for the customer and thus, in turn it ranks high in priority for you. The Ecommerce site should have a secure server which provides security to the client. The customer should be assured of security with regard to the personal and financial information provided at the time of making the purchase or registering with the website or else you would fail to establish a trustworthy reputation which in turn would do only harm to your business.
For success in the field of Ecommerce development, you must have a website that accepts credit card as a mode of payment. Credit cards are being increasingly used by customers for making payment online. Credit cards have come to be an accepted and convenient way of making payment and thus, for a successful ecommerce site it is important for you to accept credit cards as a mode of payment for the purchases made. You can even consider the option of opening a merchant account after taking into account the various aspects such as the cost incurred in using such facilities. All major credit cards should be accepted by your Ecommerce web designso as to enhance your business.
Credit cards have come to be a major mode of payment but there are also other accepted and equally popular payment options like Paypal, digital payments, debit cards to name a few. The Ecommerce web site design should thus, also cater for other modes of payment too. Other than online purchases the Ecommerce solution should also provide for other forms of purchase like a toll free phone number for placing orders. The Ecommerce solution opted for should be such that it caters to the needs of the individual customer and provides a variety of options to choose from. Some of the important requirements to consider while opting for an efficient Ecommerce solution would be:
* The cost factor
* Security offered
* Options made available to the prospective customer
* Payment options
The Ecommerce solution chosen should be one that caters to all your requirements and is able to provide the required services to the prospective customer making him feel special and also incorporate safety in the transactions. And this job of course can be done by an ideal and experienced ecommerce company. So, get a hold of a great ecommerce solution to excel in ecommerce world.
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