Finally… A Finger Fone!

Maxwell Smart look out… the Finger Fone is here. Japanese telecom giant, NTT DoCoMo, has developed a real-life finger telephone they call “FingerWhisper”. Just stick your finger in your ear!

Due for release in 2005, the phone consists of just a wrist band – just like a watch. Instead of an audible ring tone, the band vibrates when you have a call. To answer incoming calls, you just tap together your index finger and thumb, and speak into the in-built microphone.

And here’s the best bit… To listen to the person on the other end, simply stick your finger in your ear! The wrist band unit send vibrations up your hand, and into the ear canal.

According to NTT DoCoMo, FingerWhisper “points the way to a world full of wearable interfaces”.

So, be careful scratching your ear… You never know who you might be dialling!

Writing Helpful Help – A Minimalism Checklist

User documentation is all too often written by programmers for programmers. It tends to focus on the product’s features, rather than the user’s tasks. Generally, programmers aren’t in the ideal position to be writing user documentation. They’re too close to the bits and bytes, and they’re too far from the user. To them, what the product can do tends to be far more important than what the user can do with the product.

It’s a subtle – but vital – distinction. Research shows that the key to effective user documentation is writing task oriented help. Even better, write your help according to the minimalist theory. In the documentation world, “minimalism” is a fancy word for a commonsense practice. In basic terms, it means write to your reader and keep it simple.

The theory itself has a lot of twists and turns. If you want to read a great – but slightly wordy – book on the subject, check out the book “Minimalism Beyond the Nurnberg Funnel”, 1998, edited by John Carroll.

In the meantime, if you can tick every item in the following checklist, you’ll be well on your way to usable online help that both your readers and your managers will thank you for.

Helpful Help Checklist

1. Base the help on real tasks (or realistic examples)

2. Structure the help based on task sequence – Chapter headings should be goals and topics should be tasks

3. Respect the reader's activity – this is generally more about what you don’t do than what you do. Don’t waste the reader’s time by diving off into tangents

4. Exploit prior knowledge and experience – Draw the reader’s attention to previous tasks, experiences, successes, and failures

5. Prevent mistakes - "Ensure you do x before doing y"

6. Detect and identify mistakes - "If this fails, you may have entered the path incorrectly"

7. Fix mistakes - "Re-enter the path"

8. Provide error info at end of tasks where necessary (rule of thumb, one error info note per three tasks is a good average)

9. Don't break up instructions with notes, cautions, warnings, and exceptional cases - Put these things at the end of the instruction, wherever possible

10. Be brief, don't spell everything out, especially things that can be taken for granted

11. Omit conceptual and note information where possible, or link to it. Perhaps provide expansion information at the end of the topic, plus maybe a note that there are other ways to perform the task/goal, but this is the easiest

12. Sections should look short and read short

13. Provide closure for sections (e.g., back to original screen/goal)

14. Provide an immediate opportunity to act and encourage exploration and innovation (use active invitations to act, such as, "See for yourself..." or "Try this..." rather than passive invitations such as, "You can...")

15. Get users started quickly

16. Allow for reading in any order - make each section modular, especially goals, but perhaps tasks (definitely if they can be performed in different order)

17. Highlight things that are not typical

18. Use active voice rather than passive voice

19. Try to account for the user's environment in your writing

20. Before writing anything, ask yourself “Will this help my reader?”

By building these practices into your documentation process, you’ll find that your online help becomes easier to write, shorter, and far more usable for your reader. What’s more, your boss will love you!

Play Online Baccarat Game

Baccarat - the game of the rich and famous - the game of high-flyers, Hollywood stars and oil barons!

Until recently, only the highest class casinos offered baccarat, and only their richest clients could afford the table minimums. No wonder the name conjours up an image of glamour and expensive cigars, diamonds and vintage cognac!

The good news is that you no longer have to be a multi-millionaire to savor the excitement of baccarat - with online casinos you can play online baccarat game anytime, anywhere!

Baccarat has fascinated high-class gamblers for centuries. The game was said to have been invented in Italy by Felix Falguierein, a professional gambler, although some dispute this, saying that it is French in origin. In any case, baccarat was introduced to the French court in the 15th century, and soon became the game of the aristocracy. The name is taken from the Italian word "baccara", meaning zero, and refers to the game rule that all court cards have a value of zero. Baccarat was first played with tarot cards, and there is a legend linking it with the ancient Etruscan ritual of the Nine Gods.

Chemin de Fer, a variation of baccarat, also became popular in France. The original baccarat game evolved into what is now known as European Baccarat. The principles of play are the same in baccarat and chemin de fer, with just a slight difference in rules. In both games, the object is to score as close as possible to 9 by adding up the face values of the cards, and discarding the leftmost digit of the answer. In baccarat, the rules are more formal, and the game is always banked by the casino, although the deal passes from player to player. Players may choose to bet on the player, the banker or on a tie. Since a tie doesn't happen very often, ties win at much longer odds.

Although popular for centuries in Europe, baccarat only reached American casinos in the 1950's via South America. The American version is a combination of European baccarat and chemin de fer. Casino holders preserved its aristocratic image by setting the stakes high and housing the game in the plushest area of the casino. Since a lot of money changes hands in baccarat because of the high stakes, the fortunes of the casino often fluctuate directly according to the success or failure of its clients at the baccarat table!

Mini-baccarat was later introduced to bring the game within the reach of ordinary clients. With mini baccarat, the stakes are much lower, and the game is much faster. However, many people are still attracted by the glamour of the original game, with its luxurious surroundings and exclusive atmosphere.

Online baccarat is becoming increasingly popular, since the rules are simple, and the 'house edge' (the percentage by which any game favors the casino) is low. Find out for yourself why baccarat is the favorite game of the jet set - play online baccarat game, and feel like a movie star! All you need to play online baccarat game is a quick sign-up for free membership, and you are away.

And the moment you sign up for membership, you qualify for all kinds of exciting benefits. Play online baccarat game for real, and you qualify for a sign-up bonus immediately. And whether you gamble for free or for real, you instantly qualify for free weekly promotions, contest and sweepstakes. Play online baccarat game, and you could be an instant winner!

If you are a newcomer to baccarat, you can play online baccarat game for free while you learn the rules and learn to anticipate the cards. You will still qualify for the weekly sweepstakes and other benefits. And with a no-download casino, you are ready to play online baccarat game the moment you sign up - no bulky programs taking up space on your computer. And with a small download version, you can play online baccarat game from anywhere - you are not restricted to your own computer.

Why waste time and money going to a casino? Play online baccarat game in the comfort of your own home. No cover charge, no transport costs, no waiting for a table. Play online baccarat game for your own choice of stakes - no prohibitive table limits. Play online baccarat game anytime of day or night - whenever your instincts tell you that your luck is in!

10 Time Saving Keyboard Shortcuts

Time is money. And when you constantly have to divide your time between your mouse and your keyboard, your workflow rate really slows down.

That's particularly true when you're working on a laptop, where the pointing device is even slower.

The answer - short of growing another arm - is to learn a few "handy" keyboard shortcuts. Here are 10 of the best:

1. Make a quick exit:

ALT - F4 will terminate any program immediately.

2. Flick - don't click:

ALT - TAB to flick through open programs.

3. Make a quick selection:

CTRL - SHIFT and move cursor with left / right / up / down arrows to quickly select areas of text.

4. Cut, copy and paste to the chase:

CTRL - X / C / V to cut, copy and paste selected text.

5. Undo what you've done:

CTRL - Z will undo anything. (And to redo: CTRL - Y although this varies between programs.)

6. Page - don't scroll:

In MSIE use Page Up & Page Down to save time fiddling with the scroll bar.

7. E for explorer:

WINDOWS KEY - E to open windows explorer. Use up and down arrows to quickly navigate through folders.

8. Rapidly rename:

F2 - rename a file or folder in Windows Explorer

9. Find it fast:

CTRL - F to find text on a page (And CTRL - H replace it).

10. Fly through forms:

Use TAB to move forward through forms and SHIFT-TAB to move backwards

After a little practice, your fingers will be flying across the keyboard like a shortcut pro.

And you'll save a huge amount of time too.

The Importance Of Email Backup

drive failures are only a few examples of what could destroy the data on a hard drive, including all documents, pictures, emails and other files!

Most home computer users don't need an expensive backup solution; as they only need to burn the folders with important documents and pictures to a CD-RW from time to time; this ensuring that in case of a disaster they can easily get them back.

Togeder with documents and pictures, it's a critical operation to save the emails, attachments, address book and other important data from within the email client; otherwise in case of a computer problem the user will find himself in the impossibility to get them back, and this can be a really unwanted situation especially for webmasters or people who rely on their emails. Unfortunately many people actually start to do backup copies only after they lose data.

This article will explain how one can create a Outlook Express Backup copy ( as Outlook Express lacks a backup function ) This email program is usually installed with the Windows operating system and is probably among the most commonly used email programs today. While using Outlook Express is fairly easy, finding and backing up the emails can be a little more complicated. Since there are a large number of files and folders on a computer running Windows, the first problem is to find the files containing the emails. Outlook Express stores emails in .dbx files and there might be several different dbx files depending on how many email folders you have created in Outlook Express. If you are using Windows 98, you can probably locate your emails somewhere in the Windows directory. In Windows 2000 and XP, emails are usually stored somewhere in the user data or application data folder.

The easiest way to find out exactly where your emails are stored is to start Outlook Express, go to the Tools menu, and open the Options dialog box. In the Options dialog box, select the Maintenance page and click the Store Folder button. Here you can find the path to the folder containing your emails. To open the folder, copy the path and paste in the address field of the Windows File Manager. You should see a number of .dbx files and possibly some other files, too.

After locating the email folder, you can simply select all the files and press Ctrl-C. Then open the folder where you want to keep the backup copies (on another hard disk, a DVD or a network drive, for example) in Windows Explorer, and press Ctrl-V.

To backup the Address Book, you can follow these steps:

* Select Tools | Address Book... from the menu in Outlook Express.
* Choose File | Export | Other Address Book... from the address book's menu.
* Select Text File (Comma Separated Values) as the export format.
* Click Export.
* Select the location you want to export your address book to using the Browse... button.
* Give your backup copy a meaningful name.
* Click Next.
* Select the fields you want to include in your backup.
* Finally, select Finish.
* Click OK.
* Click Close to end the process (successfully, I hope).

Additionally, there are several email backup utilities which can make the backup operation much easier. Outlook Express Backup Genie is one piece of software that can offer peace of mind by creating compact backup copies of emails, attachments, address book, signatures, blocked list, mail rules and settings periodically. The difference between using a automatic email backup utility and manual backups, is that the first can be scheduled to create backups quiet in the background at specified time intervals, and that it will include all email information ( signatures, blocked list, etc ) which otherwise would be more difficult to save. Also if ever the backup is needed, the application will ensure that the restore process is made smoothly. And, it works with top 9 popular email clients. The downside of using a automatic email backup utility is that it costs money, usually about 20-30 USD as one time payment, while the manual backups are ofcourse, free.

The conclusion is that either manual or automatic, backing up emails is a critical operation for every computer user that would regret losing them.

Working on the Internet: Role of Proofreading and Copy editing OnLine

When one is in a creative state, rarely can one also be in a detail state. Thus, mistakes in correct grammar, spelling and continuity of all details, may happen. Also, proofreading our own work can be very difficult, for all of us. This is because the same mental processes that went into composition are the ones we use to correct our work. Hence, so many websites are launched every year but so many of them fail to work perfectly as these sites have not been tested with a Proofreader's fresh eyes and impartial knowledge of English. Proofreading and Copyediting process involves reading the content for english grammar, spelling, story, flow and understandability. It also involves checking consistency in visual design, testing links, and ensuring accurate reading. Let us now discuss about some points for Proofreading and Editing Websites and Online Documents.

Tips for Editing Websites and Online Documents:

1) Create consistent text formatting:

Check whether the overall "look" of text on a page presents any obvious problems with various common fonts and type sizes. At this stage of the process, basic HTML skills are very valuable to the online editor in order to go into the HTML document and make minor changes directly , if required.

2) Check that colors are applied consistently throughout the work:

Watch out for arbitrary shifts in color. If link colors are specified in your HTML document, check that these colors are applied consistently throughout the work.

3) See whether links are working and going to the correct destinations:

Manually check all or most links to ensure that all links lead where they promise.

4) Ensure that text is readable:

Avoid "overabbreviation". Use only standard, easily read symbols etc

5) Check that identifying information is present and consistent

6) Correct errors in grammar and spelling:

Check for subject-verb agreement, Sentence fragments, Run-on sentences and other obvious grammatical errors. In case of checking spelling errors, read what is actually on the page, not what you think is there.

7) Check for punctuation:

Punctuation error is the most common mistake people tend to make. There are various books available on correct punctuation. If you are not confident in case of punctuation, get a book for your guidance.

8) Make sure names are spelled correctly:

The single most important mistake is the misspelling of names. Going to whatever length needed to see that names and titles are correct is important.

9) Look the content from the readers point of view:

Reading the story completely through the first time, without marking or changing anything. Thats the way the reader is going to read the story, and thats the way the copy editor should read it, too.

10) Look for answers:

When editing a story for the first time, looking for answers to the following questions is important:- Is this a complete story? Does it consist of important facts? Does it give all of the necessary information to the reader? Are the quotes interesting? Any information or necessary quotations are missing? Does the writer omit information on the assumption that the reader already knows it? Does the story read smoothly? Does the information flow from one paragraph to the next? Do the quotes add to and support the previous information? Are the facts and quotes in descending order of importance?

11) Make sure the text is optimized for search engine rankings:

Check whether META tags (for description and keywords), Title tag and Image Alt tag have been used appropriately for the website content. Your text should also contain the main and related keywords/ phrases for your site. This will make the audience find your site on the Internet.

The basic processes, are much the same for online documents and print media - checking for correctness (spelling, grammar, and punctuation), consistency of capitalization and other mechanics, accuracy of information, and completeness. Creating consistent text formatting, Checking consistency in visual design, Testing for proper working of website links, Knowledge of HTML and its application (when required) are the additional responsibilities for an online editor.

The Value of Forums

There are literally thousands of online forums that cover a wide range of topics. Forums provide individuals, who share a common interest, with a meeting place for open discussion, and a great gathering spot for "water cooler" talk. When used properly forums can be an excellent business tool and resource. By providing well thought out, helpful responses posters can develop a reputation as an industry expert. Establishing a reputation within forums will eventually lead to solid business contacts and relationships.

Forums, online discussion groups, can be found on many websites. Companies, individuals or groups often have their own web-based forums, which are a good source of technical information or just general discussions. They can be closed for private use only or open to anyone to post messages, which are usually sorted within different categories, or topics. Posting to forums is obviously effective when an immediate answer is not required. Forum can be found by searching for topic or subject with the word 'forum' or 'forums'. Forums are a great way to participate in a community that is discussing a particular topic, or communicate with a group of people interested in the same topic.

Rules & Regulations

Before you post to a forum its important that you read the Charter or description of the forum and determine what is appropriate. It is probably not a bad idea to monitor a newsgroup for a few days prior to posting. Understanding what is accepted or not accepted in each newsgroup will go a long way in befriending the participants.

Forum Etiquette

Spam is generally frowned upon, if you require information on general forum etiquette I'd encourage you to read the article at: http://www.small-business-software.net/etiquette.htm . Rules and etiquette can vary from one group to another, so don't assume what is acceptable in one, is acceptable in another.

Some forums require that you register and provide contact information in order to post a message or respond to messages. The registration is typically simple and requires that you submit general information. An email confirmation is required in order to confirm the information; once the confirmation is responded to posting privileges are granted. Some forums do not require registration and you can post anonymously.

What to Look for In a Forum

Because time is valuable it is best to frequent forums that have a lot of traffic, this will ensure that any posts receive maximum exposure for little effort. The most recent posts should be have current dates and it should be clear that there is regular activity on the board.

Moderated Forums

Some forums are moderated, which means posts are approved prior to being made public. This means that if you post to a moderated forum, there will likely be a delay between the submission and the posts appearance in the forum. Moderated forums tend to have a lower 'noise' ratio and have less off-topic posts. The downside to moderated forums is that like moderated newsgroups they are usually less popular because of the lag time between posts.

Signature Line

Most newsgroups allow for posters to include a signature on any posts. This is your opportunity to mention your products and services. Use this as an opportunity to tell other forum visitors what you want them to know. Be sure to provide an url to your website, as the link will not only refer potential clients but it will help search engine ranking.

Finding Forums

Forums can contain generic information or be very topic specific. Try the following resources to find forums that meet your needs.

The Future of Submarine Games

In the last six months, the demise of sims has been pronounced in abundance. Print mags and sim webzines have been telling you sims are being cancelled left and right Jane's A-10: Cancelled. Wolfpack II: Cancelled. Silent Steel II: MIA. M1Tank Platoon 3: Cancelled. Fighting Steel Deluxe: Cancelled. Jane's Attack Squadron: MIA. Thunder Over Europe: MIA. The list goes on.

We all know that this is a down cycle for sims and we believe there is hope that in a couple of years, things will turn around and sims will be hot stuff again. Hey, I remember in 1973 when the EPA and OPEC throttled the life out of the muscle car scene. I had a 1970 Cobra Torino that had 450 hp and ran the quarter in the high 13s. In less than three years every car out of Detroit was a smog controlled, gas economizing slug. They even started making them as ugly as they were slow! It was heartbreaking.

But over time, things change. Now you can get a high performance machine that handles and has luxuries like front/rear AC. My '99 Riviera has a supercharged V-6 that would make my old Torino proud.

So, keep the faith. Things will improve, even if no one knows when. Silent Hunter II and Destroyer Command are showing signs of life. Harpoon 4 is still under development. There are stirrings from the Sonalysts camp.

When a new subsim does hit the shore, try to remember, the developers and game producers are our friends. They make the kind of games we like because they like them too. Why would they labor over armor thickness tables, ship model physics, and torpedo trajectories for a niche market? I know a few developers and they all love the genre.

Try to keep your criticism balanced. Should you blast a sim you had trouble with or didn't enjoy with all the invective and animosity you would normally reserve for someone who stole your car or used your toothbrush? I was told by one producer that high-level executives frequently ask him about hard-core negative postings on newsgroups and forums. The industry sees us as demanding, unappreciative, and impossible to satisfy. It's much easier and more lucrative to crank out Deer Hunter and Barbie games and their users rarely flame the game company to a crisp.

I work with a CPA accountant who likes computer games and is pretty good at them. He can play a mean Age of Empires warrior. I tried to interest him in learning Jane's 688(I) for some multiplay. He took one look at the hefty manual and waved it off. He assumed he would need to learn all the material to play competitive. The blessing and the curse of a good sim is its complexity. You want to command a battle fleet or do TMA on a Los Angeles class submarine? You need to learn skills and study. And this restricts the popularity of the sim. Mass market games generally do not carry the steep learning curve a sim does. So while we hard core sim players are delighting in the minutia of seven different stations and all their controls, casual gamers are passing up the sim at a 20 to 1 ratio. Sims truly are a niche market.

Niche market games have limited budgets. This mean a small number of programmers and artists must concentrate on the basics. Don't expect to see everything you want and imagine in a sim. Oh yeah, I'm with you--I wish a subsim could have full motion crews and other fun stuff. But as one producer told me, "We don't have the money to design and integrate these features into the product. I wish we could, too."

We should be finding out the status of Silent Hunter II soon. Either Mattel Interactive is going to sign someone to complete it or it will be canned. I went through the "we are planning to do this" stage with the fabled Jane's Ice Pack add-on for 688(I), Crusader Studios' Akula: Red Hunter, Silent Steel 2, and the interoperability between Jane's Fleet Command and 688(I). I'm not passing judgment here, just stating that when the momentum dies, so does the objective. For whatever reasons, the product champions behind those sims were unable to secure the financing to start work. To get a better feel for the whole process, read my friend John Sponauer's analysis of the life and death of a sim, M1 Tank Platoon 2, from its early development as an upgrade all the way through its last couple of weeks.

Despite my previous experiences with other sim companies, I am optimistic that Carl Norman and Rick Martinez mean what they say and SSI will continue to raise the banner of the Digital Combat Series while the Jane's, NovaLogics, and Microproses around them fall like unfortunate tin soldiers. This is not to say SH2 is a done deal--that moment will come when you hold the box in your hand. We look to the next rumored subsim as our best hope for advanced underwater warfare. All we can do is stay positive, supportive, and if it's decent, buy four copies when it comes out.

Is the "IronPort" Whitelist Actually An Extortion Tactic ?

It appears that Mr. Gates' prophetic prediction that charging marketers to send email across the Microsoft email networks (MSN and Hotmail) to cut down on Sp*m is about to come true.

According to CIO Today, Microsoft is now employing "IronPort Anti-Spam Technology."

"IronPort" is a paid "white-list" for people who send "mass email" (including newsletter publishers, ezine publishers, affiliate managers, mini-course operators, and basically anyone who has a list of opt-in emails).

If you send any type of email where you do a broadcast to everyone on your list, this applies to you.

If you want your email broadcasts to get through their filters, you must pay a hefty fee and post a "bond."

Here are some facts about this developing story:

1. They charge by how much email you send a month, but the minimum charge is a:

$375 Application Fee, plus

$500 Annual License Fee, plus

$500 "Bond" fee.

That's $1,375.00 just to get in the game.

If you want to see the complete breakdown, go here https://www.bondedsender.com/fees.jsp

2. If you go over the "complaint" threshold of 1 complaint per month, then they will debit $20 from your bond fee for each complaint to "fine" you for being naughty.

Now that sounds good on the surface, but here's a scenario to try on for size:

Your competitor / enemy / Net "psycho" signs up for 50 fr~e email accounts at HotMail and complains about you every month when you send your newsletter.

49 complaints (50 - 1 allowed complaint) times $20 a complaint comes out to $980 in fines.

Now, can you dispute the fines? Sure, absolutely!

But how much will you lose in time, energy and effort disputing the allegations? (My guess is, a whole lot more than that.)

You can check out all the "rules" here https://www.bondedsender.com/fees.jsp

Here are the details of the program straight from the horse's mouth... https://www.bondedsender.com

Here's my take on this whole thing (which dropped on me out of the blue today):

First, don't get me wrong... I hate sp~m with a passion!

I spend at least an hour a day fighting it (down from 3 hours a day just a few weeks ago before I shut down about 2 dozen email addresses that got harvested by spambots over the last few years).

With that said, this whole "IronPort" thing sounds and smells to me like "white list" extortion.

Why?

Here's the basic premise: "Pay to get your email through our filters, or else you run the very likely risk of not getting your email through at all."

In fact, here's a *direct quote* from their website https://www.bondedsender.com/faqs/sender.jsp:

"What happens if I don't bond my email? You're rolling the dice and taking your chances with spam filters, black lists and bulk folders. Some days all of your email may be delivered; other days 30-50% could be blocked."

Kind of reminds you of a cheesy mafia movie on late night TV:

Me: "Hey Bugsy, what happens if I don't pay my 'protection' money this month? What if I stand up to you and refuse to pay?"

Bugsy: "Well, maybe nothin' will happen to you because the Boss ain't payin' attention when I tell him you decided not to pay. On the other hand, maybe I'll just smack you around a little bit... or maybe-- I'll BREAK YOUR LEG with this baseball bat! Go ahead and not pay us... then we'll see what happens!"

Now, back to my question: "Why should I have to pay a huge fee to send email to people who have opted in to my lists?"

The argument from Microsoft (and soon to be other ISP's) is that the uncontrolled sp~m on the web is costing them a lot of money to deliver email nobody wants to read.

Well, if that's the case, aren't email users shelling out cash or credit to pay their ISPs for email services (mine charges me $40 a month for cable), or paying for free services like HotMail or Yahoo Mail through viewing advertising on every page?

I was under the impression we were already paying to receive email... and last time I checked, there was no place to put a stamp!

Okay, even if we make it past that and we accept the argument that legitimate emailers should have to pay a fee in order to get on that big "whitelist in the sky" somewhere... there are still two very important considerations here:

1. First, what about the little guy who starts doing really well?

You know, the small newsletter publisher who puts out a great ezine or fr-e report or whatever, and gets a lot of subscribers and then wants to broadcast email to them on a regular basis?

Let's say they start making $20,000.00 a year from their ezine... are they now supposed to shell out 6-10% of their earnings in order to get their messages through? (And that's if they never get a fine!)

Do they have to be penalized for being successful?

Apparently so if this system gains widespread acceptance by all the big ISP's and email service providers!

2. Second, what about the high potential for abuse at the hands of unethical competitors and just plain jerks that populate the Internet!

I know it might seem hard to believe, but there are psychos out there who will sign up for a bunch of free email accounts just so they can make trouble.

(This is not paranoia! I had a user who signed up, definitely opted-in from my website, had the emails routed through a SpamCop address so I got blacklisted by SpamCop until I could get it straightened out. Oh, and guess who owns SpamCop... IronPort, that's who!)

Now, some idiot making waves with 100 email accounts won't put a dent in the pockets of most big players in the email arena... for them it'll just be a business expense.

But for the case of the "little" guy, fighting that potential abuse and those fees could seriously cripple and even kill a fledgling enterprise... and that, in my opinion, is a serious problem.

In my opinion, all this is going to do is cut out the little guy and make it easier for big companies to email the hell out of the rest of us.

A small newsletter publisher will find it cost-prohibitive to pay for the service, and some giant company will just keep pumping the email out because they have the staff and resources to fight the inevitable complaints.

And let's face it, if a big company is paying a $10,000.00 a year licensing fee plus posting a $4,000.00 bond, how aggressive do you think the IronTrust people will really be to get rid of them?

In my opinion, not very.

In conclusion: Despite my ranting, I actually think this is a step in the right direction (albeit a wobbly, drunken, and inconvenient step).

Something has to be done to fight spam.

However, at this point, this whole system has (in my opinion) too many unanswered questions, especially for us little guys.

Namely:

* Do I really need to do this if I'm a little guy operating and growing a newsletter?
* What happens if I get unfounded spam complaints?
* At what level does it make financial sense for me to do this?
* What if my newsletter isn't a big profit generator... am I supposed to give up the revenue I do create just to get my emails through?

To their apparent credit, Yahoo! is also trying to pioneer a solution, but this one doesn't appear (at this point) like it will cost publishers or subscribers any money (and I like the sound of that). http://antispam.yahoo.com/domainkeys

But with so much at stake (on both sides), this issue is a far cry from any satisfactory resolution.

Stay tuned for further updates as events warrant...

Would You Like An Extended Warranty With That?

Should you buy an extended warranty with your laptop? You may not want to think about it now, but sooner or later, something is going to break down on your laptop. When it happens, the big question will be who gets stuck with the bill, you or the manufacturer.

The standard (standard in this case meaning free) warranty on a new laptop typically runs anywhere from 90 days to a year. That probably doesn’t seem like much when you consider how long you expect to own your laptop. What happens when your laptop poops out on the 91st day?

First of all, even if your laptop only includes a 90-day warranty (and assuming you’ve purchased a reputable brand- name system), the chances of your laptop dying on the 91st day are very, very slim.

Manufacturers don’t offer a 90-day warranty with the expectation that their product will malfunction shortly thereafter. A shorter warranty is likely, at least in part, to be a marketing ploy to push you toward an extended warranty.

All major laptop manufacturers offer a long menu of extended warranty options, each menu item with its own price tag. The two biggest components that factor into the cost of an extended warranty are duration and location.

Through extended warranty, you typically have the option to extend the duration of the standard warranty from one to three years. The first extra year is always the most expensive, with each subsequent year costing significantly less. The longer the extended warranty, the better the deal.

As for location, the least expensive extended warranties require you to ship your laptop (at your expense) to a remote repair facility. With the most deluxe extended warranty packages, a service technician will meet you at your own front door to attempt the repairs. This type of coverage tends to be on the expensive side.

At this point, you might decide to research manufacturer websites to determine their standard warranty policies. Don’t bother, because most laptop manufacturers don’t have standard warranty polices. Warranties vary from line to line and product to product. Even with a particular model in mind, it’s still going to take some digging.

So how do you decide whether an extended warranty is right for you? Your best bet is to consider your anticipated usage:

If you’re buying a laptop as a second computer for occasional use when you need to travel, you can probably pass on the extended warranty and still feel relatively safe.

At the other extreme, if you use your laptop day in and day out as your primary system, with half your life spent in airport terminals, you should consider adding as much extended warranty as you possibly can. Fortunately, unlike automobile warranties, laptop warranties don’t put any restriction on mileage.

DataRecoveryNet.com Enters Medical Industry

Palm Beach Gardens FL- Florida based data recovery service, DataRecoveryNet.com, launched a new service directed toward the medical community aimed at curtailing the loss of private and vital patient data as well as securing patient health information.

DataRecoveryNet.com recovers data from malfunctioning, damaged, or failed hard drives and other media. This offering is sure to assist the medical industry with new HIPPA requirements. "The medical community is in need of specialty services like our data recovery service due to the new requirements of HIPAA" says Chuck Roover, President of DataRecoveryNet.com Hospitals and other health care service companies store patient health information in hard drives that eventually fail.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was enacted in 1996. The law required the US Dept. of Human Services to develop standards and requirements for the maintenance and transmission of health information.

This law refers to security, confidentiality, and non-disclosure of patient health information. These regulations went into effect on April 14, 2004.

About DataRecoveryNet.com: Based in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. DataRecoveryNet.com is committed to delivering the most cost effective solutions for expert data recovery services. DataRecoveryNet.com has been using their advanced technology and expertise to recover data for corporations and individuals alike for over 10 years. This company utilizes multiple world wide networks to source parts if needed. Delivering retrieved data in a timely manner, fanatical customer support, and confidentiality of client data is what keeps their clients' coming back.

Be Prepared in the Event Computer Disaster Strikes

Be Prepared in the Event Computer Disaster Strikes
by: Sharon Housley


Computers

Businesses and individuals alike have all grown to rely on computers. The reliance is never more apparent than when something happens to the horrid little box that makes our lives easier. We expect computers to react a certain way, in certain situations. It nearly always comes as a surprise when the beloved little box, know as a computer, refuses to boot up. Probably even more shocking, is the dawning that we've neglected to backup or prepare for the unforeseen disaster that has just been thrust upon us.

Regardless of the number of times you have experienced the dread of being unable to access the information trapped in the god-awful computerized contraption, we are always invariably unprepared.

The reality of it is that computers, not only contain moving parts, but they like other machines, they are prone to failure at some point in their lives. Not only can hardware failures occur, but viruses can also corrupt data making it impossible to retrieve. Regardless of the litany of words used to bully the box into behaving, the truth is that the only offence is a good defense.

So how do you prepare for a computer tragedy?

Prepare for the Worst

In structuring an offense it's important to realize the power of reinforcements: backups are invaluable and will save countless hours of shameless degradation. Be sure that you backup data and files on a regular basis, there are a number of tools that will automate the process.

It is critical that you check the backup log to ensure that a backup was completed properly. I cannot begin to describe the devastation felt when it is realized that though there was a backup process in place, the backup never actually occurred. Realizing this during a restore is likely to push any computer lover over the edge. It is a good idea to store a weekly back up off site. This is especially helpful, if an unforeseen fire or a natural disaster strikes.

Protection is critical!

Build A Wall

If the computer has Internet access, either a hardware or software firewall (or combination there of) must be used. The firewall creates a barrier between a computer and the world. Without a firewall, Internet worms are capable of exploiting security holes and are able to create what are referred to as 'back doors'. These back doors can then be used to gain access to personal information stored on the computer, including password files, and financial information.

Trust No One

If you are an avid Internet surfer or downloader be sure to scan any downloads prior to opening or installing. Up to date anti-virus software should be used to ensure, that computers do not become infected with malicious viruses that will ruin your life. Scan any email attachments prior to opening regardless of whom they are from. Files that end with .scr, .pif and .exe can contain viruses that will wreak havoc with your data and emotional well being.

Preparedness goes a long way, and a little foresight will ensure that, while a computer might be an inconvenience, you will not be defeated.

Preparation Resources

Anti-virus Software -http://www.military-software.com/anti-virus-software.htm

Firewalls - http://www.monitoring-software.net/intrusion-detection-software.htm

About The Author

Sharon Housley manages marketing for NotePage, Inc. http://www.notepage.net a company specializing in alphanumeric paging, SMS and wireless messaging software solutions. Other sites and additional articles can be found at http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com , and http://www.small-business-software.net

This article was posted on May 18, 2004

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SSI: Why and How to Use Server Side Includes

If you are a webmaster or a website owner and have not yet used server side includes (SSI), I am about to make your life soooo much easier. SSI can save you a lot of time updating your site. Set them up right at the beginning and you will be forever grateful that somebody thought up SSI.

In this article we will look at what SSI is, why it makes life so easy, and exactly how to set up SSI on your website...and then I'll share two little bonus tricks I've discovered.

What is SSI?

SSI actually covers a number of features to improve your website. I am going to speak here of just one critical improvement, referred to as an "include" file.

Essentially, an "include" file is a separate file that your web page can include as if it was part of the page file. Let's take a real-life example. My site at http://www.vitamin-supplements-store.net uses SSI in a number of places.

If you are used to using FrontPage or have recently learned HTML, you probably assume that every web page is a single html file. The example above is actually five files. There is the main HTML file for the page. There is a style sheet (CSS) and there are three SSI "include" files -- one for the left navigation menu and two for the two navigation menus across the bottom. I could have, perhaps even should have, used more "include" files, but you can be the judge when you've finished reading this article.

Why use SSI?

SSI makes it easy to bring changes to your website. There are some changes you will need to make to every page or to every page in a specific section. Your website might start out with just 10 pages, and you might figure that it is no big deal to cut-and-paste a change to the navigation menu 10 times.

But each time you add a page, you have to update that menu. And with each new page added, you have to paste one more time. When you reach 50 pages (Never thought your website would grow that big? You're not alone.) it becomes very tedious to update.

For instance, when I wanted to add the website monitoring logo and the link to the navigation menu at http://www.thehappyguy.com, I had to change just one file, and -- presto! -- the change appeared on every page of the site bearing that navigation menu. It was so very much easier than past updates before I began using SSI.

There are two other benefits to SSI "include" files. Because a single line of code replaces what might have been several dozen in each HTML file, your files are much smaller, taking less space on your server. And, because the "include" file has already been loaded with the first page a visitor sees, the next page is much quicker for visitors to load.

How to set up SSI?

You need three things to set up SSI.

1. Configure your server for SSI
2. Set up your "include" file
3. Call up your "include" file into your web page HTML file

First, you need your server configured for SSI. Ask your web host if this has already been done. Also ask if it has been set up to parse .html extensions to read SSI.

If your server has been set up for SSI, you are one step closer. If it has also been set up to parse .html extensions to read SSI, you are two steps closer.

Not all hosts support SSI, but most do. If yours does, but it has not been set up for your account, look for the .htaccess file in your root directory (where your index.html or home page file is stored). In my experience, this is not usually viewable using an FTP process; you have to find it through your control panel.

The .htaccess file is a text file. If you do not already have an .htaccess file on your server, you can create one in NotePad or even in Word (just save it with a .txt extension), but whatever you do, make sure not to write over a .htaccess file already on your server. If it is already there, just add the following lines to the file, being careful not to erase anything that is already there:

AddType text/html .shtml
AddHandler server-parsed .shtml
Options Indexes FollowSymLinks Includes

So far, so good. But this will recognize only .shtml files for includes, and you probably don't want to change the .html extensions to .shtml on all your pages, if for no other reason because it will mess up all your inbound links to those pages.

So add this line. In theory, it should be the second line, but careless me has gotten it to work at the end, too:

AddHandler server-parsed .html

Save the edited .htaccess file to the root directory of your server.

As an aside, there are several ways to configure your server for SSI. This one has worked for me across several hosts.

So much for the techie stuff, now you need the second element: the "include" file itself. Suppose your "include" file is the navigation menu. You don't need "head" and "title" and "body" tags. Just type in your text and code just the way it would appear in your webpage. It's that simple. Save it as an HTML file, and load it to your route directory or to its own directory.

All you need now, is to call up your navigation menu in each file you want it to appear in. To do this, a simple line suffices where a whole column of code and text once stood.

Here is the line to place in your code:

This assumes that nav1.html is the name of the "include" file and that it is in the same directory as the page it is being inserted into. If you place the file into a directory called "nav", you would have to include code like this in your web page file:

That's all you really need to know. But here are a couple bonus tricks that will make SSI "includes" work even better for you.

Bonus Tip #1

You don't need to stuff everything into a single SSI file. What if some elements you want on some pages and others not? Let me offer two examples of situations that call for splitting the SSI "include" file in two.

The first is on my vitamin site. Return to http://www.vitamin-supplements-store.net and look at the links across the bottom. The first row is typical website stuff: contact, privacy, etc., which one wants access to from every page of the site. The second is the links directory, which a webmaster does not typically want linked from every page. For example, see the bottom of my humor article at http://www.vitamin-supplements-store.net/articles/eggs.html. The row of links directory is not there.

The second example is this article on search engine tips: http://www.thehappyguy.com/SEO-tips.html. Notice again that there are two different navigation consoles. The first is generic to the site, the second is specific to that section of the site. So a second SSI "include" file, using just one additional line of code, can provide interlinking for the section, without affecting other sections of the website. This is very handy for large sites.

Bonus Tip #2

You can also use an SSI "include" file to hide some of your source code. I will show you a ridiculously simple way to do this.

There are at least two legitimate reasons why somebody might want to hide parts of their code. The most obvious would be if you are running a proprietary script. The second is if you are running a script that displays content, but shows up as a script in the source code. This was my challenge.

At the bottom of the navigation menu at http://www.thehappyguy.com/self-actualization-articles.html, there is a "Happiness Quote of the Day". In fact, it is a random quote that reloads when the page reloads. I had included the random-text script in the SSI "include" file, but the search engines were seeing the script in the source code, not the text that human visitors were seeing. So I placed the script in its own "include" file, which I inserted like this into the main "include" file:

Now the search engines see the same things as humans see. Why would I care? Search engines visit more frequently pages that change more frequently. That does not mean the site will rank higher, unless frequent change is part of the search engine's ranking algorithm, but it does mean that other changes will be indexed faster.

To sum up, SSI "includes" can save you time and headaches when changes need to be made to your site, plus they reduce the file size and increase the loading time of your pages. Once you've set up the server to read SSI, all you need to do is create an "include" file and call it up in your web page using one line of code.

I can hardly believe I wasted so much time cutting and pasting before I learned about SSI. You won't believe it either!

Lockspam for Outlook Version 2.0 is Available Now!

For Immediate Release

Polesoft declares birth of its new edition of Lockspam!

12th May, 2004: Polesoft Inc., the world's professional developer of anti spam software, today announced its new "Lockspam for Outlook" Version 2.0 is available. "Lockspam for Outlook" Version 2.0 is now on store shelves. Since 1st of May, 2004, Lockspam is not free to use any more. However, we encourage users to try our software for 30 days, before they finally place their orders.

Users seeking more attentive services and more frequently updates of Anti Spam Engine, will be delighted to find these are available after registration.

Attentive services

Our high-quality technical support team will always be there for you. They are quick, attentive, helpful and they provide this service for Free!

Constant Updates of Anti Spam Engine

More constant updates of Polesoft's Anti Spam Engine will assure you that your mail box is against the latest epidemic spam.

Free Updates to further editions of "Lockspam for Outlook"

Legal users of Lockspam can enjoy the free updates to further editions of "Lockspam for Outlook" in the future. Legal users may either "Check for Updates" or update from our website directly. Also, with a registered Lockspam, you won't get the annoying "Please register" pop ups periodically.

Preferential policies for legal users

Legal users of Lockspam will also enjoy favorable discounts for further purchases. Polesoft will carry out promotional activities in the future, and paid users will benefit from that.

And the following are eight key features of this edition.

Safety and Stability:

Lockspam focuses on protecting your innocent mails in addition to killing the spam. Polesoft Anti Spam Engine is adopted to provide double defense for your mailbox.

Lockspam performs anti email harvesting automatically to prevent the spammers from obtaining your email address. Your privacy is guaranteed with maximum level.

Lockspam further improved its stability. And it works with MS Outlook more harmoniously.

Accuracy:

Over 90% PSK (Percentage of Spam Mail Killed) based on Near-Zero PIK (Percentage of Innocent Mail Killed).

By analyzing the information of Polesoft anti-spam engine of the Email's content, Lockspam hits the Achilles' Heel of the spam so as to assure its accuracy.

Self-adaptive protection: Automated filtering and live updating

Polesoft server has the newest spam resources. Therefore live update of Lockspam could guarantee your mailbox up-to-date to the realtime spam.

Polesoft Anti-spam Engine will optimize itself by continuously self-learning your local mails and provide personalized protection with more and more perfect algorithms.

Easiness: Easy installation and maintenance save your valuable time

Easy Installation: Lockspam is seamlessly integrated into Microsoft Outlook. It operates right after installation without account setting necessary.

Easy Maintenance: Completely automated spam filter. No additional manual rules needed.

Multi-user support:

Lockspam also support modes of multi-users, like Windows XP, so that users won't be bothered to have Lockspam installed twice.

Error-tracking log files:

When an error occurs, Lockspam will automatically generate log files to keep records of it, so that the users will know the solution to the problem within a day after sending those log files as attachments to Polesoft support at support@polesoft.com.

Data backup:

Lockspam allows its users to backup their personal data, like Whitelist, Blacklist and General Settings in the Options.

Editable Blacklist and Whitelist:

Each time activated, Lockspam checks against the addresses in the Whitelist and blacklist, making sure that spam killed and innocent protected. In answer to the repeated voices of Lockspam users, Polesoft has newly developed an editable Blacklist, where users can add, edit or remove the list of unwanted mail sources. Likewise, an editable Whitelist is a list of addresses that users want to hear from. Both Blacklist and Whitelist can be backed up and restored by the button of Export and Import.

And with the following enhanced features, "Lockspam for Outlook" Version 2.0 is an effective catcher and killer of spam.

Enable Registration.

Registered Users may type their Registration keys into the key box to enjoy free updates of filter engine and free updates of "Lockspam for Outlook", as well as the free high-quality technical support.

Anti Spam Filter Engine updated.

The latest Anti Spam Filter Engine is more effective in catching spam.

Stability improved.

"Lockspam for Outlook" works more harmoniously with MS Outlook.

Your preferential Settings are remembered even after updates and reinstallations.

Lockspam will remember your settings in the Options. And it will restore them after your updates and reinstallations.

To summarize, "Lockspam for Outlook" Version 2.0 answers the urgent safe anti spam needs with a considerately solution to relieve the pain of Outlook users from being spammed. Lockspam is well suited for use with Outlook automatically after the easy installation. Users need no extra setups or maintenances to get the perfect spam killing and innocent email protecting effect, and neither do they need to worry about the privacy issue.

The CEO of Polesoft, Lytton Liou said, "We hope our patent-pending technology could give the masses a safe and light-hearted mood to use email from now on, so that they could really enjoy the pleasure of communication and no need to worry about the intrusion of spam any more."

This edition of "Lockspam for Outlook" can only work with Microsoft Outlook, while its sibling Universal Lockspam can work with more mail clients like Outlook Express, Eudora, Formail and so on.

For more information about "Lockspam for Outlook" Version 2.0, please visit our website: http://www.polesoft.com/products.html, and to experience the free trial for 30 days, please download it here.

###

About Polesoft Inc.

Polesoft Inc. is a professional anti spam solution provider. With its patent-pending technology, Polesoft specializes in developing safe anti spam softwares for personal users and enterprises. After conducting an in-depth study of the status in anti spam field and anti spam technologies, Polesoft puts forward its unique patent-pending anti spam architecture. Different from other anti spam solutions, Polesoft is the first one who lays more emphasis on protecting the innocent mails in addition to blocking spam, which has been proved effective and will benefit the end users a lot.

Polesoft, "Lockspam for Outlook" Version 2.0 and Universal Lockspam are the trademarks of Polesoft Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Preparing for a Career in Information Technology

So you want to work in the Information Technology field? In this article i'll provide some advice to those seeking employment in this field. Keep in mind these are my opinions, others may agree or disagree.

Mechanic or Engineer?

The first question to answer is which direction do you want to go? Typically there are two types of IT Staff. Those who administer and and those who create. What do I mean by this? Ask yourself if you'd rather sit in a cube and write software, create and maintain databases and develop applications, or would you rather install software, manage an e-mail system or create a network or remote access solution.

The two areas are usually comprised of employees with very different mind sets.

The administrators tend to follow a career path that goes something like this. IT Intern or PC Technician performing break/fix tasks on PC's. As they advance they may manage the larger rollout of operating systems or software applications. Keep in mind the focus is on more mechanical or problem solving tasks. Later in their career they may move on to network or server administration. The larger the impact of a mistake the further up the ladder in their career. Eventually they may manage a team of other administrators or perform some consulting services.

The engineers typically come from computer science backgrounds. They may have learned programming of various languages in college. The particular language is not important only the fact that they are creating or maintaining applications for systems and databases rather than focusing on the workings of the system its self. Many of these employees are introverts. They would prefer to work within their group and make a cube or office their home. The administrator would be perfectly happy being "visable" within the company.

Education

First let me say that a four year Bachelors degree is valuable to anyone seeking employment in the IT industry. Not sure what direction you want to go? Get a basic Business BA because it will teach you how a business operates and get you the open door to most job interviews. More accurately it will prevent you from being excluded simply because you do not have a degree. If you are the administrator type i'd also recommend a basic BA unless you find a program that has the current skills you are seeking. Mainly a variety of desktop and server operating system and networking skill path focusing on TCP/IP , DNS, WINS, DHCP and routing.

If you are on the applications path than a Computer Science major is going to get you headed in the right direction. Often companies hire right out of college because they have been teaching login and application development for decades.

Those looking into administration can count on resuming their education either by self-study using technical books, certification paths, home built networks and lastly for those with the money private non-accredited coursework at various ATEC's

Once your in your in. Until your in your way out....

When I got into this field ten years ago I took a pay cut to move from my sales position to my PC Technician position. This is because it is VERY difficult to get hired if you've never been hired. There are so many great applicants that there is no reason to take a chance on someone who only can tell you what they know. Multiply this statement X 10 with the economic downturn after the dot com boom. So get whatever resume worthy experience and references you can as fast as you can. To land even the most entry level job you'll need it.

How to get experience?

Internships are a great way to get in the door anywhere. These are positions that everyone understands and they are the mark of a hungry student. If you can get an internship (preferably paid) at a company so much the better. If you can't start volunteering for any organization that will take your skills. Churches and schools or charity's are a good start. The key is to get something on your resume that says you've been in the business.

Self Employment

The IT world is great for the self employed. For those who want to accept side work there are many ways to find it and you can do as much or little as you want. When your first starting out why not perform PC Technician or entry level web or application development and get paid? Individuals are more likely to hire you for a few hour of work and you'll gain business skills and have yet another thing to add to that resume. Remember the key is to walk into your first interview as if you've been in the biz.

Conclusion

In closing keep in mind, know your direction, get an education, and its never too early to start building that resume. Good Luck

10 Tips to Stay Safe and Secure Online

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.

Use Your Computer For Your Entertainment Needs

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.

Buying Used Dell Laptops, PC's and Servers on eBay - How to be successful.

Two years ago I needed a way to refresh more PC's and Laptops at my company without spending more. New Dell laptops were great but expensive and over the years we had accumulated many Latitude C series parts. The C series ran from the CPX C600 C610 C400 and C640 models before their new D line of Latitude laptops were released. The docks, drives and many other parts are usable in any of these models so we decided to take advantage of this and purchase used Dell laptops. eBay was where we sourced these. Over the years I've learned some valuable things about buying these expensive items. Here are some tips and some recommendations of sellers I've found to be very reliable.

Know what you are buying.

Don't just go by the model and specs of the machine. I'm seeing two types of units out there. Those that are complete PC's sold as used units. Also refurbished units that have no serial number on the bottom or in the bios. These units can be had at very good prices and so far I've found them all to be in great condition. The problem is that without the serial you can't even get tech support from Dell and obviously there isn't a warranty. If you don't mind this from the right seller these are great. For my use at my company it just isn't worth the appearance of a model with no serial number. I'm passing on these for now.

Always pay using Pay Pal or some other service that lets you use a credit card.

Even when you use a credit card on Paypal your covered by the dispute and charge back protection provided by your credit card company. I've had two instances where the seller did not ship my laptop and I had to dispute the charge with my credit card company. In both cases I received a credit back from my company and had no trouble from Paypal. Before disputing open a formal case with Paypal as they require that before you do a charge back. I'm not sure what the consequences would be but better to appear as if you are trying to use their system.

Buying regularly? Try to form a relationship with a couple reputable sellers.

After doing business with a handful of sellers I trust I now completely bypass eBay. The sellers love the money they save on fees and I can often have them hunt down mint condition Latitude laptops. Some will even customize the laptop to your specs.

Check the sellers feedback.

Look to see that the seller regularly sells Dell equipment. This tells you two things. One that they are a reputable seller and have a history of people who bought the exact same item and were happy. The other thing is that if you see positive feedback regarding non-similar equipment you can assume that they will have no spare parts or service ability. If you see many sales of similar Dell equipment you can be sure that if you have a problem and notify them right away they will probably be able to fix your laptop.

Ask about warranty or warranty transfer assistance.

If you are lucky the unit you purchase will come with some warranty left from Dell. However Dell will not transfer the warranty into your name unless you have the original owners name and address. If you can find a seller willing to provide this you just struck gold! Note, this is not common at all. You can still get Dell to service an in warranty unit but they won't transfer the ownership to your name.

Buying Servers? Look for Dell refurbished units with a warranty.

I don't know how it works but there are many resellers of Dell Servers that are new or refurbished from Dell. These come with the Dell warranty and are transferable. When the server arrives its in the original Dell box still sealed up. The price can't be beat and I've never had a problem. My suspicion is that for those with the right connections, Dell will sell you volumes of over production and refurbished units far below pricing you'd see in their Dell Outlet site. http://www.scsistuff.com is a great vendor for this type of buy.

10 Secrets To A Healthy Computer And A Happier You

There comes a time in a person’s life where no matter how much you fight it time takes its toll and we begin to slow down in how we perform our daily activities. However, in order to extend our youthful glow and energy levels it is important to eat right, exercise, and keep a positive outlook on life.

Now you may ask what has any of that got to do with “Secrets To A Healthy Computer?”

Well, in a way we’re all just like a computer. If you neglect to take care of yourself you soon will cease to function properly and the many tasks that once were easy to do now take twice as long to accomplish and often require you to rest or “reboot” after a malfunction.

I can’t tell you what foods to eat or what exercises to perform because I am not a nutritionist. Although, with my experiences in the personal computer field I can share with you some tips of how to keep that rectangle box of circuitry that sits within sights range functioning at maximum performance as long as time will allow.

Some important steps to follow are…

*Make certain that your computer is located in a well ventilated area and that all air vents are unobstructed to prevent overheating and premature failure to any internal components.

*Clean out the dust build-up at least every 6 months from the inside of the computer case including case vents, power supply vents, and all visible circuitry with a few cans of compressed air that can be purchased from any major computer store or electronics outlet. This will help reduce the chances of overheating and circuitry damage.

Before cleaning just be certain to always unplug the computer from the wall outlet and never physically contact the circuitry inside the computer case to prevent damage.

*Be prepared for an unsuspected failure by always making backups of any important data that you do not and can not afford to lose.

I personally keep updated backups of my website and even store the disks at a remote location away from my every day use computers just in case a disaster were to occur and my main computers were destroyed resulting in the need for those lost files.

*Purchase and install a well known anti-virus program that can be regularly updated with the latest virus definitions and ran during boot-up to help protect your computer from being the victim of an unwanted infestation.

*Every few months or so run your computer’s “Scandisk” program followed by the “Defragmenter” program to maximize the efficiency of your hard drive.

If you are not certain of how to use these utilities and being that the steps to execute these programs varies slightly from one operating system to the other it would be easiest to simply use the “Help” option that can be found by clicking on the START button found on your computers desktop.

The START menu will open up a drop-down-box that should display the “Help” option. By going here you can enter the keywords that deal with the answers to the subject you are searching for.

*Run your computers “Disk Cleanup” utility every other week or so. If set the “Disk Cleanup” utility will automatically empty the recycling bin and recover some wasted disk space by removing the internet temporary files that seem to always accumulate.

Again, use the “Help” option if you are uncertain of how to perform this task.

*Never smoke near a computer because the cooling fans will pull the smoke into the case where it can coat the inside parts of the computer with a residue which in turn can damage sensitive components.

*Place the computer case in an area where it will not be accidentally kicked or bumped to prevent the loosening of cables and damage to internal parts.

*Invest in a high quality surge protector to provide your computer and monitor against voltage spikes or “surges” that can dramatically shorten the life of your system. Just like most items in a store, “You get what you pay for”. So don’t skimp out on this important device!

Its also not a bad idea to invest in a surge protector that includes what is called a “Data Line Protector” which allows you to connect your telephone lines to and serves the same purpose for the telephone line to your modem just like the surge protector does for the electrical household current lines.

*Finally, if you plan on being away from home for more that a few days at a time or if there is a thunderstorm brewing in your area it is a very wise decision to always unplug all electrical lines and modem telephone lines from your system. Even with a surge protector installed it is possible that such a large voltage spike such as one caused by a lightening strike could prove fatal to any computer system.

Good Websites Stand Out From The Masses Of Boring, Hard To Travel,..

Good websites stand out from the masses of boring, hard to travel, and overly commercial sites that now rule our Cyberspace. Interactivity and integrity are necessary for a site to become a hub of activity.

Websites, there’s literally billions of them out there in cyber-space. How many of them do you go to and just think this is boring, bland, or hard to use? It seems like too many to mention. So what makes a good website? I reckon it’s about interaction. You’ve got to make the visitor interested. You’ve got to grab their attention. Many sites use plenty of bright and shiny gimmicks to attract you, but once you make it through to the content of the site it’s just not worthy. A good site uses easy navigation, relevant content, and interactive media like comments and message boards. If you’re fortunate, whoever builds your site may even have a few tricks up their sleeves to make it really fun with sound, video, and other interactive fun stuff.

Do you want people to come to your site and then tell their friend and family about it? Do you want to have huge amounts of visitors? Do you want to succeed in making your dreams come to fruition on the Web? Make your website exciting! It might be easier said than done, but there are people around whose job it is to construct and design sites for a living. If you can afford it, go for the best. How great is it when you come across a site that has some special feature that you’ve never seen elsewhere? Isn’t it great when you find a site that relates to one of your interests that is simple and easy to get to the information you want? If you want to have people to come back again and again, you’ve got to keep updating the content to keep it fresh and interesting. Have a way for people to communicate with yourself and others who are into the same things. E.G. Forums, message boards and comments. The aim is to catch the ‘viewer’s’ interest.

A lot of sites just look like giant advertisements and you have to search for the needle in the haystack to find out what the actual site is for. I know advertising is a way of making money, but if you want your site to have an authentic, respectable atmosphere that exudes a feeling of integrity, you better be careful. People are becoming wary of this consumer driven, mindless attack at the average civilian’s wallet. Some people will automatically leave a site if a bunch of commercials pop-up on the screen. Pop-ups, don’t even make me go there…

So, the aim of the game is to make a site that offers the public to be part of the action as well as being a source of knowledge or information that is in demand. A simple to navigate, good ‘feel’, and if possible-innovative site is the means to becoming the popular Internet magnate you’ve always dreamed of becoming. Another important fact is the idea of ‘you’. Your website is a chance to put your identity out there in the world. Be yourself. If you try to appeal to an audience in a way that doesn’t reflect your true self, you’re destined to fail. Be honest and speak from your real perspective on life. Give it to us from the heart.