Technology Now

A Guide To Vst Plugins

2009-03-03T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Jason Cole

If you have been recording or producing music via a computer, you may have heard the term VST. What is VST and how does it figure in to playing, recording, and editing music?

What is VST?

VST, Virtual Studio Technology, is an interface standard for connecting synthesizers and effects to audio editors and recording systems. Invented and developed by Steinberg, makers of the Cubase audio recording programs; VST replaces traditional audio recording hardware with software equivalents. So instead of having to route your audio out of your computer into your hardware effects units and then back into your computer, all the routing is done internally. If you have a powerful enough computer, you can do real time effects processing, utilizing either a MIDI controller or through envelope tweaks using MIDI.

There are 2 different types of VST plug-ins, with thousands of different varities, making it the most widely used plug-in type. The 2 main types are:

VST instruments  Also know as a VSTi, they take the form of synthesizers and sampler units. They can be played in real time, or also used in conjunction with MIDI for live performance. They are basically a software version of a piece of hardware. I have and use the Master Hammond B3 VST soft synth very often, which is the software version of the Hammond organ. Let me tell you, lugging the soft synth version of the B3 around in my laptop is a whole lot easier than having to carry around the hardware version!

VST effects  VST effects are used to process audio, like any other type of audio effect. These can also be used in real time, most effectively when coupled with an appropriate low-latency soundcard. There are VST equivalents to every type of audio effect available as hardware. I use all of the standard VST effects that come with Cubase SX, plus quite a few standalone units as well. One great VST effects bundle is the WaveLab 6 package offered by Steinberg.

VST instruments and effects must be used in conjunction with a VST host to be used at all. A VST host is usually a software application or a hardware device. I use Cubase SX as a host for my VST instruments and effects, and I recommend the program not just for its VST support. As a multi-track recording program that supports MIDI and VST technologies, there aren't many other programs out there as robust and user-friendly as Cubase SX.

As a computer savvy musician, if you aren't familiar with VST technology, I suggest that you get acquainted. It will cut down on your equipment costs and potentially streamline your recording and editing processes.

Jason Cole and DiskFaktory Jams offer free MP3 downloads and music lyrics. Get the information you are seeking now by visiting DFJams.com.

Computer Viruses Are Bad Luck

2009-03-02T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Maya Pinion

OK, so you caught a computer virus and your system is all screwed up and you're frustrated and angry and upset. Bad luck.

Here's something that might make you feel better ...

The universe has true balance. And if a computer virus causes bad luck for the user it can also cause bad luck for the person who launched it.

Computer virus creators are usually very young and do not realize, or care, that they are causing harm to others. They just think it's cool. What they don't realize is that when a virus is launched it also unleashes a mystical power into the world, a malevolent thing that does bad things and makes victims of other people.

What these teen and pre-teen computer terrorists also don't realize is what goes around comes around. The universe will get them. Sooner or later. Payback time. They cause you bad luck, bad luck will befall them. What goes around comes around. If they launch a virus, causing bad luck for millions of people, in return, that can unleash and focus millions of bad vibes, BIG bad luck, back at them. That could mean serious bad luck for the launcher of a virus. Perhaps their mother will finally become totally disgusted with their attitude and behavior and cease to love them. Maybe they'll end up in a foster home, too old for adoption. Or maybe they'll have to run away and live on the streets, with no place to hook up their computer. Or maybe they won't run away but will get a weird but temporary brain disease that prevents them from using a computer until they're old enough to use it responsibly. Bad luck for them.

The computer virus. Bad luck for you, worse luck for the one who launches it.

About The Author

Maya Pinion is a New Age writer, contributing editor at News4Net and, for those who wish to discover their true destiny, highly recommends DestinyFinders.com

Digital Cameras How Many Pixels Do I Need

2009-03-01T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Marty Rubenski

With the bewildering number of digital cameras on the market, it's increasing difficult to know where to start for your first purchase. One of the major determining factors of the price of a digital camera is the number of pixels. Nowadays, even 5.0 megapixel cameras are affordable, even for casual snapshots.

But is bigger always better?

Higher megapixel cameras do have some drawback. The first, and most obvious, is price. A basic 5.0 megapixel camera currently runs between $200 and $300. A 1.2 megapixel camera can be had for less than $50. Storage for those large pictures will also cost you more. A 32 MByte memory card will hold around a hundred 1.2 megapixel pictures. This drops right down to around 60 pictures for 2.0 megapixels and to around 40 pictures for a 3.0 megapixel model. One other consideration, not often mentioned, is that a higher megapixel camera has to do more work to compress and store images, leading to longer waits between picture shots and viewing.

Before you rush off and spend $300 for a camera, consider what you will be doing with the pictures. Are you viewing them just on your computer? Sending them as email attachments? Printing them on an existing inkjet printer? Having them professionally printed?

The larger the number of pixels, the larger the file size. An important consideration if you are emailing them as attachments. The following chart shows sample file sizes, typical resolution and maximum print size for different pixel counts stored as high-quality JPEG files:

Pixels - - - File Size - - - Resolution - - - Print Size

1.2 - - - - - 480k - - - - - 1152 x 864 - - - - - 4 x 6 inches
2.0 - - - - - 980k - - - - - 1600 x 1200 - - - - 5 x 7 inches
3.0 - - - - - 1.2M - - - - - 2048 x 1536 - - - - 10 x 8 inches
5.0 - - - - - 2.3M - - - - - 2592 x 1944 - - - - 11 x 14 inches

Most computers will only display the 2.0 megapixel image (at most) without scrolling, so you may find yourself resizing all your pictures - or not using the maximum resolution of your camera - if you have a 5.0 megapixel camera.

Only ever print pictures at 5 x 7, or only view them on a computer? Then a 2 megapixel may be enough for now. The prices will be lower next year if you want to upgrade later.

Obviously, the higher pixel cameras do have some advantages, especially when it comes to cropping and editing - and you know the salesman will want to sell you the best camera in the store - but I hope this information will help in making an informed decision.

Marty is the editor of a number of websites including http://1PhotoProducts.com and http://discountgolfequipment.us

Headphone Essentials

2009-02-28T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Robert Thatcher

If you want to escape from the outside world, eliminate the noise around you and just lose yourself in your music, what better way is there to do it than by using headphones?

Headphones are great to use when listening to music or when watching TV or a movie. You may also use them to study, if you have those audio lessons on tape, or when you want to read a book but do not have the time, you can just listen to the audio books.

Professionally, headphones are used in editing videos and incorporating sound, or for recording purposes. In communications, there are headsets which combine the functionalities of a microphone, a telephone, and a headphone.

There are hundreds of applications for headphones. If you want to choose the type of headphones that will best suit your needs, take a look first at its parts and structure:

- Driver - the part of the headphone that produces the sound.

- Earpiece - this holds the driver up to your ear. There are earpieces that cover the entire part of your ears, while some are small, rounded pieces that would fit the inner part of your ear. Several earpiece types are available, depending on the appllication.

- Attachment system - depending on the type of headphones, the attachment system ensures that the earpiece will securely fit your ears.

- Finally, the other parts are the headands, for types which require one, and the wires and jacks which will attach the earpiece to the music player or device where the headphones are attached to.

Headphones are typically attached to devices such as mobile phones, CD or MP3 players,walkman, mobile phones and personal computers.

There are two types of headphones:

1. Sound-proof

This type of headphone is used when you want to isolate youuself from the sounds of the outside world.

You can use this in loud environments so that the sound coming from your music player or any other device is the only sound that you hear.

Sound-proof headphones are mostly the types which have headbands and the earpiece surrounds the entire area of your ear.

These have monitors designed to fit the inner ear. They have a sealed design, and if you want to go for this type of earphones, make sure that the brand offers a good sound quality.

They are designed to "cancel" outside noise.

Generally, the open type design offers better sound quality than the sound-proof variant.

2. Open-type

This type of headphones generally have a greater sound quality than the enclosed, sound-proof ones.

The open design makes for a more effective listening device.

In terms of design, there are also hundreds of types to choose from. Here are some examples:

- Clip-ons

This type does not have headbands. The attachment system of clip-on headphones comprise of two ear-buds that you can easily 'plug" into your ears.

- Wireless

This is convenient because it frees you up from wires and lets you move around freely while listening to your music.

- In-ear-monitor.

These are tiny headphones which conveniently fits into your ear canal. This type of headphone is more expensive and has a more sophisticated design. It can be used for professional and surveillance purposes.

- Earbuds

These are small earphones with two small, rounded earpieces that fits the inner part of your ear.

- Headsets

This is composed of a microphone and a headset, and is mostly used for communicating.

- Noise-canceling

The attachment system of sound-proof headphones contain a suspension system in the headband. This characteristic prevents outside noise from interfering with the sound produced by your audio or video device.

- Street style

This has is mostly used for listening to your MP3 files, and has a headband that you can fit at the back of your head.

- Earpad

This type of headphones have soft, flat pads which serve as earpieces.

There are several types and styles of earphones which are available in the market now.

When choosing the right headphones to fit your lifestyle, make sure that you know what is important to you. You may choose it based on design, application or brand.

Finally, make sure that you do not compromise the sound quality, since this is your purpose for owning headphones: to have a reliable listening device that will produce the best sound possible.

Robert Thatcher is a freelance publisher based in Cupertino, California. He publishes articles and reports in various ezines and provides headphone resources on http://www.about-headphones.info

Ipod Guide Some Info About Ipod Portable Digital Device

2009-02-27T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Jagpal Bains

An ipod is a portable digital media player designed by Apple Computer. IPod is currently very much popular for storing and playing audio files. It offers great sound quality and can store up to ten thousand songs. Standard ipod has built-in hard drive to store media files while shuffle, smallest ipod and ipod nano use flash memory. It can works as external data storage device after connected to computer.

IPod is selling like hotcakes throughout the world. All generations of ipod have monochrome screens excluding fourth generation ipod that has color screen. 'iTunes' is software that is used for transferring music, photos and videos to the ipod. Actually it is music jukebox that holds complete library of users' music on their PC. Apple's iPod came with unique white headphones.

Ipod is an easy to use portable digital media player. It can easily communicate with iTunes as connected to PC either Windows or Macintosh. It doesn't require user interference to coordinates with personal computer. Ipod plays MP3 audio files as well as AAC; advanced audio coding that was designed by Dolby Labs as a part of MPEG-4 audio/video standard.

People generally buy ipod due to certain reasons such as it is thin as pencil and can be easily fit into wallet. It offers great listening pleasure. Its screen is unbreakable and strain proof thats why you can use it without any fear. You can easily access listen world's great selection of music due to iTunes music store. It is an expensive media player that costs US$199 for 2GB and US$249 for 4 GB.

About Author: Author presents a website on ipod. Website provides information about ipod, reasons to buy ipod, features of ipod and some tips to buy ipod. You can also visit his site for cheap iPod

Using A Night Vision Device

2009-02-26T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by James Hunt

It's difficult to see in the dark. Unless there's some light peeking in through the window or from under a door, our vision is compromised. If we wait a little while, our night vision kicks in, allowing us to see somewhat better. It's not enough that we can read in the dark, but it should be enough to keep us from stumbling into furniture or tripping over the carpet. Sometimes though, our human night vision isn't enough and we need a little help.

That's where technology kicks in. Thanks to science we can use night vision to do all sorts of things. With the proper equipment we can hunt, take pictures or even fight wars in the dark. We can also perform surveillance and search and rescue missions.

Here's how it works: Your night vision product will take existing light and amplify it through an objective lens, which then focuses on an image intensifier. A photocathode located inside the intensifier converts the photon energy into electrons. The electrons in turn strike a phosphor screen creating a viewable image. In reality it looks like you're watching television on a green screen.

Atmospheric conditions can affect night vision. For instance, if it's cloudy, foggy, or overcast, night vision can be compromised. The clearer the night, the farther one will be able to see with night vision technology. It should also be noted that night vision shouldn't be magnified, as light is lost during the magnification process making it more difficult to see.

Night vision devices include:
- Cameras
- Binoculars
- Scopes for firearms
- Goggles

If you think that using a night vision device on a frequent basis might be harmful, you couldn't be more wrong. Night vision products are no more harmful than a television or movie screen. It doesn't emit radiation or other harmful rays and there's no reason for it to cause blindness.

James Hunt has spent 15 years as a professional writer and researcher covering stories that cover a whole spectrum of interest. Read more at http://www.night-vision-central.info

Email Reminders Save The Day

2009-02-25T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Philip Nicosia

You've got a planner, a Palm Pilot, and enough sticky notes to wall paper one side of your room. But you still forget things. Why?

The fact is that when you're really stressedthe weeks when everything goes wrong, and you've missed about every deadline you've had due to emergencies that derail every attempt to get back on your trackyou don't even look at your planner. No, your time management tools are buried under paperwork, and the sticky notes have long stopped being useful simply because there are too many to keep track of.

And that's assuming that you're the type who'll keep a calendar to begin with. Many of us aren't. Realistically, we forget to jot things down (an unfortunate habit that becomes far worse the more stressed and distracted we are).

Enter, the email reminder. No matter how disorganized you are by nature, or how toxic your schedule may be, you're bound to check your email. It's the way the office system has evolved, and our work habits have changed with it. All business and personal correspondence is now coursed through the web, and even if you no longer have the time to go to the bathroom and brush your teeth, you'll still (albeit hurriedly) quickly check your email for any new updates or instructions.

Setting up an email reminder means that whatever happens, you never forget the important things: it's right there in your inbox, the digital equivalent of a secretary hovering over your table.

Email reminders can also help cut down on your paper clutterwhich, you have to admit, are one reason we feel that our business lives are spiralling out of control. If you've got dozens of papers stuck on your bulletin board, you can't sit down at your desk without feeling that your deadlines are screaming at you.

Besides, it's hard to tell at one glance which of those dozens of reminders are due today. It can all be overwhelming: which are most important? Which need to be taken care of right now, or can wait until next Tuesday? You can set up an email reminder to give you your schedule piece meal, so even if you are swamped with work you're at least able to focus on the most essential.

Email reminders are also part of the move for a fully integrated digital office. It makes more sense to streamline your work day so that everything you need to do is centralized in one place. You write memos and reports on the computer, send them through email, and simultaneously check what's next on your to-do list. For a hyper-busy executive, that's more "natural" than having to rummage through your papers for your planner, or wasting time retyping all the information on your Palm Pilot.

Email reminders can help you take back control of your schedule. No, it won't do the work for youbut it can make it easier to manage your work flow, so you don't get this toxic again.

Philip Nicosia is the webmaster of Onlinereminders.net, a site that provides a free email reminders service.

How To Have Fun And Keep Safe When Using Peer To Peer Software

2009-02-24T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Terry Brazil II

As you may have found out by now using peer to peer software can be very fun and good way to get your favorite music, movies, games, and whatever else you want to download. I am sure that you have also heard though that using peer to peer software can openly invite computer problems like adware, spyware, trojans and viruses. Not to mention some files may be illegally distributed and could cost you some very hefty fines. I however want to show you how to safely use peer to peer software just the way it should be.

The Problems With Public Peer To Peer Software

There are several problems that need to be addressed with public peer to peer software. The biggest of them is that they are not monitored. As soon a free peer to peer software program is released it starts building up steam and more and more users join. Some of these users sole purpose in lives are to make others miserable. People will put things like trojans, spyware, adware, and viruses in their files and then distribute them to others. This causes a huge chain reaction as it spreads throughout that particular peer to peer software community. This completely ruins it for everybody.

Here Are Descriptions Of What These People Put On Your Computer

Trojan: A destructive program that masquerades as a true application. Unlike viruses, Trojan horses do not replicate themselves but they can be just as destructive. One of the most insidious types of Trojan horse is a program that claims to rid your computer of viruses but instead introduces viruses onto your computer. These are installed once the file is open and starts every time you turn on your computer. These programs can even allow someone to take complete control of your computer.

Spyware: Any software that covertly gathers user information through the user's Internet connection without his or her knowledge, usually for advertising purposes. Spyware applications are typically bundled as a hidden component of freeware or shareware programs that can be downloaded from the Internet; however, it should be noted that the majority of shareware and freeware applications do not come with spyware. Once installed, the spyware monitors user activity on the Internet and transmits that information in the background to someone else. Spyware can also gather information about e-mail addresses and even passwords and credit card numbers.

Adware: A form of spyware that collects information about the user in order to display advertisements in the Web browser based on the information it collects from the user's browsing patterns.

Viruses: A program or piece of code that is loaded onto your computer without your knowledge and runs against your wishes. Viruses can also replicate themselves. All computer viruses are manmade. A simple virus that can make a copy of itself over and over again is relatively easy to produce. Even such a simple virus is dangerous because it will quickly use all available memory and bring the system to a halt. An even more dangerous type of virus is one capable of transmitting itself across networks and bypassing security systems.

As you can see you would never want any of this stuff on your computer. These are the most common reasons peoples computers crash and need to be reformatted resulting in the loss of valuable data. There is really only one way to avoid this happening to you. That is to join a private peer to peer network. Many of the people that want to such destructive things will not bother going out of their way or paying to do so. Why would they ever want to do that when there are millions of people to wreak their havoc on much easier.

The Shinier Side Of The Peer To Peer Software Coin

As you very well know peer to peer software is not all that bad. There is no other way out there to get the music, movies, games, or whatever else you want on demand. To buy all of the things the average user downloads in a month would run literally into the thousands.

Peer to peer software is also the best way to insure that you get the titles that you want as quickly as possible. When downloading strait from the web or even on IRC for that matter you may have to wait weeks if not months to see the most newly released products. With peer to peer software everybody works together so that you can get the newest titles as soon as they are available to the public and sometimes before they are.

Speed is also a major plus for peer to peer software. If you where to download a product from the web you may have to settle for a speed allot slower than you connection will allow you to or even worse you may have to wait just to get that slower connection. When you use peer to peer software you can utilize the resources of everybody else on the network that also has that file. That means instead of downloading the file from one place you are getting it from several hundred places. You will never have to worry about the file being inaccessible because a site is down or a person turned their computer off.

Search speed is just another major factor when you become a downloading freak. When using web pages and resources like IRC it can take quite awhile to find what you are looking for. You have to jump from site to site or server to server depending on what you are using, just to see what they have available for you. Then like mentioned before you have to deal with slow speeds and possible a waiting period. Some IRC servers even require you to upload a file to the server before you can even download anything. With peer to peer software you can download anything without having to bother with uploading anything, it is all done automatically.

With all public peer to peer software applications you have to worry about a variety of other things such as amount of files, audio quality, video quality, legal issues, and possibly the biggest of all no tech support. These public peer to peer programs don't offer tech support even though they are still making money off of it by means of advertisements. They would simply be to swamped with the amount of users they get.

5 Steps To A Safer Peer To Peer Software Experience

1) When installing your file sharing software, do not allow it to scan your hard disk for media to share. If you do this, it may end up sharing out every single song, video, picture, etc. it locates, regardless of whether it is copyrighted. This is a very important, especially if you have ripped your CD collection on to your PC.

2) Once you have set up the software, configure it to use a new folder as your shared folder. It may be worth putting some freeware items in the shared folder to make it look like your are not a 'free loader', e.g. the latest copy of Winamp, OpenOffice, music made freely available by the author, etc. depending on your uplink bandwidth.

3) If the file sharing software offers the ability to disable the browsing of your shared files make sure is checked. While this does not prevent your file sharing software from sharing out files, at least it prevents nosy people from remotely checking what you have shared out.

4) Periodically check the list of items your P2P application is sharing. Most P2P clients can view a list of shared items and this way you can make sure that you are not sharing out content that should not be shared out.

5) If you download something that you are not fully sure is free of copyright protection, immediately move it out of your shared folder once the download has complete. By default, file sharing software automatically shares any downloaded content, so just be warned. Some file sharing software such as eMule and BitTorrent clients even share out partially downloaded files.

Final Words And Recommendations

First off when using any peer to peer software I strongly recommend using a program like Peer Guardian. You can get Peer Guardian for free at their website. This software gathers a large list of computers you many not want to have access your PC (RIAA, MPAA etc.) and blocks them from connecting to your PC (to browse your shared files, see what you are downloading/uploading etc). It isn't a 100% safe of course, as the lag between them changing there IP and PeerGuardian updating to block it would allow them time to theoretically connect to your PC if they really needed to, also not every single "anti-p2p" IP is known, so it does not leave you completely safe either way. However, for most P2P users it is still well worth having providing you update often. It does however slow down your PC when it is running, so I would suggest disabling it to start automatically with windows and run it only when you have P2P applications running.

Second off join a private peer to peer software group. This highly reduces the risk of getting files that have trojans, spyware, adware, or viruses in them. It is still possible but a lot less likely. You are also a lot less likely to be caught downloading something you shouldn't since it is a private group and not just everybody access it. Overall these groups are the closest thing you will ever see to safe havens for peer to peer software users. I recommend iMP3Download (link in BIO) because of it's large amount of files. There are over 14 million mp3's as well as millions of games, movies, and software. It also gives some killer speed this group reaches speeds about two hundred and fifty times faster than kazaa and is completely spyware and adware free. They also give 24 hour tech support so you know there is somebody there if you have problems.

This article originally posted on great information resource (http://www.guruofinfo.com) where you can find the solutions to your problems.

How To Save An Image In A Sql Server Database

2009-02-23T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Balaji B

Most of the web applications have a lot of images used in it. These images are usually stored in a web server folder and they are accessed by giving the relative path to the file with respect to the root folder of the website. .Net being the platform for distributed application now, ASP.Net can be used to store images that are small to be stored in a database like SQL Server 2000 and later versions. For this purpose the SQL Server database provides a data type called "image" which is used to store images in the database.

To access these images stored in the database we will be using the ADO.Net classes. To find out how to insert and retrieve an image in to the SQL Server database, you can create a .aspx page which can have a HTMLInputFile control which is used to select the image file that is to be saved in the database. You can also create a textbox control in which you can add the image name or some comment or an image id for the image saved. Use a button control to upload the image to the database. Namespaces like System.Data.SqlClient, System.Drawing, System.Data, System.IO, and System.Drawing.Imaging are used in this task.

In the OnClick property of the button you can write the following code to upload an image to the database.

// create a byte[] for the image file that is uploaded
int imagelen = Upload.PostedFile.ContentLength;
byte[] picbyte = new byte[imagelen];
Upload.PostedFile.InputStream.Read (picbyte, 0, imagelen);
// Insert the image and image id into the database
SqlConnection conn = new SqlConnection (@"give the connection string
here...");
try
{
conn.Open ();
SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand ("insert into ImageTable "
+ "(ImageField, ImageID) values (@pic, @imageid)",
conn);cmd.Parameters.Add ("@pic", picbyte);
cmd.Parameters.Add ("@imageid", lblImageID.Text);
cmd.ExecuteNonQuery ();
}
finally
{
conn.Close ();
}

You can also write the above code in a function and call that function in the OnClick event of the upload button. The code given above performs the following steps in the process of inserting an image into the database.

1. Get the content length of the image that is to be uploaded
2. Create a byte[] to store the image
3. Read the input stream of the posted file
4. Create a connection object
5. Open the connection object
6. Create a command object
7. Add parameters to the command object
8. Execute the sql command using the ExecuteNonQuery method of the command object
9. Close the connection object

To retrieve the image from the SQL Database you can perform the following steps.

1. Create a MemoryStream object. The code can be something like, MemoryStream mstream = new MemoryStream ();

2. Create a Connection object

3. Open the connection to the database

4. Create a command object to execute the command to retrieve the image

5. Use the command object's ExecuteScalar method to retrieve the image

6. Cast the output of the ExecuteScalar method to that of byte[] byte[] image = (byte[]) command.ExecuteScalar ();

7. Write the stream mstream.Write (image, 0, image.Length);

8. Create a bitmap object to hold the stream Bitmap bitmap = new Bitmap (stream);

9. Set the content type to "image/gif" Response.ContentType = "image/gif";

10. Use the Save method of the bitmap object to output the image to the OutputStream. bitmap.Save (Response.OutputStream, ImageFormat.Gif);

11. Close the connection

12. Close the stream mstream.Close();

Using the above steps you can retrieve and display the image from the database to the web page.

You can use these algorithms and take advantage of the "image" data type available in the SQLServer 2000 database to store small images that correspond to a particular record in the table of the database. This method of storing avoids the tedious task of tracking the path of the web folder if the images are stored in a web folder.

Visit A Guide to .NET for a complete introduction to .NET framework. Learn about ASP.NET, VB.NET, C# and other related technologies.

Cd Amp Dvd Mastering

2009-02-22T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Thomas Morva

For many people, mastering CDs and DVDs is an esoteric art that only recording specialists know. However, anyone with the proper knowledge can master their own CDs and DVDs using a personal computer and special mastering software. CD and DVD mastering programs are available, a great option for people who want to do their own mastering.

Mastering is a very important step in the production of CDs and DVDs. This is the final polishing and editing process where the last creative finishing touches are applied to the tracks or songs on a record before it is sent for replication. Mastering involves a wide range of techniques that refine and finish the recording before it is ready to be replicated. CDs and DVDs must undergo mastering to ensure that the finished product has excellent picture and sound quality.

Mastering CDs and DVDs is generally done by professional mastering engineers. These mastering specialists usually work in high-tech facilities equipped with state-of-the-art mastering gear. Mastering involves a series of steps. The first step is the assembly editing, which usually involves arranging the tracks in the proper order or sequence on the disc. The spacing between songs is also determined and adjusted.

The overall quality of the digital audio or video is also refined in a process called ?sweetening.? The intensity and arrangement of the sound are enhanced so that the final master disc will sound much better than the mix. Finally, the output or the finished tracks are transferred onto the media needed for replication.

CD mastering programs are usually inexpensive and can sometimes be downloaded for free. Some offer extensive features and options that are also found in professional mastering software. Mastering CDs and DVDs just got easier and more cost-effective with these free CD mastering applications.

CD Mastering provides detailed information on CD Mastering, CD Mastering Engineers, CD Mastering Facilities, CD Mastering Software and more. CD Mastering is affiliated with Stand Alone CD Duplicators.

Head For Home The Right Way

2009-02-21T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Theresa Cahill

Once again another phone call with Raymond McNally of RTDWebsolutions prompts me to tell you about a prime piece of "real estate" on your own computer, the HOME PAGE of your own internet browser!

When you click HOME where is it taking you?

Mega-giants online would love to persuade you to have their site loading each time you go HOME, but is that an efficient way to use it? No, it is not.

Your own HOME PAGE should take you to the numerous links YOU need and use, at the click of your mouse.

By that I mean, if you have numerous startpage programs, affiliate program links, online banking links, website stats, administrative functions for your own website, etc., that you routinely check on - instead of filing them under your FAVORITES (and having to remember what stands for what), create one single HOME PAGE that can take you anywhere you need to be - all with the click of your own mouse!

Picture this - you open your browser or click HOME during the day and you are automatically at a page that is useful - for YOU!

And it's simple to set up! Even someone with zero website building capabilities can have their own personalized homepage up and running in no time using something as simple as NOTEPAD on your own computer.

You do NOT have to upload it either - unless you have your own domain and would enjoy accessing your list anywhere in the world anytime - just consider burying it deep inside your website and password protecting it first. Truly, this puppy can just sit on your own hard drive and can be modified as needed instantly!

Here's how to do it...

First, open WINDOWS EXPLORER, head to your C DRIVE, and create a new folder on your own C drive (up under FILE). Call this new folder HOMEPAGE. Close Windows Explorer.

Then:

1. Click open NOTEPAD

Note: Since certain codes do not lend themselves to article writing, please remove the * in the examples below and type SHIFT/COMMA to open a link and SHIFT/PERIOD when closing your link.

Also, where I have typed ENTER, you will type *BR* again substituting the appropriate keys for the * to create a hard return.

2. Type *B* Startpage Programs */B* ENTER

This creates a bolded heading called Startpage Programs, your first category.

Now, gather all your startpage program urls and copy and paste them one by one under this category. Be sure to type ENTER (see above) after each line of code to ensure they are one below the other.

Also, please note that you can easily add the NEW WINDOW "target" to each of your links. Just before the closing * (see above) of each of your links, insert:

one typed SPACE and then "target=_blank"

Now each time you click a link, it will open in a new window for you.

Here's a sample link:

*a href="http://www.mystartpagelink.com" target=_blank"* MyStartPage */a*

On your HOME page, you'll see a clickable link called MyStartPage.

You must insert some sort of name after the URL and close the a href reference with the */a* code to complete the link.

So, after getting your startpages organized...

3. Type *B* Affiliate Programs */B* ENTER

Again, go out and gather together all the programs you check on a regular or even infrequent basis. Enter the links given to you by that particular program, one by one, again inserting the NEW WINDOW code into each of your links, and typing the code for ENTER after each affiliate url.

4. Repeat the above as many times as needed to create the categories you personally need for things you routinely check on.

5. When you are through, SAVE the file to your C Drive inside the HOMEPAGE folder you initially created. Be sure to give your newly created page an HTM extension, for example: homepage.htm

Now, open your browser and click on TOOLS (sorry Netscape users will have to find their setting for the startpage on their own *smile!*).

The window pops open and the first thing you'll see under the GENERAL tab is "Home page."

In the address bar type in:

file://C:/HOMEPAGE/homepage.htm

Click APPLY. Voila! you are finished!

You can add and delete programs and headings at will anytime just by reopening this htm page into NOTEPAD, making your changes, and selecting SAVE. That's it, it really is simple.

Now whenever you choose to "GO HOME," your own browswer will open to something YOU need, your own organized page to work from! Enjoy!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Theresa Cahill, a two decade veteran of marketing, is the owner of http://www.mywizardads.com and invites you to take a look at the services of MWA and download fr.ee helpful information and more at http://www.mywizardads.com/sitemap.html

Is That Your Check Book Driving Away

2009-02-20T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Darren Miller

Is Your Check Book On The Curb
---------------------
This is an article about people throwing away their home computers with all their financial and banking information on them and easily accessible. A very simple first step to financial and identity theft and it happens all the time. Computer Disposal and Identity Theft go hand in hand.

Since Hurricane Wilma, our city has stepped up bulk trash pickup to every month. Bulk pickup is when you can put out pretty much anything; dressers, vacuum cleaners, and of course computers. Early in the morning on each bulk pickup day people come around with pickup trucks to see what they can grab prior to the city trucks showing up. Some are looking for throwaways that can be refurbished and re-soled, while others work for charities that are looking to provide less fortunate people with items that are useful.

Identity Theft & Home Computer Disposal
---------------------
This morning my wife reminds me that not only is it trash day, it is bulk pickup day (And for some people, possibly Identity Theft day). So I take out the trash and put out the other large items. As I approach the curb, a truck full of discarded goodies pulls around the corner. He asks me if I am throwing that stuff, and if so could he put it on his truck. I said sure, and lifted it on to an already huge pile of discards. When he drove away, guess what I saw on top of the pile, three desktop computers, and one laptop. From the look of them, they were a few years old. I wonder why they were put out on the curb? Where they inoperable, or did their owner just get tired of how slow they were and bought a new one? Even if they weren't working quite right, I wonder how much effort it would take to repair them, probably not much.

Throwing Away your Computer, Money, and Identity
---------------------
Jackson Morgan, a contributing author for Defending The Net, wrote an article called "Computer Disposal - Throwing Away Your Computer, Money, and Identity" a few months ago. In this article, he interviewed people at the dump to see what was on their discarded computers. And the results were quite surprising, actually, to us they were not surprising. And now I am writing this article to give you my own personal experience / observation

Do You Take Computer Security and Identity Theft Seriously
---------------------
There are so many articles written about wireless security, Internet security, and computer security and how your identity and private information can be stolen. Some people are really concerned about this. I wonder how many of those discarded PC's on the truck this morning had owners that secured their wireless Internet connection? I wonder how many of those computers had their hard drives removed or destroyed. More importantly, I found myself wondering where those computers were going to end up?

Someone Just Sold A Thief Your Checking Account
---------------------
Let's think up a reasonable and viable scenario. Let's say that this gentleman is working with a charity. This charity takes discarded, yet useful items and cleans them up and distributes them to people who are less fortunate or down on their luck. One of the PC's really had no problems except that it was loaded with Spyware and Adware and needed a thorough cleaning inside and out. This was a great find, the Operating System is intact, and it's full of useful applications. Applications like Microsoft Office, and more importantly, QuickBooks. The computer is given to someone who cannot afford such a convenience, and all is well. Then about a week goes buy and something pops up on the screen. What do we have here, a QuickBooks reminder and notification of account balances. And look at that, a checking account with $80,000 in it. I wonder what else this computer contains. And were going to find out because there is no password to get into the application.

I don't know about you, and I am sure several people are going to think I'm being harsh with my following statements, but this scenario scares the you know what out of me. This does not apply to all those who are down on their luck, but how many people in a situation like this would ignore the information or be tempted to further investigate it. What if they already have little to lose? What could they do with this information and access to someone else's financial information. Maybe they don't do anything with it directly, but there is someone they know who would be willing to pay for access to a bank account with $80,000 in it. Not to mention the rest of the information that is most likely on the computer. Wouldn't be ironic if your financial information fell into the hands of a thief for $300? All because someone else was trying to help someone out.

Conclusion
---------------------
I find it quite strange that many people are concerned about the technical aspect of security yet overlook the most basic things. Do yourself a favor, before putting a computer out on the curb, take out the hard drive and label it "destroy" and take it to local metal shop when you have a chance. They can cut in into tiny little pieces or melt it down for you. Don't think because you have just a home PC that you don't need to have a userID and password to login to it. You do need this, for many reasons. Also, buy yourself an inexpensive paper shredder and make sure to shred all your important, but no longer needed paper documents. If you think you can't lose everything you have worked for over the last 10 to 20 years by making just a tiny mistake your are quite mistaken.

You may reprint or publish this article free of charge as long as the bylines are included.

Original URL (The Web version of the article)
---------------------
http://www.defendingthenet.com/NewsLetters/IsThatYourCheckBookDrivingAway.htm

About The Author
---------------------
Darren Miller is an Information Security Consultant with over seventeen years experience. He has written many technology & security articles, some of which have been published in nationally circulated magazines & periodicals. If you would like to contact Darren you can e-mail him at Darren.Miller@defendingthenet.com. If you would like to know more about computer security please visit us at http://www.defendingthenet.com

Keep That Harddrive Clean Would You

2009-02-19T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by John Deprice

Your PC, just like your home, office or car, needs to be cleaned regularly. Find out what software solutions will do that unwanted task for you, so your computer stays fast, "healthy" and fully functional.

4DiskClean Gold (RSS Systems)

4Diskclean Gold finds and fixes PC problems fast, keeping your system running at peak performance and reliability, and properly maintains Windows to prevent problems altogether.

Here is what the software does. It deletes unnecessary files and temporary folders, fixes invalid Windows registry keys, eliminates duplicate files (like duplicate mp3 songs), erases all internet files (browser cache, history, & cookies), autocleans Internet Explorer cache on browser exit, blocks spyware, adware and bad cookies (2990 items). In addition to that, 4DiskClean Gold cleans all windows shortcuts that point to non-existing files.

AceUtilities (AceLogics Software)

Ace Utilities is a set of system-maintenance and optimization utilities for enhancing Windows performance. The program cleans unneeded junk, temp and obsolete files from your disks using disk cleaner, as well as cleans browser and application history, cache, temp files, cookies etc. Beyond that, Ace Utilities it controls the applications that start automatically with Windows, using startup organizer and fixes broken start menu and desktop shortcuts. The app can be used to remove true duplicate files or to uninstall applications correctly.

East-Tec Eraser (EAST Technologies)

East-Tec Erasers is not just a cleaner, rather it completely destroys information stored without your knowledge or approval: Internet history, Web pages and pictures from sites visited on the Internet, unwanted cookies, chatroom conversations, deleted e-mail messages, temporary files, the Windows swap file, the Recycle Bin, previously deleted files, valuable corporate trade secrets, business plans, personal files, photos or confidential letters, etc.

East-Tec Eraser 2005 offers full support for popular browsers (Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, America Online, MSN Explorer, Opera), for Peer2Peer applications (Kazaa, Kazaa Lite, iMesh, Napster, Morpheus, Direct Connect, Limewire, Shareaza, etc.), and for other popular programs such as Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, Yahoo Messenger, ICQ, etc. Eraser has an intuitive interface and wizards that guide you through all the necessary steps needed to protect your privacy and sensitive information.

Clean Disk Security (Kevin Solway Software)

Clean Disk Security gives you secure file deletion, making sure that deleted files cannot be undeleted again. Deleting a file normally just removes the file's directory entry, but the data itself remains on the disk. This program completely eliminates the contents of deleted files. The highly acclaimed Gutmann disk cleaning method is now available as an option. This program can also clean the Window's swap file, and can optionally clean unneeded temporary files from your hard disk, such as your Internet browser cache, files in your system's Recycle Bin, and can clear the "recent files" list.

More Informatin on these applications:

http://www.deprice.com/4diskcleangold.htm
http://www.deprice.com/aceutilities.htm
http://www.deprice.com/eastteceraserbasic.htm
http://www.deprice.com/cleandisksecurity.htm

John Deprice maintains a comprehensive list of disk cleaning applications at http://www.deprice.com/utilities.htm

Custom Calendars

2009-02-18T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Richard Romando

Since antiquity calendars have played a major role in the cultural, social, religious, and occupational lives of people. Modern times have seen the advent of tailor-made calendars customized to suit an individual's special requirements. Single-page calendars and pocket calendars have long been in the market. Nowadays, special calendars can be ordered to suit one's needs and tastes, at affordable prices. Personalized desktop calendars, wall calendars, magnetic calendars, calendars for gifts, business and official calendars. . . all can be custom-designed by professional calendar designers. It is possible to have these calendars feature personal snapshots, quotes, logo texts and other designs. These can serve as interesting fundraisers, yearly gifts, and promotional gift options.

The Internet opens a floodgate of options for customized calendars. These include many websites offering free interactive calendars and printable calendars that can be customized. www.Bellaonline.com has as many as 10 different kinds of calendar that can be printed through Adobe Reader, PDF and postscript. Some of these options include Garden Graphics calendars, which are small desk calendars, and printable moon phase calendars, which are either zip-filed entire year calendars or individual monthly calendars, depending on your choice.

There are also draw calendars with blank spaces on top, mini-year calendars with the whole year on one page, time and date calendars where special dates and events can be marked, calendar pages for hanging, printable kid's craft calendars for kids, and many more. KodarkGallery.co and YearBox.com are some of the other websites that provide the opportunity to design one's own customized calendars. www.asensoft.com enables one to download software to design personalized calendars. Certain websites also enable one to get public events or personal and collaborative calendars, which can be used in personal websites.

Calendars provides detailed information on Calendars, Free Calendars, Printable Calendars, Custom Calendars and more. Calendars is affiliated with Atomic Alarm Clocks.

So What Is An Mp3 File

2009-02-17T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Bruce Hearder

If you have ever listened to music on your computer or on your via a iPod, then you have almost certainly used an MP3 file. Most people have no idea what an MP3 File is. Basically, an MP3 is a format for compressing audio files suitable for use on a computer or personal audio device.

What really is a MP3?

An MP3 file, (actually it's correct name is MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3) , is a digital audio format that is "lossy" (meaning the more the file is compressed, the more the quality of file file deteriorates from the original).

The file format was initially designed so that audio could be compressed to significantly reduce size of the file, whilst trying to remain as true as possible to the quality of the sound. This compression is achieved using psychoacoustic (the study of subjective human perception of sounds) methods to eliminate those parts of the audio spectrum that are not audible to the human ear, saving only those parts of the audio spectrum that we can hear.

A MP3 can be compressed and saved in many diverse ways, allowing for size flexibility and quality of the data. This one is one of the major reasons for the popularity of the file format.

A very brief history of the MP3 file format

MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 initially life as the "Digital Audio Broadcast" , financed by the European Union.

By 1991, two competing proposals where around, these included "Musicam" and "ASPEC". The best featured of each format where "combined" into what we now known as the MPEG format.

The algorithm (file format) was approved in 1991 as MPEG-1, becoming the international standard ISO/IEC 11172-3 in 1993. 1994-1995 saw the release of MPEG-2. Further work on the MPEG audio format was finalized in 1994. For a more detailed description of the history of the MP3 file format see (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mp3)

The MPEG-1/2 file format is currently patented and controlled by Thomson Consumer Electronics, who has been actively enforcing these patents. The Fraunhofer Institute started notifying several groups of developers in 1998, stating that a license was required to "distribute and/or sell decoders and/or encoders".

These licensing and patent issues have led many developers to focused more and more on creating and popularizing alternative audio file formats such as WMA and Ogg Vorbis. Microsoft has chosen to distance its self from the MP3 file format and uses its own Windows Media formats to avoid these licensing issues

Some of the key reasons, why the MP3 is still popular:
- The term MP3 has become a de facto name for storing audio files on digital devices
- The alternative file formats do not provide features that are significantly better than the MP3 format
- The great amount of existing material already in this format, and
- The huge range of equipment that can read and write this format

This article is only a very general introduction in the history of MP3's, nor can it delve too deeply into the working of the codex. If you require more information about this file format then see the following sites: Fraunhofer IIS - http://www.iis.fraunhofer.de/amm/techinf/layer3/ MP3 Patents - http://www.mp3licensing.com/patents/index.html

Find more quality music information in the Music section of
Exceed Directory - The human edited link directory

Dont Be A Slave To Your Email

2009-02-16T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Angela Lewis

I'm so, so really bad at it. I mean, I'm purely awful. I receive so much e-mail a day that it's basically just read, delete, read, file, read, delete, read, delete. I have e-mail from over a year ago that I should respond to. I usually wait so long that I just figure it's been too long to reply now, and then I file it away.

Does this sound familiar? Thanks to a world-wide adoption of email by businesses and individuals, this is the sort of problem that ordinary people are facing everyday. Up until a few years ago, most of us did not have the added pressure of having to deal with incoming email on a continual basis during our work day, or of having to check it from home at least once a day. We could sit at our desks or computers and work on an urgent report with our phone taking voicemail or being redirected - and strangely enough the world didn't collapse around our ears because we were not immediately responding to emails. I believe time management skills now need to also include managing email. While I am no expert in this area, I am able to keep my email under control using some of the following techniques, which I would like to share with you.

Schedule your email time: You could block off periods of time in your day that are 'no email' or reverse, block periods of time where email is acceptable. Personally I find that I can work better if I deliberately switch my email off while I have other work to handle, as I find that if I leave it running then email gets an automatic priority, often to the detriment of whatever task I was involved in at the time. I believe you must decide when to read email - this control should not rest with everyone out there who sends emails to you. For example, I will not log onto my email until I have completed one hour at my desk first thing in the morning; this means I can plan my day, deal with issues from the previous day, set up meetings and do necessary paperwork. Having set up the day to cater for my own needs, then I will log on and see what email awaits me.

I have found that if I log on first, hours can go by where I deal with often petty things, read and forward because the mail was not relevant to me, get engrossed in gossip, respond to personal greetings or jokes, or go off on a tangent with work I had no intention of dealing with on this particular day. If I have at least some chance to put my work priorities first, I find that I am not so tempted to spend great amounts of time with email that does not require my immediate attention.

Keep email quiet: If none of the above suggestions are possible, and you need to keep your email running while engrossed in other tasks, then at least consider muting the speaker on your computer so that you do not receive an audio notification of the email arriving.

Be realistic about answering your email: I allocate time when I need a break from a task to go and deal with my email, because even though you make think that it will only take five minutes to check your email, invariably something will require action from you - a reply, reading an attachment or supplying some information. This means you are then forced to work reactively, when perhaps you had other priorities over and above the 15 minutes you had allocated to email.

Sound the alarm: Employ an egg timer, a miniature clock alarm, a watch alarm or set a Microsoft Outlook Calendar reminder to jog your memory to when you have spent enough time with your email. If you have to leave your house or office at 10am for a meeting, set the alarm to buzz just prior to that time.

File it: Set up folders for your incoming work. I know this sounds obvious, but it is surprising how people many simply leave all their email in the Inbox. Go to File, choose New and then Folder. Make as many folders as you need, based on your work and the categories of emails you receive or based on who has sent them (you will know best how to categorise them). Making email folders is the same idea as labeling manila folders to put in a filing cabinet. When you need to keep an email drag and drop it with your mouse in the relevant folder.

Sent mail: Think about making folders for your outgoing emails have a folder structure under the sent folder based on who you are sending email to, and move the important ones you need to keep into those folders. The sent folder can also end up with an unmanageable amount of email in it, so consider doing this and make sure you include the Sent folder when you do an email clean up and delete.

Deal with the email, don't just leave it all in the Inbox: There is nothing like a bit of extra stress from looking at an email inbox containing 300 400 emails, some opened, some not; have you replied, did you forward it, it all becomes too hard. Try and make it a practice to read it and deal with it - respond, delete it, forward it or file or it, but don't just leave it sitting there in your inbox thinking you will come back later. It is the same principle that is applied to stacks of paper of your desk, once you leave the email without dealing with it, the next time you come back you will need to waste time and re-read the emails to work out what you need to do with them.

Clean out regularly: Try and go through your inbox and sent box say once a month (e.g. nominate the first or last date in the month), give it a limit of 15 minutes and start cleaning out old emails. This also ensures your system runs more efficiently as well as making it easier for you to find things that are really important.

Email Rules: why not set up a couple of rules for your incoming email where your weekly joke, or daily inspirational message or emails from particular people are immediately filed in a particular folder, that way you check the folders when you a ready to read the messages. I suggest you read about rules in Outlook's help menus, but just to get started, you create a rule for a message by right clicking the message, then choosing 'create rule', and specifying the criteria for the rule. For example, you keep getting spam from a particular person, so you could create a rule and specify that when mail comes from that email account it is to immediately be deleted (deletion being one of the rules you can choose).

Delete email before it gets to Outlook: Go to your e-mail's server first thing via their website (e.g. Telstra.com or Optusnet.com.au) and delete all the spam and rubbish email before it even arrives in your email outbox.

Good Subjects: Ask your email contacts (personal and business where possible) to utilize the subject lines. This will help you to ascertain whether your incoming mail is urgent, a follow-up or trivial, because knowing the urgency of a message will help you to determine how soon you need to read and respond to the contents.

Extra email addresses: Consider setting up additional email addresses for personal use, or work-specific use. Most internet service providers provide you with 5 email addresses otherwise use a free one at Hotmail or Yahoo. This has the added benefit of stopping some unsolicited email or advertising arriving in your work email inbox and allows you to use that secondary account when you visit websites that require an email address before you can use them and you do not necessarily wish to give out your legitimate email details.

Good luck in using these strategies to work more effectively with your email.

Angela is a workplace IT Educator, counsellor and social researcher. Her area of interest is in how technology intersects with human relations. She has recently finished her PhD in Education and expects to be awarded in April. She can be found at http://angelalewis.com.au

If Youre Still Digitizing You Need To Read This Now

2009-02-15T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Aubrey Richardson

Still digitizing, huh? Why? If you're still digitizing I'm guessing you either enjoy it or feel as if you have no other choice available to you. I realize there are certain individuals who get satisfaction from creating or reproducing an image by hand. The very process of plotting or punching points (also known as nodes) can be very time consuming and become a tedious job. Once you've completed a complex or intricate piece of artwork, it's only natural to feel a sense of pride for a job well done!

I can remember as far back as 1982, when personal computers were just beginning to be introduced into the Awards & Engraving industry. Digitizing was painful! This was long before the development of computer aided design (CAD) software. All drawings had to be created from beginning to end with no mistakes or you had to start all over from the very beginning. You sure didn't want the phone to ring or have a customer come through your door while in the middle of any drawing!!

A few years later we were blessed with CAD programs that enabled you to digitize logos and images much faster. Using software commands to create vectors, curves, ovals, arcs and numerous other short cut keys, allowing you to improve your work and in many cases enhancing the original artwork. Certainly one of the coolest things was being able to stop, save your work and pick up where you left off at another time. Whether it was later that day, the next day or sometime the following week. It was nice to not feel "married" to the system and be able to take a break if needed.

As computers became more and more popular, hardware and software progressed quite rapidly. It wasn't long before people were talking about scanning and converting their raster files into vector formats. Many individuals retired their digitizing pads and began the "on screen" clean up process, believing this was their salvation from the point to point digitizing, we all thought was so nice in the beginning! Well, I must say for me it lacked the luster some were boasting of over the phone. Most all tradeshow demonstrations were what I would refer to as, "smoke and mirrors"!

Honestly I thought it was more challenging to scan and clean up my artwork as opposed to simply digitizing it from scratch. To me it was much easier and faster to continue to use CAD software and turn out a drawing that was much cleaner, with fewer points and maintained a much smaller file size. Most digitizers were (and are) concerned about the overall byte size of the finished logo. This was greatly due to the limitations of numerous proprietary systems. Forcing the digitizer to be mindful of their final output and keeping points to a minimum.

Through the years of now more than two decades, computers and software as we once knew it, has come a long, long way. We've all seen dozens of "state of the art" programs and hardware improvements to fill a small garage! Yet many of us still find ourselves looking for that "perfect" solution that would allow us to stop fretting over artwork.

Well, my friend I have a solution for you. Let me give you an analogy or rather a comparison of digitizing (or scanning, it's really all very much the same involved process), versus mowing your yard. Yep, you read it correctly Digitizing vs. Mowing!

Think about it just because you can mow your yard, does that mean you should? (Again, I realize some people get satisfaction and pleasure from mowing, my wife loves to mow our yard). Much like I stated at the beginning of this article. You may do it for pleasure or feel as if you're stuck with it! You may choose to push mow with your standard hand mower or step up to a riding mower and sit comfortably within the leather seat. Either way, you're still "married" to the task at hand.

Digitizing = Hand Mower (push from point to point)
Scanning = Riding Mower (scan across the land)

You've heard it and read it many times, "your time is money". Most of us at some time or another have chosen to hire someone to do our yard work. Whether it be mowing or simply raking leaves, we've shuffled the chore to another individual or company. So I pose the question to you, "Why don't you hire someone else to do your digitizing?" Choose a respectable service and send your artwork to the professionals for digitization.

With technology as advanced as it is today, you can email (or fax) your logo to the pros and have it back within 24 hours (two business days for some). This creates a win-win situation for all parties involved in the process. You win by saving time and money (remember, your time is money), not to mention the mental challenges that may arise should you continue to do everything "in house". Your customer wins as well! They receive a top quality reproduction of their artwork in a digital format. This could and should open up more avenues for you to "lock in" their business for life. Giving you the slight edge over your competitors and versatility to create more quality products and services for your clients.

Aubrey Richardson is the founder of LogoFax.com one of the largest and fastest growing clip art sites online, while leading a team of successful business entrepreneurs on the net. Find out how you can tap into creating financial freedom for yourself and get in on the action for FREE ==> Clipart247

How When And Why To Erase A Hard Drive

2009-02-14T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Cedric H. Dirose

Many computer owners and users are unsure just when they need to erase a hard drive, and they may be equally confused about just how to go about it when it is necessary. There are in fact many reasons to erase a hard drive, and it is important to know which methods work best for which reasons.

Perhaps the most common reason to erase a hard drive is when the computer is headed off to a new owner. Whether you are selling a computer you no longer need or giving that computer to a worthy cause, it is vital to wipe that computer of any personal information. Even if you are selling or giving the computer to someone you trust, you never know where that computer, and the personal data it may still contain, will end up. Unless you trust every friend and associate of the person to whom you are giving the computer, as well as anyone they may give it to, it is essential to thoroughly erase the hard drive of any personal information.

At a minimum, this means removing document files, spreadsheet files, database files, financial programs and other such personal information. After that information has been removed, it is a good idea to follow up with some sort of file wiping software which overwrites the space previously taken up by those files. That is because the files are not truly gone after they are erased from the hard drive Erasing the files simply notifies the computer that the hard drive space they occupied is now available for use. A skilled computer user can still recover that erased data until the actual physical hard drive space has been overwritten, and that is what these programs do.

Of course a computer does not have to be on its way to a new home in order to benefit from the erasure of the hard drive. In some cases, the computer has simply become too unstable, bogged down under the weight of too many software programs, too much spyware and too many viruses. In order to bring the PC back to its new running condition, the user may wish to erase the hard drive and restore the original software. If your computer came with a special restore CD, you can simply use this CD and follow the step by step instructions on how to erase the hard drive and restore the original software.

If your computer system did not come with a restore CD, you may want to contact the manufacturer and ask for one. Having the restore CD around before you need it can bring you real peace of mind, and in most cases the computer manufacturer will provide the restore CD either at no charge or for a nominal fee.

Cedric has been a technical writer of a computer magazine for over 6 years. He also has a website that helps people with their technical computer problems as well external hard drive reviews. Visit http://www.altsyssoft.com for a technical priority list on what items to look for when choosing a hard drive for your new computer.

Computers Need An Anti Virus Check

2009-02-13T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Janis Elliot

Despite the real threat of computer viruses, it's still amazing just how many folks operate their PC with little or no antivirus protection. There are literally millions of PC's that are infected with malicious malware, spyware, and various viruses, and quite often unbeknown to the user. Many complain that their machines are running sluggish, or behaving oddly, but don't always connect viruses with these problems and usually blame the PC as being useless. If you are one of these people, then I urge you to install and run an anti virus check before you do another thing.

I have been using a free anti virus checker on all my machines since 1997 called AVG. It has protected me well over the years and has an automated update facility included in the giveaway version. Every single day, its anti virus check updater finds and installs new updates. This means that every single day they are finding new threats to online security. This should give you some idea of just how big the menace is. These virtual villains are writing code and nasty programs for no other purpose than to spy on, destroy, or steal your data, but it's up to you to protect yourself. Don't worry, there are many free programs out there which are designed to do just that.

Another mistake many folks make, is that they think they can simply visit one of the free online anti virus check programs should they get infected. The problem with this is that some viruses can wipe our your entire hard drive, stop you from opening web browsers, or simply shut your PC down each time you try to boot it up. No, the only way to keep your PC and your personal data safe is to download either a free or paid antivirus program, then run an anti virus check immediately to safeguard hardware, software, and stored information.

Most folks have a standard line of defense and despite running an anti virus check weekly (recommended), it is not enough defense on its own. Once again, there is some good free protection out there and here's what I have running on my PC:

Zone Alarm firewall: to block all unauthorized access to my machine.

AVG Free Edition: My anti virus check program.

Ad-Aware SE Personal: Which provides advanced protection from known data-mining, aggressive advertising, Trojans, dialers, malware etc.

SpywareBlaster: Another anti-spyware and anti-adware line of defense.

Spybot - Search & Destroy: Detects and removes different kinds of spyware from your PC.

That little lot should be enough to give most home users a good line of defense. Whichever programs you choose, they will become pretty redundant if you don't update and run them on a regular basis. These are not labor intensive tasks but you must remember to make a schedule and stick with it if you care anything about your privacy.

Your firewall will just run in the background, so there's nothing to do there. Your virus checker will scan you emails and find most viruses as they attempt to enter your secure zone, but it's still crucial to run a full system scan weekly to route out any that have gotten in through the back door. Ad-Aware needs updating and running weekly as does Spybot, but SpywareBlaster just needs updating.

So there we have it. Start by giving your PC an anti virus check, then download you free firewall followed by the rest of the programs.

The above is just a guide and there are many ways to protect your PC and personal data. If you require more advanced suggestions, I recommend you hop online and check out your options.

Janis Elliot is a proficient writer and webmaster for Anti All Sorts dot com where she has articles on Anti-aging Creams and Anti Virus Protection. She also has other pieces on the site relating to Anti All Sorts!

Antivirus How To Protect Your Computer

2009-02-12T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Jakob Culver

With intruders everywhere one has to be really aware of the ways and means of not allowing anyone trespassing! Well you must be aware of the specialized anti-virus software's that prevent and repair the commonly found viruses.

Still your machine gets infected so I will give you some tips regarding of methods that could reduce rate of infection of your machine. You actually just have to apply common sense! Tips to safeguard your machines from viruses

Rule no 1 stresses on the fact that you should never be tempted to download the mail that are from unexpected or unknown sources.

Always be in a control of your actions as clicking on any links in emails from places such as Amazon, PayPal, and Ebay which you would not be expecting otherwise, if you do that that could be a possible threat to your security system.

Though Internet explorer is the most widely used browser but let me tell you that it has many bugs in it and most of the viruses are created targeting this browser only! So chose Firefox as our primary web browser over Internet Explorer.

Keep the track of the unusual activities happening and if observe your computer acting unusually like hard disk storage or CPU usage then keep the track by asking Task Manager for any unusual processes.

You should be aware of the processes that are running on your PC (press CTRL+ALT+DELETE and then click processes to see)and if you find anything unusual running the you can suspect your computer to be infected with a virus or adware, you'll usually see a process or two in the task manager that are unfamiliar.

If you are into downloading things that cause the RIAA to get upset, don't use P2P clients such as Limewire, WinMX, Grokster, or Kazaa. When using bittorrent, make sure you read a torrent's comments before downloading to make sure there are no viruses in it. If you absolutely must stay with P2P clients such as Limewire, keep a second computer (it can be anything, even something ten years old) for downloading your files. Scan the files for viruses before moving them to your main computer.

While downloading something then get it scanned by an antivirus before actually executing or opening it!

These are some of the precautionary measures and when there will be computers security attacks by viruses are common and so there's no need to be a "virusphobe".

http://thecomputersnet.com is a computer and technology information portal founded by Jakob Culver. To find out more information about this topic and more visit the website: http://thecomputersnet.com

Dont Get Busted For Duplicating Dvds Illegally

2009-02-11T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Gregg Hall

Many people do not understand exactly what is considered legal and what is considered illegal where media is concerned. Some common questions include, "Is it legal to copy a song if you own the original already?" "Is it considered illegal if you record your favorite songs from the radio?" "Is it legal to record a movie from the television?" "Am I breaking the law by lending a friend of mine a CD or DVD?" Any of these questions can cause confusion within consumers are a daily basis. Thus the reason for this article, DVD duplication and the law, here we will look into the aspects involved in the subject.

Copyright protection is noticeable on a variety of media including, video, DVDs, printed books, and CDs. Basically the rule of thumb, is that all various types of entertainment are protected under copyright laws. What is copyright? It is protection for the owner or creator of the media, which gives them specific and legal rights to control and distribute it as they deem necessary. However, some owners will give permission for free and legal distribution by anyone. A good example of free distribution would include shareware and freeware software programs. These are software applications built and designed by any person and permission granted to distribute freely for the benefit of many people. Typically, this occurs when the owner is not seeking monetary gain for that product.

In the above case, any person would have rights in DVD duplication of that specific product. Cases where DVD duplication violates the law exist in instances where a person has, without prior consent of the owner, duplicated a movie onto a DVD. This would be consider illegal in accordance with copyright laws and regulations. Examples, of DVD duplication also include instances of download movies from the internet or using peer to peer programs to gain full length movies, these are very illegal and should never be resorted to under any circumstances.

You may have heard the news in recent times of "busts" occurring on those who choose to practice DVD Duplication. Any person caught willfully downloading illegal movies and practicing DVD Duplication could look forward to massive fines and or time in prison for these crimes. They are very serious crimes that are taken personally by the owners of the copyrighted DVDs and movies. The copyright laws are in places to protect owners from illegal activities, support the owners and actors by purchasing the DVD instead of practicing DVD duplication.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about DVD duplication and Movie Downloads at http://www.ezdownloadnow.com

All The Tips Youll Need For Buying The Mp3 Player Of Your Dreams

2009-02-10T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Tatiana I. Velitchkov

Whether you are jogging, shopping at the grocery store, working out at the gym, or working, you are constantly seeing people listening to an MP3 player. If you do not have one yet, then you are behind the times. MP3 players are the best way to tote your music from place to place, and listen to it everywhere that you go. Now that you know you must go out and get an MP3 player as soon as possible, here are a few tips to consider when you are buying one.

Price This is usually one of the most important criteria when you are buying any item, but the price of an MP3 player can vary greatly depending on the many features that are available on an MP3 player. You should try to maximize the amount of features you can get for the best price. Prices of MP3 players usually start around $75 and go up to around $1000 and sometimes even more. You can often find MP3 players for much less, though, during a sale or promotion.

Size The size of an MP3 player can also vary greatly. The smaller the size of the MP3 player the more expensive it is, but other things like the type of memory can also cause the size of an MP3 player to change. If you must have a very small MP3 player, then you might have to give up some features that the larger MP3 players provide.

Screen Size & Clarity The screen is also another very important aspect of an MP3 player. The screen is where all of the song information will be displayed. Also if your MP3 player allows pictures or music videos, they will appear here as well. The more clear and larger the screen the more your MP3 player will cost.

Memory Type The type and size of memory that an MP3 player has will determine the amount of songs the MP3 player will be able to hold. The memory type can also affect the way the MP3 player will react to movement. An MP3 player with an internal hard drive will be able to hold the most songs, but it will make the MP3 player larger, and also might skip if you go jogging, or work out at the gym while listening to it. Flash memory on the other hand will not hold as many songs, but the MP3 player will be very small, and it will not skip at all, even under the roughest conditions.

Battery Life The battery life of your MP3 player is also very important, because you want to listen to your music, not sit and watch it charging. Some batteries will last for 4 5 hours, while others will last more than a day for your listening pleasure. You will also want to find out if the MP3 player uses an A/C adapter to charge, or if it can be charged by plugging it in to a USB port on your computer.

Accessories Some MP3 players have a large variety of different accessories that will make it more stylish than anyone else's. Some common accessories are headphones, carrying cases, docking stations, and also necklaces to carry your MP3 player on. Depending on your fashion sense you might want to pick out an MP3 player with more accessories, so you can make sure that you stand out in a crowd.

Whether you go for the price as point for search number 1, or for the size as the most important factor, or for the memory type, or the accessories, at www.discussMP3.com you can be certain to find the new MP3 player you are seeking, and at the most discounted prices at that.

Tatiana is the owner of TakeYourFortune.com and runs Needs & Wants on Closeout and Discuss MP3 site and blog. Check out the customer reviews for help in choosing!

How To Windows Updates

2009-02-09T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Justin Oswald

Get All the Updates
It seems like every other week we hear about another security breach in Windows or that another worm has disrupted businesses worldwide. Microsoft Windows has always been known for its many exploitable security holes. New updates are made available for Windows all the time. Make sure you are getting them all.

Thankfully, Windows comes with a great update distribution and installation program, Windows Update. Most people using Windows don't seem to be aware of this utility. Microsoft runs a website which can only be accessed by Internet Explorer. All versions of Windows from 95 through XP can receive updates automatically from this site.

Get Updatin'
To get started open http://www.windowsupdate.com in Internet Explorer. You may have to install a few updates before you can use the service. Just follow the simple on-screen instructions. You will then be given the option of Express or Custom. Express will automatically install all of the high priority updates, so if nothing else at least do the Express update.

If you choose to do a Custom update you will be given the option of installing several categories of updates that either increase the performance of your PC or add new features to Windows. The high priority updates will already be selected for download. It is generally a good idea to get everything under the Software category. Don't just blindly add updates though. Give the description of each update a quick glance before checking the box next to it. If it sounds like something you don't want or need, then leave it behind.

I would leave the Hardware category to more advanced users. These driver updates tell Windows how to use each part of your computer to its greatest potential, but some driver updates are not updates at all. They may be older versions than the ones already installed on your PC! Certain drivers may make certain functions of your computer stop working or change a setting that you can't locate. If you want the latest driver you should contact your PC manufacturer.

Just checking an update does not install it to your machine. You will need to click the "Review and install updates" link to review your choices. When you are ready, click the Install Updates button to begin downloading and installing all the updates you chose. Generally the updates will be installed without the need for your input, though a few of the updates may ask you some questions. Also be aware, some updates can only be installed alone. If you add one of these to be installed it will save your other updates for another visit. These are usually the big important updates such as service packs and updates to DirectX. After all updates are installed the program will ask you to reboot.

After installing a bunch of updates it is generally a good idea to head back over to the Windows Update site. Sometimes installing updates will cause even more updates to become available to you. So make sure you get all the newest updates as well.

Automatic Updates
Microsoft bundled Windows XP with Automatic Updates which, as the name suggests, will automatically update your version of Windows with the latest high-priority updates. Some find this program annoying as it can interrupt work or a game at the worst time. It can be useful for users who don't wish to spend the time necessary to keep up with all the updates at Windows Update.

You can make sure Automatic Updates is enabled, change the schedule on which it operates, or disable it by double-clicking the Automatic Updates icon in the Control Panel. Keep in mind Automatic Updates only installs the high priority updates. If you want the increased performance or added features optional updates can bring, then make sure you do a custom update at Windows Update.

This article is from http://www.home-help-desk.com where articles, howtos, and faqs are posted to assist the everyday PC user. Topics include spyware, security, hardware upgrades, tweaks, and general computer usage tips. All advice is given in a step-by-step manner so almost anyone can have their computer running in top form.

Five Simple Steps To Speed Up Your Computer

2009-02-08T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Tim Lee

Most people download and save so much information on their computer that before long the computer starts slowing down and the user has no idea what the problem is. However, even if you are not a computer whiz there are several things you can easily do to speed up your computer quickly and easily.

Tip #1 Defrag

One of the first things you should do if you want to speed up your computer is to defrag. This is something you can easily do and a wizard on your computer will help you defrag. You might want to do it overnight, however, because it can take a long time.

Tip #2 Spyware Remover

Download a good spyware remover. Most computers have a lot of spyware running in the background, stealing information and slowing down your computer. Remove it frequently if possible.

Tip #3 Empty Temp Internet Files

Most Internet browsers save your last visited web pages for up to 30 days. If you don't want all of those pages saved then change the days to one or two, or none, whatever meets your needs.

Tip #4 Turn off Active Desktop

When you turn of active desktop that will be one less thing using memory on your computer. Plus, you won't really notice the difference.

Tip #5 Antivirus Programs

Make sure you have a good anti-virus program and use it frequently. If you are deleting virus and preventing them from feeding on your computer then you will have a faster computer as well.

Once you perform these simple tasks you will be amazed at how much faster your computer runs and with so little effort.

To learn more about softwares that speed up your computer, please visit http://www.make-computer-run-faster.com/

Gothic Calendars

2009-02-07T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Richard Romando

For many historians, old calendars discovered on historical sites are like guides or tips for solving a puzzle (a historical puzzle, that is). Why? Because unlike our calendars today that only contain numbers and the names of months and days, ancient calendars tend to contain more information. Feast days and important historical events, for example, are well chronicled in most ancient calendars. The language and form of writing used in the calendars, on the other hand, can reveal the culture of the people who used the calendar. With all this information, calendars can indeed help historians solve a historical puzzle, although not if the calendar itself is part of the puzzle.

Such is the case with the Gothic calendar or the calendar used by the Goths, an East Germanic tribe that originated from Scandinavia. Historical documents pertaining to the Goths are rare, and the Gothic calendar that was once found in a Gothic church did not provide enough aid for historians to know more about their history. Why? Because the Gothic calendar was incomplete. In fact, the calendar contained only two months, which historians have interpreted as pertaining to the months of October and November.

Because of the extreme lack of details, even the exact names of the months used in Gothic calendars are not known to historians (except for the months of October and November). Some historians, however, have attempted to reconstruct the calendar and have come up with the following names: Sulamenoths (January), Hrothimenoths (February), Austramenoths (March), Thrimilukimenoths (April), Fruma Linthja (May), Afar Linthja (June), Wiudamenoths (July), Hailagamenoths (August), Wintrufulliths (September), Blotamenoths (October), Fruma Jiuleis (November), and Afarjiuleis (December).

Just like our present calendar system, Gothic calendars are also made up of a seven-day week. Again, the names and the details about these days were not clear either in the discovered Gothic calendar or on any other historical documents pertaining to the Goths. However, using various sources, including the Bible, some historians were able to come up with the following names: Fraujinsdags (Lord's Day), Kirikadags (Church day), Arjaussdags, Midjawiko, Pintadags, Pareinsdags, and Sambatodags.

With names that only Germans and historians can probably decipher, there is not much for us to understand about the history and culture of the Goths from the Gothic calendar; not even from the one reconstructed by some historians. And until the time that other historical documents pertaining to the Goths and the Gothic calendar can be found, the calendar probably remains only a part of the historical puzzle.

Calendars provides detailed information on Calendars, Free Calendars, Printable Calendars, Custom Calendars and more. Calendars is affiliated with Atomic Alarm Clocks.

Desktop News Ticker Best Way To Stay Informed

2009-02-06T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Greg Culver

If you are among the people who are so much busy in their jobs that they didn't even get time to read news then the desktop news ticker could be beneficial for you. You can easily stay informed about the current news while working in office. Your desktop is like a Times Square when you use such desktop news ticker. I am from the community of the busiest people on the earth and hence get very less time to read the newspaper. Although I listen to the radio in the morning occasionally but it is not enough most of the times. But when you are busy then you would probably feel that listening to the radio for an hour or half is sufficient while you are on way to work. I am more than happy since I started using this desktop news ticker on my desktop as now I am informed of any breaking news in any part of the world. Most of us travel a lot for our business and the wireless connectivity is important for us to stay connected to the world. I use my favorite Fox desktop news ticker to stay connected.

If you are not interested in reading the details and only read the headlines on the desktop news ticker, even then you will be informed of all the news that you need to be informed of what is going on around you. Desktop news ticker is known as the "fair and balanced reporting" when it comes to news. The main advantage of desktop news ticker is that you can have the knowledge about what is going on around you even if you are extremely busy like me by reading the headlines on the desktop news ticker. Such desktop news tickers are usually descriptive enough to give an instant view of the news even if you don't read the complete article. If you want to read the full information of some news then just click the headline and the information would be on your screen in no time.

You can get a desktop news ticker for many other publications if you are not a fan of Fox News or if you are a communist and want to read the news of the current problems and issues. You can search the best suitable desktop news ticker for you from different types of desktop news tickers available with which you can choose different news sites. So just load suitable desktop news ticker to stay informed of all the news worldwide.

http://www.computeruniverseweb.com is a Computer and Technology site dedicated to providing quality articles and information. Click through for more articles.

Linux Power Tools Great Tools To Make System Administration Easy

2009-02-05T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Amarjyoti Krishnan

World War II - Germany decided to attack Poland. Poland had many great warriors. They all prepared to fight the Germans. They were all ready with the best armor, the best and well trained horses, and ofcourse the best weapons , swords , spears .... And the Pols were brave and were ready to give their lives for their country. Sadly they did just that... give their lives. The Germans had tanks... It is very important to have the right weapons when one goes for a war.

In the same way it is very important for system administrators to have the right tools to to work smart. Linux is a great desktop OS for developers as well as system administrators. Let us take a look at some of the utilities which makes this a great environment for system administrators and developers. Most of the content below is taken from the home pages of these apps and the I make no claims on the originality. My aim is to introduce the reader to the wonderful tools that are available in a Linux/BSD desktop environment.

Konsole

Let's start from what most people think Linux is all about - a text based shell. Konsole is what is known as an X terminal emulator, often referred to as a terminal or a shell. It gives you the equivalent of an old-fashioned text screen on your desktop, but one which can easily share the screen with your graphical applications. What makes Konsole special? Konsole's advanced features include simple configuration and the ability to use multiple terminal shells in a single window, making for a less cluttered desktop. Konsole is also available as kpart and can thus be easily embedded in other applications, like practiced by Kate and Konqueror.

As most system administrators need log into servers on a regular basis the konsole gives them a benefit over the Windoze command prompt. In windows one needs to use a program like putty to log in using SSH. Also as linux is the desktop OS the techs can use the man pages on the local system.

One can also try out the various commands locally. Consider a simple example.

Is it

$ ln sourcefile destinationfile

or is it

$ ln destinationfile sourcefile

Such things can be easily found out locally without carrying out experiments on the server. Many techs believe that servers are places where they can experiment. However, such experiments can lead to major losses to the customers due to one small error. A system administrator must understand that people have immense faith in them when they give their entire data to them and they cannot risk carrying out simple experiments on servers.

Some screenshots of the konsole can be seen at the konsole site

Personal Information Manager / Groupware

There are two popular choices here. Evolution from Novel and the Kontact from KDE. Both these an email client, calendaring, meeting scheduling, a task list, contact management and syncing functionality. Kontact is essentially the regular KDE PIM components which have been put in together i.e. kmail, korganizer, knotes etc.. It is very a very neat package and is stable and light. Both these are very functional and can connect to many groupware servers.

Klipper

Klipper is the KDE clipboard utility. It stores clipboard history, and allows you to link clipboard contents to application actions. Klipper can perform actions on the contents of the clipboard, based on whether they match a particular regular expression. For example, any clipboard contents starting with "http://" can be passed to the web-browser as URLs to open.

Copying text is as simple as highlighting the text. And to paste the text all one needs to do is click on the center mouse button. This can be particularly useful for sys-admins as they use a sequence of commands from time to time. Having these in the clipboard and using them often can make the work a lot easier.

Gaim / Kopete

Communicating via an instant messenger is an essential these days. Linux has a very clean solution for this. Both Kopete (http://kopete.kde.org) and Gaim (http://gaim.sourceforge.net/) are capable of handling multiple IM protocols such as supporting AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo, Jabber, IRC, Novell GroupWise Messenger, Lotus SameTime. Gaim is a multi-protocol instant messaging (IM) client for Linux, BSD, MacOS X, and Windows. It is compatible with AIM and ICQ (Oscar protocol), MSN Messenger, Yahoo!, IRC, Jabber, Gadu-Gadu, SILC, GroupWise Messenger, and Zephyr networks.

Kjots

KJots is a small program that helps you to write down some short notes and organizes them for you. It has two basic items used to organize your notes - "Books" and "Pages". This is a good light tool to write in all the templated responses and other important notes for quick references.

Kwallet

A lovely password manager which can store passwords for all the logins including those of kopete and websites.

Tea Cooker

KTeaTime is a handy timer for steeping tea. No longer will you have to guess at how long it takes for your tea to be ready. Simply select the type of tea you have, and it will alert you when the tea is ready to drink. Now how can a tea cooker be useful for techs. Often techs get involved in solving a problem and forget to update the client about the progress. Without communicating with the client, on many occasions the entire effort goes down the drain as the client get very agitated thinking that nobody is looking at his problem. What the tech can do is use the tea cooker and get a reminder so that he can respond the client with the progress.

Koffice/ Open Office

M$ Office is one of the most used software and a major reason why customers do not shift to other operating systems. They need Word and Excel for just about everything. K-Office and Open Office are two great solutions. Open Office can open M$ Office files and can even safe the files in M$ Office format which makes it easy to communicate with those who still use M$ products.

Lyx

Besides office suites which replicate the windows world products in features, Linux also has some great alternatives. LyX (http://www.lyx.org) is an example of a great document processor.

What is LyX?

LyX is the first WYSIWYM (What you see is what you mean) document processor.

LyX is what?!

LyX is an advanced open source document processor that encourages an approach to writing based on the structure of your documents, not their appearance. LyX lets you concentrate on writing, leaving details of visual layout to the software. LyX produces high quality, professional output -- using LaTeX, an industrial strength typesetting engine, in the background; LyX is far more than a front-end to LaTeX, however. No knowledge of LaTeX is necessary to use LyX, although it will give a user more power. LyX is stable and fully featured. It has been used for documents as large as a thesis, or as small as a business letter. Despite its simple GUI interface (available in many languages), it supports tables, figures, and hyperlinked cross-references, and has a best-of-breed math editor.

Dia

Dia is a great tool for creating diagrams. It has a huge in-built library of objects which are specially useful for software engineers. So making a diagram of a computer network is as easy as dragging a few computers and switches from the list of objects available. It currently has special objects to help draw entity relationship diagrams, UML diagrams, flowcharts, network diagrams, and simple circuits. It is also possible to add support for new shapes by writing simple XML files, using a subset of SVG to draw the shape.

Gnucash

An average tech earns a good salary and spends it is well too. To keep track of all these personal expenses the best is to have a great software. Gnucash is an ideal way to manage personal finances. Designed to be easy to use, yet powerful and flexible, GnuCash allows you to track bank accounts, stocks, income and expenses. As quick and intuitive to use as a checkbook register, it is based on professional accounting principles to ensure balanced books and accurate reports.

KTuberling

And finally a product for all those techs who maintain their servers well and have no work or pending issues and yet have to sit through the nights waiting for some issue to popup.

KTuberling (http://opensource.bureau-cornavin.com/ktuberling/) was originally game intended for small children. Of course, it may be suitable for adults who have remained young at heart. Most techs in general love this software. It is a "potato editor". That means that you can drag and drop eyes, mouths, mustache, and other parts of face and goodies onto a potato-like guy. Similarly, you have a penguin and an aquarium on which you can drop other stuff.

There is no winner for the game. The only purpose is to make the funniest faces you can. There is a museum,like a "Madame Tusseau" gallery, where you can find many funny examples of decorated potatoes, penguins and aquariums.

Konsole

One can also try out the various commands locally. Consider a simple example.

Is it

$ ln sourcefile destinationfile

or is it

$ ln destinationfile sourcefile

Some screenshots of the konsole can be seen at the konsole site

Personal Information Manager / Groupware

Klipper

Gaim / Kopete

Kjots

Kwallet

A lovely password manager which can store passwords for all the logins including those of kopete and websites.

Tea Cooker

Koffice/ Open Office

Lyx

Besides office suites which replicate the windows world products in features, Linux also has some great alternatives. LyX (http://www.lyx.org) is an example of a great document processor.

What is LyX?

LyX is the first WYSIWYM (What you see is what you mean) document processor.

LyX is what?!

Dia

Gnucash

KTuberling

And finally a product for all those techs who maintain their servers well and have no work or pending issues and yet have to sit through the nights waiting for some issue to popup.

Amarjyoti Krishnan heads bobcares.com, a tech support company for webhosts and ISPs. He is the co-founder of Poornam Info Vision Ltd., a software and IT services company which specializes in Linux based solutions for Webhosts and ISPs. Poornam Info Vision is an ISO 9001:2000 certified company with a team of over 100 engineers.

Amarjyoti is a Computer Engineer based in India and has over 7 years of experience in the hosting industry. He has spoken and written extensively on the subject. His articles have been published both online as well as in print in magazines.

http://poornam.com
http://bobcares.com
http://amarjyoti.com

Properly Cleaning Your Computer

2009-02-04T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Alex Fir

A regular cleaning of your computer means a considerable improvement in its effectiveness. You should dedicate 20-30 minutes every 3 months to clean your computer. Here are a few tips:

- Computer keyboard cleaning. Your keyboard gathers a lot of dust and dirt. The keys become sticky and slow down your speed. First, unplug the keyboard when you clean it.

Turn it upside down and shake well to remove crumbs and dirt. Clean the keys using a soft brush or a can of compressed air while holding it upside down. Clean the key tops with a damp cotton cloth using either a mild detergent or rubbing alcohol.

Do not spill liquid over it. If you do so, then wipe it off immediately and let it dry completely. It is a smart idea to keep your keyboard and monitor covered with a cloth when you are not using them.

- Cleaning computer mouse. Take off the cover at the back of the mouse by rotating it anti-clockwise. The ball will come out. There are two thin wheels. Use your fingertips to scratch out the dust that is sticking there. Also shake out dirt that gathers in the hole.

You can wipe the wheels with a mild cleaning agent. Wipe off the ball well with a wet cloth. Use a mild detergent to clean the outside of the mouse. Dry with a soft cloth. Put the ball back into your mouse and close it up.

- Cleaning computer monitor. Use a cloth dampened in water. Do not use detergent or other liquid. Be careful especially with laptop screens that are very sensitive. The strokes should be top to bottom. Paper cloths are highly recommended for monitor screens to avoid any damage.

You can use a mild detergent for the cover. For holes at the back of the cover use an air can spray to take out dust. These vents should be cleaned to avoid overheating of the monitor.

- Remove the case and get to the area where all the hardware parts are located. Cleaning this area is important. Use an air spray to blow out all the dust gathered here. Always ensure that the spray is held in an upright position and blow the dust out of the machine. Everything should be unplugged and avoid any physical contact with the components.

- For CD-ROM drive use a CD-ROM cleaner available with retailers. Cleaning the CD drive prevents reading and writing errors. To clean your CDs just wet a cloth in water and rub it from center to the edge to avoid any scratches.

Alex Fir shares a wealth of information on his website Laptop Computers Center. To read Laptop Buying Guide as well as to discover what are Best Laptop Computers for Students visit his site right now.

Is Dvd Storage An Attractive Alternative For Your Computer Backup

2009-02-03T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Per Strandberg

If you have a computer for home use or for your business and don't take comprehensive backup for full protection then you are in the danger-zone. Maybe you do not take any backup at all.

You can find in Windows a basic backup utility which are installed during the installation.

I should say for all Windows,but in fact it is not included during the installation of Windows XP Home Edition.

It is as if Microsoft thinks that data protection is not necessary for home computers and computers used by small businesses.

It is true that hard drives are becoming less prone to hard disk crashes.

But, if you consider not only hard disk crashes, but also virus infection, theft plus other treats, then you realize the importance of implementing a full-proof backup strategy for your computer.

Today many computers are equipped with a DVD burner, yet most do not use it to manage their vital data backup. The amount of data you can store on a single DVD is several Giga Byte.

There are many types of backup you can make.

Here are the steps that I take myself to fully secure my data against data loss:

1. Disk image backup. I use a disk image backup software and make a complete image backup of the disk on consecutive DVDs.

I also create an emergency rescue CD. If I have a hard disk crash I'll use this emergency CD to boot from.

But, first I have to install and setup a new hard disk that is working. Then I can recreate the data directly back from this backup stored on the DVDs.

This work is made fast and without the need to spend time installing both the operation system and the backup software. Everything is instead copied directly into the hard disk from the DVD's.

2. Full hard disk backup.

I also use a data backup software and create a full backup of the hard disk on consecutive DVD's.

This is a standard disk backup. With this backup I'm able to restore any files and/or folders. I can also move the data to another computer.

3. Regular scheduled backup of files and folder.

Here I use the same software product I use for the full disk backup. I make with this software regular schedule backups of the files and folders I work with. In my case they include My Documents, Outlook emails and other files that are modified over time.

I do this by keeping a permanent rewritable DVD inside the DVD burner. I then rotate a number of DVD's for this purpose so I can keep copies away from the computer.

Whenever I install important new programs from the Internet or I make other major changes to my system I'll also create a new disk image backup and a full hard disk backup.

You should use a DVD burner that is built for rewritable DVDs. Unfortunately there are several competing DVD standards on the market. The DVD-R, DVD-R and DVD-RAM standards supports DVDs which only can be written to once and can't be reused and those standards should be avoided. The DVD player should instead support at least one rewritable DVDs standard.

Either DVD-RW or DVD+RW.

Conclusion:

I use regular schedule backup to backup the data files I work with on a daily basis.

I'll make a disk image backup so that in case of a hard disk failure I will be back in business fast.

I also create a full disk backup so that I will be able to restore individual files or folders. It makes it also possible to move the data to another computer.

Per Strandberg specializing in data security and data storage and have a site about data backup technology
at ==> http://www.data-backup-and-storage.com
Discover more about DVD storage
at ==> http://www.data-backup-and-storage.com/dvd-backup-and-copy.html
Learn more about how to backup from Windows
at ==> http://www.data-backup-and-storage.com/window-backup.html

Wireless Security Basics

2009-02-02T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Benjamin Hargis

Wireless networks using 802.11 have made it simple to connect multiple devices to your home network.This can also make your data availiable anywhere, even outside your home.To set this up all you need is a broadband connection connected to a wireless router or a WAP Wireless Access Point. Your home computers should have wireless access cards installed or if your using a laptop a PCMCIA wireless card. Intel Centrino is great for wireless, I personally use it. I like the fact that I did not have to purchase additional hardware.

When you set up your wireless router or WAP your signal is broadcast. This broadcast usually goes further than your home or business. People like to drive around finding unsecured wireless access points. This is known as Wardriving, some hackers even mark spots on the sidewalk to let other hackers know your home or business is offering free Internet service, or worse yet access to your data.This is not to scare you but make you aware.

Diasble broadcasting so people cannot you your wireless network.

Your routers come with pre-configured system ID's its called a SSID or Service Set Identifier, its very simple to locate this information on the Internet for default SSID's I recommend changing this to something hard to guess. Use alphanumeric's to make it even harder to guess.

Use encryption to protect your network. WEP or Wireless Encryption Protocol is not secure, I have cracked my own network with a Linux machine running Kismet. WEP's keylength is only 40 bits, once you collect enough data from packets its only a matter of time for a determined cracker.Instead use WPA which is WI-Fi protected access. This is more secure.

Configure your router to block incoming outgoing traffic you do not use. Consider blocking Port 23 Telnet and Even FTP.

Router manafacturers have default passwords which I find many home users do not change. CHANGE THEM!

Invest in a software firewall and keep your system up to date. In the month of October 2005 there have been several security flaws listed by Microsoft. Keep Informed.

Benjamin Hargis CEO

Phuture Networks

Website http://www.phuturenetworks.com

Blog http://phuturegenius.blogspot.com

Which Paper Is Right For Your Printer

2009-02-01T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Bobby Hudson

Get better-quality printouts with the right paper!

Printer paper stores offer a wide range of paper types to select from, which is often quite confusing. For better-quality printouts, it is always advisable to buy coated or specialty paper, like Photo Paper (Glossy or Matte), Coated Paper (Glossy or Matte), All-purpose Paper, Proofing Paper, Signage Media, etc., recommended by the manufacturer of your printer model.

Specialty paper for your inkjet, photo printers, and multifunction devices could cost around 10 cents to $2 per letter-size sheet. However, specialty paper is essential as your ultimate aim is to avoid inaccurate colors, lower print resolution, and a dull finish to your text and photos. So, you should be in a position to choose judiciously and get the maximum out of your printer.

The list below helps you in making the best choice of Specialty Paper for your purpose:

Home Use

Photographic Papers (Gloss / Semi-gloss) - Ideal for a lab-quality look and feel of photos with a gloss or semigloss finish. Use Photo Papers to print colorful & scenic images, presentations, flyers, reports and contact sheets
Photo Papers (Matte) - Best suited for vivid photos with a non-reflective coating. Best for framing non-glare images, printing craft projects, newsletters and signage
All Purpose Papers - Made to meet your daily business and personal inkjet printing needs. Ideal for everyday high-resolution color printing. Print deep, sharp colors and text, sales brochures, greeting cards, newsletters and photographic portfolios
Scrapbook Papers - Formulated for scrapbook enthusiasts looking for acid-free, lignin-free matte and semigloss papers for scrapbooks. Print beautiful quality, matte photos and scrapbook-safe elements
Specialty Media - Set your imagination free with fun projects. Print stickers, greeting cards, invitations, promotional cards, customize t-shirts, cotton placemats, tote bags labels, CDs, convenient photo storage envelopes and mailers.

Professional Use

Photo Papers - Photo Papers are known for their resin coating, supreme print quality, and professional photographic look and feel. Photographic papers are available in gloss, semi-gloss, luster & semi-matte surface finishes
Coated Papers (Gloss / Semi-gloss) - Made for vivid high quality presentation applications. Coated Papers are made to meet the rising demand of the professional graphics industry and offer a range of products matchless in performance, quality and value
Coated Papers (Matte) - Suited for multi-purpose non-reflective presentation and display. Coated Papers helps the professional graphics industry by offering cost-effective, quality products
Proofing Papers - Print on Commercial Glossy or Semi-matte Proofing Paper for color accurate comping and perfect prepress proofing
Fine Art Papers - Use these acid free archival cotton papers to get a luxurious weight, texture, and finish for museum quality archival prints and reproductions
Signage Media - A matte, water-proof solution for signage that requires adhesive backing, used for advertising, banners, and point of purchase display applications.

Bobby Hudson is the writer of all articles for Databazaar.com, an online retailer of printer supplies and storage media.

Free Calendars

2009-01-31T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Richard Romando

Calendars have become essential components for organizing daily life. There are different kinds of calendars catering to everyone's needs. It is not always necessary to spend money on a calendar. Most big business concerns and reputed companies distribute calendars free of cost. With the advent of a new year everyone seeks to promote their own concerns and business. Distributing free calendar gifts is a popular promotional measure. Some hotels and big retail shops give free one-page pocket calendars to customers. Most diaries have a calendar attached to them.

There are many online sites where one can download free calendars. These sites also offer the option of adding some personalized touches. Calendarsthatwork.com offers many options for printing out free printable templates for calendars. Yearly, monthly and weekly calendars from the years 2000-2030 can be printed out. Printablecalendars.com provides free online interactive web calendars that can be used both as personal calendars and web calendars as well. These can be edited online with the opportunity to display personal events and post them for viewing by others. There are demo calendars available for instructing those who require them.

These calendar-maker websites present numerous opportunities to experiment and add personalized touches, as well as customize calendars to suit one's needs. Printing out calendars does not require any special software installation. They are printed out in PDF, postscript or Word format, which are available in most computers. Websites like http//singleparents.about.com offer free printable calendars for single parents. The calendar formatting is specially designed to address the needs of such individuals. Printable calendars can be created to mark court dates, visiting schedules, child support, and various other dates and events in the life of these busy individuals. Free printed calendars can be of various kinds, like desktop calendars, wall calendars, monthly calendars, special craft or project calendars for children, small pocket-sized single-page calendars, and many more.

Calendars provides detailed information on Calendars, Free Calendars, Printable Calendars, Custom Calendars and more. Calendars is affiliated with Atomic Alarm Clocks.

Getting Rid Of Spyware And Viruses

2009-01-30T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Sezer Bozkurt

Whether you run anti-virus and anti-spyware or not, your computer can still be infected. This is due to the ever evolving nature of the internet allowing new innovations for good and bad. Now that your computer is infected, what can you do?

There are several things you can do. One of them would be to format your had drive. This is the most time consuming and costly method. You will lose all your files and it will take you a very long time to re-install all your programs. This path should only be taken if there is no other course of action available, and if there is a deep infection. If the infection is less severe there are several things you can do. You can clean up your hard drive with anti-virus and anti-spyware software. There are many free programs out there that will do the job.

Once you have these programs you need to run a scan to determine where the infection is. Once the infection is located there are one of two things you can do. You can either quarantine the infection, or you can delete it completely. Deleting it would be the more effective option as it ensures you don't accidently use the file again. An important part of running these programs is keeping them upto-date. They need to be updated regularly to be able to combat the new viruses and spyware that pop-up on a daily basis.

A boot-time scan is recommended as a good course of action to remove your infection. Should you continue to experience slower PC speeds, you could try using a virus scanner to not only scan your hard drive, but prevent your PC from getting more spyware. Usually with spyware, once you have even a few files infected, they spread like a virus and attempt to propogate themselves. It's important you have a virus scanner to not only delete old spyware, but prevent new spyware from popping up. Avast is great for this.

Keeping your computer 100% free from viruses and spy-ware is difficult but following the procedures above you can continue to enjoy the use of your computer.

For more great technology related articles and reviews visit http://www.technologyslice.com

How To Put Music To Ipod Easy As 123

2009-01-29T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Brad Newman

Unless you haven't noticed, the enormous popularity of the iPod mp3 player has made it necessary for people to learn about how to put music to iPod. Really, the process is very simple but can be a little frustrating if it's your first time. This article will give an overview of how to put music to iPod and explain exactly how it is done.

Firstly, how to put music to iPod involves two parts: Download the music from the internet or another device onto your computer, and then putting the music from there onto your iPod.

Really any music in a format like mp3 can be imported onto your iPod. There are many places on the internet that you can download music, from websites to file sharing programs such as Kazaa or Limewire. The information is transferred from the web or another persons computer, to yours where it is stored ready for you to export it to an iPod or other device. There are now even a few sites that allow the download of music and movies specifically for iPods.

The second part of how to put music to iPod is getting the data onto your iPod. This is done with the use of a program called Itunes. Itunes is a software application that comes standard when you purchase your iPod. Basically you install the program and build a library of songs in Itunes that is then easily transferred to your iPod. The Itunes software allows for the easy manipulation and organization of the music files on your computer and is the only program compatible with iPod data transfer. Connect your iPod to your computer via USB, and once you have built your library of music in Itunes it's as simple as clicking and dragging those files from there into the removable disk (USB iPod) icon in Itunes.

As you can see, how to put music to iPod is a very simple procedure. Once you are familiar with the workings of Itunes and have a good source on the web for quickly getting the music you want, you can think of a song and be listening to it all within the space of a few minutes.

Brad Newman is a computer specialist and iPod enthusiast. Don't have good iPod converter software or access to a large iPod movie and music database? You can learn more about it at www.usefulresources.info/how-to-put-music-to-ipod.html

How To Put Music To iPod

Is Spyware Prevention Necessary

2009-01-28T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Bill Stafford

Most people believe that once they have anti-virus software installed on their computer, they are adequately protected from malicious intruders into their PC. This is a serious mistake.

Viruses can ruin your computer, but some spyware can ruin your life. Some of the more malicious forms of spyware are capable of collecting keystrokes ("key-loggers") from your computer and transmit them back via the Internet to the cyber-criminals who installed it on your computer without you even knowing it. Another way is that these cyber-criminals can gain access to your computer via a 'back door' and obtain your personal information.

The information sent back across the Internet could contain account numbers and passwords to your bank accounts, credit card numbers, including verification codes, and highly sensitive personal information such as your Social Security number. The result is that these cyber-criminals could drain your bank accounts and rack up enormous charges on your credit cards before the banks or credit card companies have time to warn you about unusual activities within your accounts.

In the case where these people get a hold of your Social Security number, they can assume your identity and cause a host of hair-raising problems, such as taking out a mortgage on your house, or even selling your house or conduct criminal activities under your name. I some cases these problems may take years to get straightened out.

Fortunately most of the spyware that can be introduced to your computer is not that malicious. The vast majority of software that is secretly put onto your system consists of small pieces of information, called "cookies" which are designed to keep track of your browsing habits and enable website owners to customize the display and advertisements on their sites according to your fields of interest. Still, these advertising intrusions can also take on annoying proportions in the form of unwanted pop-up ads, useless toolbars and other modifications to your browser's look.

The best way to protect your computer against this type of unwanted software is to install software that is specifically designed to detect and remove these types of intrusions. There are a number of anti spyware software packages out there, some better than others, but the main key is to make sure that the software you obtain is updated frequently, preferably automatically via the Internet. It is highly recommended that you yourself perform a scan of the computer regularly, at least weekly.

Many anti-spyware packages can be programmed to perform these scans automatically. Usually the default time of such software to do this scan is when you boot up the system first thing in the morning. However, this is also the time you will be most active with the computer, and performing a spyware scan and an anti virus scan could slow your PC down quite a bit. It might be better to schedule these scans to be run during off times, such as lunch or dinner hours when you least use the computer.

Scanning the computer only removes the nuisance software after it already has been installed. It is of course much better to try to prevent such intrusions before they happen.

One way is to not to plug your computer directly into the modem, but install a router between your modem and your PC. This will stop many of the attacks, but not all of them. In addition to that, the installation of a firewall presents an extra barrier to intruders. Also, make sure that you regularly update your operating system, as many of the security leaks of the software are constantly being addressed and fixed.

None of these preventive measures are foolproof, but if you combine all these techniques, you may be spared a lot of grief and annoyances.

Bill Stafford has been operating a computer sales and support company for over 20 years. For more information and tips for your PC or the Internet, visit his site at: http://inforesources.wordpress.com

Are You Well Protected

2009-01-27T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Roxie Hickman

Winterthe official start of the cold and flu season. Though, technically speaking, things got started a little early. Close to a million computers, mostly home PC users, have been infected.

For many of us our computers are our business. We keep in contact with customers and clients via email, do extensive internet research, and transmit important files electronically.

We know what to do to protect our bodies from viruses. There are some simple strategies, and even free precautions we can take to protect our businesses by keeping our PCs virus free.

Adopting the following six checkpoints will help keep your computer healthy and your business uninterrupted.

Use a Firewall

At its most basic level a firewall is a software security system that acts as a barrier between your computer and the outside world (the internet) by monitoring all incoming network traffic. A more advanced firewall will also monitor outgoing traffic. How you use your computer will determine whether basic or advanced firewall protection is needed.

What a firewall does is make your computer invisible while on the Internet. If hackers can't see you, they cannot attack you.

Windows XP has this software installed; however, it may need to be enabled. If you have XP and would like to enable the firewall, directions are on the Microsoft website.

For non XP users, firewall software can be purchased. McAfee and Zone Alarm are two very popular products. Zone Alarm has a free downloadable firewall, basic version, available on their website, www.zonealarm.com.

Before installing a firewall, you may be interested in learning your computer's vulnerability. This is something that can be checked for free and in just a few minutes. Visit the website of Gibson Research Corporation, www.grc.com, and under Hot Spots, click on Shields UP. It takes a little bit of scrolling to get to but is well worth the extra seconds. In minutes your PC is scanned and its vulnerability rated.

Antivirus Software

Antivirus software is the "shot" after the epidemic. This software protects your computer from known threats. Many PCs come with antivirus software already installed. Some of the more popular versions are Norton, PCCillin and McAfee.

If you have it pre installed or have purchased it, great. Please be sure to keep it constantly updated with the latest virus definitions. This is important because these definitions are formed in response to the latest viruses. If you don't have this protection, please consider getting it.

Once this software is installed on your computer, you will be automatically notified when new virus definitions are available. Then it is just a matter of a few clicks to download the new definitions.

Likewise you will be notified when your antivirus software is about to expire. The software needs to be updated annually. The initial purchase, renewal, updates and installation can all be done online.

Spyware Eliminator

Why am I getting all of these pop ups? Certain websites that you visit or free software (shareware) that you download, and, in some cases, hardware purchased from major manufacturers will also install tracking devices on your computer (spyware). Spyware is annoying but not illegal.

An internet search will reveal the many choices available for spyware elimination software. The important thing is to get one and use it consistently. Spybot and PestPatrol are popular choices.

I really like Spybot Search and Destroy. Besides the fact that it is free, once spyware is identified, the software will provide a detailed description of just what it is. This is helpful just in case it identifies something that you don't want to get rid of.

Backup, Backup, Backup

How often do you backup? What files/programs do you backup? What media do you backup to?

We all know the importance of backing up our information yet so many of us don't do it. There may be a ton of reasons why it's not done but the one reason it should be done on a regular basis is that it can be a timesaver, possibly a business saver if your computer system is corrupted for any reason.

If you happen to be using Windows XP Professional, the backup procedure is quite simple. For users of XP Home Edition, it is a bit more involved. Complete instructions, however, are on the Microsoft website.

Typically, data files are what most people need to back up and having well organized files will certainly simplify the process.

Whether you backup to disk, zip disk, DVD, writeable CDs, external file drive or utilize one of the online services, it is important to get into the habit of backing up on a regular basis.

Weekly Updates of Windows

Windows users are automatically notified of current updates for the Windows operating system when your computer is turned on. With just a few clicks your operating system is updated.

However, when certain patches become available for your particular applications software (XP, 2000, NT, etc), as was/is the case with the recent worm viruses, a visit to Microsoft's website is necessary.

Once there, Microsoft will scan your computer, tell you what updates are available, and you then have the option of installing them on your system. In some cases, you will need your installation CDs to complete the download.

With the recent run of viruses and with more expected, it is imperative to check for these updates weekly on the Microsoft website as well as do the automatic updates.

Be Careful of Email Attachments

Email is such a widely accepted method of communication, and this has not gone unnoticed by hackers who use email as a means of mass virus spread.

For this final checkpoint, your due diligence is the only software required.

Always delete any email from unknown senders and be very careful of any attachments you are not expecting from any known senders. As we have seen, hackers can quite easily access Outlook address books to spread viruses.

By the way, including a fake email address in your address book will not prevent your PC from spreading viruses. This is an urban legend. If you're interested in the full story, check out this link:

www.snopes.com/computer/virus/quickfix.htm

When it comes to the health of our computers, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Effective prevention software along with plain old common sense, used consistently, can keep you protected.

About The Author

Roxie Hickman, Virtual Assistant (VA), is the owner of The Virtual Connection. The Virtual Connection (www.thevirtualconnection.net) specializes in working with the 'sucstressed' (successful professionals who are stressed because they've been doing it alone). The Virtual Connection provides offsite executive, administrative, and personal assistance (virtual assistance).

roxie@thevirtualconnection.net

Eye Scan For Cows

2009-01-26T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Lance Winslow

Tracking our nations cattle is important to make sure our meat is safe from Mad Cow disease in fact it is essential that we pay attention to these things in the future. People are pretty fearful of such things whether or not the fear is warranted or not. The Cattle and Beef Industry is a very important part of our civilization and the added protein in our diets helps our nation stay ahead of the pack and feed our large brains as we carry the torch and the worlds most advanced and leading civilization.

Many ideas for tracking our cattle have been proposed. Some have indicated that bar coding the ear tags has proved to be a great way to use hand held scanners and computer generated lists to track the Cattle from cradle to grave. This makes a lot of sense and is good from a cost standpoint and many ranchers already use these techniques. Recently the idea of RFID or Radio Frequency Identification Tags be used to track cattle and although it is a little more expensive, such an overlay system could track the meat to the actual serving container or individual packaging on the store shelves, which seems to make consumers feel happy knowing their beef is truly safe.

Some are saying that since each animal; whether it be a worthless human animal or a future all you can eat steak or even 1000 hamburgers with four legs; has a unique retina pattern. This is very good to know. In New Mexico scientists are actually trying out this new scheme using eye-scanning technology on tracking cattle, which they hope to integrate into a national animal health tracking system.

Although it sounds very interesting and Sci Fi, this idea and concept could actually work, as the beam of light flashes at their eyes without hurting them and records it as a specific animal since no tow animals would be the same. Think on this.

Lance Winslow

Schedule Your Windows Tasks

2009-01-25T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Duane Hennessy

How many repetitive tasks do you perform manually on your PC at home or work?

What tasks do you perform which need all users to logout of the system during work hours?

If you are working within Windows then you can use Schtasks, which ships with Windows, to perform those tedious tasks for you.

Schtasks is a tool you can use to carry out a task at a particular time, date or day. You can use Schtasks to run VBScripts, Batch files or any kind of executable application that can be fired up from the command line within the console window. For instance, if you have a Windows service running, which for whatever reason needed bouncing every morning or after a weekend power down, you could write a VBScript to bounce the service and schedule it to run at an appropriate time. Here is an example of how you would set a schedule via Schtasks to bounce a service via a VBScript at 3 am every morning on business days Monday to Friday:

schtasks /create /tn bounce_service /sc mon,tue,wed,thu,fri /st 3:00 /tr "c:my scriptsbounce.vbs"

If you are using Schtasks on your PC, and not on a server, then you would not switch off your PC running when you leave work and let SchTasks can run your tasks overnight. Your last task on your PC might be to shutdown your PC. Schtasks does provide the ability to start up your computer at a specific time but I have found this a bit problematic to get working on some PCs.

Here are some ideas for using Schtasks:

Backup files when your computer is idle or at the end of a working day.
Run overnight processes when no users are logged onto a server, database or application.
Start up or shut down your PC.
Compact databases.
Compile multi-developer applications.
Perform web publishing overnight when resources are free.
FTP data across a network when bandwidth usage is low.
Start, stop or bounce Windows services.

Using Schtasks will reduce your manual labour, ensure consistent processing without human error, and buy you time to do other things.

For complete instructions on using Schtasks see: http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/schtasks.mspx

Duane Hennessy
Senior Software Engineer and Systems Architect
Bandicoot Software
Tropical Queensland, Australia
(ABN: 33 682 969 957)

Your own personal library of code snippets. http://www.bandicootsoftware.com.au

Moderator of http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AccessDevelopers

Risk Of Deafness With The Ipod

2009-01-24T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Brian Lupichuk

Risk of deafness with ipods! Today's young kids love their music loud but they risk the chance of going deaf by the time they are in their 40's.

A survey done recently has found out that an mp3 player at top volume is as dangerous as standing beside the speakers at a nightclub.

By the time the music lover starts getting ringing in the ears, it's too late to turn down the volume and save those ears. When this is done over and over again , you will get some major damage done to your hearing.

Delicate hair cells, including your ear drums and other important parts will be damaged by repeated loud music causing partial deafness or deafness period.

How much is too much? It's a matter of risk!

The survey found: Fourteen percent of all British listen to MP3 Players at least 28 hours per week.

Among those who report having ringing in their ears after a rock concert or night club visit, one-third went right back to playing MP3's every day - raising the risk of permanent damage to their hearing.

Twenty- eight per cent of 16 - 34 year olds visit noisy bars or pubs or nightclubs once or twice a week. Yet this age group is mainly unaware they can go deaf prematurely from the noise.

Hearing damage can start after just 15 minutes of steady noise at or above 105 decibels. Heavy traffic is around 85 decibels, a loud nightclubor someone shouting into your ear at close range is about 110. MP3 Players can reach 112 and some car stereos can reach 125 decibels.

So what's the best plan? Be more careful and protect your ears from getting permanent damage.

Here's an idea some may think it is stupid and some may not , but why not wear earplugs when you go to a loud bar, pub, or night club or concert. You can still hear but cut down the high noise by quite a lot. And turn down the volume on anything you plug into your ears.

We hope that we have raised or increased your awareness to how important it is to not have music blasting into your ears. Because we care and do not want the young generation to become deaf or even a partial bit deaf when they all in their 40's.

Brian Lupichuk invites you to Mp3 Players. An information based web site on MP3 Players.

The High Tech House

2009-01-23T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Phil Morettini

So, looking around for a really big opportunity that isn't yet being served? Look no further than the High Tech house.

Yes, I know, all the big computer and consumer electronics companies are investing billions in the market for pumping entertainment content via fat pipes into and throughout the home. And no doubt, this is becoming a very large market that will ultimately be huge. But that's not what I'm talking about. I believe that there is an even larger, but more mundane opportunity for software, semiconductor and electronics companies that has been largely ignored.

This new concept has been alluded to and talked about in theoretical, general terms by futurist speakers at trade shows and TV sound bites for many years. So in that sense it's not really new. But little has been done in terms of actual investment in companies and product development to attack this potentially enormous market. So what exactly am I talking about? Do you remember several years back all of the snickering about the Internet Toaster?

Let's call this the Internet Refrigerator market.

What's so compelling about this potential new market segment vs. the home entertainment opportunity that nearly every monster high tech company is already chasing? Well, of course, the first attractive thing is that not everyone is chasing it yet! As far as I can tell, very few are. The second thing that pops up when considering this potential market is that there should be an attractive payback available to the customer. That's something the entertainment space will never be able to sayit's sexy, fun and high profilebut it's looking to take a share of the already stretched consumer wallet for discretionary purchases. Thirdly, all of the technology necessary is already in existence. In the most recent study on broadband penetration this year, Nielson/Netratings found that 56% of US homes connected to the Internet are now using a broadband connection. Worldwide, almost two thirds of all Internet connects are broadband. The broadband world has arrived, and it's time to start utilizing it for something other than simply surfing the World Wide Web. And finally, this concept should yield substantial benefit the US and world economies by driving costs out of some of the most labor intensive, inefficient tasks in modern western society. Yes, I said substantial economic benefits. Curious yet? Read on!

I'm proposing that all of the major systems and appliances in our high tech homes be Internet-enabled and connected to our home network. Let's look at the benefits of this concept using an example of our Internet Refrigerator.

The Problem

This example is an amalgamation of similar experiences I've had many times since reaching adulthood. You're employed full time at a job that you drive to 15-45 minutes away from your house. If you're married, your spouse also is likely similarly employed these days. A major appliance such as your refrigerator breaks downand of course it's outside of the warranty period (they plan it that way!). You either call the store you originally purchased the appliance from, or if you're the thrifty type, shop around for a lower cost independent service provider. What happens next? Mostly frustration, if my experience is typical.

First off, no one can make it out on a service call for three days (there's a reason for thisthese are highly inefficient businesses). You still don't even know what's wrong with your Fridge, and by the waythe food is starting to rot. In addition to having to wait three days, no one will give you an actual specific "appointment" these days. Most often they give you the dreaded "4 hour window" appointment. Oh, and by the way, there is a minimum charge of $65 just to come to your house. No guarantees, no refunds even if they can't fix it. But what can you do? You swallow hard, eat out for the next 3 days (at added expense to your budget and waistline) and wait for your appointment.

The day of the appointment finally comes and you head home for your 4-hour window, much to your boss's consternation. Four hours come and go, and of course no one shows up. You call the service company, and as usual, "they're running late". (This happens because these inefficient service companies are in such demand that don't need to have a customer orientation, and utilize very little technology to optimize their business). So you wait an additional hour for them to get there, and then another hour to diagnose the problem. Pretty much a whole day of work productivity shotI hope that you weren't getting paid by the hour! But it gets even better. Upon diagnosing the problem, the repairman says "It's $200 for the part and $150 for the labor. Unfortunately I don't have the part available in the truckI'll have to order it." Great! Now you're scheduling another appointment with a 4-hour windowyou get the drill at this point. It's pretty ugly. In this modern world, there's got to be a way. And I believe that there is.

The Solution

What if that refrigerator was instrumented and outfitted with a cheap microcontroller, embedded web server software and Ethernet or WI-FI Port? Well, especially with all of the broadband households now online, you could make major changes to this productivity-sapping service fire drill.

The first thing you would do under this new scenario is to call up your preferred service provider and explain the problem. After granting them access to the Refrigerator's IP address using the "Home Network Console" software on your PC, the service provider would run a diagnostic software program on your Fridge. With luck they could diagnose the problem right then and there. Maybe all that's required is a minor tweaking of the appliance setting that can be done remotely or by you, and only a small service charge is due. Even if it's a failed part, the service provider could check their parts inventory immediately and order the part if it's out of stock. Only when the part is available would a service truck be dispatched for a quick installation.

Think of how much service technician time would be saved. Or how much gas saved, fewer trucks on the road, not to mention the productivity regained by the hapless customer waiting at home. The service providers would become much more efficient, allowing them to provide better service, at lower prices, using less techs. Customers would be thrilled and have added productivity in their own jobs. And I believe that the first Appliance manufacturers offering this capability would have a huge advantage and an opportunity to quickly gain market share while enhancing their brand as "cutting edge". This opportunity applies to just about every capital purchase in the home: Refrigerators, Washers & Dryers, Home Entertainment, Furnaces, Air Conditioners, Stoves, Dishwashers, etc.

Some of you may think this sounds great but it's too futuristic and not realistic. Yet as I mentioned above, all of the necessary technology exists today. When you think about it, this idea is really just an extension of the software being installed in most modern computers which allows control and problem diagnosis remotely by an IT professional. And the campaign for acceptance of this concept could piggyback the huge investment by companies pushing entertainment and communications products/services over broadband pipes, which is already in process.

Who and When?

So why hasn't this happened yet? Why is this being ignored, while everyone dukes it out over home entertainment? It's hard to say because it could really be the proverbial "Next Big Thing.". But again, it's not very sexy. And the Appliance manufacturers are not technology-driven companies, and as a result don't' innovate or adopt new technology very quickly. But this is going to happen, it's just too big. It is only a question of when. So what's it going to take? Maybe it will be a smaller appliance manufacturer who needs an edge to compete, and is nimble and more willing to innovate and take risks. Or it might possibly occur when a network/systems management software company looking for a way to grow, decides to extend their core competency from B2B to B2C by approaching appliance manufacturers with market-ready software. Or an embedded software or silicon company that sees the opportunity to extend their microcontroller or embedded web server from the industrial world to the enormous consumer market.

When will it happen? I don't know. I expected it to be well underway by now. But sometimes, big ideas are slow to catch on. With this one, I'm convinced it's just a matter of time. Will your company be the one to capitalize?

Phil Morettini is the Author and President of PJM Consulting, a Managment Consultancy to Software and High Tech Companies. PJM Consulting executes special, strategic projects and can also supply interim senior management in General Management (CEO, COO, Division Manager), Product Marketing, M&A, Distribution Channels and Business Development. You can contact Phil on the PJM Consulting Website (http://www.pjmconsult.com/data/contactus.htm) or via email at info@pjmconsult.com

Avoid Air Travel Troubles With A Flash Drive

2009-01-22T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by John Retzer

With the latest terrorist scare, many flights no longer permit you to travel with your laptop and other electronic devices. That's understandable -- no one wants to be blown out of the sky -- but it makes things difficult for the business traveller.

Of course, when you get to your destination, you can always use computers in your hotel's business center, a loaner from the office at your destination, a local internet cafe, a friend's house, or even the public library. The problem, however, is that to be productive, you need your files, applications, internet bookmarks, and other things that your normally keep on the laptop.

Even more important: when you use the borrowed computer, you dont' want to accidentally leave behind any evidence of what you've been doing.

Fortunately, there is a way to finesse these problems: carry everything you need on a large capacity flash drive. Not only can flash drives carry reams of data, they also can run an amazing variety of applications straight from the drive. For security purposes, that's a key factor, because when you unplug the drive all traces of your visit go with you.

Several key applications can be run directly from a flash drive:

Your average businessman may need nothing more than files and Microsoft Office. OpenOffice is an free, entirely Microsoft Office compatible suite that can be run from your flash drive. It includes a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation tool, drawing package and database. The portable version takes up just 144MB, so you'll have no problem fitting it on larger flash drives.

FoxIt offers a Foxit Reader, a free portable pdf reader.

CoSySys' Carry it Easy software lets users synchronize, consolidate and access Firefox Bookmarks from any computer and store them on flash drives. The No Trace Browing feature makes sure that all privacy related data like cookies, history, etc. are stored on the flash drive.

Portable Firefox installs a version of the popular internet browser on your drive -- including your bookmarks. It takes up 16.2 MB of space and has all of the neat features of the regular version, including tabbed browsing.

For totally anonymous surfing, you can install Torpark on your drive, using Torpark's servers to mask your real IP address.

For web developers, FireZilla offers a flash drive portable FTP Client. Webserver On A Stick from CH software installs on your stick a full powered Apache server with PHP and MYSQL. Portable NVU offers a complete web authoring system like Frontpage or Dreamweaver.

Graphics designers have fewer options, but a good one is the Photofiltre Image Editing Software. Open Office also has a drawing module.

To make sure that you don't pick up something nasty from those public computers, you need an antivirus. Avira offers a portable and free antivirus program. It takes up 30MB of space.

And finally, to ensure that all of this data is safe in case you lose the stick, you should get a flash drive with built in security measures, such as a fingerprint reader, or password protection -- or both. If your drive didn't come with encryption, TrueCrypt is a free, open source security program.

Links to all of the software mentioned above can be found at the Flash Drive Blog at www.flashdriveblog.com.

John Retzer has worked as a professional journalist, photographer, editor, public relations professional and golf coach. He currently teaches economics, political science and history. In his "spare time" he runs several websites and blogs, including Flash Drive Blog at http://www.flashdriveblog.com and Golf Blogger at http://www.golfblogger.com

Noise Cancelling Headphones And Ipods

2009-01-21T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Steve Joseph

Wouldn't it be nice if you could just shut off those sounds that can be so irritating? Those rattles, hums and hissing noises can be extremely annoying, especially when you are trying to focus on something else. Well it appears that a solution has finally presented itself in the form of noise cancelling headphones.

In fact noise cancelling headphones have been in existence for some time, although high research and development costs have previously kept them out of the hand of consumers, until now that is.

Big brand names like Bose and Sony have jumped at the chance to bring noise cancelling headphone onto the consumer market, with a range of reasonably priced products. Some consumers might see the headphones as a little bulky but they certainly outperform their smaller counterparts and reward the listener with clearer sound and more importantly, clearer sound at lower volume levels.

The importance of being able to listen to music clearly at low volume levels has been highlighted by the advent of the iPod, which has taken the music world by storm. According to http://www.cancelingnoise.com an iPod is capable of producing somewhere in the vicinity of 85dB of sound, which if listened to for long periods is likely to cause permanent hearing loss. With noise cancelling headphones however, listeners are able to listen to their favorite tracks without competing with ambient noise by boosting the volume to dangerous levels. This makes noise cancelling headphones a must have accessory for anyone who listens to music regularly and particularly those who listen to music while commuting.

Aside from the obvious draw back of being a little bulky, the headsets do use more power than regular headphones. Once again, I would say that the increase in quality and ability to listen to music at lower volumes outweighs this negative. Although noise cancelling headphones are very effective they do have their limitations and short sharp sound is one of them. The headphones are unable to adjust to short sharp sounds, rather they are suited to humming or hissing sounds.

Otherwise they are fast becoming an essential part of audio equipment and a sure fire success as a gift for anyone with an iPod.

The author is a regular contributor to http://www.cancellingnoise.com and permission to reproduce this article is given only on the basis that all links remain active and intact.

The Help Desk

2009-01-20T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Ben Shar

When you think of a help desk, what do you picture? Do you see a large desk with an elderly woman sitting behind it pencil behind the ear? Maybe it has a computer or two? Of course the person is smiling, but you know it's not going to be much help to talk to them. Now, transform this image to the computer help desk. Now, erase those images and focus on the computers. The help desks of the internet are much more computer powered and, as it should be, helpful!

A help desk is found throughout the internet on websites that require your input. Web merchants have them. Websites with message boards often have them. Their main point is to allow you the opportunity gather the information you need to finish your task. Let's say that you are in need of a password for a website. If there is an icon labeled help desk, you can click on it. You may have to do a search for the topic you need. You may have to browse through a list of frequently asked questions. But, often it will take you to a web page that you can send an email to the actual help desk. That "desk" is a contact that can answer your question for you. While it is not an immediate response, it can be responded to within a day or so. Some websites offer help desks that move much quicker, others slower.

The point of a help desk is to allow the user to communicate with the owner of a website. It serves as a way to ask questions and get information. The help desk is such a great tool on websites because of this. To find out if a website has a help desk, you can simply look on the home page for a link to it. Usually this tends to be near the bottom of the page or at the very top. The next time you need some help, try utilizing the help desk feature!

The Help Desk Resource Site is an all-in-one Resource for everything about Help Desks.

Artificial Intelligence And Map Reading

2009-01-19T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Lance Winslow

Can we design an artificial intelligent machine to read a map and give out directions? Well, we already have really and this is how GPS units work in your car as they call out which way to turn next. But can we design a 3D artificial intelligent map reading machine? Well, we already have those too you see they are in aircraft and they can literally take a 747 and fly it from take-off to a zero-zero landing in the fog where the pilots cannot even see the run way.

Well can we design an artificial intelligent machine to read ocean topography and guide a submarine? Yes, you will be glad to know we already have those as well. How about an artificial intelligent map reading and trajectory system to go to the moon or guide the Space Shuttle? Indeed, NASA has these already and thanks to their efforts and much of the hand-me-down transfer technologies, that is where all this other great technology came from too.

Now the hardship comes when you ask a computer to reach into the glove box, find the correct map, open it without ripping it, locate where you are, then give you directions. And once scientists and artificial intelligent researchers can master that and build a robotic artificial intelligent haptic enabled android, well that will be spectacular indeed. Consider this in 2006.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Calculator Tips Improve Graphs With The Ti83ti84 Formatting Screen

2009-01-18T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Samuel Mela

There are many options to control the display of graphs in a TI-83 / TI-84 series calculator. To format a graph in a TI-83 / TI-84 calculator, you must use the format menu.

Access the Format Menu

1. Press the 2ND key then the ZOOM key.
2. You should now be in the "Format Menu Screen".

The default setup of the Format Menu Screen looks like this:

RectGC PolarGC
CoordOn CoordOff
GridOff GridOn
AxesOff AxesOn
LabelOff LabelOn
ExprOn ExprOff

Change Formatting Options

To change formatting options, you use the cursor keys to move the cursor on the screen and select a new option. The cursor keys are in the upper right hand corner of the calculator, to the right of the [DEL] key, and above the [VARS] and [CLEAR] keys.

1. Use the cursor keys to move around on the screen.
2. When you have selected the formatting option you want, push the ENTER key.

For example, if you select GridOn and push ENTER, this is what the screen will look like.

RectGC PolarGC
CoordOn CoordOff
GridOff GridOn
AxesOff AxesOn
LabelOff LabelOn
ExprOn ExprOff

Formatting Options

Polar Versus Rectangular Coordinates

If you select RectCG the coordinates of the graph cursor will be displayed in X,Y (rectangular) coordinates. If you select PolarCG, the coordinates of the graph cursor will be displayed in r,θ (polar) coordinates.

CoordOn Versus CoordOff

If you select CoordOn the coordinates of the cursor location cursor will be displayed at the bottom of the graph, as you move the cursor around. If you select CoordOff, the coordinates will not be displayed.

GridOn Versus GridOff

If you select GridOn the graph will be covered with grid points the same distance apart as the tick marks that appear on the X and Y coordinate lines. If you select GridOff, no grid points will be displayed. Try it!

AxesOn Versus AxesOff

If you select AxesOn the X and Y axes will be displayed. If you select AxesOff, no axes will be displayed.

LabelOn Versus LabelOff

If you select LabelOn X and Y axis labels will be displayed. If you select LabelOff, no labels will be displayed.

ExprOn Versus ExprOff

This only applies when you are in the Trace screen. If you select ExprOn the expression you are tracing will appear in the upper left corner of the screen,. If you select ExprOff, no expression will be displayed.

Sam Mela runs a math tutoring business in Springfield Virginia. To see a version of this article with nice pictures, go to http://www.weekendsuccess.com/Docs/FormatYourTI84Graph.pdf

Gtd On Pda Back To Basics

2009-01-17T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Eric Ericlodi

A PDA is a very effective tool to implement GTD. My piece of advice would be to keep things simple and stick to the basic, native applications that make the PIM (Personal Information Manager): calendar, contacts, ToDo and memo or notes.

This may sound quite a strange statement: forums are filled with enquiries and testimonials about so many attractive softwares, used for GTD or even designed for it. Well... if you like to experiment with applications and spend loads of time on it, my advice is not for you. But if you intend primarily to implement GTD and if wasting time tweaking hardware, software and synchronization is not in your objectives and projects, read further!

Implementing GTD on PDA means actually on PDA and computer - at least - in order to be complete and effective with mail, files,...

Then, as a matter of fact, it is highly unusual to keep the same hardware / software configuration for long. Only to illustrate this point, in the past year my work computer was changed, the e.mail client and the PIM changed twice (not to mention the upgrade). My PDA and phone were replaced. I was not calling for these changes, and it sounds a lot for a year, but stuff get obsolete, stop working, get replaced, company IT policies do evolve, OS and software are upgraded, compatibility changes... Of course, adding home devices in the picture (in order to be in sync there) only multiplies the combination of changes and reduce the life span of a given configuration.

In this context of frequent migration, the beauty of sticking to basic native applications is that standard data and standard organization will transfer seamlessly (or almost, crossing fingers...) to new systems.

Then... is it possible to implement GTD effectively on a basic PDA PIM? Absolutely! Let's review how another day...

Keep it Basic, and you will Migrate without Headache !

Ericlodi

Ericlodi has managed manufacturing, innovation, business units and companies for 20 years. He is convinced that good methods and sound organization leverage fruitful exchanges and concrete results. When time allows, he likes to present effective methods.

http://web.mac.com/ericlodi/iWeb/Orgameth/

How To Buy The Perfect Pc

2009-01-16T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Dee Kerr

PCs have become a staple in every home. Without PCs, you will find it hard to stay connected and to even do the work required of you in school or in the office. With so much PC packages being shoved to our throat every time we go to department stores and computer shops, you'll really get quite confused on what you really need and what PC package will fit your budget and lifestyle. To help you through this dilemma, here is a brief backgrounder of the parts of PCs that you should get to know.

Processor.

This is one of the three primary components of your PC. The processor is the part that determines how fast your computer process information. Intel is still the leading brand in processors but competitors such as American Micro Devices (AMD) are slowly catching up, offering cheaper alternative. In shopping for a processor, one should consider the following:

Clock speed - this will show the number of instructions that a computer can execute in a second. This usually comes after the brand name. Processors nowadays are already set at the gigahertz range.

Cache memory - this stores the data that were previously accessed. This simplifies the work of the computer as it would not take twice as long to access information already stored in memory bank. Without a cache memory, much of the work will fall on the RAM (Random Access Memory).

Operating temperature - some processors easily heats up. Before buying, make sure that you have asked about the operating temperature just in case you need to buy additional fans or put the computer in an air-conditioned room.

RAM (Random Access Memory)

RAM serves as the temporary memory of the PC, containing information that are needed for the computer and the programs to function. In addition to processors, RAM also determines the speed of the computer. The higher the RAM, the faster the computer is in accessing information and responding to commands.

Motherboard

This is where all the parts of the PC's CPU (Central Processing Unit) are attached. Some motherboards already have videocards and soundcards embedded on it while others don't. what is important however is to choose a motherboard that is compatible with your RAM and processor. Incompatibility of PC hardware can cause major problems and may even lead to the breakdown of your computer.

Hard drive

This is the part where you store all the information in your PC. Picture a floppy disk with much much larger storing capacity. The hard drive serves as the permanent memory of your computer. Here you install all your programs and save all the documents that you need. It is also important that you buy a hard drive with really big capacity especially now when people are so used to storing multimedia files that may use up a lot of hard drive space.

Video cards

This is the part of the computer which determines the quality of the multimedia images that you will view. The higher the memory of the video card, the better is the picture quality and the colors. Also, video cards are also responsible for how fast multimedia images are accessed. This is especially needed if you use your computer for multimedia activities such as watching a movie or playing video games.

Dee Kerr makes it easy to find a PC that suits your needs, quickly & easily. Learn the essential keys to look out for. visit: Pc buying guide website, or want to build a PC?

Basic Changes To Make In Your Internet Explorer Options

2009-01-15T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by D. David Dugan

Most people get their computer with Internet Explorer already installed and set to all the default settings. The default settings are what Microsoft calls "recommended settings". These settings are not always the best for your usage. One size does not always fit all. But how do you change the settings and what do they all mean? I'm glad you asked . . .

In this article I am going to take you step by step through these settings to explain them to you. Open a new browser window before you start, so you can follow these steps as you read the article. At the top of your new browser window, click on "tools" then "Internet Options".

The first tab you will see is the "general" tab. The very first option you have is where to set your home page. Type in http://forum.dugancom.com/ I'm just kidding. That is my website. Pick a website that you want your browser to open to every time you go online. If you have a favorite search engine, put it there. If you have a home page enter that. Hit apply when you have done this and that will be your home page from now on. Anytime you hit the home button at the top of your browser it will automatically go to that page.

The next option you have is to "delete cookies". There is a lot said about how to manage cookies and what they are for on the Internet. But for the purposes of this article I will just tell you that cookies store information like websites where you want to be automatically logged in rather than having to type in a username and password every time. There are other cookie uses and hopefully I will have time to write about that in another article. If you delete the cookies, you will have to login to websites you use often and it won't remember your username etc.

The next button says "delete files". These are the temporary files Internet Explorer stores on your hard drive so if you go back to them they will load faster because the images and other files are already downloaded. Later we will get to another area with a setting that will help you manage this. You can go ahead and delete these files if you want to and every now and then you should.

The next button is called "settings". Click on that button now. It says, "Check for newer versions of stored pages . . . " then gives you several options. Clicking "every visit to the page" will cause pages to load slower because rather than going into the temporary Internet files for cached files, it queries the server for the newest version of any files on that page.

"Every time I open Internet Explorer" means that the first time you visit that website, "this session", it will check for a newer version of the page. After that, it will refer to the cached page on your hard drive. "Automatically" means you let Internet Explorer manage this for you and that is the recommended setting. "Never" means it will always use the cached version on your hard drive rather than check for newer versions.

I recommend either auto or never, because if you want to check for newer versions of a page all you have to do is push shift and hit the refresh button on your browser tool bar.

The next option in settings is how much space to allow for temporary Internet files. Five to Twenty megabytes is plenty. Internet Explorer tends to override your choice here anyway. Bill knows best I guess.

The next button is "move folder". Don't click that. Back away slowly and do not touch that button. It sends nuclear missiles at several minor countries. Seriously, moving the location of your temporary Internet files is not a good idea. The next button, "view files" is pretty boring stuff and you don't need to do anything here. The same can be said for "view objects". Those three can all be left alone.

Go ahead and click ok so we can go back to the general tab. You will see the next option is about computer history. Now this is a personal choice. You know how links you have clicked on before are a different color than those that you have not clicked on? Well history remembers that for you so you know which pages you have or have not visited. It also records the history of all the websites you or anyone else on your computer has visited. In your address bar, the drop down arrow that shows you all the websites you have been to is put there by the "history" option. It is also used if you have auto-complete enabled for web addresses you are typing into your address bar.

You can set this for the number of days you want to save history for. If you have kids, you can access these files to see where they are going on the Internet as well. If you are using a computer at work you might want to set this to 1 day. To the right of where you enter the number of days is the button to erase history now. Computer experts can still find your history. This is not absolute.

Next button is "colors". The best setting is "use windows colors, but experiment if you want to. Next button is "fonts" and if you click on that, it's pretty self-explanatory. This is not where you choose font size. That is in the "view" part of your browser rather than the "tools" area we are in now. "Languages" is also self-explanatory. "Accessibility" is where you can alter settings if you have special needs.

Ok, now let's move on to the "Security" tab. "Medium" is the best setting for most users and probably is already set there. Be careful when changing security options that you do not understand. Click "custom level". Scroll through. If there are things you are absolutely sure about and want to change, then do so. But if you are not sure, don't change it.

You will see that when we first came to the tab the "Internet" icon was selected in the window at the top. You can also click on "Local Internet" and do the same for your settings there. This is for your local network if you have one. The next icons are, "trusted sites" and "restricted sites". You can add websites to either area that you wish to allow or disallow no matter what other settings are on your computer. This is one way to block your child from visiting a particular website.

Go to the next tab at the top called "privacy". Now this is another area where you need to be careful and understand what you are changing before doing so. This is probably already set to "medium" which is fine for most users. The "import" button probably doesn't apply to you. Click the "advanced" button. Everything here is probably grayed out except the option to check override cookie handling.

Automatic settings mean that you accept both first party and third party cookies. That means you accept cookies from the website you are visiting and from any other websites that the website you are visiting has chosen to set cookies on your hard drive like their advertisers or others who want to track user's habits.

Click 'override automatic cookie handling", then check "block" for the third party cookies and you will block some spyware or adware being placed on your system. If you want to block cookies from a particular website or you want to only allow cookies from specific websites, this is where you add those websites.

Next, we go to the "Content" tab. Again, this is an area that you need to know what you are changing before you change anything. You can click "enable" for content advisor. The first slider bar can be changed to block different types of content. First you can start with types of language you wish to block, then nudity, sex, and violence by clicking the icons in the window and using the slider bar. The "more info" button will help you understand this more.

The "approved sites" tab at the top will let you enter websites that you want to access regardless of the settings you just made with the slider bar. On the "general" tab, you should click allow websites that have no rating because not all websites are rated. You can also check the box that says a supervisor, you, can use a password to access restricted websites.

If you share your computer with your children, this is an option where you can visit restricted websites but they cannot. Be careful when setting this password. If you forget it, you will not be able to make changes to these settings later. If you lose this password, you have to know how to go into the registry to get it removed. Unless you know about rating systems, you don't need to worry about the two buttons at the bottom of this tab or the "advanced tab".

Click ok to make any changes you made and to enter a password if you decided you wanted one. If you understand about "certificates" and "publishers" then you don't need my help here. If you don't understand them, leave those buttons alone.

Click the "autocomplete" button. This is pretty easy to understand. Autocomplete works to help you not have to type the same information on forms and in your Internet Explorer address bar. You can also clear any previous information here. Click prompt me to save passwords and it will ask you each time you enter a password if you want Internet Explorer to remember your password for this website so you don't have to type it in every time. I don't recommend you allow it to remember banking and financial passwords.

"My Profile" is where you can enter information about yourself and use that whenever asked for your profile on a website or it can be automatically accessed by some applications saving you time.

Now, click the "connections" tab. If you are currently connected to the web and reading this article, then it is safe to assume your settings here are correct and you should leave them alone.

Click the "programs" tab at the top. There are drop down menus to help you set the default program for each of the tasks. This is a personal choice that will let you set your default web browser, html editor, and email program.

Now we reach the "advanced" tab at the top. Scary hunh? No, this area is mostly personal choices and your choices don't have near the serious consequences of your settings in "content", "privacy", and "security".

Most of the choices should be left where they are as the default settings. I will only talk here about the ones you may want to change. Do not check notification for EVERY script error unless you want to be annoyed a lot. Not every script in every webpage is error-free and there will be a lot of popups about them if you check that box.

Notify me when downloads complete if checked will give you a sound when a download is done. Underline links is a personal choice. I leave it set on always so I know when I see a link. The next ones again are a choice of whether you want to use Autocomplete.

You can scroll through the rest of the choices and change the ones you understand. Likely if you don't understand an option you don't need to change it anyway. I hope this article has been helpful to you and has helped you personalize your settings rather than have Bill Gates do it for you.

D. David Dugan personally helps to maintain their computer support forum at http://forum.dugancom.com as well as their Spyware Information site http://spyware.dugancom.com

Screensavers

2009-01-13T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Kevin Stith

A Screensaver is a program which gets activated automatically after a computer monitor or a cell phone has been inactive for some time. When it gets activated, it displays a blank screen or moving images. The time duration after which a Screensaver gets automatically activated can be defined by the user. For instance, if the user defines twenty minutes as the time duration, Screensavers get activated the moment there is inactivity for twenty minutes.

Originally, the purpose of a Screensaver, as the name implies, was to save the screen by preventing a fixed display from damaging the screen. Fixed displays would attack the screen at the same places, by virtue of their fixed nature, and would cause damage to those portions of the screen which were under attack. In scientific parlance, this phenomenon is referred to as "screen burn".

Screen burns often damaged Cathode Ray Tube or CRT monitors, causing distortion, such as blurred images, additional vertical or horizontal lines, and faded patches. In CRT monitors, images are formed by electron beams that focus on the same points on the screen. The repeated formation of the same images would target the same points on the screen and damage them. Therefore, the objective of the Screensaver was to constantly change images on the screen so that no particular points were constantly under attack. However, with the evolution in technology, Screensavers are not essential. More and more people have discontinued the use of CRT monitors. Yet Screensavers are still used for other purposes.

These days, Screensavers are used for what can be called "visual relief". Often when users are working on something, instead of staring at the same screen the sight of a colorful Screensaver is a sight for sore eyes. This probably explains why there are millions of Screensavers that users can choose from. Some people like to look at the changing facial expressions of their favorite celebrities while taking a break from work. Others like to look at picturesque locations that are replete with natural beauty. Still others love to watch animation which features their favorite cartoon characters. Some people also like to look at their favorite sport being played on screen. Screensavers can also be accompanied with music. There are almost as many Screensavers as people, and, therefore, plenty of options to choose from.

Sometimes, particularly at the workplace, people use Screensavers for branding and advertising. The Screensaver displays the logo of a company, the vision statement of the company, the quality policy or the values of a company. In addition to advertising and branding, this use of the Screensaver also adds a touch of professionalism to the workplace, by generating uniformity.

Screensavers provides detailed information about screensavers, free screensavers, nature screensavers, animated screensavers and more. Screensavers is the sister site of Computer Projector Rentals.

Stop Pushing Delete

2009-01-12T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Angie Hodges

Stop pushing delete-simply un-subscribe. Although a topic may have been of interest to you four years ago, when you were snowed in with nothing more to do but surf the web for tips on knitting your dog a tail warmer, you may have since grown as a person, and evolved. Maybe you moved on to Paper Mache', or thumb wrestling.

You complain each time you open your email box and there are 23 emails filled with information on where to buy yarn by the pallet, and links to patterns for doggie mittens. Habitually, you grumble under your breath something about spam, and hit delete, delete, delete. If you know you subscribed to the site, and no longer require the information, simply open the email and un-subscribe. Granted, this isn't always easy. Sometimes the site owner of that knitting circle will harass you with a pop up or two, trying to lure you back.

Sure, they'll tempt you. They'll remind you that by leaving the group, you're going to miss out on their list of nifty new uses for knitting needles (kind of interesting, I must admit) but be strong. They may even try to sweeten the deal by offering you helpful hints on creating potholders for all occasions. Unless you truly see yourself breaking out your dusty old knitting needles to create the next fad in leg warmers, just click un-subscribe. It will make your life much easier. (Send me that link for the knitting needles uses, would ya?)

Angie Hodges, GVA Angie Assist Virtual Purchasing and Business Support http://www.angieassist.net

Ccna Ccnp Home Lab Tutorial A Guide To Cable Types

2009-01-11T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Chris Bryant

When you're putting your CCNA and/or CCNP home lab together, you're not just buying routers and switches you're creating a blueprint for success. There is no better way to learn about how real Cisco routers and switches work than to work with the real thing!

Of course, it's not enough to just get the routers and switches you've got to have the right cables and other devices to allow them to communicate. Let's take a look at the different cables and connectors you need to know about when putting together your CCNA and CCNP home labs.

The basic cable you'll need is a straight-through cable. These are used to connect your switches and routers also, if you have an ISDN simulator, you'll need a straight-through cable to connect the router's BRI interface to the simulator.

A more specialized cable type is the DTE/DCE cable. If you plan to use the serial interfaces on your routers (and you certainly should be!), you'll need some of these cables. To connect two routers directly via their serial interfaces, you must have a DTE/DCE cable. (If you have a Cisco router set up as a frame relay switch, you'll need more of these cables.)

If you have multiple switches, you'll want to connect these switches in order to create a trunk line and possibly an Etherchannel. To successfully create a trunk between two switches, you'll need crossover cables.

To connect your PC directly to the router or switch you're configuring, you'll need a rollover cable, also referred to as a rolled cable. This cable has an Rj-45 connector on one end and DB-9 connector on the other.

Once you've added multiple routers and switches to your CCNA / CCNP home lab, you'll get tired of moving that rolled cable around. An access server (a special model of Cisco router, actually) will allow you to connect the rolled cable to it and communicate with all your devices via that connection. To use an access server, you'll need an octal cable. This unusual cable has a large serial connector on one end (this won't fit just any serial interface, so when purchasing an access server, make sure to get the right type of Cisco router) and has eight separate RJ-45 connectors at the other end.

The best news of all for all CCNA and CCNP candidates is that like used routers and switches, all these cables are affordable. You can find vendors that sell these cables on ebay and through search engines, and the odds are that the vendor that sold you your lab equipment also sells these cables. This also gives you first-hand experience in cabling your own lab - and that is the best exam preparation of all! (Multiple-choice questions on cable types are easy when you've actually worked with them!)

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages. For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, "How To Pass The CCNA" and "How To Pass The CCNP", visit the website and download your free copies. You can also get FREE CCNA and CCNP exam questions every day! Pass the CCNA exam with The Bryant Advantage!

Interface Design Its Not Yahtzee

2009-01-10T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Duane Hennessy

The interface is the face of the application behind which all of our instructional code is hidden; the interface between the user and the machinations for data crunching. It is imperative that the interface is well organised and easy to traverse with a mouse. I have seen command buttons thrown upon a form as if the developer were throwing dice in a game of yahtzee! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahtzee%21)

Ugly or disheveled design does not entice a user to utilise the application we put our blood, sweat and tears into and after all of our effort we want to motivate the user to utilise our application as much as possible.

One of our purposes as programmers is to improve the user's experience of their working environment. Well ordered and aligned controls upon a form and well spaced details within a report will be easier upon the user's eye and easier for the user to navigate the information presented. The user often uses the mouse cursor to guide their eyes around the display screen in a more focussed way. This is a similar principal to using a pencil to guide one's eyes as a speed reading method (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_reading).

It is important to understand the psyche of the user. Most users live in a very different work space to us developers. A user who works for Administration services relies heavily upon grammatically correct written language and a particular spatial sense of proportion and balance with regards to information printed upon a report which also extends to an application's forms. Inconsistent use of capitalisation within a report or spelling mistakes within an application will be revealed by the user or client. Some programmers may conclude that the user or client is being pernickety but would we want this type of grammatical or syntactical error to appear within our code? For instance; would we want to find the word employee to be misspelt as employea and appearing as employea or Employea within a case insensitive language?

Accurately named buttons upon a form are preferable to images. An image can speak a thousand words but what does an image of a tree say? I've seen trees and fish used as images upon buttons. Really, it is not kindergarten and images are always open to interpretation. Write out a button's intentions clearly in written language. Images are useful for toolbars or coolbars and there are well defined and almost universally acceptable sets of icons available for these purposes and I suggest buying a quality set of icons from a graphics house like IconExperience or IconFactory.

Application colour is also a critical aspect of usability and application identification. Brand colours of a client's organisation or your own is often a good choice. You can give the user the option of changing the primary colour of an application specific to their PC. The main proviso in colour choice is consistency and as few as possible. I have seen many programmers first attempts at an application become a fairground of diversely coloured forms or having a form within the application that changes colour from green to red during data validation errors. My first application was an example of the full colour spectrum. When I first started programming, colour computer screens had not long been on the market and I used the new functionality to it's fullest extent! It drove the user batty and someone else edited the application to use more uniform colours.

Limitations to a user's access to data within an application needs to be made obvious. If a user cannot access a control's data then disable that control and colour it a non-intrusive grey. Profligate use of error notifications with phrases like "Access Violation!", "Warning!" or "Security Breach" when a user clicks a control that has data they do not have access to, is an absolutely ridiculous waste of time and an unnecessary cause of user anxiety.

In most cases it is preferable to allow the user to see all of the controls upon a form including features they cannot access; features which can be disabled. If you hide controls upon a form you risk discombobulating your well organised form layout which violates the guideline of improving the user's working experience. Even more disconcerting is hidden controls that magically appear in front of the user: Yes I know the controls have a visible property but it does not mean we have to use it.

In summation of the above:

Well ordered and laid out controls are easier upon the eye and easier to navigate with the mouse cursor.
Check for grammatical errors or inconsistency in the way words are used.
Use written names instead of icons or images for a form's controls.
Use a uniform colour identifier for applications. Corporate branding colours are a good choice.
Do not hide controls from the user. If the user cannot access a control then notify them of the limitation in a a non-intrusive way.
Do not make controls appear and disappear upon a form.

For those interested in improving the grammar and punctuation within their applications I highly recommend the following book:

Renton, N.E. (2004) Compendium of Style & Good Writing - Third Edition, John Wiley & Sons Australia.

The older copies, of which I own one, were: Renton, N.E. (1990) Elements of Style & Good Writing, Schwartz and Wilkinson, Melbourne, Australia.

Duane Hennessy
Senior Software Engineer and Systems Architect.
Bandicoot Software
Tropical Queensland, Australia
(ABN: 33 682 969 957)

Bandicoot CodeClipper, your code snippet organiser. http://www.bandicootsoftware.com.au

Moderator of http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AccessDevelopers.

Did Redhat Linux Or Windows Xp Computed 2 Power 9999999

2009-01-09T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by George Chamoun

If you ask any computer expert about the advantage of computer use, two of their answers will be: The numeric computation capability, and the speed at which any task is done.

There many more advantages for using computers, but I will stress on the numeric computation aspect of those advantages.

I have done a test involving numeric computing to test the power of my Central Processing Unit of my computer. What I also did the test using Windows Xp and Redhat Linux, which are both installed on the same computer.

One of the reasons why I did the test, that I am about to explain, was my urge to sense the power of computer by looking at the screen.

Another reason was, I was getting fed up with Hearing about computer specs, without even knowing what they can do, or mean.

Here is an example:

Pentium II, 350 MHZ, Ram=256MB
Pentium III, 500 MHZ , Ram=512MB
and so on...

What is the power of the above specs?. How to approximate how many times the above P III is more powerful than the P II?.

Here is what I did:

I used my Pentium II, Ram=288MBs computer that has Windows XP and Linux installed on the same Hard disk in the same computer.

I tried to use the maximum numeric computational power of the computer by trying to get the result of multiplying the number '2" by itself 99 times and every time I got a result, I added another "9" until the computer can't handle the numbers anymore.

Using Windows Xp, I ran the calculator by typing "calc.exe" in the Run box. Then, I used the scientific calculator to handle the exponential calculation.

The most I was able to compute was 2 power 99,999. When I tried 2 power 999,999, Windows XP resulted in an error saying: "Invalid input for function"

Then, I rebooted my computer, and picked Redhat Linux to run on the same computer instead of Windows Xp. Once Linux prompted me to login, I used the mathematical utility Linux has. It is called by typing "bc" at the command line.

Once I ran "bc", I typed 2^99,999, the same maximum number I used in Windows Xp calculator . In about 2 seconds, i got the result.

Then, I tried a bigger number, 2^999,999 which Windows Xp scientific calculator could not handle. In about 5 seconds, I got the result on the screen. then, I added one more digit to compute 2^9,999,999 which is 2 multiplied by itself 10 Millions times minus one.

I waited about 35 minutes, then Linux BC application produced the result on the screen by showing few screens full of numbers from left to right, and top to bottom.

Now you probably thinking, how does this computing relate to the performance of the CPU, or the whole computer as a whole.

Here is the answer:

What I discussed so far is using certain numbers to get the result of the formula 2 power 9,999,999. While running the calculation using "bc" in Linux. there another command to track the running processes in real time.

So, as you are running the calculations, you use another utility called "top" in RedHat Linux.

Once you run "top", the system shows you on the screen a list of applications, with all details about the resources consumed for each. The list is updated every few seconds, and each line shows the name of application.

So, to see the computation performance of "bc", you look up the line that says "bc". Then, you look on the same line that will show you information about "bc" like:

1-the time it is been running 2-The memory consumption in % of total ram 3-How much CPU power is being used for the application in % and more variables.

You can watch the screen for the updated time the application has been running for the current moment. Once the calculation is presented on the screen, you will know the calculation is done. You look at the time you just recorded right before the application ended.

The time the application took to calculate the formula: 2^9,999,999 and the memory used, in addition to the CPU power will give you an approximate idea about what your computer can do.

Also, you can use the above test to compare two computers and get and idea about the power.

Here is an example:

If computer P II, Ram=256Mbs took 30 minutes to compute 2^9,999,999; then, you ran the same test 2^9,999,999 with P III, Ram=512Mbs that took about 15 minutes, which is 1/2 the time it took before.

Then, you can approximate that the power of P III is about twice that of P II. Do, you get the idea?

In summary, there is an easy way for you to explore the power and performance in front of you, right on the screen. I was able to achieve this task by using Linux, and Windows XP that are installed on the same computer. I also found out that Linux can do better computation that Windows Xp.

Thanks,

George Chamoun created a Free guide that shows you step by step how to install two operating systems. To get the free guide, Click this link: Get the Free Guide: http://www.dualbootguide.com/join1.html

The Ipod Mini Why Its Not That Hot

2009-01-08T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Sergio Camarena

I got my eyes set on a iPod mini, as it looked good for quite some reasons: it's small enough to put inside a pant's pocket, it has a lot of accessories to choose from and it obviously has enough hype you begin to wonder what all the fuss is about.

But you really have to see the cons of it and cut all the hype. It looked good from the start; it's small and simple, easy to use and has that nice Apple logo. But quickly the downsides surfaced, and they sure are annoying.

Firstly, the headphones are horrible: they are so uncomfortable they are totally unusable, and also they do not sound good at all. Well, any other $5 headphone will do, so that's not that bad. (It's also not advisable to use them, as the white color alerts any potential muggers you have an easy sellable item.)

The interface seems a good idea, with the scroll being able to be controlled with a circular motion. For scrolling fast it's great, but for selecting carefully one item, it's difficult. Also, for 'marking' a song for how many stars, it sometimes works, sometimes you spend a full minute twiddling it to get it right. Any other player with a sensible scroller works much better.

I was excited to know it had games to play, so when I'm bored waiting in line or on a bus, it could be a great way to pass the time; but even the breakout rip-off is only entertaining for about 5 minutes.

I even thought that maybe I could upload some text files to read some e-book, but the screen is not big enough for that, and reading is so cramped it's just not worth it.

The biggest gripe is that you cannot change the volume, unless you are on the 'Now Playing' menu! Any other player has dedicated buttons for this basic function, but in its decidedly minimalist point of view, it's a pain to go search for that specific menu just to adjust for a small change in a song. It supposedly was thought out carefully, but I see a lot of problems in the interface.

Also, there seems to be a big problem with the duration of its internal, non-replaceable battery. After 2 months of use, I did notice, it does not hold a charge for long now. After two house of continuous play, it just shuts down. Other reports on the web also say the battery fails, and has to be replaced.

I have also read on the web that the headphone connector is badly soldered and you eventually have to open it up and resolder it again.

I wouldn't buy it again. The iriver or the Creative seem to be a lot better options.

For more reviews, news and updates on the latest and best mp3 players, go to http://www.mp3playerguide.info

Can An Intruder Get Into Your Laptop Computer And Get Your Credit Card Info Using These Methods

2009-01-07T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Steve McArthur

Okay, you've just got your brand spanking new super duper laptop computer home and unpacked. You went ahead and spent the extra money for a few more bells and whistles just in case you might need them. Of course, you don't know what these bells and whistles are used for, but you surmise that they must be useful for something.

The problem with new laptop computers is that right out of the box they run extremely smooth and fast, lightning fast. You can click Mr. Mouse and whamo, the screen pops up faster than you can say "Jack Sprat". You may even be able to play movies on them with crystal clarity. However, over a period of time your laptop computer can start running like honey on a cold winters day.

So, what do you do? Well, the first thing you want to make sure you do is set up a firewall for your Internet connection. What a firewall does is put up a line of defense against intruders who may have an evil intent. They would love to get access to your hard drive on your laptop computer and poke around in there to see what personal secrets they could find, like your credit card information.

Steve McArthur

Visit the author's Laptop site to read more.

http://laptopnotebook.biz

A Guide To Digital Cameras

2009-01-06T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Mike Bryant

When my wife and I first found out a few years ago that we were going to have a baby, we both automatically shifted to baby-prep mode. She spent her time buying pretty things for the nursery and shopping for cribs and car seats. Like the ultra geek that I am, I started shopping for a digital camera so we could forever celebrate little Haley's birth with pictures. She's now almost three and little Will has joined our family as well. Of course, daddy still has to carry that little digital camera everywhere so I can capture any moment at any time. With the sheer number of pictures taken, if we were to have used a traditional film camera, we surely would have gone bankrupt within a year considering the price of film and processing. A digital camera can be very cool, but it helps to know what features to look for. Whether you want to commemorate your children growing up or just want a cool toy to play with on weekend outings, a digital camera is a very wise and money-saving purchase. This week, we'll discuss some things to look for when making that purchase.

The most obvious perk of having a digital camera is that you will never again have to buy film. Digital cameras store pictures either into internal memory or an external memory card. You simply download the pictures onto your computer and then reuse the memory to take more pictures. Also, you no longer have to pay for film processing, though you can still buy prints of your pictures by simply taking your memory card into most department and dug stores and using a digital print kiosk. As a better alternative, you can print some fine pictures from a photo or color printer using specially-designed picture paper.

One thing to watch out for when buying a digital camera is the number of mega pixels. This is a number that indicates how large a picture the camera can take. Don't be fooled into thinking that you have to have a 6 MP (mega pixel) camera. A 3 MP model will print very nice looking 4X6 pictures and will be more than enough to take a picture to use as wallpaper on your PC desktop. 4 MP cameras will take pictures that will print up to 8X10 pictures quite nicely, while a 5 MP will print up to 11X14 pictures. For most usage, a 3 mega pixel camera will work just fine. I suggest you buy as much camera as you can afford, however, as it never hurts to take pictures that are larger than you need, and you never knowyou might want to print a poster of that image some day

One of the single most important features to look for in a digital camera is its zoom ability. There is a very real difference between optical and digital zoom. Optical zoom means that the camera's lens will zoom in on the subject, retaining the original quality of the image. Digital zoom, on the other hand, uses software within the camera to modify the image to make it appear closer that it really is. This leads to something called 'pixelation' and is a very bad thing. Using digital zoom can ruin an otherwise very nice photo. When buying a digital camera, I completely ignore the digital zoom capabilities, instead looking only at the optical zoom. Try to get a camera with at least a 3X optical zoom.

There are a number of memory card formats on the market today. These include Compact Flash, Secure digital (SD), Memory Stick and xD. Any of these will work just fine, just be sure to buy the kind of memory card that fits your camera, and get a card that will hold as much memory as you can afford. Well, a 1 gigabyte card might be overkill, but try to get at least a 128 or 256 megabyte card.

Now, for the Cool Site of the Week... This week's site is WebMD.com. WebMD is a wonderful health and medical site. No matter what ails you, WebMD will have some useful information on it. It has a really cool feature where you can even answer some questions on your symptoms and it will provide a diagnosis. Of course, this site should not be used in place of visiting a real doctor, but it can give you some very useful information for your research.

As always, if you have any questions or suggestions for future articles, please email me at mike@MikeBryant.com.

Mike Bryant has worked as a professional software developer for over ten years. A born entrepreneur, he currently owns Centrant, LLC, a software consulting firm specializing in custom software for small businesses. He currently resides in Jackson, Kentucky with his wife, two kids, and five computers. For more information, please visit MikeBryant.com.

10 Tips To Stay Safe And Secure Online

2009-01-04T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Steve Robson

The Internet can be a dangerous place.

While you're enjoying the convenience of online shopping, Internet banking and subscription websites, nasty people lurk around every corner.

Hackers, fraudsters, identity thieves and many others would love to get hold of your personal details.

And what stands between you and a security disaster?

Your password.

Just 8 little characters long, it's your last line of defense online. Here are 10 tips for choosing and using bullet-proof passwords that will protect you from harm:

Tip 1 - Avoid the obvious

Passwords based on personal details are too easy to guess. Avoid using names, places, favorite sports teams, or "password".

Tip 2 - Make it non-dictionary

One option a thief might try to crack your password is a brute-force dictionary attack. Choose something that you won't find in any dictionary.

Tip 3 - Use the full 8 characters

The more characters a password contains the more secure it becomes, so fill that password field to the max.

Tip 4 - Mix the case

Deter thieves further by using a combination of upper and lower-case letters. A mIXeD cAsE password adds another layer of protection and is ever harder to guess.

Tip 5 - Include non-alphabetic characters

Adding numbers and non-alphabetic characters (like a hyphen) to your password makes it less likely to be cracked than something purely alphabetic.

Tip 6 - Don't write it down

This should be obvious but it's amazing how many scraps of paper surround the world's PCs.

Tip 7 - Assign a different password to each login id

If thieves get hold of your password, they'll try it in every online system available. Use a separate password at each website and you won't have all your eggs in one basket.

Tip 8 - Employ a password manager

Remembering multiple secure passwords can be challenging. Specialist software like http://www.robo-form.com manages your passwords securely and automates the login process.

Tip 9 - Logout when you're done

Always hit the logout button when you've finished using a secure site like online banking.

Tip 10 - Close that browser

Web pages and passwords can be cached in the browser, so close down your browser window for added security.

Follow these simple common-sense tips and you'll enjoy greater online security while benefiting from the many advantages the Internet has brought.

About The Author

Steve Robson is a successful technical author and contributor to 'How To Buy A Laptop.com' - the definitive online guide for buying a laptop computer. Check out: http://HowToBuyALaptop.com

What To Consider When Buying A Computer

2009-01-03T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Carol Smith

What will the backup service be like if there is a problem? Will service be on site? Does the vendor offer a collection service if there is a problem? If not, is the vendor close enough for me take the computer back or will I have to pay to send it? Is it worth paying a little more to a local dealer with immediate access to backup services if/when something goes wrong?

Will the vendor sell me something more expensive or complicated than I need?

Talk to them and get a quote from more than one vendor. A reputable dealer will sell you what you want/need, not what they want to sell you.

Is an installation service offered?

Helpful if you are a mature beginner and have never set up a computer before. (Of course if you happen to live near Ledbury, we will set it up for you!)

Do I need a laptop or a PC?

Generally PCs (personal computers) are cheaper. Laptops take up less space and can be stored in a cupboard. A PC will always be on show but set up ready to use. A laptop can do EVERYTHING a PC can do (this is a question we are often asked.)

BEWARE of 'bundled' (free, included) printers.

Often the ones included are the ones they couldn't sell any other way because they are the most expensive to run. Check the cost of replacing the ink cartridges here BEFORE accepting the printer. It might turn out to be CHEAPER to buy a separate printer which uses cheaper, compatible cartridges.

I am an IT teacher working mainly with mature beginners http://www.it-teacher.co.uk

How To Buy An Mp3 Player

2009-01-02T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Gary Hendricks

Are you looking for an MP3 player but am not sure which type and model to buy? There is a wide variety of MP3 players out there, from flash memory based players to hard drive based players. Choosing a good player from the market is no easy task. What features should you look for? What are the key considerations? This article aims to answer those questions and more. Now, let's see how we can pick the perfect MP3 player.

Types of MP3 player

There are essentially four types of MP3 players in the market today. These include flash-based players, hard-drive based players and MP3 CD players. Let's look at them in turn.

Flash-based MP3 players

Flash-based MP3 players have a flash memory chip built-in. They tend to be very tiny, ultra-portable and have no moving parts. As a user, you can do all your sports activities without worrying about your music skipping a beat. The downside to flash players is their high cost per megabyte. These players range from 32MB to 2GB, and the most popular models tend to be those from the Creative Muvo line, the iRiver iFP series and more recently, the Apple iPod Shuffle.

Hard-drive based MP3 players

Hard-drive based MP3 players use a 1.8-inch hard disk drive to store your music. The hard disk can hold large amounts of music we're talking about 10GB and above. If you have a large music library and want to store tons of music, a hard-drive based MP3 player is the way to go. The cost per megabyte is very low. The downside? Well, due to the hard disk drive, which has moving parts, these players are not suited for rough physical activity or extreme sports. One of the most popular MP3 players in this category is the Apple iPod, which is selling like hot cakes out there.

Micro hard-drive based MP3 players

More recently, manufacturers have come up with micro hard-drive based MP3 players like the Apple iPod Mini, Creative Zen Micro and Rio Carbon. Featuring a smaller hard drive (which still gives ample storage space of about 4 to 5 GB), they have a much more compact design compared to full fledged hard disk players. The few models mentioned above are selling like crazy too.

MP3 CD players

MP3 CD players are another type of MP3 player. These units look and feel like regular CD players. You can burn up to 150 MP3 songs to fill one CD-R disc, then play it on the unit. The disadvantage of such players is their large size and their tendency to skip if jostled.

Key Features of MP3 Players

Having looked at the different types of MP3 players, let's look at the key features of an MP3 player.

Size and weight: If you're looking to bring your MP3 player on trips or on sporting activities, a small compact design is very important. In such cases, you should go for a small flash based player or one of the micro hard drive players.

Storage capacity: This is an important factor too. If you need to store your whole music library into the MP3 player, then you probably need a hard drive based player with 10GB of storage or above. If you only want a few select songs to listen to on the subway, then a flash based player would suffice. Do take note that some players offer expansion slots in the form of CompactFlash or SD cards.

Battery Life: This is often overlooked. Battery life is a very important consideration, especially if you're out with your player and have no way to recharge. Hard disk players tend to have lithium-ion rechargeable batteries while some flash players offer AAA battery support. I personally own a Creative MuVo Micro N200 which uses AAA batteries. This is great for me because once it runs out, I can just pop in a new one no hassles about finding some electrical socket to recharge.

Connectivity Options: The way the MP3 player connects to your computer is also an important factor. The latest models tend to support high-speed USB 2.0 transfers. The better ones like the Apple iPod also give Firewire support.

File Format Support: You will most likely be wanting to play MP3 songs on your player. However, if you want to listen to a wider variety of music files, like WMA or OGG Vorbis, then make sure you see it in the player specs.

Other Considerations

Many of the latest players also include features I've not covered in the above. For example, some players come with a built-in FM tuner, which is very useful if you get tired of your MP3 music. Other have a built-in voice recorder which allows you to record audio as WAV files.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many considerations to think about when purchasing an MP3 player. To get the most suitable player, you want to think about how you will use the player. Usage should drive your purchase decision. The other thing to take note of is to shop around, both online and offline compare prices before shelling out the cash. Good luck hunting for that MP3 player!

Gary Hendricks runs a hobby site on digital photography. Visit his website at http://www.digital-music-guide.com for tips and tricks on selecting MP3 players, music services and music software.

Digital Cameras Hot Gear With The Coolest Features

2009-01-01T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Dale L

Cameras: still known for taking pictures but assumed as digital still today.

We have to understand cameras are just as important today as they have always been to us. Most photographers thought when the digital age began; we would be taking fewer pictures because there would not be the wasted photos we didn't want.

Digital cameras today have not only done this but surprisingly increased our photography enormously!

It should have been expected with all the electronics technology, picture taking would increase, not decrease. Yet many of us made an incorrect assumption. Since we know we can take pictures and edit them instantly on our camera, we continue shooting more photos without that fear.

Terms like mega pixel, optical zoom, LCD size, movie mode all have been adopted easily and quickly in our rush to get a digital still camera. Today, fearlessly, we can easily pick higher mega pixels, a larger LCD size, more or less optical zoom and shoot a movie mode sometimes never before tried.

Comfort today is using your five mega pixel, five time's optical zoom to get that perfect shot. Knowing the little one will have a movie of them blowing out the candles on the birthday cake with the movie mode of the new digital camera and being able to quickly see the movie on the 2 inch LCD size screen.

In the past, a camera limited us in many ways, but today a digital still camera, with brands like Nikon, Canon, Sony and others, who have embraced the new technology, a digital still camera has become an exciting instrument for all to photograph with.

Enjoy your pictures!

Written by the eme team

Electronicsme.net: Where electronics are made easy! The latest articles on televisions, laptops and digital cameras.

and

Electronicsme.com: Where electronics are made easy! The latest news, reviews and comparisons of electronics, photography, and computers.

Why The Hype Over The Ipod

2008-12-31T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Mia LeCron

Some of you reading this may remember something called the Sony Walkman.

Or, if you aren't old enough to recall what those are, just ask your parents or an older brother or sister; and you'll see this kind of pleasant, reflective smile cross their face.

You see, the Walkman was the coolest thing to come out of the early 1980s. And if you had the fortune (or maybe the misfortune really big hair was in back then) of living back then, you almost certainly owned one of these devices.

They were everywhere. In airports. On busses. In malls.

Heck, even in cars you'd see kids in the back listening to their own thing, while the parents rocked out to the soothing, mellow driving tones of Perry Como or Dean Martin (which many kids at the time found intolerable; many still do).

The Walkman was beyond a phenomenon; because that term implies that something is here today, then gone tomorrow. The Walkman was a mainstay; a staple of the society in which it was introduced.

Without exaggeration, if a Time Capsule was created for the 1980s, it would simply have to have a Walkman in it; to neglect this item would be like discussing technology in the 21st century and failing to note that strange little thing called the Internet.

So why trip down memory lane to talk about the Walkman? Well, don't worry; we aren't just waxing nostalgic for our own amusement.

We're setting the stage for the next generation of personal entertainment devices; an innovation and invention that is sure to become the Walkman of our time.

We're talking, of course, about the iPod.

In case you've somehow managed to avoid seeing the marketing and advertising associated with the iPod, it's almost certain that you've seen them. They're everywhere (sound familiar?).

And it's not just kids who walk around with those two little white wires protruding from their ears and into something that kind of looks like something dental floss might come out of.

The iPod, like all truly amazing inventions, has crossed demographic consumer lines. People of all ages are sporting these things; from teachers to senior citizens; from athletes to Generation Y skater types who somehow manage to keep those earplugs in place despite flying through the air (and sometimes crashing to the ground).

Now, if you haven't yet entered iPod country yourself, then please don't feel intimidated or worse, obsolete.

Though iPods are incredibly popular, there are still enough people out there who haven't yet tried one on. And furthermore, there are also a growing number of people who have an iPod, but haven't really taken it out of first gear. Why is this?

Well, it's because technology can seem confusing, and despite its small size, figuring out the ins and outs of the iPod can seem intimidating and time consuming. Yet nothing could be further from the truth!

Apple, which makes the iPod, has built a reputation on simplicity of use; and the iPod most definitely reflects this approach. As such, the iPod is as easy to use as a DVD player; even easier, perhaps.

Mia LaCron is the founder of IpodFunctions.com - http://www.ipodfunctions.com - devoted to helping individuals get the most out of their Ipod.

Virtual Memory What Is It

2008-12-30T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Michael Arcand

I recently got an e-mail asking about virtual memory. The person who sent me the question was getting an error on random occasions from their Windows operating system stating "Your computer is low on virtual memory". They wanted to know what is virtual memory, and if this error does occur, what can I do to fix it? Here is the answer that I sent out:

"Virtual memory is when your computer uses the hard drive as a memory relay once your real memory has been used up. This usually starts happening when someone has installed new programs or is using multiple large programs at one time. Have you installed something new recently, or changed how many programs you are using at one time? Does it seem to occur when you are using a specific program, or perhaps after running a specific program for a longer than usual period of time?

To check your virtual memory settings, follow these steps:

1. Click on Start

2. Select Control Panel

3. Click on System

NOTE: When you first click on System, it will show you the "General" information tab. This tab will indicate how much RAM (physical memory) your system has installed (usually towards the bottom, should be something like "128 MB of RAM". Make a note of this number.

4. Click on the Advanced tab

5. Click on the Settings button under the top box, labeled Performance

6. Click on the Advanced tab, and this will show your current setting for virtual memory.

NOTE: Windows usually manages this number automatically, and usually doesn't require any adjustment. Optimally, this number should be somewhere between 2X and 3X the number noted earlier for the amount of system RAM. You can change the setting by clicking on the Change button located at the bottom of this section. You can then set the minimum to 2X (put in the actual number) and the maximum to 3X of the physical RAM.

If you answered "yes" to any of the questions I posed at the beginning, you may need to re-evaluate the system requirements of any programs involved and consider an actual physical RAM upgrade, if your motherboard will support additional RAM. That can have a big impact on what's happening.

Until next time,

Michael Arcand
www.techsupporthelpdesk.com

Michael Arcand is a CompTIA A+ Certified computer technician and entrepreneur specializing in computer tips & tricks for home users. His most recent venture online provides cost-effective online tech support for home and small business users.

(This article may be reprinted as long as the complete resource box is left intact with embedded links.)

Mp3 Encoders

2008-12-29T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Jennifer Bailey

Choosing an MR3 encoder may seem simple enough, but true blue music lovers know that not all MP3 encoders are the same. Most of the MP3 encoders on the Internet can give very mediocre performances, if you do not use them well. Knowing how to manipulate settings can spell the difference between having poor quality or superior MP3s.

If you want to know how to use an encoder to produce excellent quality without having to search for hours and hours in the Internet, read on.

Maximizing your MP3 coders

Most MP3 coders that you can download for free over the Internet are already capable of ripping audio direct from your CDs and encoding them into MP3 format in one simple interface. Most of them are also easy to use. So the contention is not really about MP3 encoding features and user-friendliness it's how you set your computer.

If you just want crisp 'CD quality' music, then tweak your settings to a 128kbps bit rate. That speed is enough to give you excellent sound quality for regular listening.

But if you are very particular about sound and know much more about encoding than the average reasonable person, then amp up your settings to a bit rate of 192kbps. Remember that high bit rates translate to larger MP3 files. This is not a problem if disk space is not a concern, but if it is, then stick to the basic 128.

You can also choose to use Variable Bit Rate (VBR) that automatically switches the bit rate used while the song is playing. It switches to higher bit rate during more complex parts and goes back to basics when the sound is simpler. The VBR technology is a godsend for discriminating MP3 fanatics who want to save on disk space, but still want excellent sound quality. With VBR, you never have to sacrifice any of the two.

Encoders provides detailed information on Encoders, MP3 Encoders, Mpeg Encoders, DVD Encoders and more. Encoders is affiliated with P2P Applications.

Quick System Restore With Asr Backups

2008-12-28T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Linus Chang

ASR (Automated System Recovery) is a feature available on the Windows XP Pro and Windows Server 2003 operating systems for quick and efficient system backup and restore.

Typically, the restore process involves reinstalling the operating system and configuring all physical storage to their original settings before restoring data and settings. Rebuilding the system in this way is a time-consuming and often problematic task, causing many headaches for administrators and technical staff.

ASR significantly automates the process of rebuilding the system, thus allowing you to fully restore your system quickly and efficiently in the event of an emergency or complete system failure, even to a "bare" computer with no software installed.

ASR backups are written to a backup medium, such as tape, which can then be used to restore the system to its prior state. Also required is a floppy disk, which is inserted when the ASR Wizard is run.

To restore, the Windows Installation CD is used to boot up the machine. The ASR floppy disk is inserted, and the ASR restore process commences. The process is completely automated, and the system is restored without further intervention.

ASR backups are a crucial part of your backup plan that will save you both time and money. If you perform an ASR backup each month or when making major system changes, you'll be able to restore the system easily when the need arises.

Linus Chang is a backup expert and the lead developer of BackupAssist -- tape backup software that is simple and affordable, and perfect for small and medium businesses. Protect your Windows servers, including SQL Server and Exchange Server, to tape, REV drive, hard drive, NAS and more, at a fraction of the cost of other backup software.

Portable Dvd Players Versus Laptops

2008-12-27T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Allen Reed

For some the big discussion is...should we get a 'portable dvd player" or just spend more money a get a laptop that will play our dvd movies?

There are definitely some good arguments for both sides of this discussion. So let's run through some of the positives for both sides of this earth-shattering-topic (some humor).

For many, the biggest reason we use to base many of our decisions on is simply over the dollars that we'll have to spend. By far and away portable dvd players are cheaper to buy over a laptop...BIG PLUS to portable players. If you aren't to picky about the type of laptop you need, other than playing movies, you could possibly buy second-hand which would bring the price down considerably. Some would argue that you should never buy a laptop second-hand, I'm still not sure what side of the fence I sit on for that topic.

Would you even use a laptop for reasons other than playing movies? If you're not into spending much time on the computer or don't have a great need to be on the computer very often, then why incur the cost of purchasing a laptop. For some though, having the extra features that a laptop offers over a portable-dvd-player, could come in very handy, especially on a long trip. Laptops could come in handy for school projects, business, and load of other things.

Do you have kids? If yes, are you willing to let them use a laptop that could cost many hundreds of dollars more than a portable dvd player. I've got young kids who I let use the portable dvd player we have, but I'm not so sure I'd be willing to let young kids use an expensive new laptop freely. Definitely something worth considering.

Portable dvd players have come down in price drastically over the past few years, it's not a huge out of pocket expense, definitely an easier purchase to handle over a laptop. My opinion is that it's worth buying the portable dvd player and down the road, if you need a laptop for yourself, you can go out and get it.

Who knows, maybe I'll turn into some on-the-go business guy that needs a laptop, but for now, I'm really happy with a portable dvd player and my bank account is happier too.

Allen Reed runs a site that provides information and reviews on portable dvd players.

The New Ipod Nano More Than Just Musictogo

2008-12-26T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Judith Brandy

Let's talk music! Let's talk podcasts!
1,000 songs, non-skip, digital quality, portability - the pencil thin iPod Nano is just the ticket. Jogging, walking or toughing it out on a treadmill life just got a whole lot easier with the addition of the rugged, little iPod that holds either 500 (2GB) or 1000 (4GB) songs. That's 14 hours of sounds that will go with you everywhere.

So what have I done with mine?
I work two hours from home via the public bus and regional rail lines. I get up at 5:00AM, catch a 6:35AM train, after a jostling pushing bus-ride, coffee on the regional rails, then another jostling, jolting bus ride to get to work by 8AM. I couldn't do it without music and I couldn't make it without my rugged little iPod. It holds my sounds, a few photos of my feline, furry buddies sound asleep at home, a couple audiobooks and my podcasts of various things that interest me.

Portability in the extreme What makes this tiny 3.5 x 1.6 x 0.27 inch stand out? It's thin, weighs only 3.5 ounces, yet it backs quite a punch. Using the Click Wheel, you have access to your music, photos, podcasts, extras like a calendar and contacts, a World Clock and many extras On-the-go Options where you can create custom playlists personalized to exactly the songs you want to listen to at that moment.

Photos of the cool cats
I only have a few photos of family, friends and my many felines, but the Nano can actually hold up to 25,000 photos. Now that's a lot of picnics, baby showwers and weddings to pass around the office! You can also set it up show a slideshow of your favorite shots.

Easy Sync with iTunes
Through iTunes, the premiere iPod syncing software that works on Mac or PC, you import a CD easily, buy songs or podcasts from the iTunes store sync or upload it to your iPod. iTunes starts syncing automatically after hooking up your iPod. Instant music to go, as well as news and commentary on any subject you like. I like the Audiobooks section for those long rides which has over 11,000 titles. Prices start at just $2.95 per title, Songs are only 99 cents. Syncing is blindingly easy and you can start building your own library of audiobooks a number of them available exclusively at the iTunes Music Store including the all six Harry Potter audiobooks.

Let's Accessorize!
With all new things comes the upgrades and gizmos to customize the new toy to perfectly fit your tastes and preferences. iPod Nano is no different offering a wide-variety of earphone choices, many colored skins to make you Nano uniquely yours. I prefer the powder-blue skin myself, and the In-Ear Headphones for maximum sound quality and bass resonance.

You car is a stereo on the roll!
Many of the newer cars come iPod capable with the hookups necessary, but since I have an older model vehicle I've done the conventional iTrip and plug-in car Monster option. Either way, it allows you to take you music with you on the road with "seamless integration between you car and your iPod." In other words, fabulous sounds while you drive.

Imagine this scenario.
You stumble out of your bed in the dark, take care of personal business. Now you're dressed and ready to go. It's still dark. Out you go, heading towards the local bus stop, still near-comatose. You take out your earbuds, turn on the Nano and wham, music fills your world or the latest Battlestar Galactica podcast about the last gripping episode fills your consciousness. You begin to wake up, ready to face the day on your terms with kick-ass background music or scintillating commentary to make your trip to consciousness just a little bit easier.

You don't like my scenario? Dream up your own. Just make sure you have music in it, because everything moves, slides, walks, and treads better to a beat whatever your beat whether it's classical, new age or rock and roll. It's gone digital, all wrapped up in a cute, little box that takes your songs to the next level and beyond. When you think music, think iPod Nano.

About the Author
Judith Brandy is a writer, science fiction fan and breast cancer survivor who runs The Science Fiction Buzz which covers what's going on in the science fiction genre, conveying the information in a fun and inspiring fashion. Science fiction is about hope, encouragement and the future. It is pure escapism, a window into imagination and fantasy. In a time when our world is super-serious, where diseases abound and terror is delivered with the evening news, The Science Fiction Buzz is a haven. We encourage you to leave your cares behind, and for a few moments, dwell in the astounding.

How To Choose The Best Accessories For Your Ipod

2008-12-25T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Gregg Hall

For people who aren't techno geeks the act of buying new electronic gadgets is sometimes challenging. The user manuals are usually little if any help because they are written in geek speak Almost all of the new cell phones and MP3 players today come with another onslaught of accessories to go along with them and the iPod is no different. So how do you know which accessories you really need for your iPod?

The iPod ecosystem as it is sometimes called, is the accessories market that exists for the portable player. Companies like Lansing, Bose, and JBL manufacture speakers that work in conjunction with the device by making use of the thirty pin connector on the unit. There are other manufacturers that offer add-ons to the device allowing it to play your music through a radio, record audio, and recharge on the go, or even use wirelessly with a remote control.

Of course there are also cases available for the portable device with people buying these not merely for protection of their devices but to make them more fashionable as well. These cases are made by companies that specialize in the fashion industry and are usually constructed of silicone or plastic. Apple also offers cases and brought out nano tubes to go along with the iPod Nano.

If you are into skiing or snowboarding you will be stoked to know that Burton Snowboards has introduced a backpack and a jacket developed specifically to go with the iPod and allow you to control your device via the Softtouch application on the sleeve of the jacket or the strap of the backpack. This makes it super easy to control your music while you are hitting the slopes.

The new iPod radio remote is a wired remote control using an interface similar to the Shuffle. This accessory also brings radio tuning to your player and shows the station being played on your screen. Support for this accessory is included in the firmware version 1.1.

The iPod HI-Fi is a must have for those who wish to use their device to play music at home. This system features amplified loudspeakers and docks with your player. The system offers the option of plugging into a regular outlet or running on D cell batteries for portability using the integrated handles.

In the automotive industry, the German automaker BMW introduced the first interface for the iPod that was released by a car manufacturer. This is a really cool option that allows you to control your unit through controls on the steering wheel or on the stereo buttons in the dash of the vehicle.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about iPods as well as Electronic Toys and Gadgets at http://www.electronictoysplus.com.

Defragmentation Explained

2008-12-24T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Mike Pulli

Defrag Your Hard Drive, don't think you can't do it sure, you can. Let's get started.

Have you ever noticed how your computer seems to run slower? and slower each week? Did you think it was just your imagination, Nah! Your computer really is getting slower because, your hard drive needs to be "Defragged" or defragmentation of your hard drive, same, same.

Any time you view a web site, download an MP3, install a game, or create a new file, your computer is saving that data in bits on your hard drive. As you add more data, the bits are moved around and separated from one another common on all hard drives.

Not to worry!!

After some time these files are spread all over the hard drive in tiny fragments. This slows down your computer. That is where "Defragmentation" comes in. Defragmenting the hard disk will put all the different fragments together in one place, which allows the computer to save time. When you run a defragmentation, it puts the pieces back together, so files, programs and such load faster. It' probably a good idea for the average user to defrag once every 1-2 months at the very least. I usually run mine every two weeks.

You can solve the problem easily by defragmentation of your hard drive. If your using a Windows operating system, it comes with a manual defragmentation tool built in.

However, depending on when you first run the defragmentation program it could take some time to complete depending, on the size of your hard drive to process the amount of data to complete the fragmentation process.

Even if you do not install games or download programs or files regularly, fragmentation can still be a serious problem on your system, especially if you receive a large volume of emails each day.

Each time you read one of those emails, you are adding more chunks of data to your hard drive and slowing down your computer even more.

If you get just ten emails a day, it would not take long for you to start seeing a significant decrease in your system's efficiency. The bottom line is that defragmentation is a serious problem, but it is also an easy problem to solve.

If you don't mind using the "built in" defragmentation tool in your operating system, then you should definitely be using it on a regular basis. Once you do it once or twice you kick yourself for not doing it sooner, it is not that difficult of a task to perform.

If you want to run the defragmentation process automatically just do a Search in Google "defrag" or what ever search engine you use and you'll find dozens of programs to choose from.

Now with all that said, here is a simple and easy way to defrag your hard drive. Let's get started, it should take us all but a minute to start the process. I use two different methods, don't ask me why. I probably could not give you a sensible answer; they achieve the same results, just a different way to get there from here.

Anyway, let's get started.

Method I:

Start/My Computer/C:Drive/Properties/ Tools/ Defragmentation

* Click Start

* My computer

* Right Click on C: drive

* Select Properties

* Tools

* Select Defragmatation

Method II:

Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Disk Defragmenter

* Click Start

* Select All Programs

* Accessories

* System Tools

* Disk Defragmenter

There you are -- Not as Scary as It Sounds!

Remember, it could take some time to defrag if you have not done it in a while. So be patient!!

Please Note: Be careful when running defrag. It can take a long time to defragment your hard drive the first time. Also, the defrag program takes files off your hard drive and sticks them into your system RAM while it is reorganizing your disk. If you lose power during a disk defragmentation, it can cause a slight problem. At best, you will probably mess up a program or two and at worst; you may no longer be able to access your hard drive and Windows. Definitely not some you want to do during a thunderstorms or possibly power outages.

Mike Pulli

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Mike Pulli is the owner of http://www.foolishtimes.com. He Invites you to look at the services and download Free helpful information e-books, article library, information and resources to maximize your internet experience. Sign up for the Free newsletter.

Other sites by Mike can be found at http://www.foolishtimes.com and http://www.pigpenpicks.com

Printer Ink Refill Is More Expensive Than You Think

2008-12-23T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Lucila Duchesne

So your printer ink has run out. You're faced with the prospect of having to spend some big bucks on a new set of cartridges. The problem is though, these new cartridges are really expensive! Sometimes they cost more than what you paid for your printer! So you have an easy solution right? Buy an inkjet ink refill kit! Not so fast!

Make sure you count the cost...

It may seem like a good idea to buy an ink refill kit but it may end up costing you more than you bargained for. First off, refilling your own ink cartridges is often messy. Be prepared for the possibility that your hands, desk, kids, get ink all over them. Secondly, even if you follow all of the instructions exactly,this is no guarantee that the ink cartridge will work properly once you place it back in the printer.

Ink Refill problems include...

The ink cartridge may decide to leak into the bottom of your printer or worse, right through the printer and onto your desk. While many times this is an annoyance at best and will not damage your printer... this is no guarantee. If you are one of those people who experience a regular dose of bad luck, the leaking ink may short something in your printer forcing you to go out and buy a new one.

Another concern is that your ink cartridge print heads may be clogged with dry ink. On most inkjet printer cartridges, this is pretty close to impossible to fix. In fact, for most inkjet ink cartridges where the print head is attached to the cartridge, you usually have a limited amount of time that your ink cartridge will continue to be functional. Most printer manufacturers will tell you to expect 6 months of life from your ink cartridge.

Is an Ink Refill always a bad idea?

The short answer is no. If you have an inexpensive printer and you will most likely trash the printer if you have to pay full price for the cartridges, you will lose alot less money buying a refill kit than testing out the printer with brand new ink cartridges only to find out that the printer is defective.

For many printers, having a professional that fills ink cartridges regularly do it for you is still cheaper than buying a new cartridge. Just keep in mind that they too cannot guarantee that the ink refill will work satisfactorily.

When you are thinking about an ink refill, being aware of the potential pitfalls will also help you avoid common frustrations and headaches.

Lucila Duchesne is the webmaster of printerinfosite.com which specializes in offering its visitors an inkjet printer information directory along with links to other printer related info on the internet. Reprint freely as long as you point the live links in this resource box to my website.

More Cool Web Tricks

2008-12-22T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Jim Edwards

If you ask most people what frustrates them most about the Internet, many of them will tell you "It's the little things!"

It seems like all the great tricks and tips that make people exclaim "STOP! How did you do that?" never make it into any manual (at least where I can find them).

My father (and co-author of "Turn Words Into Traffic") calls it the "reverse oral tradition" of computing, where children teach parents the survival skills of PC life.

Well, if you want to look good to your kids or buddies around the water cooler, check out the following cool web tricks.

Cool Google Tricks

Virtually everyone knows that Google.com ranks at the top of most people's search engine lists, but it does a lot more than just tell you where to find vitamins or information on George Washington's wooden teeth!

Need a map to a specific location?

Type in the address, city and state of virtually any location in the US, hit the search button, and Google serves up several different map providers across the Web.

Want to know what software application a certain file goes with on your computer?

Input the file name into Google's search box and a number of reference sites will help you know exactly what purpose a file serves.

I actually used this to feature to identify a piece of "spyware" lurking on my computer.

Want to know who's calling you on the phone in the US?

You can just input the phone number on your caller ID or cell phone display into the Google search box and get information on listed numbers before your answering machine can even pick up!

Log on to http://www.google.com/help/features.html for more cool search features that harness the search power of Google.

Text Zoom

Next time you can't see small text clearly on a website, try holding down the "CTRL" key and then moving the scroll wheel on your mouse up and down.

The text in your web browser (and some programs) will increase and decrease in size as you roll the wheel back and forth.

This little trick provides an excellent means of quickly getting what you need from websites with tiny text.

Slow Surfing?

If your Internet Explorer web browser starts giving you problems, you might want to clean up your "Temporary Internet Files."

Most people don't realize it, but when you leave a web page, it doesn't leave you!

Most of the time you keep a copy of websites you visit on your hard drive and, over time, they build up.

This collection of old web pages can eventually cause your surfing to slow to a crawl and even cause errors!

Here's one way to clear out those old files. Click your "Start" button, then "All Programs," "Accessories," "System Tools" and "Disk Cleanup."

After an initial check of your hard drive (which can take some time if it's the first time you've ever launched the utility), you can check the boxes of the files you wish to delete.

To speed up your surfing, at a minimum, make sure you delete the "Temporary Internet Files."

Surfing Shortcuts

To quickly cycle back and forth through a series of web pages you've visited, hold down the "ALT" key and tap your left and right arrow keys.

Left arrow takes you back while the Right arrow takes you forward.

The Page Up and Page Down buttons allow you to quickly move up and down any web page without struggling to find the scroll bar slider on the right side of the page.

About The Author

Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist (http://www.TheNetReporter.com) and is the author of several best-selling ebooks, information products and software programs.

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Types Of Headphones What Does Circumaural Really Mean

2008-12-21T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Ian Strachan

There are a number of ways to categorize headphones, but when most people talk about the different types, they generally mean the different ways of wearing 'phones.

Here I'll discuss all of the different types available and weigh up their advantages and disadvantages.

Full size headphones: Sometimes called circumaural, these are the classic "cans". Generally big and comfy, they go around the ears giving great sound quality. You don't see them in the home as often anymore, although some audiophiles swear by them. These 'phones remain an essential part of any recording studio and seem to be popular among those who want to listen to their iPods while looking like an extra from That 70's Show.

Ear pad headphones: Ear pad headphones are quite similar to full sized headphones but are smaller and sit on the ear rather than over it. In the trade, they are referred to as supra-aural and tend to have a slightly poorer sound quality than full sized 'phones but are a lot more portable due to their size. This style of headphones was very popular in the 80's but lost ground as earphones became more popular. They're now going through a renaissance, particularly due to the popularity of behind the head or earclip versions.

In-ear headphones: This type of headphone is gaining popularity due to their excellent sound quality and ability to block out external noise. They sit directly in the listener's ear canal forming a "seal" giving great sound isolation. Like anything, they do have a downside. Some users find them uncomfortable, especially after prolonged use, plus their excellent sound isolation does lead to a detachment from the sounds we are used to, particularly traffic!

Earphones: Earphones or earbuds are similar to in-ear headphones except they sit outside the ear canal rather than in it. They're generally the cheapest type of headphones but often give relatively poor sound quality. They are particularly popular at the moment with the white cabled iPod versions (and their copies) dominating the high street.

Earclip/behind the head headphones: Earclip and behind the head headphones are a bit of an oddity in this list. To be honest, these headphones could be any of the above types but either secured behind the ear or joined at the back of the head. So, for example, ear pad headphones that clip over the ear are now becoming much more popular than traditional over-the-head band headphones. Their popularity is quite recent and they gain a lot of use in the "sport headphones" market.

Ian Strachan loves music and is passionate about getting the best sound quality whenever he listens. Find out all the latest news and information about headphones and earphones at Headphone News.

Getting The Best Price On Toner Cartridge Needs

2008-12-20T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Leon Chaddock

The toner cartridge that you need for your printers, your fax machines, your photo copiers and your camera printers are nothing short of expensive. While you may be wondering why they are so expensive, there seems to be more and more of a need for these toner cartridges. Everyone needs them but no one wants to pay the high costs for them.

Here are some hints and tips to help you find the best prices on toner cartridge needs that you have. You can save money in the long run!

It is a good idea to know what type of cartridges that you need at all times. Many times, you can go into a retail location and find these toner cartridges on clearance for really no good reason. If they happen to be yours, you could pay a fraction of the price for them.

But, this isn't going to help you in your time of need. Instead of going to the overpriced, very hard to find printer cartridge office supply stores, simply look to the web. You have heard it before that the web offers much savings but you can count on saving money on your cartridges here. There are various websites that will provide just the right options for you at reduced prices.

You can also find off brands that work just as well. If you know the size and type of cartridge you need, you can often save on the costs of them by purchasing off brand options.

Yet another option to consider in these printer cartridge expenses is that you can save money on them by purchasing refills for them. Look to the web for these options as well. This is a great way to recycle too!

Printer cartridges are expensive, but there are ways to save on them!

For more information please see http://www.toner-cartridge-shack.co.uk.

How To Buy The Right Mp3 Player You Would Really Love

2008-12-19T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Peter Lenkefi

Choosing to buy the right MP3 player isn't that difficult, but one player does not fit all. People will want different things from their players. MP3 CD players represent the best value: Most retail for less than $200, and additional blank discs are cheap.

* Think about how you'll use the player. Joggers will almost certainly want a lightweight, flash-memory-based device, since hard drives don't react well to the shock of bouncing around all the time; audio aficionados who want lots of music at their fingertips should keep their eyes on the highest-capacity hard-drive models.

* Try your favorite before taking it home. Make sure you can use the on-screen display to navigate to a specific song, and ask a clerk to show you how to transfer music to the device, if possible. Always bring your own set of headphones to listen to the sound quality of each unit you're interested in. If you plan to test CD-based MP3 players, bring your own disc. * Get the largest-capacity device you can afford. Whether you buy a flash- or hard-drive-based MP3 player, make sure to choose a model with the largest storage capacity possible. Even if you don't think you'll need it now, you will probably be happy to have it later.

* Pay close attention to the user interface. The simplest-to-use MP3 players use a Windows Explorer-like file and folder interface to organize music on the player. While some players require you to use their software to pick the play order before loading music files, other players let you rearrange the songs once the music is in the player.

* Mind your power options. While some portable players use replaceable alkaline batteries, many feature a built-in rechargeable battery that cannot be easily removed. While these devices can keep going for tens of hours, if you're not going to be somewhere near a power outlet or a computer with a USB port, you might find yourself out of juice with no way to charge the player.

* Check the prices for extra storage. If you're considering a player that uses one of the major memory card formats (Secure Digital, SmartMedia, MultiMediaCard, or Memory Stick) to store music files, factor the price for an extra or replacement memory card into the cost of the player.

* Look for wide file format support. While this isn't a necessity, players that support music files in the MP3, WMA (Windows Media Audio), and OGG formats give you more listening options than players that support just one or two of those formats.

* Consider a player with an FM tuner. This feature isn't essential, but it's a nice addition--especially if you grow tired of your own music.

* Do you need a carrying case? The more expensive and more fragile the player (hard-drive devices are the most delicate), the more likely you'll want a custom-fitted case to protect it. If you plan to carry your player with you wherever you go, consider investing in both a fitted cover and a rugged carrying case that can also hold headphones, a USB cable, and/or spare batteries.

* Shop around, online and offline. MP3 players are widely available in almost every consumer electronics outlet, and their prices fluctuate.

For more more information about mp3 players please visit http://www.buy-mp3-players.net

Has My Pc Got A Virus

2008-12-18T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Mike Morris

What is a virus? The term broadly describes any program that tries to hide a malicious function or spread copies of itself on to as many computers as possible.

Believe it or not most viruses are benign, displaying a message or picture at a specific time. There are some malignant viruses that can cause damage to your files and programs. Most viruses in circulation fall into six key classifications:

1. Worm a self contained program that can spread functional copies of itself to other computer systems.

2. File Infector attaches itself to ordinary program files, it usually ends in exe or com.

3. Trojan Horse Noramlly a non-replicating program, designed to perform malicious damage, such as destroying all word processing documents.

4. Boot Sector Infectors These attach themselves to the boot sector of a disk, either on your hard drive or on any floppy disk that you insert into your floppy drive.

5. Master Boot Record Infectors Infect the master boot program preventing it from starting in the usual way, for example constantly restarting.

6. Multi-partite viruses this can infect both the master boot records, or files and disk boot sectors.

How does your PC pick up a virus? They don't just occur, they are introduced to your PC by an outside party and can be avoided if you take approriate precautions.

Downloading files from the internet or receiving e-mail can put you at risk of virus infection. Contrary to popular opinion it's not generally possible to contract a virus by simply reading an e-mail message. The damage is done by executing files that are attached to your message without first checking for viruses. This could also occur by importing information from floppy disk files that were created on an infected PC.

How do I know if I have a virus? Generally, some of the symptoms might be a discrepancy in the amount of memory you have, running out of hard drive space unexpectedly, programs running or loading slowly, unidentified files appearing, and unexpected crashes or failure to load. These symptoms could also be due to a number of common technical problems, don't automatically assume that you have a virus the moment anything looks out of the ordinary or slows down.

The best way to ensure protection from viruses is to install a specialised piece of software often referred to as anti-virus software or a virus checker. This continually scans for possible problems and alerts you before they can inflict any damage.

If the suspected virus is one that has been identified by the manufacturers of your software you can often fix the problem immediately. Set your virus checker to scan all e-mail and downloads from the internet, as well as scanning any floppy disks in your disk drive.

Virus checkers work by identifying and eliminating known viruses. So it is very important to keep your records up to date using the free update facility provided by most reputable companies. Many anti-virus programmes have an automatic update facility so that when connected to the internet you can download updates straight onto your PC.

There is today a phenomenon known as Hoax Virus alerts these may be borne out of media coverage or isolated extreme cases. You will now find teat the major anti-virus companies now also keep a list of Hoax Viruses so users can identify the validity of an e-mailed virus alert immediately.

If you're careful there's little chance of you experiencing a PC virus. Even if you contract an unidentified strain your virus-checker will know it's a suspicious file and should isolate it until its origin can be confirmed.

Regularly creating backups will help limit the damage done in the event of your contracting a destructive virus.

There are thousands of computer viruses, but only a few pose a significant threat to the home PC user. Any that do find their way into your PC system can usually be eliminated quickly using an up to date virus checker. So that the probability of experiencing any adverse effects is lower than the media coverage would lead you to believe. Most cases of infection are caused by an infected floppy disk being left in the disk drive, so remove these as soon as you have finished using them.

Finally, if you receive e-mail that I suspicious or you don't recognise the sender, don't open it delete it straight away and don't open any attachments with it. No system can be a 100% fireproof against viral infection but it is just like having an inoculation with it the risks are reduced, without it the risks are higher, prevention is far better than cure.

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Watch Tv Online Turn Your Home Pc Into A Tv

2008-12-17T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Emma Drosy

With the real advancement in technology you can turn your home PC into a TV and can watch TV online. Various free channels as well-paid are available just a click away and you can best use your PC for the real entertainment. There is a tough competition among the various channel providers and you can really enjoy very good entertainment.

Even some of the service providers are delivering the unique content such as real court proceeding and you can grasp some of the real proceeding by watching TV online. If you are desirous to look these unique contents, you can turn your home PC into a TV and watch TV online.

In the recent past AOL has started a new channel that provides the classical shows of 70's and 80's. These real classical contents can be watched live on In2TV. You will find more than hundred channels providing unique content such as sports, classical, educational, news, reality shows, movies, religious, music, weather and many more.

Youth, kids and lifestyle channels are becoming very popular now a day and these provide all short of stuffs favorable to the kids and youth. Kids are becoming passionate towards some of the most popular programs. If you are also interested to look for some of these programs, you need to turn your home PC into a TV and you can watch TV online.

The minimum bandwidth required for watching TV online is 28.8 kbps. You need media player software also. The best available software available in the market is Real player available from Real Network and Media Player available from Microsoft Corporation. The higher bandwidth will be better and you can see the better visuals as well as the sharp picture without any obstruction.

If you do not have any experience in turning your home PC into a TV, try it today and see some excellent movies or classical interviews, some old sports or live sports and many more. Get the experience and turn your home PC into a TV and watch TV online now.

Good Luck Watching TV on your PC !!

Watch TV on your PC for cheaper than a Starbucks Coffee!

Use Your Computer For Your Entertainment Needs

2008-12-16T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Robert Dorrance

By using your computer today you can find a lot of different music and movie programs. From downloading music and movies directly from the internet to buying subscriptions, joining clubs, and even renting, all from the comfort of your home.

Today is a fast paced world and by having the luxury of not having to fight traffic or stand in lines makes getting your entertainment a lot easier.

Some of the more popular programs available include file-sharing programs or also called p2p programs have cropped up all over the Internet, are easily accessible and range from being free to about twenty dollars. Also included in this category are companies such as Napster, Realrhapsody, Emusic, Itunes, Musicmatch, and even Wal-Mart, offer music downloads on a pay per song or album basis, ranging from .79 per song to about ten dollars for an album. You are able to burn these songs to a CD.

Music and movie clubs are still a strong player in the entertainment industry. Columbia House and BMG are still the two biggest music clubs today and offer outstanding bargains to join their respective clubs. Columbia House also offers a DVD club, which also includes a very good initial offer to join. Disney movie club has plenty of titles for the youngsters in your life.

If you don't care to join any music or movie clubs, you can always rent them. Netflix, Wal-Mart and others give you the opportunity to rent your movies or concerts and have them delivered directly to your front door with all postage paid both to and from the company. These plans are about twenty dollars a month and you can rent as many as you want during that time. You can take up to three titles at a time. If you are a movie lover, this is really a good plan and very convenient.

Take advantage of your computer and the ease at which you can obtain your entertainment needs. All these different companies have safe and secure online ordering. Give it a try and have fun.

Let your computer help you with your entertainment needs.

About The Author

Robert Dorrance has been a music and movie lover for years and has a dedicated website for people to easily find out what some of their entertainment choices are by using a computer to help you make an informed decision. RD@musicmovieschoice.com

How To Copy A Dvd To Psp

2008-12-15T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Travis Sago

Have you figured out how to copy a dvd to your PSP? Many folks know it can be done but are confused on how to do it. I know I really struggled at first.

I am going to give you my quick and easy recipe to copy any DVD to PSP. There are only a few steps and it is a cinch on you know how.

First like any recipe...You have your ingredients:

512 MB Pro Duo Stick (This is what holds your movie files)

DVD Player installed in your computer

DVD Ripper (Software that pulls the movie from the DVD to your computer)

PSP Video Converter (Software that converts movie and video files to MP4 format that you watch on your PSP.) (Note: There is software that has both the DVD Ripper and Converter combined)

USB Cable

1. Load your DVD and fire up your DVD ripper select the movie or video you want to put on your PSP and hit the "extract" or "rip" button. Tell it where you want to save the file to.

2. If you already have movie and/or video files on your pc then all you need to do is hit "add" from your DVD ripper and tell it where you want to save the file to.

3. Select the file that you saved to your computer and hit the "extract and/or encode" button and save that file.

3. If you have DVD Ripper/PSP Video converter combo software...You can combine steps 1,2 and 3.

At this point you have the files on your PC...and they are in the correct format.

4. How to download or transfer your new mp4 file to PSP? Just connect your PSP with your PC with the USB cable, and Create a folder on your Memory Stick called "MP_ROOT." and create a sub-folder called "100MNV01." under it. Copy your MP4 files to this location (no need to copy the .HTM files).

5. Now on your PSP go to video and memory stick and watch your movie!

Travis Sago is a computer technician and PSP enthusiast and fanatic. Don't have a good DVD ripper or psp video converter? You can learn more at http://www.the-psp-pimp.com/pspvideoconverter.html and find tons of cool things you can do with your PSP!

How to Copy a DVD to PSP.

Ipod Travel Accessories

2008-12-14T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Robin Grant

From iPod auto accessories to travel Podcasts
Apple's iPods have blown the mp3 player competition away like a tornado in Kansas. With unbeatable marketing, Apple has turned the iPod into more than just an mp3 player, but an integral part of the average person's day. In our high tech society, the iPod now is even an important part of traveling. With a billion accessories, here is a run-down of the necessary iPod travel accessories - or at least as necessary as an iPod can be.

Road trippin' - iPod auto accessories
Taking your iPod on a road trip with you is a lot easier than carrying a hundred CDs. There are plenty of iPod auto accessories and adapters that enable you to listen to your iPod in your car, some are better than others though.

If you have an older car that still has a cassette player, I recommend using Coby's $9.00 CA-747. It's not fancy, but it does the job. But as most people do not have cassette players in their cars anymore, iPod FM transmitters are the next option. The only problem with iPod FM transmitters is finding a station to tune to and being able to stay tuned to that station for a long duration. In my opinion, the best iPod FM transmitter is the iTrip FM Transmitter from Griffin. The large LCD screen makes it easier to see what you are doing while driving and the multiple broadcasting modes help you get the best possible audio quality from your radio.

The battery of an iPod doesn't last forever, but there are plenty of ways to power your iPod in the car. I recommend the Griffin PowerJolt Auto Charger, to keep the tunes going while driving.

Walking around
People walking around with earbuds sticking out their ears is a common site these days. If you're on vacation with a friend, I recommend buying the Monster iSplitter, so whether you're on a plane or a train or walking around - you can share your music with a friend.

Carrying it all
With all these iPod accessories, you'll need something to carry them in. Depending on how many iPod accessories you are bringing there are many choices to carry and protect your precious iPod within. The most popular and well-made iPod bags are Waterfield Designs' iPod Gear Pouch, which comes in two sizes. The small bag will fit all size iPods, earbuds, Firewire/USB cable and power or supply or arm band. The large fits all of the above, plus other accessories like a car stereo adapter, FM transmitter, extra batter and more. Plus they come in different colors.

If you are carrying more stuff, there are plenty of messenger bags that have special iPod and mp3 player holders. For example STM's Xs drift courier bag is large enough to fit all your gear, but not so big that it's bulky and in the way.

Protection
You wouldn't want to damage your precious iPod - would you? There are plenty protection options from the cute and colored iPod socks to the multiple iSkin options out there. My personal favorite though is the Otterbox Waterproof cases, perfect for beach vacations.

Tours
Podcasts are huge, and there are hundreds if not thousands of Travel Podcasts out there. Wcities offers free City Guide Podcast downloads for over 300 cities. You can find a Podcast for just about any destination or topic. For more great travel Podcasts visit the TP Insider.

With hundreds of iPod accessories out there, the decisions are endless; luckily TravelPost.com is here to guide you along the way from iPod auto accessories and adapters to iPod FM transmitters and Podcasts.

Jillian Scheeler makes it easy to lauch an Ipod accessories which is very useful while traveling. To recieve the free mini-part course visit the http://www.travelpost.com.

Computer Repair Tools

2008-12-13T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Thomas Morva

Have you ever found yourself up to your elbows in computer wires and chips using your wife's toenail clippers to try and nip off an extra wire? You think you might be able to get your project complete before midnight, when you suddenly realize those clippers aren't going to work without taking out half your motherboard. Substituting computer tools with household things never ensures that your computer is repaired. Still, most people will try almost anything to save money. However, in the case of good computer repair tools, you should never skimp on quality or specialty.

There are millions of computer repair service provider companies who render great support providing all the necessary computer repair tools. Most computer repair tools are available in economical tool kits. They are durable, precision-engineered, demagnetized, and ideal for routine maintenance, upgrades and general repair. There are a number of computer repair tool kits companies offering their kits at remarkably low prices. These durable, precision-engineered, demagnetized tools are ideal for routine maintenance, upgrades and general repair.

An outstanding selection of superior Ultra tools comes in a handsome, rugged carrying case for easy portability. There are tools made of some rare and unusual elements to meet your needs in the most convenient of ways. For instance, Obsidian, also known as volcanic glass was used by primitive people to make tools. All tools are fully demagnetized to protect your computer's hard drive or magnetic media from damage, and each tool is conveniently stored in a custom designed case.

Computer Repair provides detailed information on Computer Network Repair, Computer Repair, Computer Repair Services, Computer Repair Software and more. Computer Repair is affiliated with Computer Part Supplies.

General Computer Maintenance For The Masses

2008-12-12T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Steve Buchok

Reorganizing the file system Go to "Start" > "Run" > Type in "defrag" and press "Enter" Select which drive you'd like to defrag (normally this will be C:) Click OK to start defragging Side Notes This should be done about once a month. It will normally take a few hours to complete depending on how fragmented the drive is and the size of the drive. Start the scan before you go to bed and by the time you wake up the drive should be defragged.

Cleaning up your Startup Go to "Start" > "Run" > Type in "msconfig" and press "Enter" Go to the "Startup" tab Uncheck everything that does not say "System Tray" or have to do with a firewall or antivirus Once this is done click apply and reboot Side Notes By doing this you are preventing these programs from starting up when windows loads. This does not mean you can not use these programs it just means they are not using up resources right away. The more things that startup right away, the fewer resources you have for windows and other programs.

Releasing and Renewing your IP Go to "Start" > "Run" > Type in "winipcfg" and press "Enter" (for Windows 98) Go to "Start" > "Run" > Type in "command" and press "Enter" Once in the DOS prompt type "ipconfig /release" and press "Enter" Then type "ipconfig /renew" Side Notes If your ISP has gone through some changes or your IP has changed and you can't get online this releases what ever IP was bound to your network adapter and asks for a new one. This is normally useful when getting your computer back after being in for repairs.

Reduce recycle bin Right click on the recycle bin on your desktop. Go to "Properties" Under the Global tab (which is the default tab) drag the slider so that it is 1% instead of 10% Then click "Apply" Side Notes On an 80GB drive this will still leave you with 800MB for your recycle bin to hold. After you have changed the size, you will need to run defrag. This will reorganize where files go on the hard drive and increase the performance of your computer because your windows files will be located on the outer most part of the hard drive which is the fastest turning part of the hard drive.

Clearing Out your Temporary Internet Files Right click on the Internet Explorer icon. Click on "Properties" In the "General" tab (Which is the default tab) click the button that says "Delete Files" Side Notes Temporary internet files allow surfing the web to become faster and more seamless. However, these files tend to have javascript viruses hidden in them as well as use up a lot of your hard drive space.

Clean up Cookies Right click on the Internet Explorer icon. Click on "Properties" In the "General" tab (Which is the default tab) click the button that says "Delete Cookies" Side Notes Despite what some people may say, cookies are not a bad thing to have on your computer. Cookies are a way for websites to keep track of certain information. VERY seldom is important information ever held in them, also ONLY that site has access to the cookies that it has created and is normally encrypted beyond recognition to a normal user. Cookies are simply an important tool to web developers and can make your surfing experience more enjoyable. Don't fear the cookie monster.

Keep Drivers Up to Date There is no generic way to tell you how to keep your drivers up to date. The only thing you can really do is make a list of all the components in your computer. E.g. MSI K7N2 Delta motherboard, creative SB Audigy, realtek 8139c Go to the manufacturers of these parts and find a download page for the drivers and make sure that the driver is new. If it is download it and install it.

Run Windows Updates Go to "Start" > "Programs" > "Windows Updates" Once there install there latest updater software and click on the recommended link. Side Notes By keeping your windows operating system up to date you prevent yourself from being hacked and getting certain viruses and other glitches in the software. This will also improve the performance of your computer and other pieces of software or hardware in your computer.

Keep Virus Definitions Up to Date Make sure that your virus definitions are at most one week old. Considering how many viruses come out on a daily basis, having your definitions more than a few days old can cause you serious damage. Do not trust any automatic updaters, do the update yourself by actually running through the steps for your software.

Keep Desktop Clean I see a lot of computers come in with every program and document they know of right on their desktop. What you should do is categorize your information. If you have certain files and programs that relate to work or accounting or your kids or school, create a separate folder on your desktop and put that information into it. You can increase your use by just organizing your desktop a little better.

Don't use desktop backgrounds Right click anywhere on your desktop that is blank. Click on "Properties" Select the "Desktop" tab Below the picture of the monitor you'll see it say "Background:" Go to the top of that list and select "None" Side Notes If you have a highly detailed picture as your background it can seriously decrease you computers performance. By setting it to none, you still have a choice of color for the background.

Don't Use Vacuum We've heard a few too many people tell us they've cleaned the dust bunnies out of their computer with a vacuum. This is a big no no. The suction from the vacuum against the plastic nozzle creates static. Static is a computers worst enemy. If you need to clean those dust bunnies out use a can of compressed air (Make sure computer is turned off)

Turn Off Monitor Only Most people seem to feel that turning the computer off will increase the life expectancy of their several hundred dollar investment. This is false, by continuously turning the computer on and off you continuously heating everything inside up, then cooling it down. This in turn makes the parts inside expand and contract which can create really small cracks. By only turning off the monitor and leaving the computer running 24/7 you will actually increase the life of your computer.

Keep 2-3 Feet Above Ground Remember those dust bunnies we were just talking about, you won't have to worry about them nearly as much if you have the computer 2 to 3 feet above the ground and in a ventilated room. If you leave it inside a computer desktop that has the backed covered you will still get dust bunnies.

Don't open unless you REALLY know what you are doing Normally if you open your own computer case you void ALL warranties to any parts. Not only that but if you just pet your cat or dog or standing on carpet and reach in to your computer you have a high probability of shocking a piece of your hardware. This shock might fry the component right away or could cause damage that you see go gradually. DO NOT OPEN YOUR CASE UNLESS YOU ARE US.

Don't get a friend who knows ALL about computers to fix it This is not a polite suggestion. We have come to realize that apparently the world is full of people that "KNOW ALL ABOUT COMPUTERS". These people are not as good as we are. We do this day in day out, this is not just our job this is our hobby. So please ask us before you ask that person. You can save yourself a lot of headaches.

Backup Your Data It is a good idea to frequently backup any important data onto a separate hard drive, cd, dvd, usb drive or other external media. This will save you a lot of headaches in the long run when you realize that your hard drive is dead and can't be recovered.

Keep track of software Keep track of ALL software that came with your computer. Not only may you need it at a later date, but if you bring your computer in to be repaired, the techs will most likely need them to fix your computer.

Surge Protection One of the worst things that can happen to a computer is a power spike or drop. To prevent your computer from being harmed in this occurrence, it is a good idea to get a UPS (uninterrupted power supply) which will protect you from almost any power irregularity. A cheaper solution is to get a good surge bar these will only protect you from power spikes but can still be quite helpful in protecting your computer.

Get a Firewall As long as you are connected to the internet you are vulnerable to hackers. They do not care who you are, where you are from, or what is on your computer. Hackers simply care that there is an open connection that they can exploit. The best type of firewall is a hardware firewall. You can use a router or a small cheap machine as a hardware firewall and will normally cost anywhere from $50-$100. The next best thing would be a software firewall like Zone Alarm or Norton Personal Firewall. These are easier to bypass than a hardware firewall, but some protection is better than none.

Uninstall Unused Programs Unused programs take up space and can cause incompatibility between other software and even hardware. It is a good idea to uninstall anything that you don't use.

I am an all around big Geek with too much time on my hands. My main services are web design/development and PC repair. I've been doing both of these for the past 5 years and consider myself pretty good at what I do but, more importnantly, I love it. Webcyte Design

A Programmers Life Exercise

2008-12-11T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Duane Hennessy

Many programmers would not disagree that programming is not the most physically active vocation or past time. Despite all of the Occupational Health and Safety standards and policies delineating proper posture when typing and the correct height of the computer screen, a majority of us could care less, preferring to slouch, lean forward, put our monitors wherever we want and type regardless of where our keyboards are placed. Programming is a creative pursuit and rigid rules over how we code does not work for all of us.

Our bodies on the other hand are evolution-locked in a past where we needed to climb, run, lift heavy objects and spend a good deal of our day in other kinds of physical activity. To keep coding at our optimum we need to introduce some kind of physical activity into our sedentary programming lives; activity that is either short and intensive or is complementary to our daily routines.

Activities that are complementary to our daily routine are those that we can quite easily incorporate into our travelling to work, sitting at work and lunch breaks. Here are some examples:

Running or jogging to and from work.
Skating (skateboards, scooters or rollerblades) to and from work.
Isometric contractions whilst working at our desk or during a quick break.

Activities that provide short intensive workouts or just plain workouts are:

Isometric contractions in sets or exercises at 30 seconds each or until muscle failure.
Power lifting.
Surfing.
Martial arts like capoeira.
Modern dance like hip hop, break-dancing or jazz ballet.
Aerobics.

My personal routine consists of sets of isometric exercise after or before work and I have a JDBug flexboard scooter which I use to travel to and from work, as well as travelling between buildings to carry out support calls. A good group for isometric training is the Isometrics group at YahooGroups (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Isometrics/) where you will find a lot of old books printed to the internet for download and a good many links. For fun I even incorporated my scooter into my isometric routines, using it as a tool for muscle resistance.

Exercise will increase the effectiveness of our brains to process information and make expedient decisions. For information on the wonderful effects of exercise upon our brain see Steven Gillman's article Brain Power Through Exercise at http://ezinearticles.com/?Brain-Power-Through-Exercise&id=64370.

With intensive exercise you will discover that the punishment you put yourself through during your exercise routine far outweighs any IT problems you experience throughout the day and that has got to be an incentive!

Duane Hennessy
Senior Software Engineer and Systems Architect.
Bandicoot Software
Tropical Queensland, Australia
(ABN: 33 682 969 957)

Your own personal library of code snippets
http://www.bandicootsoftware.com.au

Moderator of http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AccessDevelopers

Wireless Adhoc Networks

2008-12-10T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Eric Meyer

Why and when would you want to install a wireless adhoc network? Well you would want to install a wireless Ad HoC network when you do not have the equipment for a wired network; you lack a wireless router and want to share an internet connection, or a temporary meeting place where you need to share information.

The first type of set up will be if you do have an internet connection but you lack a wireless access point or a wireless router to share that connection. This could be a very common scenario at a business meeting or during a classroom study session.

First, each computer will need a wireless adapter. Next click the advance tab near the bottom right and click (computer to computer ad-hoc networks only). Second you will need to add your ad-hoc wireless network so click add. Fill in the network name (SSID) and choose WEP encryption. You will want to use WEP if are using older adapters and use WPA if you are sure all the computers on the ad-hoc wireless network can handle it. It is not a requirement to use encryption but just remember that anyone will be able to join your network.

Because we will want everyone to share our wired Ethernet connection you will need to enable ICS (Internet Connection Sharing) on the wired network adapter not the wireless adapter. This seems like common sense but I have seen many people trying to setup ICS on their wireless adapter. Just go to your network connections and right click the Ethernet connections and press the advanced tab. Check the box that says enable ICS. Once you have setup your ICS, go to every computer and configure their wireless adapter like you did the first one.

ICS will act as a DHCP server and assign private TCP/IP address to your ad-wireless network clients. Each computer will receive a TCP/IP address from 192.168.0.1 to 192.168.0.254. ICS will also tell the computers on the network the location of their default gateway which is the computer you set up ICS on.

Trouble shooting a wireless ad-hoc network can be a head ache. Make sure you set up the ICS computer and one client computer. You will want to check to make sure that the first client computer has the correct IP address so type CMD into the run box to bring up the command line. Next, type in ipconfig, you should see a number of 192.168.0.2 or something similar. Next type ping 192.168.0.1 or the number of your default gateway. If you can ping it you should see four reply messages.

Once you have the first two computers connected correctly, just go to all the other computers and configure the wireless adapters the same way. Other common mistakes are: leaving the firewalls on, wrong encryption and just general typos.

In my next article I will describe how to set up a wireless ad-hoc network with-out a wired LAN internet connection.

Sign up for the most popular wireless networking newsletter on the internet. You will receive the inside scoop on wireless technology for the home and work place http://www.wirelessninja.com

How To Control The Way Linux Starts Up Gui Or Command Line Interface

2008-12-09T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by George Chamoun

If you were interested in learning linux, one of the main reasons was learning how to work using Linux Shell environment. That is the Command Line Interface ( CLI).

How Did I know?. It happened to me, and the most asked Question is how to access the Command line in Linux.

The trick is let Linux starts with the Linux shell is simple, If done during the installation.

After the installation is over, there might be a way which is Very complex and not intended for beginners or intermediate Linux users.

The good thing is that you can access the Linux Shell whether Your systems starts up with the GUI ( graphic user interface ) Or the Command line Interface ( CLI). I will Explain this later in this article.

Depending on the preference of a users, some prefer their Linux operating system to start with GUI, and others want it to Start up with the Command Line Interface.

If you need your computer to startup linux with the command line, you need to decide during the installation.

During the installation process, you will be prompted to choose the options on starting your linux with the command line Interface, or the GUI (Graphic User Interface).

All what you do is click inside a circle that corresponds to the Command or the GUI, depending on which you prefer.

If after installation you found out that you ended up with an Option you don't want, Command line interface or GUI, you Don't have to go through a reinstall or delete of Your Linux Operating System.

Here is the solution:

Some users are under the impression that, if you installed GUI, you can't access the command line.

Others think, if they have the option of the Command Line Interface, you can't access the GUI.

The above two notions are wrong. It doesn't matter what king Of installation option you have, you can always access both ( CLI and GUI) on you Linux Computer.

Here is how you do it:

1-If you are presented with the command line after Linux boots, And after you login and end up at the command line prompt, you Type:

STARTX

The above command start up the GUI from the command line, and Get you in the Graphic GUI environment of Linux.

2-If you Linux computer start up with the GUI, and you are Taken to the desktop environment, there is a way to access the Linux command line.

From your desktop, you can go trough the startup menu and choose the " TERMINAL", and this will let you access the Command line. You will end you with a windows with the Command prompt from within the desktop.

In summary, accessing the command line interface or the GUI Can both be done on your Linux computer, wether your system is Setup to start with the Shell interface or the GUI.

Thank, George Chamoun 04-25-06

Finally! A Quick and Easy instructional guide by George Chamoun that shows you how to install RedHat Linux operating system on your Windows XP computer without spending outrageous fees for computer technical support. Click the link ==>http://www.dualbootguide.com

George Chamoun

Picture Viewers 10 Multimedia Players And Portable Media Centers Reviewed

2008-12-08T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Brandon Baumgarten

Recently a friend of mine was planning a Photo Eurail Adventure. He said he was going to buy 4 or 5 more Compact Flash Cards, so that he would have enough room for all of his photos. "Eben," I said, "get a Multimedia Storage DVR. When you fill up a card just transfer your images to it." Then we really started to think of the possibilities. "You can even bring your entire photo collection with you on the trip to Europe. You may as well show off your artwork, instead of just talking about it. Put your Tunes, Movies and Lake Tahoe skiing videos on it." It was the perfect solution. He was flying back home before the trip, he could show everyone all of his photography and bring all of his music with him.

You have spent years collecting music, movies, TV shows and Photos. Get it together with a PMD Personal . With up to 100Gb memory, these cool players allow you to transfer pretty much all your photos and entertainment and take it everywhere you go. There are a dozen of them out now, all by different companies, each one using different formats with different features which ones best for you? How many giga bytes should you buy? We compare 10 excellent image viewers to help you decide.

Keep It Short and Sweet Equipment Review.

1. Archos AV700 100GB and AV700 40 GB Mobile Digital Video Recorder
The AV700 with its amazing 7" LCD and 480x234 pixel screen is your media companion. It lets you store up to 400 hours of video, 250 movies, 55,000 songs or 1,000,000 photos. A 100GB capacity in an 8-inch machine is huge! You can record and play 1000's of TV shows and movies. The AV700 lets you get video and music content from Microsoft PlaysForSure web sites. Now you can take all your entertainment with you everywhere you go. Using the Archos AV700 rechargeable battery, you'll get up to 30 hours of life for music and up to 4 hours for video playback. Transfer via a USB 2.0 connection. Then organize your photos and watch slide shows on the unit's screen or any TV. Weight 210 oz, Dimensions: 4.2"x8.2"x0.8"

2. Archos AV500 100GB and AV500 30 GB Multimedia Player DVR
The AV 500 has a 4", 480x272 pixel screen. You can store up to 130 hours of home videos, up to 85 movies, up to 15,000 songs or up to 300,000 photos on the 30 GB capacity. Up to one million photos with the 100GB AV500. It's the perfect digital photo companion. USB 2.0 high-speed data transfers. Download pictures from your computer. Organize photos and show them in slide shows, record TV programs, movies and home videos directly from your TV, VCR, DVD, cable and watch on the go! Schedule programs up to month in advance. The AV 500 features a music player and stereo speakers. Easily organize songs and customize your music. Archos AV500 Multimedia Player also records in WAV (PCM or ADPCM) and from analog stereo sources. A stereo microphone to record notes or a concert. It even comes with a nice case! Weight: 11.11oz, Dimensions 7.6"x12.4"x2.4"

3. Epson P-4000 80 GB and P-2000 40 GB Multimedia Storage Viewers
The Epson Viewers have a 3.8" LCD with 640x480 pixels. View, store, and playback photos, music, and videos. Plus listen to MP3 and AAC audio files. The Epson's include rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Downloading memory cards to the P-2000 is quick and simple. Images are presented in groups of 12, you select a photograph then you can zoom in and move around to check the images details. When you click the display button, it gives you image information including the file size, and other important image information. Once you have viewed and edited your shots you can store the file on the Epson P-4000 80 GB, P-2000 40 GB hard drive. The Epson Storage Viewer has a video interface for connecting to a television, monitor, or projector. The photo viewer has direct printing to some Epson printers without a computer (Epson Stylus Photo R300, R320, R600, and PictureMate). Weight: 1lb, Dimensions: 5.8"x3.3"x1.2"

4. Samsung Yepp YH-999 20 GB Portable Media Center
The Yepp has a 3.5" LCD screen and at less than an inch thick is a Windows based portable multimedia device that makes it easy to store and your valuable photos and play up to 5000 songs, 80 hr. of TV and movies, Movie/Music/Picture Formats: MP3, WMA, WMV and JPEG. Features a USB 2.0 interface. For fast transfers. With the Yepp you can enjoy and share your favorite entertainment with family and friends. It's simple to sync your music, video and pictures together, Hooks up to a TV or stereo. Yepp it's got a rechargeable battery. (I couldn't help it) and even displays album art for your albums. This is a very well designed multimedia device but it's not mac compatible. Weight: 8oz, Dimensions 3.82"x4.21"x.83"

4. SmartDisk FlashTrax XT 80 GB and XT40GB Digital Multimedia Player
The FlashTrax has a flip up 3.6" color LCD screen. Transfer, store and share digital images with the ability to zoom and pan. A slide show feature previews photos and allows you to add background music. Thousands of high resolution images fit into this portable multimedia player. It also records and plays movies and TV. Connect FlashTrax XT to a TV or video projector for large screen viewing with family and friends. The FlashTrax XT , watch movies and videos at your desk, in your car or on a plane anywhere. A Compact Flash reader slot is built in and with an adapter the FlashTrax XT transfers images from all popular flash memory cards. Connect FlashTrax XT to your TV and show your photography to family and friends! Weight: 15oz, Dimensions: 3.82"x6.22"x1.38"

6. iRiver PMP-140 40 GB Portable Media Player
The PMP-140 with it's 3.5" LCD screen lets you take your audio and video media files with you on all your adventures. With an incredible 40 GB of storage is not just for digital photos, it plays full-color, full-motion video, too. The unit has a big 3.5-inch TFT LCD and an audio input so you can load audio from other devices, without a computer. The iRiver PMP-140 doubles as a voice recorder, with its built in mic. Transfer media files to the PMP-140, Via USB 2.0. You can store up to 160 hours of video or up to 1,200 hours of music. The iRiver PMP-140 supports formats MP3 and WMA to WMV and DivX (AVI) video and BMP/JPEG image files. Weight: 2.6lbs, Dimensions: 8.1"x7.5"x3.9"

7. Creative Zen Vision 30 GB Multimedia Player
The exceptional Vision 30 has a 3.7" SharpPix 640x480 pixel high resolution 262,144 color screen with transflective technology that lets you see the screen, even in bright sunlight! It's great to bring all your photos and entertainment with you every where you go. Tens of thousands of photos, up to 120 hours of videos, or 15,000 songs. The Zen Vision is not only lightweight and slim, beneath its classy magnesium casing are features that will fulfill all your digital entertainment needs. Store your whole music collection on this player. Listen to over 1000 hours of music, It's an MP3 player for up to 15,000 songs. Even share your favorite songs with your friends through the built in speaker. A must for all amateur and professional digital photographers. Weight: 8.2oz, Dimensions: 4.88"x2.91"x0.79"

8. The Nikon MSV-01 CoolWalker 30 GB Digital Storage Photo Viewer
The MSV-01's 2.5" LCD is 490x240 pixels. It's packed with features yet easy to carry and simple to use. View your digital photos anywhere. Connect CoolWalker to a TV and impress family & friends with your photos on the big screen. It lets you upload data via USB 2.0 and the Nikon MSV-01 is equipped with a data card slot. Plenty of storage space. Store up to 10,000 digital photos. Calculated for 6 mega pixel images stored in JPEG FINE format. Direct printing without the need for a PC is made possible through support of PictBridge. Weight: 12.3oz, Dimensions: 3.2"x5.1"x1.4"

9. JOBO Giga Vu Pro 60 GB and Jobo Giga Vu Pro 40 GB Personal Media Device
The new JOBO Giga Vu Pro Personal Media Device has an adjustable brightness 3.8" LCD monitor with 320x240 pixels, a touch screen for keyboard entry. WiFi enabled. With an optional Compact Flash WiFi card, the unit can become a node on a wireless network allowing sharing of files with other users. Download your priceless photos in JPEG and RAW file formats. Real Raw Decoding allows the unit to decode RAW formats from Canon, Nikon, and Kodak Pro. Virtually all other RAW formats can be viewed. View 12 thumbnail images per page and a slide show mode (JPEG only). Zoom 1,2,3 or 400% for JPEG and RAW formats. Rename albums, add comments and add keywords to images. You have full control with the JOBO Giga Vu Pro. Play, stop and pause MP3 files. Headphone audio line out. Built in speaker w/volume control. USB 2.0 high speed transfers and Rechargeable Li-Ion battery. Weight: 14.82oz, Dimensions: 5.7"x4.2"x1.5"

10. Apple iPod Photo 60 GB, iPod Photo 30 GB with Video Playback.
The Apple iPod With it's 2.5" wide screen display holds as many as 15,000 photos. This skinny little mobile media center fits in your shirt pocket with room to spare. You can create your own movies or purchase music videos, Pixar short films, or select TV episodes via iTunes 6. Catch up on your reading with audio books. Create photo slideshows, complete with music. Watch video podcasts, It has a calendar and address book. It's worth noting that most of the accessories. Get up to 20 hours of battery life. Plus, a bigger display and a new color, black. Weight: 5.5oz, Dimensions: 4.1"x2.4"x0.55"

There's not much point in listing prices here, you know how quickly they drop on electronics products. Visit KISSERreviews.info to compare prices, read actual customer reviews, see product photos find accessories. You will find KISSERreviews for the Apple iPod Photo, Archos AV700, Archos AV500, Epson P-2000 and P-4000, Samsung Yepp YH-999, SmartDisk FlashTrax, iRiver PMP-140, Creative Zen, and the Nikon MSV-01 CoolWalker. Also for Nikon and Canon Cameras.

For information about, How to Become a Freelance Photographer, visit our unique Freelance Photographer Jobs website at: FreelancePhotographerJobs.com for great ideas. There are a lot of free photography tips, tutorials and travel information there.

I have been a professional photographer at western ski resorts. Starting out in Wyoming. Where I landed my first professional photography job, taking action photos of skiers on the slopes at Grand Targhee. I am a freelance photographer based out of Lake Tahoe, CA.

How To Have Two Multiple Copies Of Windows

2008-12-07T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Alan Malik

Having two operating systems is not as difficult as many of us consider. It just requires little hard work and some good equipment. By equipments I mean good hard disk space and good RAM sometimes, depending upon which operating systems you are going to install.

So your first step is to choose which operating systems you are going to install on your computer. I would recommend you to choose them wisely because it could have some negative effects on the performance of your systems. If you have good processor, Pentium 4, and good RAM, at least 256MB, then you do not need to worry about the selection process. There are still millions of people who are using P II and P III processors. When I had Pentium III, I was used to choose windows XP with Windows ME and that was very nice pair of operating systems.

Now let's turn to their installation procedure. This step is considered as a very critical step. Many people, with less knowledge, corrupt their data or operating system file by using wrong method to install both operating systems.

Let me make clear now that I will not be telling in this article about how to install windows 98 and Me together. You will learn only how to install Windows XP or Windows 2000 with Windows 98 or Windows Me. I hope you got it.

Your First step is to install first Windows 98 or Windows Me on your blank hard disk. If you have already installed windows 98 or Me then you do not need to consider this step. But still if you want the fresh copies of both operating systems then you may consider formatting your PC and then installing Windows 98 or Me first. To get help on formatting your PC or installing windows from DOS mode you may consider http://winguide.info .

After you have installed your first operating system, I mean windows 98 or Me, you have partially completed your objective. Now you can install your device drivers, programs or anything on your Windows 98 or Me, even you can install them later. Now you are ready to use your first operating system.

Your next turn is to get Windows XP CD or Windows 2000 Setup Disk. Insert them in your computer and as setup starts, just in the beginning you have to choose the option describing Install New Copy. I mean you should not select UPGRADE option. Just that's it! You have to tell setup on which drive or folder you want to copy your windows files. It is best to use different partition other than where your Windows 98 or Me is installed. If you install both windows in same partition then you may corrupt your both copy of windows. For example, if you have installed windows 98 on partition C:/ then you should install Windows XP or 2000 on partition D:/ or E:/ whatever other partitions you have. If you have only one partition then you may consider repartitioning your hard disk to get more than one partition. I hope you would get most help from Windows Setup Guide which will teach you about how to partition your hard disk with pictures.

Then let your Windows setup proceed and let it to be finished. Remember, if your windows XP or Windows 2000 CD is bootable then please do not boot from CD Rom when computer restarts during Windows 2000 or Windows XP setup. Otherwise you may go on risk of installing multiple corrupted copies of windows.

I hope you may install two windows easily. Still if you are scared then May God helps you. Ok, my last advice, try to move your important data to different PC or any storage device before proceeding, because if you fail, it would not hurt you.

Alan Malik, being well experienced in computer maintenance, describes most of his skills on installing windows in his website Windows Installation Tutorial

Portable Digital Audio Mp3 Players Are The New Technologies Better

2008-12-06T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Robert Bacal

There are now three different options available to buyers of portable MP3 and audio players. There are the newer hard drive based players, such as the Ipod. There are also memory based (flash or otherwise) players that store audio files in the memory in the players, like the Yepp, IRock, IRiver, and Iaudio. Finally, there's the older technology -- cd players that use regular cd disks for storage, and can play both MP3 and regular audio disks.

Is newer really better? Or are the memory and hard disk based systems simply taking advantage of the "cool" factor. There's no absolute answer, since it depends on how you want to use the players, but there are some decided advantages to going with the older CD based audio players. Here's a rundown of the reasons why you may want to purchase a CD based player, particularly now that manufacturers are cutting back on their production.

1) Price: Since CD based MP3 players have been around a while, the prices have dropped significantly even on high quality units. Instead of paying several hundred dollars for an Ipod, other hard drive based player, or a memory based on, a CD based player can be purchased for $40-$50.

2) Flexibility: CD based players play regular CD's, so store-bought music and audiobooks can simply be popped in, and ready to go. They also play MP3, and often the WMA format (particularly the Sony models). You can't play store-bought music on hard drive or memory based players.

3) Storage Issues: For people who listen to a lot of different music, there's a need to have some form of permanent storage. Memory based players can't provide that permanent storage, and hard drive systems like the Ipod are still a poor permanent repository for your music collection. Since CD based systems use permanent storage on CD (or erasable on CD-RW), there is no "temporary storage" involved. The same CD serves as permanent storage, and the listening source. In effect, storage capacity is infinite.

4) Simplicity: CD based players are far simpler to use. There's no software, or transferring files from one computer to your player. Simply pop in a CD and it's ready to go. They are a better, more familiar choice, particularly for older people, or those that don't want to have to learn new software and computer based procedures.

5) Standalone: Both hard drive and memory based players require some means of transferring music files to them. That usually involves using a computer to do so, via some form of interface and software (and a USB cable). CD based players don't require anything besides a playable CD. It's true that you CAN burn disks for portable use, but it's not required to listen. Again, for people who are technologically uncomfortable, the CD players are easier and simpler to use.

6) For Purists: Many audiophiles and music purists do not want to use MP3 and WMA formats, because they are lossy formats. That is, the sound quality is inferior to the format used on regular CD music disks. Players that cannot play the higher quality format, but are limited to MP3 or WMA, simply don't play the music as it was recorded. While many don't care about this, for some, it is a major issue.

On the flipside, the newer technologies are smaller (also easier to lose), less prone to skipping, do not require carrying around CD disks, and no doubt, their prices will drop in the future. Right now though, there's no question that the cheaper, simpler, and established CD portable audio players have some exceedingly convincing advantages. They can be used by anyone regardless of technological expertise. They are flexible, and do not require moving around files from one machine to another. The same disks can be used portably, at home on standard stereo systems, and DVD players, and are permanent. And, the bottom line: They are significantly cheaper.

One caveat though. With price drops on CD players, it's not worth buying a cheap version, or off brand to save a few dollars. They are less reliable, have poor battery life, and fewer features. We recommend portable CD players from Panasonic (our favorite), and Sony, for their robustness and quality.

(c) 2005, Robert Bacal, Bacal & Associates. You are welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end) all links are made live, and this copyright notice and indication of authorship are included.

Robert Bacal is a professional book author, and a daily user of portable audio equipment for both playing audiobooks and music, and also runs Buyingadvice411.com - Product Buying Advice For The Befuddled and Smart Consumer.

http://buyingadvice411.com offers impartial and unbiased information to product buyers to help them decide what product to buy. There's buying advice and product reviews on a wide range of items, including MP3 players, antiques, exercise equipment, automobiles, appliances, mattresses, digital cameras and more.

For more information on purchasing mp3 and portable audio equipment, go to: http://buyingadvice411.com/MP3_and_CD_Players.

Video Cameras

2008-12-05T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Alison Cole

Cameras have been widely used over the years to capture precious moments. However, these photographs were able to record only a few single moments of life. The need for continuity in recording events led to the invention of a video camera. Unlike traditional cameras, which use photographic film, video cameras use entire videocassettes to capture electronic images of entire events.

Initially, video cameras were designed to facilitate television broadcasting. A few decades earlier, video cameras were exceptionally large devices. It was necessary to fix them on big trolleys in order to be able to use them. In modern times, smaller varieties, which are portable and can be carried easily, are widely available.

There are two types of professional video cameras available. The primary kind looks like a big camcorder and is highly developed and portable. The other type can be referred to as studio cameras and do not have endless recording capacity like the former.

Camcorders are video cameras that are designed for amateur photographers and household uses. Before the camcorder was developed, people used special video cameras and VCRs to replicate video recording. These were less advanced and designed to cater to consumer usage.

Camcorders derive their name from a unit, which houses a camera and recorder. Camcorders have evolved with time and now come in more compact, lightweight and user-friendly models. These new cameras can record for several hours on end. The recording is done either on a small videocassette, blank CD or a DVD. In some cases, a LCD screen is present for the user to preview the recording.

A third type of camera, called closed-circuit television, is also very popular. As the name suggests, these devices use a camera and television assembly to monitor a certain area or people. This type of surveillance is common in areas that require additional security such as banks and airports.

Cameras provides detailed information on Cameras, Digital Cameras, Security Cameras, Video Cameras and more. Cameras is affiliated with Consumer Electronic Industry.

How To Put Music Onto A Mp3 Player

2008-12-04T19:00:00.000-08:00

Writen by Albert Lee

If you are one of those million people who had taken the chance to follow the trend by getting your very first MP3 player, you may be in for some help. Most newbies may not easily understand the mechanics of putting music files onto their MP3 players. Besides, these innovative musical devices are not being sold in the market with a pre-downloaded music files.

So if you are not yet knowledgeable of the device, these simple guides on how to put music onto a MP3 player will absolutely help you out and start rocking your world with blasting great music.

1. Get a good installation software for music management

The success of downloading music file onto your MP3 player will greatly depend on the kind of installation software that you have. Not all of these software are created equal. Hence, it is best to consider the right device first before you start making plans of downloading the newest music files from the Internet.

2. Install the software

You cannot download files onto your MP3 player if you will not install first onto your personal computer the software capable of managing your music files.

Music management software provides optimum services that enable you to organize your music files, convert different music format into mp3 and vice versa, or search good-to-download mp3 files in the Internet.

3. Identify the source

After installing the music management software, you have to determine now the source of your music files. This can be either a CD or a collection of music files from a virtual music store in the Internet. You may use your old music from your CDs and install them onto your MP3 player. In this way, you can listen to them anywhere, anytime.

4. Convert into MP3 format

In most cases, downloadable music files from the Internet are already available in MP3 format. So that would not pose much of a problem.

However, if you will be downloading music files from a CD, you have to convert them into MP3 format because most CD music files are not on this format.

You may use your music management software to rip the files from the CD and convert them into MP3 format using the applicable functions.

5. Connect, select, and party on!

The last thing that you have to do in putting your music onto a MP3 player is to connect your MP3 player to your PC via the USB port. Once accessed from the computer, you can now easily transfer your music files from your PC down to your MP3 player. Within a few minutes, you can already start listening to your favorite songs and party on!

Indeed, these tips on how to put music onto a MP3 player are easy to understand. With the right tools, the right software, and the best MP3 player, you can be sure of an enjoyable time ahead with sounds playing in your ears without the fuss.

To search for all your favorite songs in minutes, please visit http://www.feed-your-mp3-player.info/

Make The World A Better Place With Your Empty Ink Cartridges

2008-12-03T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by John Sollars

Did you know that your empty ink cartridge can help you earn some money or fund your favorite charity simply by not throwing it away!

Very often we do not know what to do with the empty cartridges and they invariably find their way to the trashcan. Given these cartridges are made of plastic, they are not biodegradable and end up polluting the environment in various ways.

A recent study done by a US based agency the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has found that 67% of the empty cartridges are sent to landfills, 15% are burnt to ashes and a mere 18% are recycled.

If the percentages don't look intimidating enough, here are some actual figures, every year over 400 million cartridges with a combined weight of 200 million pounds are dumped into landfills.

Recycling these cartridges is a far more useful option. Here are a few benefits in recycling cartridges can do:

1/ Help us reduce our ink bills, as recycled ink cartridges are a lot cheaper compared to new ones.

2/ This way we can help reduce pollution and reduce the amount of plastic that goes into polluting the earth.

3/ We can send them over to companies that assist charities with the profits.

Some institutions generate money by recycling cartridges

Oxfam for example can help raise money from empty ink cartridges. Visit http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what_you_can_do/recycle/toner.htm and you can read both about the work Oxfam undertakes as well as how they fund charitable work using the money generated from cartridges.

Refilling Cartridges

Refilling cartridges is good option. The replacement cartridges must be made to the exact specifications and standards of the manufacturer and not simply refilled. Just because they come cheap, you don't want them to ruin your print quality and risk ink leakage.

Refill kits are available and they are typically very easy to use. If this option is availed they can save you up to 70 percent on the purchase cost. They can be purchased online from sites that sell ink cartridges.

A refill cartridge typically contains the component parts, ink, syringes and clips, to refill the empty cartridge with new ink. Instructions are provided with the kits to fill the cartridges. This is certainly the best way to improve the life of a cartridge as you can take of it yourself without having to pass it around.

If you would rather not refill the cartridges yourself, they can be bought from another supplier but here is a list of things you want to keep in mind while doing that.

1/ The yield needs to be checked - Which means, the estimated number of pages one cartridge can print.

2/ Density of the remanufactured cartridge - The density should be between 1.3 and 1.6. This number is derived after running a test on a number of cartridges, as testing just one will not present the accurate density.

3/ Inspection and replacement of components - The drum, wiper blade and the drum roller are the key components. They need to be checked before making a purchase.

4/ Each model of a printer uses a different toner - If the same toner is used for all the cartridges it could affect the yield without affecting the printing quality. This means, lesser number of pages printed per cartridge and hence higher cost per page.

5/ The label - Once the cartridge is remanufactured the label needs to be replaced by the supplier and the label should indicate which machine the cartridge goes into. If the label is not removed, it could be considered as copyright infringement.

6/ Check with the supplier if they would fix your printer if the ink bought from them causes damage to your printer. This in some cases would be an indication about the quality of ink inside the cartridges.

Potential problems that incorrectly filled cartridges can cause

Sponge filled cartridges refusing to print after re-filling. Here, the sponge is used so that it holds back the ink and it does not flow freely into the print head. The problem could arise from air bubbles trapped inside the layer of ink. This is known as a vapor lock situation. Precautions need to be taken so that this does not happen. While filling the cartridge, the syringe needs to be plunged deep into the cartridge and ink pushed out slowly till it appears on top of the sponge.

If the problem has already occurred, then try holding the cartridge with the print head pointing down on top of a waste paper basket and swing it upwards and stop suddenly. If ink appears on top of the print head, the problem is probably fixed.

The refilled cartridge does not print but a new one does

Check for vapor locking first. If that is the problem then the method described above can rectify the problem.

If this does not work, it could mean the print head or the venting path is blacked. If something is covering the venting path, try removing it. Please be careful not to increase the size of the venting path.

If it still does not work, then it possibly means that the print head openings are blocked. In this case there is not much you can do given the regular means available. However, you can try and scrub it with cotton dipped in distilled water or holding it over steam for not more than a minute. This does not happen regularly but if it does, you can refer to the printer manual and follow the instructions to clean the printer head.

Useful information

It is frequently asked if the warranty on a printer would be considered void if refilled cartridges are used. The answer is technically NO. Often the manufacturer will encourage purchase of branded cartridges and discourages the refilling but that is largely for commercial reasons. Otherwise it is perfectly all right to use refilled cartridges.

About the Author

John Sollars is the managing director of Solar Electronics, suppliers of inkjet cartridges and pc peripherals based in the UK. To access a comprehensive online shop of original and re-manufactured printer inks please visit http://www.mega-office.co.uk

How To Add Mp3s To Your Ipod Using Itunes

2008-12-02T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Mike Furlong

Have you ever wanted to add MP3s to your iPod? Maybe you're a student attending classes and you downloaded the MP3 audio of the class from the professor's website. Or maybe the professor has provided you with an MP3 CD containing a lecture you missed. And maybe you want to listen to the lecture on your iPod while you're cruising down the road to take the exam! Well I can't help with your exam, but putting MP3s into your iPod is a snap. I'll tell you how.

You already know that you can play audio files with iTunes on your computer. And the audio files you play can be copied onto your iPod. iTunes keeps a database of songs you've "added" to it. This database is your library. But the iTunes database is basically just pointers to where the audio files are stored. So if you add the same song more than once iTunes is smart enough to just update the pointer (or not). I mention this so that if you have MP3s on a CD or DVD you might want to copy them to your hard drive first. That way iTunes won't have you mount the CD or DVD again when you play them. Just be sure and remember where you copied the MP3s to have iTunes locate them.

Then just fire up trusty old iTunes! From the main menu under File select Add File To Library to add one, or maybe a few MP3s or select Add Folder To Library to add all the MP3s in a folder (or directory for Windows users). Whoosh and it will be added to your library. Then, of course, you will add or synchronize it with your iPod as you usually do!

Mike Furlong

When I'm not playing with gadgets I'm working to get enough money for more.
Check out
iPod-Advisor.blogspot.com
iPod-Advisor.com

Registry Cleaner Protection For Your Pc

2008-12-01T19:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Irene Graham

Your personal computer saves all the processes that are happening within it. The operating system has its own log of these programs running, and changes that are happening within it. What is a registry cleaner? First you must understand what a registry is. A registry is an applet within your compendium pack of an operating system. Within the term itself registry registers the processes that take place. It also takes note of the automatic processes that are happening in your PC and are running in the background. Think of the registry as a big notebook of your PC's to-do list and it logs everything into it.

Why a registry cleaner important? Registry cleaners are important because it protects your PC from other processes that are not considered viruses, but can be harmful to your PC. Is your computer slowing down without your knowledge? Are you having errors that are not distinguished by your anti-virus program? Your PC might be affected by applications that are running without your knowledge. Registry cleaners are a must!

Your PC might be inflicted by Adwares, Spywares and Spambots. In addition, your registry might be littered with logs that commands your PC to execute these files. A registry cleaner is needed to clean some of these programs. Registry cleaners detect errors in your PC. Registry cleaners help your PC function properly and registry cleaners detect errors, and deletes and or fixes them. For your PC to function in its optimum performance, you must have a registry cleaner. The basic programs that your PC should have in order to function properly should be: anti-virus software, firewall, anti-spam, and a good registry cleaner.

When your PC suddenly has a mind of its own, it might have caught a Spyware, or an Adware from the internet. Spywares and adwares are small programs that download themselves from the internet to your PC. They affect your PC's registry and a registry cleaner can possibly fix the errors that they cause. Spywares monitor your PC's activity? the programs running, registry information, websites visited. Adwares are annoying pop-ups and spam mails. Registry cleaners often block these from proliferating in your PC. These programs are not considered virus by your anti-virus, but it tinkers your PC's registry, and sometimes cause errors.

A registry cleaner fixes bugs or errors that are inherent in your PC. If you don¡,t have a registry cleaner, your PC will function at a slower rate. Also, without a registry cleaner, a PC will be inflicted with many annoying programs that run on the background. A registry cleaner scans, identifies and fixes the bugs that are contained in your operating system's registry. Some of the bugs in your PC are actually from other programs that you have installed. Sometimes, your PC is running programs that are non-existent anymore. Installation and uninstallation processes also affect your PC's performance. Registry cleaners also deal with these errors. Sometimes, files are corrupted when you uninstall. Some PC's even restart on their own, behaving erratically and uncontrollable. If you have these problems, you need a registry cleaner.

Registry cleaners are softwares. You can download free registry cleaners in the internet. But it is advisable to buy a licensed registry cleaner because it offers better technical support. Crashes are inevitable without registry cleaners. Losing all your data, or having a corrupted program is a nightmare, so be wise, have a registry cleaner!

Irene Graham is the owner of Free Internet Eraser. To learn more about using registry cleaners to protect your PC, go to: http://free-internet-eraser.com