Monday, June 30, 2008

How Solar Panels Work

Writen by Anne Clarke

Have you ever asked, "How do solar panels work?" And did you receive a blank stare as an answer to that question? Well here is the answer you are looking for, the answer to that curious question, "how do solar panels work?"

So, how do solar panels work?

Solar panels rely on the properties of silicon. You see, silicon (Si on your periodic table) has just four electrons when in its natural state. Of course, a silicon atom actually has room four 8 electrons.

One silicon atom can combine with another silicon atom to create a strong bond, sharing each others four electrons. Of course, to create electricity, you need to have a positive or negative charge. Because the two silicon atoms exactly fill each others capacity of 8, there is no positive or negative charge.

So, to create electricity, the silicon must be combined with another element that will give it a positive or negative charge. If you take silicon and combine it chemically with phosphorus (which can give 5 electrons), you end up with a negative charge. There is that one extra electron that is floating around that silicon just does not need.

To create a positive charge, silicon can be combined with an element with three electrons to offer, like boron. This positive combination allows electricity to flow.

All right, so this is all fine and good, but has it really answered the question at hand: how do solar panels work? After all, I have not even yet mentioned the sun, right? Well, be patient, the sun will enter the picture, right about now.

Sunlight has many different particles of energy, one of which is the photon. These photons hit the silicon/phosphorus atoms and knocks off the extra electron, right to where the positive silicon/boron atom can suck it in.

As this continues to happen to atom after atom, electricity is generated. Of course, for this to really work, it requires a lot of atoms, a lot of plates, a lot of solar cells… To power a house or a car, it takes a whole lot of solar panels.

Oh, so what happens to that extra electron that got thrown out of one "negative" home and thrown into the "positive" home? Well, child services take him back to his original home, just so that the process can start all over again!

And that is how solar panels work. Any more questions?

Anne Clarke writes numerous articles for websites on gardening, parenting, the enviornment, fashion, and home decor. Her background includes teaching and gardening. For more of her articles on solar power, please visit Solar Home.

The Evolution Of Business Service Management Bsm

Writen by Peter Goldin

Looking back, the emergence of business service management (BSM) seems inevitable. This new generation of tools helps IT organizations manage technology infrastructures within the context of the key services they provide for their customers. BSM tools are critical enablers for the increasingly popular process-focused IT Service Management (ITSM) approach.

What's driving this evolution to BSM and its related IT management paradigms? Executive Consultant Troy DuMoulin of Pink Elephant, an ITIL events and consulting firm, explains, "The interest in ITIL, the evolution of legislation like SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002), and the interest in standards is symptomatic of something much more rudimentary. At the base of this growing focus on formalization and legislation is a growing awareness of exposure and dependency that the business has on IT. Before, IT was seen as an enabler, supportive but yet somehow separated from the business processes themselves. But now there is a realization that there is no true separation between the business process and the underlying IT services and systems."

Information technology has become so vital to business today – so ubiquitous in every aspect - that most businesses literally cannot function without it anymore. Even simple manual tasks like filling a car with gas or cashing a check now require the support of an IT system.

This heightened reliance on IT has placed companies at a crossroads. They are compelled to address this new dependency by putting processes and technology in place to ensure IT does its job serving the business effectively. So the move to BSM can be seen as a natural reaction to the new way IT interacts with and enables business.

"BSM is a way for a company to agree on what the business expectations are, and manage the IT performance to those agreed upon expectations," clarifies Brian Childers, a consultant who also serves on the Board of Directors for itSMF USA, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting best practices in IT services management. "Once we understand the expectations, we can build the processes to suit the expectations, and manage against them."

Vendors are responding rapidly to these new service management imperatives. Leading software providers - like HP, BMC, Mercury and Managed Objects - are already introducing new BSM-versions of their popular tools to help revolutionize the way IT managers gauge technology performance and leverage that knowledge to meet business needs. And new kinds of automated, self-learning software from companies like Netuitive, are making it easier than ever for managers to cut across their technology silos and tie together their existing management tools.

"Over the years - especially during the frenetic IT build-out of the late 1990s - companies cobbled together a mishmash of systems within their IT organizations," adds Tony Gilbert, vice president at Netuitive. "The result now is a heterogeneous set of components in the IT environment, and individual departmental silos for managing each one. The right set of BSM tools makes it possible to tie together all of these pieces of technology across an enterprise and to monitor IT from the perspective of the service it delivers."

BSM tools help IT groups see technology in terms of how it impacts their business services, and zero-in on the cause of a particular performance issue that is affecting that service –- a capability companies do not have when they manage IT solely through technology silos. The new BSM tools can also enable a company to prioritize resources based on the relative importance of multiple business services. For example, a brokerage firm could manage online trading or online banking services holistically instead of piecemeal within silos: the server group, the database group, the application group.

More Than Just Technology

But completely changing a management approach is not easy. "For the last 20 years our industry has been focused on managing technology. Management of IT has been by domains, such as mainframes, networks and databases. But those domains don't truly live in isolation." Pink Elephant's DuMoulin continues, "A basic premise is that there is a business requirement for IT to understand how any given IT component relates to another and how these devices support or potentially disable a business process. When you understand IT from this perspective you see that you cannot manage by technology or device. You need to understand the relationship between those devices, and how they relate to IT services, and ultimately how IT services are consumed by business."

The people factor remains an issue, too. For many organizations, BSM often requires a corporate culture change. IT personnel must learn that they don't just manage boxes and applications, but actually provide services that the business consumes in order to survive and thrive. Most experts agree that the tools are out there, and are necessary, but they go hand in hand with changing processes and changing the way companies perceive the value of IT.

"Some people believe that it doesn't matter what technology you use as long as you have the right processes in place," comments Ken Wendle, the ITSM Solution Lead at HP. "But I have always said that IT service management is a combination of people and process, enabled by the right technology, all working in synergy with each other. It is about the intelligent blending of technology to enable and enforce the right processes, which then will allow an organization to execute around business priorities."

"I have seen companies that put the right processes in place, and trained the right people, but then created process silos," HP's Wendle also notes. "But ITSM is about cutting across the technology silos, not just creating another set of process silos on top of them. ITSM is about taking a holistic approach."

The BSM Evolution Continues

Where is BSM going from here? "One of the missing ingredients today is the enrollment of the business community," itSMF's Childers believes. "They need to understand what BSM is and why they would want to support it. I think the better job everyone does with bringing the business side onboard, the faster BSM will progress."

"I don't think companies have gained all the benefits of technology that they could," HP's Wendle agrees. "The business people need to understand and appreciate what IT can do to help the business side of the organization."

Clearly there is work to be done, but the adoption of ITSM and the BSM tools that support it continues to gain momentum as more companies realize this is a prerequisite for success in a new world where business and IT have become one.

"The prediction is that over the next five years, ITSM will be as impactful as ERP systems were, or maybe more," itSMF's Childers concludes. "I don't think ITSM is going away, because it makes too much sense." And innovative BSM vendors will continue to develop new tools to help.

Reprinted from BSM Digest
The BSM Digest newsletter delivers timely original articles about the latest trends in business service management, IT Service Management and ITIL. Plus, we scour the technology industry's leading publications and alert you to the best articles you don't want to miss. http://www.bsmdigest.com

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Rotary Tables And Rotary Stages

Writen by Gordon Petten

A rotary table is designed to be used in conjunction with vertical mills. When a rotary table is put on a vertical mill what you create is a machine that is theoretically capable of reproducing itself.

A standard milling machine set-up usually involves aligning the work with the table and then with the spindle. The table can be accurately moved with the hand wheels making this a simple operation for most. Aligning a part on a rotary table however can be difficult because the work has to be clamped into position. This is not always easy when you are working alone.

Most experts suggest that you start by doing the rotary table work first which can eliminate the need for precision aligning. Aligning the milling spindle with the rotary table can be done by indicating the hole in the center of the rotary table. You then need to spot drill the center on the work you wish to have line up with the rotary table. Finally put a pointer in the spindle that is accurate. After doing this set the work under the spindle and lower the head until it engages with the center mark at this point clamp the part down. And there you have it, locked and ready to work with.

Rotary stages are used in industrial robots, fiber optics and photonics, vision systems, machine tools, assembly, semiconductor equipment, medical component laser machining, electronic manufacturing, and other high-performance industrial automation applications. Rotary stages provide the best angular positioning and velocity control. Applications range from indexing to high-speed laser machining to precision wafer inspection. All of these applications are fine tuned to the best numbers possible using rotary stages.

There are several types of rotary stages at this point in the game however the ones getting the most press are the laser guided rotary stages. Utilizing lasers helps create the most absolute positioning to date. Some of the newer rotary stages are ideal for applications that require X, Y and q degrees of movement for ambient and high vacuum environments. They tend to feature high resolution, high stability as well as being available for ambient and high vacuum environments. Experts also agree that having the choice of lateral and rotational degrees of freedom also lends that extra precision that is needed in delicate jobs as well as the strength for larger projects.

Rotary Tables

Store Your Home Inventory Data With Amazon S3

Writen by Kevin Sparks

"What happens to all of the inventory data on your computer if it's stolen or destroyed in a disaster?" As a producer of Home Inventory Software, we often get this question when discussing our product. Although we have an answer for that (with a feature that allows users to send their data to a remote email server for off-site storage), not all applications have this functionality built-in, so a solution which could be applied consistently for all applications would be quite helpful.

Welcome Amazon S3
This back-end web service from Amazon.com provides secure, reliable, remote storage for your data on the internet for only 15 cents per gigabyte per month. There is no minimum fee, no start up fee, and you pay only for what you use. You'll pay for bandwidth costs in addition to the storage, so you don't want to be uploading the entire contents of your hard drive every day, but for simple backup of important files, you just can't find a better deal than this. As an example, you could store 100 pictures of 1 MB each for only 1.5 cents/month! Store 1000 pictures of 1 MB each for only 15 cents/month!

Set up your tools:
To get this all to work requires some setup, but the tools are all free and easy to use, and you can be backing up your data to the internet within 15 minutes. Ready to get started? Here's what you'll need to do:

  1. Create an Amazon S3 account (5 minutes). Create your account here.
  2. Install and configure Jungle Disk (5 minutes). Get Jungle Disk here. Although your data will only be accessible to you, you may want to check out the encryption options if you're planning to store sensitive data.
  3. Install and configure Net Drive (3 minutes). Get Net Drive here. Create a "New Site" and set the Site Address/URL to: http://localhost:2667/ (or the value configured in Jungle Disk). Set the Server Type to WebDav, and choose a drive letter for accessing your new remote storage.

That's all there is to it. The next time you open "My Computer", you'll see your new drive letter which looks and acts just like a hard drive on your computer. You can use this drive for backing up your Home Inventory data, as well as pictures, spreadsheets, word documents, or any other files from 1 byte to 5 gigabytes each.

Kevin Sparks is a technical writer for Kaizen Software Solutions, the producer of Home Manager, a home inventory software program. For more information, visit their website at http://www.kzsoftware.com/products/homemanager.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

What Is The Difference Between Cd And Dvd Media

Writen by Logan Rokwild

Although both CD and DVD have the same media size and shape, the similarity ends there. There are numerous points of difference between the two, as listed below:

Data pits and lasers

A disc has microscopic grooves that move along in a spiral around the disc. Both CDs and DVDs have these grooves. Laser beams are applied to scan these grooves. As you may be aware, digital information is represented in ones and zeroes. In these discs, very tiny reflective bumps (called 'lands') and non-reflective holes (called 'pits'), which are found alongside the grooves, reflect the ones and zeros of digital information.

Here lies the difference – by reducing the wavelength of the laser (from the 780mm infrared light used in the CD) to 625mm or more infrared light, DVD technology has managed to write in smaller 'pits' as compared to the standard CD. This allows for a greater amount of data per track. The minimum length of a pit in a single layer DVD-RAM is 0.4 micron, as compared to 0.834 micron for a CD.

Also, the tracks of DVDs are narrower, allowing for more tracks per disc, which again translates into more capacity than a CD.

Layers

As explained above, DVDs have smaller 'pits' and the lasers have to focus on them. This is done by using a thinner plastic substrate than in a CD, which means that the laser has to pass through a thinner layer, with less depth to reach the pits. It was this reduction in thickness which was responsible for discs that were only 0.6mm thick – half that of a CD.

Data access speeds

DVDs access data at a much faster rate that do CDs. Here is a comparison – a 32X CD-ROM drive reads data at 4M bytes per second while a 1X DVD drive reads at 1.38M bytes per second. That's even faster than an 8x CD drive!

UDF (Universal Data Format)

Recording formats of CDs and DVDs are quite different. DVDs use UDF (Universal Data Format). This allows data, video, audio or a combination of all three, to be stored in a single file structure. The advantage of this is that any file can be accessed by any drive, computer or consumer video. CDs, however, are not compatible with this format.

Logan writes about various topics. This article is free to re-print as long as nothing is changed, the bio remains, all hyper links remain intact and the rel="nofollow" tag isn't added to any links. Thank-You

Friday, June 27, 2008

Toshiba Libertto U100 Smaller Yet Better Than You Might Imagine

Writen by John Gibb

Have you ever wondered how small a laptop can be? Well, utilizing today's technology Toshiba does a perfect job at demonstrating it; the Libertto U100 is one of the very few laptops that have such a rich feature set fitted altogether within such a small space. Of course, if you believe that a fingerprint authentication system is too much for such a small device then you are wrong; but if you think that you can only have HDD protection on larger laptops then… you are wrong again!

This miraculously small laptop manufactured by Toshiba will surprise you in many different ways. First of all, Japanese have made their magic again and reduced the motherboards size to nearly one third of its initial size. Apart from that, they also minimized the 802.11b/g PCI Wireless card to half of its size! Of course, those space improvements left enough space for an 1.20Ghz Intel Pentium M microprocessor (with 2MB of L2 cache and 400Mhz FSB) to find its home inside the U100.

Regarding connectivity, the U100 has 2 USB slots, 1 IEEE – 1394 port as well as LAN and modem ports. Do you think that's enough? Well, sorry but the U100 is also equipped with a docking connector as well as an RGB mini-connector. And now to the meat! Toshiba has equipped the U100 with its very own Hard Disk Drive protection system. The system uses a 3D accelerometer in order to detect sudden speed changes (this might occur when the laptop for some reason falls or bounces). If such acceleration is detected then the hard drive (which by the way has a capacity of 60GB) head stops any motion until things are back to normality. Apart from this really helpful feature, the U100 is equipped with a fingerprint authentication system. The laptop will only operate if it recognizes the user's fingerprints. By now you might be wondering "Okay, this laptop really has lots of features; it must be really heavy considering its dimensions!" Well, don't be surprised to read that the U100 weights just a minimal of 2.16 pounds!

One final thing to note about the U100 is that Toshiba has updated its display; This time, it's a 7.2" widescreen LCD with WXGA(1280x768pixels) which is also further illuminated by a LED backlight.

With all the above said, there's just one more thing that I didn't say: the choice is completely yours!

John Gibb is the owner of Toshiba Laptop resources For more information on Toshoba Laptops check out http://www.Toshiba-Laptops-sources1k.info

The It Consultant Keeps Spare Parts Handy

Writen by Joshua Feinberg

An IT consultant needs to be aware that PC vendors are typically very willing to cover inexpensive products like a mouse under standard warranties. But because as an IT consultant your client can probably buy a replacement part of that type for as little as $10, it's probably not worth waiting for a few days to get a replacement part under the standard PC warranty agreement.

The Convenience Of Available Spare Parts

If your clients already have spare mice available, warranty claims can be delayed by a few days or a few weeks until there is time to deal with the issue. As their IT consultant, you will have helped your clients deal with potential downtime for a nominal advanced planning expense that will be far worth the time saved in the long run.

Going a step further, as an IT consultant you should encourage customers to keep extra keyboards and monitors around also. The cost of these pieces of equipment is very inexpensive as compared to the productivity loss that can result from waiting for parts to arrive. And all three of these items can typically be installed quickly in-house.

Extra Desktop PCs

The cost of entry-level desktop PCs is going down rapidly and most companies need to have virtually zero downtime to compete. Many small businesses have decided to invest in extra PCs in case of emergency to prevent any delays in business. A standard, fully-configured desktop PC only costs $600, so even an office with as few as six PCs can afford to have one on-hand. As an IT consultant you should encourage your clients to self-insure the warranty coverage for years two and three.

Giving Wise Advice To Clients

As an IT consultant, you need to recommend smart investments to your clients. They should spend some of their technology budget on choice spare parts and a full desktop PC. By investing well, clients will be able to deal with warranty claims on an as-needed basis instead of in a panic. Outsourcing this project management work and planning to you as their IT consultant can make their lives easier and prevent exorbitant emergency costs.

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

Joshua Feinberg has helped thousands of computer consultants around the World get more steady, high-paying clients. Learn how you can too get more steady, high-paying clients. Sign-up now for Joshua's free Computer Consultants Secrets audio training.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Bluetooth A Revolution In Technology

Writen by Johnathan Sanders

Recently I implemented a wireless lan within my house and was suprised by how easy it was to do. I then when and bought a bluetooth adapter to connect my laptop to the router.

Those of you who like me may be frustrated by the amount of cabling that only seems to increase within the house, each time new computer equipment is purchased, I would recommend checking out a wireless connection with bluetooth as well. You will be suprised how easy it is to configure.

I recently bought a bluetooth connector to for my printer. This has proved a great investment as it only took 2 minutes to configure and allows so much flexibilty.

You will be suprised by the cost of such equipment, it is really affordable and am sure will become standard within a copule of years.

You will need to be careful if you do decide to connect, say a mible phone with a bluetooth computer, as if the connection is not secure, there is a danger that hackers are able to tap into your pc. Therefore it is always advisable to swithoff your bluetooth connection when not in use.

Most high street retailers sell bluetooth equipment and it is also worth checking out ebay for the latest bargains.

thanks John.

Johnathan Saunders.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Dont Fear The Internet Fax

Writen by Brandi Cummings

What may be simple and second nature to one person, may lead to confusion and hair pulling to the next. Let's take internet fax for instance. This technology has been around for quite some time now but there are still many people out there who could not tell you how it works or how to send an internet fax. People tend to fear what they don't understand. Some may be afraid that using internet fax is going to be too complicated. Nothing could be further from the truth.

How Internet fax Works
Internet fax technology isn't really all that different than using a traditional fax when you break it down. Both convert faxes into binary data (1 for white, 0 for dark) to send from one location to another, called a "handshake" - an electronic agreement of how to send and receive the information. The only difference is that internet fax technology allows you to do it with a few clicks of the mouse.

How to Send an Internet fax
How you send an internet fax will change slightly depending on your providerHowever, there are 2 basic ways to send an internet faxOne is directly from a word processing program, such as Microsoft Word, and the other is from an online control panel through your internet fax providerFor example, you have just written a document that needs to be faxed out to a clientLet's examine the 3 possible ways this can be accomplished:

Sending a Fax on a Traditional Fax Line

  1. Open the document you want to fax.
  2. Select print.
  3. Go to the printer and pick up your document.
  4. Walk over to the fax machine, load it in the fax machine and dial the outgoing fax number.
  5. Wait as the fax is being sent out.
  6. When finished, retrieve your document, and take it back to your desk.
  7. File the document away for future reference.

Sending an Internet Fax Using Fax Print Software
  1. Open the document you want to fax.
  2. Select print and choose Fax printer.
  3. Enter in the recipient's fax number.
  4. Click send.

Sending an Internet Fax Using an Online Control Panel
  1. Login to the online control panel.
  2. Upload the document you want to fax.
  3. Enter in the recipient's fax number.
  4. Click send.

Receiving Your Internet Fax
Receiving internet faxes is even easier than sending themWhen a fax is sent to your internet fax phone number, the provider will then forward it to your existing email addressThe file will come as an attachment and with a double click of the mouse, you have your faxJust as with sending your internet faxes, there will most likely be an option to access your faxes from an online control panel as well

Internet fax is a simple and convenient solution for small and home based businesses todayWith internet fax, sending faxes is now as easy as printing and receiving faxes is as easy as checking your email Don't be intimidated by this user-friendly technology. Overcome your fear and check out internet fax for yourself.

Brandi Cummings, an expert in the field of virtual telecommunications, recommends checking out Fax800.com (http://www.fax800.com), a leading provider of internet fax technology for small businesses.

Midsize Business Erp Great Plains Standard Vs Professional

Writen by Andrew Karasev

If you are in the growing mode and reach the point when you need to move away from old accounting application and incorporate something, which could be considered as industry standard ERP, you should know general direction and where to look for additional information. Microsoft Business Solutions gives you several ERP packages to choose from: Microsoft Great Plains Standard/Professional/Small Business Financials, Microsoft Navision, Microsoft Axapta, Microsoft CRM. In this small article we will concentrate on Microsoft Great Plains selection options.

• Pricing. Microsoft Great Plains Professional price is about two times higher than Microsoft Great Plains Standard. You should probably know the history. Current Great Plains Standard was formerly available on Pervasive SQL and ctree and the product line name was Great Plains Dynamics. This product was targeted to midsize and small businesses (with growing potential, for tiny business you should consider MYOB, Peachtree, Quickbooks, etc.)

• Database. Currently both products (since version 7.5) are available on MS SQL Server. Standard is also available on MSDE and MS SQL Select 2005. Here we are talking about midsize business and MS SQL Server 2000/2005

• Additional Modules. Obviously both products have standard set of modules: General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, SOP, POP, Inventory Control, Payroll, HR – Human Resources. However if you are large/midsize business you may need additional modules: Customer/Vendor Consolidation, Intercompany Transactions, Manufacturing, Service Suite and others.

• GP Standard Limitations. Number of GPS users has cap 10 users. Also in Payroll/HR you are limited to 500 employees

• eConnect. Large corporation usually has inhouse web and software developers. In this case you can consider creating web interface for multiple users (and doing so avoid numerous and expensive GP users licenses). eConnect is available for both GPP and GPS. In our opinion, however – this is temporary gap – when Microsoft Business Solutions will decide that eConnect should be user-licensed this might be stopped. eConnect is currently not available for Small Business Financials.

• New Version. MBS Great Plains Standard and Professional version 9.0 is scheduled to be released in September 2005

• Industries. Great Plains Professional should be considered as ERP platform in the following industries: Aerospace & Defense, Beverages, Apparels, Conglomerates, Textile, Services, Non-for-profit, Transportation &Logistics, Warehouse management/Shipping & Receiving, Distribution, Wholesale & Retail, Government, Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology, Placement & Recruiting, Healthcare & Hospitals.

• Cross-Platform integrations. Combining Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains ERP with non-Microsoft Business System or CRM: Lotus Notes Domino, Oracle, DB2

Good luck and you can always seek our help in customization, implementation, integration and support. Call us: 1-866-528-0577 or 1-630-961-5918, help@albaspectrum.com

About The Author
Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies – USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, serving Chicago, California, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Georgia, New York, Australia, UK, Canada, Germany, Continental Europe, Russia and having locations in multiple states and internationally ( http://www.albaspectrum.com ), he is Dexterity, SQL, C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK developer.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

How To Remove Computer Viruses For Free

Writen by Michael McKennedy

Viruses are everywhere and new viruses are being released daily. Maybe your computer is already infected? Maybe you are taking the proactive approach and you are thinking about how to prevent viruses from infecting your computer in the first place? Either way, this article can help so read on.

Let's begin with what a virus is and a few of the different types of viruses out there.

A virus is a program or piece of code that runs on a computer without the users knowledge. Viruses cannot install themselves, they must be run by a human, mostly likely from an executable file. Viruses can use up system resources, replicate themselves, allow a user remote access to the infected computer, as well as destroy personal data, hardware and software. Many viruses are spread via email. Viruses are different from spyware.

There are many different types of viruses.

  • Boot Virus - affects the boot sector of a floppy or hard disk (hard drive). The boot sector is a crucial part of the system since it holds information about how a computer boots (is started) up. A boot virus does not infect files, it infects the disks on which they reside.
  • Macro Virus - enter a system by exploiting vulnerabilities in macros. Microsoft Word (.doc file extension), Excel spreadsheets (.xls file extension) and many more...
  • Polymorphic Virus - changes itself (actually, encrypts, or encodes itself) so as to be hidden from scans. When it is going to deliver it's damage it decrypts, does what it is designed to do and goes back into hiding.
  • Resident Virus - hides in RAM memory, from where it can control all operations of the system.
  • Trojan Horse - is a master of deception. It usually hides in software that appears to be a legitimate application. Once opened by the user a Trojan can do anything from delete files, and destroying system information to less malicious things as making your cd rom open and close and changing your desktop icons around. Trojans are famous for creating a backdoor in the infected computer. This backdoor allows users remote access which can be used to control the computer for whatever use the controller wishes. Trojans do not reproduce by infecting other files, which is one of the major differences between a trojan and a worm.
  • Worms - are a sub-class of viruses. They spread from computer to computer and have the ability to move from computer to computer across networks without the help of a human. A worm exploits vulnerabilities in software and operating systems using existing files and transport systems already in place on the infected machine. One of the most dangerous thing about worms is their ability to replicate. An infected system could be used to not only send one copy of the worm out onto the Internet but possibly thousands of copies. In the meantime, draining the infected computer of valuable system resources.

  1. Download, install and update Anti-Virus Software.

    • There are many 'free for personal use' versions of anti-virus software available. My personal favorite is AVG Anti-Virus. You can download AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition from here http://www.malwaresolutions.com/tool_anti_virus.html
      Download, install and update AVG or which ever anti-virus product you choose to use. Follow the program's instructions for updating the virus definitions. This way the software "know what to look for". It will have a much better chance at removing viruses if it the virus definitions are up-to-date!

  2. If you are using Windows ME or Windows XP, disable System Restore.

    • What is System Restore? System Restore is a feature built into Windows XP and Windows ME that allows users to 'roll-back' to specific restore points without affecting data files. A restore point is automatically created (as long as System Restore is turned on) when new software and/or drivers are installed. If there is a problem with the installation System Restore allows a user to select a restore point (a date) to revert back to. The problem here is this, if a computer is infected with viruses, spyware and/or adware when a restore point is created, rolling-back to that restore point will re-infect the computer. Follow these instructions to turn off System Restore in Windows XP
    • click Start
    • click Control Panel
    • click System
    • click the System Restore tab
    • un-check the box that reads 'Turn off System Restore on all drives' (to turn System Restore on put a check back in the box)
  3. Disconnect from the Internet.

  4. Open Internet Explorer (or the browser of your choice) - clear your cookies and cache.

    • To delete cookies in IE: Tools >> Internet Options >> on the General tab choose Delete Cookies. You will be asked 'Delete all cookies in the Temporary Internet Files folder? Click OK.
    • To delete the cache in IE: Tools >> Internet Options >> on the General tab choose Delete Files. Be sure to place a check in the box that says 'Delete all offline content'. Click OK
  5. Restart the computer in Safe Mode.

    • What is Safe Mode? Safe Mode is a special troubleshooting option built into the most Windows based operating systems.
    • To access Safe Mode click Start and then click Shut Down.

      In the drop-down list of the Shut Down Windows dialog box, click Restart, and then click OK.

      As your computer restarts but before Windows launches, press F8.

      Use the arrow keys to highlight the appropriate Safe Mode option, and then press ENTER.

  6. While in Safe Mode run a full system scan on the computer using the anti-virus software. This might take some time depending on how much data the anti-virus software needs to sift through. Be patient, let the software do it's job.

  7. After all viruses have been quarantined or removed, reboot the computer and connect to the Internet then run Windows Update (Windows XP go to Start, Programs, Windows Update - select all critical updates).

  8. If you are not already running a software firewall, now is a good time to install one. A firewall helps protect your computer and personal data from online predators. I recommend Zone Alarm. It's free for personal use and can be found on this page http://www.malwaresolutions.com/tools_firewalls.html

  9. There are many viruses designed specifically to exploit vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer. If you use Internet Explorer you might want to consider an alternate web browser such as Mozilla Firefox.

Tips To Help Keep Viruses Off Your Computer:

  1. Do not open email attachments - unless you can verify they are 100% safe.
  2. Stay away from questionable websites. For example: pornography sites!
  3. Be careful when downloading using P2P (Peer to Peer) file sharing software. Always scan your downloads with anti-virus software before you open them!

  4. Keep Microsoft Windows up-to-date using Windows Update.
  5. Keep your anti-virus software up-to-date and run scans periodically.

  6. Do not install Free software unless the source can be verified. When in doubt search for the software title on Google.

Removing viruses from a computer can be a daunting task: remain calm, do your research and be persistant and you should be able to enjoy a virus-free computing experience once again.

Good luck!

Author: Michael McKennedy

Michael has personally removed over 30,000 spyware/virus infected files from client computers over the past few years using the techiques desribed in this article.

He is the owner of http://www.MalwareSolutions.com

Monday, June 23, 2008

Specifics Of Color Bullet Cameras

Writen by Dan Crane

Color Bullet Cameras for Spying. What are the Options?

If you want to protect your house or office buildings from unwanted thieves, then color bullet cameras can be your best shot.

Bullet cameras are called this way, because they look like a rifle bullet or ammo cartridge. Bullet cams usually have a shape of cylinder and are used in outdoor environment. Of course, they may also be used inside the building without any problems whatsoever.

Benefits of Bullet Cameras

  • First of all, bullet cameras are small in size. It is relatively easy to install them on walls or the ceiling.

  • Second, bullet cameras can be wired or wireless. Wireless, are much better, because you can use them almost anywhere.

  • Some bullet cameras are weatherproof. It means that they can be safely used outside even in all weathers.

  • Waterproof bullet cams allow you to use them outside in a bad weather or rain. Not only that. It's possible to install them on a submarine and dive into water. They can hold pressure up to 100 feet below water surface.

  • Infrared bullet cameras can capture video in complete darkness. They're ideal for night vision. Such cams may turn on infrared regime when in gets dark, and get back to normal when it's light.

  • Wireless cameras can connect to a transmitter and send signals to VCR, DVD or your PC.


Image Quality

Image quality may differ in different bullet cameras. More expensive ones will offer you a better image quality, while cheaper ones might give you not so good view. However, most bullet cameras come with 4mm lens that allows up to 70 degree angle of view.

This is the widest angle you may have without distorting the quality of picture. Color bullet cameras may also capture quality color view. For night view however, it's best to opt for black-and-white bullet cameras. Resolutions for these cams can be up to 420 lines. This produces much better picture quality.

Prices of Bullet Cameras

Bullet cameras vary in price. You may get yourself relatively cheap bullet camera for less than $100 online. Some may cost less than $50, but quality won't be superb in many cases. You may also pay over $1500 for a whole bullet camera system, which includes remote controls, DVR's with LCD monitors.

Basically it all depends on what you need. If you need one bullet camera to install near the front door of your house, then you may easily get away with one hundred dollars.

But if you need more bullet cameras with high quality video resolution, then you might want a more expensive, but quality product. Maybe a whole system of color bullet cameras. If you need to secure an office for example, then you'll probably need infrared cameras for night view and pretty high quality either.

Dan Crane specializes in spy camera industry and provides information and guides to consumers about hidden cameras and surveillance equipment.
If you'd like to learn more about hidden cameras or surveillance cam software, then check out Vedosoft website for more information at:
http://www.vedosoft.com

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Artificial Intelligence Predictions For 2006

Writen by Lance Winslow

Artificial Intelligent machines, computers and robotic systems made some ground in 2005, as they continued to amaze the masses. Except for the year that Big Blue beat the World Chess Champion; 2005 was the year of artificial intelligence, as start-up companies found niches in business, military, space and consumer markets. In 2005 artificial intelligence software programs began to show the world that "Artificial Intelligence" may not be an oxymoron after all; despite what its critics and detractors believe. Currently we have artificial intelligent systems doing surveillance, running vehicles and using decision matrix software to make choices based on pre-programmed best case scenarios. Such systems are commonly found in CRM software, virtual reality systems and hybrid decision making computer command and control systems.

What will artificial intelligence systems be able to do in 2006? Artificial intelligent systems will be able to predict human desire and intent based on previous deviations and choices you have previously made. For instance your GPS system will start alerting you at 10:10 AM that a Starbucks is within in one-quarter mile, knowing it is time for your morning cup of coffee. Your cell phone will alert you of your favorite sandwich shop at 1:11 PM only one block away, it will know that if it is more than two-blocks away that you will not wish to walk that far.

When you turn on the radio on the way home from work depending on the time your stereo system will automatically give you your most likely three choices and if you fail to choose it will select the best possible appropriate song for you at that time. Yes, artificial intelligence will soon be a way of life, it will adjust and remember preference and even choose chaos and select something you may not thought of based on preferences and deviances of past choices. Think about it, "It is!"

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

Saturday, June 21, 2008

How To Find The Computer You Need

Writen by Eric Murray

Ever had one of those days when you thought that you would spend a lot of time searching around for really good computer bargains?

I have had that experience many times and have found that I used to waste time doing endless and meaningless searches trying to find what I need. But then, I found a solution!

Figuring out what to search for is half the battle won, but how to figure out whether the prices being displayed were bargain prices was another issue. So how did I solve that problem?

Try and identify first what computer system you need to buy. This really can be a struggle if you are not familiar with computers. You can visit the nearest library to you and speak to a librarian to see whether they have issues of the Computer Shopper magazine. Not only Computer Shopper, but PC Novice and PC Magazine as well. I have found these to be quite useful and effective in helping me decide on the type of system I need.

PC Novice is especially useful because it explains in layman's language what I need to know and gives recommendations on the alternatives to look for. Terms such as motherboard and peripherals are usually explained in detail. You should not worry however if you are not familiar with these terms. Just understand that when you go to purchase your computer, you may find an enthusiastic sales rep asking you – "so how much ram do you need in this computer"; "you think you may need an Intel or AMD processor?"; or, "how many gigabytes do you need for your hard drive? --- Huh???

The magazines I listed above will help you a great deal but don't get lost with all the geek talk. You will be able to find complete systems available that will be sold with software. Some systems will be sold with the box – the CPU portion, and the monitor. Depending on where you are buying your computer from, the monitor may be at an extra cost. Some systems will be sold with a printer and they will try and sell you a host of other things which are not really necessary.

My advice therefore is to first figure out what you want to do with the computer and do some research!

Shopping around is the next best thing you can do to find the best prices. I usually look at three to four different quotations to see which one matches my budget. Most computers today will do what you want to do. You do not need to get the most expensive system especially if you will only be surfing the Internet and checking email occasionally, so don't go overboard thinking that because you saw your neighbor with this expensive system you need to have one too.

Good luck and happy shopping!!

This article brought to you by Eric Murray
Computer Bargains Today

The author is a librarian and a computer enthusiast.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Useful Information About Workstations

Writen by Richard Romando

The term workstation is used concerning a sophisticated stand-alone computer specifically designed for high performance levels in certain tasks like imaging, graphics or computer-aided design. These high end computers are generally equipped with additional features such as a faster processor, high resolution monitor, advanced graphics card, greater memory, and built in networking support, that places them at an ambiguous borderline between high grade PCs and minicomputers. They are most often used commercially, but you can also get one for personal use, as long as your reason for having one is very specific and you need something highly specialized.

Whatever the nature of the workstation, it is of prime importance to research them before making a purchase decision. If looking to buy a workstation, keep in mind that you must always buy a system that allows flexibility and room for future growth. At the same time, since workstations are generally designed for specialized work, it is important to determine the primary task for which the workstation is needed. The size of the office area and layout are also important factors to be considered while opting for modular office workstations. Some of the leading brands of workstations include Workspaces, Tayco, Marvel group, and New Trends amongst others.

An economical option for small and medium businesses is the purchase of used or refurbished workstations. Often large companies dispose of their workstations when they have layoffs or shift locations. These workstations are purchased by dealers who refurbish them and sell them to smaller businesses. These allow businesses to purchase quality workstations at much lower than retail prices.

Workstations provides detailed information on Workstations, Computer Workstations, Office Workstations, Used Workstations and more. Workstations is affiliated with Industrial Single Board Computers.

Everything About Web Servers And Firewall Zones

Writen by Tom Mansell

Web and FTP Servers

Every network that has an internet connection is at risk of being compromised. Whilst there are several steps that you can take to secure your LAN, the only real solution is to close your LAN to incoming traffic, and restrict outgoing traffic.

However some services such as web or FTP servers require incoming connections. If you require these services you will need to consider whether it is essential that these servers are part of the LAN, or whether they can be placed in a physically separate network known as a DMZ (or demilitarised zone if you prefer its proper name). Ideally all servers in the DMZ will be stand alone servers, with unique logons and passwords for each server. If you require a backup server for machines within the DMZ then you should acquire a dedicated machine and keep the backup solution separate from the LAN backup solution.

The DMZ will come directly off the firewall, which means that there are two routes in and out of the DMZ, traffic to and from the internet, and traffic to and from the LAN. Traffic between the DMZ and your LAN would be treated totally separately to traffic between your DMZ and the Internet. Incoming traffic from the internet would be routed directly to your DMZ.

Therefore if any hacker where to compromise a machine within the DMZ, then the only network they would have access to would be the DMZ. The hacker would have little or no access to the LAN. It would also be the case that any virus infection or other security compromise within the LAN would not be able to migrate to the DMZ.

In order for the DMZ to be effective, you will have to keep the traffic between the LAN and the DMZ to a minimum. In the majority of cases, the only traffic required between the LAN and the DMZ is FTP. If you do not have physical access to the servers, you will also need some sort of remote management protocol such as terminal services or VNC.

Database servers

If your web servers require access to a database server, then you will need to consider where to place your database. The most secure place to locate a database server is to create yet another physically separate network called the secure zone, and to place the database server there.

The Secure zone is also a physically separate network connected directly to the firewall. The Secure zone is by definition the most secure place on the network. The only access to or from the secure zone would be the database connection from the DMZ (and LAN if required).

Exceptions to the rule

The dilemma faced by network engineers is where to put the email server. It requires SMTP connection to the internet, yet it also requires domain access from the LAN. If you where to place this server in the DMZ, the domain traffic would compromise the integrity of the DMZ, making it simply an extension of the LAN. Therefore in our opinion, the only place you can put an email server is on the LAN and allow SMTP traffic into this server. However we would recommend against allowing any form of HTTP access into this server. If your users require access to their mail from outside the network, it would be far more secure to look at some form of VPN solution. (with the firewall handling the VPN connections. LAN based VPN servers allow the VPN traffic onto the network before it is authenticated, which is never a good thing.

For more great pieces of information, please visit http://www.platinum-e-books.co.uk

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Bluetooth Headsets Explained

Writen by Jakob Culver

For a wireless headset, you can do no wrong in choosing a Bluetooth headset. They are more compact than a wired headset, and certainly more lighter, but you have to take into consideration the fact that the wireless Bluetooth headset needs a battery.

The more popular choice for a Bluetooth headset is the one with the loop around the ear so that it is held in place. It may seem that it is not as secure as the on that is designed to be jammed into your ear, but it is found to be way more comfortable.

You will want to check around to see the different prices. Looking online is where you will probably find the cheaper Bluetooth headset, and if you are willing to wait a few weeks for it, then this is probably where you should go.

Go to an electronics store and see if they have one you can try. You want to make sure that you can hear well with it, and that you can figure out the controls and work with it easily.

You will want to know how long the battery generally lasts and figure out if you want one that you need to charge or one that allows you to just put in a new battery. It is important that the headset is also compatible with your phone.

Choosing a Bluetooth headset is a good choice. It is a very popular brand and you can't put a price on safety.

Jakob Culver is founder of the website – http://newtechnologycity.com and has a solid background in technology.

To find out more information about this topic or technology visit:

http://newtechnologycity.com

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

The Common Mans Computer

Writen by Chandrajit Rudra

You have seen a Computer for many years. You have also worked with it for many years. You also know how to use a Computer. I hope that 90% of you reading my writing can be labeled as a medium level Computer user. Their might be a few who might claim themselves as an expert or advanced Computer user , but that's only a handful of us.

To talk about the medium level users: How many of you can tell how to reinstall the "Show Desktop" that is on your 'Quick Launch Bar' in Windows, in case you delete it by mistake? See, the answer is not an easy one. Go to Start-> Run-> Type "regsvr32 /n /i:U shell32". You will get your Icon reinstalled. This is a mere example related to Software. Similarly you will get puzzled if I ask you whether a PhyX PPU is better or a NVIDIA GPU is better for gaming.

The problem doesn't come in your daily to daily Computer handling or using, but it comes when you go to buy a Computer from the Market or get stuck up in some Software Problems. There are thousands and Thousands of Computer Brands. It really puzzles us when we go and try to determine which will be better than the other and be the best within our budget. The problem gets more serious and puzzling when we think of buying an Assembled Computer. The seller might sell you anything saying that's the best whereas he checks for the best Profit he makes. Similarly, the Ads the Computer Brands place claims to be better than one another. So, these things cannot be judged by their Ads or by the Words of the Seller.

Recently, my cousin got a Computer for himself and had spent a jolly good sum of money on it. I took a look at it and went through its parts, but saw that it was not as good as the Computer I bought one year before at a lower price than his. Well, it was perhaps not his fault because he bought a named branded Computer which certainly promises to deliver a good performance. But, it did not work well, in keeping its promise, as it was a slow and bulky one.

It would be perhaps better if he had visited some Website where Customers exchange their views regarding their Products. But, in this world of rapidly changing IT products, a version gets better day by day. It's hard to get track of the latest Versions. I think that all of us who belong to the mediocre level of Computer user would be benefited if we would have some consulting Website or Helpline. After all, they might charge something from us. That would certainly be agreed if we get a worthy product after consultation.

At least, we would not be puzzled and sure of the fact that it was a worthy thing we bought and not repent after spending a huge sum of money on it and getting a worthless thing.

Chandrajit Rudra

It Consultants Should Lead Customers To Small Business Pc Hardware

Writen by Joshua Feinberg

Most IT consultants know that in the early and mid-1990s, many leading vendors started to divide their product lines into two or three different levels in order to handle different types of consumers.

Both the domestic and global market demand for desktop PCs notebooks and servers started soaring in this decade, and vendors including Compaq (now HP), Dell, Gateway, HP and IBM wanted their PC products to be relevant to many different needs and budgets.

Options

Large enterprise customers, including Fortune 1000 network managers were willing to pay high prices, but needed a lot of scalability, reliability and availability along with very stable and advanced hardware configurations.

On the flip side, home users needed incredibly low prices because many were first-time buyers uncertain of this type of investment. This type of user also needed hardware components for gaming, digital photography, video capture and other Internet hobbies they would do in the privacy of their own homes.

In yet another area, small business users needed something that was very much in the middle - not too basic, not too complex and in a mid-range price.

It Consultants And Specs Comparison

Thankfully PC vendors have made the process of finding the right products easy for both IT consultants and their clients. When researching PCs online, PC vendors websites typically are divided into sections according to the three categories: enterprise customers; home users and small businesses. This can help IT consultants recommend a PC that has the appropriate features.

It Consultants And White Box Computer Sales

Many small businesses buy white box or clone PCs from local resellers, integrators and IT consultants. IT consultants can visit major PC vendor websites from time-to-time to see how the firm's recommended small business PC configurations and their prices match up with the packages offered by major PC companies.

Copyright MMI-MMVII, Small Biz Tech Talk. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}

Joshua Feinberg helps computer consultant business owners get steady, high-paying clients. Learn how you can too. Sign-up now for Joshua's free audio training program that shows you how to use field-tested, proven Small Biz Tech Talk tools.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Converting Microsoft Access Databases To Mysql

Writen by David Badurina

For small and large database projects, Microsoft Access works wonderfully. If you have a database with hundreds of thousands of records, maybe even connecting to other databases remotely, Access will work just fine. Security isn't too much of a problem (no Access database is truly secure), and with a wide range of options for publishing and reporting on your data, in many cases Access is as good as it gets.

That is, until you try to put it online. That's where converting your Access database to MySQL comes in.

While Microsoft Access is great as a desktop solution, it weakens greatly when transferred online. The limits on users and speed still exist, and it's not built to work well on platforms other than Microsoft. Unfortunately for Microsoft Access, most web servers run a form of Unix, not Windows.

Enter MySQL.

MySQL is a relational database system designed specifically for use online and housed on the most common servers online. It's fast, robust, clean, free, and fairly intuitive to work with as long as you have a very solid understanding of all things SQL. Converting to MySQL from Microsoft Access isn't without it's set of problems, however there are a few things you can do to make sure that this conversion goes smoothly.

1. Organize and clean your Microsoft Access database before converting to MySQL! This can't be stressed enough and it's pretty much the sole reason your conversion from Access to MySQL will fail or succeed. Think of upgrading from Access to MySQL like a complicated high-wire act. If one person has trouble going across that wire, chances are making him ride a bicycle across it while balancing a ball on his nose will only end up in disaster ... and a broken bicycle. Re-design your Microsoft Access database if you have to, but be absolutely sure that your database is designed flawlessly.

2. Set up your MySQL database. Just as making sure your Access database is designed flawlessly, your MySQL database must be designed just as flawlessly. MySQL has different data types than Microsoft Access does - you won't find memo fields, for instance - so be sure that your existing data will fit into the structure you build for MySQL. Otherwise, all you're going to get is a mess of mish-mashed data.

3. Export your Microsoft Access data to text files. Fortunately, MySQL has a very handy interface called phpMyAdmin. This allows you to interact directly with your tables through a somewhat graphical UI. All you need to have are tables and fields set up that match your data, and you can click, "Import Data from Text File" through phpMyAdmin. Browse to the text file, import it, and congratulations, your data is online!

While there is certainly more details to be learned regarding the process of converting from Microsoft Access to MySQL, always keep in mind the fundamentals. Databases that are designed perfectly will circumvent 95% of the problems that generally befall poorly designed ones. Converting Access to MySQL isn't terribly difficult or time consuming, but it can be very tricky. Back up your data, make sure you've designed databases properly on both sides, and your data could be up in no time. Then, it's on to PHP!

David Badurina, President of Blue Moose Technology, LLC, is a relational database design expert specializing in turning hideous data nightmares into efficient, intuitive database applications. Watch David's database design tutorial videos right now at http://www.bluemoosetech.com.

Setting Up And Securing Your Wireless Network

Writen by Herman T. Lee

There are more and more individuals opting to work from home than ever before. The advantages to this are many including avoiding the morning and evening rush hours, being able to spend time with your kids and significant other, and doing everything on your own time. Though the pitfalls are many, the one that I will be focusing on in this article is that of setting up a secure wireless network for your home based business. Right now somewhere out there, there is someone with a receiver waiting to pick up on an unsuspecting person's wireless local area network. Their hope is to garner some sensitive information that may lead to identity theft, and stolen proprietary business information.

Most businesses owners are not technically inclined, though they may be power users, in general security settings is not one of the first things they want to mess around with in their day to day operations. This makes most wireless LANs a great target for information predators.

Here are some general guidelines to follow in setting up your wireless network. Though it may vary from vendor to vendor, the gist is more or less the same:

1. Setup the wireless access/router point via a wired client.
2. Always change the factory setting password to something difficult for someone to guess.
3. Enable 128-bit Wired Equivalency Privacy (WEP) encryption on both your access point and network card. From time to time change the WEP key entries. If your hardware does not support a minimal of 128 bit WEP encryption, then it may be time to replace this dinosaur. WEP is only a minimal security precaution, which is better than none at all.
4. Alter the factory default SSID on the access/router point to a convoluted difficult to guess string. Initiate your computer to connect to this configured SSID by default.
5. Setup your access point not to broadcast the SSID if available.
6. Block off anonymous internet requests and pings.
7. P2P Connections should be disabled.
8. Enable MAC filtering.
9. Enable firewall on the network router/access point with demilitarized zone function disabled. Enable client firewalls for each computer in the network.
10. Update router and access point firmware as updates become available.
11. Make sure the physical router is hidden so that a random person can't reset the settings.
12. Position the physical router near the middle of the establishment as opposed to near windows to prevent others outside from receiving the signals.

These and other settings will collectively help prevent any unwanted intrusions on your private data.

Discover beneficial tips on wireless security cameras, hidden security camera products, and other specialty surveillance items. You will sleep much easier at night.

Monday, June 16, 2008

3 Options For Cheap Ink Cartridges

Writen by Frank Bolsom

Your printer ink cartridges play as big a part in the final quality of your print as the paper that you use. If you use cheap paper, your print quality will suffer and in many cases the same is true of using cheap ink cartridges. This isn't always the case, however. Discount ink can be bought in a few different ways and each of them has advantages and disadvantages.

Refill Ink

The first option for cheap ink is to refill your empty cartridges. This is generally the cheapest of all the alternatives, but it is also tends to wind up with the lowest quality prints.

It'll depend on what brand and model of printer you have, but many of the newer printers are difficult to refill. It can also be quite messy because you're dealing with bottled ink, trying to inject it back into the empty cartridge.

Recycled Cartridges

There are plenty of companies that recycle cartridges for you. They basically take the empty cartridges, clean them up, refill the ink and test them.

This is more expensive than refilling your own because you're paying for the labor involved, but it tends to give you better results.

These companies have refilling and cleaning equipment that can do a much better job of remanufacturing your empty cartridge. They also generally offer a guarantee on their work, so if the cartridge doesn't work properly you can either get a replacement or get your money back.

Generic Brand Cartridges

Generic cartridges are not as common as the other two options, mainly because many printer companies have patents on their ink cartridges so no other companies can duplicate them.

There are some cartridges that you can find brand new generic replacement ink for. These generic cartridge are not recycled, they are new but they aren't made by the printer companies themselves.

These cartridges tend to be the highest priced of the three options, but they are still cheaper than the original cartridges, and work just as well.

Which option will be best for you is going to depend a lot on how much printing you do, and what you're printing. If you're printing photos that you want to be able to keep for a lifetime, you'll have different needs than if you're just printing copies of web pages for future reference.

Frank Bolsom writes about inkjet cartridge refills and other ways to save money on your printing costs at http://www.inketeria.com

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Spyware What Is It What Do You Do About It

Writen by Kelley Kilanski

Spyware is simply what it sounds like - software that spies on your online activity. You won't even know that it's installed most of the time since it is usually installed when you are browsing on the web or download another program and there are no informative pop-ups that ask, "Would you like to install some Spyware so we can spy on you?"

While Spyware is exactly what it sounds like, what it actually does may be even more malicious in nature. One of the main goals of Spyware is to get information about you. One type of information seems almost harmful, but "Big Brother" in nature, is that it tracks your online activity and sends this information to its installer. The question is, who is doing the installing?

So why would your online activity need to be monitored? Well, one purpose is probably for good and that is to monitor a child's activity on the internet. Spyware for this use seems like a good thing since it is being used to protect your child. However, other purposes are for the government to spy on you or for companies to build marketing strategies around your online activities. All of these uses are an invasion of privacy, and while the parent may have the right to invade a child's privacy, the government and ad agencies spying on your online activity seems a little Stalinesque and malicious.

The worst effects of Spyware, however, are seen by Spyware programs installed by hackers intent on stealing your personal information. The Spyware programs installed by hackers could put you at risk for identity theft. These spyware programs can search your hard drive and gather any information that might be useful for them to obtain your bank account numbers, credit card numbers, passwords and any other information that would allow them access to your money.

The best solution is to get good software that will scan your computer for any Spyware, Adware and Viruses you might already have installed as well as eliminate it and protect you from further invasions.

For more information and to get a free scan, go to Anti-Virus Now or Opinedmind - Antivirus Software

The author runs the website Opinedmind.com writing articles on computing and financial issues.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

3 Summer Computer Tips

Writen by Sharron Senter

#1 – Summer Computer Travel

Most computer users have a tendency to turn off their computers when away on trips, which means you're not getting newly-released anti-virus patches or anti-spyware updates; the two most common areas that cause computers problems. We recommend you update anti-virus and anti-spyware scans before opening e-mail or going online after an extended absence.

We consistently see an increase in calls for virus related problems immediately following long weekends. Avoid the problems altogether by updating your security software before using your computer. For a free listing of viruses, spyware threats and trends, visit: www.VisitingGeeks.com/downloads.htm

#2 -- Should You Leave Your Computer Running?

One question we hear frequently is, "Should I leave my desktop computer on or turn it off?"

There are 2 schools of thought…

Turning it on and off numerous times during the day subjects the microcircuits to flexing and fatigue due to change in temperatures. Over time this could lead to a break in the circuitry and result in system failure.

Leaving the computer on all the time puts excess wear on the mechanical components (the hard drive spindle motor and cooling fans).

Best compromise. First user in the morning turns it on; last user turns it off.

We leave our desktops on all the time allowing for scheduled utility tasks to run during overnight hours. We also restart the systems (to flush the RAM and reset the operating system) on a regular basis and routinely remove the case covers to clean out any dust that may have accumulated, especially around the fans and screens.

#3 -- Stop Popups!

Never click inside the window of a popup. Instead, close it by clicking on the X in the upper right corner. Many people are fooled into installing spyware applications by popups that promise to clean their system. If you receive a message saying it can help, assume it's spyware and don't click!

Sharron Senter is co-founder of http://www.VisitingGeeks.com - an on site computer repair, security and networking company serving north of Boston, Southern NH and Maine. Visiting Geeks' technicians are crackerjacks at squashing viruses, popups and securing and making computers perform faster. Learn more about Sharron at http://www.SharronSenter.com

Friday, June 13, 2008

Mp What

Writen by Gene Simmons

At the ripe old age of "almost older than dust", I've found there are several things I can do without. Here are some of them:

Cell phone – OK, to be honest here, I do have a cell phone – but I never turn it on. It's one of those old-fashioned, bulky ones that I have just for emergencies. And no one has the number either. The way I look at it, if I'm away from the home phone, I just don't want to be bugged by folks. I like being able to focus on what I'm doing and enjoy whatever it is without interruption. Silly, huh?

Update: I no longer have a cell phone. My wife has one. My granddaughter now has one –one of those new slim, miniature, streamlined gadgets that you can use to text message Mars if you wish. I don't have one. I'm happy…

Digital camcorder – And no, I've never owned an older analog model either. Now admittedly, if they would have had these things back when the kids were growing up I probably would have used it. Instead, I occasionally dragged out the 8mm movie camera and shot a few feet of film with that. It seemed to work out OK.

(For you young folks, an 8mm movie camera is a pre-VHS device that used a spool of skinny film that you would "shoot" and then send off to be developed. We used it mostly to take pictures of the buffalo herds and our covered wagons.)

MP 3 Player – I can't think of a single reason that I would want to wander around the back yard – or anywhere else for that matter - listening to music… or watching music videos or TV shows. Music is for sitting back in the recliner and being able to absorb the sound – and appreciate the blend of instruments and the vocalist's interpretation of the lyrics. Even that is hard to do with some of the stuff that folks are loosely categorizing as "music" these days. I know. I'm just being old-fashioned. Although, come to think of it, it might be nice sometime to just kick back under the old maple tree and soak up a few C&W tunes. I wonder if my Emerson transistor radio still works…

Satellite radio – I seems to me that there is plenty of stuff available through the regular FM channels without having to fork out extra bucks just to have a selection of a hundred and sixty other things to listen to. Yeah, yeah, I know. It's digital transmission and no commercials. Nah, not for me…

Karaoke machine – Let's see, if I purchase one of these gadgets I'll be able to hold a microphone and in front of some quantity of other people, make an ass out of myself by pretending that I'm a big star and can really carry a tune. Don't think so…

GPS receiver – OK, a long, long time ago I learned how to read a map – and highway/street signs. My vehicle also has an odometer. Since I don't wander off the beaten path into the puckerbrush (that's real close to the boondocks for you city slickers), I can't think of a single reason I would need an electronic gadget to tell me something I already know. Maybe there's something I don't understand here.

PC games – Truthfully, I have played solitaire a couple of times. You know - the game that comes at no extra cost with the basic software. Oh, and I occasionally pop into one of the games – the simple silly ones – that I have in the "Take a Break" section of the NuPathz site. That's it. Sure, I do understand that a whole bunch of folks really enjoy playing all kinds of different games and that's OK. It's frequently a way to exercise the gray matter and the on-line games do offer a chance to socialize. That's a really good thing for a lot of people. So it's OK, it's just not for me.

A state-of-the art PC – Let me think real hard about this….nah, for word processing, spread sheet and web site program, I think my plain-Jane system will be working just fine for a while. (A 386-based system is good enough, right? Just kidding…)

Home weather station – Actually, I have one of these. It's called the front door. Anytime I want, I can know almost immediately if it's hot – cold – wet – dry – calm or windy. Works for me…

Atomic clock – If I ever have a need to know down to the precise fraction of a second what time it is - we're both in trouble!

Rapid beverage chiller – This comes under the category of planning. If I go to the store one day and am smart enough to put the drinks in the fridge, I'll bet they'll be cold by the next day – when I need them.

Electronic pillbox – I just saw this at one of those super-duper electronic store web sites. Not only does it have a programmable alarm - it comes equipped with a two-ounce liquid capacity and a straw. Think I should get one for my vitamins? Nah…

PDA – Now I know there are a whole bunch of folks who are really, really busy and need to keep track of a whole gob of things – but I ain't one of 'em. Even when I was fairly busy out in the real world, I found that my little pocket scheduler worked just as easily – and was just as fast – as a PDA. The way I look at it, if you need to access e-mail or update a Word document while you're sitting on the potty, you're way too busy. This is another gadget I can do without…

Playstation/Xbox – Remember the "don't do games" thing? Pretty well leaves these gadgets out, doesn't it?

Broadband phone service – And why would I forego use of my standard wired-into-the-house phone for this? Can't see any benefit here…

Laptop – Now I would imagine these things are pretty handy if you're out and about a lot. I, on the other hand, find it quite convenient to walk a few feet to my "office" (OK, so it's a room with PC, desk, books, guinea pig and parrot) to plunk down in front of my handy-dandy desktop. If I'm out and about, the last thing I want with me is a personal computer. Oh yeah, that and a cell phone…

About The Author
Gene Simmons, through NuPathz.com, provides an easy reading self-help blog, articles, quotations, thoughts and links along with affordable self-help and self improvement books & materials - all designed to help folks find the road to a more enjoyable lifestyle, to pass on some of life's "secrets for survival" in a chaotic world & offer a few smiles along the way. It's a down-to-earth, simple approach to discovering a better life. You can visit Gene at http://www.nupathz.com/.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Creating An Information Factory

Writen by Tim Bryce

"Q: How many interpretations of systems development are there?

A: How many analysts and programmers have you got?" - Bryce's Law

INTRODUCTION

Back in the early 1980's, Japan's MITI (Ministry of International Trade & Industry) coordinated a handful of Japanese computer manufacturers in establishing a special environment for producing system software, such as operating systems and compilers. This effort came to be known as Japanese "Software Factories" which captured the imagination of the industry. Although the experiment ended with mixed results, they discovered organization and discipline could dramatically improve productivity.

Why the experiment? Primarily because the Japanese recognized there are fundamentally two approaches to manufacturing anything: "one at a time" or mass production. Both are consistent approaches that can produce a high quality product. The difference resides in the fact mass production offers increased volume at lower costs. In addition, workers can be easily trained and put into production. On the other hand, the "one at a time" approach is slower and usually has higher costs. It requires workers to be intimate with all aspects of the product. Which is the most appropriate approach for a development organization to take? That depends on the organization's perspective of systems development.

ART VERSUS SCIENCE

There are those who believe systems development to be some sort of art-form requiring peculiar knowledge and skills to perform. There are significant differences between an "art" and a "science." An "art" depends on an individual's intuitive instincts about a particular subject. Such intuition is difficult to teach and apply in a consistent manner. An art-form, by definition, implies non-conformity and represents an expression of personal style and taste. In contrast, a "science" is based on proven principles and, as such, can be taught and applied in a uniform manner by many people.

In order for systems development to move from an art to a science, a body of knowledge has to be defined in terms of proven concepts and standard terminology. Unfortunately, this is where the industry has been wallowing for the last 30 years. The Japanese example reveals it is not necessary to invent any new theories of management, but rather to re-use existing management principles that have already been proven over time. By doing so, they are attempting to move the industry from an art to a science.

FIVE BASIC ELEMENTS OF MASS PRODUCTION

Assuming we want to establish an environment of mass production to develop our information resources, it is necessary to understand its fundamental nature. As any introductory text book on manufacturing can explain, there are five basic elements of mass production:

1. Division of Labor - to break the production process into separate tasks performed by specialists or craftsmen. Such division specifies the type of skills required to perform the work.

2. Assembly Line - describing the units of work along with the dependencies between the steps thereby defining the progression and synchronization of product development.

3. Precision Tooling - for mechanical leverage in developing products.

4. Standardization of Parts - for interchangeability of parts between products, thereby lowering costs and shortening development time, and allowing assembly by unskilled and semi-skilled workers.

5. Mass Demand - this represents the impetus for mass production; customers demanding standardized and reliable products at lower costs. In the IRM world this is represented by end-users who require standard and reliable systems at lower costs to support their information needs.

The rationale behind mass production is improved productivity; producing more quality products at less cost. Most people fallaciously equate productivity with efficiency, which simply gauges how fast we can perform a given task. Effectiveness, on the other hand, validates the necessity of the task itself. There is nothing more unproductive than to do something efficiently that should not have been done at all. An industrial robot, for example, can efficiently perform tasks such as welding. However, if it welds the wrong thing or at the wrong time, then it is counterproductive. It therefore becomes important in the production of any product to define WHO is to perform WHAT work, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, and HOW (we refer to this as "5W+H").

We therefore have long touted the following formula:

Productivity = Effectiveness X Efficiency

It is our belief improved productivity can be instituted by implementing the five elements of mass production and devising a manufacturing facility whereby are found:

Assembly Lines - increments of work sequenced in such a way to develop products. Along the assembly line, a series of tools and techniques will be deployed, some implemented by the human being, others through automated assistance, such as robots.

Materials Management - the business function concerned with standardizing parts so they may be shared and re-used in various product assemblies. Further, it is concerned with collecting, storing and retrieving parts (inventorying) in the most efficient means possible (e.g., JIT - "Just In Time").

Production Control - oversees the assembly lines and materials management, looking for unanticipated delays or accelerations of production schedules. Consequently, corrective action can be taken as required to resolve problems.

These three components establish a "checks and balances" in manufacturing and can also be utilized to develop an "Information Factory" to develop an organization's information resources, whereby are found:

Methodologies (Assembly Lines) - defines the work environment (5W), thereby synchronizing the flow of work. Within the phases of the methodology, a variety of tools and techniques may be deployed defining HOW the work is to be performed.

Resource Management (Materials Management) - identifies and classifies information resources, thereby promoting the sharing and re-using of resources. It also ensures they are collected, stored and retrieved in a timely manner.

Project Management (Production Control) - used to plan, estimate, schedule, report, and control project work.

Why an "Information Factory" as opposed to a "Software Factory"? One of the key failures in the Japanese "Software Factories" experiment was its limited scope. It failed to address all of the information resources of an enterprise, especially business processes, administrative procedures, manual files, printed reports, human and machine resources, business functions, etc. all of which are essential to a total systems solution. The term "Information Factory," therefore, is an admission there is more to information resources than just software.

THE NEED FOR INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING

The mechanics and infrastructure of an "Information Factory" are fairly easy to grasp, but it requires a special kind of person to implement: an Industrial Engineer.

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (Third Edition) defines Industrial Engineering as: "The branch of engineering that is concerned with the efficient production of industrial goods as affected by elements such as plant and procedural design, the management of materials and energy, and the integration of workers within the overall system."

An Industrial Engineer considers the products to be build and employs work study techniques in order to improve productivity. Such a group of people is critical to the implementation of any mass production facility, including an "Information Factory." The Industrial Engineer has to be one part engineer and one part social scientist, studying the behavior of people (e.g., why they work in the manner they do). This is another element missed by the Japanese "Software Factories."

In an "Information Factory" the Industrial Engineer is responsible for:

1. Defining the infrastructure of the factory (methodologies to be used, resource management, and project management). This includes the progression and synchronization of work, along with the tools and techniques to be used (5W+H).

2. Establishing the types of people needed to perform the work, along with the required skill sets (and how to evaluate performance). This also includes specifying the types of training required to do the job.

3. Reviewing work products (work sampling) in order to evaluate product quality and production problems, thereby triggering the need for improvement.

4. Constantly looking for new tools and techniques to improve the process. It is generally agreed techniques and tools will come and go, and will evolve over time. As such, the Industrial Engineer is a student of the industry.

EFFECT ON CORPORATE CULTURE

The mechanics of the "Information Factory" are easy to assimilate and implement. The real problem lies in changing the behavior and attitudes of people, specifically, the corporate culture. The goal of an "Information Factory," as it is with any mass production facility, is to develop a homogeneous development environment (as opposed to a heterogeneous environment where everyone is allowed to develop products as they see fit).

To counter the "Tower of Babel" effect found in most development organizations, the "Information Factory" seeks consistency and quality through uniformity and standardization. It is not uncommon for the concept of a factory-like environment to strike fear in the hearts of software developers as they may see it as a threat to their free-spirited individuality. Such an environment need not sacrifice freedom of expression or creativity. It is simply a means to channel such creative energies in a uniform manner.

The biggest problem though rests in reorienting people to believe they are in the business of building products, not just writing code. Acceptance of the "Information Factory" environment can be achieved if people understand the overall process, where they fit in it, what is expected of them, and how their work affects others. We have found most people prefer organization and discipline as opposed to chaos. Further, they can achieve superior results when standards are imposed; such discipline results in uniform and predictable work products,

CONCLUSION

It is possible to employ the same concepts and techniques as used in mass production towards the development of information resources. But creating a "factory"-like development environment takes more than simply calling yourself one. It is a significant reorientation effort. Fortunately, it is not without precedent and the concepts have already been introduced to devise an "Information Factory" based on other engineering/manufacturing disciplines.

The benefits of an "Information Factory" are no different than any other mass production environment: standardization, improved productivity, reduced costs, better change control, faster employee start-up and more effective use of human resources. However, the impact of implementing such an environment should definitely not be underestimated. It affects people's perceptions regarding development and ultimately affects the corporate culture.

In order to move from an art to a science, it is necessary to define and standardize our terminology and concepts for developing information resources. Only when this happens can we teach it to others in a uniform manner and gain the legitimacy as a profession that has long eluded developers.

For more information on our philosophies of Information Resource Management (IRM), please see the "Introduction" section of "PRIDE" at:

http://www.phmainstreet.com/mba/pride/intro.htm#irm

Tim Bryce is the Managing Director of M. Bryce & Associates (MBA) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has 30 years of experience in the field. He is available for training and consulting on an international basis. He can be contacted at: timb001@phmainstreet.com

Copyright © 2006 MBA. All rights reserved.

Computer Equipment Rentals

Writen by Eric Morris

There are many companies that provide computer equipment on rent for home, classroom or office use. Every part of the computer may be rented such as processors, desktop monitors, LCD display monitors, plasma monitors, computer projector screens, printers, scanners, etc. Rentals are usually taken by organizations that want to conduct short-term businesses or businesses away from site. Even organizations that do not wish to invest capital for whatever reason may opt for renting computer equipment.

Rental companies advertise their wares online at competitive prices. Each company sets up the equipment at the venue. It is necessary to confirm the delivery and setup in advance of the schedule of the program. Set up includes installation of workstations, wiring them, installing software and checking. Installations can be customized according to needs. Operating systems, software, etc. can be asked as required.

When renting components, check for the warranties available. Most companies also provide free maintenance during the rental period. Renting companies provide replacement within a day. Spare equipment can also be provided upon demand. Verify what kind of support the renting company provides. Support is generally available 24 hours a day seven days a week and some companies also provide onsite technical assistance. To avail of support, opt for a rental company that is close to the venue of your organization.

Renting equipment makes sense, as it does not block capital for business. Rents can be terminated at any time without penalties. Computer equipments that are rented for business are tax deductible, adding further value.

Computer equipment is also rented by students for home use. Specific components like printers, scanners and projectors can also be rented, if one already has the computers.

Rentacomputer.com is one of the leading rental companies for computer equipments. It conducts most of its business online.

Computer Rentals provides detailed information about computer rentals, laptop computer rentals, computer projector rentals, desktop computer rentals and more. Computer Rentals is the sister site of Nature Screensavers.