Personal Technology

Windows Task Manager In English

2009-03-03T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Meryl K. Evans

You use Ctrl+Alt+Del to see what's running on your PC, to close crashed programs and processes, and to check performance. You probably avoid a few processes whose names mean nothing to you, but they're essential to Windows. svchost.exe sure likes to appear all the time and multiple times at that. What's taskmgr.exe? Oh yeah, it's the window you're looking at right now. ctfmon? Is he related to Pokemon? navapsvc.exe? Navy? Napa Valley? Navel? NOTA (none of the above).

This is not a comprehensive list as that would take days. It has the standard processes as well as process names from popular applications. If you want to know about a process, the best place to go is ProcessLibrary.com. Just like adware and spyware, there are bad processes that come to life thanks to the bad guys like Trojans and viruses. The site has a list of the top five security threats, so watch out for those processes.

Also, beware the bad guys like to use legitimate names of processes. For example, rundll.exe is a system process that should not be terminated. However, recent reports have stated, "It can also be the LOXOSCAM virus depending on Operating System and file path; this is always a virus on Windows XP and 2000 operating systems however."

You can download software that provide more information about the process. Task Manager, as you know, says nothing except the name of the process and how much CPU it's using. One example is Process Explorer, a standalone application that also has the option of replacing the built in Task Manager for windows. It shows you information about which handles and DLLs processes have opened or loaded. http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/procexp.shtml

acrotray.exe
Acrobat Assistant that is used when printing documents to a PDF. The process should not be removed while converting documents to PDF.

ADService.exe
Active Disk Service is a component of the Iomega zip drive.

AppServices.exe
Also for the Iomega zip drive.

ccEvtMrg.exe
Associated with Symantec's Internet Security Suite. Keep it and protect your PC.

ccSetMgr.exe
Also associated with Symantec's Internet Security Suite. Keep it and protect your PC.

csrss.exe
System process that is the main executable for the Microsoft Client / Server Runtim Server Subsystem. It should not be shut down.

ctfmon.exe
Non-essential system process. If you're using only English as the language, then it is not needed. However, it's recommended to leave it alone.

explorer.exe
This must always be running in the background. It's a user interface process that runs the windows graphical shell for the desktop, task bar, and Start menu.

iexplore.exe
Internet Explorer browser. But why are you using it unless it's for a site that doesn't work in any other browser? Use Firefox instead.

lsass.exe
Local Security Authority Service is a Windows security-related system process for handling local security and login policies.

Navapsvc.exe, nvsrvc32.exe, and navapw32.exe
These are Symantec's North AnvtiVirus processes. They or whatever virus program you use should run all the time.

realsched.exe
RealNetworks Scheduler is not an essential process. It checks for updates for RealNetworks products. It can be safely disabled.

rundll32.exe
A system process that executes DLLs and loads their libraries.

savscan.exe
Nortons AntiVirus process. Keep it.

services.exe
An essential process that manages the starting and stopping of services including the those in boot up and shut down. Do not terminate it.

smss.exe
Session Manager SubSystem is a system process that is a central part of the Windows operating system. If you try to kill it, it will be difficult hence, the importance of leaving it be.

spoolsv.exe
Microsoft printer spooler service handles local printer processes. It's a system file.

svchost.exe x 6
You may have more than six appearances of this process or less. It's there multiple times to handle processes executed from DLLs. Leave it there.

System
This is a file that stores information related to local hardware settings in the registry under 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE'. Kill it and kiss your PC's stability bye bye.

System Idele Process
Calculates the amount of CPU currently in use by applications. This won't go away no matter how hard you try. Don't try it, OK?

taskmgr.exe
Appears when you press Ctrl+Alt+Del.

wdfmgr.exe
Windows Driver Foundation Manager is part of Windows media player 10 and newer. Better not to stop the process.

winlogon.exe
Handles the login and logout processes. It's essential.

winword.exe
The great Carnac says, "You're running Microsoft Word."

Don't panic if you see something you have on the "bad guy" list. svchost.exe is important, but some are good guys and some are bad guys. Do your research before deleting anything. For instance, I have admin.exe, which has been reported as a bad guy. However, it is the admin process for one of my programs. When I closed the program, admin.exe also went away.

Meryl K. Evans, Content Maven, is Editor-in-Chief of eNewsletter Journal and The Remediator Security Digest. She's a slave to a MarketingProfs weekly column and a Web design reference guide at InformIT. She is the author of the popular e-report, How to Start a Business Blog and Build Traffic. Visit her site at http://www.meryl.net/blog/ for free newsletters, articles, and tips.

Wireless Headset Provides You The Freedom Of Movement That You Need

2009-03-02T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by David G. Petten

Wireless devices are an excellent advancement in technology and electronics that allow us to enjoy the functionality of our various products. They do not need to be plugged into a base unit such as the media player, stereo system, computer or other electronic items. The wireless headset functions on the premise of communication via blue-tooth, infrared signals, or then radio signals. This type of headset enables you to enjoy music, or even enjoy your favorite movie or television series while working out, cooking or while you in the bathroom.

Such wireless headsets are specially designed keeping in mind the convience of people, so that they could enjoy their favorite movie or listen music even while they are in the middle of a room filled with people, without getting disturbed. Sometimes, it so happens that because speakers are in-built in the system of a television or music player, the sound may not be so clear. This makes the person sit too close to the system, in order to listen to the sounds and voices. However with the help wireless headset one can enjoy complete sound clarity at any distance in the room from the actual sound-generating device.

Basically, the wireless headsets have been created with effective a sound component that helps, one move about without missing any of the important sounds to be received. Even companies or call centers now days provides the staff this wireless technology, that they can attend to online conferences without having to be at their desk all the time.

Though this wireless listening mechanism provides freedom of movement while receiving the desirable sounds, yet there are certain limitations to it. The most important limitation is distance problem, because as far as distance is concerned when it comes to clarity. This means, since the device functions on signals of radio active waves or blue tooth, it is manufactured to receive signals within certain proximity of the base unit. Beyond which it begins to grain and also lose connection.

The factors that you need to consider while keeping in mind while selecting a wireless headset are:

-The quality of the speakers and the range till where they work and also the treble.
-The comfort level: They should be comfortable and fit well into the ear so that it does not keep slipping off, or is should not be too heavy for ones ears.
-The battery life: See the battery life is sustain, which in general should be up to six to seven hours. Also make sure the battery comes with a warranty incase something goes wrong.

Wireless Headsets

Did You Know The New Ipods Can Do All Of This

2009-03-01T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Gregg Hall

The iPod has evolved from an introductory techno gadget to a household name in just a few short years and along the way it has developed some cool features. Everyone is into the portable devices these days with clothing and even furniture makers bringing out products that are iPod friendly to hold your new toy without breaking it.

Each new model that has been introduced has shown marked improvement over the last and they have also increased in the number of sizes and colors available while simultaneously offering more storage and download capacity. The intensity of the sound experience simply must be heard to be believed. Just in case you haven't been paying attention lately, here are some of the new cool things the iPod can do.

The all new click wheel will allow you to control a variety of functions with one finger, the shuffle mode from the top of the wheel will allow you to randomize your music play and you can operate the play, stop, pause, forward, and rewind all from the click wheel.

If you want to transfer files to your computer from your portable device you can find hidden files by right clicking on iPod and then choosing tools, and then options. Once in the control panel, select view tab, click hidden files, then show hidden files which will then make all of your files viewable. Now you can move music to your computer that you have bought.

A functional stopwatch is also included with a time zone clock utility. The device also has an iTunes control at the lower part of the screen that allows you to fast-forward and rewind as well as pick your play list and add songs to your favorites. A function also exists to allow you to back up and restore which lets you move your entire library. If you have a Mac you can use the preinstalled text to speech program to transfer any document or webpage into an MP3.

You can also perform synching functions from the menu bar which will let you synch you calendars, address book, pictures and more. If you opt for the optional dock you can use it as a remote control for your iPod and listen to your tunes all over the house through your TV or stereo.

Another really cool feature that I like a lot is the audio books availability allowing you to download books from over 9,000 titles and synch them with your computer. If you are buying the unit for a child, there are even built in parental controls so that you can put limits on what podcasts and music your child is able to access. With the all new iPod there has never been an easier way to access multiple forms of entertainment from audi books to photos.

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.

Networking

2009-02-28T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by John Gibb

Wiring up a LAN (local area network) can be very easy, or it can be very difficult it all depends on the size of your network, and how you're trying to go about it.

For a very small home network, you can get by without using any special equipment except the wires. If you want to use a network to share Internet access or a printer, just plug an Ethernet cable into the computers you want to network, and then use the simple networking features that are built into Windows, such as Internet Connection Sharing. This approach has many downsides, though you'll need an extra Ethernet card in each computer for every extra computer you connect to the network, for one.

Instead of connecting each computer to the next, it is better to simply connect all the computers to a central router. This is a very efficient way of connecting computers together, as the data you send will be quickly and easily routed to its destination: the data goes to the router, which knows which wire to send it down for it to reach the destination address, and simply sends it that way. This also allows you to turn on and off computers as you please with no ill effects, as the router is always-on.

If you want to connect more devices to the network than the four or five ports on a router will allow, then you need to get a network switch. This allows you to create a separate sector of your network especially for one group of devices. For example, you might have your computer and your printer both plugged into a switch. The computer and the printer can then communicate between themselves without the data needing to travel out onto the wider network but if they want to send to or receive from the wider network, they can do that too.

John Gibb is the owner of ethernet resources For more information on ethernet check out http://www.ethernet-intelligence.info

Outdoor Atomic Clocks

2009-02-27T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Richard Romando

An atomic clock is an extremely accurate clock available for both indoor and outdoor use. An atomic clock differs from a standard clock in that the oscillation in an atomic clock is between the nucleus of an atom and the surrounding electrons.

Outdoor atomic clocks are made to be hung on the side of a house or garage or on the patio. Beautifully crafted outdoor atomic clocks are a valuable addition to your yard. Outdoor clocks are made with more durable material than indoor clocks since they have to be weather resistant. Some outdoor atomic clocks are set on poles. Atomic clocks provide the accurate time in hours, minutes, and seconds. Outdoor atomic clocks can also record temperature and humidity.

An outdoor atomic clock updates itself around six times daily for perfect accuracy, even changing itself from standard to daylight savings time and back. Outdoor atomic clocks can be set to any time zone according to your need. Most of the outdoor atomic clocks operate on batteries. Popular atomic clocks have their times automatically set with their radio-controlled sensor-pickups from the U.S. Atomic Clock.

Radio-controlled atomic clocks are ultimate in convenience and accuracy. These can be used for both outdoor and indoor purposes. Special features of radio-controlled atomic clocks are self-setting radio-controlled movement, manual set option, and automatic adjustment for daylight savings.

Outdoor atomic clocks include almost all the functions in the indoor atomic clocks, including battery operation and number style selection. Outdoor atomic clocks are made of durable metal or acrylic. Some of these clocks have bronze, pewter, and other attractive frames. They are also provided with an analog thermometer and hygrometer on the lower half.

Among the outdoor atomic clocks, garden clocks are made for both function and artistic appeal. These clocks are made with materials that mingle with the garden scenario. In outdoor garden clocks, the main focus is often the craftsmanship rather than accuracy of time.

Atomic Clocks provides detailed information on Atomic Clocks, Atomic Clock Times, Atomic Alarm Clocks, Atomic Wall Clocks and more. Atomic Clocks is affiliated with Printable Calendars.

Google Offers Free Spreadsheet On The Web

2009-02-26T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Ugur Akinci

The clash of ideas that started over a decade ago between Microsoft, on the one hand, and other hi-tech giants like Oracle and Sun Microsystems about the relative merits of desk-top-based vs. web-based services is coming to a head with Google's new web-based and free spreadsheet application.

Just like the free web editor and hosting that is now available from Google, if you've got a Gmail account, you can now also get an innovative spreadsheet program.

The "light client" idea championed by Oracle, Sun and Google has made impressive inroads with an ever-increasing number of applications which were previously bought out in boxes and then installed on PCs.

Now a lot of such out-of-the-box applications are shifting onto the web in an amazing variety of "web services." The spread of fiber optic networks and the dropping price of broadband are factors that favor the increase of such web service in the future.

Enter Google Spreadsheets...

The service is still in its Beta phase and so you have to register for it. I did and a day later I got my invitation to test drive the Google Spreadsheets.

As usual, Google engineers did their homework well. This is a very easy-to-understand interface, with a disarmingly clean and simple approach to the main tasks that many people end up doing with spreadsheets.

The three main tabs FORMAT, SORT and FORMULAS cover 99% of all the things that I'll ever do with a spreadsheet.

All three tabs have their own dynamically-constructed mini-menus.

For example, in the main FORMAT tab, the menu offers different ways to format your text and numbers, with great drop-down menus to ALIGN, INSERT and DELETE anything and everything. Wrapping text and merging cells is a breeze though the well-marked menu check-box and button.

The SORT tab has the very useful FREEZE ROWS drop-down list to work efficiently with those spreadsheets with hundreds of rows. Two buttons make ascending and descending SORTING by columns a straight forward operation.

The FORMULAS tab provides an easy one-click way to calculate sums, averages, counts, etc..

And here is the most REVOLUTIONARY feature of all:

By clicking a link you can actually open a CHAT WINDOW and share the spreadsheet with your friends or co-workers. You can literally collaborate in real time as you are working on your spreadsheet. You can people to EDIT or just VIEW the spreadsheet. Try doing that with Excel.

Overall I'm very impressed with this new effort by Google to drive yet another nail into the coffin of the "heavy client" PC idea. The future looks more intriguing by the day.

----------------------------------------------------------

Ugur Akinci, Ph.D. is a Creative Copywriter, Editor, an experienced and award-winning Technical Communicator specializing in fundraising packages, direct sales copy, web content, press releases, movie reviews and hi-tech documentation.

He has worked as a Technical Writer for Fortune 100 companies for the last 7 years.

In addition to being an Ezine Articles Expert Author, he is also a Senior Member of the Society for Technical Communication (STC), and a Member of American Writers and Artists Institute (AWAI).

You can reach him at writer111@gmail.com for a FREE consultation on all your copywriting needs.

You are most welcomed to visit his official web site http://www.writer111.com for more information on his multidisciplinary background, writing career, and client testimonials.

While at it, you might also want to check the latest book he has edited:http://www.lulu.com/content/263630

Atomic Alarm Clocks

2009-02-25T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Richard Romando

Imagine setting clock alarm for waking up early the next morning only to be awakened minutes or hours late and then missing out on appointments or meetings. It was can be a frequent occurrence without an atomic alarm clock. With an atomic alarm clock, however, there would be no excuses for late risers, as the alarm goes of on time and can help do away with television or cell phone alarms.

The alarm clock is replete with gizmos, such as audio announcement, automatic summer and winter daylight-savings adjustments, and display time in seconds/minutes of day, date, and alarm time. There is volume selection, which is a bonus as the alarm clock has an extra long beep. Since it is a radio alarm clock, it works on receiving the radio time signal generated by the U.S. Atomic Clock located in Colorado, saving users precious minutes in the bargain.

Another product that can prove useful is the travel atomic alarm clock. For frequent travelers, these clocks work well as their amazingly perfect antennae pick up radio signals from atomic time transmitters. Another plus is that users can do away with the services of a hotel or host for wake up calls when vacationing, on business trips, or traveling for whatever reason.

Atomic alarm clocks come in various designs and sizes, are portable, and are easy to read and set with familiar and positive sounds or songs. Instead of being roused with raucous or shrilly notes, one can hear a soothing favorite song or tone so as not to wake up in a crabby mood. Whether it is a pocket watch or cell phone look-alike, an atomic alarm clock is a must with other traveling accessories, especially if one is on a tight schedule.

Atomic Clocks provides detailed information on Atomic Clocks, Atomic Clock Times, Atomic Alarm Clocks, Atomic Wall Clocks and more. Atomic Clocks is affiliated with Printable Calendars.

Now You Can Watch Pocket Pc Mobile Tv Wherever You Are

2009-02-24T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Jon Butt

Just as you think that you've got the most out of your PocketPC, you are suddenly made aware that it can actually function as a Pocket PC Mobile TV. Yes folks, bring your television with you.

Not in the mood to watch television outside your home? Then download specialized software and make your iPAQ function like an iPAQ TV remote control inside the house. With the right remote control software, make your iPAQ a universal remote control that can operate your television, VCR, and other home or office audio and video equipment. This feature is already available for various models of the iPAQ.

Pocket PC Remote Control Functionality

The MPEG video player and Windows Media Player applications installed on your handheld can play various audio-video flicks on your iPAQ, Palm or Sony CLIÈ. Convert your PDA into a mobile televisions set by downloading or transferring form your PC your favorite full length films, television programs, film trailers, music videos, and more.

Remote control software from UEI Nevo, VITO Remote, TV Remote Controller and others are specially made for Pocket PC handhelds. They are compatible with certain PDA models from Acer, Dell Axim, HP Jornada, Fujitsu Siemens, HP iPAQ, Toshiba, and others.

There is also remote control software, like the OMNI Remote, specifically made for Palm-based handhelds like the Palm Pilot, Handspring, and Visor so don't think it's only the iPAQ that can be used as a remote control in your home.

Pocket PC remote control can be utilized between PDA handhelds and television sets with infrared engines. It can work from a distance of 2 meters to 10 meters between the PDA and the television set, depending on the iPAQ model's remote control software and infrared signal strength. When operating the television or other audio or video equipment, the PDA user should point the infrared signal of his PDA to the television.

Jon Butt is the publisher of http://www.the-PDA-guide.com One of the web's leading sources of information on how to choose your perfect PDA or PocketPC or Handheld, where to get the biggest discounts online, which software downloads will enhance your life and what accessories will enhance your little PDA friend

Payroll Time Clock Software

2009-02-23T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Thomas Morva

Most entrepreneurs consider payroll management a strenuous business process. Most companies either have a dedicated staff involved only in payroll management or they outsource this function. Payroll management involves calculating the money owed to each employee, taking hourly wage, commission, sick leave, vacation time, and other variables that change the pay from week to week into account. From this gross pay medical insurance, pension plans, social security taxes and other programs the company or government pay for has to be deducted. In all, figuring out the payroll for each employee can become a job unto itself.

Fortunately, there are many versions of payroll software that will solve these problems for all kinds of businesses. Payroll software helps to automate and provide timely and accurate payroll processing for all types of employees. These programs automate the entire process from deducting taxes to even printing out the checks. Many of them can calculate an entire payroll in as little as 15 minutes, saving the company time and effort, and without the mistakes that come with human calculation.

Payroll software has many benefits. These are largely dependent on your business needs and the payroll software you have installed. Payroll software provides lower payroll production costs with its improved accuracy. The software quickly identifies, analyzes, and reports on adverse employee costs or trends. This is a huge benefit to HR management. Since payroll software automates the functions of several employees, they reduce the administrative overhead. By automating many manual processes, this software allows for better uses of company manpower. This software can be programmed to process payroll at certain fixed times.

As businesses continue to grow, the need to provide timely and accurate payrolls can be crucial. Since there are several payroll software packages available, it is always a good idea to make sure you've determined your payroll requirements and implemented a trial version before you choose your payroll software solution.

Time Clock Software provides detailed information on Time Clock Software, Employee Time Clock Software, Payroll Time Clock Software, Networked Time Clock Software and more. Time Clock Software is affiliated with Free Timesheet Software.

Various Connection Strings To Connect To An Access Db

2009-02-22T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by John Hutchison

If you want to call a database from within an asp page the that is to tell your asp page where your database is. Here are a few samples of database connection strings that could be used to help you connect to your database I have also indicated where the code starts and finishes. I have used [] as the normal < > makes it impossible to see the code in the finished article as the page thinks it is real code so does not display it. If you want to use any of the code remember to change the square brackes [] to <>

OLE DB Method for SQL

'code start
[% set cnn = server.createobject("ADODB.Connection") cnn.open "PROVIDER=SQLOLEDB;DATA SOURCE=sqlservername;UID=username;PWD=password;DATABASE=dbname.mdb " %]
'code finish

DSN-Less connection for Access

'code start
[% set cnn = server.createobject("ADODB.Connection") cnn.open "DRIVER={Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb)};DBQ=c:yourdatabase.mdb" %]
'code finish

OLE DB Method for Access

'code start
[% set cnn = server.createobject("ADODB.Connection") cnn.open "PROVIDER=MICROSOFT.JET.OLEDB.4.0;DATA SOURCE=c:yourdatabase.mdb" %]
'code finish

File DSN Connection Method for Access

'code start
[% set cnn = server.createobject("ADODB.Connection") cnn.open "FILEDSN=AccessDSN" %]
'code finish

Don't forget when you download an application this info should be included. Remember to RENAME the database as others can download the application from where you did and see what the default name is if your page is live ie on the web and you have not renamed the database they could easily download your database and add or change information contained in the database. I had this happen a few years ago and all the links pointed to porn sites luckily I did not have many visitors in those days. So remember change the database name and possibly the directory that the database is in.

John Hutchison
If the code above does not display please see the orginal article. This article can be found at http://www.searchhuts.co.uk/portal/articles/activenews_view.asp?articleID=12

Norse Calendars

2009-02-21T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Richard Romando

For many years, we have grown too accustomed to following only one kind of calendar a calendar that is also used by most other people around the world. But do you know that different groups of people in the past used to follow different calendar systems? In fact, some groups of people today are still using some kind of calendar system different from that of the modern Western calendar. And while most of these calendars are already obsolete, some of them are still used for determining some holidays in various parts of the world.

Among the many calendar systems used by people in the past is the Norse calendar (also called the Old Norse calendar or Old Icelandic calendar). This calendar system was used by various German ethnicities, including the Scandinavians and the Icelandic. Just like other ancient calendar systems, the Norse calendar is already obsolete today. Some German and Icelandic holidays, however, are still determined using this calendar.

The Norse calendar is a calendar system with a 12-month calendar year, just like the calendar we use today. These 12 months are further broken into groups of six, with the first group called the Skammdegi, or short days, and the other group called Náttleysi, which means night-less days.

The Skammdegi months starts with Gormánuður (Gor?s month), followed by Ýlir (Yule month), Mörsugur (fat sucking month), Þorri (frozen snow month), Góa (Góa?s month), and Einmánuður (single month). The Náttleysi months, on the other hand, begins with Harpa (after a forgotten goddess), and are then followed by Skerpla (another forgotten goddess), Sólmánuður (sun month), Heyannir (business month), Tvímánuður (second month), and Haustmánuður (autumn month). Lined with the months of our present calendar system, Skammdegi runs from mid-October to mid-April, and Náttleysi runs from mid-April to mid-October.

Another similarity between the Norse calendar and our current calendar is the number of days in a week, which is seven. Actually, some of the names of the days in our present calendar system were loosely based on Norse days. These Norse days are Sunnudagr (Sunna?s or sun?s day), Mánadagr (Munna?s or Moon?s day), Týsdagr (Tyr?s or Tiu?s day), Óðinsdagr (Odin?s or Woden?s day), Þórsdagr (Thor?s day), Frjádagr (Frigga?s or Freyja?s day), and Laugardagr. Except for the last day, the English translation of the Norse days is roughly similar to our current names of days.

Today, the Old Norse calendar is already considered obsolete, even in the German countries that once used it. But because of its similarities to the modern Western calendar, some German and Icelandic holidays are still determined using the Norse calendar.

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

Digital Camera For Digital Printing

2009-02-20T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Marlon D. Ludovice

The world is going digital and people are crazy bout the hi-tech gadgets available in the market. But significantly paving the way is one of the hottest consumer products of the 21st century - the digital camera. Most people want to capture and store their precious moment forever in a form of pictures. And photography plays an important role in this business.

Digital photography has evolved over the past few years into a highly affordable luxury that some could not be without and cannot afford to loose it. If you are new to the world of digital cameras, let Office Shop Direct be your guide to their large array of product specifications.

Price ranges are a very big consideration and are mainly based on high-end specifications such as resolution, compression and zoom options. Cutting corners on some of these details will save you in the long run, but you should be sure what you are missing out on before you make that decision.

Important Items to Keep in Mind about Digital Camera Technology:

Interpolation is a method in which a camera will fill in the color holes in the pixels of a picture by estimating color blends. While this can improve resolution, it will also reduce the sharpness and contrast of a picture. Never get a camera that is low in resolution but high in interpolation if you want sharp bright pictures.

Compression routines are the way the picture is stored digitally. Some companies maintain their own proprietary compression method, and this can make sharing images difficult. JPEG is the standard, but also as with most standards can have less clarity in a picture. Consider cameras that also offer the ability to print off images at no compression for best results.

SLR is short for single-lens reflex viewfinder. Many cameras have two views: that which the user sees to set up the shot, and that which the camera sees. If you have an SLR camera both what you see and what the camera shoots are lined up as one, and not slightly off on a different angle.

Having an amazing photo shot is easy; following the above mentioned important tips will surely give you an exceptional picture. Capture your best moment with best digital camera and quality printing application.

About The Author
Marlon D. Ludovice Actually I'm not fond of writing, I don't even write at all. I am not expecting to be in this field. But nevertheless, I love to read books...almost everything interest me. Reading is my passion! And now that I am in an article writer team, writing gives me an additional thrill in myself...Before I love to read books but now I'm also in a writing stuff. I can say that I am not a good writer but I am always trying to be one. For additional information and comments about the article you may log on to http://www.aprintingpress.com

Robotic Aardvark And Robot Tools

2009-02-19T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Lance Winslow

An aardvark might make a great design to copy for a robot. Certain organic species and animals do indeed have many excellent traits that can be used in robotic design. It appears that evolution has served the animal kingdom very well.

You see the aardvark has some very unique features with really great gripping clawed feet. It has a strong tail to balance on, as well as a long snout able to get into tight places along with a super long tongue able to get into even tighter spots. You can see why such a robotic tool could assist mankind as a robotic design for search and rescue, sniffing out bombs, searching buildings or helping find survivors in an Earthquake.

The aardvark is a smart animal in the organic form, but with an artificial intelligent brain, strong power system and a robust set of sensors, well it might just be the perfect robotic tool for many applications.

Some may say; are you nuts? No actually this makes a lot more sense than the robotic dogs robotic engineers building or University Teams are now conceiving. Some say; but aardvarks are ugly? Well that is a matter of opinion, because they have excellent hearing, good eyes and so many great features to serve their niche it is almost hard to find a better animal for many human applications.

They are unfortunately not so easy to domesticate, to work with us as pets and trading them for food is silly as they are so well adapted finding and catching their food is simple for them. Therefore it makes sense to make robotic aardvarks to use as special tools in important applications. Consider this in 2006.

Lance Winslow

New Ipod Accessories

2009-02-18T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Jason Hahn

With the ever-increasing popularity of the iPod and all its various forms, it follows that more and more accessories will become both important and appealing to iPod owners. Here are three new accessories that iPod owners may want to consider purchasing.

Podolock
The Podolock is a hard acrylic case for the iPod mini that helps to secure it from theft or unauthorized use. Along with the case is a cable that goes through the top of the case that enables the user to dock the iPod to a table, steering wheel, or other stable base. With the increasing numbers of iPods being stolen, cases like these may become handy for iPod owners. Podolocks will begin shipping next month and will be available for about $20, with the cables ranging from about $10 to $20.

TuffWrap Accent
TuffWrap Accents are new cases for iPod Video that will protect the devices from scratches and bumps. Optional inserts protect the screen and click wheel. There are three options for these two-tone silicone cases: blue and gray, yellow and black, red and black. The cases also feature ribbed sides for a more secure grip, and the texture of the overall case prevents the iPod from sliding unnecessarily. TuffWrap Accents sell for about $29.95.

Iconz
Iconz are stylish and fun durable cases that feature a logo, icons, or images that cover the face of the iPod Video. The backs of the cases are translucent, and the Iconz feature play-through control for the click wheel and integrated screen protection. Available images include cartoon and/or movie icons such as the Superman or Batman logo, your favorite MLB team, or your NBA team. Iconz with NBA images including a team and, in some cases, a player are available for the iPod Nano. Iconz for the iPod Video are available for about $29.95, while the Iconz for the iPod Nano are available for about $24.95.

http://www.ipodinsight.com

Want To Speed Up Your Computer

2009-02-17T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by John Dow

Being in the computer repair business, I often get asked, "How do I speed up my computer?" This is a tough question to answer without any knowledge of the computer and software that a user might have. But I do have one recommendation that usually helps out most people.

If you've had your computer for more than a year, there are 1000's if not millions of unused files just laying around your system. Most people know about clearing their browser cache, and maybe even using Windows XP Disk Clean Up through the properties of your C:/Drive. And both of those programs help.

But there are large amounts of files that are created by third party programs, installers, Java cache files, and etc. It's difficult to even find these files let alone clean them out on a regular basis. Several of the more active adware and virus programs use these areas to operate from too.

And then there's all the registry entries that go with these files. The registry is a database on your computer that is used by the system to register any software, hardware, and activities. On a brand new computer it is huge in both size and number of entries. But over time this database can become quite bloated and slow down daily operations.

Every time you do something to change your user, software, or hardware settings this activity is recorded in the registry database. Think about it for a minute, every single time you install, change, or even move things around it is recorded. The number of entries on any daily session can be in the 1000's.

Every day when you boot up, your system runs through every setting in the registry to know how, where, and what is on your computer. As time goes on, and new entries are made, this becomes a more time consuming task. And during the normal operation, the registry is check 1000's of times for file locations, hardware driver aspects, and many of the different settings.

So the bigger the registry, the more computing power and time is needed to complete these checks. And this type of access is going on every time you click or type during your daily computing chores. Anything you can do to keep the registry mean and lean can improve the performance of your computer.

But doing a manual clean up of your files, and the registry can be difficult. Knowing what files and what settings are no longer needed is almost impossible. One of the reasons is the registry listings can be in multiple sections and many places. And it's about as easy to decipher as our wonderful tax laws. I get to do it often when repairing a computer but it's not a lot of fun nor is it always very straight forward.

But the is a good way to approach this clean up. There are some very smart folks over at a company called CCleaner.com. They have written a small utility called CCleaner and it cleans out the registry and deletes all the old inactive files everywhere.

Normally I'm not to wild about turning loose a program that deletes files and registry entries on any of my computers. But I've tested this utility on every computer in the shop and it works flawlessly every time. It's fast too. We use a couple of computers to test new software and hardware and they get cluttered up with old files and installations. Many of the uninstall programs don't remove all the files and registry entries.

We use CCleaner after all our tests now and it removes all the left overs fast. And the speed on boot up and day-to-day operations does speed up. It's a noticeable difference before and after you run CCleaner. They also have a support area and forum on their web site for any questions and issues that anyone would have using their software.

Many of the major computer sites and magazines have given CCleaner the highest marks for both reliability and results. That says a lot right there since most of these expert web sites are pretty thorough in testing and don't give out high rankings all that often.

I've added CCleaner to my basic recommendations of a good virus protection software and adware remover. It goes the extra mile in clean up that can really help any computer speed up both the boot process and daily operations.

If your computer is acting sluggish and slow, this would be an excellent utility to run. Always make sure that there are no pesky viruses or adware first. And always make sure you have the latest version of both virus definitions and any new adware protection.

Did I mention that this great little utility is also free? That's right, it's free for the using. They do take donations so if you use the program and like it, why not go ahead and give them a few bucks for their great work. That's a good way keep this and other great software free.

You can get CCleaner at www.CCleaner.com. Just follow the instructions on the installation and operation and I'll bet you see a big difference afterward. Good utilities are hard to find, and free ones almost impossible. This is a great tool to help anyone clean out their system and get back some of the original speed of their computer..

John Dow owns www.PowerSolutionsCD.com, a website that specializes in computer troubleshooting, security, and repair utilities. His Power Solutions CD has helped thousands of customers protect their computer and data, by providing a collection of utilities and how to articles to fix and repair ANY hard drive or computer problem. Click here to learn more: www.PowerSolutionsCD.com.

Cisco Ccna Ccnp Home Lab Tutorial Buying And Configuring An Access Server

2009-02-16T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Chris Bryant

A Cisco access server is generally the last item a CCNA or CCNP candidate has on their mind when they're putting together a home lab. The thinking tends to be that since this router isn't really doing anything in the production part of your practice lab, it's not really important.

Once you have more than two devices in your home lab, though, you'll realize that constantly moving the console cable around from one router to another gets very tiresome. That's what an access server does for a home lab - it allows you to connect your PC to a single device when working in your home lab, with no need to constantly disconnect and reconnect the console cable. The console cable will be connected directly to the access server, and the access server is connected to all the other devices in your home lab. Once you start working with one, you'll wonder how you got along without it!

The term "access server" is a little misleading. This is not a server in the traditional sense, it's a Cisco router with asynchronous serial ports. It is these ports that you'll use to connect to the other devices in your home lab. Two affordable models of access servers are Cisco 2509s and Cisco 2511s. They can be found on ebay as well as other vendors on the Net.

You will also need an octal cable. On one end, the cable has a large connector that will connect to the access server. The other end is actually eight separate cables, each with RJ-45 connectors. These connectors are numbered 1 - 8 and will be connected to the console port on each router and switch. It is important to note the number on each connector you're connecting to the other lab devices.

Now that you've got the physical equipment, let's take a look at a typical configuration of an access server:

no service password-encryption

no service udp-small-servers

no service tcp-small-servers

! hostname BRYANT_ADVANTAGE_AS4

no ip domain-lookup

ip host r1 2001 10.4.4.4

ip host r2 2002 10.4.4.4

ip host r3 2003 10.4.4.4

ip host sw1 2004 10.4.4.4

ip host sw2 2005 10.4.4.4

ip host FrameSwitch 2006 10.4.4.4

interface Loopback555

ip address 10.4.4.4 255.255.255.0

line con 0

exec-timeout 0 0

logging synchronous

line 1 16

no exec

transport input all

You can assign any loopback address and number here the important thing to note is that the IP HOST table you will build constantly refers back to the loopback address on the access server.

In this configuration, I have the octal cable's connector 1 in R1, 2 in R2, 3 in R3, 4 in SW1, 5 in SW2, and 6 in my frame relay switch. The number "2001" in the first line of the IP HOST table refers to that connector. That's why it is important to note the number on a given connector you place in the console port of a router or switch.

The asynchonous lines are identified by "line 1 16". This access server has 16 possible connections many will just have 8, which is usually plenty. Regardless of how many lines you have, you'll need the commands transport input all and no exec to allow reverse telnet to work effectively.

There's one more thing to watch out for. When you first connect to the AS for a practice session, you will need to open the line to each device by using the full hostname of the device as shown in the IP HOST table. Here, you would begin by entering R1, R2, R3, SW1, SW2, and FrameSwitch to open the line to each device. After that, you need to enter the line number - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. It sounds a little confusing at first, but after just a few minutes of practice you'll be doing it without even thinking about it.

When you are working in your home lab, you will not go from one device to another that is, when you are done on R1 and want to configure R2, you must go back to the access server and then to R2. The keystroke to do this is . Again, it may sound complicated, but after a little practice you will again do this without thinking about it.

Adding an access server to your CCNA or CCNP home lab may not be on your mind now, but once you add a few more routers or switches to the lab, you'll want to spend more time configuring and practicing and less time moving a cable around. And once you get one, you'll wonder how you did without it!

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!

How To Put Music On The Psp Stop Struggling

2009-02-15T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Brad Newman

Are you still struggling with how to put music on the PSP? Don't worry you aren't alone; it is a little more tricky than it appears. This article will attempt to describe the process for you in an easy to follow fashion.

The first thing I thought I'd cover about how to put music on the PSP is the connection of your PSP through the USB port of your computer. After you plug your PSP into a USB port and turn the PSP on, it should go into what is called USB MODE. A menu should arise asking what programs you want to run the software with but you can simply click to close that window.

The next step of how to put music on the PSP is the use of your computer (this next part assumes that you are using windows). Select my computer from the start menu and you should see an icon near your hard drive called removable disk, the same as you would if you had inserted a regular USB drive. This is your PSP. Open the removable disk icon and you should see a folder called PSP inside which there is a folder called SAVEDATA. In the PSP folder, next to SAVEDATA, create a new folder called 'Music'.

From here all that's required in terms of how to put music on the PSP is for you to find the music you want from your computer and move it into this folder. Also don't forget to make sure the files you move are in mp3 format otherwise your PSP won't be able to read them. Once you have moved all the files, close that window. In the previous window you should see a green arrow prompt that you can double click to indicate that you are finished working with that external drive. When a progress window appears click stop and it will be safe for you to remove the PSP connection from your computer.

As you can see, there aren't really any aspects of how to put music on the PSP that are as difficult as you would have thought. Once you have learned this method you can do the same for movies, photos and other interactive file formats.

Brad Newman is a computer specialist and PSP enthusiast. Don't have good PSP converter software or access to a large PSP movie, games and music database? You can learn more about it at http://www.usefulresources.info/how-to-put-music-on-the-psp.html

How To Put Music On The PSP

Tips For Choosing The Right Computer For You

2009-02-14T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Gabriel J. Adams

Are you ready to purchase a new computer? Great! The choices can be daunting, though. Just looking at the price aspect, you can spend anywhere from three hundred euros to several thousand euros, quite easily.

The first choice you'll need to make is whether to buy a desktop or a laptop. If you need any amount of mobility at all, we'd suggest a laptop. If you don't plan on moving your computer around or using away from your home or office, you might want a desktop. Desktop computers are easier to repair and are cheaper for what you get.

Next, you'll need to make a choice on some of the major features and components of the computer.

Memory is a big factor in determining how quickly your computer performs tasks - I would not buy a computer with less than 512 MB of memory. 1 GB of memory would be even better. If you are planning on doing lots of multimedia work or other tasks that require a lot of operating resources, you should probably get 2 GB of memory. Also keep in mind that memory is classified by speed as well as storage size.

You'll also need to decide on what processor you want and/or need. If you're not familiar with the technical aspects of computer processors and you are going to need a processor that's more powerful than standard, you might want to consult with a computer expert to help you make the choice.

You'll also need to choose the hard drive size you'll need. This is any easy choice to make - just see how much hard drive space you're using now, add in any increases you expect to need, then add some space for expansion.

There are many, many different components of a computer that you'll have to choose. It's worth a little time to think about exactly what you need so you make the right choice the first time.

Visit Virtua IT, your source for computer sales and service in Costa del Sol: http://www.virtuait.com/

Why Build Your Own Gaming Computer

2009-02-13T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Nathan Holsing

The best way to get the gaming computer that you want, that will provide optimum performance is to build your own computer. If you think you do not have the technical knowledge or are not capable of building a computer you are wrong. I'm pretty certain that I could teach my mother (who has a hard time working a VCR) how to build a computer. If you can plug a sweeper into a wall outlet and use a screw driver, you too can build a computer.

What The Computer Manufacturers Don't Want You to Know!

Manufacturers don't want you to know how easy it is to build a computer because they make their living selling complete computers. The truth is that manufacturers focus on selling a computer with an overall low price tag to entice people to buy. They use the processor and software as the primary selling point. In most cases other than the processor and maybe the graphics card you have no idea what components they actually use. Alienware is one of the rare exceptions. They tell you for the most, part what components they are using. However, this doesn't mean that these are the best components on the market. Every manufacturer gets regular visits from sales people convincing them that they should use their products. Just because a company gives them the best deal on a power supply that allows them to increase their profit margin on the computers they sell doesn't make it the best power supply. This often leads to the use of inferior products for the sake of profit.

The Advantages To Building Your Own Computer

By building your own computer you are assured of getting the highest quality because you have painstakingly researched every component. If you've ever wondered why your store bought gaming computer with the top of the line graphics card and ultra fast CPU is still having trouble running newer games, it is likely because they stuck you with an inferior power supply, cheap motherboard, inadequate RAM, and the list goes on. In my mind it makes sense to build your own computer.

Warranties and Technical Support

If you are worried about warranties, you need not be. In most cases you can get a manufacturers warranty on every component you buy. As for technical support, I've had much better luck with getting questions answered through friendly helpful forums on the internet than I ever have from technical support lines. Not to mention you don't have to pay to sit on hold.

Upgrades Are Painless And Fast

When you build your own computer upgrades are a snap. You've already put it together so switching a hard drive or changing the graphics card is extremely easy. For instance I just upgraded my graphics card. It took me longer to unplug everything from the back of my tower than it did to swap the graphics card. All in all I was up and running with the new drivers installed in about 10 minutes. If you are impatient like I am taking your machine to a store to have it upgraded just isn't worth the wait.

How To Build Your Own Computer

I hope I've convinced you to build your own computer. It is a very rewarding experience. As I've said it isn't very difficult. I do however recommend that you do your research. There are several good books published on the topic such as "Build Your Own PC", by Morris Rosenthal. You can also find a great deal of information regarding building computers and computer hardware at my website Gaming-Computers.net. Good luck with your computer, and remember, if you ever run into problems building it there are thousands of people on the Net that are more than willing to help, and they won't charge you a technician's service fee.

Gaming-Computers.net provides computer hardware reviews, buying guides, and tutorials on building computers.

What Is Mcse

2009-02-12T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Leon Chaddock

MCSE stands for Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer. What is this term, really? While the term sounds like a degree that you would get in Microsoft, it is not really an engineering degree, per say. In fact, that is one of the biggest complaints about this learning process. Nevertheless, MCSE is a training course of sorts that is designed to teach individuals who want to learn how to handle various aspects of Microsoft skills. The goal is to have a group of people who are knowledgeable in the areas that Microsoft is specific. Let's explain.

Microsoft developed this type of training to allow individuals to get a specific training course, or several in various types of skills that pertain to Microsoft. The thing about this training is that it is specific to Microsoft. While you may learn to install a program in another course which would teach a broad range of information about all ways in which to do so, in the MSCE, you will learn strictly how it is done through Microsoft.

So, How Does MSCE Work?

In most cases, the training can be done in several ways. Students can take classes through certified teachers in the schooling or they can study on their own. Some individuals feel that they have enough experience in the various uses of Microsoft to be able to take the test without taking a training class. The test is given specific areas at specific times. In order to be considered, you must pay a fee of about $125 for each of the tests and certifications that you plan to take. The tests range in knowledge levels and in most cases, it is wise to take the training courses for MSCE prior to taking the test as it can be quite challenging.

You will find more information about MSCE throughout the web.

For more information please see http://www.mcse-shack.co.uk

The New Age Of Video Editing

2009-02-11T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Leon Chaddock

Video editing used to be something that was only used by movie makers and those that had a good amount of money to spend. Today, there are some very cool video editing software programs out there that are designed and used by many home computer users. This makes editing a video just as easy as snapping and using a photo. There are many things that you could not do before that you now can. Video editing is something that many will use throughout the coming years.

But, if you are to purchase video editing software, what should you use? What should you purchase? Here are some tips to help you choose the video editing products that you should purchase for your needs.

First off, know what those needs are. For many, you simply want to take your home movie of the family vacation and edit it out. But, if you want to do additional things to it, you will likely need to insure that those features are available to you in whichever product you choose to purchase.

You will also want to make sure that the video editing software that you choose, works on your computer as well as with your digital devices such as your mobile phones, your video camera, and your digital camera. These things will matter in what you can use the editing software for.

Go ahead and check out the bells and whistles that these things have. You will be impressed by how many various types of editing you can do. For example, you can dub over sound, you can cut and add in graphics, and you can take everything out of order without running the original pieces.

You will want to look for quality as well as user friendliness. The more able you are to use the editing software, the more often you will use it.

Video editing has come a long way and features huge amounts of features that you just have to take advantage of. More than likely, it will continue to grow as well!

For more information please see http://www.video-editing-help.co.uk

More Advantages Of The Ipod

2009-02-10T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Mia LeCron

--> Multiple Language Supports

Thinking of buying an iPod and sending it to a relative or friend overseas? If so, then you might be concerned about the menu, and the fact that it's in English. Well, worry no more!

Actually, initial versions of the iPod already offered 14 different languages. Now, especially since sales of the iPod have boomed worldwide, latest generation versions offer more than twice as many languages, including:

 Czech
 Danish
 Dutch
 English
 Finnish
 French
 German
 Greek
 Hungarian
 Italian
 Japanese
 Korean
 Norwegian
 Polish
 Portuguese
 Russian
 Simplified Chinese
 Spanish
 Swedish
 Traditional Chinese
 Turkish

Also, for song information only, the iPod menu supports:

 Bulgarian
 Croatian
 Romanian
 Serbian
 Slovak
 Slovenian
 Ukrainian

--> It Knows when You're Listening

Speaking of versatility, one advantage that the iPod has it that it can sense whether headphones are being used or not. If you're listening to music and you pull the headphone jack out of its port, the iPod will pause.

But remember that if you re re-attach the headphones, the music will not play by itself, you'd have to do that manually.

However, if you've set your iPod to sleep mode or turned off, plugging in the headphones will get the song to play again.

--> Get Ready for the iPod Photo!

So the iPod offers you music, educational tools, and now photo display! Apple released the iPod photo in early 2005. The portable music player now has a color screen to allow users to display photos and album art.

The iPod photo can send photos to a television via a composite or S-video cable.

The iPod photo can hold 30,000 photos, but it costs "an arm and a leg" according to some consumers. Rumors have it however that as soon as it's picked up and given a look-see, the temptation to buy one gets very, very strong. So beware!

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

Why Network Documentation Is So Important

2009-02-09T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Darren Miller

Undocumented Networks
------------
I can't tell you how many projects I've worked on in which the customer has little to no network documentation. The reason for the lack of network documentation is varied. In many cases this is both the fault of the customer and the vendor / consultant who designed and implemented the network. The vendor just does not do it and the customer does not press hard enough for it. In some cases, technology consultants do not feel it's important enough or want to lock the customer into having to call "them" if something goes wrong or a configuration needs to be changed.

Not only is this poor practice on the side of the consultant, it can have a dramatic affect on the future growth of the customer, increase the costs of future network upgrades and diagnostics, and can negatively impact the security of the customers network.

The Results Of A Undocumented Network
------------
Before I tell you the basic items that need to be documented with regards to computer networks, I first want to give you examples of what I have "not" seen documented, and what problems this has caused.

During one of my past projects, which was primarily to implement a new firewall and to secure many of the internal systems , I ran into some really incredible issues. None of the primary server systems were documented. No one knew what server did what, how much memory, disk space, what type of processor(s), and in some cases, did not know what Operating System was installed. And worse than that, during my initial review, we located three servers in a closet, on a different floor, that no one even knew existed!

Because of the lack of network documentation, no one knew what was suppose to be done to maintain their enterprise Anti-Virus system. When I finally determined what the admin password was to login to the Anti-Virus services, I found that virus signatures had not been updated in over six months. Then we found that the system was not even functioning and nearly 90% of systems on the network were infected with virus and worms (and not the annoying kind either, the destructive kind)

We also found there were four different tape backup servers, and again, because of the lack of network documentation, none of them had been maintained. The customer just kept changing tapes. And do you know what, none of the backup jobs had been running for months. Talk about a false sense of security!

The very last thing I want to talk about is how lack of network documentation and procedures can affect network security. In one case, a customer had a rather expensive Check Point Firewall in place. No documentation was available and the customer had been told that nothing needed to be done to maintain the Firewall. The customer told me that recently, their Internet access had become very sluggish. It took two days to locate the Check Point console password. When I logged in I found that the C: drive had absolutely no free disk space because the Firewall log had consumed it all. This could have been avoided if the Firewall was setup properly in the first place. The Firewall was also about 4 Service Packs behind, and the rules in place were quite inadequate. Not to mention that none of the rules themselves had been documented. And one more thing to think about. If this network had been attacked and compromised, how quickly would we have been able to respond to the attack if so much of the network was undocumented? It would have been a disaster.

Basic Network Documentation
------------
Here is a basic set of items that should be contained in network documentation:

All server hardware and operating systems should be documented, including the physical locations and what primary, secondary, etc.. purpose they serve. All key service accounts an login account user-id and password's should be documented and stored in a safe location, maybe a company lockbox or vault, or use something like KeyPass to store them. A visual diagram of the network layout, even from a high level, should exist no matter how small or large the network is. Products like WhatsUpGold can assist with this or you can create a Visio diagram of the network. Procedures on how to maintain the network technology, including Operating Systems, security related services, backup and disaster recovery (business continuity), and firewall technologies should exist.

Additionally, you should document and secure all Operating System and application licensing. This is something that is very often overlooked and is imperative if you have to recover from a disaster situation in which the rebuild of systems is necessary. Other information to have documented is key contact information. For instance, who do you call if your Internet connection goes down? Who do you contact if your offsite web services are not functioning? Do you have a third party that maintains your Domain Name Services (DNS)? If you have custom applications, do you know exactly who you must call if there is a problem?

The above is just the basic items that need to be documented within a computer network. There are many more aspects to network documentation.

Who Needs To Document Their Network
------------
In a nutshell, anyone who has a computer network, home office, small office, or large office, should have an adequate level of network documentation and procedures to follow in order to maintain the network. If you have invested in network technology, don't you want to keep your investment safe, sound, and performing at it's peak?

Conclusion
------------
If you are a customer, and have a systems integrator or consultant working on a new network implementation or upgrading an existing one, demand that they provide you with complete network documentation. Even if it costs you extra you should request it. It will save you a lot of time and money in the future. And, it may actually keep your business from experiencing long periods of down time.

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

About The Author
------------
Darren Miller is an Information Security Consultant with over sixteen 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@ParaLogic.Net. If you would like to know more about computer security please visit us at http://www.defendingthenet.com.

How To Find The Right Home Projector For Your Home

2009-02-08T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Dakota Caudilla

Some people think that buying a home projector is the same as buying a TV or AV system. The cost, of course, has everything to do with which home projector that you finally decide to buy but in actual fact, spending a little bit more time researching and finding out more about home projector systems can make your investment more worthwhile.

Brightness, typically, is measured in ANSI lumens. For a typical home projector system, the brightness can range anywhere between 700 and 2,000 lumens. The brightness, itself, does not determine the quality of the picture that you will receive from your home projector. The environment of your home will pretty much determine the outcome. Therefore, before you buy a home projector, take into account the ambience of the room that you'll be placing the home projector system in. If you have a special TV viewing room with controlled lighting, you don't and won't need a home projector that gives out too much brightness. However, if you're placing the home projector in the living room where there are open windows or ambient lighting, you'll need a far brighter home projector to make it worth your while.

Most experts recommend that TV rooms or dedicated home theatre spaces need a 700 lumens home projector or more. Rooms with ambient lighting should use a home projector with at least 900 lumens or more. In open spaces or living rooms with extremely high lighting, you'll need a home projector with at least 2,500 lumens.

When shopping for your home projector, take a quick look for a menu that is easy to use. Some professional or business home projectors are not as user-friendly as the projectors made for home users. Your home projector should make it as hassle-free as possible for you change the color, brightness, switch between HDTV and NTSC and adjust your video input sources. Most home projectors come with a remote control because it could be hard if your home projector is fixed on the ceiling or high up on the wall, but be careful and be sure to ask the sales person if the home projector unit that you're interested in buying comes with a remote control.

Do you want to mount the home projector on the ceiling or place it on a table? Well, both options have its advantages and disadvantages. Mounting the home projector on the ceiling gives more space, creates a more polished look for your viewing area. It won't be knocked off the table by kids and saves you time since you don't need to unpack, take it, install, and set the home projector up every time you want to use it.

With a light home projector, you can probably lift it from place to place without too much effort. With these home projectors, placing it on the table for each use is probably not a problem at all. In fact, portability has its advantagesyou can literally take your home projector with you everywhere you go!

Dakota Caudilla, journalist, and website builder Dakota Caudilla lives in Texas. He is the owner and co-editor of http://www.must-have-gadgets.com on which you will find a longer, more detailed version of this article.

Dvd R

2009-02-07T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Jimmy Sturo

DVD stands for Digital Versatile/Video Disc. It is an optical storage technology that can be used to store large amounts of data, high quality video, audio or games. The DVD format has only been around for a decade and has evolved incredibly fast since its launch. In fact, the development of DVD technology has far outpaced similar movement in VHS or CD technology.

Users familiar with CDs and their various applications should have a pretty good idea of what a DVD looks like and the various functions that a user can achieve with it.

There are three main application formats on a DVD DVD Video, DVD Audio and DVD-ROM(for data). These are exactly comparable with VCDs, Audio CDs and CD-ROMs.

DVD-R stands for DVD-Recordable. Readers should note that this is a physical technology and is distinct from DVD-ROM which is an application format. To illustrate this, it is possible to store DVD-Video and data(DVD-ROM) on a single DVD-R disc.

DVD-R discs are recordable only once; they are not re-writable discs. They are generally available in a standard capacity that matches the 4.7GB capacity of store-bought, pre-recorded DVDs. It is possible to find double-sided, single-layer DVD-R that can store about 8.75GB. DVD-R. They are generally compatible with all DVD-ROMs that come with home computers and are also compatible with most stand alone DVD players.

There are many competing formats of recordable DVDs. However, many compatibility issues between formats are resolved through the introduction of combo drives. A good rule of thumb is that a DVD-R disc will be read by most DVD drives and players but will only be written by a DVD-R or DVD-RW compatible drive.

The DVD-R format is supported by the DVD Forum, an industry association of DVDs led by Toshiba.

DVD-R discs are becoming ubiquitous as manufacturers have started including DVD burners as standard on home computers now sold. They can be used for numerous purposes including backing up data to creating home movie DVDs. DVD-R compatible drives currently have the highest market reach for both PCs and Macs and are a better choice than other comparable DVD recording formats.

DVDR provides detailed information about DVD Rs, DVDRs, DVD R discs, and more. DVDR is affiliated with Mini DV Tapes.

Is Your Computer Acting Weird

2009-02-06T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Eva Gibson

Is your computer just plain acting weird? Have you been having trouble surfing the internet and doing general work on your computer? Do popups appear every few minutes to irritate you with their sales pitches and silly "surveys?" Does your computer crash, freeze, shut down, or otherwise abandon you when you're trying to use it?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might be the possessor of a computer infected with malware.

How could this happen, you wonder? Well, a computer can contract a malware infection in a number of ways. Some are user-related, meaning the online actions of the computer user led to the accidental download of malware from a website or infected link. Another way to get a malware infection is having an infection sent to you by a hacker as a link or attachment in an email.

Malware is a blanket term that refers to malicious software designed specifically to infect and disrupt a computer system. Malware can take the form of a virus, worm, Trojan, piece of spyware, or piece of adware, and can cause plenty of trouble is it's not discovered, quarantined, and removed from the computer it's infecting.

The most common ways of contracting a malware infection are:

Downloading music

Sharing photos

Using peer-to-peer networking programs like Kazaa

Installing free programs from a questionable website

Clicking popup ads

Opening infected email attachments sent to you

Exchanging files in chat rooms

Downloading games and screensavers

Browsing infected websites

Browsing adult-related websites

You can avoid most malware by using common sense when surfing the internet, especially when it comes to clicking on random, links, ads, icons, and those flashing, blinking buttons imploring you to "CLICK HERE FOR YOUR PRIZE," or some other similar enticement. Other ways to avoid malware infection include:

Install antivirus software that scans for and removes viruses, spyware, and adware on your computer
Install a popup blocker
Install and run a firewall to keep hackers and attackers at bay
Install a threat scanner to periodically scan for malware
Update your software and computer programs regularly
Don't open emails or follow links sent to you from unfamiliar sources
Don't download files or programs from unknown sources

If your computer is acting weird and you think you may have a malware infection, following the above steps will help you clean your computer and keep malware at bay in the future. Remember, some malware is merely annoying, but some can seriously compromise your computer system, leading to system shut downs, remote hacking, identity theft, third party information transfer, and keylogging. Don't be the next of many online malware victims take the steps now to protect yourself and your computer from being compromised.

http://home.stopsign.com

Apple Video Ipodwhy So Popular

2009-02-05T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Sam Watkins

Welcome to 2005, the year of the Apple Video Ipod!

Why do I boldly proclaim this year for the humble Ipod? Is it because the Apple company has thoroughly dominated the consumer electronics market this year? Let's take a look at some facts.

First, let's remember that way back when in 2000 said that Apple would be out of business soon, having been eclipsed by Microsoft's Window program. Nevermind that Microsoft ripped off Apple's idea for a user friendly interface. Billy was always a better marketer than an inventor of new things.

Well, "little apple" decided not to take this lying down. They decided to invent their own category in the field of consumer electronics.

Their strategy developed into being the complete provider of enternaiment.

Starting with the imac, derailed by critics when first introduced as a last gasp effort of a dying company, Apple started to reassert itself. Then came the Ipod, which went on to become the most single popular consumer electronic product in history. But this wasn't enough for "little Apple".

This year, the Nano was introduced, to a huge customer buying frenzy. Trying to find one was like trying to get tickets to a Beatles reunion concert.

And now, as if to finish off the year on a climax, the Video Ipod is introduced. The effect is to eclipse all other consumer gadgets, and make Apple the hippest thing since Bob Dylan.

The profits for the company are of course incredible. But what about the benefits to consumers?

Here are just a few of the things the Video Ipod now makes possible:

it can hold up to 15,000 songs and full-color album art

believe it or not, you can put up to 25,000 photos on it

in addition, it holds up to 150 hours of video (hence the name video ipod)

And if that wasn't enough, it will play video or photo slideshows on TV via an optional dock

Unbelievable! And all in a slim desing not much bigger than a thin bill fold.

What's nexta manned mission to Mars? Broadcast proudly on your Apple Ipod?

Sam Watkins goes to Free Music Downloads when he needs to fill up his Ipod with good tunes. Sammy also recommends Wholesale Electronics for amazing products.

Spyware How To Know Whether Your Computer Is Affected

2009-02-04T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Markus Wahlgren

A spyware is a software that collects information from a computer with internet connection without the owner's knowledge and relays it to another person. The action of spywares is just watching, observing, and collecting. Though most of the times it is done for advertising purposes, some times they are used with malicious intentions. These spywares usually come as hidden components of freeware programs.

The victims of spywares are usually caught unaware. He or she may not know that a malicious software has been installed in their computer without their knowledge and which keeps tracking their vital information. In this modern era of cyber crime where hackers create havoc, it is necessary to know whether our computer is being installed with any spyware with out our knowledge. But of course many software come with the licensing agreement that a spyware will be installed along with the main software.

The spyware usually enters the computer when the user installs some software. The recent mode of entry of the spyware is in the form of "Rogue antispyware" programs. These are projected as security software whereas in reality they cause damage to the computer.

Signs and symptoms of Spyware infection

Spyware never remains an aloof destroyer. More and more spywares get accumulated causing the unwanted effects. The cumulative effect, and the interactions between the different spyware components, causes the stereotypical symptoms as reported by the users. Some of the signs and symptoms that are helpful to know that a computer is infected with spywares are

Frequent unwanted computer activity

Deterioration of the performance of the computer

Exhaustion of memory resources

Slowing down of the computer

Crashing of the computer

Difficulty in getting an internet connection

Pop up ads on a regular basis

Pop up ads even when the user is working offline

Opening up of an unwanted website while the user tries to log on to some particular website

Computer dialing up numbers automatically without the knowledge of the user which is realized only when he gets the phone bill

Unwanted and unexpected search engine doing the search while the user wants to search something using a search engine of his choice

Popping up of websites incessantly while the user tries to log out

Pop up ads and unsolicited emails with the name of the user

Once the user sees any of these symptoms he should realize that his computer is infected with spywares and should take steps immediately to protect his computer before the computer gets infected very badly.

Markus writes and publishes articles about spyware, adware and PC safety, and other unbiased health related topics on Independent-views.com.

Enhanced Web Browsing With Toolbars

2009-02-03T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Jim Edwards

As the Web grows more crowded and just plain "noisy" with information bombarding us from every angle, most people welcome any tool, trick or shortcut to help them wade through the mountains of data to find what they want.

Since your web browser represents your main window to the Internet, it makes sense for any tool which enables you to find what you need and get around faster online should sit right where you need it most.

Introducing Web browser "toolbars," free little programs that work with Internet Explorer and Netscape to put you several steps closer to the information you need right now.

~ Google Toolbar ~
The free toolbar from search giant Google offers the best search features of any toolbar we evaluated.

Not only does it allow you to search the web, but also enables you to search within a website to find specific information.

The Google toolbar's main features include "Page Rank," which gives an indication of a website's overall value based on your search criteria and other factors, along with a "backwards links" function which allows you to see which sites link to the website currently loaded in your browser.

You can download the Google toolbar on your web browser by visiting http://toolbar.google.com and following the simple installation instruction.

~ Alexa Toolbar ~
Alexa's main claim to fame revolves around its traffic ranking report on virtually any site on the Internet.

The lower the Traffic Ranking number, the more popular a site rates in Alexa's eyes. Currently Yahoo, MSN and Google occupy the top 3 spots on Alexa's charts.

With so many websites on the Internet, an Alexa ranking of less than 100,000 is considered good, and a ranking of less than 10,000 is considered outstanding as far as a site's relative popularity on the Web.

Alexa also offers a related links feature right on the toolbar so you can quickly find links to sites that other people also visit when surfing the site you currently have loaded in your browser.

Alexa also offers a pop-up blocker to help cut down on the pop-up windows that seem to invade your desktop the minute you venture online. You can download the Alexa Toolbar free from www.alexa.com.

~ AltaVista Toolbar ~
Former search giant AltaVista recently jumped on the toolbar bandwagon with their offering from www.altavista.com.

Install the AltaVista toolbar and access a couple of interesting features, including a language translation button and an MP3 search.

Click the "Translate" button and instantly translate entire web pages from one language to another.

The MP3 search will help you find the tune you want from AltaVista's audio index.

Most of the toolbars offer additional gadgets to help you with everything from weather forecasts to currency conversion.

Because they offer many of the same features and they take up valuable screen space, using more than one toolbar at a time often proves impractical.

Since most toolbars come free of charge, evaluate them all for their main features and overall usability for your particular needs and then stick with the best one.

Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist (http://www.TheNetReporter.com) and is the author of numerous best-selling ebooks, information products and software programs.

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Troubleshooting Computer Freeze Lockup Problems

2009-02-02T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Michael Woodford

How familiar does the following sound? Your computer was working fine, but then suddenly started locking up (aka hanging or freezing), rebooting itself (crashing) or shutting down spontaneously? If you know only too well what I am talking about, then read on! Performing the simple steps below can fix the majority of lockup cases.

1. Check for recently installed software or hardware.
If the lockups started to happen after you installed a new peace of hardware, new software program, or new drivers, uninstall it and see if the problem goes away.

2. Run your antivirus program.
One of the first things to do in the case of sudden lockups is to run your antivirus program. Check your antivirus manufacturer's website for updates and latest virus definition files. (This is absolutely necessary, outdated antivirus is not going to be of any use!) If you don't have antivirus software installed - or if updates are unavailable - run one of the web-based antivirus scans that some major antivirus vendors like Trend Micro are offering for free. You can find a comprehensive list of available web-based scans and free antivirus programs on http://www.free-antivirus.info.

3. Run some good spyware removal tool.
If your machine is not infected with any viruses, it is still possible that it has some harmful adware or spyware is present. Download and run some good spyware removal tool such as AdAware or Microsoft AntiSpyware. Check http://www.free-antivirus.info for a list of free spyware removal applications.

4. Check for free hard drive space.
When no viruses are found, check out free hard drive space on drive C:. Make sure there is more than 20% of free space available; low disk space can lead to random lockups.

5. Check for overheating.
Overheating is another known cause of lockups. It can be caused by problems with fans inside the case, dust buildup, or other cooling problems. Make sure the power supply fan and CPU fan are running and free of dust buildup. You can check the temperatures inside the case by running Motherboard monitor http://mbm.livewiredev.com - make sure the temperatures are within the preset limits. Be very careful while cleaning inside the computer case (use plastic vacuum crevice tool) and NEVER OPEN THE POWER SUPPLY CASE as it contains high voltage.

6. Check the hard disk.
Check the hard disk - it is possible that its logical structure is corrupted. To check the disk for errors, right-click on the disk C: icon in "My Computer", select the "Tools" tab, check all check boxes in the "Check disk options" field, and press the "Check now" button. It should ask whether you want to schedule the check next time you restart your computer - answer "Yes" and restart your PC. The check will be performed automatically after startup; it can take a while, so be patient. The program will attempt to fix some problems automatically however, if the hard disk is failing physically, it will need to be replaced. It is also a good idea to run Disk Defragmenter (located in Start Menu > Programs > Accessories > System Tools) to optimize data placement on the hard disk for increased performance and reliability.

7. Check the memory.
Sometimes random lockups can be attributed to the computer memory (RAM) starting to fail. You can test the memory by running Windows Memory Diagnostic that can be downloaded from http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp. If memory problems are found, try re-seating the RAM (pull it out and plug it back in). If it doesn't work, replace the defective RAM.

8. Check for other hardware problems (advanced users).
More hardware-related problems can be diagnosed by running hardware tests from the Ultimate Boot CD that can be downloaded from http://www.ultimatebootcd.com. However, you should only use it if you know what are you doing - some programs on that CD can be dangerous when used inappropriately (for example, some of them can wipe the contents of your hard disk).

9. Update Windows and drivers.
Some lockups can be caused by outdated software components - update your windows and drives by running a windows update: http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com (it's good idea to run it regularly).

The above steps will help diagnose and eliminate the most common causes of lockups. Hundreds more of other possible scenarios need to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, as it all goes down to your particular computer configuration. Asking on PC troubleshooting forums/newsgroups should help you figure out solutions to not-so-obvious lockup cases.

Michael Woodford is a computer expert from a team that runs HowToFixcomputers.com and CertFAQ.com.

Building Computers Do It Yourself To Get The Perfect Machine

2009-02-01T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Michael Quarles

The perfect machine, for game play, video editing, or whatever use you have in mind, can come only when all the major and minor parts have been carefully selected. It is a union of chips, circuits, and drives that are exactly right together.

Often, this cannot be had from the major computer manufacturers. If you want such a machine, you may have to build it yourself.

Why is this perfect union so hard to find? One answer lies in the demands of mass production. Perhaps the best illustration I can give has to do with motherboards.

A large manufacturer has the advantage of buying parts in quantity, thereby getting them at a reduced price. They may buy thousands of a certain motherboard, using them as the platform for several different PCs.

This sort of standardization has great advantages on the production line. Using the same board for different models means fewer setups, easier stocking by material handlers, and the increased speed that comes from having everything fit together exactly the same way every time.

All of this is good for the production process, but do you really want the same motherboard for a home PC, and a video editor that will cut an hour long documentary? I don't think so.

As with the motherboard, manufacturers buy CPUs in quantity to keep costs down. Most will buy either Intel or AMD, but not both. Each brand has its good points, each with models that excel at different tasks. However, there are some jobs I prefer an AMD for, and others that are best done with Intel chips. Few manufacturers give you a choice. If they do, it will not be across their entire catalog.

Graphics cards are often a source of disappointment for gamers. How many of you have bought a PC, and then, within the first month gone out and bought a different graphics card? The card in the machine was top of the line when the machine was being designed. Of course, by the time it came on the market a year had elapsed.

The solution for all this was touched on earlier. Build your own computer. Plan it, selecting the parts you want. Get exactly the computer you need, designed specifically for the job. It isn't hard to do, and it's worth the time and effort to get the perfect machine.

Michael Quarles is the author of Building a PC for Beginners. His website is http://www.monkeyseemonkeydobooks.com

Download Television Shows Now

2009-01-31T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Kevin Savetz

On a recent trip to New York City, my family and I visited the amazing Museum of Television & Radio. The heart of the museum is its Library, a collection of 120,000 television and radio programs. The library is amazing. First, you search the museum's electronic card catalog of television programs. It is vast, including important news broadcasts, sitcoms, commercials, programs that never aired, and more. When you find the program that you want to see, you can "check it out" by clicking a button.

In a few minutes, you are called down to the screening room and directed to one of the viewing stations where you can watch the program that you selected. You can even pause, rewind, and fast-forward through it. (I watched the pilot of a short- lived Party Of Five spin-off, my wife watched an unaired episode of Undeclared, and my daughter watched a black-and-white Lucille Ball special.)

I am confident that in just a few years, you won't need to visit the Museum of Television & Radio to have access to such a vast array of history and popular culture in video form: it will all be available online.

TV shows are already available online today. Right this minute you can to go the iTunes Music Store (which is kind of a misnomer now, because it offers television shows, music videos, and even a handful of movies) and download episodes of Spongebob Squarepants, Law & Order, Desperate Housewives, and more than 50 other shows. The selection isn't limited to new shows: you can also download episodes of Adam 12, Schoolhouse Rock, Knight Rider, and other classics. (Some might argue that Knight Rider doesn't qualify as a classic, but you get the point.)

50-plus shows at iTunes, plus another small selection at Google Video, is of course only a drop in the bucket compared to the thousands of programs on hand at the MT&R in Manhattan. But this is only the start: computers are now fast enough, and broadband ubiquitous enough, that video will soon revolutionize the Internet. When that happens, you'll be able to punch up any episode of almost any show.

You can enjoy the cusp of that revolution today by legally downloading dozens of shows -- as well as thousands of video-podcasts, "vlogs" (video blogs), indie films, and other videos. Although your favorite show from today or the past might not be available for download yet, you'll certainly be able to find something good to watch online.

Copyright 2006 by Kevin Savetz. Kevin Savetz is creator of TV Show Tracker ( http://www.TVShowTracker.com), a free web site that keeps viewers up-to-date about the latest downloadable TV shows at the iTunes Music Store. Users can subscribe to RSS feeds to receive alerts when new episodes are available.

Top 9 Ways To Quotspeed Upquot Your Surfing Amp Computing

2009-01-30T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Jim Edwards

It seems like fast never quite rates fast enough.

No matter how quickly something moves, especially on the Internet, it could always move faster.

Email, web surfing, downloading files (legally of course), none of them ever go as quickly as we want or expect.

Well, let me do my part to perpetuate this microwave oven mentality (why must popcorn take 3 ½ minutes instead of 2?) by giving you some tips and hints for making your online experiences and overall computing as fast as possible (even on a dial up connection).

** Hit The Accelerator **

Sensing a need for faster Internet access in markets where broadband cable or DSL can't or won't go, Internet Service Providers (ISP's) like NetZero offer Internet "accelerators."

Using a system of caches, compression schemes, and other technology to double or even triple your dial-up connection speeds, Internet accelerators can save you hours spent waiting for simple web pages to appear in your browser.

Though they won't work for everyone in every single situation, check out www.netzero.com, www.propel.com and www.slipstreamdata.com for more information.

** Clean Up Your Hard Drive ** Often a messy hard drive can contribute to slow online experiences. Perform a "Disk Cleanup" and a "Defrag" (available by clicking , , then ) to clean out the garbage files on your hard drive that slow your system down considerably.

This will help when running offline applications too.

** Get More RAM **

RAM (Random Access Memory) allows your computer to process data more quickly without writing and reading from the hard drive.

Ask any nerd and they'll tell you straight out, "You can NEVER have too much RAM!" RAM costs so little now that virtually anyone can afford to add more memory without a big hit to their wallet.

** Avoid Time Wasters **

Speeding up your surfing doesn't just mean pulling the maximum amount of data through your phone line until it melts!

It also means avoiding things that suck your time up and leave you sitting twiddling your thumbs instead of getting things done.

Make the most of your time online with these time-saving tips:

Use Google - Search giant, Google.com, consistently returns relevant search results in minimum time.

Sure, big search engines like Dogpile.com and AskJeeves.com query multiple search engines, but the time spent waiting for and then wading through those results rarely makes it worth the occasional extra result.

Avoid Instant Messenger - "Heresy! I must have my instant messenger" you cry! Keep a log of how much time gets spent mindlessly chatting on the IM instead of doing something important. If you must IM, do it in moderation.

Filter Spam - Use a program to filter your spam instead of wading through it by hand. Even if you only get 25 spam messages a day (I'd love to be you) and only spend 10 seconds on each message, at the end of a year that comes out to over 30 hours wasted on spam!

Filter your email messages before you take the time to download them to your machine and you'll love the spare time that magically comes your way.

** Slow Mouse? **

When I flick my wrist I expect that mouse to hop from one side of the screen to the other like the house was on fire!

A slow mouse can steal seconds of precious time that add up to hours of frustration over weeks and months.

If you suffer from a "slow mouse," click then "Control Panel" then "Mouse".

Then you'll see a tab that says "Pointer Options" or "Motion" (or something similar) and you can adjust the slider left or right to increase or decrease the speed of your mouse's movement across the screen.

** Use Windows Keyboard Shortcuts **

Windows has a number of nifty keyboard combinations that most people don't know about, but can save you incredible amounts of time, energy, effort and frustration. +Z - I call this the "panic button."

Hold down the "Ctrl" key and hit the letter Z and you can often undo the last action you took in Windows.

This comes in especially handy when you've deleted something (like a term paper or 500 word article) and want it back.

If you accidentally do something wrong, STOP hitting keys immediately and do +Z to undo what you just did.

+D - Ever wonder what the little "flag" key is on the keyboard next to "Alt?" (I sure have wondered.)

Well, it turns out that little key has some cool uses.

Hold down +D and you can minimize all the open windows on your desktop.

Very handy when you keep many programs running and need to hit your desktop in a hurry. +F - allows you to search for any file on your computer immediately.

It will amaze you how much faster you can get things done just by understanding how to save little bits of time here and there using shortcuts, tools and better ways of doing things.

About The Author:

Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how to use fr-e articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website or affiliate links...

Simple "Traffic Machine" brings Thousands of NEW visitors to your website for weeks, even months... without spending a dime on advertising! ==> "Turn Words Into Traffic"

The Concept Of Dvd Duplication

2009-01-29T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Vincent Abrugar

With new technology allowing for many new innovations, DVD duplication is becoming very popular. Before considering DVD duplication, it's important to gain an understanding of what is permitted and what is not. Films that have copyright protection may not be duplicated in any way. Doing so could result in serious penalties, so just don't do it. However, DVD duplication can be wonderful if you want to transfer photos onto a disk or if you have family movies that you wish to transfer from old VHS tapes or from one DVD to another.

Before you begin, try and determine what you want to get out of your DVD. Do you plan to erase the contents of the disc and record over it someday or do you plan to leave the contents on the disc permanently? If you ever plan to erase or record over the contents of a DVD, then you will need to purchase a DVD-RW. This abbreviation stands for DVD rewritable disc and means that it can be recorded and erased just the same as a VHS video. If you do not intend to erase the contents of a DVD, then a DVD+R will work fine. These are more affordable than the DVD-RW discs, but it's important to keep in mind that a DVD+R can never be recorded over again. Once the contents are recorded, they are there to stay. The same is true with a music CD. If you want to have the flexibility of recording and re-recording audio music, you will need to purchase a CD-RW disc. If you do not plan to record over the contents at any point in the future, a CD+R disc will be the more affordable option for your project.

DVD duplication is a wonderful way to preserve memories and even share copies of those memories with family. Have you recorded your child's first steps of his/her first birthday? If so, consider putting them on to a DVD and mailing them to other members of the family who live out of state and aren't there to witness the everyday occurrences. It will give them a feeling of being close and they will love to see such a touching video. In order to create a successful DVD duplication, you will need a DVD recording unit. Up until several years ago, these products were nonexistent, but now they are everywhere. You can find them in the electronics section of your local retail store or online at virtually any electronic or retail website.

DVD duplication is a wonderful way to preserve your old memories while making new ones at the same time. Just as Beta left us years ago, VHS systems are soon to follow. With the new creation of DVD and DVD duplication devices, it's never to soon to convert those precious home video memories onto DVD format. Years from now, if all of your home movies are on VHS, what happens when the VHS player develops operational problems? There may not be another system to purchase, but you can take great comfort in knowing that there will be DVD players.

Vincent Abrugar is the webmaster of http://www.dvdmoviesinfo.com an information website about dvd movies.

Msinfo32

2009-01-28T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by D. David Dugan

Want to know more about your computer? Many software download websites offer all kinds of tools, many of them are freeware or shareware that will help you learn more about how your computer functions or that help you change your settings.

However, most of these tools are already built into windows and you don't need to download extra software to do these things. In this article I will be discussing one of those tools called MSINFO32.

Go to "start" on your taskbar, then to "run". Type in or copy MSINFO32 into the run box. Click okay. A tool will popup. I'll go over it with you as you read this article.

Click the plus sign next to "Hardware Resources" Now select Conflicts/Sharing. This shows you the IRQ addresses your computer's hardware is using. If there are any conflicts, it will tell you here.

Next is "DMA" which according to http://www.x-emi.com/tech_terms.html, DMA is defined as "Direct Memory Access. A technique for transferring data from main memory to a device without passing it through the CPU. Computers that have DMA channels can transfer data to and from devices much more quickly than computers without a DMA channel. This is useful for making quick backups and for real-time applications. Some expansion boards, such as CD-ROM cards, are capable of accessing the computer's DMA channel." That explains it better than I could have done.

The next option is "forced hardware". This is hardware that is not plug in play compatible and where the user manually configures the settings rather than the system doing so automatically. legacy Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) devices are an example of forced hardware. You likely do not have any forced hardware on your system unless you are an advanced user.

Next is I/O which are Input/output settings." These settings refer to sending data to and from devices. Again unless you are a very advanced user, there isn't much for you to do here.

Now click IRQ. This stands for Interrupt Request and is an electronic request from a hardware device to your CPU. There should be only one device hooked up to each IRQ line; doubling up devices on IRQ lines can lock up your system. Most of your hardware comes with preset settings that do not conflict with other devices.

If you do end up with an IRQ conflict, you can choose the device in "device manager" and change the settings assigning a new IRQ address that is not being used to the problem hardware. Most of the time you should allow a technician to do that for you.

The next choice is "memory". This is the memory blocks that your hardware uses and again your hardware is usually set up so that it automatically configures this for you.

Click the plus sign by "components" now. Each computer has different hardware, but information about each piece of computer hardware you have is located here. Also, there is a "problem devices" choice as well. Hopefully when you click here it says, "There are no devices with problems on this machine."

The history option is good for computer techs because it gives them an idea of what has been installed and when along with other important information that can help them fix your computer.

If you click the plus sign next to software environment, you will see several choices. You will find information about the drivers that are installed, software updates, and more depending on what software you have installed.

In this general area you can select Basic Information, Advanced Information, or History for each of the items we have discussed here. It's a good thing to know how to access your computer's information if you are getting tech support by phone or in a tech support forum.

Now at the top, go to tools. You will see a "repair Internet Explorer" tab. Don't go there unless you are having problems with Internet Explorer, but if you are, this will help you make repairs to it. This is also where you can go to add components to Internet Explorer.

Now the DirectX Diagnostic tool. This is a step by step easy to understand wizard that will help you make sure DirectX is working properly on your system or needs to be updated. Run through all the tests for sound and video.

The windows report tool is where you can contact Microsoft support about problems. I don't know if this actually works anymore or if Microsoft is even listening. Try it out and see.

Most of the other tools I ignore except for the system file checker. This is a handy tool you should run to check if any system files have been changed or damaged since being installed. It's good to run this about once per month. If it finds damaged or changed system files it will prompt you to ask you what you want to do. Just follow the instructions. You will probably need your operating system CD if you want to replace a system file that has been corrupted.

I hope this article has helped you learn a little more about the computer you use and has helped you to learn that many tools that you need are already built into your computer if you know how to find them.

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

Bulk Cd Cases

2009-01-27T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Max Bellamy

Often times there are a lot of CDs that have to be stored in one place. There are various bulk CD cases available on the market to do that. The various types of CD cases available for storing more than one CD are jewel cases, sleeves, cones, spindles, spirals, pouches, files, etc. The number of CDs that can be stored in these ranges from two to often hundreds in one spindle.

The most popular of the bulk CD cases are the jewel cases. However, jewel cases cannot really be called a bulk CD case because it can only store two to four CDs. A true bulk CD case is the pouch that is available on the market. These pouches come in various sizes and shapes and can hold anywhere from ten to a hundred CDs. It is not feasible to go in for a pouch that stores more since it becomes heavy, bulky, and extremely difficult to carry around.

If one had to carry CDs ranging from 10 to 100 one can go in for purchase a CD case file. These files have pouches attached to the center spine and can store CDs safely and conveniently. In the case of CD files, because of the larger size, the weight is more evenly distributed and is therefore easier to carry along.

However, if one intends to store more than 100 CDs, one can do well to store them in a spiral case. These are available almost everywhere, and since they use much less plastic compared to jewel cases, there are extremely favorable from an environment perspective. These spiral cases have a thick cylindrical spine in the centre for taking in the CDs. The CDs are piled one over the other in this spindle.

Though this is often the cheapest way to store a large number of CDs together, this may not be too favorable since unlike the CD file this does not allow one to go through them quickly when one is searching for a particular CD. The possibility of causing a scratch on a CD is also there. However, if the intention is to store the CD for a long period of time without anyone touching it, it is a very good option since it occupies the least space of all the bulk CD cases.

Bulk CD cases come in a number of varieties. The choice is eventually yours, which again depends upon your taste and needs.

CD Cases provides detailed information on CD Cases, Jewel CD Cases, CD Carrying Cases, Blank CD Cases and more. CD Cases is affiliated with CD Label Makers.

Music Videos For Psp Your Psp Device Is Not Only For Gaming

2009-01-26T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Brad Newman

Just when you thought your PSP couldn't get any cooler, you find out that you can actually get music videos for PSP. Now you can not only play your favorite games, listen to music and look at photos but you can watch the clips of the bests artists all from the comfort of your portable little computer screen.

Music videos for PSP are just one of a number of groups of video content now available to be viewed on the Playstation device, including movie trailers, humor clips and much more. And the best thing about them is that with these formats being so readily available on the internet, is that it is so easy to get videos from anywhere on the internet, download them to your computer and dish them to your PSP so you can access them wherever you roam!

For the PSP to read the music videos they have to be uploaded to the device in one of a number of formats including, .wmv, quicktime, .mpeg, or .avi. The clear resolution will mean the music videos for PSP will play in high quality while at the same time the sound value won't be compromised.

Music videos for PSP mean you can keep up to date with the goings on of your favorite artists, whether you are on holidays, on the road or anywhere. It also makes it easier to share your favorite new music with your friends in a format than is more exciting than plain audio.

The great thing is that music videos for PSP are such a win/win situation for users and artists alike. For an artist, the PSP is simply another means by which their name and their music can be distributed while for the PSP holders it's another reason to show off their new toy to their friends.

If you own a PSP you may take advantage of this new technology immediately simply by getting the video content onto your computer then uploading it to your PSP from there. There is a specific process for doing this that should be followed in order to avoid complications but it is generally simple and consumes little time.

Brad Newman is a computer specialist and video games enthusiast. Don't have good PSP converter software or access to a large PSP movie, games and music database? You can learn more about it at www.usefulresources.info/music-videos-for-psp.html

Music Videos For PSP

A Peek Into The Near Future Of Electronics Technology

2009-01-25T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Terry Mitchell

How long do you think DVDs have around? 20 years? 10 years? Actually, they have only been around for about seven years, but it seems like they have been around much longer. Many of us can hardly remember life before DVDs. That can be attributed to how rapidly we can become acclimated to some innovations in electronics technology. I believe there are other electronics technologies, either just getting ready to take off, not widely available yet, or just around the corner, that are going to become adopted just as quickly in the near future.

Once such item is Voice over Internet Protocol, also known as VoIP. This innovation renders the whole concept of long distance virtually obsolete. It bypasses the traditional telephone company infrastructure and delivers phone service over a broadband internet connection to a regular phone. Similar to cell phones, this service is purchased based on a fixed and/or unlimited number of minutes. However, geographical divisions are generally made by country or continent, rather than by local calling areas or area codes. For example, a typical VoIP contract in the U.S. would stipulate unlimited calling to North America and 300 monthly minutes for calls to everywhere else. Unlike cell phone service, you are not charged for incoming calls. With VoIP service, area codes are not much of an issue, although you still must have one. However, some providers offer plans in which you can select any area code in your country or continent! The area code you choose mainly comes into play for those with traditional phone service who make calls to you. If you pick a California area code, for example, someone calling you from a traditional phone line would be billed as if they called California, even if they lived next door to you in New York.

One of the major advantages of VoIP is that it is less expensive than traditional phone service. Since it bypasses most of the phone companies' infrastructure, it also bypasses many of the taxes associated with it. So far, Congress has maintained a hands-off approach when it comes to taxing VoIP services. Most of the major phone companies are either now offering VoIP or plan to start by mid-2005. However, there are some smaller companies that are offering it at a much lower cost. Vonage (www.vonage.com) is a small company that was one of the pioneers of VoIP. Lingo (www.lingo.com) and Packet8 (www.packet8.com) are two other small companies offering VoIP at a cut-rate price.

Another such technology is Broadband over Power Line, or BPL. Already in wide use in many other countries and currently being tested in the U.S., BPL is the delivery of broadband internet service over traditional power lines. A computer is connected to a special modem which is simply plugged into an electrical outlet. This kind of service could prove useful for those who cannot get traditional broadband services like cable modem or Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), as almost everyone has access to electricity now. Once refined, BPL could eventually prove to be cheaper and faster than these more established services and attract away some of their customers. By the way, be careful when you're discussing BPL and make sure people don't think you're saying, "VPL." Otherwise, you might encounter quite a bit of snickering!

While we're on the subject of broadband internet services, several technologies just around the corner are going to make them much faster than they are today. The typical download speeds for broadband ranges from 1.5 to 10 megabits per second (mbps) today. Within the next year, speeds of 15-20 mbps will be available to the average consumer. Then, shortly thereafter, speeds of up to 25, 50, 75, and even 100 mbps will be available in some places. In the not-so-distant future, speeds of 25-100 mbps is will be quite common. "Fast TCP", which is currently being tested, has the potential to turbo-charge all forms of currently available broadband internet connections without requiring any infrastructure upgrades. It will better utilize the way in which data is broken down and put back together within traditional internet protocols.

All the major phone companies are currently in the process of replacing their copper wires with high capacity fiber optic lines. One example is Verizon's Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) initiative. Fiber optic lines will greatly increase the amount of bandwidth that can be delivered. Fiber optics will allow phone companies to deliver video, either via a cable TV-type platform or a TV over Internet Protocol (TVIP) platform (see my October 7 column), and faster DSL speeds. At the same time, the phone companies are working with Texas Instruments to develop a new, more technically efficient form of DSL, called Uni-DSL. Eventually, the current internet as we know it will be scrapped and completely replaced with a whole new internet called "Internet 2." This new internet is expected to provide speeds of up to 6000 times faster than current broadband connections!

Another technology item that you've probably heard a lot about recently is digital television. Digital TV uses a different wavelength than traditional analog TV and has a much wider bandwidth. It also has a picture that never gets "snowy" or "fuzzy." If the signal is not strong enough, you get no picture at all, rather than the fuzzy picture you sometimes get with analog. In order to receive digital signals over the airwaves, you must have a digital TV set (one with a digital tuner inside) or an analog TV with a set-top converter. Cable and satellite TV also use digital formats, but unlike broadcaster signals, their non-High Definition digital signals are automatically converted to a format an analog TV can process, so a digital TV or converter is not needed. High Definition Television formats, even on cable to satellite, require a digital TV or a converter (more on High Definition later).

All broadcasters are now doing some broadcasts on their digital channels in addition to their normal broadcasts on their analog channels, but they were originally supposed to completely convert over from analog signals to digital signals by the end of 2006. However, there is an exception that allows them to wait until 85% of the television sets in their market are digital. This could take 10 years or more to happen. Congress and the FCC are now looking at imposing a hard deadline on all broadcasters to convert to digital signals by 2009. Once they all convert to digital signals, their analog channels will taken back by the FCC and used for other purposes like emergency signals.

High Definition Television (HDTV) is one possible use of digital signals. HDTV uses the entire digital bandwidth and is the crystal clear format you've probably seen on TVs in electronics stores. It has no visible lines on the screen. Someone once described it as being like "watching a movie in the theater." Keep in mind that all HDTV is digital, but not all digital is HDTV. Along those same lines, not all digital TVs are HDTVs. Since digital TVs are very expensive and those with HDTV capability are even more expensive, consumers really need to keep this in mind.

The other possible use of digital signals is channel compression, often referred to as "multicasting." Non-HDTV programming does not utilize the entire width of a digital signal. Therefore, it is possible to compress two or more channels of programming into one digital signal. Satellite and cable operators do this all the time with their non-HDTV digital channels, but this process is transparent so many people don't realize it. Many broadcasters plan to use their digital signals this way during times when they are not being used for HDTV programming. For example, some plan to air all news and all weather channels in addition to their regular channels of programming.

TV recording and playback technology is changing as well. DVD recorders, which debuted about four years ago, have now become affordable to the average family. A couple of years ago, they were priced above $1000, but now you can get them for around $250, in many cases. The main sticking point now with DVD recorders is that not all of them will record/play all three of the competing formats: DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD+RW. They will have difficulty gaining wide acceptance from the public until one format is settled on or all recorders can record and play all three formats.

One the other hand, digital video recorders (DVRs) and personal video recorders (PVRs), just two names for something that is really the same thing, seem to be gaining quickly in popularity. DVRs/PVRs utilize a hard drive to record programs, without the need for discs or tapes. DVRs/PVRs with larger hard drives are becoming available and less expensive all the time. These devices can record one show while you are watching another. They can record more than one show at a time. They allow you to watch the part of a show that has already been recorded while the remainder of that show is still being recorded. They allow for easy scanning, searching, and skipping through recorded programs and even allow you to skip commercials with one touch of a button. They allow you to pause live programs while you answer the door or go to the restroom and then pick up where you left off when you get back. With these devices, recording can be automatic, i.e., you can program them to automatically record every episode of your favorite shows, no matter when they air. You can also have them automatically find and record programs that match your interests. In addition, video can be automatically downloaded to the device via a phone connection. TiVo, the leading brand in the industry, has announced that it will be teaming up with Netflix next year to allow downloading of movies on demand via a broadband internet connection (see my October 7 column for more details).

DVRs/PVRs are becoming so popular that cable and satellite TV providers have begun including them as add-ons to their receivers, either at no extra cost or for a small additional monthly fee. About the only shortcoming of DVRs/PVRs is the fact that they can't play pre-recorded DVDs or tapes, so you would still need your DVD player or VCR if you rent or purchase movies. However, hybrid devices which combine DVRs/PVRs with a DVD player/recorder and/or VCR are now hitting the market. Those devices would not only get rid of that problem but would also give you the option of permanently transferring a recorded show/movie from a hard drive to a recordable DVD.

Flat screen and flat panel TV technology is also starting to boom. Many people are confused about the difference between flat screen TVs and flat panel TVs. Flat screen TVs use the old cathode ray tube (CRT) technology for their picture tubes and are therefore bulky like traditional TV sets. However, they are different from traditional TV sets in that they have a flat screen. They deliver a picture that doesn't have as much glare as traditional, more round screens. Also, the picture will look the same to everyone in the room, no matter where they are sitting. The picture on a traditional screen looks distorted when viewing it from an angle.

Flat panel TVs, on the other hand, utilize either liquid crystal display (LCD) or plasma technology instead of the old CRT technology and are generally just a few inches thick. Many of them can be hung on a wall. In fact, flat panel TVs that are flatter than a credit card will be coming soon! What's the difference between LCD and plasma? LCD is generally used for flat panel TVs with a display of less than 30 inches and usually has a brighter picture and better contrast than plasma. LCD is used for flat panel computer monitors as well. Plasma is generally used for flat panel TVs with a display of more than 30 inches and has a better color range than LCD. Plasma is becoming more common as TVs get bigger and flatter.

Although I'm not so sure about this one, I will include "entertainment PCs" because of their tremendous potential to revolutionize home entertainment. The concept of "entertainment PCs" is being hailed right now by both Microsoft and Intel. In fact, Microsoft has developed a special operating system for them. They could be used as the hub for all home entertainment and could enhance a family's experience of television, radio/music, and internet and actually help to combine all of these into one. They could be used to download content from the internet and play it on a TV. They could provide such sophisticated TV recording interfaces that VCRs, DVDs, and DVRs/PVRs could all eventually become obsolete. In addition, they could be a better source for photograph and home video editing and processing than regular PCs. With that being said, I'm not so sure that people will be willing to accept PCs as a source of home entertainment. Bill Gates begs to differ and is willing to put his money where his mouth is.

Obviously, not all of the cutting edge electronics technologies mentioned above will meet with great success. Some of them might actually go the way of Betamax, digital audio tape (DAT), and DIVX. However, many of them are sure to catch fire and become such an intricate part of our everyday lives that we'll wonder how we ever got along without them. Which ones will they be? Only time will tell.

Terry Mitchell is a software engineer, freelance writer, and trivia buff from Virginia, USA. He operates a website - http://www.commenterry.com - on which he posts commentaries on various subjects such as politics, technology, religion, health and well-being, personal finance, and sports. His commentaries offer a unique point of view that is not often found in meanstream media.

Good Computer Maintenance Part Two

2009-01-24T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Marv Ko

In our last part of discussion of good computer maintenance, we will discuss backing up, some free stuff, and cleaning tips. All great bits of advice for proper care of your computer.

Back It Up

One maintenance task that is still crucial is backing up your data, particularly if it is business or financial related. At the very least, manuallly copy such data to a recordable CD or DVD disc when it changes. More sophisticated options include using the more automated backup tools that come with Windows, a stand alone backup program for networks such as the well regarded Dantz Retrospect Professional (www.dantz.com), or a Web backup system such as the excellent IBackup (www.ibackup.com).

Free Stuff

One really interesting maintenance task is checking to see who is spying on you. If you download a lot of software, one or more programs may be peeping at your Web surfing habits, which could be slowing you down. Such behavior naturally riles people, and good spirited entrepreneurs offer free software to weed out the sneaks. The best overall stand alone program for this is Patrick M. Kolla's Spybot Search and Destroy (www.safer-networking.org).

Another fun, and free, software maintenance program is WinPatrol (www.winpatrol.com). Among other things, it shows you all the programs that load automatically every time you load Windows, letting you disable any you do not want running that may be slowing you down, regardless of whether you use Windows XP, NT, 2000, ME, 98, or 95.

Cleaning Tips

Clean your monitor if it becomes smudged. But stay away from glass cleaners ... they can remove a monitor's anti glare finish. Use isopropyl alcohol or distilled water along with a lint free cloth. Wet the cloth first, then the monitor.

Periodically open up your computer's case to clean out dust. Every couple of years or more frequently if your PC is in a dusty area. This will help prevent heat build up, which can shorten the life of system components.

Use either a portable vacuum cleaner or compressed gas duster. To minimize static discharge, avoid older vacuum cleaners and brush attachments, and prevent the metal of any vacuum cleaner from touching your PC. After vacuuming the inside of your PC, vacuum the grille in front and your keyboard.

Before working inside a PC, ground yourself ... turn off your computer, leave it plugged in, and touch an unpainted metal surface inside the PC. Your PC should be plugged into a three pronged grounded outlet, preferably on a dedicated circuit. Do not move a PC or connect or disconnect its cables while it is on unless they are plugged into a univeral serial bus port.

If your mouse starts misbehaving, take it apart and clean it. Shake out dust, or use a cleaning swab or compressed gas.

Finally, it is best not to smoke around your PC. Cigarette smoke can coat the innards of your PC with tar, shortening its life.

Marv Ko has many years of experience in business, marketing, security, writing, and varied hobbies. He is is the senior editor of http://www.upublish.info ... your source for Original Content Articles. Authors wanted!

Personalize Your Apple Ipod Tattoo

2009-01-23T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Lee MacRae

An Apple iPod tattoo?

Now before you mothers out there get all freaked out, it's not what you think!

The latest rage is to dress up your Apple iPod with your own personal Apple iPod tattoo. That's right. The iPod, not the child!

Most iPod owners looking to tattoo their iPod make up their own image in Photoshop. But not everyone is geared up to using Photoshop or even spending their time going through the steps needed to get your tattoo ready.

Enter the HP people. The HP web site has some very cool Apple iPod tattoos ready made and ready to be printed out and applied!

You can put that special someone on your iPod, a scanned sketch for you artists or your favorite pet. Actually you can use anything that can be made into a computerized digital file to create your personal Apple iPod tattoo. We have another iPod article posted at our web site if you do want to do everything on your own to add that special touch.

But HP is making it very easy to personalize your iPod player by helping you to display cool graphics, unique pictures or your favorite album cover art on your iPod with their easy to print, easy to apply, and easy to remove tattoos!

And HP will make sure you've got the tattoo supplies you need as well. HP Tattoos use specially designed paper to fit your iPod to make it very, very easy to tattoo your Ipod!

HP has a gallery of iPod tattoos which includes some of the hottest artists today and their album covers as well as other designs. You can click on the different tattoo images and HP will show you what it will look like on an Ipod! How great is that!

And don't forget the HP Activity Center as well where you can find tons of other images that you can use to create your iPod tattoo. Your only limitation is your imagination.

But HP also has a section where you can upload your own file from your computer and create your own special tattoo. You simply browse your computer for the file in GIF, JPG, PNG, BMP or TIF format and you can even edit it online to get exactly what you want.

Note that maximum file size you can use is 4MB but that will give you a great looking tattoo to print out. You will also need Adobe Acrobat to see the finished image. If you don't have your own free copy you can download Adobe Reader at www.adobe.com.

Once you are ready with your finished image you can Download and Print. You can also download project instructions that will walk you through the printing process as well.

Personalize your apple Ipod tattoo your way. What a great idea. Your Apple iPod never looked better!

Lee MacRae runs a website called "Pass The Ipod" where he shares his personal love of everything iPod. Visit http://www.passtheipod.com/

Find your HP tattoo at http://zmamgmwspro06-f.tay.hp.com/activitycenter/us/en/music/tattoo.jsp

You have full permission to reprint this article in any way you wish as long as you leave the article fully intact and include the author bio box and all links and email addresses.

How To Copy Doublelayered Dvd On Two Singlelayered Disks For Free

2009-01-22T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Artem Chlegov

You need to make a backup copy of your favourite DVD movie and keep the original quality? Not a problem if the original disk is single-layered, in this case the only thing you have to do is to get a blank DVD-R and make a copy. The difficulty is, most movies are actually recorded on double-layered disks and therefore are impossible to copy to single-layer DVD without loss of quality. The ideal solution here would be to make a full copy on a double-layered DVD-R. But, unfortunately, this solution is only available for those who have relatively new DVD recorders, and if you have an older model it won't be possible for you to create double-layer backup copy. Of course, there is always an option to buy new model of DVD recorder, but why getting a new one if the old one still works?

So, the best solution for backing up your DVD is to use two single-layered disks.

It will take two additional programs to do so: DVD Shrink (to split the movie on two disks) and DVD Decrypter (this utility allows bypassing copy protection measures and make a full copy of DVD; also this program is able to burn recordable DVDs).

The only drawback of such method is that only the actual movie will be copied and interactive menus probably will be sacrificed. On the other hand, this method is completely free and doesn't require any commercial software.

Ok, let's begin.

1. Copy DVD to hard drive

1.1 Insert DVD that you want to back up in the DVD drive.

1.2 Run DVD Decrypter

1.3 Make sure that in the "Mode" pop-up menu the "File" checkbox is checked, activate it if it is not.

1.4 In the "Source" menu, select the source DVD drive (the one with the disk to be copied inside).

1.5 Make sure there is enough free space on your hard-drive, the required amount can be viewed in the bottom right corner of the program window.

1.6 In the "Destination" section, press on the button with folder icon on it and specify a target folder where the copy will be stored.

1.7 Press the large button with hard-drive picture on it. The copying process will begin.

1.8 If everything is fine, you'll see the following message:

1.9 Close DVD Decrypter.

2. Preparing the first disk for the recording.

2.1 Run DVD Shrink.

2.2 Press the "Open Files" button and select the folder that contains DVD copy from the previous step. Select the "VIDEO_TS" sub-folder and press OK.

2.3 Wait while the program analyzes the contents of DVD.

2.4 Press the "Re-Author" button. In the right frame you'll see the contents of your disks split into different groups: Menus (all animated menus from the disk), Main Movie (movie itself) and, probably Extra (advertising materials and bonuses). The contents of each frame can be previewed in the bottom left frame so you can decide what to keep and what to discard.

2.5 Drag (with your mouse) contents from the Main Movie section in the right frame (DVD Browser) to the top left frame (Re-Authored DVD).

2.6 Select "Compression settings" tab in the right frame.

2.7 In the pop-up menu in "Video" section, select "No Compression".

2.8 Note the bar on top. The green color indicates which part of the movie will fit to standard single-layered disk, and the red color indicates the part that won't fit. But the most interesting thing here is the number at the end of the green scale, usually 4 664MB. This is the capacity of standard DVD recordable disk.

2.9 Now we have to select the part of the movie which will be on the first disk

2.10 Press "Set StartEnd Frames" in the top right corner of the "Re-Authored DVD" frame.

The selection window for the first and last frames of the movie will appear. For the first disk we need to change the position of the last frame in the "End Frame" section. This can be done by using slider and scrolling buttons (this will allow selecting last frame with the accuracy within one second) or by using "Chapter" drop-down list (this way allows which chapter of the movie will be first). It's better to preserve chapters and use the second method.

2.11 When selecting chapters or frames, try to keep the "Total Size" value as close to 4.464MB as possible, but not exceeding it. When you finish selecting it, remember the last chapter on this disk or the time for the last frame and record it somewhere. This information will be necessary for the creation of the second disk.

2.12 Press OK. If the red bar is gone and only the green one remains, you've done everything right.

3. Recording first disk

3.1 Press the "Backup!" button.

3.2 In the "Select backup target" drop-down menu select "Image File and burn with DVD Decrypter".

3.3 In the "Select target image file" field specify the folder that will contain temporary image file. Make sure that there is enough space by using "Space Required" & "Space Available in Folder" items that are located below.

3.4 Press OK.

3.5 After pressing OK the temporary image file will be created. The window will appear, allowing you to see what part of the movie is being processed at this moment and the estimation of total time required. Usually this process takes no longer than five minutes. After the image file is complete, DVD Shrink will close and DVD Decrypter will start.

3.6 After DVD Decrypter has started, insert a blank DVD recordable disk in the recorder.

3.7 Select writing speed in the "Settings" section and DVD recorder in "Destination".

3.8 If you want to test the disk after recording to be completely confident, check "Verify" in the same section.

3.9 After all settings are set, press the big button with HDD and disk picture on it (write). If the disk is not empty, the program will produce the following error:

3.10 In this case, change DVD recordable medium to the blank one or, if the disk is rewritable, press "Yes". In this case everything on the disk will be erased.

3.11 After the program have finished recording and verifying, you can start to create second disk. Exit DVD-Decrypter.

4. Preparing the second disk for the recording.

4.1 Repeat all steps from 2.1 to 2.7

4.2 Press the "Set StartEnd Frames" button.

4.3 Now you have to set the position for the first frame instead of the last one. In the "Start Frame" section, set the slider to the value that you memorized during the recording of the first disk. Alternatively, if you selected to split disks by chapters, select the next chapter after the one that was last on the first disk. For example, if the first disk had chapter 11 as the last one, select chapter 12.

4.4 Press "OK".

4.5 Make sure there is no red bar on top. If the red bar exists, try repeating steps from 4.2

4.6 The second disk usually has some space left, so you can add some bonus materials to it. These materials can be previewed in the preview window. If you find anything worth keeping, drag them with your mouse to the same place where the original movie is.

4.7 Select the "Compression Settings" tab.

4.8 Position mouse pointer on the disk title in the "Re-Authored DVD" frame.

4.9 In the "Video" drop-down menu of the "Compression Settings" frame, set "No Compression".

5. Recording second disk

Repeat all steps from 3.1 to 3.7

Congratulations. Now you have two disks containing the copy of your favorite movie with the same original quality. And the only money you have spent is the cost of blank DVDs.

Artem Chlegov is an editor and writer for DVD Software Guide - a DVD software review website.

Faq About Mp3 Players

2009-01-21T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Edward Shapard

Owning an MP3 player can be a terrific experience. Their compact design, portability and simple customization are just a few of the reasons that these little products are creating a big buzz in the world of technology. The internet makes it very simple for anyone to own an MP3 player because of the endless retailers who are eager to make a sale, but the world wide web also makes it very convenient for anyone who wants to add some terrific tunes to their playlist.

With all of these options, there is undoubtably plenty of questions to go around. Below are several commonly asked questions regarding MP3 players.

Q: What is a refurbished MP3 player?
A: A refurbished product is one that has simply been returned to the manufacturer for any number of reasons, including a defect, missing user's manual or accessory or perhaps even a product that was used as a store display. A refurbished product is not necessarily an implication that the product is defective but, if it was, being labeled as refurbished means that the item has been repaired according to the manufacturer's specifications and is ready to use. The most appealing factor of a refurbished product is that it will cost less than one that is brand new.

Q: How do I download files from my computer and onto my MP3 player?
A: The MP3 player should have been accompanied by some type of software, connector cable and/or instructions on how to properly download files. In many cases, a USB connection and cable are required for fast and easy transfer. Many MP3 players have software that allows files to easily be managed and prepared for transfer.

Q: What file formats can my MP3 player use?
A: Every MP3 player can use a .mp3 file, but many can also read .wma file extensions. Few other formats are readable by MP3 players, but that depends on the manufacturer and the product itself. The user's manual, which should accompany the purchase of any MP3 player, should contain information relating to the file extensions that can be read.

Q: What if I don't have a file format that my MP3 player can use?
A: There are some types of software that allow users to convert their files into an extension that is compatible with their MP3 player. This is a fairly simply process and can be compared to the simplicity of converting a GIF image file to JPEG.

Q: Is my MP3 player covered under any type of warranty?
A: That depends on several factors, including the manufacturer's policy and whether or not the MP3 player was purchased new. Many new products are covered under warranty and, to some extent, even refurbished products are eligible for limited warranty coverage. If the MP3 player was purchased from another individual, any warranty coverage will not carry over to the new owner.

Q: What is the best way to store my MP3 player?
A: The proper way to store, or transport, an MP3 player is in a case designed specifically for this purpose. As with all electronics, they should not be shuffled around loosely or placed in extreme heat or cold. A carrying case designed for an MP3 player will help to keep the product safe and working properly.

Edward Shapard is a fan of old fashioned crooners like Bobby Darin and Michael Buble. See his best tips for getting MP3's online at http://www.buymp3music-online.com.

Playing Your Mp3 Player In Your Carusing The Video Ipod Car Kit

2009-01-20T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Mike Singh

Listening to music is everybody's favorite past-time anymore - no matter where you go, people have headphones attached and are either listening to the cell phone or music. But what about when we are driving? Some of the more popular ways to listen to music in the automobile is through the car's FM/AM radio with a CD player. The cassette is pretty well on its way out, and with the new MP3 players - the CD is almost on its way out also, slowly being replaced by DVDs. But how does the MP3 player - say, the iPod - hook into the car for listening?

With most of the online reviews about MP3 players referring to iPods, it would be good to look at the Neo iON, the nano iPod and Apple iPod car adapters, which provide a direct connection to the car stereos - both factory and aftermarket. The Neo iON is considered the best iPod car adapter kit that is available to the public because when it is connected, the auto's stereo buttons will control the iPod - the iPod batter will charge - and the sound will play from the auto's stereo speakers. Pretty simple. They can be purchased at Mp3YourCar.com for about $100, depending on the car, the make, the iPod, etc. which is filled out online.

This kit is compatible with the Apple iPod 3rd and 4th generation, iPod Photo, iPod Mini, and the nano iPod MP3 players. The kit is supposed to work with all vehicles - OR - most vehicles as it plugs directly into the CD changer port. The requirement for the car is to have a CD player in it, for the Video iPod car kit to attach its 11.5" cable directly into the iPod or nano. The cable's other end will plug into the CD changer port on the back of the car stereo, with no FM modulation. The BMW offers a similar car kit, for about $149 plus $150 installation, at their local dealership. This can be found at their website.

There are a few other options for playing your MP3 player in your car. First, if the car is old enough to still have a cassette player, then we have the best option right there. In almost every retail store that sells electronics goods, there will be a cassette adapter. The adapter plugs into the player and a mock cassette goes into the player, giving a great sound and music selection received from the digital audio player.

Next, a person could go with an FM transmitter that wirelessly plays the MP3 player through a local FM station. There are a few very important things to remember when considering an FM transmitter. Most FM transmitters transmit the signal through a few specific frequencies. The less expensive ones deal exclusively with the 88 to 89 frequencies. If there is a major station in a local area on one of these frequencies, another transmitter should be considered as the signal will no doubt have interference. Other transmitters offer the freedom to choose what frequency is the clearest. Another option would be to go the route of having a factory radio adapter installed, using the audio to its fullest extent. These adaptors tend to be much more expensive and could require some installation that may need to be done professionally. They can be found at most of the major electronics retail outlets, but they may need to be ordered online, where they are more readily available.

Check out http://www.mp3playertop.com/ for more articles on philips mp3 player and apple ipod accessories.

Cant See Your Lcd Screen In The Sunlight Use A Sunshade

2009-01-19T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Ron Donnelly

Digital cameras, PDAs, color screen mobile phones, laptops, and many other modern portable multimedia devices make use of an LCD or TFT monitor. LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display, while TFT means Thin-Film Transistor usually simply just referred to, incorrectly, as LCD, as they appear to be identical to the end user, and they work on the same basic principle. They lend themselves to these applications well as they have very low power consumption, and a lightweight design. These two factors are essential for portable devices like cameras and PDAs because they are designed to be carried around without being a noticeable encumbrance, meaning both the design of the hardware, and the batteries that power it must keep weight to a minimum. While many of the prevailing issues with LCD screens have been addressed over the years, resulting in vastly improved displays for portable devices, due to the fundamental design of this type of display, one thing that still causes problems is the presence of excess light.

As stated above, LCD and TFT both generate a display with the same basic principle. In color displays, the whole of the screen is back-lit with white light all of the time. To change the color of one of the dots that makes up the screen a pixel it shifts through varying degrees of opaqueness. The pixel itself can be made to block all light but, say, green, resulting in a transparent green filter. The white light shines through this, however, only the green component makes it through the pixel, and to the viewer's eyes. The pixel can also shift to red or blue, or if made as opaque as possible, it will appear almost black. One area that LCD screens have never quite been perfect in because of the back-lit design, and the need for the pixels to be able to shift from fully off, where they are transparent, and appear white, to fully on, where they are almost opaque and appear black, all in the space of less than 1 100th of a second, is that the opaque state can never be perfectly created. As a result, LCD monitors always appear slightly gray rather than black.

Compared to what your television, or better yet, a CRT computer monitor can deliver, LCD screens have what is known as a bad "contrast ratio". This is further compounded when light from outside the screen, such as from the sun, or overhead fluorescent lights shines back onto the screen's surface. The result is an even worse contrast ratio, causing all of the colors to appear washed out, and indistinct. It is for this reason that your LCD screens are harder to see under bright lights. Most people who find themselves in this situation quickly learn the simple remedy of angling the display down, or using their hand to cast a shadow across the screen. This is always inconvenient, and in the case of digital photography, where a good angle and a steady hand is required, it is often simply not an option. This is where a simple but valuable range of products to combat the problem comes into play.

An LCD sunshade is quite simply a hood made to fit over an LCD display, and block all peripheral light from striking the screen. They come in various shapes and sizes, for devices like laptops and notebook computers, to smaller versions for cameras and PDAs. Some of the more expensive ones feature a collapsible telescoping hood that completely covers the display on all sides, even from the front face, where you would look in. Instead, they have an eyepiece mounted on this face that magnifies the image being projected from the LCD display, which the photographer puts his eye to. Simpler designs are less restrictive about the devices they will nicely mount onto. They aren't perfect, as light can still come in from behind the viewer, however, if this light is intense enough to matter, in many situations the photographer's head itself will simply cast the necessary shadow on the screen.

A couple of interesting examples warrant a closer look. There is a wide range of other products along similar lines, however these two serve well by way of example. The first is the Hoodman H200. This LCD shade is specially designed to be compatible specifically with Nikkon and Canon cameras, however, it should be good for most 1.5 to 2.5" LCD displays. It is a simple Nylon box, tapering as it comes out, which secures to the camera with a pair of Velcro and elastic straps. It folds flat easily when not in use, and can be easily accommodated in a camera bag. Retailing for less than $20, if you do any photography in brightly lit areas or outside, it's an accessory that quickly pays for itself with convenience.

The second item, the Hoodman e-clipse E2000 is a sunshade made for notebook computers and laptops. Forming a black Nylon hood on four sides without significantly obstructing the user's viewing area, nor obscuring the keyboard drastically, this could be a useful product if you use your laptop outside at all. Like the camera Hoodman, it quickly folds up flat, and is easily stowed in your laptop case without adding significant bulk or weight. To use it, simply slip it over the upright monitor, and you're good to go. At $40, it's a little on the expensive side, however, for what it delivers, it may well be worth it.

Due to the very nature of how LCD and TFT displays work, bright light remains one of the most inconvenient hindrances to their use. Whether for your camera, multimedia phone, notebook display, or anything else that uses a color LCD monitor, a sunshade solves this weakness in a practical, affordable way with little hassle.

Ron Donnelly is editor of the website, buying-guide-for-digital-cameras. You can view the site at http://www.buying-guide-for-digital-cameras.com

Database Cleansing They What Why And How

2009-01-18T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Heather Maloney

Firstly the "What"

Cleaning a database is done to:

* Remove duplicate records

* Ensure your data is consistently formatted

* Correct data that is obviously wrong e.g. wrong postcode for a known suburb

* Find other records that are likely to be the same (more on this later)

So "Why" would you want to do that?

To explain why, I am going to use the example of a customer database, but the principles apply to other types of data also.

Have you ever received a marketing message / catalogue in the mail twice or more times? I receive multiple copies of such communications regularly, and I don't always get around to telling the sender of their mistake. This can:

* be interpreted as sloppiness on the part of the organisation

* undo your efforts to target / personalise - any attempt on the organisation's part to "personalise" and "target" the message is wasted, because the recipient knows immediately that it was a mindless distribution of information using a database.

* waste $$$! Everytime you send a communication twice to the one person or household, you have most likely just wasted some of your hard-earned funds.

In addition, cleaning your data, will help you to analyse your data more accurately. For instance, you will know the real number of contacts and perhaps how they are geographically distributed, rather than the distorted figures that can be derived from analysing a corrupted database.

It's not a crime! In fact it is very easy for your data to get in a state that requires cleaning. For example, when a client changes their address, your staff might update the suburb but forget to put in the new postcode. Or, an existing client returns to your organisation several years later, without informing new staff that they are an existing client, and if you don't have the appropriate keys on your database preventing duplicates, the client could be set up again as another customer with the same or similar details.

Having documented processes that your staff can use as a checklist, and appropriate unique keys on your database fields, will go some way to ensuring that your data is kept clean, but incorrect data will never be prevented.

"How" then, do you efficiently clean your database?

Fixing incorrect information such as the postcode matching the suburb is usually done by comparing each record to the correct values in another table. For example, to correct all the postcodes in your data, assuming that the suburb entered is correct, you would write SQL code that would compare the postcode of your record against a table of postcode + suburb + state that you may have obtained from Australia Post. Such a process would likely generate a list of records where the suburb was not found, requiring you to manually investigate and correct the data.

Correcting the formatting of your data, is usually done using some pretty simple SQL perhaps combined with logic programming. You need to decide the format you wish to apply to your data, for example, whether you would like the suburb in title case or all capitals. While this is much less important than getting the data actually right, it can help to make your communications look more professional.

Finding duplicates is a fairly easy task for someone who knows a little about the SQL database language. It is more difficult to find similar records that really are the same person, but are not listed in exactly the same way in your database. For instance the following two records may actually be the same person:

  ID	Firstname	Surname	Address1	Suburb	   Postcode	State  3442	John	        Citizen PO Box 33	Frankston   3199	VIC  682	Jonathon	Citien 14 Beach Road	F'STON	    3199        VIC

Finding records such as the above calls for what is usually called "Fuzzy" Matching. Software is available to find such records, and much more experienced SQL programmers could write software to find such possible duplicates.

Because you can't confidently use logic to determine whether or not two records are the same in the case given above, usually fuzzy matching would leave the data as is, but produce an exception report, highlighting likely duplicate records.

Even when you can determine confidently that two records are the same, you may wish to manually process the data cleanup to ensure that only the correct data is kept, and that all associated pieces of information are transferred across to the valid record e.g. customer payment history. It is possible however, to set up your de-duplication process to remove all the duplicates and clean up all the records automatically.

Cleaning your database can take some time, and some manual effort on the part of your staff. If you are just starting out with a new database, it is very worthwhile to:

1. Agree and document the data structure, and what information will be stored in what field (which isn't always obvious despite the names you might give fields)

2. Agree the format of the data entered into each field

3. Agree a process to handle the case where a record needs to be entered that won't fit into the current structure

If you need help cleaning your database, Contact Point (www.contactpoint.com.au) can help you. We provide a quick and efficient service to deal with all the database issues discussed above, and can tailor our service to meet your particular needs. Submit a request now for an obligation free quote.

Heather Maloney is the Managing Director of Contact Point IT Services Pty Ltd (http://www.contactpoint.com.au) - a company providing IT Solutions to small to medium sized businesses, that deliver measurable results. Contact Point is focused on helping businesses to interact better with their clients, customers, suppliers and other 3rd parties.

Technical Support On Using Windows Xps System Restore Function

2009-01-17T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Patrick A. Wilson

Recently, Microsoft has launched their Windows XP suite together with a function that should have been integrated already in its predecessors. Now, both Home and Professional versions boasts of the System Restore feature, a technical support tool proven to be useful in altering or reversing the damages made to your computer.

If you know how to use this feature of the operating system, you can have the option of going straight to the system settings before any kind of damage has been done to your computer. Another good thing about this is that you also have the chance to build a restore point and reverse the latest restorations made on your system. The recent restorations may have no significant or subsequent effect on the performance of the computer. Without prior knowledge on the matter, your computer system may experience frequent crashes or contain more unusable files, thereby having your computer in a bad, if not worse, shape. However, if you have the System Restore feature on your Windows XP, there is no need to panic and you can rest with the knowledge that your restore points would be made automatically. The better thing is, you can also customize the restore points on the System Restore function for the flexibility you need from your computer system.

The System Restore function of the Windows XP operating system can actually be found on the Start Menu tab. Navigate on the Programs tab within the Start Menu, then click on the Accessories tab located within it. This action would lead to the appearance of another pop-up. From the menu of the pop-up box, choose the System Tools option. A new pop-up menu selection would appear, containing the System Restore control. Clicking on the System Restore directs you to one dialogue box, which in turn contains a document-styled interface located inside an Explorer window. If you are a newbie in need of computer help and would like to know how to go about the System Restore settings of Windows XP, the aforementioned steps should be simple and easy enough for you to follow.

In this window, there are three options for you to choose from. The first option is to functionally restore the computer system to an earlier time. This option is labeled with maximum readability in mind. The second option on the radio button selection is the function to "Create a Restore Point" and it is labeled just so for maximum usability. The last option on the radio button selection is the "Undo" your last restoration feature. This particular feature is very helpful if you have restored your computer system to an earlier time without any changes being made unto it or if you have a restoration that has worsened your computer system's state.

The System Properties dialogue box has a menu tab labeled System Restore. On this tab are the features for customizing the System Restore settings of each drive. This tab provides you with a list of all the disk drives or disk partitions, that you have on your computer. If you want to monitor all the drives and access the System Restore function in the future, you could go to the default setting of the operating system. It is important to be wary of the system partition because this is the disk partition where the Windows XP is installed. Disabling the monitoring feature on this area subsequently disables the System Restore feature of the operating system. This is not advisable to do so, for the System Restore function of your Windows XP Operating System is very useful in times of viral infections and the like.

You should turn off the System Restore monitoring feature on all disk partitions except on the system drive. This step would bring about the reversal of your entire computer system, excluding the disk partitions. This means that even though there have been changes made to these partitions on the computer, switching off the System Restore of the operating system would not reverse the changes.

Carefully select all your important files on your system partition. Copy them and put all these files in a single folder on another disk drive. From this time on, you should save all your important documents and other equally important files the selected disk drive. This would prevent any document corruption or other file losses after restorations have been made on your computer system.

If this is your first time to access the System Restore function of Windows XP, it is highly advisable for you to create a restore point when your computer is in A1 condition. Just follow the procedures as explained above, and check on the "Create a Restore Point" radio button. Click the Next button to resume. This step would lead you to a new web document styled Explorer window. This window has a text box where you can label the restore point you have chosen to create. Labeling your chosen restore point with something that you can easily remember is highly advisable. After doing so, click on the Next button again. This would take you to the confirmation window, which tells whether your System Restore point creation has been successful or not.

Armed with a restore point that you yourself have created, your computer system is now safe from most, if not all, malware infections and harmful changes that are typical when installing programs. Just remember to regularly create restore points when your computer has new programs and updates installed on it and when the machine itself is still in tiptop condition. If ever your computer system encounters and experiences any malware infection, regular system crashes or speed and performance deterioration, all you have to do is restore the computer to the most recent restore point you have created.

Regularly deleting past restoration points should also be done so as to save precious disk space on your system partition. This could be done by accessing the Disk Cleanup function of your system partition. Go back to your desktop and double click the My Computer icon. This would open an Explorer window, which displays the disk drives and other removable data storage devices on your computer. Right click on your system partition, which is usually a C: or the C drive, and click on the Properties option. Click on the Disk Cleanup button on the Properties tab of your system partition. This would provide you with a new pop-up dialogue box. Click the More Options tab, and select the System Restore Cleanup button. Follow the instructions on the succeeding pop-up dialogue boxes. After doing so, your computer system is now clean from the past restore points that both you and your Windows XP operating system have created on your system partition. You are now left with the most recent restore point you have created, the only computer help function you need to reverse harmful changes that might have an affect on your computer system.

Also remember not to change your computer system's date and time settings before accessing the most recent restore point you have created. Make sure that before establishing a new restore point using the System Restore feature of the operating system, the time and date settings have already been adjusted. Altering these settings in your computer after accessing the most recent restore point you have created would confuse the system and not give you an actual list of the most recent restoration points made.

For more of these highly reliable tips and tricks regarding technical support and computer help, check out this credible website, http://www.pcnineoneone.com

How To Install Your Computer Speakers

2009-01-16T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by John Gibb

In this article we will discuss installing computer speakers. When you have purchased your required computer speakers, they will normally come with a CD driver disk for installation. It is a good idea to use the CD because you will likely get a sound program which will enable you to select the best features for your speakers resulting in optimal performance. For example in one of our sound programs, we can alter bass settings, sound themes and so much more.

Once we have the installation disc that comes with the computer speakers. Simply insert the CD in to your computers CD drive. You will then find a setup program load up. Hit install or English setup, or whatever is required and follow the on screen instructions. There is nothing difficult about installing computer speakers. When the setup program asks you to plug in your speakers, do so at the prompt, making sure they are powered on and ready to go.

Make sure you plug the speakers wire in to the right port in the back of your computer, Although this may sound like common sense, many people plug there speakers in to the microphone slot and complain there speakers are broken, or wonder why they simply don't work.

Once the installation program is complete, you will likely need to restart your computer for the hardware and software changes to take effect and be added correctly to your computer. Once you have restarted the computer, your new computer speakers should be up and running, however you may want to go in to the sound program under programs. In here, you will be able to adjust various speakers' settings until you get the best possible sound for your computer speakers. Once you have adjust the sound setting, try sticking on a movie or a computer game, and see if the sound is suited to your liking. It is worth spending some time getting to know your sound program so you can set different profiles for different occasions. For example, if Sunday is your day of music, then you may want to set a profile with settings specific to that. If another day is for gaming or movies, you will likely want or have different sound settings for the best sound experience for gaming or movies.

Be sure to check out our website below for everything relate to computer speakers. We offer the latest news and articles relating to computer speakers.

John Gibb is the owner of Computer Spekers sources

For more information on computer speakers check out http://www.Computer-speakers-sources.info

Refurbished Computer Guide Save Money With Refurbished Computers

2009-01-14T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Sardool Sikandar

Refurbished computer refers to remanufactured or renovated computers. Refurbished doesn't mean an old or a defected computer. Actually when a computer is sent back to the manufacturer due to small reason, like defected monitor or wrong model, afterwards the manufacturer tested it and gave approval for resale, is known as refurbished computer.

Refurbished computers are the best to do email, Internet surfing, or to play games. Major advantage of refurbished computer is that these are available at cheap rates and high processing power. If you want a computer with more memory, larger hard drive and faster processor, refurbished computer is the better option for you.

Remanufactured computers are the best for the people who are not sure about their needs. New companies, that have not sufficient money to buy new computers, can start their business with refurbished computers. You can also save more money with refurbished computers. Refurbished computer enables you to fulfill your dreams.

Companies, that are providing refurbished computers, offer heavy discount on these items. Category of refurbished computers includes desktop PCs, laptops, notebooks, barebones, whole computer systems, computer accessories and other computer related things. Renovated computers are fully assured and tested equipments. Manufacturers provide these computers in original packaging.

These are easily available in the market but you can also have a look online. Several manufacturers usually sell their products online. They offer heavy rate of discount for your benefit. You should check all the qualities of refurbished computer at the time of purchase. Before any type of payment, you should check whether the computer is satisfying your requirements or not.

About Author: The Author owns a website on Refurbished Computers. Website provides useful information to buy refurbished computer at cheap rates, also tells how to buy a refurbished computer. It offers some tips to buy refurbished laptop computers, used refurbished computers, refurbished computer supplies and refurbished computer suppliers' info. You can also get information about Desktop Computers.

Protect Your Pc From Viruses Worms Amp Trojans

2009-01-13T11:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Mike Burstein

Each of the items in the checklist below is part of a broad and easy to implement security policy.

Install all windows critical updates for your operating system from the Microsoft Update site - it's free! All that's required to keep your Microsoft operating system up to date is an Internet connection.

Install and configure a firewall - either a hardware or software based firewall is a must! If you are using a router, it probably has firewall capabilities included. Software firewalls are available at minimal cost; one of the best is free!

Install and configure antivirus software - the cost is minimal, there are even free versions available - the protection is priceless! Update the definition files daily - scan your drive weekly - it can all be automated with most programs.

Create a backup - even the best plan can be circumvented - be prepared for the worst with a complete backup of your hard drive! If you already have a CD burner and software installed in your machine, you probably have the tools to create a complete system backup - for only the cost of a few CD-R's!

Obviously, the costs to properly protect yourself from the worst threats to your security are almost nil. If you need help with any step above, simply use a Google search to find help - it's freely available.

Follow these four simple steps and you will have implemented comprehensive and complete protection for your PC. If you are unable to initiate your own plan, hire an expert to do the job. You won't be sorry!

Mike Burstein has been helping the SOHO and Small Business community grow & prosper for over 20 years by solving start up problems, creating best practices, automating their offices, getting free publicity and dramatically increasing traffic and sales.

Visithttp://www.SOHOWiz.com for the latest FREE business tips.

Email the Wiz at: SOHOWiz@SOHOWiz.com

Slideshow Slide Show Photomontage Photo Montage Video Album Which Is It

2009-01-12T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Sandra Clukey

In this new digital high tech computer age slideshows/slide shows/photomontages/photo montages/video albums are becoming very popular. But I have found when I do a web search I get multiple titles. So what's the difference between a slideshow, slide show, photomontage, photo montage, or video album? After doing some research of my own, dictionary searches and web site reviews, I have come to this ultimate mind numbing conclusion are you ready? There is no difference in the name! I know that this may be a cause of disagreement between many, but I dare you to do the same research. Ultimately, I believe that you too will come to the conclusion that whether you call it slideshow, slide show, photomontage, photo montage, or video album they are all one and the same. However, a bit of trivia for you, I have discovered that in the Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, the only one word or phrase of these five that can be found is "photomontage".
So, if there is no difference in the name is there a difference in the product? The truth is whether you order a slideshow, slide show, photomontage, photo montage, or video album the difference is only with the company. Every slideshow, slide show, photomontage, photo montage, or video album creating company has their own individualized way of creating what I will call a slideshow production. - You can replace the word "slideshow" with "slide show", "photomontage", "photo montage", or "video album". It's really a personal decision. And it is highly possible that as I am writing this article a new word or phrase is being created at this very moment to replace any of the above five words. Such as moving pictures, pictures in motion, memories in motion (that one kind of makes you dizzy) albums that move, photo movements (there's a phrase that will really move you!) You try. I give you five minutes to come up with some of your own phrases. Go ahead be creative!
So what's my point here, or do I really have one? I guess the point is this. When you are doing a web search for are you ready, here we go again - slideshows, slide shows, photomontages, photo montages, or video albums type in each of these different keywords separately each time you do a web search and you will have more choices because each keyword will bring up a new search and ultimately a new company that you haven't seen before. In addition, try using specific key words. If you are planning a wedding place the word "wedding" or "wedding reception" before any of the above words. Do the same thing with a graduation slideshow, birthday slideshow, anniversary slideshow, reunion slideshow, memorial slideshow, or so on. You can also add words after the keywords listed above such as "production" or "productions" (yes, adding an 's' makes a difference). And why let Google be your only search engine. Try other search engines such as my favorite MSN. You will get more choices because each search engine has their own way of categorizing web sites.
After you've found a new company view their samples. In this way you will be able to decide which company offers more of what you are looking for in a slideshow, slide show, photomontage, photo montage, or video album. And finally look not only at the price but also at the package. What do you get for the price you are willing to pay? And is the company willing to work with you in creating your own package with your own needs? The more willing a company is to satisfy your individual needs, the happier you will be with the end results. And as with anything in life, the same rule of thumb applies with slideshows, slide shows, photomontages, photo montages, or video albums you get what you pay for! If the price seems too good to be true, it usually is! Keep in mind that your memories are unique and should be treated as such so stay away from the 'cookie-cutter" slideshow presentations and look for something unique and creative. Sands of Time Multimedia Creations - experience the difference!
Sandra Clukey, lead slideshow creator for Sands of Time Multimedia Creations, has years of experience and an intense passion for turning still pictures into beautiful, sentimental slideshow video albums for people everywhere! http://sandsoftimemultimediacreations.com/ See her "12 Steps to a Successful Slideshow Production" http://sandsoftimemultimediacreations.com/articles/12Steps.htm View some of her samples: http://sandsoftimemultimediacreations.com/index-1.html Experience the difference!

Discover Why People Buy A Digital Camera

2009-01-11T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Joseph Then

It's unbelievable how much has evolved for digital cameras. Gone were the days where we have to wait for the development of our shots at the photo development shops. When you purchase a digital camera, you must also know why you want it.
When it comes to the purchase of a camera there are more digital cameras being purchased than there are of the traditional cameras now days.
For the most part it could be because of how easy it is to take pictures with a digital camera than it is with a traditional camera. This is said because of the larger screen that you are looking at when you are taking your picture of an object.
There are many that find it easier to see the entire picture that is going to be taken on the larger screen than when you needed to look through a smaller hole to find the picture that you would like to have.
Another good thing about a digital camera is that you are able to see the picture that you took right after you snap the button. That is a lot better than when you needed to wait until you made it to a file development store so that you are able to see what all pictures where taken with the camera that you had on your trip. Plus you are able to dispose of a picture that you did take and did not like how it turned out because something may have been a little blurry because of movement.
With the digital cameras now days you are even able to take a picture of an object that is in motion and not have to worry about it coming out in a big blur.
There is one big advantage that comes with a digital camera and that is that you are able to view and edit your pictures on your computer when the time is suitable to your schedule. Plus the digital camera is always ready to take some pictures when you have something happening at home that you really want to have a picture of.
You do not need to worry about making sure that your camera has film in it and needing to load the film up in a hurry because you do not want to miss some action. The only thing that you are going to need to make sure is ready for a digital camera is that the batteries are fully charged or you have fresh ones in it so you are always prepared.
In conclusion, a digital camera seems to be better than a traditional camera. Get one today!
Choosing a right digital camera is a challenge and you need to know more about them before you make a purchasing decision. Learn more about digital cameras for FREE at: http://www.1-digital-cameras-reviews.info

Have You Invited A Spy Into Your Computer

2009-01-10T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Maria Marsala

Yes, it's true. You may have inadvertently invited a spy into your computer. This spy is known as "spyware, adware, or trojans", and once it is in your computer it starts taking statistical information as you travel the Internet. In some cases, it may send you pop-up ads and slow down your computer. A wired.com article, mentions it "could even collect your credit card information".
How did you invite the spy?
Maybe you visited a website you knew and enjoyed only to find that it was recently purchased by a pornography site. The new company has imbedded "spyware" into the home page and now, in many cases without your knowledge, it is on your computer.
Maybe you downloaded a free or paid program and as part of the package you were provided with an added secret bonus a "spyware" program. Spyware may also be placed on CD's you purchase, too.
Maybe you agreed to it! You could have downloaded a program and checked the box to allow the program to take statistics from you "for their own use".
Maybe someone sent you spam, especially porn spam, and that spam created the spy. Spys can easily be placed, without your knowledge, in pictures or HTML email.
What you can do?
Purchase a firewall program and it should let you know if a program is about to download from the website you are at. Note the word "should".
Or you can learn all about spyware, download an anti-spyware program, and schedule time in your weekly calendar to run an anti-spyware program. The first time I conducted a "clean up", on my 18-month old computer, I found 2 porn and 42 other spyware programs. Then a week later, I had 4 new spyware files appear.
To further reduce the amount of spyware that ends up in your e-mail Inbox, create a "rule" or "filter" that will move any e-mail containing "certain adult words of your choosing" directly to your delete or spam folder.
Norton and MacAfee the virus protection specialists, have added anti-spy programs to the list of maintenance programs they sell. However, according to information I've seen on email lists, they're not as anywhere as good as the Ad-aware program from Lavasoft.
Just a note: If a few people use your computer and each has their own log in password, when you run LavaSoft program, you need to run it under each password. Example: Let's say Katie and Molly have passwords on your computer. Log in as Katie and run Lava Soft. Then log out of Katie, and log in as Molly and "run the program again." I'm sure, you'll find additional spys under each log in name just like I did last weekend when I cleaned and updated a friend's computer.
Use the resources below to help you learn more about Spy's:
Learn about protecting your computer from spam and spyware
http://www.unwantedlinks.com/
http://grc.com/optout.htm
http://www.spyware.co.uk/
Check for spyware on new software before you download it.
http://www.spychecker.com/
Free anti-spyware program.
Use it at least monthly and don't delete the items you really want! http://www.lavasoft.de/
Opt out of double click ads
http://www.doubleclick.com/us/corporate/privacy/privacy/ad-cookie/default.asp
Removing your e-mail, address and telephone numbers from lists.
http://www.dmaconsumers.org/consumerassistance.html#mail
Anti-Spam Tools
http://www.webattack.com/freeware/comm/fwspam.shtml
BONUS: Opt-out of credit card marketing mail
The three big credit-reporting companies provide your information to "resellers" or "vendors". To curtail this abuse, call toll free 888-567-8688. Listen to all the options before hitting a key. #3 is the best option to remove you "forever" (well till you change your phone number). Remember to get your cell phone number removed, too. Once you call them they will mail you a confirmation letter for you to mail back to them.
© 2004 Maria Marsala, Business Growth Strategist. Bringing women-owned service businesses our Wall Street expertise. Your bottom line is NO accident. If your income has been hovering or flat lining the past year or so, if you are working more than 35 hours per week and have no passive income stream, we need to talk. http://www.coachmaria.com You have nothing to loose and everything to gain!

How To Take Good Care Of Your Computer Even If You Are A Clueless Newbie

2009-01-09T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by John Deprice

You know you should take care of your computer, but you don't know what registry is and what's the difference between hard-drive and memory stick is. Don't worry, these tools will do it for you and you don't even have to set them up.
O&O Defrag Professional (O&O Software GmbH)
The new O&O Defrag Professional Edition for Windows-based workstations unlocks the hidden performance of your computer. This software will optimize your hard disk in Windows XP Home, Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000 Professional, and Windows NT 4 Workstation, securely repacking fragmented files together for more efficiency.
O&O Defrag's O&O OneButtonDefrag Technology lets you sit back and relax while the optimal defragmentation configuration is tailored directly to your system. A job is created and then executed, making performance improvements on your system noticably faster. Even in large networks, this sort of automation can lead to unbelievable savings in network administration resources.
Webroot Window Washer (Webroot Software)
Many people do not realize that Internet browsers, as well as many other software products, store information about what they have been doing on their computer systems. Anyone can simply turn on your system and see exactly what you have been doing on your computer. Also, the tracks that are left behind can take up large quantities of valuable hard drive space. Recovering this space can be very beneficial by improving the overall speed and performance of a computer.
Cleaning up the history of your activities can be a tedious chore of manually removing each history file or entry. If privacy and disk space are to be maintained, this process must be performed every time you use your computer. Window Washer can automatically clean up your browser's cache, cookies, history, recent document list, and much more! Window Washer can run in the background and clean up your tracks when you are done surfing the internet or any other time you choose.
Acronis Disk Director (Acronis)
Acronis Disk Director Suite is disk partitioning software that allows you to automatically or manually resize, copy, and move partitions without losing data. It also lets you reorganize the hard disk drive structure and optimize disk space usage. Acronis Disk Director Suite provides a powerful, reliable, and easy-to-use way to manage booting of multiple operating systems on a single PC.
Disk Director's integrated Disk Editor program is the only utility in a consumer-level package that can read and write raw data directly from NTFS disks, and only experts should touch it. The interface is packed with essential tools for jumping to special disk sectors like partition tables and boot sectors. The help system is a detailed technical reference to disk structures.
Download Links:
http://www.deprice.com/oodefragpro.htm
http://www.deprice.com/webrootwindowwasher.htm
http://www.deprice.com/acronisdiskdirectorsuite.htm
John Deprice runs a website devoted to PC tools specifically for newbie users. Visit it at http://www.deprice.com/utilities-8-1.htm

How To Search Your Pc With Google Desktop

2009-01-08T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Nowshade Kabir

In this era of Internet, most people are frequent users of computers. Many of us use computers through out the day, accumulating morasses of information in various formats, which include email, digital photo, word document, spreadsheet, presentation file, ebook, article, other downloaded files, music, visited web pages, and many others. We stuff them in multiple folders in our PC. Before we know it, our hard drives become a storeroom of misplaced items. As a result, finding a needed file of information some times become a daunting task!
The search function integrated to Microsoft Windows is not a big help either. It requires you to know, albeit vaguely, where the file could possibly be located. If your data storage is significant and you made a search on your whole hard disk, it might take ages to get search results and, then again, there is no guarantee that you will find the right file. Frustrating? Thanks to new Google Desktop Search this is about to change!
What is Google Desktop Search?
Google Desktop Search is a free downloadable small program, which will quickly and easily find your files no matter where in your hard disk they are stored. The great thing about this program is by making your computer searchable, this program frees you from having to manually organize and sort your files, emails, and downloads. You no more have to mull over where in your PC the information you are looking for is residing in your email, files or web pages that you browsed recently.
At present Google Desktop Search works only with the full text in Outlook and Outlook Express email, text, HTML, Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, AOL chat, and Web pages viewed through Internet Explorer. Other files like PDF will be probably added in future version.
How it works?
Google Desktop Search is fairly easy to download and set up. The address for downloading the program is http://desktop.google.com. Once you installed the program, it begins initial indexing process of your hard disks. This may take several hours for an average size disk. The one-time indexing process only works when the computer has been idle for more than thirty seconds. Indexing for Google Desktop Search is an ongoing process, new files and emails get updated automatically. The search index created by the program resides on your own computer.
On your system tray you will see a swirled icon in Google colors, by clicking on it you will open the regular Google search page with the addition of Desktop along side with other search areas. Once the indexing is done, files are searched in under a second and the results are impressively precise. The top bar shows quantities of files found under the four categories, which include emails, files, chat and Web history. The results are shown in much the same way as regular Google interface. You can choose to see relevant results from all or any of the categories. You can also sort results by relevance or by date. By clicking on any result you open the file in respective application software.
The email query results are the best! No longer have you had to remember in which folder you stored the email written to John in reference to Peter. By searching for Peter or John, you will find all relevant emails and related correspondence. You can read and answer to any of the discovered email from the thread. This really saves time when you need to follow up to a large numbers of emails each day.
There are two more text buttons next to the search field. One is Desktop Preferences and other is Remove Items. Desktop preferences allow you to choose the types of files you would like the program to include in its index out of available ones. You can also point out not to index specific folders from your hard disk. If you share your PC with others, it's a good idea to eliminate your private folders from the Desktop index. You can also specify not to index certain websites from your cached web history as well. The Remove items button allow you to eliminate selected results from the index.
The advance search option allows you to search by phrase by putting the phrase within quotation marks, to eliminate a word from search by putting a minus sign in front of the word, to search by file type, and to search within a web URL. A neat feature is to integrate your desktop search with your web search. This is very handy if you have already done an extensive search for some information and after a few days doing search for similar information once again.
Privacy question
By default, Google Desktop Search collects a limited amount of non-personal information from your computer and sends it to Google. This includes summary information, such as the number of searches you do and the time it takes for you to see your results, etc. You can opt out of sending this information during the installation process or from the Desktop preferences later. According to Google Privacy Policy no personally identifying information, such as your name or address, will be sent to Google without your explicit prior permission.
What is missing?
I bemoan not having PDF files in the search process as yet. I have dozens of e-books and PDF whitepapers residing in my PC, and I really would prefer to have them indexed. That way, I'd have been able to read materials, when I needed them most.
The other thing I want to see is clustered result of my query, which shows organized search results into meaningful hierarchical folders similar to the way Vivisimo search engine works. This clustering is particularly helpful for desktop search, as this allows us to see other relevant documents connected to the searched word.
Conclusion
Due to Google's immense popularity as a search engine, it's logical that most users will prefer Google's desktop search program as oppose to other similar programs, such as Copernic and Hotbot. Finally you can search your very own computer with similar ease and preciseness as you have been searching the Internet for quite some time.
Nowshade Kabir is the founder, primary developer and present CEO of Rusbiz.com. A Ph. D. in Information Technology, he has wide experience in Business Consulting, International Trade and Web Marketing. Rusbiz is a Global B2B Emarketplace with solutions to start and run online business. You can contact him at mailto:nowshade[at]rusbiz.com, http://ezine.rusbiz.com/archivenews.html?nl_oid=46

Selecting The Right Ipod

2009-01-07T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Claire Rottenberg

Apple currently offers three iPods -- the Shuffle, Nano and iPod (video) -- and one is probably just right for you. Although there are certainly aesthetic reasons for buying an iPod (who can resist the beauty of design of a Nano), in this article I'll describe some of the more logical reasons for selecting an iPod.
iPod Shuffle The iPod Shuffle is the smallest and least expensive of the current iPod models. It's also the newest model, officially shipping just days ago, although it was first announced and previewed by Steve Jobs in mid-September.
The Shuffle's amazingly small size, virtual weightlessness and good battery life (Apple reports up to 12 hours of use from one battery charge) make it ideal for long trips or walks. The built-in clip makes wearing the Shuffle easy and secure and it eliminates the need for or cost of an extra case. Clip it anywhere and start walking or jogging.
The main disadvantage to a Shuffle is the limited storage space for music (1 GB). Some people complain that it lacks a screen, but I find a screen is unnecessary on a Shuffle since you can arrange music on it in the order you want to hear the songs using iTunes and changing the volume and moving back and forth through your songs requires no visual effort. For those who must have a screen on a lightweight MP3 player, Apple makes the iPod Nano.
iPod Nano Like the Shuffle, the new Nano is almost weightless and, with the right case, it can be worn around your neck or on your arm. The battery life of a Nano for audio playback is extremely long (according to Apple, up to 24 hours of use from one battery charge), especially if you use the screen and backlight minimally.
The storage capacities for a Nano are 2 GB, 4 GB and 8 GB. If you have a small to medium size music collection, and you like the idea of carrying all your music with you in as small an MP3 player as possible, the Nano might be perfect for you. The addition of a screen lets you select just the songs you want to hear while still providing you with a lightweight option you can wear around your neck, carry in your pocket or wear on your arm. You can also store and view photos on a Nano but the storage space of the smaller Nano models might be limiting for a photo enthusiast.
The major disadvantage to the Nano is the cost of the 4 GB and 8 GB models. The 8 GB model is the same price as a 30 GB iPod (video) and the 4 GB model is only $50 less than the 30 GB iPod. Also, none of the models come with accessories except a cable to connect them to your computer or a charger, so you need to figure in the cost of at least a cover to protect the screen of a new Nano. But the Nano is small and lightweight and has a screen, and it may be the perfect iPod for users with smaller music collections.
iPod (video) The largest iPod is Apple's "video" iPod, although Apple refers to it as just the iPod. The battery life for video viewing is good -- up to 3-1/2 hours of use from one battery charge. The excellent resolution (320 x 240) and brightness of the screen of the iPod make viewing videos a delight.
The latest iPod comes in two sizes -- 30 GB and 80 GB -- and, like all iPods (including the Shuffle), it can be used for storing data as well as audio files, photos and videos. Storing your complete iTunes library on the iPod is very easy. Just connect your iPod to your computer, set iTunes to copy your complete library to the iPod and iTunes will do the rest. Every time you update your iTunes library and then connect your iPod, your music and videos will also be updated on your iPod.
One of the advantages of the large storage capacity of the iPod is the ability to add podcasts to your music library. You can find a large variety of free podcasts through the iTunes Store (the easiest way to add podcasts) and iTunes lets you easily update the podcasts automatically or manually. You can also visit podcast websites (for example, Podcast Net or Podcast Alley) for more podcasts, including video podcasts.
The iPod is, naturally, larger and heavier than a Nano, but it's still small enough and lightweight enough to carry in your pocket or purse. If you need the extra storage space and/or want video capabilities, the iPod (video) might be the right iPod for you.
As you can see, whether your needs are for a simple, no-frills, very small, easy-to-use music player (Shuffle), for a full-featured music and video player (iPod) or for something in-between (Nano), there is an iPod that is right for you. To help in making a choice, you can view a comparison chart of the three current iPod models at Apple's website.
Claire Rottenberg is the author and publisher of ebooks for users of Mac OS X 10.4 software. homepage.mac.com/cjrtools/ebooks

Mini Dvd R

2009-01-05T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Jimmy Sturo

DVD-R or the digital versatile disk recorders can be ideally used for storing still pictures, digital audios, graphics, and data sharing. The mini DVD-R is the perfect option for sharing data, and comes in handy at business presentations and conventions. The compact disc size of 3 1/8 inches has a storing capacity of about 1.46 G B. This roughly translates to 30 minutes of audio or video recording.
These write-once discs are highly popular with consumers and have high compatibility with all major DVD-R brands of recorders, DVD Rom drives, DVD players and DVD-R camcorders. Downloads from the Internet can also be stored.
These mini DVD-Rs are easy to transport and are ideal for archiving. They have a shelf capacity ranging from 30 to 100 years and are a trusted way of storing valuable data. This feature gains all the more importance once you realize no matter how efficient the computer, there is always a risk of things going awry. If your system crashes, you will end up losing all precious data and records. Therefore, it is always best to keep DVD-Rs handy because of their large storage capacity, their compactness, easy mobility and high shelf life. Using a high quality organic dye, the mini DVD-R ensures highly reliable audio and video quality and is readily available in the market.
If you are interested in buying a mini DVD-R, the best place to start searching is the web. You will come across innumerable companies offering attractive discounts and bargains.
Do remember to check out the quality of the DVD-Rs, especially in terms of their resistance to heat and ultra-violet rays. Most DVD-Rs have a high shelf life and come with a limited lifetime warranty.
Do a comparative study of a few websites and see what they are offering. This way you will be able to buy a mini DVD-R at a competitive rate.
DVDR provides detailed information about DVD Rs, DVDRs, DVD R discs, and more. DVDR is affiliated with Mini DV Tapes.

How To Further Maximize Ipods Functionality

2009-01-04T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Mia LeCron

Let's continue our discussion on how to maximize the features of your new Apple iPod.
--> Become a Sound Engineer!
Here's another way to maximize iPod use: by using Griffin's iMic, you'll have a USB audio interface enabling you to record your old records and tapes to play in iTunes (discussed in the next article), add to your iPod, or burn to CD and listen just about anywhere. A device called GarageBand (also by Griffin) lets you connect any keyboard, guitar or microphone for quality recording.
--> Take a Memo
Want another way to obtain "mileage" for your iPod? How about taking a note? iTalk (also by Griffin) will turn your portable music player into a digital voice recorder with thousands of hours of recording time. Now you can get rid another peice of equipment that is lying around, and organize your electronics into one little compartment/pod.
--> Protect what you Love!
If you consider your iPod one of your most prized possessions, you'll want to protect it. These things do get misplaced or forgotten at airports, taxis, and bars. Here are ways to protect your iPod: you can have it engraved (Apple offers this service for free); track it (Inspice's SmartProtect can recover stolen electronic devices; cloak it (through PodLock, retails for $40.00). Podlock won't protect your music libraries and photos, but it will prevent the thief from getting into your private documents.
Mia LaCron is the founder of low-carb-diet-blog.info - http://www.low-carb-diet-blog.info - devoted to helping individuals eat a low carb diet.

Cisco Ccna Ccnp Home Lab Why You Need An Isdn Simulator

2009-01-03T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Chris Bryant

ISDN is a vital topic for today's CCNA and CCNP candidates, especially for the ICND and Intro exams - you've got to know ISDN inside and out to pass those exams. Naturally you want to include it in your home lab. What many candidates don't realize is that you can't connect two Cisco routers directly via their Basic Rate Interface (BRI) interfaces you've got to have another device between them called an ISDN simulator.
An ISDN simulator is not one of those software programs pretending to be routers ("router simulators") this is a piece of hardware that acts as the telephone company in your home lab. Older simulators come with preprogrammed phone numbers and SPIDs, where newer ones let you program the phone numbers you want to use. Either way, an ISDN simulator is great for your CCNA/CCNP home lab, because you can practice dial scenarios that actually work. And you get to troubleshoot the ones that don't, which is also important to learn! )
You don't need any special cables or connectors you just connect both of your routers' BRI interfaces to the ISDN simulator with a straight-through cable and you're ready to go.
In years past, this was a major problem for 640-801, 811, and 821 studies, because the simulators used to be so expensive. New ones can still be pricey ($600 and up), but with the sudden influx of used ISDN simulators on ebay and Cisco resellers, you can get a used one that will do the job for you.
Why are there suddenly so many ISDN simulators on the market? Cisco recently removed ISDN from the CCIE R&S exam, so a lot of CCIE rack resellers as well as private individuals are selling their simulators. There's never been a better time to add ISDN to your home lab. If taken care of (kept out of extreme heat), they can last for quite a few years. The one I purchased for my IE home lab is still working well.
If you choose to purchase a new simulator, you can run a Google search to find vendors. I've made two purchases from www.vconsole.com over the last few years and both of those simulators have worked beautifully.
As I said earlier, there's never been a better time to add ISDN to your home lab. Don't just settle for trying to memorize theory - get your hands on the real deal, practice and fix your configurations, and you'll be amazed at what you learn and how well you do on your CCNA and CCNP exams!
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!

Mobitv And Visual Stimulation Imput For Personal Cognitive Performance

2009-01-02T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Lance Winslow

Stimulus thru Caffiene or Visual Input?
It appears that the Mobi TV feature for Cell Phones may in fact have some positive Bio-advantages in that it exercises the brain thru visual stimulation. We know that visual input stimulates the brain. We know that there are significant peaks in brain wave activity in the first 15-30 minutes of watching TV or playing video games and then the activity slowly declines after that.
http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available...ted/jscetd2.pdf
http://education.umn.edu/kls/ecee/pdfs/iea2003horie.pdf
http://journalofvision.org/2/1/2/Ringach-2002-jov-2-1-2.pdf
Watching comedy or movies with a twist or ironic situations happening during the film such a detective stories with multiple twists and the "Who Done It" type detective movies provide additional peak brain waves thru out the show. This is due to the activation of the N400 Brain Wave.
The Mobi TV feature on the new Nokia phone can be watched for up to 2 hours without running out of batteries and it also has a digital phone built in as well as being a regular cell phone. RIMM Research In Motion will be coming out with a 3G-unit combination Blackberry with all these features plus email and PDA. The Nokia turns off the TV in five minutes after watching unless you push a button to tell it to continue. The feature is only $10 per month. Such things are not to be unexpected with he latest in algorithm compression technologies at all. And it wasn't long ago when the 1.5-way and 2-way Pagers allowed for news updates, stock quote, weather advisories and sports scores. Even those interested in Homeland Security can get their update news alerts on a pager or cell phone now.
We are also seeing trends in instant messaging although some plans get pretty expensive, one parent was in shock to find their daughter in Junior High School ran up a $600 bill when they went over their 1000 instant messaging limit with 7000 instant messages in one month, at only $ .10 each, well I guess it adds up? Such reliance on personal communications devices and the trend to put more information, video projection, TV, cameras and video feed into these devices will have an effect on the brain. It will affect the way we learn and the speed at which we learn it. Some might say this is bad, although when looking at the other side of the argument there seems to be a big advantage to faster thinking minds and visual stimulus because 45% of our brains RAM capacity (so to speak) appears to be used up in the visual processing area of the brain. In the future as machine and man become one and rely on each other to accomplish tasks thru computer-human interfaces such crude devices as we are discussing here are a precept to the devices which will allow us to do more assisted and higher cognitive level thinking. These current devices now in the works will play a big part in the future of things to come and assist a more mobile society adapt, work and remain at a higher cognitive level.
Do you have thoughts either pro or con on this issue? How does new technology and mobile devices change they way you live, think and reason? Do you think we are moving too fast and losing our innate human social structure or do you feel such devices enhance our closeness as a culture? The future will tell us soon enough.
Lance Winslow

Animated Wallpaper

2009-01-01T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Elizabeth Morgan

Animated wallpapers are applications that place special animations, screen savers and media files directly on the desktop. This makes them different from a typical desktop wallpaper, which is just an image in the background. These applications allow full-fledged 3 dimensional animations, screen savers and media files to be displayed directly in the background. So, if a user is looking for something a little more interesting than animated gif images, this is the perfect application to install. The application includes a standard wallpaper changer which can be configured to cycle through the images. This is just a slideshow that is computer operated and changes the image as per the configuration.
Animated desktop wallpapers is a high quality replacement for the common desktop wallpapers. A distinctive feature is that along with simple beautiful images, it offers the user a real living world, full of sounds and movement. For instance, some animated desk tops can convey the time of the day through audio-visual effects representing the periodic cycle of the dawn, dusk and night on the desktop. Watching an animated wallpaper on a desktop is a great way to relax after a long and exhausting work day.
Amimated wallpapers can be customized adding images, movies, sound clips and other media resources to it. It is a decorator's dream as it allows him to effortlessly add animated themes to a computer's desktop. Animated wallpapers are very convenient to use as they are not a strain on the computer's memory or a drag on it's performance. They work quietly in the background without taking up too many system resources, unless specialized applications are required to run the animation. The program controlling an animated wallpaper is enabled with six themes. An user can set flash files as animated wallpaper as well. This is easy to use and most commands and functions are immediately accessible. The above functionalities and features have contributed to animated wall papers becoming extremely popular with computer users.
Wallpaper provides detailed information on Wallpaper, Desktop Wallpaper, Wallpaper Borders, Animated Wallpaper and more. Wallpaper is affiliated with Discount Wallpaper Borders.

Removing Spyware From Computers

2008-12-31T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Gary Gresham

Removing spyware from computers isn't as easy as installing it. The first problem is that you often are completely unaware that it's even there.
But removing spyware from computers is critical because there are some spyware programs that can get into your computer and allow a hacker access to your personal information such as credit card numbers and enable identity theft.
For this reason, if no other, the quicker you find and start the process of removing spyware from computers the better.
Spyware is software that is automatically installed on a computer usually unintentionally and unknowingly by a user who clicks to close a pop-up ad displayed when a webpage is opened.
The advertisements are designed so that you can't close them without activating them. Once installed, the spyware is capable of performing any of a number of tasks without you even realizing it.
One of the most popular uses of spyware is to provide information. The person sending out the spyware wants to know where people are surfing on the Internet. As much as that invades your privacy, it's by no means the worst of what spyware is capable of.
Unlike a computer virus which can usually be quickly removed once found, spyware usually requires a complicated removal process. It may not have the same ripple effect of having your computer infects other people's computer that a virus has.
But the way it affects the performance of your computer, together with the implications of what the spyware is capable of, make it's removal a priority.
One of the best ways to fight spyware is to download an anti-spyware program. These programs are designed not only to detect spyware on your computer, but also to stop them from being installed in the first place.
There are free programs which detect existing spyware, and block some incoming infections, but they don't upgrade automatically and hackers sending out spyware are constantly working to find ways around the free anti-spyware.
Make sure that any anti-spyware program you use is kept up-to-date or you may be relying on outdated technology to keep your computer clean. That means you still run a risk of being infected by a more advanced attack.
While there are spyware programs that you do agree to, the majority of spyware is not only put onto your computer without your consent, it's also there without your knowledge.
For example, if you install the Google toolbar you are given the option of allowing them to harvest data on your surfing habits. But they do allow you to refuse that if you don't want anyone having access to your computer.
Working away in the background, spyware takes what information it wants and relays this to the spyware sender. For safe web surfing it's safer to take advantage and install up-to-date adware spyware blockers.
This doesn't automatically ensure that removing spyware from your computer is 100% accurate. So you also need to get into a habit of running the anti-spyware program on your computer to check that nothing managed to squeeze past your defense system.
A good adware spyware blockers program is the best way for removing spyware from computers and keeping your sensitive information private.
Copyright © 2005 Spyware-Information.com All Rights Reserved.
This article is provided by http://www.spyware-information.com where you will find free spyware cleaners, downloads, removal software, computer firewalls and valuable tips. For regularly updated articles about adware, spyware and protection from identity theft go to http://spyware-information.com/articles_1.html

Keeping Your Digital Camera Dry

2008-12-30T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Gary Bunn

How to Keep your Digital Camera dry when it's raining!
Today's digital cameras are packed full of electronics and sensitive pieces of hardware, essential for their functioning, so the last thing you want is to have your very expensive digital camera exposed to water, possibly causing it to brake down! Of course, there is an aspect of risk involved in digital photography as invariably and ironically most dramatic and effective photo opportunities arise during or just after bad weather such as sunlight breaking through storm clouds, or a rainbow appearing during a downfall. To this end there are a few precautions to take, and a few methods you can adopt to limit the risk to your camera from rainfall.
Lens hoods:
It's impossible to take photographs without leaving the front of your lens uncovered, but it's important to keep the rain off the lens to avoid poor image quality. Purchasing a UV filter will protect your lens while a lens hood will help to shield the front end from falling rain. UV filters are a great idea as they simply screw onto the end of your lens, allow regular wiping without fear of damaging the expensive lens and best of all they cost very little at all. Should they become scratched you can simply throw them away!
Carry a cloth:
Micro-Fiber lens cloth can be purchased from cameras shops but chamois leather is very absorbent and ideal for mopping up raindrops on cameras and lens barrels without scratching the lens or filter. Also carry a second cloth to keep your hands dry or wipe away any dirt.
Umbrellas:
Big golfing umbrellas are ideal for keeping you and your camera dry, though you'll need at least one free hand to hold it, so the camera must be mounted on a tripod. Umbrellas prove useful for shielding your cameras from strong wind also to prevent shake. However, it can often be unpractical to carry a large umbrella around depending on your shooting location.
Waterproof camera covers
Purpose made protectors such as the Elements all-weather cover are available, but to be honest, a decent polythene bag will do unless you intend shooting for long spells in torrential rain (which is unlikely) Just place the bag over the camera and lens, cut a hole for the lens to poke through and secure it with elastic bands!
Change lenses under cover
The one thing worse than rain on your camera is rain IN your camera! The last thing you want is rain on your sensor, so to prevent this always change lenses under cover, either by getting out of the rain completely or using some kind of improvised cover. Just be careful when opening your camera up outdoors.
However.
As mentioned earlier, today's digital cameras rely completely on electronics, and so water is a big worry. So while bad weather can produce great results, it's most certainly not worth the risk of ruining your camera in the hope of getting lucky in the rain! If your protective measures aren't enough, head for cover.
Are you interested in Digital Photography? Check out http://www.Your-Digital-Photography.com for a comprehensive site full of tips, tricks, tutorials, news and the latest reviews of digital photography cameras and equipment! Visit Your-Digital-Photography.com today!

Email Voice Recognition Reader For The Bathroom

2008-12-29T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Lance Winslow

Have you ever noticed that in the mornings before work you go to check your emails real fast to see if anything is urgent. For those who are self employed this is a must, as you never know who emailed and you might need this information prior to leaving the house. Of course if you are too rushed you do not have time. But actually you do. While brushing your teeth or hair you could be getting your emails read to you via you Bathroom robot which is working with your voice activated and voice recognition email reader device and why not? Why have all this great technology to serve us if it is not helping us be more efficient and saving us time? But how exactly would this work you ask?
As you walked into the bathroom the sensor would feel your presence and ask; "Good Morning John you look like crap this morning, do you want your emails now?" And you say thanks yes that would be nice. Then the bathroom would say please identify, put your hand over the palm reader to initiate. Then you say; "Screw you, its me you moron, dumb SOB computer, read me my emails you idiot! Then you would get back a reply; "Oh, yes I see it is you John, I can tell by your pleasant attitude! Would you like personal or business emails first?" Then you say; Whatever! Your emails will be read and you can save or reply via your voice, but do not try to reply with toothpaste in your mouth, as the message will be illegible. So that is how it will work? Isn't technology grand? Think on this in 2006.
Lance Winslow

Feature Overloadwhy Are Consumer Electronics So Complicated

2008-12-28T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Reid Neubert

It seems like everything is so complicated these days, especially anything electronic which is more and more products everyday.
Why are they so complex? "Hey, our cell phone takes pictures, sharpens knives, mows the lawn, pays your bills, steers your car, and cooks dinner, all by voice command!" Give us a break!
Unfortunately, the reason so many electronic products are stuffed with features is that it is relatively cheap to add features to them! Do we consumers really want or need those functions? That is an entirely different question. Often, the answer is no. But the manufacturers add them, in many cases, simply so they can advertise that they have more features.
It costs a lot more to carefully determine what features are most wanted and to design products so that they are feature-rich, yet easy and intuitive for people to use. That is why this vital step is often shortcut.
Ever had trouble figuring out how to program your VCR? Did you ever think that perhaps it's not really your fault? It's the fault of the engineers who designed a lousy user interface to the product. And you think they are bad? Try using a combination VCR-DVD player!
There is second reason why manufacturers keep cramming more questionable features into products. In the case of products like cell phones, sales have slowed down because most people who wanted one have one. So, the phone manufacturers keep adding features in order to try to find ones that motivate people to buy new phones. They keep looking for that latest cool feature that people will be willing to buy a new phone to get.
Similarly, digital camera manufacturers keep coming out with cameras with more and more megapixels. Two megapixels, then 3.2, then 4.0, then 5, now 6, 7, even 8. Do consumers need 7 or 8 megapixel cameras? Not in the least. For shooting snapshots or sharing pictures online, a 3.2 megapixel camera is more than adequate. Really.
Why then, do manufacturers keep extending the capability? It is as we said above: 1) so they can advertise they have it, and 2) to try to get people to stick their old camera in a drawer and buy a new one.
Our advise: It pays to look carefully at the features being offered in the products you are interested in. Don't assume that a product with more features (or higher numbers) is the better choice. Often it is not, it is just more complicated to use! And, there is more to go wrong.
Bloatware
There is a similar phenomenon in software. It is called "bloatware." Programs that are overloaded with features, especially those not essential to the basic purpose for the software, carry this moniker.
When I was in the software industry and we were working on the next versions of software products, the programmers would sometimes come and say, "Hey I can add such-and-such feature with only 100 lines of code," or some such number. That's not much, since a software program can have hundreds of thousands of lines of code. But often it was a feature the users of that software had no need for. Playing consumer advocate, I'd ask why such a feature would be needed. If the answer was questionable, I'd tell them to leave it out. Too often, though, those features make it into software products, and they become bloated with unnecessary features. Bloatware.
Reid Neubert is the creator of ConsumerTechTips.com, the site that provides simple, useful information about consumer electronics for shoppers, plus money-saving links to online bargains from leading retailers. For more information or to contact Reid, visit http://www.consumertechtips.com

Why That Desktop Wallpaper After All

2008-12-27T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Amelie Gam

When my parents' generation used to talk about wallpaper, they meant that piece of colorful paper that would be glued to the walls, instead of painting them. The wallpaper was preferred to painting because it was sometimes cuter than any pattern that could be created by paint and it was also supposed to endure more than paint. My head is full of images of couples moving into a new house and going to choose the proper wallpaper for the dining room and the children's room. They would come back with huge packages in which the wallpaper was wrapped.
Nowadays when we say wallpaper we actually mean desktop wallpaper, which is the cover of our computer screen, what we see in front of our eyes when we stop working for a few minutes and close the applications. For people who spend a lot of time in front of their computers, the desktop wallpaper is much more important than any element of interior design at home. And, since more and more of us are spending their time in front of the computer, then the desktop wallpaper is a concern for more and more of us.
Most people doing a regular office job would have the typical commonplace desktop wallpaper. The usual desktop wallpaper is a flower, the image of a forest, the sea. Such pictures can be easily found on the Internet and downloaded as free wallpaper on any number of web pages. The desktop wallpaper becomes more exciting if it belongs to someone who has a specific hobby or to a computer specialist. Then, instead of desktop wallpaper, we actually have a celebration of this or that actor, or a very complicated 3-D image that we cannot easily identify.
In these special cases, it may be more difficult to get free wallpaper with the desired image. True fans will look through hundreds of Internet sites that have an offer for free wallpaper just to find the right desktop wallpaper. And it may not be so easy for them to find the free wallpaper they want. Even if they find the right desktop wallpaper, they may have to pay money for it. Then they will complain that the free wallpaper is not the right desktop wallpaper and that the Internet companies are ripping people off. In their quest for the best desktop wallpaper, these people will keep changing and changing their desktop wallpaper, so you may end up having a lot of fun just taking a look at their desktop wallpaper every day.
You may wonder how come you can find free wallpaper so easy, especially if you have no specific demands. Who puts that free wallpaper online for unlimited download and why? Maybe this is not necessarily a question that so many people ask, but it is certainly a question that may pop up in those dead minutes at work when you are trapped until the next report comes in, so you have nothing better to do than stare at your desktop wallpaper and wonder. The truth is that it isn't important where the free wallpaper comes from. What really counts is the effect it has on us.
It is your desktop wallpaper that makes you relax, smile and sometimes remember. And all of this just because one afternoon you really wanted to put something nice in front of your eyes, to help through some of the more tedious days at work. You went through many Internet pages with images and found a website with the possibility to download free wallpaper. You finally found one with beautiful images of coffee shops. You like that because it reminds you of how you really like to spend your time instead of being stuck in an office with no air conditioning. You would rather be in a coffee shop chatting with your friends. Then you also remember that on that. The free wallpaper you chose was an image of a coffee cup on a table. You have no more time to stare at your desktop wallpaper. The report is in and you must get down to work.
Free wallpaper brings a smile on our faces from time to time when we can afford a brake from routine. Whether it reminds us of the wallpaper in our childhood room or whether it makes us relax just thinking of our good moments, free wallpaper is like the coffee we drink in the morning: indispensable.
Downloading free wallpaper is without doubt as necessary as today's freedom of expression and. the desktop wallpaper one may choose to improve the image of the computer screen can reflect an emotion, a thought or an opinion from the thousands that cross our mind everyday.

Why Is My Computer Suddenly Slower Than Molasses In January

2008-12-26T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Dave Baughn

Hey! You sent me a virus! I came home and checked my email and in my inbox is an email from my best friend. It has an attachment and the subject line reads: Check this out! It's really cool! So being the trusting soul that I am, I do! But no sooner do I open the attachment, and WHAM! My Anti-Virus pops up and screams VIRUS!!!!!
Now I'm hopping mad. How dare my friend email me a virus! So I don't email him back (because he's my friend and I don't want to slam him). Instead, I call him up to yell at him. "What are you doing sending me a virus! What's wrong with you? Why don't you have an Anti-virus program running on your computer?"
His response, "I didn't feel like paying for the subscription. It's too much money."
"So what?!," I said, "Now you're infected with a virus and spreading it to all your other "friends" in your address book." I seriously began to evaluate whether or not he is a true friend, but then I think about his life. He needs help. He is vulnerable and He doesn't even know it.
You see, my friend runs a home based business and he uses his computer constantly. Day in and day out, he is working on his PC. Not only does he work for himself, but he dabbles with selling and buying on eBay and uses his PayPal account frequently. To save time, he pays his bills online, banks online, even does some day-trading. AND HE'S NOT WORRIED ABOUT VIRUSES?!?!
Like many computer users today, he is out there be-bopping around, not paying a bit of attention, "saving himself a few bucks." Not even close. The average computer identity theft takes a whopping 15 seconds, drains the victim to the tune of $6300, is not discovered for more than 60 days and then takes over 40 hours to fix. Don't be like my friend. A good anti-virus is a pittance compared to that. It can protect you from loosing important files, accounting records, financial information, personal data, FRIENDS and much more.
Viruses come in all shapes, sizes, flavors and destructiveness. They can do something simple, such as attaching itself to your email address book and sending itself out. Viruses can be creative and write itself to the Master Boot Record on your hard drive, rendering your computer USELESS, and making it virtually impossible to recover and files you have stored on it. One virus can take you out of the picture, destroy your small business, your kids term paper and all your photos.
There are many different software companies who make Anti-Virus software and their prices are all relatively comparable. You can decide which one you trust most. There are others that are free (for personal use) and do just as good a job as the ones you pay for. Either way, you need to make the decision to protect you and your computer, and act on it.
We are concerned about your computer safety and security at How To Use My PC and would love to help you make the right choice for your situation, in plain, simple language. The choice is yours.
If you have questions, feel free to send them to teachme@howtousemypc.com
©2006, Blue Mountain I.T. Solutions. Permission granted to reprint this article as long as it is reprinted in its entirety and that the content, by-line and hyperlinks remain unaltered and functional.
Dave Baughn, owner of Blue Mountain I.T. Solutions, is a computer guru, network specialist, author, speaker and consultant. He revolutionizes networks in the Tri-Cities area of Northeast Tennessee with his cutting edge company Blue Mountain I.T. Solutions. Smart as he is, he is merely a human and can only be at one place, at one time, so he created How To Use My PC for the "non-techies" at home who want to learn how to use their computer within the comforts of their own home.
Dave will send you the hottest computer tips, tools, ideas, and alerts into your inbox when you sign up at www.ComputerSupportTips.com for his FR*E newsletter. Learn at home!

Who Is Behind The Ipod

2008-12-25T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Eddie Miller

Apple Computers came out with their first computer on April 1, 1976. It was AppleI but this one did not go over very well, but when these two Steven Wozniak and Steven Jobs, created Apple II, the computer became a success. Over the years they produced quality computers and computer accessories, but began to notice less sales and public demand decreasing.
Then in October 2001, announced a non-computer product that would have them back on the top of charts once again. It was the iPod. The very first one, came with a large price tag but was a designed smart and was a great way to carry around your favorite tunes.
Apple iPod now creates some of the most popular iPod's you can find all of which would be wonderful gifts for any occasion.
Apple has a variety of unique and original iPods to choose from and finding one that is perfect for you or a friend or even a family member will be as easy as browsing through their selection.
The iPod shuffle is one of the most unique iPods around. This is a flash MP3 player so it is great for anyone who is active and enjoys listening to music while jogging, rock climbing, or exercising. You will be listening to your own favorite tunes, but in a random order which is decided by the iPod. You never know which song will be coming up next. It can hold up to 240 songs and will play up to 3 hours of continuous music. Not only will you enjoy the great music and sound but you will also like the size. This cool iPod does not weigh any more than your car keys. Prices of the iPod Shuffle differ according to how many MB's you prefer. For the 1GB iPod Shuffle you will find it for £99.00 and the 512MB is only £69.00.
UK MP3 are the UK's foremost MP3 player shop and review site. We write accurate, unbiased reviews of all the MP3 players we stock, and have a large number of customer reviews, so you can be confident you know what you are getting when you buy your MP3 player.

Whats In An Ipod And Why Is It So Popular

2008-12-24T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Mike Singh

Not only is the iPod popular because of its reception from the public, but also because it was Apple's first and successful attempt at branching out from its iMac products and a reputation of being strictly "computer". Unlike the iPod nano and the iPod shuffle which use flash memory, the iPod is designed around a central scroll wheel, with the full-sized models storing media on their internal hard-drive. The iPod is also used as an external data storage device, with its internal hardware and software design originally based on a reference design by another company, PortalPlayer. Apple had decided to focus on technical capability, wanting the iPod to focus on the development on the iPod's simple user interface, along with its ease of use. The iPod's software for the iPod development was not developed in-house for this, but contracted PortalPlayer, who already had the reference design based on 2 ARM cores. Apple then contracted another company, Pixo, to create and refine the user interface, under CEO Steve Jobs.
Currently the best-selling digital audio player, with over 50 million sold and over 1 billion legal downloaded songs from its iTunes online music store, Apple's iPod player is the most popular consumer brand in the mainstream of a growing market of digital devices. Whenever the iPod is connected to the host computer, the itune will automatically synchronize musical playlists or entire musical libraries. The iPod can play several different formats: MP3, M4A/AAC, Protected AAC, AIFF, WAV, Audible audiobook, and Apple Lossless audio file formats. The newer iPods can also play MPEG-4 (H.264MPEG-4AVC), .mp4, .m4v, and Quick Time video file formats. It does not support Microsoft's WMA format - as other media players do - but there is a converter available for non-DRM WMA files with the Windows version of iTunes. MIDI files cannot be played, but can be converted to audio files using the iTunes Advanced menu.
The Apple iPod can be used as a boot disk for a Mac computer, if it is formatted as HFS Plus, allowing one to have a portable operating system installed. If the iPod is formatted on a Mac OS X computer, it uses the HFS Plus file system format; if it is formatted on Windows, the FAT32 is used because Windows cannot access HFS file systems. A compatible third-party software must be used, as simply copying files to the drive will not allow the iPod to properly access them. As of now there are four basic iPod models that you can find on major shopping websites: the iPod shuffle, iPod nano, iPod photo, and the brand new iPod video. The iPod photo plays all the songs you wish to download to it, but also displays color photos (album cover art, etc.) on the mini-screen to please the eyes in addition to the already pleased ears.
The photo feature is a favorite of most users who purchased this version of the iPod, but like all electronic gadgets, it has its downfalls. The pictures are hard for some to see on the mini screen and some were upset that you MUST purchase a separate plug-in to view pictures on your television screen. When you do buy the extra connection, you will be more than pleased with the clarity of the pictures on screen. All iPod models come with ear bud headphones, an AC Adaptor, and a 2.0 USB cable in addition to the actual hardware itself. Battery life is usually strong in the iPod with anywhere between 12-15 hour battery life (15 hours on the iPod Photo). Various hard drives are available for different versions of the iPod Photo, but a basic rule of thumb to remember with MP3 players is 2,500 songs per 10 GB.
Check out http://www.mp3playertop.com/ for more articles on mp3 player portable samsung and applei pod.

5 Steps To Securing Your Windows Xp Home Computer

2008-12-23T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Richard Rogers

Most people are aware that there are continuous security issues with Microsoft's Windows operating system and other programs. However, what most people do not realize is how easy it is to significantly improve your computer's security and reduce the likelihood of becoming a victim to ever increasingly sophisticated threats that lurk on the internet. These steps should take less than a couple of hours to complete and should not clean out your wallet.
1) Windows Update the first crucial step you need to take to make sure that all your Microsoft applications have all the latest product updates installed. These updates or "patches" address security vulnerabilities and other issues. Microsoft usually issues these updates on a monthly cycle. Visit the Microsoft website or switch on automatic updates from the Windows Control panel. Even if your "new" computer is second hand this is still a critical first step. If you buy a used computer with Windows XP make sure Service Pack 2 or SP2 is installed.
2) Strong Passwords - people often overlook this but having well thought through passwords is an important element of your computer security. A strong password should include at least 8 characters with a mixture of text, symbols and numbers. As a minimum you need to make sure the services most at risk have a strong log-in password. These services include your bank, credit card, other financial services like PayPal, your email address and any other services like Ebay which hackers can use to generate profit.
3) Anti Virus Protection while it is fair to say the threat of the computer virus has receded during the last couple of years they can still inflict serious damage on your computer. Part of the reason why the threat has reduced is because PC manufactures are now more frequently bundling anti virus packages with their new computers. For example last year my new Dell shipped with a 90-day trial of McAfee's Internet Security Suite. The best bet here is to purchase a security package which includes firewall and anti virus software as a minimum. Top brands include McAfee and Symantec Norton products. However, Microsoft has recently entered the market with their "OneCare" offering which is very aggressively priced.
4) Firewall - if you are using a broadband connection then a firewall is definite requirement to manage the traffic flowing between your computer and the internet. A firewall monitors the inbound internet traffic passing through the ports of your computer. Better products also monitor outbound traffic from your computer to the internet. As per above the best bet here is buy a firewall application as part of a security package which most vendors offer as standard. If a hardware firewall is included as part of your router package then you do not need anything else. A company called Zone Labs offer a great free firewall product called Zone Alarm which should be used as a minimum. Windows XP does now ship with a free firewall but the product does not monitor outbound communication and therefore I believe does not offer adequate protection.
5) Anti Spyware Tool - this software is the last piece in your basic internet security set up. This tool helps combat spyware and adware. There is a good mixture of free and paid versions on offer. Good free software include Microsoft's Windows Defender, Spybot S&D or Ewido Anti-Malware. Ewido Anti-Malware is frequently recommended in computer help forums. Be careful if you decide to purchase a solution. There are a number of rogue vendors out there which aggressively push products which offer you little value. Stick to trusted names like Webroot's Spy Sweeper or PC Tool's Spyware Doctor. These products always come out well on independent tests.
Richard Rogers runs a number of computer-related sites offering Spyware Remover and Anti Virus Software help.

Stun Guns How They Work And Who Uses Them

2008-12-22T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Rory H. Hawkins

Stun Guns are weapons that can incapacitate crowds of people by sweeping a lightning-like beam of electricity across them. Stun guns send electricity with a very high voltage and low amperage to the assailant's body. The effect of a stun gun temporarily disables an attacker for several minutes by disbalancing his nervous system.
The function of stun guns is to interrupt the electrical signals that communicate messages back and forth from the brain to the rest of the body. It basically disrupts the communication system of our body by delivering a very fast high voltage current combined with a low amperage charge to temporarily disable an attacker for several minutes. When somebody presses the stun gun against an attacker and hold the trigger, the electricity stored in the stun gun is dumped into the assailant's nervous system and the whole body signals get mixed up with noise. The muscles and brain are no longer able to communicate because the messages are no longer understood. This results in temporary imbalance affecting the nervous system and the muscles in our body. Its specialty is that if the attacker is touching you, the current will not pass to your body. Because of its certain features the stun guns have become one of the most effective and reliable non lethal weapons of our time.
What are Stun Guns made of?
The design of the conventional stun gun is very simple in construction. They are about the size of a flashlight, and they work on ordinary 9-volt batteries. The circuit also includes a number of transformers to boost up the voltage in the circuit. It also includes an oscillator and a capacitor. The capacitor builds up a charge, and releases it to the electrodes. The electrodes are two plates of conducting metal having a high voltage difference between them positioned in the circuit with a gap between them. If somebody fills this gap with a conductor i.e. the attacker's body, the electrical pulses will try to move from one electrode to the other, dumping electricity into the attacker's nervous system.
How do Stun Guns help us?
It helps us in stopping social crime and defends ourselves from sexual assault, kidnapping, murder, robbery, and many more terrors which happen more often than we would care to imagine. Having the right protection can dramatically decrease your chances of being harmed during these occurrences. Stun guns protect us with the best self defense equipment.
Rory H. Hawkins writes about stun guns and other interesting topics. For more information on buying a stun gun visit us today.

10 Easy Steps To Speed Up Your Computer Without Upgrading

2008-12-21T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Jim Shutes

1. Empty the Temp directory regularly. To do this, make sure NO programs are open, and
a. In Windows 95, 98 or Me, go to C:\Windows\Temp and delete everything inside the Temp folder.
b. In Windows 2000 or XP, make sure that you can see hidden folders. Go to C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temp folder. Delete everything here.
2. Empty the Temporary Internet Files regularly. Go to your Control Panel and double-click the Internet Options icon. Choose to Delete Cookies, and to Delete Files
3. Check your hard disks for problems.
a. For Windows 95, 98, or Me, double-click My Computer. Right-click the C-drive and click on Properties. Click on the Tools tab and choose to check the computer for problems.
b. For Windows 2000 and XP, double-click My Computer. Right-click the C-drive and click Properties. Click on the Tools tab and choose to check the computer for problems. Click on Check Now.
4. Download a good 3rd Party Disk Check and Optimization Utility HERE... http://www.lapeertechgroup.com/downloads.asp
5. Or, you can do a few of the performance tweaks yourself, if you have Windows XP. Right-click on My Computer and click on Properties. Click on the Advanced tab. Under the Performance section, click on Settings. On the Visual Effects tab, you will see a list of check boxes. You really don't need any of them for Windows to run.
6. Turn off Active Desktop.
a. In Windows 95, 98 and Me, right-click on the desktop and in the pop-up menu, choose Active Desktop. Inside that option, uncheck Active Desktop
b. In Windows 2000, right-click on the desktop and in the pop-up menu, choose Active Desktop. Inside that option, uncheck Show Web Content.
c. In Windows XP, right-click on the desktop and in the pop-up menu, choose Properties. On the Desktop tab, choose Customize Desktop. Now, on the Web tab, make sure that there are no websites chosen here.
7. Use a good AntiVirus program, such as AVG AntiVirus. Get it HERE... http://www.lapeertechgroup.com/downloads.asp
8. Get rid of Spyware. Install two different AntiSpyware programs: AdAware SE and SpyBot. They compliment each other and catch Spyware that the other misses. Get SpyBot HERE... http://www.lapeertechgroup.com/downloads.asp. Get Adaware SE HERE... http://www.lapeertechgroup.com/downloads.asp
9. Streamline MSCONFIG. You can use a utility, called MSCONFIG, to turn OFF unnecessary Start Up items.
a. In Windows 98, Me, and XP, click on Start\Run and type msconfig. Click on the Startup tab. This is a list of everything that is running in the background. Now, be careful, some of these you do need. Some items to keep are Ctfmon.exe (XP), Scan Registry (Win98, Me), Task Monitor (Win98, Me), System Tray (Win98, Me), LoadPowerProfile (Win98, Me), Rundll.32, any AntiVirus programs (such as McAfee, Norton, or AVG). Others, you can uncheck. Remember, if something doesn't work because you turned it off, it can always be turned back on.
b. For Windows 2000, MSCONFIG must be downloaded HERE... http://www.perfectdrivers.com/howto/msconfig.html.
10. Defragment your hard drives.
a. To defragment your hard drives, double-click on My Computer. Right-click on the c-drive and click on Properties. Click on the Tools tab and choose to Defragment Now
Good luck. I hope this article has helped you. If you live in the Lapeer County, MI area, and would like a Professional professionally TuneUp your computer(s) in your home or business, please contact Lapeer Tech Group at (810) 793-1093
I have worked in the IT field since 1989 and hold several Microsoft certifications. I am a network administrator and owner and operator of Lapeer Tech Group, located in Columbiaville, Michigan (just outside of Lapeer). During these years, I have supported both Macs and PCs, am an accomplished graphic and web designer, and have had the opportunity to support 2nd and 3rd level enterprise networks for GM, EDS, Delphi, and Delco.
If you would like to get in touch with me, you may do so at (810) 793-1093, or by email at jim.shutes@LapeerTechGroup.com. My website is http://www.LapeerTechGroup.com

Overview Of Transferring Vhs And 8mm Tapes To Dvd

2008-12-20T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Ritchie Evans

Many of us have boxes of tapes that were recorded onto either VHS or 8mm. If stored properly tapes will last a long time. However there are some considerations that make converting your home videos to DVD a worthwhile process.

--It is easier to share a DVD with friends and family. They make a great gift.
--You can create chapters to jump to your favorite scenes.
--You can easily add background music or edit out boring scenes.
--Many times the you can increase the quality from the original source movie
There are many different methods to convert you movies to DVD. One method is to use your PC and the other is to use a stand alone DVD recorder. The PC offers complete control over editing the footage and creating professional looking menus for the DVD. The DVD recorder is the best solution for simplicity, speed and in many cases better quality.
In order to transfer movies with your PC you will need a fairly powerful PC with lots of hard drive space. Raw video footage can chew up to 13 Gigs per hour of video footage. You can transfer the movies to your PC with a dedicated transfer card or an external device to convert the analog signal to DV so it can be transferred through a firewire port onto your PC.
Once the raw video footage is on your PC you can use video editing software to edit the footage and create DVDs. Video editing software can retail from $50-$200 dollars. Some popular companies include Pinnacle, Adobe, Ulead and Sony.
Another method to transfer you home videos to DVD is to use a stand alone DVD recorder. A DVD recorder looks very similar to the DVD player in your home entertainment system. DVD recorders sell for about $200 and up. Some manufacturers offer DVD/VHS combo units which make transferring movies a piece of cake. Look for a DVD recorder with a built in hard drive. These allow you to edit the movies once they are recorded to the hard drives.
Another nice feature of units with a hard drive is that they have similar features to a TIVO device. You can record and store your favorite shows and even allow you to pause live TV like a TIVO. Depending on the size of the hard drive and the quality settings you can easily store 40 hours or more on the hard drive.
By carefully choosing the model you should end up with final product that looks better than the original. That's because certain DVD Recorders by JVC and Toshiba, or any models that have an LSI chipset, have filters to reduce grain and chroma noise.
When recording you will want to record in the highest quality settings possible. This means you will be able to fit about 1 hours worth of video onto a DVD. Since most VHS and 8MM tapes are two hours you will need to split one tape into two DVD's. You can fit more than 1 hours worth of footage on a DVD if the footage is something you don't care too much about. However if you are converting treasured movies go for the best quality you can.
About The Author Ritchie Evans is the owner of homevideo101.com. For more information on creating home videos check out Home Video 101.

How To Make Sure Your Sales Rep Is Selling A Laptop Based On Your Needs And Not His Quota

2008-12-19T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Jesse Harwell

The Top Ways to Spot a Bad Computer Sales Rep
When going into the computer store, you begin to go through the aisles and suddenly he upon you. Is it Gilbert from Revenge of the Nerds or is it the cousin you avoided during your childhood because he was busy being on the Internet Al Gore invented? Whatever the case, you recognize "them." It is the sales rep who is busy telling you about bits and bytes and RAM and ROM and CPU clock speed and access rates for hard drives Stuff those who are not neck deep in the industry doesn't ever think about. You need help finding the right computer not understanding the whole process of the computer's inception since 1973.
The first thing you want to look for in a sales rep is one that is helpful. Helpful meaning one that is actually trying to help you get the right computer not the one that is just trying to help the store sell a computer. You can generally tell if the rep is helpful by seeing if he/she asks questions (lots of them) on your intended uses. As he gains an understanding of your uses he/she should be able to suggest one of several laptops that will meet your needs. If you ask questions about tech specs when you don't know much about it he/she will tell you how the laptops differ in relation to one another and in relation to your intended use.
Don't allow yourself to be intimidated into buying a laptop because someone is using technologese. Make sure it will do what you need it to do. If you plan on going to coffeehouses and go online tell the rep you want to do this. He/she will then make sure you have a Wi-Fi card. Maybe you don't know what Wi-Fi is that's OK, he/she should and will direct you to a laptop with this feature so you aren't frustrated 3 days after buying it seeking a return.
Ultimately, if a rep is doing his/her job you will both be happy. They will get a sale and you will get a laptop that fits your needs. If you feel as if you are just a path to a better sales figure maybe it is time to look elsewhere. Some things that will help you find the right sales rep
Friendly Seems genuinely interested in helping you.
Knowledgeable By this the idea is he/she has knowledge pertaining to your individual uses and can help match you with the right laptop.
Recommended If friends tell you about a rep who was really helpful find that rep and get the laptop from them.
Practical A rep who seems to be trying to get you into a laptop despite your budget is someone to be leery of.
They should also use language that is understandable to you.
Hopefully this can help you in your next computer purchase. Yes this is common sense but many people seemed to get intimidated into buying technology because someone talks over their head and they don't want to look dumb. Take a risk ask what RAM is and see how they explain it! If you don't know, admit it and tell them what you want to do and get some real help!
This article was written by Jesse Harwell with the web-site http://www.usedcollegelaptops.com
Feel free to contact the author through this site.

Finding Your Mac Address On Wired And Wireless Network Cards

2008-12-18T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Darren Miller

The Answer To The Media Access Control Question
Over the past few weeks I have received quite a few e-mails about Ethernet cards, both wired and wireless, and more specifically, about Media Access Control (MAC) addresses. I think the main reason I've received so many questions about Ethernet cards and MAC addresses is people trying to secure their home wireless networks and their desire to use MAC address filtering. This type of filtering in wireless networks can be configured to allow or deny specific computers to use or attach to the wireless network, based on the MAC address.
My first thought was to write an article just about MAC addresses and wireless Ethernet. After thinking about it I decided to expand on this and go over some specific information about Ethernet cards and communication.
Different Ways Of Finding Your MAC Address And More
There are several ways of finding your Ethernet and communications protocol information. Many Ethernet card manufacturer's have proprietary software that can reveal this information but they work differently depending on the manufacturer. So we will use the Windows 2000 and XP "ipconfig" utility since this is available in the majority of Windows Operating Systems.
First, go to "start" -> "run" and type "cmd" without the quotes. Then hit the enter key. At the command line type "ipconfig /all", again without the quotes. Actually, just typing ipconfig without the /all will work but will only provide you with abbreviated information regarding your network cards. An example of what you might see by typing the "ipconfig /all" command is below with each item commented in green lettering:
Fault Tolerant And Highly Availability Computer Systems
There are several ways of finding your Ethernet and communications protocol information. Many Ethernet card manufacturer's have proprietary software that can reveal this information but they work differently depending on the manufacturer. So we will use the Windows 2000 and XP "ipconfig" utility since this is available in the majority of Windows Operating Systems.
First, go to "start" -> "run" and type "cmd" without the quotes. Then hit the enter key. At the command line type "ipconfig /all", again without the quotes. Actually, just typing ipconfig without the /all will work but will only provide you with abbreviated information regarding your network cards. An example of what you might see by typing the "ipconfig /all" command is below:
OutPut Of The "Ipconfig /All" Command
Windows IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Home Computer
This is the name of your computer, typically defined during the windows installation. However, it can be changed after installation.
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . : domain.com
If your computer participates in a network such as a Microsoft Windows domain this item may contain the name of the domain.
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
The Node Type may say Unknown, or peer-to-peer, or in some cases "hybrid". It is a setting that has to do with the Windows Internet Naming Services used in certain types of Windows domain networks.
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
This setting determines if Windows XP or 2000 will function as an IP router. If you have two or more network cards you can setup your system to act as a router, forwarding communications requests from one network to another. Windows 2000 can be configured to do this in a pretty straight forward fashion; Windows XP will need a registry modification.
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy is another setting that is related to the "Node Type" we discussed earlier. It is normally not a required setting in a home or small office network, or newer types of Microsoft Windows domains.
Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection 2:
If you have multiple Ethernet (network) cards in your systems, as I do in this laptop, you will have multiple listings. This one happens to be the second Ethernet card, an internal wireless Ethernet card.
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom 802.11b/g WLAN
This is the description of the Ethernet card, usually the Name / Manufacturer and type of Ethernet card. In this case, it is a Broadcom wireless Ethernet card built into my laptop.
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-90-4B-F1-6E-4A
And here we have the MAC address. The MAC address is a 48 bit hexadecimal code and is suppose to be a totally unique address. It is 48 bits because each number or letter in hexadecimal represents 8 bits. Hexadecimal numbers range from 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,A,B,C,D,E, F. There are 6 alpha-numeric codes hence 6*8=48(bits). The first 3 codes identify the manufacturer of the card and the remaining codes are used to create a unique number. Theoretically there should never be a card with same MAC address on a local network. However, there are a few exceptions. There are software tools that allow you to change this code. In fact, this is a step some hackers take to attack other systems on a local network. I say local network because MAC addresses are not routable between network segments. By spoofing this address, you can impersonate another machine on the local network. Traffic that was bound for the intended target can be redirected to the hacker's machine. This is the address you would also use to populate a MAC address, or physical address table when setting up your wireless access point to support MAC address filtering.
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
DHCP, or the Dynamic Host Control Protocol, if enabled means your computers IP address is being provided by a DHCP server on you network. The DHCP server could be your wireless access point, cable/dsl router, cable modem, or a server on your network. Also, if a DHCP server is not enabled on your network, your computers Operating System will auto generate a random IP address within a certain predefined range. This means you could network a group of systems together without having to manually assign the IP settings.
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.117
This parameter provides you with your current IP address. The address listed above is what is called a "private" address. There are certain classes of IP addresses that have been set aside for private use. This means for your internal, local, or private network at home or office. These addresses are not, or should not, be routable on the Internet. The Internet routes what are called "valid" IP addresses. Your cable/dsl router or cable modem has a valid IP address assigned to its "external" network interface. The external interface may be your phone line or cable TV cable.
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
The Subnet Mask is a special number, or in some sense, filter, that breaks down your IP address, in this case private IP address, into certain groups. IP addresses and Subnet Masks can be a complicated matter and would take an entire article to go over.
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.254
The default gateway, the IP addresses listed above, is the IP address of the device that will route your request, such as when you try to browse a website, to the Internet. It is a bit more complicated than that though as gateways or routers can route traffic to various different networks, even other private networks. At your home or small office, this gateway most likely is your cable/dsl modem or router.
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.49
The DHCP server, remember we talked a little about this above, is the device that assigns your computer an IP address and other information. DHCP servers can assign all kinds of information such as; Default Gateway, Domain Name Servers (DNS), IP address, Subnet Mask, Time Server, and much more.
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.49, 64.105.197.58
DNS Servers are internal or external servers that resolve Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDN), such as www.defendingthenet.com , to IP addresses. This is done because computers don't actually transmit your requests using the domain name, they use the IP address assigned to the FQDN. For most home or small office users, the primary DNS server is the IP address of your cable/dsl router. Your cable/dsl router than queries an external DNS server on the Internet to perform the actual resolution of the FQDN to IP address. The address 192.168.0.49 is an internal private device on my network whereas the 64.105.197.58 is an external public Internet DNS server and is present just in case my router has trouble performing the DNS resolution tasks.
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, March 19, 2006 6:38:16 PM
This information tells you when your computer received its IP address and other information from a DHCP server. You will notice it says "Lease Obtained", that is because most DHCP servers only lease the IP address to you from a pool of available address. For instance, your pool may be 192.168.1.1 through 192.168.1.50. So your DHCP server has 50 IP addresses to choose from when assigning your computer its IP address.
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Wednesday, March 29, 2006 9:38:16 PM
When the IP address, assigned by the DHCP server, lease expires it will attempt to lease you the same or another IP address. This function can typically be changed on the DHCP server. For instance, on some fully functional DHCP servers, you can configure the Lease to never expire, or to expire within 1 day and so on.
Why Are MAC Addresses So Important And How Do They Work
To jump back to MAC address for just a bit. You may think that IP addresses are the most important thing when it comes to network communication. The reality is, MAC addresses are very important because without them computers would not be able to communicate over Ethernet networks. When a computer wants to speak with another computer on a local network, it will make a broadcast request, or ask a question, of who owns a particular IP address. For instance, your computer may say "Who is 192.168.0.254". Using the information above, my default gateway is 192.168.0.254 and will answer "I am "00-90-4B-F1-6E-4A" 192.168.0.254". It sends back its MAC address. That MAC address then goes into what is called a Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) table on your computer. You can see this information by going to the command prompt like you did above and typing "arp a". You will get information like the following:
Internet Address Physical Address Type
192.168.0.49 00-12-17-5c-a2-27 dynamic
192.168.0.109 00-12-17-5c-a2-27 dynamic
192.168.0.112 00-0c-76-93-94-b2 dynamic
192.168.0.254 00-0e-2e-2e-15-61 dynamic
How A Hacker Can Use MAC Addresses In An Attack
You will notice the IP addresses and to the right of them the MAC addresses. Without this information, without the MAC address, you would not be reading this article right now. MAC addresses are not routable like IP addresses. They work on your local or private network. However, devices on the Internet perform the same tasks. Routers and switches maintain a list of their peer devices MAC address just like your computers and devices on your home or office network. I mentioned above that MAC addresses can be changed in order to redirect requests. For instance, if I were on your office network and you had an internal web server that took personal information as input, I could tell your computer to go to my laptop for the web site by broadcasting my MAC address tied to the real web servers IP address. I would do this when you computer asked "Who is the "Real Web Server"". I could setup a fake web server that looks just like the real thing, and start collecting information the real web server would normally collect. You can see how dangerous this can be.
Conclusion
There are several other easy ways you can find your MAC address but they can be a little confusing if you have more than one internal network card. Most external USB, or PCMCIA wired and wireless Ethernet cards have their MAC address printed on them. In cases where the wired or wireless network card are inside your computer, such as in laptops, the MAC address is sometimes printed on the bottom of the laptop. Even Desktop systems cards that are inserted in PCI slots have the MAC address printed on the Ethernet card.
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/FindingYourMACAddressOnWiredAndWirelessNetworkCards.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

How To Upgrade Your Video Graphics Card

2008-12-17T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Michael Cottier

The video card that is inside of your computer is responsible for what you are seeing on your monitor right now and how good your PC games play. Video cards, also known as graphic cards, can come pre-built into your motherboard or can be an actual card that fits securely into a slot on your motherboard. Either way, your video card is very important, and becomes more important as graphics become more demanding.
First let's talk about what type of video cards there are, and which one you should get. Upgrading your current video card has become a very simple task because it only slides right into a slot on your computer. Your video card can go into one of two slots, PCI or AGP. Chances are that your computer has both, but which one is the best you ask? By far AGP is the better technology since it processes data much faster then PCI. Unfortunately if you have a computer that was bought before the year 2000, most likely you don't have an AGP slot, or at least not the fastest. Yes, AGP slots can come in many different speeds too, like 1x, 2x and so on and so forth.
Now that you know about AGP and PCI, you need to find out which one your computer can use. Every computer has a PCI slot, so a PCI video card should be fine for anyone, but if you want to use the faster and better AGP technology then you need to find out if your computer has an AGP slot. You can do this one of three ways, call your computers manufacturer and ask, read your PC's instruction manual, or open up your computer and look for a brown slot on your motherboard. PCI slots are usually white and AGP are brown, but it could be different for others computers. So just remember this, a PCI slot is bigger then an AGP slot, so if you have a slot that is smaller then the rest, that is your AGP.
Next we talk about features on your video card, and what they are all about. If you are a computer beginner or novice, then you need to know two important things about video cards. First is their memory size, which basically means how much RAM the video card has. The more the better obviously, but to much can be a waste of money, so just be sure to get the right amount for what you plan on doing. Second are graphic capabilities, now there are all kinds of technical terms like floating points, pixels and lots of other technical gibberish. If you are a Windows user, all you need to focus on is the DirectX capabilities. DirectX is the software used to process the graphics information, so make sure you get a video card that supports the latest DirectX version. Find out what the latest version of DirectX is by going to Microsoft's website.
Last but not least we move onto installing your new video card upgrade. This is actually the simple part and can be done by everyone who owns a computer. First you need turn off your computer and unplug everything attached to it. Then unscrew your computer case and remove it, exposing the inside of your computer. If you are installing the video card in an unused expansion slot, then be sure to remove the slot cover on your computers case and save it for future use. If you are replacing your old video card, then you need to unhook any cables that are hooked up to it, and gently rock it back and forth out of the slot to remove it.
Once that is all done, you can pull your pretty new video card out of its box, and protective sleeve, and put it into the AGP or PCI slot on your motherboard. Push evenly on both sides of your video card, to get it securely into the slot. After that, screw the card into the slot holder with the screw provided, and make sure it is secure. Then if the card has any extra cables that may be required to be hooked up, like a power supply connector, audio cable or whatever the card demands, then connect them. How to hook up these cables, and where they go, should be in the manual that comes with your video card.
Once those steps are complete, just put your computers case cover back on, hook everything back up, and you are just about done. The last thing you need to do is start your computer, and once you are at your desktop you need to install the video card drivers. These drivers should be on a CD or floppy disc that comes with the video card, if not then the card might only require generic drivers that come with Windows, so no disc is required.
You have now learned how to successfully upgrade and install a new video card into just about any computer. Use this knowledge to help your friends and family have a better PC, and maybe make a few extra bucks for your self.
Copyright 2006 Michael Cottier
More in depth and technical information about upgrading and installing a video card at http://www.computer-customizing-guide.com/video-card-upgrade.html Also learn how to customize your computer at Michael's website http://www.computer-customizing-guide.com/

Cache In Your Chips And Get A Bus

2008-12-16T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Seamus Dolly

Computer related terminology could sometimes be daunting to newcomers. These are relatively new words or hybrids of words, already in existence. Someone with a degree in English, for example, could not necessarily guess, the function of a particular devise, by its name. This is because such a devise never existed in history or in the history of the English language.
Tolerance and patience is required.
If you work in the field of computers, these "new" words must be learned. However, P.C.'s are designed for use by ordinary people, and the gritty details regarding their construction, can be largely ignored. A journalist, typist, builder or bookkeeper doesn't need to know what an EIDE or SCSI is, or indeed isn't.
Hard drive description is not relevant to the majority, as long as the devise is functional.
A "BUS", though, could be guessed by some, as it carries something, not unlike a conventional bus. In this case, it carries current/electrons/data, and is simply a conductor. A bus conductor, if you like. For now, buses are made of copper with experiments underway to utilise other materials. I read recently that "prions", which are a type of protein, are been considered as conductors. Will some of our computers' components be organic? We shall have to see!
Fibre optics, which are, basically speaking, glass pipes around four thousands of an inch (0.1 mms.), in diameter, employ the speed of light, for signal/data transfer. A light (diode), is on or off, at one end, and a photo-resistor at the other end registers its state. Now, wasn't that simply put! These glass pipes are coated to reflect the light inwards, meaning that light can be "bent" around corners, while within its container/pipe. Heat generation is minimal and electrical resistance is redundant.
It is heat generation and resistance that brings your "fan" into play, keeping everything cool, and electron transfer at a controlled level.
Low resistance= high current. Your starter motor for your car has really thick cables allowing electrons from the twelve volt power source (battery) to do their job in turning over you engine, which is a considerably difficult task. A smaller cable would have a higher electrical resistance, causing it to overheat, and eventually, melt. Keep listening for that "fan".
It is your computers first line of defense.
In fact, it is the principle of electrical resistance that is employed by electrical heaters.
CACHE is not legal tender in most countries, but a type of memory that your CPU (central processing unit ) first looks for. It does this, not to be awkward, but more because it is the fastest route, from a users point of view.
About The Author
Seamus Dolly is the webmaster of http://www.CountControl.com. His background is in engineering and analogue electronics. His studies include A+,iNet and Server+
seamus@countcontrol.com

Dummy Cameras Fool The Robber Amp Protect Yourself

2008-12-15T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Dan Crane

Having real security cameras installed is a good way to observe people and spot a crime. However, in some cases, dummy (fake spy cameras) can also do quite a good job protecting the property.
Of course, it doesn't mean that you shouldn't use real cameras. In such places like banks or gas stations for instance, real cameras are simply must. But for home or small business owners, fake cameras might be a really cheap and effective solution to protect their merchandise and money.
What are Dummy Cameras?
If you haven't heard a lot about dummy or fake cameras, then all you should know is that they do not record anything and they cost much cheaper compared to real spy cameras.
Dummy cameras may have flashing lights, motion sensors, tilt or zoom options; they may even have wires. But it's all just to make them look more realistic. They do not use any VCR or DVR systems to capture the view. Their main purpose is to fool burglars into thinking that they're real and this way preventing them from taking any actions.
What are the Options?
You might think that you don't need to stir your head much before buying a dummy camera online, right? Buy any fake cam, set it up and you'll have a great crime prevention tool. Well, not exactly. If you choose a camera that doesn't look realistic even for a newbie, you might simply waste your money. If you set up a dummy security cam in the wrong place, you also might not achieve the results you're seeking. So let's check out some of the options of dummy cameras and see what's best for you.
Actually, there are fake cameras that turn around the axis whenever they spot someone moving. This is one of the most expensive dummy cameras. They contain motion detectors, which move the camera whenever they spot something or someone moving.
Additionally, you could find cameras that tilt or zoom. These are more realistic than those which do not move at all. Whenever someone sees a moving camera, they naturally assume that it's real.
Cameras with flashing lights are also powerful. They might use a combination of motion sensors and LEDs. When sensors detect a movement or a heat, they give a signal to the LED to start flashing and this way inform a suspect that he's being monitored.
Where to Put Fake Cameras?
If you have a small business, you could put fake cameras near the building. They'll definitely make someone think twice before intruding into your store.
Warehouses are another perfect place for dummy cameras. If there's a large warehouse, then it might be a good idea to put several dummy cameras. One camera might not prevent a burglar from committing a crime, but 5 or 6 cameras placed in different corners can easily stop the thieves.
You could use fake camera along with real ones. You could have the real cameras monitoring and recording the most important places where monitoring is required, like entrances and exits. Dummy cameras in the meantime could be placed in such locations as corners of the corridors, ceiling of the room or outside (near the windows, parking lots).
Dan Crane provides information to consumers about dummy cameras, real security cameras and tips when buying a DVR security camera for business or home security.

Dvd Rental Clubs

2008-12-14T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Josh Riverside

DVD rental clubs are online stores that provide high quality DVDs for rent. They have a large selection of videos, charge a nominal monthly fee and usually deliver the DVDs to the customer's home. Since the membership is monthly, the customer can keep the DVD for a number of days and watch the movie without a specific time limit. Many websites offer free shipping both to and from the customer.
Advantages of DVD club membership are rental prices are less expensive than online rental stores, and all rental clubs provide the flexibility of returning the DVD at the customer's convenience.
DVD rental clubs are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so that the customers can place orders whenever they want. An extensive list of movies that have been released in the past two to three decades can be found on the website and are easily accessible to all members.
Members have a free hand in rental clubs. Clubs take feedback and suggestions like adding movies customers would like to watch but are currently not available in the club store. Most clubs value the customer's input in selecting movies that might be hard.
Joining a DVD rental club is a good idea if you have children. Kids get easily bored, and rental clubs offer a variety of DVD games that are delivered on order and picked up when the customer is ready to return the DVD.
All in all, joining a DVD rental club is a good option for those who do not enjoy watching a movie with within a given period of time or do not wish to pay extravagant prices for a DVD they would only watch a couple of times.
DVD Rentals provides detailed information about DVD rentals, DVD rental clubs, DVD rental reviews, and more. DVD Rentals is affiliated with Free Movie Downloads.

A Java Developers Guide To Web Hosting

2008-12-13T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by David Heffelfinger

You make a living writing enterprise java applications, and you would like to work on your own projects for fun or profit, you would like to create your own web site or you would like to have a place to host your open source project. You look around for hosting providers, and all you see is PHP and PERL support, with very few hosting companies supporting Java, what to do?
Although the number of hosting companies supporting Java is increasing, support varies from nearly non-existent to companies that are deeply committed to their Java support.
There are three types of hosting plans available:
Shared hosting
Virtual Private Server hosting
Dedicated Server hosting

With a shared hosting plans, several web sites are hosted on the same server, sharing the server's resources and using the same IP address. Virtual Private Server (VPS) plans consist of a server that is split into multiple virtual servers, each virtual server has it's own IP address, some companies call these types of plans Virtual Dedicated Servers. Dedicated servers are the most expensive type of plan, each dedicated server customer gets their own physical server, nice to have, but prohibitively expensive for personal web sites and small operations.
At Ensode.net, we recommend that you find a hosting company that provides Virtual Private Server (VPS) support (some hosting companies call it Virtual Dedicated Server), since they provide a nice balance between price and control. A VPS server is like having your own server, usually with root access, which gives you the freedom to install any application you might need, including version control systems like Subversion or CVS, WebDAV, or anything else you might need. With a VPS plan you will most likely get your own IP address, and your server will be not only your web server, but also your mail and database server.
VPS hosting plans tend to be somewhat more expensive than shared hosting plans, but it is our belief that they are worth the extra cost since they provide much more control and flexibility. If you are a Java developer, chances are you are used to "getting your hands dirty", and working on a server using good old Unix commands. Shared hosting plans tend to have "user friendly" (dumbed down?) interfaces, which might simplify administration, but can also severely limit what you are able to do, for example, let's say a shared hosting company gives you 300 megabytes of disk space to host your web site, and an additional 300 megabytes for your email, if your web site takes 5 megabytes of space, but your email server is getting full, there is no way to allocate more space to store emails and reduce the allocation of web space. In addition to leaving you unable to reallocate resources as needed, you can also forget about installing any applications on your server. Another disadvantage of shared hosting plans is that an IP address is shared among several customers, which could have potential problems. For example, if one of the customers uses their mail server for bulk emailing, the IP address of that mail server may be banned from several systems, in a shared hosting plan environment, this would affect all the customers using the same server.
With few exceptions, shared hosting plans that support Java do so through a shared JVM, which means that you have no way of starting or stopping the JVM, and the same JVM is used to run the Java applications of all the hosting company's clients on the server. With a VPS plan, since you have access to your own (virtual) server, it is a given that you get full control over the JVM.
You can use your favorite search engine to find companies that offer VPS plans. Good luck and may your site become immensely popular.
David Heffelfinger is a software engineer with over 10 years of experience developing enterprise software applications. He is editor in chief of Ensode.net, a technology web site providing information about Java, Linux and other technology topics. He can be contacted via email at dheffelfinger@ensode.net.

Spyware Remover

2008-12-12T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Clint Pollard

Your first step in removing dangerous infections from your computer should be downloading a free program called Hijack This. Make sure you download the file and extract it to a directory on your hard drive, you can call it HijackThis. This is very important, because if you don't put hijack this in it's own folder you will not be able to back up files in case of an accident. Then navigate to that directory and double-click on the hijackthis.exe file. When the program is started click on the Scan button and then the Save Log button to create a log of your information.
You can copy and paste your log at Geeks To Go, Geeks To Go is a free service that will check your log and help you remove any infections.

I am not affiliated with Geeks To Go, but I have used their free service and I was very pleased with the results. The process of removing infections from your computer could take a day are even a week depending on how busy Geeks to Go is. It also depends on how well you can follow directions. Although Geeks To Go will give you step by step directions, you will need to have some basic knowledge of working with a computer. After your computer is clean you will be given some tips to help keep your computer clean, I recommend you use the tips, because with so many infections you need to do what you can to make sure your computer stays clean.
Clint Pollard has a new site to help fight the spred of spyware.You can visit his site here - SpywareRemover
http://ncave.com/anti_virus.html

How To Remove Adware And Spyware

2008-12-11T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Roy Soares

1. You're browsing the web. You don't use tabs. You're not the multitask, new generation, modern teen. And for some unexplained reason, your powerful, macho, new computer is lagging. You're not playing. No downloads. Is it sick? Maybe it had unsafe sex with a freeware, file sharing software and got infected with spyware...

2. What are the symptoms? High CPU activity, disk usage, and network traffic not justified by the user's activity. Frequent stability, application and internet connection issues. Does your computer suffer from any of these symptoms?

3. What is adware? What is spyware? Adware is software that displays advertisement on your pc. Spyware is software that sends information from your pc to a third party without your knowledge and explicit consent.

4. How does adware and spyware get installed into your computer?

(a) Have you ever browsed a website and a windows dialog box pops up asking you a question? Have you ever clicked the cancel button? Well that's how someone can trick you into installing adware and spyware into your computer. (b) Have you ever downloaded freeware? Marketing companies pay freeware software authors to include adware and spyware in their freeware software. So when you install freeware software, you're probably installing adware and spyware.

5. What can adware and spyware do to harm you? Adware just displays advertisement on your pc. Most adware software is also spyware software. Beside dispaying advertisement, it tracks your browsing habits and sends that data to a marketing company, so that the marketing company can display targeted ads on your computer, based on your tracked consumer activity. But it can also send your username, passwords, credit card information and other sensitive data to a third party

6. How can I prevent installing or remove adware and spyware?

(a) Install Anti-Spyware software. Ad-ware from Lavasoft and Spybot are great tools. They remove spyware and prevent spyware from installing on your computer. Google these keywords, download the free versions of these programs and always update them.

(b) Make sure that the freeware and shareware software you install does not include adware and spyware. Read the license agreement carefully. Search Google Groups for the name of the program plus the keywords adware and spyware.

(c) Install a pop-up blocker

Roy is the webmaster of proxyspot.com and snoopmyip.com. Proxy Spot is a web proxy guide and list. Snoop My IP is a what is my ip website. It shows your IP and your hostname.
Article source: http://proxyspot.com/proxy/2006/04/23/how-to-remove-adware-and-spyware-2/

Incredible Xp Tips You Wish You Knew Before You Read This Part Ii

2008-12-10T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Joseph M. Pisano

In Part I, I wrote about using short cut keys while using XP. In this edition, I am going to be focusing on the "run line". This is sometimes referred to as the "start run line".
There are many "built-in" commands that may be run "out-of-the-box". When these tips and tricks are employed, you will find yourself able to move through XP much faster and efficiently.
In order to find the "run line" (RL), you will need to click on the Windows Start Button. From there, you will notice the "Run" command a few lines up from the start button. Click it. You may also use the following key combination: WINDOWS KEY + r
When you click the "Run" line, a new dialog box will appear. This is the box where you will be typing in these shortcuts.
Useful RL commands for the novice and end-user: (These commands are every-day, useful commands that everyone can use)
BOLD: Will only work if additional software has been installed
Web-browsers: iexplore Opens Internet Explorer firefox Opens Firefox
Applications:
calc Opens the Window's Calculator
excel Opens Microsoft Excel
frontpg Opens Microsoft Frontpage
msimn Opens Outlook Express
nero Opens Nero
notepad Opens Microsoft Notepad
outlook Opens up Microsoft Outlook
pbrush Opens Microsoft Paint
powerpnt Opens Microsoft Power Point
tourstart Opens the Microsoft Tour
winword Opens Microsoft Word
wordpad Opens Microsoft Wordpad
Audio/Video:
quictimeplayer Opens Quicktime's Player
moviemk Opens Window's Movie Maker
realplay Opens Real Audio's Player
wmplayer Opens Microsoft Media Player
Games:
freecell Opens Freecell
pinball Opens Pinball
spider Opens Spider Solataire
wimine Opens Minesweeper
Utilities:
clipbrd Opens the contents of the clipboard
control Opens the control panel
explore Opens Windows explorer
logoff Logoff the current user
magnify Opens the magnify utility
osk Opens the on-screen keyboard
printers Opens the printers panel
shutdown Shutdown the computer
taskmgr Opens the task manager window
Exploring the computer:
You may also enter simple "paths" into the RL. For example:
C: Will open the contents of your hard drive
A: Will open the contents of your floppy drive
D: Will open the contents of your CD/DVD drive (usually)
?: Insert a letter for "?", this will open the contents of that drive
In addition, you may enter a full file path like "C:windows". This will open the windows directory. Also, if you are currently in an explorer window, you may enter an internet address and your default web-browser will open, and vice-versa; You may also enter a local address, such as C:windows , within your web-browser, and it will open the local path as well.
Opening Web Pages:
By typing in a web-address using the RL, the default browser will automatically open. There is no need to start the web-browser first.
Advanced RL commands:
.CPL commands: (These are commands that open up specific control panels)
access.cpl Accessibility options
appwiz.cpl Add or remove programs
desk.cpl Display properties
hdwwiz.cpl Add hardware wizard
inetcpl.cpl Internet Explorer properties
intl.cpl Regional and language options
joy.cpl Game controllers
main.cpl Mouse properties
mmsys.cpl Sounds and audio device properties
ncpa.cpl Network connections
nusrmgr.cpl User accounts
odbccp32.cpl ODBC data source administrator
powercfg.cpl Power options properties
sysdm.cpl System properties
telephon.cpl Phone and modem options timedate.cpl Date and time properties
.MSC RL commands: (These are commands that open up Microsoft Management Console Snap-ins. Some of these only work with XP Professional)
certmgr.msc Certificates
ciadv.msc Indexing service
compmgmt.msc Computer management
devmgmt.msc Device manager
dfrg.msc Defragmenter
diskmgmt.msc Disk management
eventvwr.msc Event viewer
fsmgmt.msc Shared folders
lusrmgr.msc Local users and groups
ntmsmgr.msc Removable storage
ntmsoprq.msc Removable storage operator requests
perfmon.msc Performance monitor
services.msc Services
wmimgmt.msc Windows management infrastructure
There are many other "run line" commands as well
Creating your own RL shortcuts:
There are many ways to make RL shortcuts to applications. Some involve changing the registry and some involve other complexities. The following are the two easiest methods:
Method 1 (easiest, little risk):
1. Create a windows shortcut of the application you would like to open by using the RL.
2. Save it to the "Windows" sub-directory. This is usually the file path: "C:Windows".
3. Now you should be able to open the application using the RL.
Using the method works 99.9% of the time.
Method 2 (a little harder, but still easy in comparison to others, some risk): 1. Open the control panel and choose Systems Properties.
2. Choose the Advanced tab and click Environment Variables.
3. From the "Systems variables" section, highlight "Path" and click edit.
4. Go to the end of the entry name "Variable value:" and insert this: ;c:shortcuts
***Do not change anything else, or you may cause severe problems with other applications and their function! You may want to cut and paste the current line into "notepad" so you can replace it, if necessary.
***REMEMBER, YOU ARE ADDING THIS TO THE EXISTING LINE, NOT DELETING WHAT IS ALREADY THERE!
5. In the dialog boxes, click ok, then ok, then ok.
6. Create a directory (folder) called "shortcuts" in your "C: ",
root directory. The address line should read, C:shortcuts when you open it.
7. Create a windows shortcut of the application you would like to open by using the RL.
8. Save it to the "shortcut" sub-directory you just made in the previous steps.
9. Now you should be able to open the application using the RL.
Obviously, when you understand the above process, you may label and locate the directory anywhere you wish. By using the 2nd method you will be able to organize your shortcuts in a much cleaner fashion.
You can find a version of this document with pictures included at my Newsblog site.
Prof. Joseph M. Pisano is the Assistant Chairman of Music and Fine Arts & Director of Music and Fine Arts Technology at Grove City College, Grove City, PA.
He is an active musician, adjudicator, clinician and technology expert.
You may visit his website at http://www.jpisano.com
You may visit his newsblog at http://www.jpisano.com/blog
You may visit his rss feed by visiting http://feeds/feedburner.com/musictechnology

Whats The Benefit To Building Your Own Computer

2008-12-09T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Robert Emler

There are a few benefits to building your own personal computer. I know you ask yourself why I want to build my own personal computer. After all the entire computer market is full of computers that carry a pretty reasonable price tag.
Bear in mind that the computers on the market today that are out there, are what I call assembly line computers. They are computers that are mass produced. The technologies in the computers that are cheap only offer the basics. Also these computers are loaded down with a lot of useless programming. That is only designed to make the computer look more attractive. In fact these programs only cause the computers performance to be hampered. When you add to these computers or upgrade from the basics, the price tag can get pretty hefty.
Building your own personal computer allows you to decide from the start what will be put into the computer. The type of technology you put in your computer will determine your price tag.
The computer you build will and should have a longer life. When you build your computer you put in it, the computer technology that can be upgraded as you desire.
This increases the life of your computer, and allows your computer to grow with the technology.
The most important reason why you should build your own personal computer is the learning part. Getting a better understanding of what is inside the box. Understanding the technology in your computer will really come in handy when something goes wrong. If you have ever taken you computer to a computer tech, you know how costly that can be. I've been in computer tech shops picking up parts, and personally witnessed people paying as much for service as it would of coast those to buy a new computer.
Robert Emler. In house computer assembler. For detailed information about building you own personal computer, and how to videos. As well as amazing computer problem diagnostic software go to. http://pcextream.com

What Is An Ipod

2008-12-08T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Daniel Dwase

An iPod is a portable music media player designed and marketed by Apple Computer with a huge capacity, a rechargeable battery that lasts between eight to ten hours of playback and it's currently the world's best-selling digital audio player.
It uses a simple user interface designed around a central scroll wheel (with the exception of the Shuffle) and stores media on a built-in hard drive that serve as an external data storage device when connected to your computer.
Discontinued versions of the iPod include two generations of the popular iPod Mini and four generations of the full-sized iPod, all of which had monochrome screens except for the fourth-generation iPod with color screen.
As of October 2005, the lineup consists of the 5th generation iPod, which has video playback capabilities, the iPod Nano which has a colour screen, and the iPod Shuffle MP3 player; all three models were released in 2005.
iPod uses iTunes for uploading music, photos, and videos. iTunes is a music software application that stores a comprehensive library of the user's music on their computer,and can play and rip music from a CD.
The most recent incarnations of iPod and iTunes have video playing and organization features. iPod's are easy-to-use, it's stylish and has dominated the MP3 market that has led to a large market specifically dedicated to iPod Accessories.
Operation of the iPod
iPod operation, except the iPod shuffle, have five buttons. The newer version have the buttons integrated into the scroll wheel, to give a minimalist and uncluttered interface. The buttons are:
1. Menu (traverses backwards through the menus).
2. Center (selects a menu item).
3. Play / Pause (doubles as an off switch when held).
4. Fast Forward / Skip Forward.
5. Fast Reverse / Skip Backwards.
A Hold switch also exists on the top of the unit to prevent accidental button presses. Newer iPods automatically pause playback when the headphones are unplugged from the headphone jack. However, playback does not resume when the headphones are re-inserted.
The older iPods with FireWire ports can function as external hard drives without any additional iPod functionality in FireWire Disk Mode. An iPod unable to start due to either a firmware or a hardware problem displays the "Sad iPod" image.
Here is a link in reference to this article iPod
Daniel Dwase is the webmaster and editor of http://www.best-ipod-online a website that provides reviews and buyers guide of iPod Video, Nano, Shuffle and cheap iPod accessories and http://www.ipod-insider.blogspot.com a blog that provides the latest news from Apple Computers about iPods.

The Home Computer Users Guide To Spyware

2008-12-07T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Richard Rogers

As with the computer virus, spyware can be broken down into a number of different categories. Most users are familiar with the term "adware" which refers to software which serves annoying ads. There are however a number of other spyware variants you should be aware of.
To begin with it is important to have a clear definition of spyware. This will also help us understand why the term is commonly used to encompass a number of different variants. Spyware is a program, usually installed without your knowledge, which records what you do on your computer and then shares it with its creator.
The information which the spyware program collects can vary from the websites you visit to log-in and passwords for your online banking site. The sharing of your personal information with a third party is why spyware in its purest form is labelled as a malicious threat and clearly is a major privacy issue.
Adware is the second mostly commonly used term. Adware is designed to display adverts relevant you, commonly based on your surfing habits, to generate Pay-Per-Click advertising revenue or sales through affiliate links. Adware is commonly bundled with free software by developers instead of charging a price.
The malicious nature of adware can vary enormously. At one of the scale, adverts are displayed in a non-intrusive manner in a window within the free program you have downloaded. When the program is not running, ads are not displayed. At the other end of the scale, a user could find their desktop overwhelmed as the adware program spews out multiple pop up ads in a very aggressive manner. Whilst it may be possible to believe the former is not transmitting personal data to a third party, it is difficult to expect the later not to.
The adware issue is further complicated by marketing companies who do not like their software being labelled "spyware." These marketing companies generate millions of dollars of income often via recognised brand name clients. So to avoid legal issue security companies refer to this software as PUPs (potentially unwanted programs).
Browser hijackers are another aggressive form of spyware. They attack important browser settings like your default homepage which your browser loads when you start the program. Hackers direct you to sites which generate revenue for them like the Russian website "Cool Web Search". Browser hijackers can also insert sites into your bookmarks. They also can cause your browser to crash and stop working completely and are typically difficult to remove.
Key Loggers capture all your key strokes into a DLL file which the creator retrieves. Software key loggers are often bundled with a Trojan Virus which gives the creator access to your computer.
Here are some tips and strategies to fight the different types of spyware.
- Keep Windows XP and ALL your web browsers (including Internet Explorer and FireFox) up to date with the latest patches.
- Install a reputable anti-spyware program like Webroot Spy Sweeper or PC Tools Spyware Doctor. Run frequent scans and keep the definitions up to date.
- Install a reputable anti-virus program like Norton Anti-Virus or McAfee VirusScan. Run frequent scans and keep the definitions up to date.
- Install a firewall which manages both inbound and outbound connections. Top personal firewall software picks include Zone Labs's Zone Alarm and Norton Personal Firewall. Alternatively purchase a router with a hardware firewall.
- Avoid downloading free software programs including screensavers and weather toolbars.
- Avoid known high spyware risk area on the internet including illegal music sharing sites, Peer-to-Peer programs, free game download sites and adult sites.
Richard Rogers runs a number of computer-related sites offering Spyware Remover and Anti Virus Software help.

Tips For Buying A Pc

2008-12-06T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Pawan Bangar

Buying Your PC
Buying a PC that's right for you and your family is not all that simple task. More so if you're going to buy an unbranded or an assembled one. But branded or not, you have to get you facts right before you shell out your money. First, why do you want to buy a PC? Is it because almost every one has one these days, or that you have the money to spare. If these are the reasons are that you want to end up spending a lot of money on something you're unlikely to use. But if your reasons are that you want it for home based business, or for your kids for their education, or to work at home, or that you want to surf the net, you are on the right track. Now let's get down to specifics.
What do you need it for?
Take a piece of paper and write down what all you need to do with the pc.
Spreadsheets, Word processing, Surfing the Web, sending e-mail, playing games. Running multimedia, Watching movies, playing music ,CAD drawings, graphics designing, Web designing. Programming and Online learning.
Make your list. Why? Because different needs need Different PCs. You really don't need the latest computer if all you're going to do is browsing, no matter what the vendor tells you.
When you make your list be sure to look a little ahead and see what all other things you might be using the computer for. For instance, do you think you are likely to take up graphics designing? Or will the kids start playing all those high-end games?
How much money do you want to spend?
Get hang of the money you can spend on the PC. Then you have to look for the PC that suits your needs and your budget. This may need some balancing even, if your requirements are huge and the budget isn't. This will also decide if you should go for branded PC or an assembled one.
Brand or assembled?
This is a question that has gone on for a while now. A year ago, branded ones. We recommend that you go for a PC for which you can get assured service and support. Fort a more detailed analysis, catch our July story called Branded or Not?
What is it?
This is the part that has the computer's basic circuitry and components. The processors, meomory, BIOS, expansion slots, etc all go on the motherboard.
What's available?
Right now you have two broad choices for a motherboard. The motherboards based on Intel 810 chipset have the graphics and audio capabilities on to the board itself-that's what they mean by integrated graphics and audio onboard. In case you're looking for better graphics (say, you will be moving to high-end games, or graphics, or CAD or need better sound environmental audio, sound-editing), you'll have to get some high-end video and audio cards. Which such a motherboard won't support. You could, in such cards.
What to ask the vendor :
What are the upgrades possible on this motherboard? Which processors are supported? How much are the upgrades going to cost?
What is it?
The brain of the PC. You don't always have to go for the fastest. And just having a processor that's fast won't do. The rest of the system has to keep up with it.
What's available?
Among the low-end ones available are Celeron, AMD K6.2 and K6-3, and now AMD"S Duron. They are available in different clock speeds-go for the one you can afford. A Celeron 600MHZ. Among the high-end processors are Pentium III and AMD's Anthon. A PIII 667 MHz.
Also remember that a processor alone can't make the PC zip. For instance, A PIII on an 810 motherboard that doesn't have much graphics capability isn't of much use.
How much do you need?
If you are going to work on office application like word processors and spreadsheets, and some browsing, a Celeron or an AMDK6 series, or Duron would do. For work that needs more processing power you have to go for a Pentium III or an Anthon. You'll find some Pentium IIs in the market but Intel Doesn't makes them anymore.
What is it?
This is the place where all your program and data will b stored on the PC. Your PC's performance will depend upon the rate at which your hard disk can read data and give it to the other parts. The speed of a hard disk is measured in rpm. These days most hard disks come with a speed of 7200 rpm. And some other available in hard disk 7.5 GB, 15 GB, 20 GB, and for more on how to take care of your hard disk, check out The Hard Disk Guide in this issue.
How much do you need?
Most PCs now come with 8-10 GB of hard disk space. With fat OSs and fatter office suites and games, you'll need some bit of space. 17 GB is quite common, now even 30 GB doesn't raise eyebrows. So do take those offers of 1GB with a huge bag of salt.
What is it?
The place where information is stored for a while so that the processor doesn't have to keep hunting for it on the hard disk.
What's available?
The more you have the better it is. A lot of PCs still come with 32 MB RAM-we advise you to go for 64MB at the very least. If you're a gamer or into heavy graphics, you'll need 128 MB.
How much do you need?
The more you have the better it is. A lot of PCs still come with 32 MB RAM-we advise you to go for 64 MB at the very least. If you're a gamer or into heavy graphics, you'll need 128 MB
What is it?
This is a card that carries out the processing for all that's related to the display. You could have a fast processor, lots of ROM and hard disk that keeps pace with it all. But if the display can't match all this-the speed at which the things have got processed will take ages to show up on screen. The card has its RAM- called video RAM (VRAM).
What's available?
As we said earlier, some motherboards have this function inbuilt, but others need you to have a graphics card for this. You get a range of cards now.
How much do you need?
If you're into heavy gaming and graphics and CAD and 3D modeling, you need to have a card with at least 8 MB VRAM, 16MB if you can afford it. For other purpose, 4 MB VRAM is good enough.
All software comes on CDs. A lot of computers magazines that teach you how to use computers come with CDs. So a CD-ROM drive is a must. Now you have the option of going for CD-RW drives or even DVD drives. And some vendors have the check to see PCs without them.
Higher X ratings-such as 48X, 52X for a CD drive doesn't mean that the drive will run at blazing speeds. In fact for routine things opening a CD tray, making a CD auto run-an 8X will do just fine. But if you were to rip songs from your audio CDs to convert them into MP3s you would need a faster drive.
A DVD drive is great if you are going to be watching a lot of movies on your PC- but make sure video card and sound card and speakers match up to it.
Go for a CD-RW drive if you are going to be burning a lot of CDs-keeping backups, making MP3 CDs, and so on.
The basic PC:
For running productivity applications: word processors, spreadsheet, presentations, Surfing. Using e-mail, using personal information mangers. Play music and videos, some light games and multimedia CDs
Specs:
Celeron 550 MHz or above/AMD K6 series or Duron 550 MHz or above
64 MB RAM
15" color SVGA monitor
10-12 GB ATA/66 hard disk
On board video abd sound
48 x or higher CD-drive
101-keys Keyboard
3-button mouse
56 kbps modem
The high-end PC
For heavy gaming, graphics, multimedia creation, sound editing
Specs:
Pentium III 700 MHz/ k-7 700 MHz or higher
128 MB RAM
17 GB ATA/^^ hard disk drive
video card with 32 MB VRAM
101-keys keyboard
on board sound (for those into sound editing and composing, a high-end sound card like Creative SoundBlaster Live is needed)
17" monitor
Scroll mouse
56 Kbps modem
Sound card and Speakers:
The sound card processes the sound that you hear on your PC. These days sounds cards not only make multimedia application sound great, they also let you compose record and edit your own music.
Monitor:
14" monitors are out. You can get in your some other type of the monitor in 15", color monitor, 16 inches and 17 inches monitor are available in the market.
PORTS
Ports are where you plug in peripherals. The mouse and keyboard go into their respective ports. Serial ports take in modems. Parallel ports take in printer, scanners, etc, There are now USB ports for USB printers, scanners, digital cameras, etc. Now there are Fire Wire ports t00-but these are useful for those into video-editing and such tasks that need a lot of data to be transferred in a shot.
Keyboard and Mouse-
There is a range of mice to choose from Look for one that you fell comfortable working with. There are different types of keyboards. Again look for one that doesn't require you to thump hard to type, feels ergonomic. You could also go for devices go for devices that have programmable buttons/keys.
Software-
You need an operating system-the common one is of course, Windows 98. Now the latest version of Windows for the home is Windows Me.
You need an office suits, or at least programs that do word processing, spreadsheets and presentations. You need a browser to the Web, and an e-mail program. You'll also need an antivirus, some system diagnostic tools, some graphics programs, and some useful things like media players (to run your movies and play music), file compression tools like WinZip. Then of course, there is a world of games and multimedia titles to explore.
About The Author
Pawan Bangar,
Technical Director,
Birbals,
(Hbirbals,Seobirbals,Ebirbals,Ibirbals)
Cell:91-175-3150734
Cell:+91-98153-52253
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Html Explained Part 1

2008-12-05T11:00:00.000-08:00
Writen by Dina Giolitto

Want to save money while promoting your web-based business? Of course you do. Here's some advice on the matter, from a freelance copywriter who knows: it pays to learn the basics of HTML.
If you're like me (stubborn), you've probably been dodging HTML for many years. All that code mushed together... it's distressing to look at! But here's the thing: HTML is your friend. He might be ugly, but he's a good guy to have on your side.
Once you get a basic understanding of how HTML works, the gibberish starts to make sense. And that's when you'll realize how easy it is to create web pages for your own business without having to 1. pay a designer thousands of dollars, or 2. purchase one of those expensive web design programs.
Let's start with a general explanation. HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language. It's the basis for every single design element you see on a web page: layout, copy, image placement, links, music, animation, etc. People who design their sites using fancy web page creators with buttons and copy/paste features are merely controlling the HTML code via the program's graphic overlay. Underneath it all, the code's still there in its pure form. You can see it if you go to a webpage and then click View>Source from the top menu.
Easy Web Page Creation
You can create a professional-looking web page using HTML and the bare minimum of tools: a text program (such as Notepad) to write and save files in, a Web browser to view the files, and a photo-editing program such as Photoshop.
Ever visit a webpage and then click View>Source so you can stare at the "guts" and try to make sense of it? The text program that opens that page is the same one you'll use to create your own web page from scratch. Keep in mind, a text program is NOT the same as a word-processing program, such as Microsoft Word. If you use Word, you may accidentally save your file as a .DOC, and in doing so, create all kinds of coding problems that make your page look crazy. NEVER create web pages in Word!
Here are three salient points about writing HTML code.
1. Your text editing program does not recognize paragraph returns when you type them with the Enter key. You will separate your text manually, using HTML tags such as < P > and < BR >.
2. HTML code does not differentiate between capitals and lowercase. Your tags can be typed either way and they'll still work no matter what.
3. HTML doesn't recognize Smart Quotes- those curly quote marks that Word and other word processing programs like to convert your straight quotes (or inch marks) into when you least expect it. HTML also doesn't recognize "curly" apostrophes (as opposed to straight ones, or footmarks). If you use these in your web documents, the computer will interpret them as code and fill your web page with gibberish. So DON'T USE SMART QUOTES OR CURVED APOSTROPHES!
Creating a Text Document: the Basis for Your Web Page
Start a new file in your text program such as Notepad, then save it with the .html extension. For example, you might name your file, "myfirstwebpage.html". Later, after you've entered your code into the text program, view the page as it will appear on the web by using a web browser such as Explorer or Netscape. Click File>Open, and then enter the name of your file. Viola! There's the web page that YOU created! The great thing about this feature is that you can keep on saving your text file and refreshing the browser page to track your progress.
Keep in mind that the pages you create and save as .html files won't be available for viewing on the internet until you publish them. This is done by purchasing a web hosting package through one of the major web hosting companies; for example, GoDaddy.com. You're required to "rent a space" for each web domain you own. But that's a topic for another article entirely.
Now that you know how easy it is to create your own web page, it's time to uncover the "secret" to HTML! HTML is logic-based; and for those of us who love a good logic puzzle, this is truly a beautiful thing. If you're ready for some HTML web design revelations, read HTML Explained: Part 2!
Copyright 2005 Dina Giolitto. All rights reserved.
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Strategies To Maximize The Life Of Your Mac Hard Drive

2008-12-04T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Alex Bezborodov

Although Macs are often deemed the most user-friendly computers, many Mac users do not know much about computer maintenance. This is because Mac OS cleverly hides all the cumbersome applications it runs to keep the system secure and healthy. Unfortunately, while this maintains Apple's signature look and feel, it also takes away the user's ability to easily monitor and maintain the health of their computer. Below, I recommend several procedures that can be performed by most Mac users without much difficulty, which will help safeguard your computer from data loss.
Be SMART, Monitor your hard drives
SMART stands for Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology and allows you to run diagnostics on your hard drive to determine if a failure is imminent. In order to run the tool, launch Disk Utility (Applications: Utilities) and click on the top level indicator for your drive in the left-hand column. In the bottom of the window, you should see something like "SMART Status: Verified". If you do not see "SMART status" at all, your Mac does not support the technology. If you see "SMART status" but do not see "Verified", your drive may be at risk of imminent failure. In this case, your best bet is to backup your data and replace the drive. This simple, but often overlooked procedure may save you from losing your data. One other thing worth noting is that although there is a myriad of 3rd party applications that can run these diagnostics automatically, be advised that using such utilities in the event of a hardware failure can cause extensive damage to the drive.

Clean up files

This is pretty self-explanatory and is applicable to all computer users take some time to organize your files on a regular basis. Clean up any downloads or files from your desktop and place the files into appropriate folders. This will not only save time, but will also protect you from losing files due to bad sectors.

UNIX Maintenance Scripts

Mac OS uses automatic maintenance routines called maintenance scripts to clean up system log files and other temporary files. The three scripts are designed to run daily, weekly and monthly. The problem is that these scripts are set by default to run late at night when most Macs are either off or sleeping. If the computer is off or in sleep mode during this time, the scripts will not run and the log files will grow in size, clogging up the startup disk and slowing down performance. The good news is there are a number of 3rd party programs that exist that allow the user to set different times at which to run the scripts, including MacJanitor (v.1.3 or later for Tiger) and Anacron among others.
I will be reviewing these titles and many others in the weeks to come so stay tuned. In the meantime, visit our website to learn more about Mac maintenance, data recovery tips, and other useful stuff.
Alex Bezborodov is the technical writer for Accurate Data Recovery, specializing in data recovery for end users, academia and small businesses. Check out the ADR Resource Center for more useful information.
Let ADR bring your data back to life!

Finding The Right Performance Optimizer

2008-12-03T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Kevin-James Vella

So, you've decided to fine-tune your PC by using a performance optimizer, but there are hundreds of products available on the market and to find a solution that fits your need can be daunting. In this article, I will explain what performance optimizers are and how they work while suggesting what you should look for when choosing such a utility.
What is a Performance Optimizer? Performance optimizers are software utilities that allow you to ensure your PC is automatically optimized and its performance maximized. These tools should also allow you to keep your PC running at peak performance. When too many of your resources are being occupied unnecessarily or beyond certain levels that you have established, the software should warn you to take immediate action. Performance optimizers should automatically fine-tune all your resources: hardware (CPU and memory) and your system settings. This will help you enjoy a faster, cleaner and more stable environment that will greatly minimize slowdowns and crashes.
Performance optimizers automatically dig into your hardware and free up valuable resources, remove system hogs that slow your computer down or cause it to crash. By looking at how your CPU is processing the information for all the tasks or processes at hand, these utilities determine the best configuration so that you can make the most of your computer. These tools also look at whether the tasks at hand are accounted for by legitimate programs.
For example, some performance optimizers are able to recognize that the CPU is handling a process that is spyware and should enable you to automatically scan your system and remove such threats. When optimizing memory, performance optimizers look at how your computer is using RAM and how Windows is creating and operating page file (or virtual) memory. By optimizing RAM memory, these tools help your computer avoid creating virtual memory. Moreover, they can also minimize the size of your virtual memory file.
Many performance optimizers, like SpeedUpMyPC, also have warning messages so that if your memory usage reaches a critical level, you could take remedial action. In some cases, these nifty utilities allow you to assign more CPU resources to any particular application that you are running, e.g. a game or a DVD. Performance optimizers use similar logic when optimizing your system settings - for example, they look at orphaned start-up programs bidding you to remove them. They also look for residuals of uninstalled or incorrectly removed programs to make your PC cleaner, safer, and, ultimately, more stable.
What should you look out for when choosing a performance optimizer? Ideally, the product will be robust and make efficiency gains in the way your CPU handles Windows and all your programs. You must also be able to monitor CPU, memory and hard drive usage to identify possible future bottlenecks and avoid annoying delays and crashes. The software must also optimize your RAM and page file memory while warning you should you be running out of resources. You should have an automatic way of making the most of your computer while minimizing the time it takes to boot. Registry files are also a source of slow-downs and crashes - you will have a faster PC by compacting your registry. Finally, the software must ensure that any harmful or unnecessary background processes such as spyware, adware, key-loggers and viruses do not slowdown your PC and jam its inner workings.
Many products on the market focus on a single aspect of your PC such as optimizing registry files or recovering memory. Although these are important functions and will enhance your computing experience, you will end up buying performance optimizers and using them in conjunction with the other products. My advice, at this stage, is to find a product that does most of the functions and then deepening your investment according to the problem you might have. Only when you feel that you cannot push your PC further should you consider upgrading hardware.
With all this background information, you do not need to google "speeding up my pc" or "performance optimizers". I usually do three things when buying utilities: (a) find out how they work and what they are supposed to do; (b) see what my preferred tech forum newsletters have to say about them and their recommendations; and, finally (c) read the reviews on the recommended products.
Luckily, this system has worked wonders for me and I have rarely thrown away good money on the software I have in my library.
Kevin James Vella is the Public Relations Manager of Uniblue Systems Ltd (http://www.uniblue.com), a global software developer. Kevin's passion for writing and ICT has seen him publishing several articles on personal technology, electronic commerce and online marketing.

Wall Calendars

2008-12-02T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Richard Romando

Wall calendars are the most popular type of calendar seen in homes and offices. It is an ideal tool to schedule activities and set appointments. It serves as a means to remember holidays, occasions, festivals and other important events for a busy family. Calendars can be a very artistic statement added to any home or office wall.
Until recently calendars were hung on walls using nails. For this holes had to be made in calendars and walls. People found this process to be cumbersome. This problem has been solved to a great extent with the invention of sticky wall calendars. Here, an adhesive material is used that sticks calendars on walls.
Wall calendars are available in different themes, styles, and sizes. It can be standard or premium. There are standard and spiral bound calendars. Calendars come in a wide variety with pictures of birds, animals, flowers, movie scenes and film stars. There are many calendars with pictures representing artworks of renowned artists. These calendars are a choice for art lovers who cannot afford original paintings.
Wall calendars can be custom made to a customer?s liking. Some calendars are designed with additional space for notes. Calendars can incorporate company logos, addresses and business related themes. These calendars are an effective means to improve customer business relationships, as they can contain strong advertising messages.
Wall calenders are available from various bookstores and shops. They can also be downloaded from the Internet free of cost. There are calendars with multiple pages. Some have printings on both sides. Popular calendars are the ones with a single picture on each page. Usually all the pictures in a calendar represent a single theme. Some people get calendar pictures framed, as most calendars are printed on high quality glossy papers.
Calendars provides detailed information on Calendars, Free Calendars, Printable Calendars, Custom Calendars and more. Calendars is affiliated with Atomic Alarm Clocks.

Aquarium Screensaver Where Can You Find It

2008-12-01T11:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Low Jeremy

Can you imagine a real aquarium fish, swimming, flipping and tossing with other aquatic creatures in your screen? Do you want to have the most beautiful fish with bright and vivid colors whirling in your computer screen? Of course, you might think it is impossible but this is not impossible. You can have your favorite aquatic creature in your computer by saving a mind flowing aquarium screensaver in your computer.
Aquarium screensaver is a computerized reflection of real life fish tank. It looks like real with aquarium weeds and other supplies. It contains fish as well. It provides the same viewing satisfaction only that you do not have to feed the fish to give you the pleasure you need.
An aquarium screensaver is a three dimensional aquarium screensaver. It is a type of screensaver that gives you moving images with a real effect. This type of software is developed using flash, 3D studiomax and Maya through transition pattern giving away real life images.
Three dimensional aquarium screensaver is a big example of the amazing product this software has made. It features images and sceneries like a real time aquarium. It also contains plenty of features like an option that will change the scheme or background in less than no time.
The three dimensional aquarium screensaver is very popular especially to those who love aquarium. It has several of options available to match every occasions and seasons. It is available everywhere.
You can get one from computer stores in your area. All you have to do is to download it in your computer and you can use it anytime. You do not have to worry about the prize because anyone can afford it.
If you do not want to exert more effort on buying an aquarium screensaver, you can use your computer to download one. Internet has plenty of sources like websites and search engines where you can get real time aquarium screensavers. The price is almost the same compared to buying it in stores near you.
Aquarium screensavers are even offered free. Yes, some websites offers free aquarium screensaver download free. You do not have to pay upon downloading. However, you need to be careful when you download free aquarium screensavers. Be aware of the frauds in the net. Many websites are advertising this type of opportunity but in reality, it can ruin your computer's functionality. So, choose the website you want to get the aquarium screensaver warily.
This content is provided by Low Jeremy and may be used only in its entirety with all links included. For more info on Aquariums, please visit http://aquarium.articlekeep.com