Jumat, 31 Desember 2010

Keep Computer Data Backup Files In A Secure Location

You just cannot predict when something is going to go wrong with your computer or one of the files you have stored there, and when it does happen, any information you have stored is going to be lost, usually forever. It is always recommended that computer data backup files be kept separately where it can be recouped in event of loss.

Security for your computer data backup information may not always imply security from theft or intrusion. It may mean to protect it from similar damage that has affected your main file system. If you store backup files on the same computer hard drive as the original files, if something happens to the hard drive, your backup files will be lost as well.

Although you may believe that since you have not had a problem with your computer data backup is a waste of time. Just like wearing your seat belt. If you have never had a car accident, you probably still wear it just in case. There are numerous ways the information on your computer can be lost or corrupted, including system failure, and when that happens your life, as you know it, is lost.

What Files Need Backed Up And Where

Generally speaking, you should look at the information stored on your computer and determine which files cannot be recreated if destroyed or no longer accessible. The files you mark for computer data backup may include financial information, family photographs, music you bought and downloaded as well personal projects and email address books.

Whether you decided to use disks, CDs or another form of external device for computer data backup is not really important, rather making sure you will have the means to recover the files from that source available later on, is. Looking back a few shorts years, every computer has at least one drive for three and half inch floppy disks. Not anymore. If you backed up your information on your old computer with these disks and your new computer does not have that drive installed, your filed are still inaccessible.

You may also consider looking for online computer data backup services, where using a secure file transfer protocol (FTP) site, your files, which may include the entire content of your hard drive, can be transferred and securely stored for easy retrieval. Saving your files locally may work, but in event of a disaster could still be lost along with everything else.

Kamis, 30 Desember 2010

IT Service Agreements: Know Your Clients

In addition to knowing your skills and being moderately qualified, keep an eye on the size of companies you want to target for IT service agreements. Going after 60 stations, 100 stations, or 150 stations is not the best place to start.

Start Small

Start with something that’s more comfortable and more approachable for your technical skill set. This will probably be someone in the 10 to 35 PC range with one or possibly 2 servers. They will not typically have wide area network connections. Most of their needs will be with Windows and Office and things you’re probably already comfortable with. Definitely start with some smaller small businesses before you progress onto larger ones.

IT Service Agreements Require Regular Communication

In terms of maintaining customer expectations, keeping up and keeping in contact with customers on a regular basis, whether it’s emails, phone calls, or dropping by is extremely important. If the service agreement is set up correctly, you and/or your technical staff should be at a client’s site at a minimum of once a month on-site.

In most cases, it’s going to be at least twice a month. Open lines of communication, staying in touch on a regular basis is extremely important if you want an extra quality control tool to make sure that you’re actually meeting and exceeding their expectations.

Use Surveys to Evaluate IT Service Agreements

Send a survey on a regular basis. Once a year is the minimum. Do this a couple months before you’re ready to give them their renewal. Feel free to adapt that to twice a year or quarterly if you want. You can even make it a little less formal but the key is to keep asking for feedback. Keep asking on how you can improve, how you can continue to deliver via your IT service agreements.

Copyright MMI-MMVI, Computer Consulting Blog. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}

Rabu, 29 Desember 2010

IT Service Contracts: Recurring Revenue is Absolutely Critical

One-shot deals are for amateurs. The pros insist on IT service contracts. Otherwise you’re going to have a whole bunch of people that call you once or twice a year and in the meantime, you’re sitting by the phone waiting for it to ring.

You’re doing nothing proactive. They’re taking none of your advice. They’re doing no long-term fixes to make their networks any more reliable. They’re doing nothing to improve their ROI or how they’re getting back investment on their IT investments. They’re doing no kind of strategic planning with you. Nothing’s making rhyme or reason, and you’re just waiting for the phone to ring.

And when they want you, when they say jump, they expect you to be there immediately.

One-shot Deals are for Amateurs.

The pros are going to insist on IT service contracts. Whether you succeed or fail at this next fork in the road is going to come down to whether you have good IT service contracts and whether they are a big part of your business.

So, how can you build a solid business foundation with recurring revenues? There is no basis for knowing that your company is going to be able to continue in operations for the next couple of quarters and the next couple of years if you don’t have that recurring revenue in the form of IT service contracts

IT Service Contracts are Everything.

That’s the value of your business. The recurring revenue is key. Everyone who’s in Virtual IT is to think long and hard about whether they even want to take on clients anymore who don’t want to sign their IT service contracts..

The recurring revenue is absolutely critical because those are the clients that are raising their hands and saying I want to have a long-term relationship with you. Those are the ones that allow you to invest and grow in your business.

Without those kinds of clients, it’s very hard to plan growth. It’s very hard to make hiring decisions. It’s very hard to make any kinds of decisions on where your business is going.

The Bottom Line about IT Service Contracts

Think long and hard about only taking on clients who need a service agreement and who see eye to eye with you on the value of one. IT audits need to be as comprehensive as possible.

Copyright MMI-MMVI, Computer Consultants Secrets. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}

Selasa, 28 Desember 2010

iSCSI vs. FC for Meeting Mission Critical Requirements

Introduction
Mission Critical Data is just what its name says: critical to the core functioning of an enterprise. Mission critical data must be available 24x7 and fully backed up for immediate recovery in the event of disaster. Enterprises are constantly seeking more reliable, more efficient, more convenient and more affordable ways of meeting these needs. SANRAD’s V-Switch 3000 uses Iscsi technology to centrally consolidate, manage, backup and restore mission critical data at a fraction of the cost, in capital and human resources, of existing FC SAN technologies

Mission Critical Requirements and SANRAD’s Solutions

Storage Area Networks (SANs) are used to manage mission critical data and, as they have developed, storage and network administrators have identified three main requirements on a SAN to manage this critical data:
• High Availability: Storage systems and their mission critical data must be available 24x7. There is no leeway for downtime. Every minute of downtime equals a loss of revenues and credibility for an enterprise.
• Remote Backup and Recovery: Data must be backed up off site to enable remote recovery in the event of disaster. Experts estimate that 30% of companies could not recover from a catastrophic loss of data and having backups on premises is of no use if the premises are destroyed.
• Manageability: A SAN management system must be able to be centrally managed and provide a consolidated storage solution accommodating different storage subsystems and infrastructures. In addition, the SAN management must not exert added strain on the network and storage
administration staff.
• Dynamic Expandability: Storage networks must be able to grow with an enterprise. Systems cannot be taken offline to accommodate this growth and no one wants to search for new storage management solutions every time there is a growth spurt. SANRAD has taken these requirements and provided comprehensive solutions in a single centrally managed platform using iSCSI technology.
• SANRAD’s High Availability: The V-Switch 3000 hardware is fully redundant to weather power, processor and fan failures. The V-Switch 3000 configuration database is written to both flash and compact flash memory. The software IP-based SAN configuration provides automatic V-Switch 3000 failover and failback as well as data mirroring. No single point of failure ensures high availability.
• SANRAD’s Remote Backup and Recovery: The V-Switch 3000 can create global IPbased storage networks to allow mission critical data transfer to remote sites within the IP SAN.
• SANRAD’s Manageability: The V-Switch 3000 enables storage pooling across multiple platforms and infrastructures and eliminates the need for host agents. The V-Switch 3000 functions at the network layer and is therefore independent of host OS and storage vendors. The V-Switch 3000 provides storage virtualization and precise LUN carving of the pooled storage,
supporting volume concatenation, mirroring and striping. The locally accessed GUI-based Storage Pro management server is used to centrally configure volumes, monitor status and manage the storage pool.
• SANRAD’s Dynamic Expandability: The V-Switch 3000 uses existing adapters, network and disk subsystems to form a sophisticated SAN solution ranging from 72 GB to 16 TB. New storage devices can be added dynamically and their volumes virtualized in real time without taking the system offline or impacting on functioning volume performance. Two V-Switch 3000s can be combined in a SAN to form a cluster to provide inter-V-Switch 3000 load balancing and failover.

Benefits of iSCSI SAN over FC SAN
When creating a SAN, enterprises find that the traditional answer is FC SAN. However, the investment required to implement an FC SAN is often beyond the means of a young enterprise. As a result, growing enterprises may find themselves delaying the inevitable upgrade to a SAN and, therefore, gambling with their mission critical data store.
The FC investment comes from four fronts:
• Infrastructure: An FC network demands FC switches, hubs and bridges along with specific GBICs and cabling. In addition, each host requires dedicated FC HBAs.
• Storage Devices: The storage devices must be costly FC RAID arrays. If an enterprise wants to maintain its JBOD stores, it must purchase virtualization appliances to convert the JBODs for use in an FC SAN.
• Software: A variety of software tools is needed to manage all of this new equipment as well as the dedicated FC HBAs.
• Human Resources: dedicated group of FC storage and networking IT administrators is needed to manage all of this. For a growing enterprise, this represents a sizable investment in capital and human resources to acquire,
implement and manage only one aspect of the enterprise’s data flow.
SANRAD’s V-Switch 3000 provides a single integrated hardware/software solution to SAN management:
• Infrastructure: The V-Switch 3000 uses an enterprise’s existing IP infrastructure including existing Ethernet switches, cabling, GBICs and SFPs. A host’s existing NIC is all that is needed to connect to the SAN.
• Storage Devices: The V-Switch 3000 supports existing legacy storage devices, both FC & SCSI, RAID & JBOD, so there is no need to purchase new storage devices. Due to the V-Switch 3000’s storage pooling capabilities, enterprises may have an increase in usable storage space.
• Software: The V-Switch 3000 has both hardware and a software component. There is no need for additional software beyond the included Storage Pro storage management tool.
• Human Resources: Because the V-Switch 3000 operates over the enterprise’s existing Internet network, minimal additional knowledge or training is needed to implement or manage the SAN. The existing network or storage administrator is readily qualified to manage SANRAD’s Iscsi SAN.

Business Case: V-Switch 3000 vs. FC

Typical SAN topographies can be divided into 5 groups according to the number of servers accessing the
SAN and the net storage capacity of the SAN.
• Small: 8 servers accessing a net capacity of 500GB.
• Small – Medium: 12 servers accessing a net capacity of 1TB.
• Medium: 16 servers accessing a net capacity of 1.5TB.
• Medium – High: 24 servers accessing a net capacity of 2TB.
• High: 32 servers accessing a net capacity of 3TB.
To best understand the budgetary impact of implementing an FC SAN compared to a SANRAD iSCSI SAN, consider the costs of each for a medium enterprise with sixteen hosts accessing a storage pool of 1.5TB.
In an FC SAN, this would require two FC switches. Upstream of the FC switches there are five server clusters, including Exchange, SQL and file servers, plus six individual servers. Each server requires FC software and each server has two HBAs, each connected to a different switch for a total of thirty-two HBAs. Downstream of the FC switches is a RAID system with RAID 5 and hot spare capabilities and a net capacity of 1.5TB.


In a SANRAD V-Switch 3000 SAN, this would also require two V-Switch 3000s. Upstream of the V-Switch 3000s there are two multi-Gbit switches but no special host software or HBAs are required. Downstream of the V-Switch 3000s are the legacy SCSI or FC JBODs with a net mirrored capacity of 1.5TB.

For a medium enterprise, implementing an FC SAN for Mission Critical Data is more than two times as expensive as a SANRAD iSCSI SAN. This expense does not take into consideration the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), e.g. FC cabling installation costs; cost of human resources to regularly upgrade FC
software and maintain two separate networks or the cost of replacing an FC RAID unit compared to a JBOD disk. As the size of an enterprise grows, the cost par between FC and iSCSI SAN grows.


Conclusion
SANRAD iSCSI SAN provides all of the key SAN requirements needed to manage, backup and restore mission critical data with added benefits over FC SAN. SANRAD’s V-Switch 3000 represents a single integrated hardware/software solution to SAN management, including storage pooling, virtualization, mirroring, striping and remote backup. The IP-based iSCSI SAN permits remote storage access and provides greater flexibility in the location of network and storage components within an enterprise and it
does so at a fraction of the cost of an FC SAN.

Senin, 27 Desember 2010

Is Your Band Ready For CD Duplication Or CD Replication?

It’s a typical situation. You’ve been putting a lot of energy in your craft and people are starting to talk about your band. You’ve played a few shows and everyone is asking for a CD. I used to think that in order to release your own CD you would go out and play a bunch of shows and then someone would come out and sign you. They’d take care of everything. They’d set up the recording studio, organize the artwork, and pay for it to get manufactured. That’s not the case these days.

At present, technology is readily available for any budding musician to record, create, and duplicate CDs. CD duplication involves CD-R media. CD-R prices have dropped dramatically since the first CD Recorders were available on the consumer market. This makes it an affordable option for anyone who wants to copy their own CDs and pass them on to friends, family, or fans. This is a great option for the young band that is still getting their feet wet in the music industry. Duplicating a limited amount of CDs can keep a limited budget in place.

If your band is at the point were your ready to start selling your CD your best option is to make a retail-ready CD and having it replicated. What is a retail ready CD? These are the same CDs you find in the music stores by the major label artists. They have great artwork printed on CD inserts, a nice tray card insert, silk screened art on the CD, and they are shrink-wrapped.

The retail-ready CDs are not duplicated, but Replicated. This means that an exact replica of your CD master has been stamped out on all of the CDs. CD Replication is the way to go if you are serious about selling your music for profit. In fact most music stores will not sell duplicated CDs. Think about it this way. It is illegal to sell or profit from duplicating copy written material. If you tried to sell CDs that have been duplicated to a retail store you’ll more than likely get turned down. How are they to know that it is really your band? One of the best anti-piracy practices that CD manufacturing plants have instituted is the verification of copyright and ownership through a International Property Rights Form. Filling out an I.P.R. form ensures the CD Replication plant that they are not infringing on anyone’s copyright.

CD Replication not only shows that you value your art enough to have it made retail-ready, but also cost effective. I’ll break it down in general.

DIY CD Duplication

· 1 Computer with CD Recorder
· 100 Memorex CD-R
· CD Jewel Cases
· Printer Ink
· Man Hours

Total $1495.00


Typical CD Replication Package

· CD Replication for 1000 CDs
· 1-3 color on-disc silk-screen imprint
· CD Jewel box, assembly, professional quality film-wrap
· 2 Panel Insert and Tray card
· Bar Code

Total $1000.00

These prices are very approximate and are only used for the purpose of estimating the difference between CD Duplication and CD Replication. Lets dig in a little bit. I’ve already illustrated some of the benefits of CD Duplication and the benefits of CD Replication. You can see above that you are spending approximately $500 more taking on the CD duplication responsibilities yourself and only getting 100 CDs!! Having your CDs Replicated costs less and someone else is doing the work. You can spend the time you’d spend on CD duplication and practice your chops or promote your upcoming CD release party, saving yourself $500 that you can use for items like merchandising, t-shirts, stickers, and posters.

Whether you choose CD Replication or CD Duplication, you’ll need to do some research. There are plenty of resources available for CD Duplication and you probably own everything you need. It is up to you and your band to decide which option is better depending on what level you see your band on. Are you a band that plays parties or small clubs, or is your band seasoned and touring? There are benefits to both. Find a local CD manufacturer in your area and ask for their recommendation. Most CD manufacturers also offer quick turn high quality CD Duplication with printing on the CDs. Keep rockin’!

Minggu, 26 Desember 2010

Incoming And Outgoing Tour Operator Systems

To differentiate between tour operator and wholesale packages offered in the market today, it becomes imperative to focus on modules and features as well as your individual specific needs. The features that differentiate TOPAX Management from other competitive systems are: Generic B2B site for a complete on-line Internet booking system for travel agents and remote users, Broad Accounting module, Customer Information module - "Mini CRM" to handle customer contact information and to manage customer relations. Additional features include automatic queuing mechanism that allows users to manage and monitor the business flow, and Tour and Transfer Operation module (TTO) - manages collective PNR’s tour services such as guide and vehicle assignments based on collective size, guide qualifications, vehicles availability, etc. including documentation and profit and lost. From sales activity to profitability analyses and reporting, TOPAX allows you to rapidly get to the information you need, helping you to make the right decisions that keep your business one step ahead of your competitors. Now you can optimize your distribution, find cost effective alternate choices and cut margins. Integrated data-mining tools provide you with the reliance to trace the performance of your business, strengthening your immediate command on operations and financing, and helping you to improve your business processes. Using the smart report generator, TOPAX collates detailed facts for yield management, and presents the data with graphical clarity that gives you total control over your business - right down to the single transaction level.

The TOPAX software is loaded with customizable features and parameters that enable you to customize the application to your specific needs. Just select the required parameters and modules and you’ll be provided with a custom-built solution for the price of an off-the-shelf package. Using multi-level security, your partners can participate in your business activities, through various levels of authorization. Transactions always remain confidential, regardless of the number of operators using your system.

TOPAX Management has been developed using the latest, scalable technologies that combine simplicity of use with advanced processing power and connectivity to keep you at the cutting edge of the travel technology revolution. The solution incorporates leading edge Web-based technologies and Windows-style application screens. A dependable integration of client/server architecture, a relational database and graphical user interface provide users with assurance that their mission-critical solutions will perform well in the information-intensive travel environment.

TOPAX is a modular system that is scalable and cost-effective enough to fit any size of organization. Considered an all-encompassing application designed for companies in need of inbound and/or outbound tour operators platforms. It is a comprehensive platform that manages the entire business aspects of the tour operator operation, commercial, administration and activities. TOPAX is also the most value-added system on the market today. Whether domestic, regional or international, tour operators will find the TOPAX systems’ modules most essential for managing all phases of the business. This Tour Operator software can be used on an ASP model, where the user actually pays only low monthly fees. Formula Travel Solutions maintains the software on a central server location, and they use IBM reliable hardware. Internet access to the system is available for any authorized remote user, from anywhere, anytime, 24/7.

Sabtu, 25 Desember 2010

How To Start Your Career In Information Technology

Many newcomers to Information Technology get an overly-optimistic picture of the field from tech school ads that continually make note that "an average MCSE salary is $80.000 a year!".

And if someone's thinking of getting into IT and goes on the internet to do some research, they're met with the opposite end of the spectrum - complaint after complaint about how much IT is a terrible field, you can't break in, there's no room for newcomers, etc.

As usual, the truth lies in the middle. As much as I love the IT field, I'll be the first to say that it's often hard to get that first job. Many tech schools have a job placement department, and that can be one big plus in their favor.

What if you don't have that resource working for you? When you're breaking into any field, IT or not, you must not make the classic mistake of sending a ton of resumes and waiting for the phone to ring. The odds are that it won't.

You must get out and talk to people. The term "networking" doesn't just refer to allowing computers to talk to each other; it also refers to people talking to each other. In your case, you've got to get out and meet people. Check the business section of your local newspaper. There will be dozens of networking meetings listed in there. It doesn't matter that you aren't in the field yet; go to these meetings and meet people. Initiative is never a bad thing.

And once you get that first job, make it count. Show up on time and do what you say you'll do. If you don't know something, dig into Google and find the answer or ask a more knowledgeable colleague. (Just doing these few basic things will put you way ahead of the pack.)

Getting started in IT is as tough as breaking into any other field. Having worked in a few different jobs in my life, though, I can tell you this: No other field in the world rewards individual drive, initiative, and achievement like Information Technology. The fact that you have to work so hard to get in will make your eventual and unstoppable success just that much sweeter.

Jumat, 24 Desember 2010

How To Keep Everything Protected

Information technology is rapidly evolving as more and more companies use computers to store important data. Although computers are usually quite reliable, one can't be too careful about stuff that matters. One simple human error can cause the loss of all the important information. Theft or simple loss of equipment can cause a great deal of damage to a firm. To prevent this from happening, companies often use tape back-up to be sure that in case of an emergency they will have a reliable backup from which to recover the data.

But is tape back-up indeed good enough for protecting your valuable data? Sure, it's a time tested method. Nowadays, however, specialists recommend more modern offsite backup services.

What are offsite backup services and how do they work? It's very simple: you just need an Internet connection – the greater the bandwidth the more data you can store – and your offsite backup service will encrypt your data and transmit it to a safe offline location to be stored. It will take some time at first because you'll have to backup all your info, but the next time a change is made in one of the files, the offsite backup service will only encrypt and send the part that has been changed and not the whole file. And that's a great advantage because it will require far less time and bandwidth. Also, all the backups are made at night, when computers are not used so this will not interfere in any way with your work. You won't even know it's there.

What's the difference between tape back-up and an offsite back-up service and why do specialists recommend the latter?

• First, tape back-up costs more and needs a person dedicated to it. But what happens when that person fails in his job or makes a mistake? Human error may occur any moment, and several companies are known to have had serious problems because of failures happening when they didn't have access to their information. An offsite backup will never require this because it is done automatically.

• Secondly, tape backups are stored in the same building or buildings as the computers. The offsite backup services store the data on several servers far from the place the firm is situated. In fact, that is why they are called 'offsite' in the first place! In case of a fire, storm, or any other natural disaster or human error, this becomes very important.

• Thirdly, offsite backup services provide more protection than any other backup method, using encryption, security keys, passwords and secure-sockets every time the data is transmitted. Often, all this is done at the military grade security level of 128-bit encryption keys.

Dial-up connections can be suitable for small firms or those that need no more than about 500 MB of data backed up. The greater the bandwidth, the larger the amount of data the offsite backup service can protect for you.

The fees for offsite backup are normally per month per computer, but often companies can get better deals on discounts, fixed fees, or customized plans from many offsite backup services.

Kamis, 23 Desember 2010

How to learn to gamble in an online casino

Gambling in an online casino can require more and better skills then when you are playing in a land based casino. This is why it is very important to pick the online casinos that are best for you. Here I have written some helpful ideas on how to find the online casino that is right for you.

Gambling in an online casino is not exactly the same as playing in a regular casino. Yes the rules are the same but the way you play may be slightly different.

One of the major differences between gambling in an online casino and a regular land based casino is the fact that you can't look into the eyes of another player. Let's say you are playing poker and you suspect the other player may be bluffing you can look at them to try to get a read on them to see if they have a tell, but in an online casino you have to be sharper then that.

In an online casino or online poker room you need to be good enough to know from the way the other players at the table are playing if they are bluffing or not, as opposed to at a regular casino or poker room where you can look into their eyes and try to get a read on them.

Other then poker most of the games are almost exactly the same as in a land based casino. If you are new to gambling online you may want to check out some online casino review sites. These sites not only offer reviews from independent reviewers, but you can also find reviews from regular everyday players like yourself and read about their experience both good and bad and make up your own mind.

To do this I recommend going to yahoo.com and typing In casinos into the search engine, and if you check out the top 5 or 6 sites I guarantee you will find all the information on what sites are reliable and which ones are a rip off. Some of the sites even offer their readers weekly gambling Horoscopes, and recipes for foods perfect for the next time you invite the guys over for poker night.


Before spending any money in any of the online casinos, open a free account and try the games out for free, see if you enjoy the software and the different options. Make a list of things you liked and things you did not like and find the site that offers you more of what you want and less of what you do not want.


Make sure to read all of the rules for each online casino. They will tempt you by offering you bonuses just for signing up, but make sure you read and understand the rules for accepting the money before you accept it or spend any of the allegedly "free" money.


Many of the online casinos will offer you a tutorial explaining how to use the features and to play each game and I highly recommend that you use it, because if you make a mistake the online casinos will not give you a refund.

Other then this the only advice I can give is that the more you play the better you will get, and will therefore be able to win more money.

Rabu, 22 Desember 2010

How To Find The Windows Vista Menu Bar

Getting used to a new operating system is always hard, but there are many little tips and tricks that you can learn along the way to make the transition much easier.

One of the tools available in Windows that I use all the time is the Menu Bar. This is the bar across the top of most program windows that includes items like; File, Edit, View, Tools, Insert, Help, etc. The "Tools" menu is especially helpful when I want to change the settings for a program or window.

Let me give you a quick example:

When I am hunting for a file, it is not always visible with the default windows settings, so I have to be able to view hidden files. To turn these hidden files on, I click on "Tools" in the menu bar, then click on "Folder Options" and then click on the "View" tab in the folder options window. On the View page, I can quickly scroll down and click on "Show hidden files and folders", then I click the "OK" button to save my changes. Once I have followed these steps, it is much easier to find the file that I am hunting for, especially if it is a hidden system file. Once I have found my file, I can quickly go back and follow the steps above to turn off the hidden files by clicking on "Do not show hidden files or folders".

In Windows Vista, the menu bar is not visible in most windows. I find the loss of these menu bars very frustrating because I am always changing settings using those menus. If you are reading this article on a computer that is running Microsoft Windows Vista, check it out; click on "Start", then click on "Documents" you will see the contents of your documents folder, but unless you have turned on the menu bars, you will not see them. I cannot tell you how many times I was stumped by the absence of these menu bars when I first started using Windows Vista computers!

Today, however, I have good news for you! If you are working on a computer that is running Vista, and you need to make a change or two that you know you used to be able to find in the menu bar, you can make the menu bar temporarily visible in Vista just by tapping the "Alt" key on your keyboard!

If you are using Vista, try it now by following these steps;

1. Open a window by clicking on the "Start" orb (new name for the round buttons in Vista and Office 2007" and then click on "Documents" in the right hand side of the start menu.

2. Your documents window will open. You will notice that there is no menu bar showing though.

3. Now, tap the "Alt" key on your keyboard just once. The menu bar will appear near the top of the window. It will stay visible until you use it, or until you tap the "Alt" key again.

I can't begin to tell you how much time this little trick has saved me when I am using or working on computers!

Senin, 20 Desember 2010

How to find cheap laptop computers.

Ah yes, I want a laptop but I am not going to spend a couple of thousand dollars for one. Well guess what you don't have to. Laptop prices have come down dramatically over the past year alone and they will continue to do so as technology advances. But the trick here is to find good quality laptops that fit your needs at the cheapest prices available today.

I would say that there probably is a store near you right now that has cheap laptop computers. In fact, many stores already have them. The reason being, like any other new product, laptops were once considered the cream of the crop in the computer world which made them very expensive. However, all that has changed now. Laptops are a dime a dozen! The hand held digital assistants, Bluetooth cell phones and tablet pads are the new rage making laptop computers cheap.

Now, don't get me wrong, this does not mean that they are cheaply made. Thanks to the wonders of the technological cycle, laptop computers are decreasing in price as their capabilities rise. Of course, there are the latest and greatest monsters out there that are made for gaming or high powered multimedia applications and these babies still cost a pretty penny.

But for the average user, you can find cheap laptop computers that provide all the power you need and then some. Every major manufacturer out there, like Dell, HP, Compaq, Gateway, and IBM have their lower end and intermediate models that come with more than enough speed and usability.

Now here is the key to finding the right cheap computer laptop for you, and that is to figure out exactly what you need it for.

Are you going to use it mainly for surfing the web or word processing? Do you need it to work from home or mainly to save your MP3s and digital pictures?

Ok, so now you have an idea of what you want to use your laptop for. Now lets go out shopping and compare. You can visit any of the top manufacturers websites or visit your local store and find their low end or intermediate models that may suit your needs. The three top components of a computer you want to look for is the hard drive size, memory, and processor speeds and take notes of each model you find on each component and model.

The hard drive, you can consider this the brain of your computer, this is where all your files, applications and folders are stored. If you plan on using your computer for MP3s and digital pictures your hard drive should be large since these files are usually very large. I personally would look at 80gb as minimum.

Next would be the memory, memory can be considered the thought processes of your computer. As a minimum I would look at 512mb but if you plan on using your laptop for gaming of course this should be much larger, in the area of 1 to 2gb. Now memory is used whenever a program or application is running. So the more memory you have the faster your computer can process the program.

And finally your processor, now your processor is just that it processes all the inner workings of how each program runs. The faster the processor is, the faster the program instructions are processed. Again if your looking for a laptop for gaming uses you want your processor with high speeds 2ghz or more. For other uses you can go less.

Other parts of the computer to also consider are the ports involved that can connect your computer to your digital camera or your mp3 player for example. You also want to check that your laptop has wireless and broadband connectivity. Many cheap computer laptops today already come with this but you want to make sure or you will have to pay additional, for example, a wireless card to install in your laptop to have this capability.

Minggu, 19 Desember 2010

How to buy a used car

Think of buying a car as a game of poker, the seller is your opponent he may be bluffing he may not, but just as you would at a poker room in a casino you have to try to read the seller like you would in a poker room in a casino.

Always remember to keep your eyes and ears open, when talking to someone about a used car. Make sure to ask lots of questions.

In a casino you are risking your money, in hopes of getting a big return, but when buying a car you just want to get your moneys worth, you want a car that will be reliable and dependable. You do not want a car that wont start on cold days or that stalls until its been running for a half hour.

Make sure to check the undercarriage and under the hood for rust. To a car rust is like cancer. Once rust is found it will spread unless it is cut off and replaced. Under the car and in the engine compartment you will find some rust it is only natural, but you want it to only be surface rust. This means if you take a wire brush to the rusted area you will brush off the rust and get to clean metal.

Next make sure to check the body of the car, for waves and any bubbling in the paint, this would indicate that the car was in an accident or some rust was incorrectly repaired. It is not uncommon for someone selling a car to have rust spots sanded down and painted over to give the car a fresh look, but what will happen is after a month or two the paint will start to bubble as the metal begins to rust again.

Next, look at the motor and mechanical parts under the hood of the car. The engine should be relatively clean from motor oil. If you see large buildups of oil in an area then chances are a head gasket will need to be replaces because of an oil leak.

All electrical and rubber parts should be checked for cracks. Cracks in rubber parts means that the rubber is old and dried out and will probably need to be replaced eventually.

Make sure to ask the owner if he has all the receipts for any work that has been done to the vehicle.

Another important piece of advice is to make sure to take the car for a good test drive. Do not be afraid to drive the car a little hard with the owner with you in the car, chances are they will understand, if they object then maybe there is something with the car they are trying to hide and you should move on to another car.

Many people will tell you that buying a used car is a gamble but if you take a good hard look at each car, and not get impulsive to buy, you can remove any gamble and guarantee yourself a jackpot of a car.

Sabtu, 18 Desember 2010

How To Choose the Best Student Laptop?

Copyright 2006 Titus Hoskins

Merchants are singing those three magic words again, 'Back to School' and the fallout is everywhere!

Just as you're getting your deep dark pre-cancerous tan going - you hear those words - and it spells the end of summer. Once again we are bombarded with advertising, featuring the latest in 'teen ware' 'school ware' and 'metal detector ware'. Kidding!

Is it just me or does it seem this year there is a lot more 'Back to School' advertising for notebooks and laptops? They seem to be everywhere... on TV, radio, and online.

Laptop ads are everywhere. Why is this?

Well, notebooks have come down in price, they have become more affordable, even for the modest student. Laptops have also come down in size, making them ideal for that school napsack, or dormroom. They have also become tougher and sturdier - better equipped to meet the hard/wear/tear that students give it.

With notebook technology changing every two years or so - notebooks can now handle most tasks students throw their way. These advanced notebooks can do the job. They also present a much stronger entertainment value to students, they can handle better graphics and gaming, but most students try to keep parents in the dark about this factor as they plead for a new laptop for college or school. All this pleading is further fueling the demand for laptops.

Then there is a little thing called the Internet. Throw in a wireless connection and the student laptop is coming into its own. Big Time!

The Internet has become a second teacher/parent/counselor to most students. God help us all! But it has also become a priceless source of the collective knowledge on this planet; frightening but true. The Internet is an invaluable source of knowledge for any high school/college student.

Not having ready access to all this knowledge and information will put any student at a disadvantage with his peers. It's a very competitive world, in high school, in college and in the future job market - every student should have an even playing field.

That's where the little notebook computer enters stage right!

Laptops or notebooks have quickly become a school necessity. When? How? Why?...

It's the perfect learning tool for students:

* very portable, you can carry them anywhere, class, cafe, dorm, home...

* very convenient, you can take notes in class, type up assignments, print assignments, communicate home, access the Internet...

* very tough, many newer notebooks are designed to withstand a good pounding and keep on computing, ruggerized for sturdy use...

* very powerful, notebooks or laptops are catching up to their desktop cousins in computing speed, hard drive storage and performance...

* very affordable, prices have dropped and are falling even further, laptops are now outselling desktop PCs so this price will drop even further, there's a whole slew of used and refurbished laptops hitting the market...

If you're a parent, student, or guardian; here are some of the factors you should consider when buying the best student laptop or notebook:

* size, it must be small, lightweight and very portable, fit comfortably under the arm or in that backpack

* sturdy, it must be tough, sturdy, ruggerized, and able to take more than one hard knock because students are students

* connections, wireless connections should be offered, the Internet is such a valuable tool in itself - a student should be able to access it anywhere. Most notebooks have these connections but check - a printer port, a 56Kbps-modem, a VGA port for an external monitor, and should have at least one USB port for external keyboard/mouse, digital cameras, drives, and MP3 players

* technical specs, it should have enough RAM, storage space (hard drive) and computing speed to do any job the student can throw at it

* battery life, make sure your student notebook has a reasonable battery life, 5 hours or more

* price, it should be reasonably priced, refurbished laptops may be an option for those on a strict budget

However, some words of wisdom, students or parents shouldn't skimp too much - if you're spending 10's of thousands on an education, you should also provide for the best possible equipment in the form of a sturdy, lightweight high performance laptop. Besides, a high quality laptop will last for years... just imagine your son or daughter writing their resumes on it after they have finished college... keep this image in your mind as you go about buying that perfect student laptop.

Rabu, 15 Desember 2010

How does PrinterAnywhere Software work?

You want to print an urgent letter for your client regarding the meeting and your printer is not working. The meeting has to be happen or else you are about to loose a big deal. The situation is very stressful and you do not want to loose this opportunity. Don’t worry; The PrinterAnywhere.com is here to solve this critical situation. Now you don’t need to care about your important printing even if your office printer is not working. Just open the website, choose your printer’s type and destination and send your document for printing. Surprised? It is true and on this site you can share your as well as other’s printer to print documents.


PrinterAnywhere.com is an online service that offers you worldwide printer to print your document wherever you want. Using this service, you can print your photos and documents using other people’s printers. To use this service you need not be an expert in all printer mechanism. This Printeranywhere.com service is compatible with all types of editing software. Just edit your work in and send the document for the printing on any printer of your favor. If you are preparing an urgent word document and you want a print but you don’t have a printer. Don’t worry you can request your client or your neighbor to keep the printer on, so that you can take a print of your document in a minute. .


Technology is pretty advanced and many people are aware what is going on the net. This PrinterAnywhere.com is a little piece of technology. Like we do chatting and file sharing, in a same way we can print important document safely on other people’s printers. The service provided by this site is faster and trustworthy. Each byte of the information is encrypted until it reaches to its destination. So instead of sending the confidential data across the net via file sharing, we can use this method to print our confidential documents. The documents that you pass on for the printing are encrypted in standard coding language. Therefore, the files are completely safe and secure.


We use internet frequently for chatting and e-mailing our documents for various purpose. Such file transferring is very risky as other third parties can access the files. However, when you transfer a file using Printeranywhere.com, you files reaches at its destination printer without giving any access to third parties. Moreover, there are many possible virus, spam and spyware threats to the computer while downloading a file through internet. Hence, to avoid such potentially malicious programs PrinterAnywhere.com is the best way. For business personalities, this service is the best option when they are traveling. While they are on world tour, they can send their legal documents directly to their or clients office even though they are out of the country. Just put your office printer’s name and start printing.


As we know, there are various word editing documents, Printeranywhere.com supports almost all types of word file formats. Even you can print images, PowerPoint documents, excel sheets and monthly reports. If you office’s LAN printers are not working then you can use extension printers from your partner’s office. One can also ask friends or any trustable third party to make available their printers for the work. One can also use this service for the business purpose by making available own printer for other parties.


The PrinterAnywhere.com is powerful enough to connect you to any printer of your choice across the world. You just need to choose the correct location and the name of your printer. In addition, you also save your time as Printeranywhere.com does not scan your documents as other printers do.


So, just open the Printeranywhere.com and start printing your documents on your favorite printer.

Selasa, 14 Desember 2010

How Not to Lose 10000 Dollars in the Casinos

For the last several years one Saturday of each month some friends and I would get in the car and drive to Atlantic City for a night of gambling, and it has always been one of the best days of the month.

We have never really been big gamblers we usually just stayed with the slots or the roulette table, until six months ago when someone decided we should learn to play poker because that’s where you can win lots of money fast.

So we all started playing poker in a weekly Friday night game together till we were good enough to play in the casinos. For practice I would play Online Poker in some free multiplayer poker rooms and eventually I felt confident enough to join an online casino poker room for real money.

At first I was losing hand after hand but the more hands I played the better of an understanding I was getting for the game, and every night I started making less and less mistakes and I actually started to win a few hands.
After about 2 or 3 months of this we decided it was time and we all drove to the casino to play some Poker.

We did ok for first timers, no one got rich but no one came home broke either. We decided that instead of our monthly trips we should start going every Saturday, and soon we would be leaving every Friday after work and coming back late Sunday night


Last month we decided to join this small tournament, the buy inn was only a few hundred each and the prize was 10,000 dollars, so we all decided to go for it and to try to start making real money playing poker, and in the end it paid off, I am still not sure how but I won the poker tournament and the 10,000 dollars grand prize.

Before the tournament we had all agreed that if one of us won it we would go out and have a big party with the money, but I had a much better idea


I decided that I could turn this money into a much larger amount and since it was easy to win the first time it should be easy to do it again.

Now from my personal experience I know that the Roulette table is a great way to double your money fast, there were many nights id have 20 dollars in my poker before leaving the casino and I would manage to double it on one spin of the roulette wheel, and now I had ten thousand dollars and could walk away with twenty thousand in just minutes.

So against the advice of all my friends I looked for a roulette table where the same color had won three times in a row. Once I finally found a roulette table that had come up red 3 times in a row it I place all my winnings on black and what luck it came out red again and I nearly passed out on the casino floor.

Ever since that night I have not won anything I have played. The best piece of advice I can give anyone out there is to not let winning go to your head. If you are up in the casino, go home and enjoy the money. It is important to remember that gambling in a casino or an online casino is supposed to be fun and relaxing and if it is not go read a book or something.

Senin, 13 Desember 2010

How I spent my Vacation in Amsterdam

During the vacation I got to see many of the wonders that Amsterdam has to offer. One of the first things I went to see was the Van Gogh Museum. Having just gotten off the plane I was tired, but some of his art is just amazing to see, and I did not want to wait to see them.

After going to the museum I headed into the city center to look around, maybe do some shopping and get some food.

I had herd many things about Amsterdam and just thought that many of them were blow out of proportion, well I am here to tell you that they are all true. The first thing that hits you is the strong smell of Marijuana, and then you start to see the almost completely naked girls in the windows.

As if the prostitutes in the windows were not enough there are live sex shows and sex shops selling every imaginable sex toy known to man on every street, but this was not what interested me.

Then as I continued walking around I started to notice something besides pot, and naked females, I saw casinos.

I grew up in New Jersey, just about 2 hours from Atlantic City, and after my 18th birthday I spend a good amount of time in the casinos. So I decided to go in and check some of them out.

Well I wound up spending most of the rest of my time in those casinos. The first one I went to was Video Gaming machines only, but they had video poker, video blackjack and Video Slot machines as well, I did not really do well her in this place so I only spent about an hour, and about 100 Euro, then left.

The next place I found was a nicer place. Unlike in New Jersey, in these casinos people are dressed up in their nice clothes instead of jeans, sneakers and T-Shirts. This casino had actual table games so I tried to play some Blackjack, but there was a player at the table that either had no idea on how to play or he was somehow involved in cheating with another player, but I am inclined to think he just did not know how to play blackjack.

So I started playing at the Roulette table, and I was doing really well, at one point I was up about 400 Euro before I started losing. So I decided to leave this casino and go walking around for a while.

The next day I found myself in another casino, and I decided to see if my luck was back, I went to a slot machine and put in some money and on the third spin I won another 200 Euro, so feeling lucky I decided to enter the poker room, and that is when things got really interesting. I got into a game and boy were these guys good, but I was winning just as much as I was losing, and in the end I may have even walked away with a few Euros more then when I walked in.

After playing for about 5 hours I decided to go outside and walk around a bit to stretch my legs. I would up deciding to sit down and have a cup of coffee, but I did not know the difference between a coffee shop and a caf?.

In Amsterdam a caf? is a place to sit and have a coffee, but a coffee shop is a place to purchase and smoke Marijuana. So as I was sitting there drinking my coffee I noticed several people rolling joints. Now I have herd about this and I hade smelled plenty of pot while I was there, but I did not realize it was sold out in the open like this. So I decided to buy some pot and try it.

I went to the counter where I saw others buying their weed and the guy behind the counter was very nice and showed me a menu of what they had for sale. I wound up buying a joint of white widow. The man behind the counter told me his was very strong stuff, but I was not prepared for this.

I managed to smoke about half of the joint, before I was hit with this feeling. I have been a drinker for many years, but even in my college days I was never out of my head like this.

Eventually I managed to get out of there and get some fresh air, and some waffles. I decided, this was the time to back into the casino and win my money back, and in the end I lost another 600 Euro, and wound up falling off my chair in the casino and needed to be helped out.

So if you are going to be going to Amsterdam, be careful the grass is really strong.

Minggu, 12 Desember 2010

Headset - No Longer Wired For Sound

Plantronics with its GN Netcom wireless headset creates the next generation of wireless headset and other products such as wireless amplifiers, and wireless headset telephone.

You can get a wireless headset that is completely without wires or one that requires a belt pack. The ones that are completely wire free are made up of a headset worn on your head that talks to a base unit that is attached to your telephone with no wire connections between your headset and your phone. These wireless headset products represent the latest in sophisticated technology for communication or listening. Examples of wireless headset models are the Plantronics CS50, Plantronics CS55, the Plantronics 510S and the GN Netcom 9120.

Now everything you need to make your truly wireless headset a terrific piece of equipment is all combined in one package. This package is called the GN 9120. Completely wireless, this headset package gives you a range of up to 300 feet. It has a frequency of 2.4 GHz to deliver that much range. You can also purchase a lower priced GN9120 LR for a more limited but still quality wireless headset.

The Plantronics CT12 2.4GHz wireless headset is an example of a Plantronics products that offers a great combination of size, convenience and mobility with its hands-free concept.

Completely cordless, the The Plantronics CT12 is a one-line 2.4 GHz telephone system. Its ultra compact remote dialer unit makes it possible for you to make or receive calls more than one hundred feet from the wireless headset base unit with great digital sound and security.

This wireless headset telephone has a display for your caller ID, a speed dial feature as well as redial capability, a mute button and volume control.

Standard with your order of the Plantronics CT12 wireless headset phone is a two in one headset that is convertible so you can use it over the head for stability or over the ear for convenience. It has a microphone that is especially designed to cancel out background noises as well as top notch clarity of sound.

Firefly is part of this wireless headset phone package as well, so those who try to reach you will be able to tell you are on the phone.

Other wireless headset features of the Plantronics CT12 are a headset stand that is built into the base, a charger on the base, a remote pad for dialing with a battery pack that is rechargeable.

One thing that is important to note with this model of wireless headset phone is that it could interfere with a WiFi computer network, and if so you might prefer the CT10 model or the GN Netcom 7170 instead.

Sabtu, 11 Desember 2010

Gaming Laptops - The Five Essential Features To Consider When Buying A Gaming Laptop

Gone are the days when you would have been laughed at if you walked into an all-night LAN party carrying your trusty laptop and expecting to hang with the giant computer towers standing at everyone’s feet. The gaming laptop computers of today sport huge, crisp LCD screens, cutting-edge video cards and full-size keyboards. Not only can these gaming laptop computers hang with the standard clunky computer tower, but they can also be ordered fully custom to meet the exact specifications of any gamer.

Since there are so many customizable components in these laptops, a standard practice has been to create what some call a “system builder.” This is the page where you get to add and subtract components through drop-down menus in order to create the best gaming laptop computer for your needs and your budget. This type of page can be overwhelming to someone just starting the gaming laptop shopping process, but it is very manageable if you take it just one component at a time.

The Gaming Laptop GPU

This is the heart of a gaming laptop computer. The GPU – graphics processing unit – is a component that will make or break your gaming experience. If your GPU isn’t up to snuff, your games won’t play.

Without getting into specific models since they change all the time, the key is that the graphics card not share resources with the computer. A gaming laptop video card must have its own memory on board. Generally speaking, standard off-the-shelf laptops will not have this feature. The two current makers of laptop video cards are nVIDIA and ATI.

Without the Screen, You Don’t Have Much

What good is a gaming laptop without a screen that can actually render your games? Now certainly, you can connect an external monitor, but if you can’t actually play on your gaming laptop without that external monitor, then your laptop isn’t all that mobile.

While the technology and terminology for LCDs (liquid crystal displays) could take up an entire article in itself, there are a few key points to keep in mind when choosing from available LCD options for your new gaming laptop computer: native resolution, aspect ratio, rise and fall time, contrast, viewing angle, and size.

Native Resolution. The native resolution is simply the setting at which your screen will render the clearest images. Since games are constantly in motion, slightly soft edges may not bother most gamers, but keep in mind that while this is your gaming laptop, you will likely also use it for other things like surfing the Internet. If the resolution isn’t comfortable, you aren’t going to enjoy using it.

Aspect Ratio. As you probably know, a movie theater screen and a TV screen have different proportions. Likewise, there are widescreen format gaming laptops and there are laptops that have a standard aspect ratio – like that of a TV. A widescreen format gaming laptop has advantages and disadvantages. Many games today do not have a widescreen mode. This means that the game may stretch across the screen and become distorted or you may run it with black bars that fill in the sides. There are ways to get around this, but if you want an out of the box perfect experience, the widescreen format may not be for you.

That said, a widescreen LCD does offer plenty of screen real estate for web surfing and other type of computer activities, and a game played in a wide format setting offers an expansive field of view. For this reason, there are some very loyal widescreen-loving gamers out there.

Do your best to find a balance between current and future technology and what your computer habits are beyond gaming. Even with its limitations, the widescreen format is found on most of the best gaming laptop computers.

Rise and Fall. The phrase ‘rise and fall time’ is used to describe how fast the LCD can respond to changes. In the past, LCDs have been plagued with the inability to render images as fast as computer games can spit them out. This presents a major problem for laptop gamers because if they can’t see the images properly, they can’t play the game properly. This lag can mean the difference between playing to win and barely playing.

Fortunately, gaming laptop LCDs have come a long way and they are only getting better. While once it was impossible to game on a laptop screen, the gaming laptop LCDs of today offer 25 milliseconds or less rise and fall time while generally off-the-shelf laptops have 40 milliseconds or less rise and fall time.

Contrast. If a gaming laptop LCD has poor contrast, that means that the black areas aren’t quite as black as they should be and the white areas aren’t quite as white. This is important to a laptop gamer because you have to see the game properly – as it was intended to be seen – in order to compete effectively. Look for a contrast ratio of 400:1 or higher in a custom gaming laptop computer.

Viewing Angle. This is an often-overlooked LCD feature, but it must be considered if you are building a gaming laptop computer. Many high quality LCDs on the market are difficult to see clearly at any angle other than straight on and at the right height. This can be a big drawback to gaming on a LCD screen because a screen with poor viewing angles won’t allow others to watch the screen as you play and also hurts your view when doing something as simple as adjusting your seating, which can require you to then adjust to position of your laptop screen to see it properly again.

But gaming on a laptop does not mean that you are doomed to have poor viewing angles. There are LCDs on the market that have amazing viewing angles – up to 120 degrees. These screens not only allow gaming onlookers, but they also allow you to use that giant, crisp screen to do things like play movies and even make presentations.

Size. In a gaming laptop computer, size is everything. Most gaming laptops are large, robust pieces of electronics. Having a machine of this stature means you also get to have a large screen. The best gaming laptop computer LCD screens out there are at least 15 inches. A crowd favorite is a 17 inch widescreen (even with the challenges that widescreens present). Largr 19 inch laptop screens are just starting to be talked about with consumers expecting to see 19 inch or even large models on the market in the near future.

The best way to really get a feel for what laptop LCDs are all about is to take a trip to a local box store and play with the LCDs on the display laptops while keeping in mind what you have read here. While these laptops are not custom gaming laptops, you can see what the sizes really look like, what different resolutions look like, and what the viewing angles truly are so you can start to develop your own preferences.

The RAM – What Type and How Much?

The RAM (random access memory) found in laptops is called SODIMM (small outline dual inline memory module). The RAM is responsible for your processing power. If you are shopping for a custom gaming laptop, you will generally be offered DDR2 RAM with the choice of how much you want in your computer. Most high-end games being released today need 1GB of RAM for optimum, lag-free game play. Some people are going with 2GB to ensure that they can run multiple applications along with the game and not experience any slow down in response time. This is a large investment and you want to be able to use this gaming laptop for some time in the future. Most custom laptops are user upgradeable, but this should be left up to professionals.

The CPU – Not Just Mobile Technology

The CPUs (central processing units) found in many custom gaming laptops are identical to those found in desktops. These chips require a great deal of cooling power, which in turn can make your laptop louder than light weight, lower power ultra portables when the fans kick on and it can become somewhat warm to the touch. Don’t be alarmed by this – it is normal. And with these desktop processors comes screaming power! Don’t waste your money on the latest CPU release that likely has an inflated price tag (and that price will likely come down before long). Stick with a current CPU speed that is offered by a reputable custom gaming laptop reseller, and you really can’t go wrong.

The Gaming Laptop Hard Drive

This is the final component to consider when building a gaming laptop. Laptop hard drives come in a variety of speeds and capacities ranging from 4200 to 7200 RPMs and 40 to over 100 GBs. For the most part, this is user preference. Whenever possible, go for a 7200 RPM hard drive, but if you need a capacity not offered in this speed, it’s okay to go for the 5400 RPM drive. Take a look at your current computer, and buy your capacity based on this. Also keep in mind that with many custom gaming laptop manufacturers, you have the ability to upgrade or add another hard drive at a later date.

At the end of the day, gaming laptop computers are all about power. Don’t expect a twelve-pound notebook with a desktop processor, numerous fans, a giant heatsink, and independent video card to last on battery power all that long. But do make sure to enjoy the jawdrops that you’ll get as you walk into your regular LAN party location with your new, screaming-fast gaming laptop computer. Crack that puppy open, fire it up, and stand clear of the drool as you take on your favorite game with fellow gamers gathered around to take in the action. Gaming is not just for desktops anymore!

Jumat, 10 Desember 2010

Geek Christmas gift

I received a very geeky Christmas present this year - Ubuntu! Ubuntu is a linux distribution (Debian I believe) that includes the Gnome desktop, Evolution Groupware and the OpenOffice suite. (I bet my brother would have loved the math formula editor back in the day when he was teaching physics.)

The package has two CDs. The first is a ¡°live cd¡± that sets up a RAM disk (remember those?) and then boots into linux with touching your hard drive! Very creative! This is a great way to show non-technical execs what linux can bring to the table.

The second CD is a bootable install disk, with a character-based installer. I loaded into a Virtual PC machine (refer to this How To from the Ubuntu site) and have been working in the corporate environment for a few days. WSS sites are mostly usable. There is a Citrix client for Linux, so all of the ¡°corporate¡± apps are available.

Being a .Net guy now, there is probably not much more to do. If I had time, then perhaps Mono would be fun to try...

Kamis, 09 Desember 2010

Get That Plasma Television At A Cheap Price

Plasma Television is certainly the latest craze in television technology. Its patrons have grown into a great number that manufacturers have been receiving many orders from them. Since the demand for the unit has turned into an enormous number it is very likely that prices will be go down.

Plasma TVs are the new type of display that uses technology that is different from other television models. Although it is an innovation that was formulated decades ago, it was only in recent times that the technology has been manufactured in cheap price.

Plasma Television has been on the market for quite sometime now and it had enthralled many home viewer aficionados because of their size and weight, but the first ones were very pricey and lacked picture quality unlike the ones that are manufactured today.

However, with the help of technological advancements, manufacturers were able to generate the same type of display but definitely far way superior than the first releases.

Cheap plasma televisions are now out in the market with a variety of sizes as well as with larger displays. There has also been a remarkable enhancement on the part of picture quality like the sharpness, black, levels, and brightness.

Aside form these developments, it should also be noted that prices have come down enormously that many shoppers consider it cheaper to buy than other displays that are out in the market.

However, we must not be overwhelmed with this fact. Oftentimes, cheaper prices get the attention of the buyers that they tend to forget the quality of the product that they are planning to buy.

To help you look for one that is of high quality but it is definitely economical, here are some tips that you should always take note of:

• Online retailers are just a click away. With these, you will be offered with many alternatives in buying lone. You can seek for their help in looking for cheap plasma televisions but with great quality. You may also the reviews about the items that you are viewing to guide you in choosing where to venture our penny.

• Some prices may be too good to be true so better make some inquiries about the product through its retailer before you close a deal.

• Almost all Plasma TV manufacturers sell through their authorized dealers, so make it sure that your unit is from a certified one. These retailers may have better prices than what others may have, but there customer support system is not good enough, and it is not very likely for manufacturers to accept or honor warranties of units which are bought through an illegitimate traders.

• You can also check out great prices on auction sites, but be very cautious because although auction traders may appear to be good, there are still some out there who pretends to be real sellers but are actually swindlers.

Purchasing a television before used to be so easy since there are only small considerations to think about like the screen size and other stuff.

However, as time progressed and technology constantly advances it turned out to be a bit intricate. Because of the sophistications brought by these changes, it had already changed the concept of home entertainment specifically television presentation.

To think, looking for an item that is definitely cheap yet guaranteed good is not really that complicated. The above-mentioned tips may guide you in looking for one. Try it to so that your can prove it by yourself.

Rabu, 08 Desember 2010

Firewall Protection Needed

If you’re using the Internet, then you must have a firewall to protect your computer. It’s the only sure way to block intruders seeking to access your computer.

Why would someone want to get to your computer? There are many reasons, including stealing credit card numbers or other personal information. Without a firewall, you expose every item located on your computer to the world. Moreover, using a cable or DSL modem places you at greater risk, since you’re always connected to the internet.

WHAT YOU CAN DO – It’s essential to run an updated anti-virus program as well as anti-spyware software; however, this is not enough protection. You must also be sure to have at least one firewall installed and running on your computer. A firewall is an extra layer of security that blocks intruders from accessing files and data on your computer. It acts as a barrier and only allows certain types of information both coming in as well as going out of your network. It has built-in filters which permit only those with permission to enter, limiting access between two or more networks, usually between a private network and a public (untrusted) network, such as the Internet. Firewalls also log attempts of others trying to gain access to your network.

TYPES OF FIREWALLS -- A hardware firewall can be installed between your computer network and the outside connection. This is usually used in environments that have many computers networked together, sharing information. For large business environments where maximum protection is essential, it is best to have this type of firewall as well as a software one to prevent your network from attack. A software firewall is simply a program installed and running in the background to prevent the computers from infecting one another, should a virus or other unwanted hazard make its way onto the network.

However, it should be noted that it is not a good idea to run two software firewalls simultaneously as they are likely to conflict with one another. The existing firewall should be uninstalled or disabled before adding a new firewall program. The hardware version is a bit trickier to install but once it is installed it virtually takes care of your computer with no interaction from you. It provides protection and logs information without the user even being aware of its existence; unlike firewalls of the software version which require some interaction. Software firewalls will sometimes ask permission to allow certain programs access, and you must be knowledgeable enough to know what to allow and what to block. But don’t worry; an explanation is always included along with a recommendation as to what action to take.

WHERE TO GET FIREWALL PROTECTION -- If you are running Windows XP you probably have a built-in firewall as Microsoft included it in the Service Pack 2 update. Although there are more efficient and effective firewalls available, the one Microsoft provides would be better than nothing at all. There are also many fairly effective firewalls offered as freeware and many more for purchase. Whatever firewall you choose to use, you should test it after installation and make sure it is working properly. You can do this at the website listed below.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT FIREWALLS -- Microsoft has a very good website explaining about firewalls that can answer any questions you may have about Internet firewalls. It can be found at the following address - http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/firewall.mspx. Another good resource to learn more about firewalls is maintained by Steve Gibson, of Gibson Research Corporation. It can be found at the following address - http://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?rh1dkyd2. You can also test your firewall protection at that site.

Selasa, 07 Desember 2010

Fiber Optics - Bringing Us High Speed Internet

Generally, optics is a branch of physics (science) that deals with the nature, behavior and properties of light. Optics is also the study of interaction of light with other matter. It is also regarded as the sub-field of electromagnetism because scientifically, light is an electromagnetic wave. Applied optical sciences are often called optical engineering. Classical optics and modern optics are the two major categories of optics. Fiber optics is one of the main branches of optics that is very popular these days.

The transmittance of data through fiber optics is based on the principle of total internal refraction. The data is transmitted through the medium of light. This may sound weird but you will be surprised to know that more than half of the contemporary technology is based on the concept and functions of fiber optics. Telephone, radio and television are the most common gadgets that excessively employ this technology.

Unlike the copper cables, there are no chances of getting electrical shocks in case of optical fibers. Glass has replaced copper through the course of time. Instead of copper wire, a bundle of glass threads (in a cable form) is used to transmit signals and data in modulated form. It is true that fiber optics has not replaced the traditional copper wires completely because glass threads are very expensive. They cannot be used as domestic cables used to transfer electricity and other signals.

Optical fibers are more resistant towards the external interference. They are lighter and thinner. Therefore, they transmit data in digital form instead of analogue form. Fiber optics has thus resulted in conversion of every electronic medium signal transmittance in digital form.

Apart from telecommunications, fiber optics has been a blessing in the medical and industrial applications as well. In the field of medicine, fiber optics is used in many appliances like endoscope and other high-tech treatments. It is assumed that fiber optics is all set to revolutionize the medical technologies and bring great advancement in this field. The organized and high-tech traffic control systems and automated tollbooths are the highly beneficial application of fiber optics.

The Internet and fiber optics have become inseparable because the optical fibers facilitate high data carrying capacity and high bandwidth.

Senin, 06 Desember 2010

Enhance the visibility of Myspace by improving the layout

For any Myspace account to have maximum visibility, the features and components on the layout has to be enhanced. The layout will form the base and act as the key to host a variety of feature such as text, data, and images, audio and video files. The layout design assistance can be sought from various sites on the Internet.

One of the major methods in which an account holder can ensure maximum hits to the Myspace site is to spice up the page by adding a variety of features through the layout level. The features could include images, more of landscape art and a plenty of colors. However, to bring all of these on a common platform, you need an appropriate Myspace web page background through layout format. With an appropriate layout, the Myspace web page can be well built to add a number of premium features. The feature rich web page needs a good layout that can host all of them. A layout loaded with plenty of visual features can produce a bad effect on the web page, ultimately leading to poor design. It could also mean the Internet traffic to the web site could slow down. Besides, the opening of the Myspace web page could slow down if the features are heavy and the layout do not support them. In an effort to make the web page appropriate in terms of features and background, design the layout carefully. Make sure that the codes are appropriate and are in synchronization with the designs of the web page and the layout. If the codes of the layout do not match with the web page, there are chances that the entire Myspace page could be damaged. Ultimately, the recovery of the Myspace page could become problematic. It could be damaged permanently. Therefore, the best option is to download the pages with the codes and install them on the Myspace page at the layout level itself.

There are two options to download the layouts for the Myspace page. The first option is free downloads from popular sites and the second option is to go for paid layouts. There are number of rich features under paid layouts. Users also have the option of customizing the layouts according to their personal wishes. There are plenty of tools available for the user to download from the site and opt for the preferred layouts. The options provided are user-friendly. If the user does not find the tools to be in accordance with the preference, there are multiple options to change the preferences. The paid layouts have a number of options that are available in the form of license. Unlicensed layouts are also available, but they are not reliable like the paid layouts.

While building the layout, keep a check on the programs that have to be added on to the background. Too many programs on the background could slow down the account. Therefore, embed adequate number of codes in the layout before actually hosting the programs. Conduct a test run of the layout after installing the programs to identify any inbuilt faults.

Minggu, 05 Desember 2010

Features To Look For In Portable DVD Players

If you have ever been on a long car trip with a couple of kids in the backseat, you know what a great piece of modern technology a portable DVD player is. Having a portable DVD player can pull kids attention away from each other, or worrying about how long until we get there, and get them focused on the movie, giving you some nice peace and quiet for the drive ahead. Portable DVD players can also be handy for anyone who travels on a regular basis, especially if you spend a lot of time in airport terminals or bus stations. Portable DVD players now come standard with many new vehicles on the market today.

Portable DVD players are still kind of pricey, so it is a good idea to have a budget and some well researched knowledge before going on your shopping trip. Many local department stores sell them in their electronics departments, and they can be put on layaway, which can help you purchase the portable DVD player you want without breaking your budget or robbing a bank.

Any type of large electronics purchase should be looked at as an investment, so it is important to try to get the most for your money. You should also look for a portable DVD player with a good warranty, and maybe even research the manufacturer first to see how well they stand behind their products and what kind of customer service they provide.

Many portable DVD systems now offer dual screens, which is great, especially if you plan to use it in your vehicle. These models are more expensive, but are a good investment if you have more than one child. It could prevent a lot of complaining about not being able to see the screen, which would definitely be a plus for the parent in the car.

You will also need to decide what size screen you need on your portable DVD player, depending on its’ function, and where you plan to use it at.

Another plus to portable DVD players is that many have the capability to also serve as CD/MP3 players as well, giving them a dual purpose.

There are many features available with portable DVD players, and you have to decide what will work best for your needs and fit in your budget. No doubt about it though, purchasing a portable DVD player can be a very worthwhile investment.

Sabtu, 04 Desember 2010

Eight Steps To Successful Goal Setting On And Off Your PC

Copyright 2006 Michael Madigan

You and I know no one can be totally successful. But continual failure in personal goal planning on or off the PC, will inevitably make you more and more frustrated and disappointed.

Who needs that? When all you have to do is follow the 8 steps:

Step 1: The first important thing in goal setting is do something as opposed to nothing, and get started NOW. By placing time limits on your goals, you motivate yourself to get started and allowing yourself the best chance to succeed. Just remember that you can adjust your goal setting time frames whenever you see fit.

Step 2: Decide what your goals are in any situation, are they worthwhile, and if they are achievable. Don't be afraid to dream a little, and rest assured the more practice at personal goal planning you get, the bigger the likelihood of you reaching all the goals you set. Then write down your short and long term goals, whether they are on or off the PC.

Step 3: Most of us fail to in setting and achieving goals because we think we 'don't have enough time'. So in the end, the major part of effective goal setting comes down to how effective your time management is. But 'time management' means actually we must be able to balance our time in the best way possible in order to achieve our goals. Check how time passes with reminders, audible and visible alarms and pop ups - anything to keep you productive and not just daydreaming.

Step 4: Break each goal down into several smaller goals which will make this process easier. In each step evaluated the obstacles that may stop you moving on and decide how they can be overcome or avoided.

Step 5: Take some time for quality research and education. Set performance goals and time limits here too! Surf, read, chat - but keep your enquiries to the point. Keep understandable notes throughout, including links and your own revevant thoughts as they come.

Step 6: No matter what you do, dont expect to eliminate every trace of uncertainty from goal setting activity. It isn't cast in stone.. A little stress should fire up your determination and flexibility, which you need particuliarly in the ever changing Internet universe! Keep moving!

Step 7: Evaluate your progress as often as needed. If this is a big goal it may take years, but stay motivated! Review your progress daily, weekly, or at any other interval you feel comfortable with, but as often as you need to determine if your program is working and moving forward. If you're not not progressing on a particular goal, you may have to re-evaluate your approach and make changes as necessary

Step 8: Another personal goal plan has succeeded! On to the next one...

OK, you may struggle a little at first. Maybe once or twice, fall back into your old sloppy ways. But remember...people who are able to use goal setting effectively concentrate and focus better. They show more self-confidence, suffer less from stress and anxiety,

perform better at whatever they attempt, and are happier and more satisfied with life. Now isn't that worth a little investment in effort?

Set your goals for a happy life and healthy computing from 2006 into the future!

Jumat, 03 Desember 2010

Download Legal Free Music For Ipod Today

Should you wish to avail yourself of some download music for your Ipod, I would definitely recommend the legal free music. Very large numbers of people own an Ipod, and there are many of these people who try to find the music they want on disreputable P2P sites, where many of them have found their computers infected with viruses. I’ve told people time and again about the free legal music download sites but they aren't listening. Will you?

For my guide to the best sites to download legal free music for ipod from, please visit http://www.ipodlowdown.com

The benefits of free legal music downloads-1
One of the most important benefits of these legal download sites for your Ipod is that you are not breaking the law. The Government or law enforcement officers will not come chasing after you, and record labels will not be seeking to take legal action. To me that is a massive point in their favour.

The benefits of free legal music downloads-2
You have a lot to choose from. If you want to download free legal music for Ipod, it is often possible to find all that you are looking for on one site. You can find all of the songs you want, all on one site with easy access. This is totally different from the usual experience of people with the illegal P2P sites. You can have a very annoying time searching through descriptions etc hoping that someone will have uploaded the song you want. If it isn't there, the frustration gets even worse. You have a lot less chance of this happening with the legal sites, as a few of them have over 90 million files. That’s a lot of music!

The benefits of free legal music downloads-3
They are faster. Most of the reputable free sites will have you pay a joining fee at the outset. This one off charge goes toward their upkeep costs for servers and customer service staff etc. One great benefit of this is that the download speeds are way in advance of what you would get with a P2P site. When you become accustomed to fast download speeds, you will wonder whether the slow download speeds on the illegal sites are even tolerable.

The benefits of free legal music downloads-4
It is much safer. Unlike the P2P sites, you don't live with the constant fear of your computer being destroyed by viruses, or infected with spyware. The legal sites are professional businesses, and the downloads from these sites will be safe, and they will be exactly what they were supposed to be.

Downloading legal free music for Ipod is without doubt the best course to follow. I’m very glad to have my memberships, and I can’t begin to calculate how much I have saved in comparison with Itunes by having access to the legal free sites.

Kamis, 02 Desember 2010

Download free Ipod song

Download free Ipod song. This is more involved than you may think! It is not hard to download stuff onto your Ipod. A simple search engine search will bring up a lot of free sites, but did you find doing so may brick your Ipod or land you in jail? In this article there is a list of tips to assist you in downloading free Ipod songs safely and legally!

Situation 1-
A lot of the free download sites can be very unsafe when it comes to security. I'm sure you would not want to see your beloved Imac or Apple Macbook ruined by a virus, or have to put up with your Ipod becoming a non functioning brick? With your keenness to find free music downloads, it is easy to become over enthusiastic, which plays right into the hands of these unscrupulous sites. Their downloads are often corrupted with spyware and adware, or often something even worse! You will also often download something from one of these sites and then find that it in no way matches what it was supposed to be. The site is only interested in getting access to your computer, and they probably achieved this with your download. You would be well advised to check your computer if you have ever downloaded from these kind of sites!

Situation 2-
It’s against the law! If you look at these download sites, they don't look legitimate, and they try to offload spyware and malware onto peoples computers. Would legal and ethical sites behave like this? It has to be stated quite categorically that downloading from P2P sites is illegal. Period. The US government is making the law on this tighter on an ongoing basis, and people are going to prison for these offences! You have to decide whether it is worth risking being sent to jail just for downloading a free song or free film.

Situation 3-
It is probably really easy to set up an illegal P2P download site. I say this because you certainly see enough of them. One of the biggest pitfalls with wanting to download a free Ipod song, is that it is not that easy to find the legitimate sites. None of the illegal sites are going to have that fact plastered all over their website. As their main source of revenue is people clicking ads, they try to attract as many visitors to the site as they can..

Don't let all of this put you off if you really want to download a free Ipod song, as it can be done safely.We are now seeing the emergence of a few legal download sites, which proves that Itunes does not have a monopoly. These are very useful sites. When you find one you like you can probably use it for life. I’ll show you where you can find the best ones in a second. There is one small downside, in that these sites have to charge a small membership fee. The proceeds from this go toward upkeep of their servers, and also help pay the music licenses etc. It’s usually around $20 to $50, and once you are a paid up member, you have unlimited access to high speed downloads. These include music, films, games, music videos and even TV shows. It is impressive value for the price, and there is no limit as it is a lifetime membership, so your $20 will get you thousands of downloads. Much cheaper than Itunes.



This article will have illustrated how dangerous it is to patronise the shady free download sites which are all too common on the internet. There is a better way to download free Ipod song! As I mentioned earlier, check out some links to the best free download sites below.

Rabu, 01 Desember 2010

Download Free Ipod Nano Song

There are two easy ways to download a free Ipod Nano song, or even songs for any other Ipod come to think of it. A lot of people are confused by this, so I'm hoping you will find that this article will help you.

The starting point for many people is to take the songs on their CD collection, and download them to their Ipod. If you start here, then you have immediately got some songs to listen to, and you don't need to pay any money to do it! It can be done like this:

Step 1-
Start your computer, and make sure you are connected to the internet. You need the Itunes program, so download that if you haven't already done so, and be sure you have the latest version. Neither the download nor the update take very long.

Step 2-
Now we need to rip the songs from your CD collection to get them on to the computer. This is not difficult to do, Itunes can do all of the work. It can take quite a bit of time if you have a lot of CDs, so allow an hour or two if you've got a lot of music to rip.

Step 3-
Use the USB lead to connect the computer and your Ipod. As soon as the two pieces of equipment recognise each other, simply use drag and drop to move your chosen songs onto the Ipod. Ipods are not necessarily quick, especially the Nanos, so you may have to wait a bit while the download finishes..

Step 4-
When you have finished this, you can listen to your downloads. That really is all there is to it for the first way to download free Ipod Nano song.

Another way of downloading free music is by finding a good free mkusic download site, and downloading some music from it. This is not easy though, as many of the sites claiming to offer “free” downloads will make you pay a per download fee, and some can even be dangerous to your computer or Ipod, by infecting them with unwanted software..

If you can find some download sites that you can trust, you will probably find it well worth your while. Most of the best sites will charge you a one off fee to join the site, which goes towards the upkeep of their servers and software. This should ensure that the site will have good quality downloads, and download at a reasonable speed. I have done some research into these sites, and ome of the best of these can be found in the links at the end of this article

I hpoe this article has helped you to understand better how to download free Ipod Nano songs. Once you have gotten used to the method, you should find there is no limit on what you can do with it. If you did find this useful, why not pass it on to a friend using the link at the top right?