Thursday, August 23, 2007
Friday, August 17, 2007
Shopping Online – Protect Yourself
Shopping Online – Protect Yourself
by: Joseph Kenny
These days, there are great bargains to be found by shopping online. Many items that previously were only available in stores are now being bought and sold online every day. Books, cds, DVDs and electronics are all growing in popularity as online purchases. Then there are things like flights, hotel bookings, car rentals and the like that are which are well established in the online shopping world. More and more stores are putting up websites that allow you to make online orders and even supermarkets now let you do your grocery shopping online and they’ll deliver the goods to your door.
Added to this growth in stores and other big business websites, there are also millions of small traders offering you goods online too. Online auction sites such as ebay are experiencing phenomenal success. These types of purchases however carry the risk that you do not really know who you are dealing with but you have to give them sensitive financial information in order to pay for your purchases. You are forced to choose between buying from small sellers and then trust them with your card details, or forgo the opportunities they offer and deal only with large and trusted names.
Payment Sites
This problem has been recognised and that is why it is now possible to shop online from lots of small sellers while maintaining your privacy and keeping your financial information secure. There are payment sites with the most popular probably being paypal, that are set up specifically to deal with issues like these. Indeed, paypal is now owned by ebay, which shows the link in importance between the two services offered by these companies.
What websites like paypal allow you to do is pay open an online account for free. You can then transfer money into your account using a standard credit card payment procedure. The advantage of this is that while you are providing your card information to paypal, this is the only company who you are giving this information to and since they are large and therefore, hopefully, trustworthy, your privacy and security should be safe.
Then when you make all your various purchases with smaller, more anonymous traders, all you do is make the payment through paypal and this avoids all the dangers having to give all your sensitive data out again and again. It is another example of how using credit cards online are becoming safer and more convenient.
by: Joseph Kenny
These days, there are great bargains to be found by shopping online. Many items that previously were only available in stores are now being bought and sold online every day. Books, cds, DVDs and electronics are all growing in popularity as online purchases. Then there are things like flights, hotel bookings, car rentals and the like that are which are well established in the online shopping world. More and more stores are putting up websites that allow you to make online orders and even supermarkets now let you do your grocery shopping online and they’ll deliver the goods to your door.
Added to this growth in stores and other big business websites, there are also millions of small traders offering you goods online too. Online auction sites such as ebay are experiencing phenomenal success. These types of purchases however carry the risk that you do not really know who you are dealing with but you have to give them sensitive financial information in order to pay for your purchases. You are forced to choose between buying from small sellers and then trust them with your card details, or forgo the opportunities they offer and deal only with large and trusted names.
Payment Sites
This problem has been recognised and that is why it is now possible to shop online from lots of small sellers while maintaining your privacy and keeping your financial information secure. There are payment sites with the most popular probably being paypal, that are set up specifically to deal with issues like these. Indeed, paypal is now owned by ebay, which shows the link in importance between the two services offered by these companies.
What websites like paypal allow you to do is pay open an online account for free. You can then transfer money into your account using a standard credit card payment procedure. The advantage of this is that while you are providing your card information to paypal, this is the only company who you are giving this information to and since they are large and therefore, hopefully, trustworthy, your privacy and security should be safe.
Then when you make all your various purchases with smaller, more anonymous traders, all you do is make the payment through paypal and this avoids all the dangers having to give all your sensitive data out again and again. It is another example of how using credit cards online are becoming safer and more convenient.
Domain Names
Domain Names
by: Clare Lawrence
Domain names are relatively straightforward! Or at least that’s the theory!!
The domain name is also, but technically not quiet correct, known as the website address.
Using an ISP’s domain name can look amateurish in an e-mail addresses, it is much more so with websites, giving the impression of hanging on another’s coat tails. The only exception being when a firm wants to re-inforce a local or professional affiliation by appearing as part of an existing site dedicated to a region or association. Even in such cases autonomy and continuity are better assured by having one’s own domain and merely using a page on the third party’s site to point users toward it.
Domains are classified according to their endings or “suffixes”. As a commercial organisation a company will almost certainly want a domain ending in .com or .co.uk. Other endings such as .biz and .ltd.uk are at least to date, insufficiently familiar to users, meaning the name can be too readily misremembered. Of the two desirable suffixes, .com is preferable for business with international activities, and arguably gives the impression of a bigger organisation, whilst .co.uk helps reassure users on the largely American-dominated web that they are indeed dealing with a UK firm.
The part of the domain name before the suffix will usually by the firms trading name, provided of course that the domain name has not already been registered, (which is increasingly likely these days). If the name is very long an abbreviation may be considered. Domain names are not case sensitive.
The actual registration of a domain name is a straightforward process that can be done online, either through your ISP or better still through a dedicated registration service company such as Discount Domains Ltd (http://www.discountdomainsuk.com). Renewal fees must be paid, typically every two years.
Checking if a domain name is freely available is very straightforward as most domain registration services provide a WHOIS service, as the name suggest, this checks the ownership details of a domain, note however that such services normally run 48 hours behind actual registrations.
Moving ISP’s can save money, however it may take time and incur extra charges. Pricing in the domain name registration industry have fallen considerably over recent years and a domain name typically now costs from $15 for two years registration.
Once your domain name is registered, you can either leave the domain name “parked” awaiting future use, or point it at a website, this is usually achieved by changing the Domain Name Server, or DNS settings on the domain to point at hosting company where your website is located. Almost all registration services offer a free user control panel to change these settings.
Web hosting is the provision of space on a web server to publish a web site. There are numerous hosting companies in the market, and most domain registration services also offer a hosting solution. Prices vary but $100 per annum should be sufficient for most business needs.
By Clare Lawrence 11th May 2004
by: Clare Lawrence
Domain names are relatively straightforward! Or at least that’s the theory!!
The domain name is also, but technically not quiet correct, known as the website address.
Using an ISP’s domain name can look amateurish in an e-mail addresses, it is much more so with websites, giving the impression of hanging on another’s coat tails. The only exception being when a firm wants to re-inforce a local or professional affiliation by appearing as part of an existing site dedicated to a region or association. Even in such cases autonomy and continuity are better assured by having one’s own domain and merely using a page on the third party’s site to point users toward it.
Domains are classified according to their endings or “suffixes”. As a commercial organisation a company will almost certainly want a domain ending in .com or .co.uk. Other endings such as .biz and .ltd.uk are at least to date, insufficiently familiar to users, meaning the name can be too readily misremembered. Of the two desirable suffixes, .com is preferable for business with international activities, and arguably gives the impression of a bigger organisation, whilst .co.uk helps reassure users on the largely American-dominated web that they are indeed dealing with a UK firm.
The part of the domain name before the suffix will usually by the firms trading name, provided of course that the domain name has not already been registered, (which is increasingly likely these days). If the name is very long an abbreviation may be considered. Domain names are not case sensitive.
The actual registration of a domain name is a straightforward process that can be done online, either through your ISP or better still through a dedicated registration service company such as Discount Domains Ltd (http://www.discountdomainsuk.com). Renewal fees must be paid, typically every two years.
Checking if a domain name is freely available is very straightforward as most domain registration services provide a WHOIS service, as the name suggest, this checks the ownership details of a domain, note however that such services normally run 48 hours behind actual registrations.
Moving ISP’s can save money, however it may take time and incur extra charges. Pricing in the domain name registration industry have fallen considerably over recent years and a domain name typically now costs from $15 for two years registration.
Once your domain name is registered, you can either leave the domain name “parked” awaiting future use, or point it at a website, this is usually achieved by changing the Domain Name Server, or DNS settings on the domain to point at hosting company where your website is located. Almost all registration services offer a free user control panel to change these settings.
Web hosting is the provision of space on a web server to publish a web site. There are numerous hosting companies in the market, and most domain registration services also offer a hosting solution. Prices vary but $100 per annum should be sufficient for most business needs.
By Clare Lawrence 11th May 2004
Search Engines on the Grapevine
Search Engines on the Grapevine
by: Jeffrey Solochek
It used to be whenever you needed to find something on the web you just opened IE to Yahoo and just enter in what you were looking for. Then you would scroll through the millions of matches and hope to find exactly what you wanted or needed. There were some smaller engines besides Yahoo but the majority of searches were either done on Yahoo or maybe AOL depending on who your supplier of the internet was.
Along came Google and with all the money that Google spent on marketing they were now the most used search engine. Their index was by far not the largest but they definitely spent the most money on the marketing because everybody knew who Google was. AllTheWeb had an index at least twice as large but they spent virtually no money on marketing and not many people even knew that they were out there.
Now with social networking and social bookmarking plus the technology of Web 2.0 there are a lot of new kids on the block. It used to be that no matter what somebody was looking for they would use just one search engine for all of their searches. Not anymore, there are now search engines for every niche and every genre. If you have something that you need and you can't find a search engine just close your eyes because it will probably be there tomorrow.
If I wanted a pizza delivered to my house I used to just go to Yahoo and in quotes enter "pizza delivery" and then add +31520 as my area code and then on the results page I would see a list of pizza delivery businesses and how far each one was from that zip code. I could even enter in my exact address and get the exact distance from my house plus driving directions. Now, you just go to local.com and you can find businesses, entertainment, and activities =for any city worldwide. This site will be great for anybody that has to do a lot of travel.
For marketing in order for me to analyze the page rank and traffic for a site I would need to have the Google toolbar installed and then go to the site Alexa.com. After Alexa I would then check incoming and outgoing links for the site plus look at who visits the site and where these visitors go before and after this site. I could do a lot of this just with Alexa but this gave me a biased look at the site. Now I have found a great search engine that will return so much detail that I no longer have to have all these toolbars installed and I only have to visit just this one site. Visit Golexa.com and let me know what you think of this great site.
To assist me with this one site I could even look at PRSearch.biz. This site would be a great compliment or even a replacement for Golexa and it beats having to download and install toolbars which are known to be Spyware or Adware. I have grown so tired of having to remove Spyware and Adware from my computer 2 or 3 times a week. If I don't remove these things then I will get a lot of annoying popups plus my system will get severely bogged down and eventually I will have to shut down and restart my system just to free up memory. This can be a pain in the ass if you are like me and have all these different app's open at the same time.
Do you have children? would you like to allow them to perform searches on the web without having to constantly look over their should at what will come up as results? Now you can let them to go to this site and not have to worry http://kids.quintura.com/ . Keep them off of sites like MySpace because of the ads you see on the site lately. I am a big believer in the sites like MySpace but you ought to see some of the ads and comments you can get with a profile on MySpace. I've seen hookers, escorts and strippers placing comments on peoples profiles.
Social networking and social bookmarking are a growing trend these days though. They need to come up with a one word acronym to reference these sites like the grapevine or something like it. There are now search engines that specialize in these social searches. Check out Omgili, Sproose, or Url dot com. After you have visited these sites make sure you look at Diigg, Del.icio.us, Shadows, or even Yahoo's MyWeb .Web 2.0 is definitely making a difference with shared bookmarks, Collaborative directories and Taggregators. Do a search on one of these terms and check them out yourself, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
If all you want to do is find the best deals and bargains then you need to look at the following engines; gnod.net, like.com, slifter.com, and thefind.com. For music and video go to blabline.com, blinks.com, findsounds.com, and Gruuve.com. There are even engines in other languages like Gennio for Hispanic people. This social Spanish engine will even allow you to search for a business in Madrid and once you find the business you are looking for it will let you call that place for free through the internet. Answerbus.com allows you to ask your question in English, French, Spanish, German or even Italian.
I found one site that even lets you create your own search bot which is called searchbots.net and another one called Mojeek.com. You can search using Web 2.0 with web20searchengine.com and their are sites for science related searches, and pretty much almost anything you can think of. I am a webmaster myself in addition to everything else I do so I will be using Zippy.co.uk. My wife will be using Zabasearch because she does a lot of work for a nonprofit and with this site she can look up people and public information.
If you are like me and want to do research and try to discover the latest trends in search engines then do a search for "search engines",+directory or "social search engine",+directory and you will find some great new sites. My son, Jake, is real big with these web communities so I will be telling him to look at Zenome.com.
by: Jeffrey Solochek
It used to be whenever you needed to find something on the web you just opened IE to Yahoo and just enter in what you were looking for. Then you would scroll through the millions of matches and hope to find exactly what you wanted or needed. There were some smaller engines besides Yahoo but the majority of searches were either done on Yahoo or maybe AOL depending on who your supplier of the internet was.
Along came Google and with all the money that Google spent on marketing they were now the most used search engine. Their index was by far not the largest but they definitely spent the most money on the marketing because everybody knew who Google was. AllTheWeb had an index at least twice as large but they spent virtually no money on marketing and not many people even knew that they were out there.
Now with social networking and social bookmarking plus the technology of Web 2.0 there are a lot of new kids on the block. It used to be that no matter what somebody was looking for they would use just one search engine for all of their searches. Not anymore, there are now search engines for every niche and every genre. If you have something that you need and you can't find a search engine just close your eyes because it will probably be there tomorrow.
If I wanted a pizza delivered to my house I used to just go to Yahoo and in quotes enter "pizza delivery" and then add +31520 as my area code and then on the results page I would see a list of pizza delivery businesses and how far each one was from that zip code. I could even enter in my exact address and get the exact distance from my house plus driving directions. Now, you just go to local.com and you can find businesses, entertainment, and activities =for any city worldwide. This site will be great for anybody that has to do a lot of travel.
For marketing in order for me to analyze the page rank and traffic for a site I would need to have the Google toolbar installed and then go to the site Alexa.com. After Alexa I would then check incoming and outgoing links for the site plus look at who visits the site and where these visitors go before and after this site. I could do a lot of this just with Alexa but this gave me a biased look at the site. Now I have found a great search engine that will return so much detail that I no longer have to have all these toolbars installed and I only have to visit just this one site. Visit Golexa.com and let me know what you think of this great site.
To assist me with this one site I could even look at PRSearch.biz. This site would be a great compliment or even a replacement for Golexa and it beats having to download and install toolbars which are known to be Spyware or Adware. I have grown so tired of having to remove Spyware and Adware from my computer 2 or 3 times a week. If I don't remove these things then I will get a lot of annoying popups plus my system will get severely bogged down and eventually I will have to shut down and restart my system just to free up memory. This can be a pain in the ass if you are like me and have all these different app's open at the same time.
Do you have children? would you like to allow them to perform searches on the web without having to constantly look over their should at what will come up as results? Now you can let them to go to this site and not have to worry http://kids.quintura.com/ . Keep them off of sites like MySpace because of the ads you see on the site lately. I am a big believer in the sites like MySpace but you ought to see some of the ads and comments you can get with a profile on MySpace. I've seen hookers, escorts and strippers placing comments on peoples profiles.
Social networking and social bookmarking are a growing trend these days though. They need to come up with a one word acronym to reference these sites like the grapevine or something like it. There are now search engines that specialize in these social searches. Check out Omgili, Sproose, or Url dot com. After you have visited these sites make sure you look at Diigg, Del.icio.us, Shadows, or even Yahoo's MyWeb .Web 2.0 is definitely making a difference with shared bookmarks, Collaborative directories and Taggregators. Do a search on one of these terms and check them out yourself, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
If all you want to do is find the best deals and bargains then you need to look at the following engines; gnod.net, like.com, slifter.com, and thefind.com. For music and video go to blabline.com, blinks.com, findsounds.com, and Gruuve.com. There are even engines in other languages like Gennio for Hispanic people. This social Spanish engine will even allow you to search for a business in Madrid and once you find the business you are looking for it will let you call that place for free through the internet. Answerbus.com allows you to ask your question in English, French, Spanish, German or even Italian.
I found one site that even lets you create your own search bot which is called searchbots.net and another one called Mojeek.com. You can search using Web 2.0 with web20searchengine.com and their are sites for science related searches, and pretty much almost anything you can think of. I am a webmaster myself in addition to everything else I do so I will be using Zippy.co.uk. My wife will be using Zabasearch because she does a lot of work for a nonprofit and with this site she can look up people and public information.
If you are like me and want to do research and try to discover the latest trends in search engines then do a search for "search engines",+directory or "social search engine",+directory and you will find some great new sites. My son, Jake, is real big with these web communities so I will be telling him to look at Zenome.com.
Why Get a Microsoft MCSE Certification?
Why Get a Microsoft MCSE Certification?
by: John Gall
Why Get a Microsoft MCSE Certification?
In the years of the dot com boom and bust, the Microsoft MCSE Certification has gotten its eye blackened over an over. Paper Microsoft MCSE's who were excellent at finding brain dumps and passing exams gave the Microsoft MCSE Certification a bad name. What used to be a guarantee of a nice salary is now ridiculed in some ignorant circles. After working in the Information Technology field for twelve years I still believe the Microsoft MCSE Certification is worth every dollar you spend and every hour spent in study and practice. I'll share my history with the Microsoft MCSE Certification and why I still believe it’s a valuable certification credential.
My History: Pre Microsoft MCSE
When I started out as a PC LAN Analyst I wanted to someday run my own shop. The best way I felt to get there was to study for the much sought after Novell CNE and Microsoft MCSE Certification. Because I worked in a Novell environment and had no opportunity to work with Windows NT I started on my Novell CNE Certification. I went book by book purchasing them on eBay and reading while I worked a second job. The CNE was also an easier certification to get as the answers to the exam came direct from the books. Microsoft's MCSE Certification exams tend to generalize on the concepts from the books rather than the text verbatim. Once complete with the CNE I had a full understanding of Novell's File Server and their weak attempt at a firewall/web server. I understood archaic technologies like IPX and Token Ring as well as networking technologies used today such as Ethernet, and TCP/IP I at least had enough knowledge to perform well at my job and work as an IT Consultant where I formed my own business Gall Consulting which runs today as a successful income.
After getting my CNE Certification I finally got a job running my own show. I had one Novell 3.12 server which ran the entire company. Within a year we began to work with Microsoft Windows NT 3.51 and NT 4.0 was just on the scene. I began the lengthy study of the seven Microsoft MCSE exams. When I had completed the Microsoft MCSE certification a year later I was like Yoda around the job. I had a complete set of knowledge about Windows Networking and Windows Applications. Because I completed the entire set of Microsoft MCSE exams and coursework I knew the technology and the theory behind the technology. This led to high performance as a Senior LAN Administrator. Rather than a swiss cheese education I had a thorough understanding of Microsoft Windows technology and could adapt to new situations easily.
NT 4.0 to Windows 2000 MCSE
When Windows 2000 Server and Active Directory was released we faced a problem. My small Novell to small Microsoft NT Domain, had grown to a world wide enterprise with five domains including various trusts going everywhere. DNS was handled by our UNIX group and we had to find a way to learn a new technology, create a single corporate Active Directory Domain and use Dynamic DNS on our Windows Active Directory domain controllers yet co-exist with our UNIX administrators who were none to happy to have to share DNS. Faced with this challenge I returned to what worked in the past. I studied for the Windows 2000 MCSE Certification
As I did before I started at the beginning and worked my way through each course and exam until I had completed my Windows 2000 MCSE Certification. By now I had a great career as an IT Operations Manager and no one was going to hire or pay me extra just for getting my Microsoft MCSE Certification. This is the true value of the certification. It started as my drive to obtain career credentials and became a vehicle to ensure I had an entire breadth of knowledge that would let me take on monumental tasks. Needless to say, today we have a single corporate Active Directory domain with a few sub domains necessary for DMZ areas. Our DNS works so well the UNIX group asked us to take over and we're able to build on Active Directory as a source of valuable corporate data. My point in this article is to look at the Microsoft MCSE Certification as a way to ensure you have all the knowledge rather than just what's necessary in the short term. Knowing why something works is much more powerful than knowing just enough to build it in the first place the coursework involved in the Microsoft MCSE Certification provides this. I can say without fail, EVERY Information Technology professional I've worked with that had a Microsoft MCSE Certification performed at a MUCH higher level than those who only had on the job experience or had only studied what they needed to complete their daily tasks.
by: John Gall
Why Get a Microsoft MCSE Certification?
In the years of the dot com boom and bust, the Microsoft MCSE Certification has gotten its eye blackened over an over. Paper Microsoft MCSE's who were excellent at finding brain dumps and passing exams gave the Microsoft MCSE Certification a bad name. What used to be a guarantee of a nice salary is now ridiculed in some ignorant circles. After working in the Information Technology field for twelve years I still believe the Microsoft MCSE Certification is worth every dollar you spend and every hour spent in study and practice. I'll share my history with the Microsoft MCSE Certification and why I still believe it’s a valuable certification credential.
My History: Pre Microsoft MCSE
When I started out as a PC LAN Analyst I wanted to someday run my own shop. The best way I felt to get there was to study for the much sought after Novell CNE and Microsoft MCSE Certification. Because I worked in a Novell environment and had no opportunity to work with Windows NT I started on my Novell CNE Certification. I went book by book purchasing them on eBay and reading while I worked a second job. The CNE was also an easier certification to get as the answers to the exam came direct from the books. Microsoft's MCSE Certification exams tend to generalize on the concepts from the books rather than the text verbatim. Once complete with the CNE I had a full understanding of Novell's File Server and their weak attempt at a firewall/web server. I understood archaic technologies like IPX and Token Ring as well as networking technologies used today such as Ethernet, and TCP/IP I at least had enough knowledge to perform well at my job and work as an IT Consultant where I formed my own business Gall Consulting which runs today as a successful income.
After getting my CNE Certification I finally got a job running my own show. I had one Novell 3.12 server which ran the entire company. Within a year we began to work with Microsoft Windows NT 3.51 and NT 4.0 was just on the scene. I began the lengthy study of the seven Microsoft MCSE exams. When I had completed the Microsoft MCSE certification a year later I was like Yoda around the job. I had a complete set of knowledge about Windows Networking and Windows Applications. Because I completed the entire set of Microsoft MCSE exams and coursework I knew the technology and the theory behind the technology. This led to high performance as a Senior LAN Administrator. Rather than a swiss cheese education I had a thorough understanding of Microsoft Windows technology and could adapt to new situations easily.
NT 4.0 to Windows 2000 MCSE
When Windows 2000 Server and Active Directory was released we faced a problem. My small Novell to small Microsoft NT Domain, had grown to a world wide enterprise with five domains including various trusts going everywhere. DNS was handled by our UNIX group and we had to find a way to learn a new technology, create a single corporate Active Directory Domain and use Dynamic DNS on our Windows Active Directory domain controllers yet co-exist with our UNIX administrators who were none to happy to have to share DNS. Faced with this challenge I returned to what worked in the past. I studied for the Windows 2000 MCSE Certification
As I did before I started at the beginning and worked my way through each course and exam until I had completed my Windows 2000 MCSE Certification. By now I had a great career as an IT Operations Manager and no one was going to hire or pay me extra just for getting my Microsoft MCSE Certification. This is the true value of the certification. It started as my drive to obtain career credentials and became a vehicle to ensure I had an entire breadth of knowledge that would let me take on monumental tasks. Needless to say, today we have a single corporate Active Directory domain with a few sub domains necessary for DMZ areas. Our DNS works so well the UNIX group asked us to take over and we're able to build on Active Directory as a source of valuable corporate data. My point in this article is to look at the Microsoft MCSE Certification as a way to ensure you have all the knowledge rather than just what's necessary in the short term. Knowing why something works is much more powerful than knowing just enough to build it in the first place the coursework involved in the Microsoft MCSE Certification provides this. I can say without fail, EVERY Information Technology professional I've worked with that had a Microsoft MCSE Certification performed at a MUCH higher level than those who only had on the job experience or had only studied what they needed to complete their daily tasks.
Voice Recognition And Medical Transcription
Voice Recognition And Medical Transcription
by: Mila Sidman
You’ve probably heard different opinions and views on this subject. If you’re a medical transcriptionist you may even be concerned about voice recognition taking over your career… and you’re not alone.
Let’s dig a bit deeper into voice recognition.
As you already know, doctors are busy people. This is never more obvious then when they’re dictating their notes. It’s understandable they’re busy, and as their MT, I can surely forgive them but will the latest voice recognition software be as forgiving as me?
Not likely.
As a transcriptionist you will have typed through background noise, patients moaning, doctors eating their lunch, personal conversations (oops they forgot the recorder was on) and other incomprehensible noise. Not to mention, ESL doctors with heavy accents and very tired ER doctors after a long shift!
At this time there is no voice recognition software which can handle this type of voice recognition. It is impossible for the software to determine actual speech from mistakes in conversation, background noise, heavy accents, etc.
So what does this mean for our future?
Rumors of MTs being out of r a job have been around long before I became an MT. Eight years later, there are still no real advances in this field.
Can voice recognition ever replace transcriptionists?
Sure it can.
If a doctor is willing to sit down and take the sufficient time to train his voice recognition software to recognize his voice and speech patterns (this takes time and is not done automatically), yes it is possible.
If the doctor thereafter dictates very clearly, using proper punctuation in his speech (stopping for periods, pausing for commas) without any background noise or interruptions. Yes, it is possible.
Will the document be 100% accurate?
No.
Remember medical records have to be in compliance with a number of very strict regulations. Most doctors, will not trust voice recognition enough to send these records through without at least a quick glance through.
Even under the best dictating circumstances the report will still need to be proofread and edited. So, yes under the “perfect” circumstances, voice recognition can replace a transcriptionist.
Is it likely? Not unless every physician out there is willing to take the time, energy and ongoing effort to train their voice recognition software and maintain a certain standard of dictation.
I don’t see that happening any time soon. Doctors are busy people, remember? ;)
If anything, us MTs should embrace voice recognition and use it as a tool to help us in our MT careers. If applied properly, it can be a time-saving tool. So why not use it for our purposes?
As with any business to stay ahead of the game you have to adapt to change and technology. Learn how to use it to your advantage instead of being frightened by it. That’s the only way to stay ahead of the competition…. Voice recognition or otherwise.
by: Mila Sidman
You’ve probably heard different opinions and views on this subject. If you’re a medical transcriptionist you may even be concerned about voice recognition taking over your career… and you’re not alone.
Let’s dig a bit deeper into voice recognition.
As you already know, doctors are busy people. This is never more obvious then when they’re dictating their notes. It’s understandable they’re busy, and as their MT, I can surely forgive them but will the latest voice recognition software be as forgiving as me?
Not likely.
As a transcriptionist you will have typed through background noise, patients moaning, doctors eating their lunch, personal conversations (oops they forgot the recorder was on) and other incomprehensible noise. Not to mention, ESL doctors with heavy accents and very tired ER doctors after a long shift!
At this time there is no voice recognition software which can handle this type of voice recognition. It is impossible for the software to determine actual speech from mistakes in conversation, background noise, heavy accents, etc.
So what does this mean for our future?
Rumors of MTs being out of r a job have been around long before I became an MT. Eight years later, there are still no real advances in this field.
Can voice recognition ever replace transcriptionists?
Sure it can.
If a doctor is willing to sit down and take the sufficient time to train his voice recognition software to recognize his voice and speech patterns (this takes time and is not done automatically), yes it is possible.
If the doctor thereafter dictates very clearly, using proper punctuation in his speech (stopping for periods, pausing for commas) without any background noise or interruptions. Yes, it is possible.
Will the document be 100% accurate?
No.
Remember medical records have to be in compliance with a number of very strict regulations. Most doctors, will not trust voice recognition enough to send these records through without at least a quick glance through.
Even under the best dictating circumstances the report will still need to be proofread and edited. So, yes under the “perfect” circumstances, voice recognition can replace a transcriptionist.
Is it likely? Not unless every physician out there is willing to take the time, energy and ongoing effort to train their voice recognition software and maintain a certain standard of dictation.
I don’t see that happening any time soon. Doctors are busy people, remember? ;)
If anything, us MTs should embrace voice recognition and use it as a tool to help us in our MT careers. If applied properly, it can be a time-saving tool. So why not use it for our purposes?
As with any business to stay ahead of the game you have to adapt to change and technology. Learn how to use it to your advantage instead of being frightened by it. That’s the only way to stay ahead of the competition…. Voice recognition or otherwise.
FRx - Microsoft Great Plains Reporting: design, upgrade and migration– overview for consultant
FRx - Microsoft Great Plains Reporting: design, upgrade and migration– overview for consultant
by: Andrew Karasev
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is main ERP application targeted to US mid-size businesses market. Microsoft Great Plains is now moved to Microsoft SQL Server and so exposed to standard Reporting tools, such as Crystal Reports based on internal Crystal links or SQL Server view and stored procedure. Also Great Plains, built on legacy Great Plains Dexterity technology has ReportWriter – which is good, when you are modifying Sales or Purchasing Invoice form. When we are dealing with Financial Reporting – traditional and very powerful tool is FRx. FRx connects to General Ledger and there you can apply account mask to summarize financial data at your will, create reporting tree, or combine Great Plains and Excel data on the same report.
We usually do not see problems in FRx report design, however consultants are reporting multiple issues with FRx upgrade or remapping FRx when you migrate Great Plains from legacy platform (Pervasive SQL or Ctree) to MS SQL Server. Let us give you typical troubleshooting steps:
SYSDATA. FRx stores its report in one directory, named SYSDATA, so when you move FRx or upgrade it – you upgrade files in this directory. Be sure that FRx points to the proper SYSDATA directory.
Directories Structure problem. When you move FRx to different server or change directories structure on your workstation, typical issue is hardcoded report output path mismatch. You can see it if you look at report output destination tab. The hint – FRx stores output directory in SYSDATA on the server, so if your workstations are not structure-unified – you may have this issue.
Service Pack fixes. FRx is known to be unstable in CD version and you typically apply latest service pack from Microsoft Business Solutions partner source (or Customer Source if you support your Great Plains internally)
Back Arrow problem. This is very typical and funny issue. When you install FRx – you should never hit Back button. If you do – FRx installation will be corrupted. Just for you to know. This was FRx 6.0 very-very known issue
Corrupt Catalogue. Well – this may happen with every application. FRx is not an exception. If you have strange error message – you may try export and reimport. The same is applicable to Great Plains ReportWriter
Drilldown Viewer problem. This happens when you are upgrading. You should check that you are selecting XML Drilldown Viewer – this is newest version. Old report tries to keep old Drilldown Viewer and you get error message when launching it.
You can have such a nice tools as Explorer to imitate Sales or Financial reporting for you and then dump it to Excel with the click of the button as good alternative to FRx, but we would recommend you to stick to FRx for regular financial reporting – this is the tool of the choice for controller.
You can always have us help you, give us a call: 1-630-961-5918 or 1-866-528-0577, help@albaspectrum.com
by: Andrew Karasev
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is main ERP application targeted to US mid-size businesses market. Microsoft Great Plains is now moved to Microsoft SQL Server and so exposed to standard Reporting tools, such as Crystal Reports based on internal Crystal links or SQL Server view and stored procedure. Also Great Plains, built on legacy Great Plains Dexterity technology has ReportWriter – which is good, when you are modifying Sales or Purchasing Invoice form. When we are dealing with Financial Reporting – traditional and very powerful tool is FRx. FRx connects to General Ledger and there you can apply account mask to summarize financial data at your will, create reporting tree, or combine Great Plains and Excel data on the same report.
We usually do not see problems in FRx report design, however consultants are reporting multiple issues with FRx upgrade or remapping FRx when you migrate Great Plains from legacy platform (Pervasive SQL or Ctree) to MS SQL Server. Let us give you typical troubleshooting steps:
SYSDATA. FRx stores its report in one directory, named SYSDATA, so when you move FRx or upgrade it – you upgrade files in this directory. Be sure that FRx points to the proper SYSDATA directory.
Directories Structure problem. When you move FRx to different server or change directories structure on your workstation, typical issue is hardcoded report output path mismatch. You can see it if you look at report output destination tab. The hint – FRx stores output directory in SYSDATA on the server, so if your workstations are not structure-unified – you may have this issue.
Service Pack fixes. FRx is known to be unstable in CD version and you typically apply latest service pack from Microsoft Business Solutions partner source (or Customer Source if you support your Great Plains internally)
Back Arrow problem. This is very typical and funny issue. When you install FRx – you should never hit Back button. If you do – FRx installation will be corrupted. Just for you to know. This was FRx 6.0 very-very known issue
Corrupt Catalogue. Well – this may happen with every application. FRx is not an exception. If you have strange error message – you may try export and reimport. The same is applicable to Great Plains ReportWriter
Drilldown Viewer problem. This happens when you are upgrading. You should check that you are selecting XML Drilldown Viewer – this is newest version. Old report tries to keep old Drilldown Viewer and you get error message when launching it.
You can have such a nice tools as Explorer to imitate Sales or Financial reporting for you and then dump it to Excel with the click of the button as good alternative to FRx, but we would recommend you to stick to FRx for regular financial reporting – this is the tool of the choice for controller.
You can always have us help you, give us a call: 1-630-961-5918 or 1-866-528-0577, help@albaspectrum.com
PDF to Word Conversion: One Solution for A Number of Hassles
PDF to Word Conversion: One Solution for A Number of Hassles
by: Keith Bradbury
MS Word is one of the most widely used authoring programs to create simple documents that can contain anything from professional reports to legal documents to publication articles. Transferring them into the PDF format is done for a number of reasons. This may be for archiving, Internet publishing, digital work processes, just to name a few. The PDF format is a life saver for any of those needs. It’s quick and easy to create; it contains great viewing options; and it can handle a variety of media as well as a range of file sizes.
However, as great as the PDF is, everyone in a working, studying, or researching environment knows that the PDF is a difficult-to-handle format because of its purpose and nature.
In some cases, minute details aren’t a priority and hence, most information within a PDF file can become redundant. The information can be difficult to manipulate to your own specific needs which can be small or great. Here are a few:
Scenario 1: Doing research, you come across a PDF file from which you only want to print up only certain sections of certain pages.
Scenario 2: You’re a student and are trying to print up the study and lecture notes from your class that are in the PDF format on-line.
Scenario 3: Your work requires a PDF file in hard copy with changes that need to be made.
*A Makeshift Solution
You need to be efficient with your time and you need to be productive with your workload. What do you do to accomplish the task at hand?
You can try copying and pasting into a word document, but the text appears in a different font or a little skewed or in different paragraph formatting. You’ll probably spend more time reformatting the document to make the text or graphics fit properly and economically on the page.
In another attempt, you may try working from screen to paper, copying out by hand and reading from the browser. Yet, eyestrain and time are things you can’t afford.
For changes that you need to make, trying to directly edit and then print the PDF document is just not possible because of security measures put in place. You’re stuck for ideas and time is of the essence.
We’ve all been there. We’ve all done that. We all know that none of it works.
*An Exact Extract Solution
However, there is a faster, more convenient way to approach this situation. One solution to all three problems is to convert the PDF file into a Word document. All you need is the PDF file to be converted, a PDF to Word conversion software application and MS Word (in which to work on your file after conversion). After that, it becomes much easier to get your work done as it should be done.
Yet, you may ask, “But what about the extra one hundred pages I don’t need?”; “What about the graphics I don’t want to print alongside the notes?”; or “What about the security settings?”.
You don’t need another solution—you need a good solution. Good solutions are ones that give you the flexibility of having options and we’ve got a good one for you.
With Able2Doc 2.0 you convert (easily and exactly )the text that you want. Needless information can be skipped over and ignored. Just using the selection tool options and your mouse, you can click and highlight your way to easy made Word documents over which you have control.
With Able2Doc Professional you can perform conversions with scanned PDFs. This becomes a life saver when it comes to long documents that have been scanned instead of created manually. The option to handle such documents is there for you in case you need it.
Or if, in the long run, you need to extract information into another format other than just a Word document, we’ve got other solutions for that as well. Our Able2Extract v.3.0 products in both Standard and Professional versions, can handle different format conversions as well as conversions from PDF to Word documents.
by: Keith Bradbury
MS Word is one of the most widely used authoring programs to create simple documents that can contain anything from professional reports to legal documents to publication articles. Transferring them into the PDF format is done for a number of reasons. This may be for archiving, Internet publishing, digital work processes, just to name a few. The PDF format is a life saver for any of those needs. It’s quick and easy to create; it contains great viewing options; and it can handle a variety of media as well as a range of file sizes.
However, as great as the PDF is, everyone in a working, studying, or researching environment knows that the PDF is a difficult-to-handle format because of its purpose and nature.
In some cases, minute details aren’t a priority and hence, most information within a PDF file can become redundant. The information can be difficult to manipulate to your own specific needs which can be small or great. Here are a few:
Scenario 1: Doing research, you come across a PDF file from which you only want to print up only certain sections of certain pages.
Scenario 2: You’re a student and are trying to print up the study and lecture notes from your class that are in the PDF format on-line.
Scenario 3: Your work requires a PDF file in hard copy with changes that need to be made.
*A Makeshift Solution
You need to be efficient with your time and you need to be productive with your workload. What do you do to accomplish the task at hand?
You can try copying and pasting into a word document, but the text appears in a different font or a little skewed or in different paragraph formatting. You’ll probably spend more time reformatting the document to make the text or graphics fit properly and economically on the page.
In another attempt, you may try working from screen to paper, copying out by hand and reading from the browser. Yet, eyestrain and time are things you can’t afford.
For changes that you need to make, trying to directly edit and then print the PDF document is just not possible because of security measures put in place. You’re stuck for ideas and time is of the essence.
We’ve all been there. We’ve all done that. We all know that none of it works.
*An Exact Extract Solution
However, there is a faster, more convenient way to approach this situation. One solution to all three problems is to convert the PDF file into a Word document. All you need is the PDF file to be converted, a PDF to Word conversion software application and MS Word (in which to work on your file after conversion). After that, it becomes much easier to get your work done as it should be done.
Yet, you may ask, “But what about the extra one hundred pages I don’t need?”; “What about the graphics I don’t want to print alongside the notes?”; or “What about the security settings?”.
You don’t need another solution—you need a good solution. Good solutions are ones that give you the flexibility of having options and we’ve got a good one for you.
With Able2Doc 2.0 you convert (easily and exactly )the text that you want. Needless information can be skipped over and ignored. Just using the selection tool options and your mouse, you can click and highlight your way to easy made Word documents over which you have control.
With Able2Doc Professional you can perform conversions with scanned PDFs. This becomes a life saver when it comes to long documents that have been scanned instead of created manually. The option to handle such documents is there for you in case you need it.
Or if, in the long run, you need to extract information into another format other than just a Word document, we’ve got other solutions for that as well. Our Able2Extract v.3.0 products in both Standard and Professional versions, can handle different format conversions as well as conversions from PDF to Word documents.
Cisco CCNP / BCMSN Exam Tutorial: Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) Timers
Cisco CCNP / BCMSN Exam Tutorial: Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) Timers
by: Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933
In your BCMSN / CCNP exam study, it's easy to overlook some of the details of Spanning Tree Protocol (STP). After all, you learned all of that in your CCNA studies, right? Not necessarily! While some of the BCMSN material will be a review for you, there are some details regarding familiar topics that you need to learn. That includes the timers for STP - Hello Time, MaxAge, and Forward Delay.
You may remember these timers from your CCNA studies as well, and you should also remember that these timers should not be changed lightly. What you might not have known is that if you decide to change any and all of these timers, that change must be configured on the root bridge! The root bridge will inform the nonroot switches of the change via BPDUs.
Hello Time is the interval between BPDUs, two seconds by default.
Forward Delay is the length of both the listening and learning STP stages, with a default value of 15 seconds.
Maximum Age, referred to by the switch as MaxAge, is the amount of time a switch will retain a BPDU's contents before discarding it. The default is 20 seconds.
The value of these timers can be changed with the spanning-tree vlan command shown below. Verify the changes with the show spanning-tree command.
SW1(config)#spanning-tree vlan 1 ?
forward-time Set the forward delay for the spanning tree
hello-time Set the hello interval for the spanning tree
max-age Set the max age interval for the spanning tree
priority Set the bridge priority for the spanning tree
root Configure switch as root
SW1(config)#spanning-tree vlan 1 hello-time 5
SW1(config)#spanning-tree vlan 1 max-age 30
SW1(config)#spanning-tree vlan 1 forward-time 20
SW1(config)#^Z
SW1#show spanning-tree vlan 1
VLAN0001
Spanning tree enabled protocol ieee
Root ID Priority 32769
Address 000f.90e1.c240
This bridge is the root
Hello Time 5 sec Max Age 30 sec Forward Delay 20 sec
Bridge ID Priority 32769 (priority 32768 sys-id-ext 1)
Address 000f.90e1.c240
Hello Time 5 sec Max Age 30 sec Forward Delay 20 sec
Aging Time 300
Interface Role Sts Cost Prio.Nbr Type
---------------- ---- --- --------- -------- --------------------------------
Fa0/11 Desg FWD 19 128.11 P2p
Fa0/12 Desg FWD 19 128.12 P2p
Again, you should always take great care in changing these timers. Those defaults are set for a reason - helping to prevent switching loops!
by: Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933
In your BCMSN / CCNP exam study, it's easy to overlook some of the details of Spanning Tree Protocol (STP). After all, you learned all of that in your CCNA studies, right? Not necessarily! While some of the BCMSN material will be a review for you, there are some details regarding familiar topics that you need to learn. That includes the timers for STP - Hello Time, MaxAge, and Forward Delay.
You may remember these timers from your CCNA studies as well, and you should also remember that these timers should not be changed lightly. What you might not have known is that if you decide to change any and all of these timers, that change must be configured on the root bridge! The root bridge will inform the nonroot switches of the change via BPDUs.
Hello Time is the interval between BPDUs, two seconds by default.
Forward Delay is the length of both the listening and learning STP stages, with a default value of 15 seconds.
Maximum Age, referred to by the switch as MaxAge, is the amount of time a switch will retain a BPDU's contents before discarding it. The default is 20 seconds.
The value of these timers can be changed with the spanning-tree vlan command shown below. Verify the changes with the show spanning-tree command.
SW1(config)#spanning-tree vlan 1 ?
forward-time Set the forward delay for the spanning tree
hello-time Set the hello interval for the spanning tree
max-age Set the max age interval for the spanning tree
priority Set the bridge priority for the spanning tree
root Configure switch as root
SW1(config)#spanning-tree vlan 1 hello-time 5
SW1(config)#spanning-tree vlan 1 max-age 30
SW1(config)#spanning-tree vlan 1 forward-time 20
SW1(config)#^Z
SW1#show spanning-tree vlan 1
VLAN0001
Spanning tree enabled protocol ieee
Root ID Priority 32769
Address 000f.90e1.c240
This bridge is the root
Hello Time 5 sec Max Age 30 sec Forward Delay 20 sec
Bridge ID Priority 32769 (priority 32768 sys-id-ext 1)
Address 000f.90e1.c240
Hello Time 5 sec Max Age 30 sec Forward Delay 20 sec
Aging Time 300
Interface Role Sts Cost Prio.Nbr Type
---------------- ---- --- --------- -------- --------------------------------
Fa0/11 Desg FWD 19 128.11 P2p
Fa0/12 Desg FWD 19 128.12 P2p
Again, you should always take great care in changing these timers. Those defaults are set for a reason - helping to prevent switching loops!
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence
by: Kenneth J. McCormick
Artificial Intelligence is the hot topic on many boards today. It is also the hot topic in many laboratories and software houses. The military is trying to harness it to replace humans, the game houses are trying to control it to make games more realistic and the appliance makers and homebuilders are trying to perfect it to make our lives easier. One of the great questions is, is artificial intelligence a good thing? It sure seems like it, doesn't it? Imagine coming home from a rough day at the office and your intelligent washer and dryer have not only washed and dried your clothes, but folded them as well. You meal is waiting for you but it was not prepared by human hands, instead your intelligent refrigerator has sent food to your oven which cooked it for you. You TV has turned itself on and switched to your favorite station so you might enjoy your meal with your favorite program. When you are done eating, the dishes are collected by a robotic machine and put into the dishwasher. An intelligent vacuum cleaner comes out and cleans the area where you were eating so that any crumbs that might have fallen were picked up immediately. You decide you want to talk to a few friends, so you tell your television that you want to make some phone calls and it connects you to several people at the same time creating a conference call, except you can see each person in a square on the TV. You talk for a while and then hang up. You feel like playing a game so you tell the TV and it replies,” Name of Game Please and Play Human or Me?" If you decide to play a human you are immediately connected to the internet, if not, you are about to play one of the toughest opponents, the computer which is integrated into your TV. Oh look here comes the dog, a dog you never have to feed. It is the Sony dog, a slick little robotic dog that acts much like a real dog. You play with it for a while, but you get the urge. Into the bathroom you go. The toilet will examine all your waste products and if anything is wrong it will contact your doctor right away. Now you decide to go to bed and enter a room where clouds sail over the ceiling. You lay down and a soothing voice asks "What time shall I wake you and what sounds would you like to hear?" You tell the voice (it really is part of the computer in your tv) to wake you at 7:00 am and to play ocean sounds for 10 minutes.
Does all this sound good? Much of the above exists already. As we create smarter and smarter devices are we getting near creating life? At what point does something become aware? Can a computer ever become so smart that it is a living being? Some people think that we are nothing more than organic computers that were programmed and offer our genes as proof. One of the problems that exist today is how to tell if something is truly alive. If we were to build the perfect robot that could interact with humans without being detected as a machine, would it be considered alive? Many would say yes and many would say no. The yes people would say that because the robot can make decisions on its own that are the equivalent of decisions that a human would make than it must be alive. The no people would argue that it is simply following a program created by man and it is a machine without a soul.
If we taught an animal to react a certain way under certain conditions would this mean he was programmed and not alive? If we offer our dog a bone but only give it to him if he sits up and begs does this mean he is not alive but programmed? It seems that programming is not exclusive to life or self-awareness. Some says that computers are just a bunch of electrical circuits. I would have to remind them that without electricity the human body would be just a pile of skin, bones and organs. It seems that we have now eliminated electricity as being a reason to deny life to machines. Then there are those that say that computers are not alive because they only know what is programmed into them. I would have to remind these people that there are dynamic programs out there that allow machines to learn on their own. After all, isn't that the way we learn, we are programmed (school) and we also learn some things on our own (dynamic programming)? Neural networks are developing that mimic the behavior of our human brains. Computer 'creatures' have been created that can learn, age, procreate and finally die. Of course these creatures are very primitive by our standards.
Life certainly is not easy to define. Webster's Dictionary states that life is "The quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body." It would seem that the Webster people considered only organic beings as being capable of life since they decided that a dead body was necessary for non-life. Yet there is a second definition by Webster that states that life is a principle or force that is considered to underlie the distinctive quality of animate beings. Being animate is now made a requirement for life.
Both the Soviet Union and the United States had built, during the cold war, what at the time were considered super computers that could make split second decisions on whether to launch missiles against countries which had launched missiles against them and both systems proved to be flawed. This proved that it is not so easy to teach a machine how to be able to plan for every contingency. We have advanced quite a bit from those days. Now many of us have more powerful computers on our desks then those super computers of old. At some point we are going to be able to communicate with our computers the same way we communicate with another human. When this happens, what will we have? If we can actually get an intelligent conversation out of our computer, then at least, some people may begin to wonder what we have created. Imagine that someday you want to remove a part from the computer for use somewhere else and the computer complains. Will you feel that maybe the computer is becoming self-aware?
Now here is a question that really shakes things up. If we are able someday to download the contents of a human brain into a machine, will that machine become self aware, in other words, will it be alive? Just think of it, a machine that acts just like you. This may be much more far fetched, but what if we could download the contents of an intelligent machine into a human brain, would that person cease to be human and living? We would probably still have to consider him alive since the organic functions were still operating. I guess as time goes by we are getting closer and closer to machine life and someday someone will have to decide if machine life is really life at all.
Copyright © 2004 by About Facts Net and its licensors. All rights reserved.
Permission is granted to copy this article if it is published unchanged and all links are kept intact.
by: Kenneth J. McCormick
Artificial Intelligence is the hot topic on many boards today. It is also the hot topic in many laboratories and software houses. The military is trying to harness it to replace humans, the game houses are trying to control it to make games more realistic and the appliance makers and homebuilders are trying to perfect it to make our lives easier. One of the great questions is, is artificial intelligence a good thing? It sure seems like it, doesn't it? Imagine coming home from a rough day at the office and your intelligent washer and dryer have not only washed and dried your clothes, but folded them as well. You meal is waiting for you but it was not prepared by human hands, instead your intelligent refrigerator has sent food to your oven which cooked it for you. You TV has turned itself on and switched to your favorite station so you might enjoy your meal with your favorite program. When you are done eating, the dishes are collected by a robotic machine and put into the dishwasher. An intelligent vacuum cleaner comes out and cleans the area where you were eating so that any crumbs that might have fallen were picked up immediately. You decide you want to talk to a few friends, so you tell your television that you want to make some phone calls and it connects you to several people at the same time creating a conference call, except you can see each person in a square on the TV. You talk for a while and then hang up. You feel like playing a game so you tell the TV and it replies,” Name of Game Please and Play Human or Me?" If you decide to play a human you are immediately connected to the internet, if not, you are about to play one of the toughest opponents, the computer which is integrated into your TV. Oh look here comes the dog, a dog you never have to feed. It is the Sony dog, a slick little robotic dog that acts much like a real dog. You play with it for a while, but you get the urge. Into the bathroom you go. The toilet will examine all your waste products and if anything is wrong it will contact your doctor right away. Now you decide to go to bed and enter a room where clouds sail over the ceiling. You lay down and a soothing voice asks "What time shall I wake you and what sounds would you like to hear?" You tell the voice (it really is part of the computer in your tv) to wake you at 7:00 am and to play ocean sounds for 10 minutes.
Does all this sound good? Much of the above exists already. As we create smarter and smarter devices are we getting near creating life? At what point does something become aware? Can a computer ever become so smart that it is a living being? Some people think that we are nothing more than organic computers that were programmed and offer our genes as proof. One of the problems that exist today is how to tell if something is truly alive. If we were to build the perfect robot that could interact with humans without being detected as a machine, would it be considered alive? Many would say yes and many would say no. The yes people would say that because the robot can make decisions on its own that are the equivalent of decisions that a human would make than it must be alive. The no people would argue that it is simply following a program created by man and it is a machine without a soul.
If we taught an animal to react a certain way under certain conditions would this mean he was programmed and not alive? If we offer our dog a bone but only give it to him if he sits up and begs does this mean he is not alive but programmed? It seems that programming is not exclusive to life or self-awareness. Some says that computers are just a bunch of electrical circuits. I would have to remind them that without electricity the human body would be just a pile of skin, bones and organs. It seems that we have now eliminated electricity as being a reason to deny life to machines. Then there are those that say that computers are not alive because they only know what is programmed into them. I would have to remind these people that there are dynamic programs out there that allow machines to learn on their own. After all, isn't that the way we learn, we are programmed (school) and we also learn some things on our own (dynamic programming)? Neural networks are developing that mimic the behavior of our human brains. Computer 'creatures' have been created that can learn, age, procreate and finally die. Of course these creatures are very primitive by our standards.
Life certainly is not easy to define. Webster's Dictionary states that life is "The quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body." It would seem that the Webster people considered only organic beings as being capable of life since they decided that a dead body was necessary for non-life. Yet there is a second definition by Webster that states that life is a principle or force that is considered to underlie the distinctive quality of animate beings. Being animate is now made a requirement for life.
Both the Soviet Union and the United States had built, during the cold war, what at the time were considered super computers that could make split second decisions on whether to launch missiles against countries which had launched missiles against them and both systems proved to be flawed. This proved that it is not so easy to teach a machine how to be able to plan for every contingency. We have advanced quite a bit from those days. Now many of us have more powerful computers on our desks then those super computers of old. At some point we are going to be able to communicate with our computers the same way we communicate with another human. When this happens, what will we have? If we can actually get an intelligent conversation out of our computer, then at least, some people may begin to wonder what we have created. Imagine that someday you want to remove a part from the computer for use somewhere else and the computer complains. Will you feel that maybe the computer is becoming self-aware?
Now here is a question that really shakes things up. If we are able someday to download the contents of a human brain into a machine, will that machine become self aware, in other words, will it be alive? Just think of it, a machine that acts just like you. This may be much more far fetched, but what if we could download the contents of an intelligent machine into a human brain, would that person cease to be human and living? We would probably still have to consider him alive since the organic functions were still operating. I guess as time goes by we are getting closer and closer to machine life and someday someone will have to decide if machine life is really life at all.
Copyright © 2004 by About Facts Net and its licensors. All rights reserved.
Permission is granted to copy this article if it is published unchanged and all links are kept intact.
The Top Twelve Threats No Computer User Should Ignore
The Top Twelve Threats No Computer User Should Ignore
by: Kai Chandler
The internet is undoubtedly a fantastic resource for families and offers a rich vein of educational content. However, there are potential dangers - welcome to the seedy world of viruses, spam, trojans, pornography, spyware and other nasties.
Here are the Top Twelve Threats No Computer User Should Ignore:
1. Viruses - A computer program that copies itself. They often disrupt your computer system or damage your data. Viruses are usually received by email attachments so be careful opening anything from a dubious source. They can affect anyone, for example, the destructive Mydoom worm affected one out of three small and mid-sized businesses.
2. Spyware - Sends information about you and your computer to somebody else. Spyware may send the addresses of sites you have visited or worse still, transmit personal information. With today's concerns about identify theft this is a real worry. For example, CoolWebSearch may hijack web searches, home page, and other Internet Explorer settings. Spyware is normally received as part of shareware or freeware downloaded from the web.
3. IP Spoofing - A technique to gain unauthorized access to computers, whereby the intruder sends messages to a computer with an address indicating that the message is coming from a trusted host.
4. Trojans - An apparently legitimate computer program that is really intended to disrupt and damage computer activity by sending information, perhaps even passwords onto a third party without you knowing. As an example, recent emails entitled "Osama Bin Laden Captured" attempted to download the "Trj/Small.B." Trojan if the embedded URL was clicked. This trojan attempts to hijack the PC.
5. Spam - Unsolicited mail often promoting products of a dubious financial or sexual nature. Don't leave your email address on websites and internet bulletin boards as they are harvested by spammers.
6. Adware - puts advertisements on your screen. These take many forms including popups, popunders and advertisements that appear later, even if your browser is closed. Some are sent using the Windows Messenger service which allows a spammer to direct an advertisement straight to your computer by sequentially sending messages to IP addresses. Always irritating, they are also often of a pornographic nature.
7. Diallers - for those of us still with dial up modems, dialler programs redirect calls to a very expensive number. You won't know until you get the bill.
8. Hijackers - Hijackers take control of your web browser and may reset your home page, search bar and search pages. They can redirect you to undesirable sites or stop you going to particular sites.
9. Hackers - With so much personal data available online to anyone with a password you must be sure your password is secure. If you are using your mother's maiden name, your cat's name or your birthday then your password is at risk. Here are two tips for making a secure password. Method One - pick two random unrelated three letter words and two digits. Mix them up and what do you have? A secure password such as "red19cat" or "hotpin73". Method Two - pick a short sequence of words such as Now Is The Winter Of Our Discontent Made Glorious' and you have a password of "nitwoodmg". You could even change the I's and O's to digits.
10. Phishing - Emails purporting to come from reliable sources such as Paypal, Ebay or your bank. Often wanting you to verify your account details, they can look very realistic but are generally scams to harvest usernames and passwords. Always open a new browser winder and type the address there, rather than clicking on the link provided.
11. Hoaxes - Chain letters, scams, false alarms. At best they take up time and bandwidth but at worst vulnerable can be victims of fraud. Pass it on!
12. Stranger-danger - For those of us with children - do you know what they actually do when they are online? Are they working on homework tasks, downloading illegal music or pornography? Or are they chatting to strangers in chat rooms? You should consider blocking access to undesirable sites and logging their activity with a surveillance tool. Oh, and don't forget that where children are concerned, computers should always be kept in a family room and never in their bedroom.
Three Step Action Plan
There are three essential steps that should be taken to ensure your PC is kept threat-free.
Firstly, be sensible when opening attachments or following email instructions from apparently reputable sites.
Secondly, make sure you are using the latest service pack of Windows as Microsoft is continually closing loopholes to tighten up security.
Finally, there's a range of low cost tools such as firewalls, antivirus, spam blockers and spyware killers available. Like everything else they vary in quality and you tend to get what you pay for so always do your research first and perhaps try a free trial before getting your credit card out.
http://www.surfcontrols.com specializes in providing reviews and recommendations of top-rated tools to help protect your online experience. There's a quick reference list to dozens of top sites promoting different aspects of safe surfing packed with useful information and there's also a great set of top tips for safe surfing.
Copyright Kai Chandler (#12t5109)
by: Kai Chandler
The internet is undoubtedly a fantastic resource for families and offers a rich vein of educational content. However, there are potential dangers - welcome to the seedy world of viruses, spam, trojans, pornography, spyware and other nasties.
Here are the Top Twelve Threats No Computer User Should Ignore:
1. Viruses - A computer program that copies itself. They often disrupt your computer system or damage your data. Viruses are usually received by email attachments so be careful opening anything from a dubious source. They can affect anyone, for example, the destructive Mydoom worm affected one out of three small and mid-sized businesses.
2. Spyware - Sends information about you and your computer to somebody else. Spyware may send the addresses of sites you have visited or worse still, transmit personal information. With today's concerns about identify theft this is a real worry. For example, CoolWebSearch may hijack web searches, home page, and other Internet Explorer settings. Spyware is normally received as part of shareware or freeware downloaded from the web.
3. IP Spoofing - A technique to gain unauthorized access to computers, whereby the intruder sends messages to a computer with an address indicating that the message is coming from a trusted host.
4. Trojans - An apparently legitimate computer program that is really intended to disrupt and damage computer activity by sending information, perhaps even passwords onto a third party without you knowing. As an example, recent emails entitled "Osama Bin Laden Captured" attempted to download the "Trj/Small.B." Trojan if the embedded URL was clicked. This trojan attempts to hijack the PC.
5. Spam - Unsolicited mail often promoting products of a dubious financial or sexual nature. Don't leave your email address on websites and internet bulletin boards as they are harvested by spammers.
6. Adware - puts advertisements on your screen. These take many forms including popups, popunders and advertisements that appear later, even if your browser is closed. Some are sent using the Windows Messenger service which allows a spammer to direct an advertisement straight to your computer by sequentially sending messages to IP addresses. Always irritating, they are also often of a pornographic nature.
7. Diallers - for those of us still with dial up modems, dialler programs redirect calls to a very expensive number. You won't know until you get the bill.
8. Hijackers - Hijackers take control of your web browser and may reset your home page, search bar and search pages. They can redirect you to undesirable sites or stop you going to particular sites.
9. Hackers - With so much personal data available online to anyone with a password you must be sure your password is secure. If you are using your mother's maiden name, your cat's name or your birthday then your password is at risk. Here are two tips for making a secure password. Method One - pick two random unrelated three letter words and two digits. Mix them up and what do you have? A secure password such as "red19cat" or "hotpin73". Method Two - pick a short sequence of words such as Now Is The Winter Of Our Discontent Made Glorious' and you have a password of "nitwoodmg". You could even change the I's and O's to digits.
10. Phishing - Emails purporting to come from reliable sources such as Paypal, Ebay or your bank. Often wanting you to verify your account details, they can look very realistic but are generally scams to harvest usernames and passwords. Always open a new browser winder and type the address there, rather than clicking on the link provided.
11. Hoaxes - Chain letters, scams, false alarms. At best they take up time and bandwidth but at worst vulnerable can be victims of fraud. Pass it on!
12. Stranger-danger - For those of us with children - do you know what they actually do when they are online? Are they working on homework tasks, downloading illegal music or pornography? Or are they chatting to strangers in chat rooms? You should consider blocking access to undesirable sites and logging their activity with a surveillance tool. Oh, and don't forget that where children are concerned, computers should always be kept in a family room and never in their bedroom.
Three Step Action Plan
There are three essential steps that should be taken to ensure your PC is kept threat-free.
Firstly, be sensible when opening attachments or following email instructions from apparently reputable sites.
Secondly, make sure you are using the latest service pack of Windows as Microsoft is continually closing loopholes to tighten up security.
Finally, there's a range of low cost tools such as firewalls, antivirus, spam blockers and spyware killers available. Like everything else they vary in quality and you tend to get what you pay for so always do your research first and perhaps try a free trial before getting your credit card out.
http://www.surfcontrols.com specializes in providing reviews and recommendations of top-rated tools to help protect your online experience. There's a quick reference list to dozens of top sites promoting different aspects of safe surfing packed with useful information and there's also a great set of top tips for safe surfing.
Copyright Kai Chandler (#12t5109)
The ON World Of OFFline Marketing
The ON World Of OFFline Marketing
by: Shashank Agarwal
Ok, now if you've started reading this article thinking that its going to be the same story about the business cards carrying your logo and company name, you are right. Hey, dont reach for that back button already. Okay, since business cards is one of the best ways to publicise your site, I had to mention that. But that does not mean it ends here. Read on to discover more.
Now, I mean AFTER you've read this article, shut down your computer, give your sore eyes some rest, get that bottom out of that squeaking chair and go out, implement the publicity tricks mentioned here.
Right so, your Bermudas and t-shirts are on, but hey, that brings us to our first suggested trick. Why not wear a t-shirt that’s got your company name logo and a punch-line on it. Come on, don’t put this off the list just because you don’t want to get it printed. I've got a better reason to make you search for a screen printer in the yellow pages. You don’t get just one t-shirt done. You get a bunch of t-shirts done, depending upon your budget. And so you wear these t-shirts day in and day out, NO. You distribute it. Whatever your site is based on, its got to have some people visiting it. No matter what you do it’s impossible to have no one visiting it. You can easily get about 10 people on your site, even if you sell skunk.
But this is not what you need. You need more zeros suffixed to that 10 right, and that’s why your reading this article. Okay so find out who these visitors are, try and contact them (you could have already collected their e-mails for newsletters and ask them to send their shipping address). Now, send one of your t-shirts to them as a "gift" or "prize" for something that they have done on your site. Lets suppose if yours is a web hosting firm, they get the t-shirt as a complimentary gift. They happily wear your company’s t-shirt, because they think that they took a right decision since they are already getting returns and you get that much deserved advertisement. Now, if your budget is not astronomical, send your t-shirt across to people only from those areas where your target audience is located.
Now, as an under effect, these people will also send their friends to your site, 'coz they could also win/get something out of the site, isn't it. Now, this is where you should start thinking out of the box. You could send Bermudas (not the one your wearing), smart college bags, pens with your company name and website printed on it (really cheap, but then your 'winner' is not a moving billboard) and so on. If you target the local market, you could send a pizza delivered to your customers. You could visit a book store, meet the manager, and ask him to place a bookmark in every book that’s sold, and you guessed it, this bookmark has your company name and website written on it.
So basically the possibilities are endless. It all depends on what you are selling; target your marketing technique accordingly. But your product is that funny thing which simply cannot be marketed the way I say right. Wrong. Let’s take the example of a site selling dog food. Now tie up with a pet shop and give a free pack of your best dog biscuit to every customer who has just bought a pup. So, you see, its not that you can’t do it. It’s just that you think that you can’t do it.
Here are some whacky and weird things that I've discovered to make your product 'visible'.
Hang your white towel in the gym in such a way that your company name sewed with red on the bottom is easily visible.
Put your site name on your car. Remember how Mercedes is read on back of every, well, Mercedes simply self promoting it. Try to put the site name on the back, coz this is the place most people following you are going to see. Now how you balance the size and color is up to you. Make sure you don’t look desperate with that sticker. It should look as though you are running a satisfied business and it doesn’t matter (though really it does) that whether your pursuit visits the site or not.
Send out birthday greetings to your best customers and potential customers. No, don’t start searching for e-greetings. I said greetings, physical cards. They hold a lot deeper value compared to its virtual counterpart. And it shows that you are making sincere efforts to please customers. Again, going back to the earlier formula, this will elate your customers and make them loyal customers.
Take placard to any sporting event. Lets suppose soccer. Go to support your home team in a home match. Take along with you some placards that have a suggest score line with victory to home team written on it, and your site address nicely fixed on the bottom line. Distribute this in the crowd, who first of all display it all around for the T.V. cameras to catch it and then they take it home, preserve it for some time, see your site name often and now become customers. Simple, huh.
Now, one very useful trick to promote your site is one which exists right in our campuses. Confused? Well, let’s clarify. University, college or school students are a great way to put your product across. Its like all bowling pins are stacked together and you just need to roll the ball. Metaphorical. Let’s say, you've got a firm selling pets. Now, you could go meet the principal/head/president (or whoever is the authority) to hold a quiz competition in their campus about nature and wildlife or geography or anyother topic which would exhibit your product. Now, this is where you are getting loads and loads of publicity. Try making this a city effort, a state effort, whatever your pocket can handle, and hold these final inter-college events in your premises (hire a hall if you don’t have a decent enough premise). Contact the press; they would love to put your event on page three. Moreover, the students, their friends and all will also become aware about your services.
You could use other competitions also. It might be a karate competition, if your selling martial arts goods, a poster-making competition if your selling stationary, a elocution or debate instead of the quiz and the possibilities are endless.
You could also sponsor a lecture/seminar by people who have been in the field and would not overwhelm you with their charges. This could also get a good press coverage, and if not that, at least a mention in the events section of the news-paper, whereby your companies name is disclosed.
So, having said all this, I don’t think you would disagree that there's a wired world out there. The sky is the limit for such ideas, and if you get some, please inform me as well. Find contact details in the About the Author section
by: Shashank Agarwal
Ok, now if you've started reading this article thinking that its going to be the same story about the business cards carrying your logo and company name, you are right. Hey, dont reach for that back button already. Okay, since business cards is one of the best ways to publicise your site, I had to mention that. But that does not mean it ends here. Read on to discover more.
Now, I mean AFTER you've read this article, shut down your computer, give your sore eyes some rest, get that bottom out of that squeaking chair and go out, implement the publicity tricks mentioned here.
Right so, your Bermudas and t-shirts are on, but hey, that brings us to our first suggested trick. Why not wear a t-shirt that’s got your company name logo and a punch-line on it. Come on, don’t put this off the list just because you don’t want to get it printed. I've got a better reason to make you search for a screen printer in the yellow pages. You don’t get just one t-shirt done. You get a bunch of t-shirts done, depending upon your budget. And so you wear these t-shirts day in and day out, NO. You distribute it. Whatever your site is based on, its got to have some people visiting it. No matter what you do it’s impossible to have no one visiting it. You can easily get about 10 people on your site, even if you sell skunk.
But this is not what you need. You need more zeros suffixed to that 10 right, and that’s why your reading this article. Okay so find out who these visitors are, try and contact them (you could have already collected their e-mails for newsletters and ask them to send their shipping address). Now, send one of your t-shirts to them as a "gift" or "prize" for something that they have done on your site. Lets suppose if yours is a web hosting firm, they get the t-shirt as a complimentary gift. They happily wear your company’s t-shirt, because they think that they took a right decision since they are already getting returns and you get that much deserved advertisement. Now, if your budget is not astronomical, send your t-shirt across to people only from those areas where your target audience is located.
Now, as an under effect, these people will also send their friends to your site, 'coz they could also win/get something out of the site, isn't it. Now, this is where you should start thinking out of the box. You could send Bermudas (not the one your wearing), smart college bags, pens with your company name and website printed on it (really cheap, but then your 'winner' is not a moving billboard) and so on. If you target the local market, you could send a pizza delivered to your customers. You could visit a book store, meet the manager, and ask him to place a bookmark in every book that’s sold, and you guessed it, this bookmark has your company name and website written on it.
So basically the possibilities are endless. It all depends on what you are selling; target your marketing technique accordingly. But your product is that funny thing which simply cannot be marketed the way I say right. Wrong. Let’s take the example of a site selling dog food. Now tie up with a pet shop and give a free pack of your best dog biscuit to every customer who has just bought a pup. So, you see, its not that you can’t do it. It’s just that you think that you can’t do it.
Here are some whacky and weird things that I've discovered to make your product 'visible'.
Hang your white towel in the gym in such a way that your company name sewed with red on the bottom is easily visible.
Put your site name on your car. Remember how Mercedes is read on back of every, well, Mercedes simply self promoting it. Try to put the site name on the back, coz this is the place most people following you are going to see. Now how you balance the size and color is up to you. Make sure you don’t look desperate with that sticker. It should look as though you are running a satisfied business and it doesn’t matter (though really it does) that whether your pursuit visits the site or not.
Send out birthday greetings to your best customers and potential customers. No, don’t start searching for e-greetings. I said greetings, physical cards. They hold a lot deeper value compared to its virtual counterpart. And it shows that you are making sincere efforts to please customers. Again, going back to the earlier formula, this will elate your customers and make them loyal customers.
Take placard to any sporting event. Lets suppose soccer. Go to support your home team in a home match. Take along with you some placards that have a suggest score line with victory to home team written on it, and your site address nicely fixed on the bottom line. Distribute this in the crowd, who first of all display it all around for the T.V. cameras to catch it and then they take it home, preserve it for some time, see your site name often and now become customers. Simple, huh.
Now, one very useful trick to promote your site is one which exists right in our campuses. Confused? Well, let’s clarify. University, college or school students are a great way to put your product across. Its like all bowling pins are stacked together and you just need to roll the ball. Metaphorical. Let’s say, you've got a firm selling pets. Now, you could go meet the principal/head/president (or whoever is the authority) to hold a quiz competition in their campus about nature and wildlife or geography or anyother topic which would exhibit your product. Now, this is where you are getting loads and loads of publicity. Try making this a city effort, a state effort, whatever your pocket can handle, and hold these final inter-college events in your premises (hire a hall if you don’t have a decent enough premise). Contact the press; they would love to put your event on page three. Moreover, the students, their friends and all will also become aware about your services.
You could use other competitions also. It might be a karate competition, if your selling martial arts goods, a poster-making competition if your selling stationary, a elocution or debate instead of the quiz and the possibilities are endless.
You could also sponsor a lecture/seminar by people who have been in the field and would not overwhelm you with their charges. This could also get a good press coverage, and if not that, at least a mention in the events section of the news-paper, whereby your companies name is disclosed.
So, having said all this, I don’t think you would disagree that there's a wired world out there. The sky is the limit for such ideas, and if you get some, please inform me as well. Find contact details in the About the Author section
Subscription Overload
Subscription Overload
by: Denise Hamilton
When I first started out online, like many ‘newbies’ I was overwhelmed by the amount of free knowledge and learning that was available just by signing up to a free newsletter or e-course, and so that’s what I did…
…a lot.
As I went about my daily surfing I took every opportunity to subscribe to ‘10 Steps To This’ and ‘7 Ways To That’
And what about the free downloads? It is a well known list building technique to offer a free e-book as an incentive to release your name and email address, and while this is a perfectly legitimate system, what it does is add fuel to the fire of your enthusiasm.
In the beginning I found all these newsletters to be a great way to access information and find out what the next big thing was or to get some free tips on how to improve my ad copy or grow my list. But as time went on I began to notice a few things.
Many of the lists that I belonged to started to send out very similar content in their newsletters. I found that as soon as I had just finished reading about why I should visit this site and sign up for X I would have another email from another guru advising me to do exactly the same thing.
While this did help to strengthen the message I really wasn’t interested in reading yet another 5 minute story just to be told the same thing twice (or more).
Also as time went on my inbox became increasing filled with the names of many people that I did not recognise. Clearly I had subscribed to their newsletter at some point and for some reason but with so many emails coming in it was hard to remember what it was I thought I could learn from this person.
And as the days went by the sheer volume of emails I received seemed to sky rocket – it can be very daunting to open up your email client and find that you have over 100 emails waiting to be read – Not to mention the time it takes to filter through them all before you actually find anything of real value to your needs.
Another thing I noticed is that as the number of legitimate emails I received increased so did the amount of spam I received.
Most people will tell you when you sign up with them that they hold your privacy in a very high regard and wont share your details with anyone, but the truth of the matter is that there will always be people who will find a way to get your name and email address from these lists and before you know it you are being bombarded with ads for diet pills and Viagra and requests from overseas to open up a bank account for someone who will then share their millions with you – Yeah right!
Luckily I have quite a good email client and they have a great spam filter and I highly recommend that you find yourself a similar service because I’m sure we can all find better ways to spend our time.
My advice to anyone finding themselves in a similar position is to stop and take a step back before you give your details to anyone. Yes there are a lot of very useful newsletters out there that really can help you to move your online business forward but instead of jumping in feet first stop and think if this information really is right for you.
Think about your business and what you and it need.
• What kind of information do you want to have access to?
• How specific to your niche do you need that information to be?
• Where is the best place to get that information from?
Then once you have those answers for yourself do a search online and find 3 or 4 newsletters in that category that you think could help you.
Your next step is then just to do a little research on the sources/writers of that information and decide who you think will be able to offer you the best quality.
If you find yourself spending half your day weeding through a multitude of emails from names that you do not remember then its time to clear the garden.
Go through and unsubscribe yourself from the lists that really don’t offer you any substance and leave yourself only with that which will help you to propel your business forward.
The more specific to your field of interest the better. For example if your business is involved in collectables and you need to know how to build a responsive email list then do a search for those keywords and find advice from someone who is already working in that field and has had success in building their own high quality list.
That way you’ll know that the information you get will be specific to your business and may also supply you with other nuggets of valuable knowledge that you would not otherwise have been privy to.
Happy Reading.
by: Denise Hamilton
When I first started out online, like many ‘newbies’ I was overwhelmed by the amount of free knowledge and learning that was available just by signing up to a free newsletter or e-course, and so that’s what I did…
…a lot.
As I went about my daily surfing I took every opportunity to subscribe to ‘10 Steps To This’ and ‘7 Ways To That’
And what about the free downloads? It is a well known list building technique to offer a free e-book as an incentive to release your name and email address, and while this is a perfectly legitimate system, what it does is add fuel to the fire of your enthusiasm.
In the beginning I found all these newsletters to be a great way to access information and find out what the next big thing was or to get some free tips on how to improve my ad copy or grow my list. But as time went on I began to notice a few things.
Many of the lists that I belonged to started to send out very similar content in their newsletters. I found that as soon as I had just finished reading about why I should visit this site and sign up for X I would have another email from another guru advising me to do exactly the same thing.
While this did help to strengthen the message I really wasn’t interested in reading yet another 5 minute story just to be told the same thing twice (or more).
Also as time went on my inbox became increasing filled with the names of many people that I did not recognise. Clearly I had subscribed to their newsletter at some point and for some reason but with so many emails coming in it was hard to remember what it was I thought I could learn from this person.
And as the days went by the sheer volume of emails I received seemed to sky rocket – it can be very daunting to open up your email client and find that you have over 100 emails waiting to be read – Not to mention the time it takes to filter through them all before you actually find anything of real value to your needs.
Another thing I noticed is that as the number of legitimate emails I received increased so did the amount of spam I received.
Most people will tell you when you sign up with them that they hold your privacy in a very high regard and wont share your details with anyone, but the truth of the matter is that there will always be people who will find a way to get your name and email address from these lists and before you know it you are being bombarded with ads for diet pills and Viagra and requests from overseas to open up a bank account for someone who will then share their millions with you – Yeah right!
Luckily I have quite a good email client and they have a great spam filter and I highly recommend that you find yourself a similar service because I’m sure we can all find better ways to spend our time.
My advice to anyone finding themselves in a similar position is to stop and take a step back before you give your details to anyone. Yes there are a lot of very useful newsletters out there that really can help you to move your online business forward but instead of jumping in feet first stop and think if this information really is right for you.
Think about your business and what you and it need.
• What kind of information do you want to have access to?
• How specific to your niche do you need that information to be?
• Where is the best place to get that information from?
Then once you have those answers for yourself do a search online and find 3 or 4 newsletters in that category that you think could help you.
Your next step is then just to do a little research on the sources/writers of that information and decide who you think will be able to offer you the best quality.
If you find yourself spending half your day weeding through a multitude of emails from names that you do not remember then its time to clear the garden.
Go through and unsubscribe yourself from the lists that really don’t offer you any substance and leave yourself only with that which will help you to propel your business forward.
The more specific to your field of interest the better. For example if your business is involved in collectables and you need to know how to build a responsive email list then do a search for those keywords and find advice from someone who is already working in that field and has had success in building their own high quality list.
That way you’ll know that the information you get will be specific to your business and may also supply you with other nuggets of valuable knowledge that you would not otherwise have been privy to.
Happy Reading.
Google Groups
Google Groups
by: Jakob Jelling
Some very early users of the Internet - not the worldwide web as we know it today - but the Internet from the early 1980s, will have heard of, and likely used, Usenet. This was the collective name applied to text-based electronic bulletin boards that were used to communicate in the days before the web and email existed, and that are still in use today. The Usenet posts were first collected and organized for worldwide web use in 1995, by a company called Deja News. In 2001, Google bought Deja News and applied their considerable search expertise to Usenet posts. The result is Google Groups.
There are well over 30,000 Google Groups today. These are hosted on servers all over the world, and Google Groups provides a browser-based interface to them, as well as creating searchable archives. From a very clean interface, users may search any of the various subsections of Google Groups. In the same way a clothing web site may be divided into sections for men's, women's, and children's wear, Usenet is divided into sections such as biz (business related), comp (computer related), humanities (art, literature related), and so on. From there, subsections may be divided into more specialized sub-topics where necessary.
Sadly, many Google Groups are now spammer hangouts more than anything else. Widely available web access and programs that can automatically post to thousands of newsgroups in just a short while have destroyed much of the original spirit and usefulness of the Usenet groups. And parents need to know that on some sections of Usenet there are some very inappropriate topics that have been started over the years, so they should exercise due caution in protecting their children from those sections.
For those who don't mind a bit of digging through the virtual trash can, there are still many, many useful and active Google Groups, full of friendly, helpful people, so be sure to check out this often-overlooked resource.
By Jakob Jelling
http://www.sitetube.com
by: Jakob Jelling
Some very early users of the Internet - not the worldwide web as we know it today - but the Internet from the early 1980s, will have heard of, and likely used, Usenet. This was the collective name applied to text-based electronic bulletin boards that were used to communicate in the days before the web and email existed, and that are still in use today. The Usenet posts were first collected and organized for worldwide web use in 1995, by a company called Deja News. In 2001, Google bought Deja News and applied their considerable search expertise to Usenet posts. The result is Google Groups.
There are well over 30,000 Google Groups today. These are hosted on servers all over the world, and Google Groups provides a browser-based interface to them, as well as creating searchable archives. From a very clean interface, users may search any of the various subsections of Google Groups. In the same way a clothing web site may be divided into sections for men's, women's, and children's wear, Usenet is divided into sections such as biz (business related), comp (computer related), humanities (art, literature related), and so on. From there, subsections may be divided into more specialized sub-topics where necessary.
Sadly, many Google Groups are now spammer hangouts more than anything else. Widely available web access and programs that can automatically post to thousands of newsgroups in just a short while have destroyed much of the original spirit and usefulness of the Usenet groups. And parents need to know that on some sections of Usenet there are some very inappropriate topics that have been started over the years, so they should exercise due caution in protecting their children from those sections.
For those who don't mind a bit of digging through the virtual trash can, there are still many, many useful and active Google Groups, full of friendly, helpful people, so be sure to check out this often-overlooked resource.
By Jakob Jelling
http://www.sitetube.com
Factors To Consider In Buying A Sound Card
Factors To Consider In Buying A Sound Card
by: Daniel Travers
Computers are stepping in the multimedia entertainment zone more and more each year. They have begun to take over from the video player, the stereo, the karaoke machine and the television.
The motherboard of a computer comes with a basic sound component but because of the nature of the tasks involved these computers need higher quality components when it comes to sound and video cards.
Digital format
Before the eighties all audio was analog but with the advent of CDs on the market, the digital format began to take over. All information from a computer is digital including the audio. In order to hear a song it must be changed into an analog signal. Although there are attempts to improve the quality, the digital format has gaps in its information due to conversion.
An average CD contains 44.1 KHZ per 16 bits. That is every analog signal makes up one step and there are 44100 steps every second. The steps are given a number. This number ranges up to 16 bits (65536). A DVD has about 96khz at 16 bits and a DVD audio has 192 khz at 24 bits.
The digital audio is changed into analog using the Digital Audio Converter or DAC
The quality of the DAC is one of the determining factors when buying a sound card.
Types of Audio Cards
The motherboard has a sound processor called the AC 97. It can support a DVD at 96 kHz, 16 bits six channels but the quality is lacking. The sound is noisy and cannot support more complex applications.
It is better to get an external sound card that can be inserted into a PCI slot on the motherboard. The card you select will depend on the function it serves. If you want to watch DVD’s a basic card will suffice. If you are looking for something that will help you record music, or add a microphone you will probably need something more sophisticated and if you are a professional musician or video editor it would be best to get a card with multitrack recording and high sound quality.
What to look for
Take a look at the specifications of a sound card to find more about its quality. One number to take not of is the S/N or signal to noise ratio. This is the ratio between the audio sounds versus the background noise in a room. The higher this ratio is, the better the sound card quality. This number is measured in decibels (db). A db of 90 is good and for the professional it should be more than 100db.
The number of channels a sound card supports can be important. They can come in configurations of 5.1, 6.1, and 7.1. The first number indicates the number of satellite speakers you can place near the computer and the .1 is the subwoofer channel which is for low frequency sounds.
For those who are looking at professional grade sound cards, the input amount is important. A basic sound card has one for each stereo pair but a professional sound card will allow for ten.
Price
Prices vary; you can get a poor quality basic card for ten dollars. Most of the better cards are at least fifty dollars and if you are a professional the cards you are looking for can be four hundred dollars or more.
by: Daniel Travers
Computers are stepping in the multimedia entertainment zone more and more each year. They have begun to take over from the video player, the stereo, the karaoke machine and the television.
The motherboard of a computer comes with a basic sound component but because of the nature of the tasks involved these computers need higher quality components when it comes to sound and video cards.
Digital format
Before the eighties all audio was analog but with the advent of CDs on the market, the digital format began to take over. All information from a computer is digital including the audio. In order to hear a song it must be changed into an analog signal. Although there are attempts to improve the quality, the digital format has gaps in its information due to conversion.
An average CD contains 44.1 KHZ per 16 bits. That is every analog signal makes up one step and there are 44100 steps every second. The steps are given a number. This number ranges up to 16 bits (65536). A DVD has about 96khz at 16 bits and a DVD audio has 192 khz at 24 bits.
The digital audio is changed into analog using the Digital Audio Converter or DAC
The quality of the DAC is one of the determining factors when buying a sound card.
Types of Audio Cards
The motherboard has a sound processor called the AC 97. It can support a DVD at 96 kHz, 16 bits six channels but the quality is lacking. The sound is noisy and cannot support more complex applications.
It is better to get an external sound card that can be inserted into a PCI slot on the motherboard. The card you select will depend on the function it serves. If you want to watch DVD’s a basic card will suffice. If you are looking for something that will help you record music, or add a microphone you will probably need something more sophisticated and if you are a professional musician or video editor it would be best to get a card with multitrack recording and high sound quality.
What to look for
Take a look at the specifications of a sound card to find more about its quality. One number to take not of is the S/N or signal to noise ratio. This is the ratio between the audio sounds versus the background noise in a room. The higher this ratio is, the better the sound card quality. This number is measured in decibels (db). A db of 90 is good and for the professional it should be more than 100db.
The number of channels a sound card supports can be important. They can come in configurations of 5.1, 6.1, and 7.1. The first number indicates the number of satellite speakers you can place near the computer and the .1 is the subwoofer channel which is for low frequency sounds.
For those who are looking at professional grade sound cards, the input amount is important. A basic sound card has one for each stereo pair but a professional sound card will allow for ten.
Price
Prices vary; you can get a poor quality basic card for ten dollars. Most of the better cards are at least fifty dollars and if you are a professional the cards you are looking for can be four hundred dollars or more.
Attention: You could loose your ru-domain
Attention: You could loose your ru-domain
by: Hans Peter Oswald
As RIPN, the Russian registry reports, RIPN stops to perform the duties of .RU Second Level Domain Names Registrar from 2005 January 01. But RIPN remains the operator of the ru-registry and continues to provide technical support of Domain Name Registration System and name servers of ru-domains. It will stay also registrar concerning org.ru-domains , net.ru-domains , .pp.ru-domains and com.ru-domains Therefore all Second Level Domain NameRegistration Agreements between RIPN and persons or entities will be terminated from January 01, 2005.
It will be impossible to extend registration terms of ru-domains sponsored by RIPN after the termination of the Second Level Domain Name Registration Agreements. All ru-domains registered before January 01, 2005 will be supported by RIPN till expiration date. To maintain and renew the domain name registrations of existing ru-domains it is necessary to transfer domains sponsorship to another active registrar.
If you do not want to loose your ru-domain, you should transfer it before January 2005 to ICANN Registrar Secura.(https://www.domainregistry.de/ru-domain.html).
Hans-Peter Oswald
https://www.domainregistry.de/ru-domain.html
by: Hans Peter Oswald
As RIPN, the Russian registry reports, RIPN stops to perform the duties of .RU Second Level Domain Names Registrar from 2005 January 01. But RIPN remains the operator of the ru-registry and continues to provide technical support of Domain Name Registration System and name servers of ru-domains. It will stay also registrar concerning org.ru-domains , net.ru-domains , .pp.ru-domains and com.ru-domains Therefore all Second Level Domain NameRegistration Agreements between RIPN and persons or entities will be terminated from January 01, 2005.
It will be impossible to extend registration terms of ru-domains sponsored by RIPN after the termination of the Second Level Domain Name Registration Agreements. All ru-domains registered before January 01, 2005 will be supported by RIPN till expiration date. To maintain and renew the domain name registrations of existing ru-domains it is necessary to transfer domains sponsorship to another active registrar.
If you do not want to loose your ru-domain, you should transfer it before January 2005 to ICANN Registrar Secura.(https://www.domainregistry.de/ru-domain.html).
Hans-Peter Oswald
https://www.domainregistry.de/ru-domain.html
Discover the Lighter Side of the Internet
Discover the Lighter Side of the Internet
by: Jesse S. Somer
The other side of the Internet is light and fluffy. It can definitely turn a dark, gray cloud to white.
We all know the Internet is a great tool for finding out information and sharing knowledge. But as a human sometimes sitting at a computer all day can get quite tedious, especially if it is your job 5 days a week. This feeling can be compounded by other problems in one’s personal life, and the result can mean little productivity because of a sour mood. Well humanity does have a lighter side, and this too can be explored on the Internet. Sometimes a little humor or interesting trivia can really take the edge off a bad moment. You’d be surprised at how much comedy and insight is expressed on the Net. I’ve been exploring what’s out there and I just can’t stop laughing. Laughter of course is the ultimate medicine and some believe it to be the highest form of life. My only warning is don’t get hooked on this stuff as your work ethic will probably become worse than ever!
Now, there’s a lot of stuff on the Net and not all of it is positive humor, but you can surf around the undesirable stuff with ease. To give you an idea of some funny sites I discovered, here is a short list but I’m sure there are thousands of others you can find by doing simple word searches: www.bored.com, www.linkydinky.com, www.chickenjoke.com, www.crazyfads.com, www.crazythoughts.com, www.dancingbush.com, and www.stupidvideos.com. I really advise checking out the last site and watching the video entitled ‘Evil penguin2’. This nearly brought tears to my eyes as I already have a soft spot for penguins.
So, you’ve got jokes, funny videos, kooky trivia, strange thoughts and perspectives on different aspects of life, and even the most ‘powerful’ man on Earth-George Bush doing an animated dance imitating John Travolta in ‘Saturday Night Fever’. You’ve really got no reason anymore to sit in front of your computer worrying and wallowing in self-pity. I’ve always thought that humans have put too much emphasis on technological development as opposed to the spiritual side of things. This comedic aspect to the Internet has shown me that people can also be quite clever in more lighthearted endeavors. Some of the ideas on these sites really flip the world upside down and make you question why we do the things the way we do. This could be considered a step forward in our evolution as we see the underlying truths in our cultural systems.
Laughter is the key to humanity reaching a higher level of consciousness. Imagine if everyone on our planet could all be happy enough in one moment to laugh at the same time. The Earth would shake, the seas would rise, and all the animals would stop what they’re doing to join in. The vibration would probably cause a ripple to flow out into space affecting other planetary systems. Then, imagine all the beings of the Universe laughing at one time. We’re talking serious celebrations! We’re talking about black holes folding in on themselves in result of the positive energy wave forces demolishing all negative forces in their path! It’s called the Laughter Revolution, and it might just be the next step for you to take to reach that long awaited goal of happiness. Come on, take a look around, there’s a whole world of funniness just under the surface of our perceived ‘normal’ reality. We have to wake up and smell the cheese…Oh the sweet cheese.
by: Jesse S. Somer
The other side of the Internet is light and fluffy. It can definitely turn a dark, gray cloud to white.
We all know the Internet is a great tool for finding out information and sharing knowledge. But as a human sometimes sitting at a computer all day can get quite tedious, especially if it is your job 5 days a week. This feeling can be compounded by other problems in one’s personal life, and the result can mean little productivity because of a sour mood. Well humanity does have a lighter side, and this too can be explored on the Internet. Sometimes a little humor or interesting trivia can really take the edge off a bad moment. You’d be surprised at how much comedy and insight is expressed on the Net. I’ve been exploring what’s out there and I just can’t stop laughing. Laughter of course is the ultimate medicine and some believe it to be the highest form of life. My only warning is don’t get hooked on this stuff as your work ethic will probably become worse than ever!
Now, there’s a lot of stuff on the Net and not all of it is positive humor, but you can surf around the undesirable stuff with ease. To give you an idea of some funny sites I discovered, here is a short list but I’m sure there are thousands of others you can find by doing simple word searches: www.bored.com, www.linkydinky.com, www.chickenjoke.com, www.crazyfads.com, www.crazythoughts.com, www.dancingbush.com, and www.stupidvideos.com. I really advise checking out the last site and watching the video entitled ‘Evil penguin2’. This nearly brought tears to my eyes as I already have a soft spot for penguins.
So, you’ve got jokes, funny videos, kooky trivia, strange thoughts and perspectives on different aspects of life, and even the most ‘powerful’ man on Earth-George Bush doing an animated dance imitating John Travolta in ‘Saturday Night Fever’. You’ve really got no reason anymore to sit in front of your computer worrying and wallowing in self-pity. I’ve always thought that humans have put too much emphasis on technological development as opposed to the spiritual side of things. This comedic aspect to the Internet has shown me that people can also be quite clever in more lighthearted endeavors. Some of the ideas on these sites really flip the world upside down and make you question why we do the things the way we do. This could be considered a step forward in our evolution as we see the underlying truths in our cultural systems.
Laughter is the key to humanity reaching a higher level of consciousness. Imagine if everyone on our planet could all be happy enough in one moment to laugh at the same time. The Earth would shake, the seas would rise, and all the animals would stop what they’re doing to join in. The vibration would probably cause a ripple to flow out into space affecting other planetary systems. Then, imagine all the beings of the Universe laughing at one time. We’re talking serious celebrations! We’re talking about black holes folding in on themselves in result of the positive energy wave forces demolishing all negative forces in their path! It’s called the Laughter Revolution, and it might just be the next step for you to take to reach that long awaited goal of happiness. Come on, take a look around, there’s a whole world of funniness just under the surface of our perceived ‘normal’ reality. We have to wake up and smell the cheese…Oh the sweet cheese.
5 Steps to Understanding HTML
5 Steps to Understanding HTML
by: John Bradford
HTML is a relatively simple language, but that doesn't stop people from having problems with it. Why is that? It's mainly because, while the HTML tags themselves are easy, creating an HTML document that works as intended on a web server requires you to know a few extra things that aren't often explained. Here, then, is a guide to understanding those parts of HTML that they just don't tell you about in the books.
Step 1: Understand Doctypes.
It isn't often noted that valid HMTL documents don't actually start with the tag – they have one extra tag before it. This is the doctype, and it must be present right at the top of your document for it to be valid HTML.
There are only really two doctypes that you really need to know about. The HTML4 doctype looks like this:
The XHTML one looks like this:
These versions of the doctypes that are a little more forgiving – if you're a purist, you can use the strict ones instead by changing the words 'transitional' and 'loose' to 'strict'.
But what is the doctype for? Well, its purpose is simple enough: it tells web browsers exactly what version of HTML your page was written in, to help them to interpret it correctly.
Step 2: Understand HTTP Errors.
A truly shocking number of people writing HTML pages don't know how HTTP works – and they quickly run into trouble because of it. HTTP is the way a web browser communicates with a web server, and this communication includes information about your pages, such as cookies.
You don't need to worry too much about the internals of HTTP, but it's worth knowing that it works by the browser sending a request to the server for a certain page, and the server then responding with a code.
Your website should be set up to handle error codes well. For example, a 404 (page not found) error should show a page with links to the most useful parts of your site. Other common error codes include:
200 - OK
301 - Page moved.
403 - Forbidden (no authorisation to access).
500 - Internal server error.
For more information, visit www.w3.org/protocols.
Step 3: Understand MIME Types.
MIME types are another part of the HTML header – an important one. Also known as the content-type header, they tell the browser what kind of file they are about to send. Browsers don't rely on HTML files ending in .html, JPEG images ending in .jpeg, and so on: they rely on the content-type header. If you don't know about this, you can have problems if you need to configure your server to send anything unusual.
Here are some common MIME types:
text/html - HTML.
text/css - CSS
text/plain - plain text.
image/gif - GIF image.
image/jpeg - JPEG image.
image/png - PNG image.
audio/mpeg - MP3 audio file.
application/x-shockwave-flash - Flash movie.
Step 4: Understand Link Paths.
One of the hardest things to understand about HTML is all the different things that you can put in an 'href' property. Abbreviated URLs are created using the rules of old text-based operating systems, and there are plenty of people writing HTML today who are completely unfamiliar with these rules.
Here are some examples. For each one, the assumption is that the link is on a page at http://www.example.com/example1/example1.html.
- links to http://www.example.com/example1/example2.html
- links to http://www.example.com/example1/example2.html
- links to http://www.example.com/example2.html
- links to http://www.example.com/example2.html
- links to http://www.example.com/
- links to http://www.example.com/example1
To put it simply, one dot means "in the folder we're in now", while two dots means "in the folder above the one we're in now". This can get confusing fast – just look at the difference one dot can make! Be careful with it.
Step 5: Understand How to Insert Things That Aren't HTML.
One of the most common HTML questions is how to insert things like Javascript and CSS into an HTML document. This is one of the easiest questions to answer: you simply use the link and script tags, like this:
by: John Bradford
HTML is a relatively simple language, but that doesn't stop people from having problems with it. Why is that? It's mainly because, while the HTML tags themselves are easy, creating an HTML document that works as intended on a web server requires you to know a few extra things that aren't often explained. Here, then, is a guide to understanding those parts of HTML that they just don't tell you about in the books.
Step 1: Understand Doctypes.
It isn't often noted that valid HMTL documents don't actually start with the tag – they have one extra tag before it. This is the doctype, and it must be present right at the top of your document for it to be valid HTML.
There are only really two doctypes that you really need to know about. The HTML4 doctype looks like this:
The XHTML one looks like this:
These versions of the doctypes that are a little more forgiving – if you're a purist, you can use the strict ones instead by changing the words 'transitional' and 'loose' to 'strict'.
But what is the doctype for? Well, its purpose is simple enough: it tells web browsers exactly what version of HTML your page was written in, to help them to interpret it correctly.
Step 2: Understand HTTP Errors.
A truly shocking number of people writing HTML pages don't know how HTTP works – and they quickly run into trouble because of it. HTTP is the way a web browser communicates with a web server, and this communication includes information about your pages, such as cookies.
You don't need to worry too much about the internals of HTTP, but it's worth knowing that it works by the browser sending a request to the server for a certain page, and the server then responding with a code.
Your website should be set up to handle error codes well. For example, a 404 (page not found) error should show a page with links to the most useful parts of your site. Other common error codes include:
200 - OK
301 - Page moved.
403 - Forbidden (no authorisation to access).
500 - Internal server error.
For more information, visit www.w3.org/protocols.
Step 3: Understand MIME Types.
MIME types are another part of the HTML header – an important one. Also known as the content-type header, they tell the browser what kind of file they are about to send. Browsers don't rely on HTML files ending in .html, JPEG images ending in .jpeg, and so on: they rely on the content-type header. If you don't know about this, you can have problems if you need to configure your server to send anything unusual.
Here are some common MIME types:
text/html - HTML.
text/css - CSS
text/plain - plain text.
image/gif - GIF image.
image/jpeg - JPEG image.
image/png - PNG image.
audio/mpeg - MP3 audio file.
application/x-shockwave-flash - Flash movie.
Step 4: Understand Link Paths.
One of the hardest things to understand about HTML is all the different things that you can put in an 'href' property. Abbreviated URLs are created using the rules of old text-based operating systems, and there are plenty of people writing HTML today who are completely unfamiliar with these rules.
Here are some examples. For each one, the assumption is that the link is on a page at http://www.example.com/example1/example1.html.
- links to http://www.example.com/example1/example2.html
- links to http://www.example.com/example1/example2.html
- links to http://www.example.com/example2.html
- links to http://www.example.com/example2.html
- links to http://www.example.com/
- links to http://www.example.com/example1
To put it simply, one dot means "in the folder we're in now", while two dots means "in the folder above the one we're in now". This can get confusing fast – just look at the difference one dot can make! Be careful with it.
Step 5: Understand How to Insert Things That Aren't HTML.
One of the most common HTML questions is how to insert things like Javascript and CSS into an HTML document. This is one of the easiest questions to answer: you simply use the link and script tags, like this:
Sirius Satellite Radio vs XM Satellite Radio – Which Streams Should You Choose?
Sirius Satellite Radio vs XM Satellite Radio – Which Streams Should You Choose?
by: C. J. Gustafson
Just as many TV viewers have come to consider cable TV a life necessity, so too is satellite radio becoming a mainstream replacement for traditional AM/FM listening. Yes you have to pay for it, but just as with cable, you get way more channels and edgier, more innovative programming. Plus, you don’t lose your favorite station as you travel across the state or country. And satellite players show the artist and name of the song, which is definitely a plus for those who like to know what they’re listening to. In the U.S. there are just two main players in the satellite radio industry, Sirius and XM. WorldSpace, which has been broadcasting the longest and covers the most area, currently does not offer coverage in the United States. So with just two providers to pick from, one would think that the choice would be easy, but each has its own pluses and drawbacks and the decision usually comes down to budget and personal preferences.
How It Works
In 1992, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocated a spectrum in the "S" band (2.3 GHz) for nationwide broadcasting of satellite-based Digital Audio Radio Service (DARS). Of the four companies that applied for licenses, only two were granted rights to broadcast; Sirius (formerly CD Radio) and XM (formerly American Mobile Radio). Each company has satellites in orbit above the earth to transmit their programming. Programs are beamed to one of the satellites, which then transmits the signal to the ground, where your radio receiver picks up one of the channels within the signal. Signals are also be beamed to ground repeaters for listeners in urban areas where the satellite signal can be interrupted.
In many ways, Sirius has set the tone for the industry, being the first to offer commercial free programming on all its music channels and has larger selection of receivers, adapters and other products. XM has a cheaper subscription fee, at least for its basic plan, which offers much the same fare as its competitor.
Both providers have partnered with automobile manufacturers to offer satellite radio in new car models. And each has systems that will search the channels for your favorite music and alert you when and where the songs are playing. Choosing between the two companies can be difficult since each has its advantages. Here is some information that may help listeners choose between the two.
XM Satellite Radio
XM satellite radio offers 68 commercial-free music channels, 33 news, sports, and talk & entertainment channels and 21 dedicated traffic and weather channels. XM is the exclusive satellite radio provider of FOX Sports Radio, Sporting News Radio and the world's only 24-hour NASCAR Radio channel. It does not offer NFL programming.
Equipment
XM has several choices in equipment. For just under $120, you can get the Delphi XM Roady receiver. This complete package comes with a micro-antenna, cassette adaptor, 12V power adaptor, and a universal mounting bracket. For another $10, you can upgrade to the Roady2, proclaimed as the smallest satellite receiver available. In addition to the typical satellite radio features, it allows you to scroll up to 20 stock symbols and has 30 channel presets.
The Delphi XM SKYFi is a receiver with a more advanced display. It gives you more information about each song and the five-line display lets you see what's playing on other XM channels before you switch. The SKYFi2, which costs $30 more, gives pause and play functions. It must be combined with an adaptor kit for home, vehicle or audio system. These adapters range from $70-$100 in price.
Coming in November of 2004, the Delphi XM MyFi, touted as the world's first XM2go receiver, becomes available from XM. It comes with car kit, home kit, rechargeable battery, headphones, antennas and more for $349.99.
Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius satellite radio offers 65 channels of commercial free music, plus more than 50 channels of great sports, news and entertainment programming. They are the only one of the two competitors to offer NFL coverage, including play-by-play action and pre-game gab.
Equipment
Siruis offers a host of equipment options. Customers can choose from over 15 plug and play options. Average receivers sell for $99.95 and can be combined with a car or home adapter, or a choice of different boomboxes. For the same $99.95, the Sirius Sportster adds special features for the sports enthusiast such as Game Alert, which prompts you when your favorite NFL or other sports teams are playing and Game Zone, which lists all of the play-by-play games and scores on Sirius by league.
Or for $149.99 you can cover all your listening needs with the Sanyo CRSR-10 Plug & Play System. It includes home and car kits for use at home, office, truck, RV, boat or car and antennas for home and car. It has 20 presets and a built-in wireless FM transmitter for use on all 100 FM frequencies. If a boombox is not your style, you can go with a home system that integrates with you existing audio equipment. Prices range from $250 up to $2000.
You can put a headunit in your car, throw in a tuner and antenna and you’re wired for satellite in your vehicle without the portable receiver and adapter. Sirius has over 15 headunits to choose from in prices ranging from under $200 to over $1000. Some of the more reasonably priced units come with CD players and removable fronts.
Comparisons
So in the world of XM vs Sirius, it’s a tough call and depends on your budget and listening preferences. The following satellite radio comparison summary consists of information taken directly from the websites of the two satellite radio companies.
Sirius Satellite Radio
Pricing
$12.99/month - with annual & lifetime options available. Extra receivers for an additional fee.
Activation fee
$15 by phone, $10 online
Commercial free
All 65 music channels are commercial free
Online listening
Listen online for free. On any computer. With no extra fee.
NFL coverage
Live play-by-play coverage of every NFL game and the only 24/7-radio channel dedicated to all-things-NFL, all year long.
Available in new cars
Exclusive car partners of Daimler Chrysler, BMW and Ford.
Customer service
24 hour Customer Care by toll free phone number and email.
XM Satellite Radio
Pricing
$9.99 basic package - premium programming, such as Playboy and XM’s own High Voltage are available for an additional monthly fee, as are extra receivers.
Activation fee
$14.99 by phone, $9.99 online
Commercial free
All 68 music channels are commercial free
Costs an extra $3.99 a month.
NFL coverage
No play-by-play. No local NFL coverage. No original NFL programming.
Available in new cars
Exclusive car partner of GM.
Customer service
Customer Care is open 18 hours a day.
Satellite radio appears to be here to stay. The offerings keep getting better and the decision between the two keeps getting tougher. Equipment is available at store locations and websites of retailers like Wal-Mart and Best Buy and through the providers’ websites. For static free, commercial free radio listening and your favorite stations wherever you go, satellite radio is the choice of millions. Installation and activation are easy. In fact the toughest decision may be deciding which provider to choose.
by: C. J. Gustafson
Just as many TV viewers have come to consider cable TV a life necessity, so too is satellite radio becoming a mainstream replacement for traditional AM/FM listening. Yes you have to pay for it, but just as with cable, you get way more channels and edgier, more innovative programming. Plus, you don’t lose your favorite station as you travel across the state or country. And satellite players show the artist and name of the song, which is definitely a plus for those who like to know what they’re listening to. In the U.S. there are just two main players in the satellite radio industry, Sirius and XM. WorldSpace, which has been broadcasting the longest and covers the most area, currently does not offer coverage in the United States. So with just two providers to pick from, one would think that the choice would be easy, but each has its own pluses and drawbacks and the decision usually comes down to budget and personal preferences.
How It Works
In 1992, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocated a spectrum in the "S" band (2.3 GHz) for nationwide broadcasting of satellite-based Digital Audio Radio Service (DARS). Of the four companies that applied for licenses, only two were granted rights to broadcast; Sirius (formerly CD Radio) and XM (formerly American Mobile Radio). Each company has satellites in orbit above the earth to transmit their programming. Programs are beamed to one of the satellites, which then transmits the signal to the ground, where your radio receiver picks up one of the channels within the signal. Signals are also be beamed to ground repeaters for listeners in urban areas where the satellite signal can be interrupted.
In many ways, Sirius has set the tone for the industry, being the first to offer commercial free programming on all its music channels and has larger selection of receivers, adapters and other products. XM has a cheaper subscription fee, at least for its basic plan, which offers much the same fare as its competitor.
Both providers have partnered with automobile manufacturers to offer satellite radio in new car models. And each has systems that will search the channels for your favorite music and alert you when and where the songs are playing. Choosing between the two companies can be difficult since each has its advantages. Here is some information that may help listeners choose between the two.
XM Satellite Radio
XM satellite radio offers 68 commercial-free music channels, 33 news, sports, and talk & entertainment channels and 21 dedicated traffic and weather channels. XM is the exclusive satellite radio provider of FOX Sports Radio, Sporting News Radio and the world's only 24-hour NASCAR Radio channel. It does not offer NFL programming.
Equipment
XM has several choices in equipment. For just under $120, you can get the Delphi XM Roady receiver. This complete package comes with a micro-antenna, cassette adaptor, 12V power adaptor, and a universal mounting bracket. For another $10, you can upgrade to the Roady2, proclaimed as the smallest satellite receiver available. In addition to the typical satellite radio features, it allows you to scroll up to 20 stock symbols and has 30 channel presets.
The Delphi XM SKYFi is a receiver with a more advanced display. It gives you more information about each song and the five-line display lets you see what's playing on other XM channels before you switch. The SKYFi2, which costs $30 more, gives pause and play functions. It must be combined with an adaptor kit for home, vehicle or audio system. These adapters range from $70-$100 in price.
Coming in November of 2004, the Delphi XM MyFi, touted as the world's first XM2go receiver, becomes available from XM. It comes with car kit, home kit, rechargeable battery, headphones, antennas and more for $349.99.
Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius satellite radio offers 65 channels of commercial free music, plus more than 50 channels of great sports, news and entertainment programming. They are the only one of the two competitors to offer NFL coverage, including play-by-play action and pre-game gab.
Equipment
Siruis offers a host of equipment options. Customers can choose from over 15 plug and play options. Average receivers sell for $99.95 and can be combined with a car or home adapter, or a choice of different boomboxes. For the same $99.95, the Sirius Sportster adds special features for the sports enthusiast such as Game Alert, which prompts you when your favorite NFL or other sports teams are playing and Game Zone, which lists all of the play-by-play games and scores on Sirius by league.
Or for $149.99 you can cover all your listening needs with the Sanyo CRSR-10 Plug & Play System. It includes home and car kits for use at home, office, truck, RV, boat or car and antennas for home and car. It has 20 presets and a built-in wireless FM transmitter for use on all 100 FM frequencies. If a boombox is not your style, you can go with a home system that integrates with you existing audio equipment. Prices range from $250 up to $2000.
You can put a headunit in your car, throw in a tuner and antenna and you’re wired for satellite in your vehicle without the portable receiver and adapter. Sirius has over 15 headunits to choose from in prices ranging from under $200 to over $1000. Some of the more reasonably priced units come with CD players and removable fronts.
Comparisons
So in the world of XM vs Sirius, it’s a tough call and depends on your budget and listening preferences. The following satellite radio comparison summary consists of information taken directly from the websites of the two satellite radio companies.
Sirius Satellite Radio
Pricing
$12.99/month - with annual & lifetime options available. Extra receivers for an additional fee.
Activation fee
$15 by phone, $10 online
Commercial free
All 65 music channels are commercial free
Online listening
Listen online for free. On any computer. With no extra fee.
NFL coverage
Live play-by-play coverage of every NFL game and the only 24/7-radio channel dedicated to all-things-NFL, all year long.
Available in new cars
Exclusive car partners of Daimler Chrysler, BMW and Ford.
Customer service
24 hour Customer Care by toll free phone number and email.
XM Satellite Radio
Pricing
$9.99 basic package - premium programming, such as Playboy and XM’s own High Voltage are available for an additional monthly fee, as are extra receivers.
Activation fee
$14.99 by phone, $9.99 online
Commercial free
All 68 music channels are commercial free
Costs an extra $3.99 a month.
NFL coverage
No play-by-play. No local NFL coverage. No original NFL programming.
Available in new cars
Exclusive car partner of GM.
Customer service
Customer Care is open 18 hours a day.
Satellite radio appears to be here to stay. The offerings keep getting better and the decision between the two keeps getting tougher. Equipment is available at store locations and websites of retailers like Wal-Mart and Best Buy and through the providers’ websites. For static free, commercial free radio listening and your favorite stations wherever you go, satellite radio is the choice of millions. Installation and activation are easy. In fact the toughest decision may be deciding which provider to choose.
5 Tips For New Internet Surfers
5 Tips For New Internet Surfers
by: Franck Silvestre
When you are new to the web, trying to start a new business to make a living online, you need advices to make your surffing life easier...
Everyday, thousands of new surfers open their browsers for the first time, it is confusing in the beginning, but if you have some good advices in the early beginning, you can surf easier and faster with a friendly browser...
Tip 1: Surf in security.
The first action that you will do if you are new to the net is to open your browser to surf. If you have a PC, like most of the Internet population. You will have Internet explorer installed in your computer, but it is not the best browser available on the net, and it is in fact limited. You may think that it is hard to surf on Internet.
When you will discover Mozilla Firefox, you will be even more happy to surf on Internet, for sure.
One of the first reason you should use Firefox is the integrated Firewall, which protect you against spyware and other adawares.
Tip 2: No need to tape http://www.---.com all the time.
The second reason to choose Firefox is that you save time; for instance, when you went on ebay.com yesterday, you wrote: http://www.ebay.com with Firefox, you just tape “e” in the address bar of your browser, then http://www.ebay.com will appear in the drop down menu, it's like magic, and it's fun too.
Tip 3: See all your pages in only one window.
I really love this one; you can surf in tab. That is really powerful.
For instance, with Internet Explorer, whenever you click on a link, you have 2 choice: open the page in the same window, or open it in a new window. Firefox enable you to open several pages in one window.
Let's explain: you are now looking yahoo.com, and you want to see the news, you just right click on the link, select open in a new tab, and you have now two pages in only one window. To switch between your pages, you just need to click on anyone of the page you want to look in, all that in the same window. You can open fifteen windows in one time if you want.
Better, you can bookmark(in Internet explorer, bookmark is favorites) a tab, and open it later. It is a very intelligent way of surfing. It is very efficient when you are doing some researches on a subject, on google for example.
Tip 4: All your downloads at the same place.
The fourth reason to choose Firefox is that when you download a file on your computer, sometimes, you want to open it, but you face a problem: Where did you save that file? With Firefox, just click on tools, and then you select download, and a pop up window appear. You just scroll to find your program. It will save you time and a lot of headaches.
However, it is recommended, for the first time, to save your download on your desktop, then after save your file in the folder you choose. You can download firefox for Free. You just type firefox in google.com and you're done.
Tip 5: Don't forget a good anti virus,
While you surf on Internet, some hijackers will attempt to damage your computer, by introducing a virus in it. If you don't take your precaution, you may loose all that is stored in your hard disk. You can download AVG, which is excellent at download.com.
There is a lot to learn when you start on Internet, but take your time. And everything will go smoothly.
by: Franck Silvestre
When you are new to the web, trying to start a new business to make a living online, you need advices to make your surffing life easier...
Everyday, thousands of new surfers open their browsers for the first time, it is confusing in the beginning, but if you have some good advices in the early beginning, you can surf easier and faster with a friendly browser...
Tip 1: Surf in security.
The first action that you will do if you are new to the net is to open your browser to surf. If you have a PC, like most of the Internet population. You will have Internet explorer installed in your computer, but it is not the best browser available on the net, and it is in fact limited. You may think that it is hard to surf on Internet.
When you will discover Mozilla Firefox, you will be even more happy to surf on Internet, for sure.
One of the first reason you should use Firefox is the integrated Firewall, which protect you against spyware and other adawares.
Tip 2: No need to tape http://www.---.com all the time.
The second reason to choose Firefox is that you save time; for instance, when you went on ebay.com yesterday, you wrote: http://www.ebay.com with Firefox, you just tape “e” in the address bar of your browser, then http://www.ebay.com will appear in the drop down menu, it's like magic, and it's fun too.
Tip 3: See all your pages in only one window.
I really love this one; you can surf in tab. That is really powerful.
For instance, with Internet Explorer, whenever you click on a link, you have 2 choice: open the page in the same window, or open it in a new window. Firefox enable you to open several pages in one window.
Let's explain: you are now looking yahoo.com, and you want to see the news, you just right click on the link, select open in a new tab, and you have now two pages in only one window. To switch between your pages, you just need to click on anyone of the page you want to look in, all that in the same window. You can open fifteen windows in one time if you want.
Better, you can bookmark(in Internet explorer, bookmark is favorites) a tab, and open it later. It is a very intelligent way of surfing. It is very efficient when you are doing some researches on a subject, on google for example.
Tip 4: All your downloads at the same place.
The fourth reason to choose Firefox is that when you download a file on your computer, sometimes, you want to open it, but you face a problem: Where did you save that file? With Firefox, just click on tools, and then you select download, and a pop up window appear. You just scroll to find your program. It will save you time and a lot of headaches.
However, it is recommended, for the first time, to save your download on your desktop, then after save your file in the folder you choose. You can download firefox for Free. You just type firefox in google.com and you're done.
Tip 5: Don't forget a good anti virus,
While you surf on Internet, some hijackers will attempt to damage your computer, by introducing a virus in it. If you don't take your precaution, you may loose all that is stored in your hard disk. You can download AVG, which is excellent at download.com.
There is a lot to learn when you start on Internet, but take your time. And everything will go smoothly.
Business Web Content Writing Success: Scan-Ability
Business Web Content Writing Success: Scan-Ability
by: Joel Walsh
Scan-ability is a measured, objective, scientifically proven criterion of successful written web content. While making content easier for users to scan rather than read word-for-word involves a number of factors, simply re-structuring web content into sections and lists can yield stunning improvements.
Proven Web Content Success Factor: Scan-ability
I've found that scan-able content written with web publication in mind seriously out-performs content that was written as though for print:
* Greater conversions (sales or leads).
* Fewer visitors leaving the web page as soon as they arrive ("bounces").
* Longer average visits.
* More reprints (of distributed content), meaning greater exposure and links--especially impressive considering that most reprint article directories only allow plain text, meaning that the formatting features that help to make content scan-able are not available.
User tests have repeatedly demonstrated that a majority of web users scan the page rather than read word-for-word. In such tests, optimizing content for scan-ability has been proven to make web content more successful--at least, for a few measurable criteria, mainly reading speed, comprehension, and retention (recall of what was read). While humor, style, empathy, persuasiveness, and other classic characteristics of good writing can't be objectively measured, the scientific evidence shows scan-ability is a strong foundation on which to build strong content.
Based on the evidence, the web usability expert Jakob Nielsen wrote guidelines for successful web writing in the mid-late 1990s. Today, those guidelines are still the basis for most of what's written about web content writing, including this article.
Scan-able Web Content Example
Look at the two versions of the same content, below. Ask yourself: which version would you be more likely to pay attention to if you came across it?
-----------------------
Version one (traditional text mode):
Who scans website text? A large majority of web users prefer scanning for main ideas over reading word-for-word. Nearly all fully literate users scan--and web users disproportionately tend to be fully literate. Even highly literate users who are inclined to read a page word-for-word will scan it first to make sure it will repay their investment of reading time.
Less-literate visitors (i.e., those for whom reading is a slow chore) cannot scan content because they simply cannot parse text (i.e., make sense of it) fast enough. Yet I firmly believe that scan-able content will usually be easier to read word-for-word than traditional writing. Scan-able content places important ideas first, so someone reading word-for-word will comprehend more even if he or she doesn't make it all the way to the end of the text. Scan-able content avoids superfluous niceties that would waste a slow reader's time.
--------------------------
Version two (scan-able mode especially for the web):
Who Scans Website Text?
A large majority of web users prefer scanning for main ideas over reading word-for-word:
* Nearly all fully literate users scan--and web users disproportionately tend to be fully literate.
* Even highly literate users who are inclined to read a page word-for-word will scan it first to make sure it will repay their investment of reading time.
* Less-literate visitors (i.e., those for whom reading is a slow chore) cannot scan content because they simply cannot parse text (i.e., make sense of it) fast enough. Yet I firmly believe that scan-able content will usually be easier to read word-for-word than traditional text-style writing.
* Scan-able content places important ideas first, so someone reading word-for-word will develop greater comprehension even if he or she doesn't make it all the way to the end of the text.
* Scan-able content avoids superfluous niceties that would waste a slow reader's time.
----------------------------
Scan-able Web Content Structure: Sections and Lists
In the above example, the differences between version one and version two, which use the exact same text, are purely structural. There are other features of scan-able content, such as keywords, sentence structure, and word choice, but that's for another article. For now, just look at the powerful improvements in web content you can get simply from structural improvements, which take two basic forms: sections and lists.
* Sections. Any web content longer than 250 words should be divided into sections based on main ideas, with each section having a descriptive heading. Even briefer content can be divided into sections, though most commonly, the simplest way to organize shorter content is with lists. Content over 500 words can put one or two sections each on separate web pages.
* Lists. Multiple facts, ideas, items, or any multiple anything that have any kind of logical relationship among each other should be placed in unordered (bulleted) or ordered (numbered) lists if they have any importance at all. For instance, this list of features of scan-able web content merits a list, while "facts, ideas, items, or any multiple…" was less important and so was just written out.
The most exciting part of optimizing content with sections and lists is that you can optimize existing content without changing a word: no pencil-chewing over the right word to use, no consultation with the legal department, no readjustment of keyword densities (though adding headings might shake things up a bit).
To make content as scan-able and successful as possible, you need to go deeper into issues such as logical organization, keywords, sentence structure, and word choice. But slimply re-structuring content into sections and lists will provide a big boost.
by: Joel Walsh
Scan-ability is a measured, objective, scientifically proven criterion of successful written web content. While making content easier for users to scan rather than read word-for-word involves a number of factors, simply re-structuring web content into sections and lists can yield stunning improvements.
Proven Web Content Success Factor: Scan-ability
I've found that scan-able content written with web publication in mind seriously out-performs content that was written as though for print:
* Greater conversions (sales or leads).
* Fewer visitors leaving the web page as soon as they arrive ("bounces").
* Longer average visits.
* More reprints (of distributed content), meaning greater exposure and links--especially impressive considering that most reprint article directories only allow plain text, meaning that the formatting features that help to make content scan-able are not available.
User tests have repeatedly demonstrated that a majority of web users scan the page rather than read word-for-word. In such tests, optimizing content for scan-ability has been proven to make web content more successful--at least, for a few measurable criteria, mainly reading speed, comprehension, and retention (recall of what was read). While humor, style, empathy, persuasiveness, and other classic characteristics of good writing can't be objectively measured, the scientific evidence shows scan-ability is a strong foundation on which to build strong content.
Based on the evidence, the web usability expert Jakob Nielsen wrote guidelines for successful web writing in the mid-late 1990s. Today, those guidelines are still the basis for most of what's written about web content writing, including this article.
Scan-able Web Content Example
Look at the two versions of the same content, below. Ask yourself: which version would you be more likely to pay attention to if you came across it?
-----------------------
Version one (traditional text mode):
Who scans website text? A large majority of web users prefer scanning for main ideas over reading word-for-word. Nearly all fully literate users scan--and web users disproportionately tend to be fully literate. Even highly literate users who are inclined to read a page word-for-word will scan it first to make sure it will repay their investment of reading time.
Less-literate visitors (i.e., those for whom reading is a slow chore) cannot scan content because they simply cannot parse text (i.e., make sense of it) fast enough. Yet I firmly believe that scan-able content will usually be easier to read word-for-word than traditional writing. Scan-able content places important ideas first, so someone reading word-for-word will comprehend more even if he or she doesn't make it all the way to the end of the text. Scan-able content avoids superfluous niceties that would waste a slow reader's time.
--------------------------
Version two (scan-able mode especially for the web):
Who Scans Website Text?
A large majority of web users prefer scanning for main ideas over reading word-for-word:
* Nearly all fully literate users scan--and web users disproportionately tend to be fully literate.
* Even highly literate users who are inclined to read a page word-for-word will scan it first to make sure it will repay their investment of reading time.
* Less-literate visitors (i.e., those for whom reading is a slow chore) cannot scan content because they simply cannot parse text (i.e., make sense of it) fast enough. Yet I firmly believe that scan-able content will usually be easier to read word-for-word than traditional text-style writing.
* Scan-able content places important ideas first, so someone reading word-for-word will develop greater comprehension even if he or she doesn't make it all the way to the end of the text.
* Scan-able content avoids superfluous niceties that would waste a slow reader's time.
----------------------------
Scan-able Web Content Structure: Sections and Lists
In the above example, the differences between version one and version two, which use the exact same text, are purely structural. There are other features of scan-able content, such as keywords, sentence structure, and word choice, but that's for another article. For now, just look at the powerful improvements in web content you can get simply from structural improvements, which take two basic forms: sections and lists.
* Sections. Any web content longer than 250 words should be divided into sections based on main ideas, with each section having a descriptive heading. Even briefer content can be divided into sections, though most commonly, the simplest way to organize shorter content is with lists. Content over 500 words can put one or two sections each on separate web pages.
* Lists. Multiple facts, ideas, items, or any multiple anything that have any kind of logical relationship among each other should be placed in unordered (bulleted) or ordered (numbered) lists if they have any importance at all. For instance, this list of features of scan-able web content merits a list, while "facts, ideas, items, or any multiple…" was less important and so was just written out.
The most exciting part of optimizing content with sections and lists is that you can optimize existing content without changing a word: no pencil-chewing over the right word to use, no consultation with the legal department, no readjustment of keyword densities (though adding headings might shake things up a bit).
To make content as scan-able and successful as possible, you need to go deeper into issues such as logical organization, keywords, sentence structure, and word choice. But slimply re-structuring content into sections and lists will provide a big boost.
Setup A Home Wireless Network: A Short Tutorial
Setup A Home Wireless Network: A Short Tutorial
by: Wallace Renckers
For homes with more than one computer, it would be wise for you to setup a wireless network and share your high speed internet connection, as well as the scanner, printer, and other computer devices.
Wireless networking, "wireless fidelity", or Wi-Fi, is gaining popularity nowadays because it is just so darn easy and very straightforward.
So, for those who want to use Wi-Fi technology in their homes, here's a short tutorial to guide you through the process and answer some of the most frequently asked questions. To setup your home network you will need a wireless router and wireless PCI cards.
1. Get the equipment you will need.
A wireless or Wi-Fi router. This will allow you to share your internet connection. You will be able to connect to the net without having to use any networking cables.
Next, you will need Wi-Fi cards, or wireless PCI cards, for desktop or notebook computer. Most laptops nowadays have these already installed. This, in turn, enables your PCs to receive the connection being broadcast by the Wi-Fi router.
Optionally, you can buy a wireless antenna. This will boost the signal put out by your wireless router. Depending on how wide of a net you want to cast around your house will determine if you need to buy a wireless antenna. One word of warning though is that your neighbors can borrow your wireless network if you have a strong enough signal for them to tap into.
2. Choose what standard you will implement.
Wi-Fi has different standards that have evolved through time. The most popular is 802.11b, or "B" for short, which can carry data at 11 megabytes per second or mbps.
The next generation Wi-Fi is the "G" devices that can transmit data at 54mbps. The G standard is backward compatible with the B standard.
3. Connect to your wireless router.
Be sure that when you attempt to connect to your wireless router, you have shut down all your devices. With an Ethernet cable, hook up to the LAN of the other computer or to the WAN port if you are using an Ethernet port of the modem's cable. Then, make use of a second Ethernet cable and attach it to the computer's Ethernet adapter.
After which, hook up the other end of the cable to one of the Ethernet's four individual port router. It is strongly recommended that you use port 1 as the default port area. Then, plug in the power adapter to the power port of your router and then attach it to an electrical outlet. You can immediately use your computer after configuring the settings of your router.
4. Install the Wi-Fi cards on your desktop PC or laptop.
Installing a wi-fi card might involve opening the casing and installing a card inside your desktop. This can be very complex so it is best to ask for some professional help regarding this one especially if it is your first time.
For notebooks and even desktop PCs you could use a USB Wi-Fi dongle in place of installing a wi-fi card. A wireless dongle is a USB network adapter that plugs into your notebook or PC to enable access to a LAN, or peer-to-peer networking without the need of any wires.
5. Turn on your computers and get surfing.
Once you've installed your wireless router and network cards you are on your way to surfing anywhere in your house.
This just goes to show that since the proliferation of wireless fidelity, networking had never been the same again and Internet connection within your household is now open to a wide array of virtual possibilities.
Copyright 2005 by Home Wireless Network and Wallace Renckers.
This article may be used freely in ezines, newsletters, websites, to offer as free bonus or part of a product for sale as long as no changes are made and the byline, copyright, active links and this resource box is included.
by: Wallace Renckers
For homes with more than one computer, it would be wise for you to setup a wireless network and share your high speed internet connection, as well as the scanner, printer, and other computer devices.
Wireless networking, "wireless fidelity", or Wi-Fi, is gaining popularity nowadays because it is just so darn easy and very straightforward.
So, for those who want to use Wi-Fi technology in their homes, here's a short tutorial to guide you through the process and answer some of the most frequently asked questions. To setup your home network you will need a wireless router and wireless PCI cards.
1. Get the equipment you will need.
A wireless or Wi-Fi router. This will allow you to share your internet connection. You will be able to connect to the net without having to use any networking cables.
Next, you will need Wi-Fi cards, or wireless PCI cards, for desktop or notebook computer. Most laptops nowadays have these already installed. This, in turn, enables your PCs to receive the connection being broadcast by the Wi-Fi router.
Optionally, you can buy a wireless antenna. This will boost the signal put out by your wireless router. Depending on how wide of a net you want to cast around your house will determine if you need to buy a wireless antenna. One word of warning though is that your neighbors can borrow your wireless network if you have a strong enough signal for them to tap into.
2. Choose what standard you will implement.
Wi-Fi has different standards that have evolved through time. The most popular is 802.11b, or "B" for short, which can carry data at 11 megabytes per second or mbps.
The next generation Wi-Fi is the "G" devices that can transmit data at 54mbps. The G standard is backward compatible with the B standard.
3. Connect to your wireless router.
Be sure that when you attempt to connect to your wireless router, you have shut down all your devices. With an Ethernet cable, hook up to the LAN of the other computer or to the WAN port if you are using an Ethernet port of the modem's cable. Then, make use of a second Ethernet cable and attach it to the computer's Ethernet adapter.
After which, hook up the other end of the cable to one of the Ethernet's four individual port router. It is strongly recommended that you use port 1 as the default port area. Then, plug in the power adapter to the power port of your router and then attach it to an electrical outlet. You can immediately use your computer after configuring the settings of your router.
4. Install the Wi-Fi cards on your desktop PC or laptop.
Installing a wi-fi card might involve opening the casing and installing a card inside your desktop. This can be very complex so it is best to ask for some professional help regarding this one especially if it is your first time.
For notebooks and even desktop PCs you could use a USB Wi-Fi dongle in place of installing a wi-fi card. A wireless dongle is a USB network adapter that plugs into your notebook or PC to enable access to a LAN, or peer-to-peer networking without the need of any wires.
5. Turn on your computers and get surfing.
Once you've installed your wireless router and network cards you are on your way to surfing anywhere in your house.
This just goes to show that since the proliferation of wireless fidelity, networking had never been the same again and Internet connection within your household is now open to a wide array of virtual possibilities.
Copyright 2005 by Home Wireless Network and Wallace Renckers.
This article may be used freely in ezines, newsletters, websites, to offer as free bonus or part of a product for sale as long as no changes are made and the byline, copyright, active links and this resource box is included.
High Speed Internet Connection
High Speed Internet Connection
by: Toh Poh
Internet has almost become a lifeline for the new generation. Many businesses now depend entirely on the Internet. People residing in different parts of world are able to talk to each other via the medium of Internet. Video conferencing is a live example of it. Many marriages are also made with the help of the Internet. The list of benefits that Internet provides is limitless.
But, what would you do when you have a slow speed internet connection that takes a lot of time? That internet connection would simply be useless to you.
The speed at which you are connected to the Internet plays a very important role in enjoying the advantages offered by it. For example, suppose one of your relatives who is residing overseas, has sent you a holiday clip. Now, if your Internet speed is slow then first of all it would take a long time to load the mail website. Then you would enter your user name and password. It would again take extra time to verify it. Also, downloading the clip would be very slow, even if its size is very small. Overall, you can say that having a low speed Internet connection (dial-up connection) is not a good thing.
There are many choices available for a high speed Internet connection. DSL, Cable and Satellite are some of them. You can select the best one from them. Here are some of the common benefits that all these high speed Internet connections provide.
* Viewing of streamlining clips or videos is very easy and fast in these connections. Dial-up connections may not even allow their access. * You can upload web pages and download any kind of information or software with more than twice the speed of dial-up connection. * Downloading of images and huge e-mail files can be done almost promptly. * High speed Internet connection has proven to be a boon for all businessmen. They can now access the world wide web within a few seconds. Their businesses have been highly benefited through efficient and quick video conferencing which would have been impossible in a slow dial-up connection. * For those people who work from home, a high speed Internet connection can assist them in increasing their overall work efficiency and output. * On a long term basis, the high speed Internet connection can prove to be highly economical.
DSL: The best choice for high speed internet connection Now-a-days, DSL has become the leading choice for a high speed Internet connection. DSL works on existing telephone lines. With a DSL connection you can browse the web and talk on the phone at the same time. Generally, a DSL connection requires a DSL router, a dedicated phone line and a network card or a modem for each system. The installation of DSL at your location is the responsibility of the service provider. Last but not the least, this high speed Internet connection is offered at very affordable prices.
by: Toh Poh
Internet has almost become a lifeline for the new generation. Many businesses now depend entirely on the Internet. People residing in different parts of world are able to talk to each other via the medium of Internet. Video conferencing is a live example of it. Many marriages are also made with the help of the Internet. The list of benefits that Internet provides is limitless.
But, what would you do when you have a slow speed internet connection that takes a lot of time? That internet connection would simply be useless to you.
The speed at which you are connected to the Internet plays a very important role in enjoying the advantages offered by it. For example, suppose one of your relatives who is residing overseas, has sent you a holiday clip. Now, if your Internet speed is slow then first of all it would take a long time to load the mail website. Then you would enter your user name and password. It would again take extra time to verify it. Also, downloading the clip would be very slow, even if its size is very small. Overall, you can say that having a low speed Internet connection (dial-up connection) is not a good thing.
There are many choices available for a high speed Internet connection. DSL, Cable and Satellite are some of them. You can select the best one from them. Here are some of the common benefits that all these high speed Internet connections provide.
* Viewing of streamlining clips or videos is very easy and fast in these connections. Dial-up connections may not even allow their access. * You can upload web pages and download any kind of information or software with more than twice the speed of dial-up connection. * Downloading of images and huge e-mail files can be done almost promptly. * High speed Internet connection has proven to be a boon for all businessmen. They can now access the world wide web within a few seconds. Their businesses have been highly benefited through efficient and quick video conferencing which would have been impossible in a slow dial-up connection. * For those people who work from home, a high speed Internet connection can assist them in increasing their overall work efficiency and output. * On a long term basis, the high speed Internet connection can prove to be highly economical.
DSL: The best choice for high speed internet connection Now-a-days, DSL has become the leading choice for a high speed Internet connection. DSL works on existing telephone lines. With a DSL connection you can browse the web and talk on the phone at the same time. Generally, a DSL connection requires a DSL router, a dedicated phone line and a network card or a modem for each system. The installation of DSL at your location is the responsibility of the service provider. Last but not the least, this high speed Internet connection is offered at very affordable prices.
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