Saturday, June 28, 2008

An Experiment to Prove You Cannot Make a Living From Blogging

Can you make a living from blogging?

Well, this is a question that seemingly gets asked thousands of times per day. It is probably asked by new bloggers and "pro" bloggers. A new blog has sprung up and it is claiming to detail every aspect of a blog lifestyle whilst proving the theory right or wrong that blogging can make a living. I have been looking into this site and there seems to be many of the "old school" tactics hanging around and some new ones.

What is an old school, seo tactic?

These would include link building, site submission, blog submission, leaving comments on other blogs, meta tags and generally well constructed content.

What are the new school tactics?

The author has created a google gadget which can either be added to iGoogle or added to another blog / website. Interestingly enough though is that offline marketing will be used and results printed in the blog.

What really makes this site stand out from the rest?

The concept of "The web revenue experiment" has been brought about by having two angles of approach. It has the experimental website www.ghead.co.uk where all of the tactics are put to the test. It also has separate pages for different affiliate schemes, donations and ad blocks. The website is created using a custom built .net application, this is the brains of the experiment. It creates on the fly, fully optimised landing packs for each page created expanding its content exponentially whilst enhancing the users experience.

The other half of the concept is a blog located at http://blog.ghead.co.uk this is where tactics are discussed, suggested and explained. Here you will also see results of each of the experiments. You will also learn how the custom application works and you can suggest an idea you have been thinking of.

The experiment is due to run for exactly one year building its self up and reporting results along the way.

Some Easy Ways to Make Money From Blogging

This post is really useful for the bloggers who are willing to make money from their blogs. If you don't have a blog, create a new blog today on any of blogging engine whichever suits you. Let's discuss some money making ideas that any blogger can use on his blog to earn some cash:


Paid blogging - there are lots of websites available on the internet that pays you for what you are doing right now i.e. for blogging. These networks will ask you to write content on your website for advertiser's products and services they have. Some of famous advertising network are
Payperpost
ReviewMe
Linkworth
SponsoredReviews
Smorty
Text link advertising - text link adverting is one of the best way to make high amount of money from a website. In this kind of scheme, you have to place the advertiser's link in your website sidebar, header and footer. Advertisers always look for top blogs in their niche and pay to those bloggers to place their ads on their blogs. Some of text link advertising companies are:
Textlinkads
TNX
Direct Link ads
Linkadage
Textlinkbrokers
Banner ads - there are many advertisers available today in the market that will pay you for showing their banners on your website/blogs. Matched.co.uk is one such site which pays you for placing their advertiser's banner on your blog.
PPC program - there are many pay per click (ppc) programs available in the market today which shows ads according to your content. To start making money with any of these programs, you will need to create an account with them and submit your blog/website there. Some of famous ppc programs are
Google adsense
Yahoo Publisher Network
Bidvertiser
Adbrite
Chitika
Product selling - and in case you have a blog related to products or are willing to sell products, then you can use Amazon.com. Amazon will pay you for every sale that will be referred to it via your website.
Private ads - you can get lots of private ads if you are able to bring in lots of organic traffic on your website. When you have that, many people will be willing to pay you for placing their ads on your website.

I hope these tips will help you in earning lots of money from your blog. I have so far achieved great success with some of the resources mentioned in today article.

Blog Marketing Benefits

Blogs today have evolved more into low cost advertising platforms and are no longer recognized simply as 'internet journals' containing personal rants, experiences, or opinions of their authors. Blog marketing, from street corner entrepreneurs to big business, is proving to be a very effective means in which to promote products, solicit opinions, and collect feedback from your targeted audiences.

Your blog is absolutely one of the best low cost advertising tools you can find for any business today. Blog setups are very economical. Some are free while others that require a hosting service also tend to be at an affordable price. Blog marketing is tough to beat considering the cost and effectiveness.

In order to maximize the effectiveness of your blog it is wise to utilize various forms of traffic generation such as SEO techniques that involve the proper placement of related keywords throughout the blog to enhance its page ranking with the search engines. Also visiting social sites related to the theme of the blog or the subject of the post will increase your online profile provided you participate in a helpful, supportive, and constructive manner. The key here is to be sure you ALWAYS share your name and blog address much like a business card. Generally this is accomplished by incorporating this information in your signature box you've created for use within the site. Most importantly, the more you post within your blog, the more the search engines (and readers) will return to review the new content. Don't let your blog wither away by not supplying it with fresh content regularly.

Equally important is to show some personality and uniqueness in your postings. Be yourself. Let your readers get to know you. This will make for a longer lasting relationship with them. Blogs are interactive and it's this social interaction that makes blogs effective forums for communicating thoughts, opinions, and promotional activity.

Online videos, posted to your blog, are another low cost advertising approach that is a great way to promote your business and generate traffic.

These are all good reasons to create and manage a blog for any business. But creating a blog just because the others are doing it is a bad idea unless you personalize it. You must once again remember that a blog allows you the opportunity to deliver your message in your own unique way, don't ignore this potential advantage. Stand out by maintaining your individuality!

Since blogging is a more relaxed, social arena it's a great opportunity to really understand who it is that you are marketing to. A blog can be used as a tool that captures true feedback as to how customers feel about your products, ideas, or methods. Be sure to have your blog structured in such a way that is receptive to capturing responses, replies, and recommendations from the readers. What do they like and dislike, key in on this vital feedback and analyze it for future use.

Blog marketing is one of the most cost efficient and effective means to get the word out on your goods and services today. Do you blog? If not, isn't it time you started?

T.J Philpott is an author and Internet entrepreneur based out of North Carolina. For more information on succeeding in blog marketing and to receive a free guide that demonstrates how to find both profitable markets and products visit: http://blogbrawn.com

Blog Your Way to the Top of Search Engine Rankings

Blogs are becoming increasingly popular nowadays. There is hardly anyone on the Internet who has not heard of blogs. Blogs are all the rage today. A blog is easy to setup and one can get started immediately. There are many blogging platforms such as blogger, wordpress and live journal. It is very easy to setup a blog on any of these platforms and one can start blogging immediately.

Most webmasters have a blog associated with their main website. Their blogs allow them to increase visibility and get noticed very quickly on the Internet.

Blogs are search engine friendly. If you update your blog regularly then it gets indexed by the search engines very quickly and this in turn helps to index and crawl your website which is linked to this blog. This in turn helps to improve your site's Page Rank. You can promote your services and products through your blogs and get great traffic coming to your website eventually.

Blogs that have fresh content added daily are quite likely to rank higher then sites which are not updated frequently. This freshness of the blogs is what makes them so friendly to search engines. You may use your blogs to express your thoughts and feelings but you may also use your blog to give more exposure to your websites associated with your blogs and in so doing generate great traffic to your website. When you generate great traffic to a website it in turn will result in personal profits if you are engaged in some affiliate program or using Google AdsSense or some other ads to generate revenue.

Most amateur webmasters do not realize that they can optimize their blogs just as they optimize their websites. A properly optimized blog can result in high volume of traffic for the blog owner. This in turn means great business and profitability for the website owner. You should take some trouble and optimize your blob as well. Blogs often reflect who you are and hence it is very important to create a great looking blog with superb content. Believe me this makes a huge difference.

Blogs and blogging can be great fun and at the same time it can be a source of traffic. Hence great profits for the blog and site owners. Blogging is often an expression of inner thoughts and feelings but it can also be an instrument of getting greater visibility on the Internet.

So why not go ahead and start blogging. It is free. Remember to optimize your blog and put a few links to your websites as well. A great blog properly linked and pointing to your site is a tremendous asset.
Happy blogging.

Make Money Online - Blogging

Blogs are the latest and greatest way to earn an income online. It's so great because of the flexibility of a blog, you can write about whatever it is you like and be able to monetize in some way that makes you money. This means that no matter what your hobby is, whether it be basketball, or knitting, you can make a blog about it and be able to make a decent income online from it.

When you make money blogging, the idea is get the attention of a certain audience, this will be your "target" audience. Once you decide who your "target" audience is going to be then you can move on to deciding how your going to monetize (make money) from your blog.

There are many ways a person can choose to make money online from a blog.

1. Affiliate Marketing - place affiliate links related to your topics, so when someone clicks on a link and ends up making a purchase, you get paid commission on that sale.

2. PPC Networks - Sign up to a PPC network like Google AdSense, or BidVertiser, and display relevant ads on your site. Every time someone clicks on an ad on your blog, you will get paid for the click, no purchase is required.

3. Sponsors - Another way to monetize your site is with sponsors, you can rent ad space on your site, and get paid under a monthly basis by your advertisers.

4. Consulting - If you're helping others out in your blog, then it's not unusual that someone may need more help then others. In many cases you will receive an e-mail from a readers willing to pay you for one

Blogging For Profit - The Best Thing Ever - Part I

If you really want to know how to blog for profit, you'll know that it takes remarkable dedication and self-discipline. However, it's not meant to turn into 10-hour workday when you start to learn just how to blog for profit.

There's no simpler way to give up your potential than by focusing on the wrong things. In order to truly succeed, you MUST understand that you're after quality and a solid readership. Often times, new blogs tend to focus on how much money they are generating three hours after the very first post. That's not going to happen at all.

A good way to check for your true intentions is to ask a family member to read your blog. Ask them to rate the overall appearance (with ads and such) and see how they react. If they say "It's too cluttered and there's like no real writing on here", then you're probably focusing way too much on your ads and how many ads you're putting on the blog.

Remember that you want people to come back. The quality and ability to capture reader interest is absolutely vital. If you look at the A-List bloggers (Darren Rowse, John Chow), they write in a manner that is captivating and really gets the point across in an interesting way. Do your best to emulate them. Engage your audience.

One of the simplest ways to fail is to have no traffic, no readers. Basically, nobody is giving a care about what you write. Make them care! If someone visits your blog, do your best to have them stay. That's the first part in many of learning how to blog for profit.

Learn how to blog for profit and make it easy!

Pete Huang is absolutely the BEST when it comes to making money online and blogging for profit. He's known the top bloggers, their strategies, and just how they go about things. Take a look at his latest discoveries of income at http://www.squidoo.com/how-to-blog-for-profit

Technology and Creativity Combined - Ways to Customize Desktop Wallpaper

Perhaps one of the most appealing to computer users these days is the concept of having their own picture posted in their computer screens. To customize desktop wallpapers is considered an easy task and would only entail few clicks of the mouse to bring out the kind of mood you want to project. Computer users' preference varies from one person to another thus, creating your own desktop interface and image develops your sense of creativity without putting much of an effort.

Imagine a computer without any desktop background and anything that will give you a certain feeling of relief when stress surfaces, lightens up when the day seems tough and sheer happiness each time you look at your screen. Hence, there are a lot of reasons why customizing your desktop wallpaper is gleaned as one of the well-liked hobby that has been a home for millions of photos uploaded everyday. Since photography and a mere shots from your digital camera would provide you with the chance of uploading it in your database, this idea has been embraced by a lot of people benefiting from the modern technology brought by computers.

As the song hymns, a picture is worth a thousand words with many stories to tell, having it in your database makes the web a hub for moving and inspiring photography. Another reason behind the significance of setting up desktop wallpaper is the verity that prior to accessing and using a computer is getting a view of the desktop. Having a good desktop image might not be a big deal to some yet, few people know that a desktop image can set up a person's mood or it can even provide proper mind conditioning. According to research, using wallpapers dominated by one color can affect a person's overall aura and impression on things around him. Desktop wallpaper with a dominating color of blue can give a user good concentration, color red gives out energy; green brightens up the day and a lot of colors that will give out positive influence to a user.

To customize desktop wallpaper entails few easy steps that are easy to follow. First thing to do is have all windows and running programs closed to provide a smooth flow in customizing your wallpaper. Right-click on the desktop and click on properties and display properties then click on the desktop tab. Any uploaded file on your database can be used as a desktop background thus, you need to click on the "browse" button and choose an image of choice. Once done choose the appropriate setting and ensure that the image fits right on the screen and click "Ok".

There are many things that you can do on your computer and customizing your desktop is just one of those. Added to that is the idea of changing even the desktop theme, event sounds, customizing toolbar, display properties, folder options and screensavers which allow images to run when the computer is inactive. All these can be done and organized through the use of modern technology and a user's creativity.

The new free desktop wallpapers can only be found on kewlwallpapers where all wallpapers are arranged in categories making easier for you to find wallpapers, there is also a new collection of girls wallpapers and most importantly celebrities wallpapers which are all of them new and unique which you won't find anywhere else.

Friday, May 23, 2008

How to Get Free Cable TV

We've evolved from the invention of the light bulb to now, how to get free cable TV on a computer. I m just waiting for the fuel evolution, as we all know is today's big issue. Have you noticed how some of the big companies feel they have a corner on the market until they feel some competition? Slowly with our ability to evolve and our great system of competition the scale balances out. When a new electronic device comes out its ridiculously high and then the price goes down as more hit the market.

With the thought of competition I decided to do a review on how to get free cable TV on your PC programs. I found it's really amazing how these programs have a lot of different things to offer along with different one-time fee prices. I found programs that offer 3,000 channels to programs offering 12,000 channels. Most of them allow you to run the same program on a number of computers. These programs offer a lot of shows and news that are not available on regular cable in the United States, as well as the shows that are offered here.

They say TV is not a neceassity but for those of us brought up in this era may say different. Right or wrong it takes you away from the day's issues and when the writers aren't on strike good entertainment. If you noticed I didn't say cheap entertainment. It seemed like only a few years ago that I thought $14.00 a month was high (OK maybe 20 year ago). Now my bill with the high speed Internet the Internet phone and digital cable is around $180.00 a month. I'm not alone, a lot of you have these types of bills. It does make you wonder how to get free cable TV.

Now they are planning to convert everything to digital and getting rid of the free ban or antenna. I believe after this year even our older TV sets that are not digital ready will be outdated.

Some great things about Internet TV is you can take it on the road, its great for dorm rooms, great for extra TV's, great for (kids, husbands, wives) that rule the control, great for watching that game while out, or how to get free cable TV and replace that $180.00 bill.

Mitigating Identity Fraud With Fingerprint Biometrics

Identity fraud is a crime that costs all of us. As measures have been increased in recent years to mitigate identity fraud, so too has the level of sophistication of the fraudulent acts. Persons that were dedicated to committing fraud had the upper hand for some time, but technology is now catching up to these predators.

Identity Authentication Goes Digital:
Like many forms of communication, a transition is occurring to move paper records to a digitally stored format. Paper identification methods had a downside of being open to tampering. For a while predators where keeping pace with advances in paper record security, in particular home office technology allowed the criminal element to keep up with changes in state-issue ID cards. To stay ahead of criminals seeking to commit identity fraud you need to have an ID authentication process in place. Moving from a dependency of paper to a streamlined digital system is one way identity fraud risk patterns can be identified and mitigated.

The Case to Move Away from Human Error:Paper forms of identifying a person rely heavily on the skills and ability of a human to identify potential fraud and risk. Training personnel can help with fraud caused by paper records, but there is still an accepted level of human error that is permitted. By placing less reliance on humans to perform an ID check and more reliance on digital technology, the human error factor is reduced and higher efficiency rates can be achieved.

The Case to Move towards Digital ID Authentication:Moving away from a paper-based identity verification system to one that is digital is a matter of accuracy. By providing your customers with a digital form of identity authentication you are providing better customer service and an added benefit of lower costs because the digital system through increased accuracy can further reduce costs that are passed on by identity fraud. Moving towards a digital ID authentication system means the addition of hardware and software can replace the human error factor that occurs by human-only verification.

The Case to Utilize Fingerprint Biometrics:
Fingerprint biometrics are a leading digital technology that can be utilized in digital identity authentication. Those in a point of service setting that use fingerprint biometrics do so by scanning a customer's ID through a system and instructing the customer to use a keypad to match fingerprints with a stored fingerprint identity. Fingerprint biometrics help increase the chances that the person in front of you presenting an ID is that ID's true identity. The result is an ability to capture and link fingerprints to a single ID record, which will increase fraud prevention and help ensure fraudsters do not attempt to use multiple identities.

The Case to Implement Biometric Verification:
Those in a point of service setting pay for fraud twice, once stemming from the initial act of fraud and a second time as a result of cost of goods, services and even insurance rates increases. Biometric verification can help resolve the problem of ID fraud and provide the point of service person that the customer presented is the actual person represented on the ID. The benefit of a biometric verification is that legitimate multiple IDs can be linked to a single person through one unique biometric fingerprint records. The additional benefit is that this unique biometric fingerprint can not be utilized in multiple fraudulent IDs.

Browsing iPhone Downloads Sites For Ideas On How To Customize Your iPhone

If you're one of those who bought an iPhone recently because of the appeal of this phone, which, by the way, is not just any phone, you're probably pretty satisfied with how it performs, and what features it already has built in. But then, there are some times that you wish your iPhone had other features just to make it cooler. Now, you don't have to be content with just the stock programs on the iPhone, because you can find ways to customize your device to your liking. Enter the world of iPhone downloads sites, where you can get new stuff to personalize your iPhone with cool applications and other stuff as well.

What cool stuff you can get for your iPhone

There are some times when just listening to games or movies isn't enough. You'll probably also want to be able to play games to keep yourself entertained for hours, and not just any games, but those that you've selected for yourself. iPhone download sites can handle this by letting you download new games and install them from your computer to your iPhone unit. Popular games for other platforms like the Windows and PalmOS are slowly making their way into the iPhone, so check back once in a while to see new releases.

Apart from games, you can't ignore the music and video side of the iPhone, because it is after all an iPod at heart. Something cool that you can do to your iPhone is to update the music and video files on it. You can purchase new tracks direct from iTunes just like you would on your iPod. But what's even cooler is that other downloading sites who also offer the same tracks as iTunes will only ask for a one-time payment for your membership, instead of you having to pay for each downloaded album on your iPhone.

Another thing that lets you personalize your iPhone to your tastes is downloading wallpapers for your phone. You can choose from pictures that are optimized for use on an iPhone as wallpaper, so you won't have to worry about images being resized.

Selecting a website to download from

You can always choose to download from the first site you see, but of course, there are scam websites out on the internet, so be careful where you put your money with. Some websites offer free downloads, but their files are sometimes corrupt and outdated, and there is even a possibility of downloads carrying viruses on board. And not only that, you might be fooled into passing your credit card information onto a fraudulent website and having your information stolen and used. This is why one should select where to download from.

There are some download sites for the iPhone and iPod Touch that are consistently ranked as the best in terms of content, pricing and security. The site for NetiPhonedownloads is ranked 1st in terms of pricing, because a lifetime membership only costs $49.00, and after that you can download all you want from their site. The other two sites, iPhone Downloads Pro and iPhone Nova are also good choices, and you can download direct to your phone. They also have customer service for technical matters so that you can be assisted if you encounter any problems. Truly a great value for your money, especially since their prices are so low compared to iTunes.

Mobile Media And Iphone Ringtones

The summer of 2007 saw the introduction of the new generation of mobile multimedia interactive cell phones with the release of Apple's iPhone. Crammed into a package only 4.5" inches and weighing less than 5 ounces, the Apple iPhone offers users so many features the company offers video tutorials to help customers learn all the things it can do for them.

Contained just within the phone functions are such pro-business features as call conferencing and merging, hold feature, caller ID and the ability to integrate with other cell networks. The iPhone offers voice mail listings without having to access the actual Voicemail and one can pick and choose between calls rather than have to move through them sequentially.

Due to the popularity of ringtones, it was only a few months before Apple upgraded to ringtone functions. By partnering in this feature with iTunes, users can custom design their own ringtones from purchased songs through the iTunes network or the Apple GarageBand software. These ringtones can then be used not only to alert one to an incoming call but can be associated with specific alarm and notification features as well.

Text messaging has been made easier with the implementation of a virtual keyboard on the touch screen. For increased accuracy the texting program includes such aids as predictive word capabilities coupled with automatic spell check and correction and a dictionary that allows you to add words as needed to help it understand topic related jargon, names and special purpose words and phrases. The virtual keyboard has been made a bit larger than previous attempts at this virtual technology and, with two-way orientation, is at its best in landscape position.

As well as superb telephonic utilization, the Apple iPhone has the capability to access e-mail clients through both IMAP and POP3 servers. Both Yahoo and Gmail offer a program for access from the iPhone and by mid 2008 are planning to upgrade to sync with both Apple's mail application but with Microsoft ActiveSync to connect with Microsoft Outlook and Entourage. The e-mail capabilities include HTML acceptance for graphical e-mail that can include digital photographs and graphics and can embed pictures in outgoing mail as well. Portable Document Files (PDF) as well as Word and Excel documents can be attached and viewed on the iPhone screen.

With a picture being sometimes more informative than any amount of verbal description, the iPhone does have a two megapixel digital camera onboard and the output can be copied directly to an e-mail. The iPhone does not, however, offer video camera functions.

The Apple iPhone was originally released with the Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) card locked into the AT&T network exclusively. However it did not take long for hackers to find a way to unlock the card for use on other networks and now nearly a fourth of the iPhones sold in the United States are not registered with the AT&T network. While originally designed to block the multimedia and web access functions without an authorized subscription; this too has fallen to the hacker's craft and various software programs and modification cracks have emerged to free the access to these features outside the AT&T network.

These features make the Apple iPhone a powerful business asset even without even beginning to discuss the many other multimedia and web accessibility features that have made the iPhone worthy of Time magazine's Invention of the Year award.

For A Safe Downloading Of Wii Games

As a Wii fanatic, the best way to get a Wii game is to have it free of charge and a lot of web sites nowadays are giving out these Wii games free for downloading. However, downloading these games for free should be done with extra caution because just like other free downloads online such as music, video or other files, they come with risks as consequences for its free of cost feature resulting to a waste of time and spending more money.

Downsides of Free Wii Games

The most immense threat about downloading free games for your Wii is the threat of getting spyware and viruses on your computer. This can turn out to be a really serious problem for you if you are not extra careful in choosing the right download sites that offer games free of these spyware and viruses. Even if there are remedies for these virus attacks, it would be a totally different matter once the viruses infect your game console and end up paying a technician to repair your Wii for you.Another downside of downloading free games in unsafe web sites is the possibility that the files you are downloading are damaged. Downloading a game takes a lot of time and it would really be frustrating that you get to realize the damage only after the download has been completed. You just wasted your time waiting for the completion of the download only to find out that the game file is actually damaged.

Safe Downloading

If you really want to save cost without the hassle of putting up with spyware or viruses and the probability that what you are downloading is damaged, then you must be extra careful in picking out the web site where you will be downloading your Wii games. Just because a web site is offering a Wii game download free of charge does not necessarily mean that this web site is unsecured or unsafe for you, your computer and your game console. There are still sites that are safe and it all depends on how you choose your downloading site.There are sites that offer subscriptions and do not require you to pay for each downloaded game or require you to pay a monthly membership fee. You only need to pay once in these sites in order to have full access of their database for free.

For a one time payment, you will be able to download all of the games that you want to have on your Wii console and the best thing is that you are not constrained by a bandwidth limit thus making it possible for you to download Wii games as many times as you want.However, if you do not want a one time payment, you can just stick to becoming a member of particular download site. These sites also contain large databases of Wii games and not only that; you can also download music and movies in these sites.

The great thing about a site that offers subscriptions is that it guarantees Wii users that their games are virus free and absolutely genuine. For a little amount, you will be freeing yourself from all the stress of spyware, viruses and damaged files. Now, you wont have to worry about spending so much just to get your computer repaired and you Wii as well and you will not be wasting your time and effort downloading for games that do not live up to your expectations.

Pc Virus Protection That Everyone Can Afford

Today, more and more people have been using their PCs to perform various things, from investing to shopping. Clearly, our lives are already getting influenced by this technology.

Unfortunately, malicious programs erupt daily and they are getting more complex. That is why as a PC user you should stay alert and use some common sense to keep your computer virus-free, especially if your PC is connected to the internet 24 hours a day.

Some reputable security companies such as Symantec provide the latest virus alerts on their websites. Just make sure to keep yourself informed by visiting such sites frequently. This way, you will be more aware about the latest threats and will always be able to know how to avoid them.

Computer viruses can spread fast and they are hard to eradicate. They can be brought from the internet by downloading a file. A free downloadable file may contain an unfavorable program. Keep in mind that although not all viruses inflict damage they can still cause annoying problems so it is highly recommended to exercise caution every time you want to download a file from an unknown source.

Viruses can also be brought from the internet as attachments to emails. As a general rule, do not open an attachment coming from someone you do not know. Even if the attachment is from a reputable source, it is still wise to scan it first before downloading or opening it.

The behaviors of viruses vary. Many which only show messages or pictures do not really harm anything. However, others are extremely dangerous. That is why it is a good idea to install an antivirus program on your PC. Such program can detect the presence of viruses in your computer and then disinfect the infected files or delete the ones that can not be disinfected.

Many antivirus programs can be purchased at a low cost. Some are often prepackaged with an anti-spyware software and a personal firewall. Normally, you are allowed to download the trial version of an antivirus program to test its abilities. Whatever antivirus software that you will choose, just make sure to only use the one created by a reputable company that provides ongoing support and updates.

Some security companies even provide antivirus programs which can be downloaded for free. Free downloadable antivirus programs usually come with some limitations compared with the paid versions. Moreover, the companies which created such programs normally do not provide technical support. However free antivirus software still make a good choice for many home computer users.

After installing an antivirus program on your PC, you should also make sure to configure it properly. For instance, it is a good idea to configure the program to start automatically each time you boot your computer and to perform automatic updates as new viruses erupt daily. Just be familiar with the features offered.

As a computer user you should protect your PC from the threat of a virus. Fortunately good virus protection can be accomplished without having to spend much money. Many security software are very affordable these days. Some can even be downloaded for free, with no further obligation necessary. Just choose the one which fits your needs.

Friday, April 18, 2008

The Importance of Having a Professional Web Design

The Importance of Having a Professional Web Design



Nowadays, people’s decision to purchase a product or a service is highly influenced by the information available through different media, and the Internet is the most accessible one through its service of escort website design. This is why it is essential for your business to have a web site to advertise it on the Internet. Adult web design is a good way of gaining new clients, to satisfy the already existing ones, and to give you a useful hand in growing your business. And, given the present wide access to the internet, it is not very difficult to find the best solution for the design of your website.

Most services of escort website design on the Internet are usually in a permanent competition to offer their potential clients professional, high in quality and jet affordable web design services. In order to prove this, they will offer inclusively free samples which will show you how your website designed by them will look like. If you are already a client of the adult web design service on the internet, you have to know that they also create free samples periodically. All you have to do is to sign in into your account and try different looks for your web site. If you decide to apply this change to your web site, it can become permanent by one single click. This means everything is simplified in the client’s interest.

Another responsibility of adult web design services is to deal with the automatic advertising of your business’s web site by sending it to search engines. This means handling search engine optimization, and sometimes the costs are included in the price of the contract. Such a website design is very useful, if not essential, in advertising your business. Optimizing the website will improve the quality of a web page and will rise the importance of the key words and of the content. Personalization of your web site can include: links and banners, photographs, background music, chat room, sections of frequently asked questions, contact. This means a design that is eye-catching and gains the attention instantly.

An attractive escort website design can make your website to have a powerful impact on the visitors, and thus a good promotion of your business. In this case, your website becomes a marketing strategy. Our web designers use the latest technology and programs of web development to match your services with your clients’ requests. It is very important that the design of a website to rise the attention, to be liked, to create a strong relationship between your business and the virtual visitors and potential clients, a relationship based on confidence.

Once you have got a web design professional to care for your business, you made the first step to success. Once your business was advertised on the internet, you are only one click away from your first client. The future clients will find you more easily if you choose escort website design to optimize and advertise your website by means of search engines. Therefore, the advantages of using adult web design are obvious because the number of visitors who access your website will increase, your products or services will be better known. Your business advertised on the internet means a huge step towards success.

Why You Should Use a Professional Web Design Service

Why You Should Use a Professional Web Design Service


If you want to promote a website, to market a product or a service, to increase sales, the answer is only one: adult web design. Our web designers are specialized in professional escort web design, creating dynamic or static web site designs, online shops, flash design, applications, search engine promotion and optimization of web sites, web programming, e-commerce, e-marketing, and many other services. If you are not convinced of its importance yet, you can read some of the following relevant explanations.

Beside escort web design services, our specialists offer you professional solutions for website hosting on different servers in various countries. The success of a business on the internet means having a web site which beneficiates of an attractive adult web design. This is essential because it offers a particular impact on the visitors, especially when it is promoted and optimized. Obviously, the internet is an extraordinarily efficient medium of communication and it is worth using it to advertise your business. Furthermore, it is less expensive than other media, which makes it cost-efficient. A good approach of techniques of online marketing website can bring along maximum advantages for your business.

There are many advantages of an attractive design for your website. Being on the internet can generate countless opportunities of national and international business for your company. A professional website, with a modern design, optimized for the search engines by means of escort web design services, can offer you the following benefits: the client will be able to find you from anywhere in the world at any time in just a few seconds, you will be able to do online transactions, you will not be loaded with unnecessary or expensive information, and your business will be time-efficient and cost-efficient.

For your clients all these facilities mean comfort, easiness, and a good service. For you, it means having satisfied clients and a prosper business. By means of adult web design you have the opportunity of presenting your brand and its offer to clients all over the world because an unlimited number of clients can see and browse your catalogues at the same time.

Therefore, we propose our escort web design and adult web design services to give you a hand in beneficiating of a website with a professional image which is, at the same time, a profitable and cost-efficient business for you. In the end, you can say that you have not only a business going on, but also a brand which becomes more and more famous for people all over the world.

Also, you do not run the risk of not being seen, because statistics show that 45% of the people are curious about everything that is advertised on the internet. In conclusion, a web site is the perfect place for the potential clients to know you and your offer. For the already existing clients, it is a market always improved where they can find anything that is new because our services constantly offer improvement and development of the web sites. Thus, you will build a healthy image of your business, not only in your country, but also abroad.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Firefox Just Got Better
by: Burk Pendergrass


The safest most secure app for browsing the internet currently available just got better and has more improvements on the way. Are you ready for the latest Mozilla release? Firefox 3 Beta 4 is available for download, but before you go running off like some half cocked Microsoft groupie notice the "beta" tag.

Hello!! The internet is a dangerous place. The Remote Helpdesk 1 Team continues to be amused (we can no longer say amazed) at people who would not dare to venture into certain parts of a city but who seemingly rush into the internet's dark corners and dimly lighted streets ill prepared.

Before you sail into a storm baton down the hatches, and before you cruise into hacker, virus, trojan, and criminally infested areas of the world wide web at least darken the windows and arm yourself. Not to take appropriate precautions will assure your computer a visit to the infectious disease controls center if not the hard drive morgue.

Firefox developers have thus far proven themselves to the best at incorporating necessary safety features into their browser while preserving user options and cruise speeds. Online PC Repair folks feel they owe a lot of their success to getting their loyal users involved in the development and testing process. These folks, like The Tennessee Mountain Man, have helped keep the programs on track and the applications minimal. For instance, if a client wants twenty-five cents - give him a quarter like Mozilla tends to do rather that twenty-five pennies as Microsoft is famous for.

It takes a lot less resources to process one coin than it does to count twenty-five. Mozilla recognizing this has given the new "beta" release a lot of new features and improved compatibility while freeing up resources. The end result being a more nimble and faster overall browsing experience. At the same time they have enhanced Firefox's security.

Released to the public via the Mozilla website Monday, 10 March 2008, Firefox 3 Beta 4 is in the beta stage of any software's life cycle. Firefox 3 Beta 4 loudly proclaims that it is "for testing purposes only" therefore it is not for everyone. It you are a newbie or maybe even an intermediate internet user, the suggestion of the Computer Man would be that you use Firefox 2.0.0.12, the latest most stable full release until Firefox 3 is out of beta.

If you just can't wait for a better browsing experience Mozilla reports "the new release includes more than 900 enhancements from beta 3, including drastic improvements to performance and memory usage, as well as fixes for stability, platform enhancements and user interface".

But that is not the half of it... not by a long shot. "Firefox 3 is based on the Gecko 1.9 Web rendering platform, which has been under development for the past 31 months. Building on the previous release, Gecko 1.9 has more than 12,000 updates including some major re-architecting to provide improved performance, stability, rendering correctness, and code simplification and sustainability. Firefox 3 has been built on top of this new platform resulting in a more secure, easier to use, more personal product with a lot more under the hood to offer website and Firefox add-on developers improvements.", according to Mozilla.

Enhancements like these reported on the Mozilla website:

"More Secure

* One-click site info: Click the site favicon in the location bar to see who owns the site and to check if your connection is protected from eavesdropping. Identity verification is prominently displayed and easier to understand. When a site uses Extended Validation (EV) SSL certificates, the site favicon button will turn green and show the name of the company you're connected to. (Try it here!)
* Malware Protection: malware protection warns users when they arrive at sites which are known to install viruses, spyware, trojans or other malware. (Try it here!)
* New Web Forgery Protection page: the content of pages suspected as web forgeries is no longer shown. (Try it here!)
* New SSL error pages: clearer and stricter error pages are used when Firefox encounters an invalid SSL certificate. (Try it here!)
* Add-ons and Plugin version check: Firefox now automatically checks add-on and plugin versions and will disable older, insecure versions.
* Secure add-on updates: to improve add-on update security, add-ons that provide updates in an insecure manner will be disabled.
* Anti-virus integration: Firefox will inform anti-virus software when downloading executables.
* Vista Parental Controls: Firefox now respects the Vista system-wide parental control setting for disabling file downloads.
* Effective top-level domain (eTLD) service better restricts cookies and other restricted content to a single domain.
* Better protection against cross-site JSON data leaks.

Easier to Use

* Easier password management: an information bar replaces the old password dialog so you can now save passwords after a successful login.
* Simplified add-on installation: the add-ons whitelist has been removed making it possible to install extensions from third-party sites in fewer clicks.
* [Improved in Beta 4!] New Download Manager: the revised download manager makes it much easier to locate downloaded files, and you can see and search on the name of the website where a file came from. Your active downloads and time remaining are always shown in the status bar as your files download.
* Resumable downloading: users can now resume downloads after restarting the browser or resetting your network connection.
* [Improved in Beta 4!] Full page zoom: from the View menu and via keyboard shortcuts, the new zooming feature lets you zoom in and out of entire pages, scaling the layout, text and images, or optionally only the text size. Your settings will be remembered whenever you return to the site.
* Podcasts and Videocasts can be associated with your media playback tools.
* Tab scrolling and quickmenu: tabs are easier to locate with the new tab scrolling and tab quickmenu.
* Save what you were doing: Firefox will prompt users to save tabs on exit.
* Optimized Open in Tabs behavior: opening a folder of bookmarks in tabs now appends the new tabs rather than overwriting.
* Location and Search bar size can now be customized with a simple resizer item.
* Text selection improvements: multiple text selections can be made with Ctrl/Cmd; double-click drag selects in "word-by-word" mode; triple-clicking selects a paragraph.
* Find toolbar: the Find toolbar now opens with the current selection.
* Plugin management: users can disable individual plugins in the Add-on Manager.
* [Improved in Beta 4!] Integration with Vista: Firefox now has Vista-specific icons, and uses native user interface widgets in the browser and in web forms.
* [Improved in Beta 4!] Integration with the Mac: the new Firefox theme makes toolbars, icons, and other user interface elements look like a native OS X application. Firefox also uses OS X widgets and spell-checker in web forms and supports Growl for notifications of completed downloads and available updates. A combined back and forward control make it even easier to move between web pages.
* [Improved in Beta 4!] Integration with Linux: Firefox's default icons, buttons, and menu styles now use the native GTK theme.

More Personal

* Star button: quickly add bookmarks from the location bar with a single click; a second click lets you file and tag them.
* Tags: associate keywords with your bookmarks to sort them by topic.
* [Improved in Beta 4!] Location bar & auto-complete: type in all or part of the title, tag or address of a page to see a list of matches from your history and bookmarks; a new display makes it easier to scan through the matching results and find that page you're looking for. Results are returned according to their frecency (a combination of frequency and recency of visits to that page) ensuring that you're seeing the most relevant matches. An adaptive learning algorithm further tunes the results to your patterns!
* Smart Bookmarks Folder: quickly access your recently bookmarked and tagged pages, as well as your more frequently visited pages with the new smart bookmarks folder on your bookmark toolbar.
* Places Organizer: view, organize and search through all of your bookmarks, tags, and browsing history with multiple views and smart folders to store your frequent searches.
* Web-based protocol handlers: web applications, such as your favorite webmail provider, can now be used instead of desktop applications for handling mailto: links from other sites. Similar support is available for other protocols (Web applications will have to first enable this by registering as handlers with Firefox).
* Download & Install Add-ons: the Add-ons Manager (Tools > Add-ons) can now be used to download and install a Firefox customization from the thousands of Add-ons available from our community add-ons website. When you first open the Add-ons Manager, a list of recommended Add-ons is shown.
* Easy to use Download Actions: a new Applications preferences pane provides a better UI for configuring handlers for various file types and protocol schemes.

Improved Platform for Developers

* New graphics and font handling: new graphics and text rendering architectures in Gecko 1.9 provides rendering improvements in CSS, SVG as well as improved display of fonts with ligatures and complex scripts.
* Color management: (set gfx.color_management.enabled on in about:config and restart the browser to enable.) Firefox can now adjust images with embedded color profiles.
* Offline support: enables web applications to provide offline functionality (website authors must add support for offline
browsing to their site for this feature to be available to users).
* A more complete overview of Firefox 3 for developers is available for website and add-on developers.

Improved Performance

* [Improved in Beta 4!] Speed: improvements to our JavaScript engine as well as profile guided optimizations have resulted in significant improvements in performance. Compared to Firefox 2, web applications like Google Mail and Zoho Office run twice as fast in Firefox 3 Beta 4, and the popular SunSpider test from Apple shows improvements over previous releases.
* [Improved in Beta 4!] Memory usage: Several new technologies work together to reduce the amount of memory used by Firefox 3 Beta 4 over a web browsing session. Memory cycles are broken and collected by an automated cycle collector, a new memory allocator reduces fragmentation, hundreds of leaks have been fixed, and caching strategies have been tuned.
* Reliability: A user's bookmarks, history, cookies, and preferences are now stored in a transactionally secure database format which will prevent data loss even if their system crashes."

Mozilla provides Firefox 3 Beta 4 for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X in forty different languages, and reports it can be removed without losing your bookmarks, web browsing history, extensions and other add-ons. Best of all - it is FREE ! Just download, install, and enjoy a whole new faster browsing experience if your computer meets one of the following system requirements.

Windows
Operating Systems

* Windows 2000
* Windows XP
* Windows Server 2003
* Windows Vista

Minimum Hardware

* Pentium 233 MHz (Recommended: Pentium 500MHz or greater)
* 64 MB RAM (Recommended: 128 MB RAM or greater)
* 52 MB hard drive space

Mac
Operating Systems

* Mac OS X 10.4 and later

Minimum Hardware

* Macintosh computer with an Intel x86 or PowerPC G3, G4, or G5 processor
* 128 MB RAM (Recommended: 256 MB RAM or greater)
* 200 MB hard drive space

Linux
Software Requirements
Please note that Linux distributors may provide packages for your distribution which have different requirements.

* Linux kernel - 2.2.14 or higher with the following libraries or packages:
o glibc 2.3.2 or higher
o XFree86-3.3.6 or higher
o gtk+2.0 or higher
o fontconfig (also known as xft)
o libstdc++5

Minimum Hardware

* Intel Pentium II or AMD K6-III+ 233 MHz CPU (Recommended: 500MHz or greater)
* 64 MB RAM (Recommended: 128 MB RAM or greater)
* 52 MB hard drive space

And, if you still have not tried Mozilla Thunderbird,

get ready to kick Outlook Express to the curb!



About The Author

Publication of Burk Pendergrass, J.D., a Cherokee Indian and Viet Nam Vet specializing in website design at http://computermanwebsitedesign.bravehost.com/ and http://remotehelpdesk1.com/ specializing in online web based computer repair.

Notebook / Laptop Memory (RAM) Upgrade In 5 Minutes Or Less

Notebook / Laptop Memory (RAM) Upgrade In 5 Minutes Or Less
by: Christophe Catesson



This article is set up in two parts, one part about RAM overview and a second part about RAM upgrade. If you are curious on how the RAM works, you will find a detail summary that should give you all the information that you need to know about RAM, organization and speed. If you just want to read the how to upgrade section, move on directly to part two Upgrade your laptop ram in 5 minutes or less.

1 – RAM Overview

There are two big categories of random access memories:

* Dynamic memories (DRAM, Dynamic Random Access Module), not very costly. They are in most cases used for the central memory of the computer

* Static memories (SRAM, Static Random Access Module), quick and expensive. SRAM is notably used for cache memories of the processor

Functioning of the random access memory

The random access memory is constituted of hundred of thousand small condensers storing charges. When it is loaded, the logical state of the condenser is equal to 1, otherwise it belongs to 0, what means that every condenser represents one bit of memory.

Given that condensers off-load, it is always necessary to recharge them in a space of regular time called cycle of refreshment. Memory DRAM requires cycles of refreshment for instance (Ns) is about 15 nanoseconds.

Every condenser is coupled with a transistor allowing to "recover « or to change the state of the condenser. These transistors are lined up in form of matrix, that is they achieve a hut memory (so called memory) by a line and a column.

So, for a memory of type DRAM, the time of access is of 60 nanoseconds (35ns of delay of cycle and 25 ns of time of latency). On a computer, the time of cycle corresponds contrary to the frequency of the clock, for instance for a computer pulsated in 200 MHz, the time of cycle is 5 ns (1 / (200*106)).

As a result a computer having a frequency well brought up and using memories the time of access of which is much longer than the time of cycle of the processor must perform cycles of wait to access to the memory. In the case of a computer pulsated in 200 MHz using memories of types DRAM (which the time of access is of 60ns), there are 11 cycles of wait as a cycle of transfer. The performances of the computer are of as much diminished as there are cycles

Formats of Random Access Memory (RAM)

There are numerous types of random access memories. These all come in the form of barrettes of memory attachable on the motherboard.

* SIMM (Single Inline Memory Module): it is about printed circuits among which one of the faces has fleas of memory. There are two types of barrettes SIMM, according to the number of connector cables (30 or 72)

* DIMM (Dual Inline Memory Modulates) are from memories 64 bits, what explains why it is not necessary to match them. Barrettes DIMM have fleas of memory on both sides of printed circuit and have also 84 connector cables on each side, what endows them with a total of 168 brooches. They have bigger dimensions than barrettes SIMM (130x25mm).

* RIMM (Rambus Inline Memory Module, conscripts also RD-RAM or DRD-RAM) are from memories 64 bits developed by the society Rambus. They have 184 brooches. These barrettes have two notches of location (détrompeurs), avoiding very risk of confusion with the previous modules. Considering their well brought up speed of transfer, barrettes RIMM have a thermal film made responsible for ameliorating the clearing up of warmth. As in the case of DIMM, there are modules of smaller size, called SO RIMM (Small Outline RIMM), intended for laptop computers. Barrettes SO RIMM include only 160 brooches.

* DRAM (Dynamic RAM, dynamic RAM) is the type of memo most spread at the beginning of the millennium. It is about a memory from which transistors are lined up in a matrix according to lines and of columns. A transistor, coupled with a condenser gives the information of a bit. 1 byte consisting of 8 bits, a barrette of memory 256 Mb DRAM will contain 256 therefore * 2^10 * 2^10 = 256 * on 1024 * on 1024 = 268 435 456 bytes = 268 435 456 * 8 = 2 147 483 648 bits = 2 147 483 648 transistors. A 256 Mb barrette has so in reality a capacity of 268 435 456 bytes, that is 268 Mb! These are memories from which the time of access is 60 ns. On the other hand, accesses memory are made in general on data lined up consecutively in memory. So the mode of access in gust (burst mode) allows to achieve the three successive data in the first one without time of additional latency.

* DRAM FPM to speed up accesses to DRAM, there is a technology, called pagination consisting in achieving data located on the same column by changing the address of the line only, what allows to avoid the repetition of the number of column between the reading of each of the lines. They speak then about DRAM FPM (Fast Page Mode). FPM allows to acquire time of access in the order of 70 - 80 nanoseconds for a frequency of functioning that can go from 25 to 33 Mhz.

* DRAM EDO (Extended Data Out, Goes out of data ameliorated sometimes also called "hyper-page") appears in 1995. The technology used with this type of memory consists in addressing the following column during the reading of the data of a column. It creates an overlapping of accesses allowing to save time on every cycle. The time of access to memory EDO is therefore about 50 - 60 nanoseconds for a frequency of functioning going 33 - 66 Mhz. So, RAM EDO, when it is used in mode gust allows to acquire cycles of form 5-2-2-2, that is a benefit of 4 cycles on the access to 4 data. As much as memory EDO did not accept the upper frequencies in 66 Mhz, it disappeared in aid of SDRAM.

* SDRAM (Synchronous DRAM, translate synchronous RAM), appeared in 1997, allows a reading of data synchronized with the bus of the card-mother, contrary to memories EDO and FPM (qualified as asynchronous) having their own clock. SDRAM allows therefore to free itself from time of wait owed to synchronization with the card-mother. This one allows to acquire a cycle in mode gust of form 5-1-1-1, that is to say benefit of 3 cycles in comparison with RAM EDO. In that way SDRAM is able of working with a cadenza going until 150 Mhz, allowing him to acquire from time of access about 10 ns.

* DR-SDRAM (Direct Rambus DRAM or else RDRAM) is a type of memory allowing to transfer data on a bus of 16 wide bits to a cadenza of 800Mhz, what confers on him a band passer-by of 1,6 Go / s. As SDRAM, this type of memory is synchronized with the clock of the bus to ameliorate exchanges of data.

* DDR-SDRAM (Double Dated Miss SDRAM) is a memory based on technology SDRAM, allowing to double the rate of transfer of SDRAM with equal frequency. Reading or writing of data in memory am accomplished on the basis of a clock. Standard memory DRAM uses a method conscript SDR (Single Data Fails) consisting in reading or writing data in every forehead going up. DDR allows to double the frequency of reading / writings, with a clock pulsated in the same frequency, by sending data in every forehead going up, as well as in every downward forehead. Memory DDR has in general a commercial appellation of type PCXXXX where "XXXX " represent the debit side in Mb / s.

* DDR2 (or DDR-II) allows to attain twice as well brought up debit sides as DDR with equal external frequency. They speak about QDR (Quadruple Dated Fail or quad-pumped) to indicate the method of reading and used writing. Memory DDR2 uses in effect two channels separated for reading and for writing, so it is able of sending or of accepting twice more data than DDR.

2 - Upgrading Your Laptop RAM

upgrading a notebook memory is a specific simple process pending that you have the right RAM and are somewhat delicate.

There are different types of RAM, and you must choose the one that is compatible with your notebook computer. Memory is also a fragile, so you need to be very cautious when installing it. You should ensure that the laptop is turned off and disconnected from any exterior power supply. No lights should be visible.

It is a lot easier to install RAM on a laptop versus a desktop PC. Access to the memory slots is via a panel generally located in the bottom of the laptop. Once you have opened this panel with a small screwdriver you can see the existing memory. you can check the exact type of memory that your Notebook currently uses, because it is usually shown on the front of the memory strips and will be evident when you open up the memory panel.

The memory strips are generally locked in with small clips on the ends of the strips. To take out existing memory, simply flip the clips and then remove the memory strips gently from their holding place. If you are simply adding memory, and there is space available, just add the new memory, gently pushing it in to ensure it is fully seated in the slots, and then push the clips to hold the new memory in place.

Once you have replaced or added your Notebook computer memory, replace the access panel, and then screw the panel back in place. Lastly, power up the notebook, When the PC starts up, it will count the memory and tell you how much RAM is loaded on your laptop.

As long as you have right memory, the whole operation should take less than 5 minutes, you can then enjoy your faster, less crash prone laptop.



About The Author

Christophe Catesson - Communication Manager for http://www.bestlaptopsreviews.com . Laptop and notebook reviews and ratings, most popular laptops, industry news, Forum, Q/A....



Pay Per Click Jobs - Your Checklist To Finding The Right Job For You
by: Derek Rogers


When it comes to making a living online, the chances have never been brighter! You already see that there are plenty of people who are seeing a great deal of success when it comes to making money online, but what might not be immediately apparent is how you can join them. Search engine marketing, particularly through pay per click services, is becoming quite popular when it comes to earning a living from the comfort of your own home, but remember, you need to be critical of the opportunities that you will find. Take a look below for some tips that will steer you towards the right opportunity, and don't go forward until you can tick every single one off of your list.

Find out how much time you can devote to this opportunity.

The best opportunity for you will be one that will fit into the time that you have slotted for it. It doesn't matter how great an opportunity is if you are constantly trying to get more work, or it constantly expects more from you than you can give.

Think about the salary.

What are your current needs? Do you have a job that you are looking to get rid of, but does it currently pay the bills? Are you unemployed and need a situation fast? There is often a time period when search engine marketing opportunities and pay per click services will need to wait before they pay you. Ask how long it will be before you receive your first pay check and how much they think it will be.

Do you have the capabilities to do the job?

Think about your internet set up at home. Do you have a reliable connection and can you clock time on your own on the computer? Too many people need to fight for a turn to use the computer, and this can be quite detrimental to your plans. Take some time to really sort through your resources and what they will be for the foreseeable future. Think about any disruptions (visits, vacations, the busy time at your other job) and make sure you take them into consideration.

Do your research!

What do you know about the company that is hiring you? Do they have a good reputation online and what do people who have worked for them in the past say? Take some time to find out what people are saying in reviews and on forums about your new company. How much did the other people make, and were they paid in a regular and timely fashion? There are many points to consider when you are starting a new job, and you want to make sure that your newest opportunity is a good one.

By keeping to a checklist, you can make sure that you have criteria for judging the opportunities that you come across. This is a good rubric to use when you are choosing between pay per click opportunities because it gives you a place to start from. Take some time and make sure that this opportunity is the one that helps you succeed!



About The Author

Derek Rogers is a freelance writer who represents a number of UK businesses. For Recruitment, he recommends SEM Recruitment, one of the UK's leading suppliers of SEO Recruitment: http://www.semrecruitment.co.uk/



SEO Training – How to Get the Most Out of It

SEO Training – How to Get the Most Out of It
by: Tracy Fredrychowski

Let’s set the stage…

You’ve just invested valuable time and money by completing your hands-on SEO Training. You are now sitting back in your office contemplating all the wonderful information you just gathered, but you’re really confused on where to start. You pick up your notes leafing through them hoping something will inspire you to know what to do next. You start to drift back to class wishing you where still there. You hated to leave, you didn’t want it to end, you silently wish your instructor was there telling you where to begin.

Good news! I am going to share with you a detailed search engine optimization and internet marketing plan to get the most out of your seo training and to get you started today.

Step #1 – Setting Goals

Before you can really get started you have to know what you want to achieve with your Web site. There could be a number of goals that you have in mind but your first step is get a clear picture of what you want the outcome to be. It could be:

• To gain higher rankings.
• To redesign your Web site to be more user friendly.
• To implement SEO basics throughout your site to make it search engine friendly.
• To increase your visitor response online.
• To open additional windows to your site through social media marketing.
• To launch an article marketing plan.
• Or all of the above.

What ever your goal is it is important to write it down and post it where you can see it every day. “Goals that are not written down are just wishes.”

Step #2 – Keyword Research

Any new project should always include this step. Keyword research is the basis for any successful page on your site. Let’s take the goals above and see how the keyword research you learned to perform in your seo training can be used.

• Higher rankings can be achieved by finding those keywords in your industry that have a high KEI (Keyword Effectiveness Index) and low competing pages. You should concentrate on finding five phrases that you can work on simultaneously.

• By redesigning your Web site you can be including your new found phrases and work them into your sales copy. If you are creating a new site this is the ideal time to make sure you are concentrating on your visitors experience while on your site.

o Include a call to action above the fold
o Contact information above the fold in straight html including area code and zip code.
o Only use Flash in small elements and not as the whole page.
o Include something that will grab your user’s attention. Something out of the normal that will make your visitor stop and take notice of your page.

• Implementing SEO basics can be a daunting task if your site is large or it is many years old. Tactics that where used years ago are no longer useful and most times are being flagged as spam. Depending on how many elements need to be addressed you need to determine if it would be better to start with a fresh page or redo the existing page. A determining factor would be if the current page is already indexed. If this is the case then it would be best to fix the existing page. If the page has too many errors and creating a new one would be wiser be sure to name the new page the same as the old one or do a 301 redirect to the new page. Include your keyword phrase when implementing your basic search engine optimization.

• Visitor response will increase if you are giving your visitors exactly what they are looking for. Only your keyword research will help you with this. We are in an instant gratification world and your visitor will only give you a few seconds to answer their search, so make sure it exactly what they are looking for.

• Open additional windows into your site by using your keyword phrases in your social media avenues. A couple great places to include your keyword researched phrases would be in your blog post and creating a lens in Squidoo around your researched phrase.

• Article marketing is not for everyone but it does allow you to open multiple windows into your site but writing articles around your phrase and submitting them to places like Scribd, ArtcileFactory.com and EzineArticles.com.

Step - # 3 – Which one to choose?

I know you want to implement each and everyone of those goals into your site and you still don’t know where to start.

Stop here and go find five phrases to work with and don’t even think about anything else at this point.

After you find those phrases refer back to your SEO training notes and refresh your memory on how to create a search engine friendly Web page and create content for each of the new keywords you found.

It is going to be hard not to get side tracked but stick to the project at hand. Your only concern is finding 5 phrases, creating content and designing five search engine friendly pages.

Once that is done go ahead and publish the five pages to your Web site. Include each page on your site map, link it from and to relevant pages on your site and include keyword rich link text within the body of the page.

Make a note of the day you added the new pages to your site for later use.

Now that you have the first three steps under your belt you are ready to move onto step four.

Step #4 – Addressing Existing Web Site Issues

Now that you have gotten a good start with the above steps, you can start working on bringing your current Web site up to par while you are actually waiting for indexing on your 5 optimized pages. Your next plan of attack would be working on existing pages within your site. You may not be able to change every issue with your site but remember every small change could result in increased ranking for your site. You may only be able to change your title and Meta tags and not be able to change your corporate sites navigation so tackle what you can and don’t worry about the rest. Each and every issue is just one of the over 200 factors so learn to pick your battles and fix what you can.

Step #5 – Social Media and Article Marketing

Your whole goal is to open as many windows into your site as possible. You have already started this by creating 5 new pages into your site now it is time to open the windows even further. Whether you decide to use article marketing or all the endless possibility of social media marketing now is the time to concentrate on one or both of these window opening wonders.

You can use the five phrases you found in your first step or you can find 5 new ones but at this stage you are creating content to be used in articles, on blogs or bookmaking pages within the many social media avenues. Your title is the most important element when tackling this step. Make your title keyword rich, compelling and deliver what your title describes in the article or blog post.

If you are not quite ready to dive into social media start at least with adding a blog to your Web site. Your best results will come from the blog residing on your server and not one that is hosted on a free blogging site. Make a commitment to blogging regularly and always about your industry so your site and your blog are industry related.

Step #6 – Tracking Your Progress

Web analytics can show you information about all of your optimization projects. Not only will it show you your results for the 5 keyword phrases you are working on but it will open your eyes to how your visitor is moving through your site. Record your results on a weekly or daily basis. This step will help you in testing each one of your projects and help you decide which one you should concentrate more on. Usually I find 2 or 3 phrases that are really performing and those are the ones I concentrate on blogging and adding it to the social media venues.

Step #7 – Keep Up With the Changes

There is no other step as important as this one. The internet changes its landscape on a daily basis so it is imperative that what you learn in your SEO Training is always the latest information. Your Web site and or clients are depending on your expertise so don’t let them down by applying out of date or useless techniques. There are many places you can turn to for guidance.

The first place would be Google, Yahoo! and MSN’s Webmasters guidelines. Each is posted on their site and is updates each and every time they have made changes to them.

Another place would be to subscribe to one of many search engine optimization and marketing blogs created by industry leaders. Your instructor should be able to point you in the right direction to their most trusted resources.

Continue learning by attending your favorite SEO Training provider’s courses on a yearly basis. Principles and techniques change often so always keep on top them.

Often students are overwhelmed with the amount of information they are given at class but if you learn to take them in small steps starting with setting your goals you will find that your seo training is working for you and your Web site.



About The Author

Tracy Fredrychowski – SEO Instructor
http://www.searchengineacademysc.com

Touched By A Tablet - Choosing The Right Graphics Tablet For You

Touched By A Tablet - Choosing The Right Graphics Tablet For You
by: Annie Goss


There you are: you have finally decided to purchase a graphics tablet. Whatever your reasons may be for purchasing one, you are now faced with a very major decision: amongst all the numerous graphics tablets out there, which one would best suit your needs and your budget ?

Wacom is without any doubt, a genius when it comes to graphics tablet (also known as pen tablet) technology and is continually improving their products. Due to these frequent upgrades, this article will only touch the following Wacom models: Bamboo, Bamboo Fun (a successor and an improved model over the Graphire series), Intuos3 (the 3rd generation of Intuos) and Cintiq.

The basics

All Wacom graphics tablets are easy to install and use, thanks to Wacom’s Plug & Play technology. Every Wacom tablet is compatible with Macintosh and Windows, supports widescreen format, offers application and tool settings, provides a comfortable design and comes equipped with a detachable USB cable, and a programmable, cordless and battery free ergonomic pen. Therefore, your decision will be based on the main differences between these major models. Those include: pressure sensitivity, resolution and size.

• Pressure sensitivity of the pen tip and its eraser( when present) is measured in levels: 512 levels for the Bamboo line and 1024 levels, the highest thus far, for the Intuos3 and Cintiq models.

• Resolution, measured in lines per square inch, is marked at 2,540 for the Bamboo series and 5,080 for the Intuos3 and Cintiq models. Based on these two differences alone, if one needs or desires more precision and sharper results, the Intuos3 or the Cintiq are by far the better choices.

• Size relates to the active area of the graphics tablet, which is the drawing/writing area and not the actual size of the tablet. If space is really a tight issue, make sure you take into consideration the actual dimensions of the graphics tablet. Since the active area of a tablet matches your computer screen no matter what size it is, don’t let a smaller sized Wacom tablet fool you: the smaller sizes offer just as many features as the larger ones. Size becomes a concern when considering desk space, laptop use, portability, and user preferances. Bamboo, Bamboo Fun Small and Medium, Intuos3 4x6 and 6x8 are all wonderful options for small working environments.

Bringing pen to tablet: beginners ....
Let’s start by comparing the three Bamboo models.

• Bamboo standard (4x6 approx.) with its sleek black piano finish, is a wonderful improvement over the past Wacom models. It is perfect for any office, be it at home or at work and a perfect travelling companion. Specified mostly for office work rather than artistic tasks, it performs very well by working with your computer’s existing software for marking up documents, jotting down notes and writing your signature. So if you do not need any extra art related software, and the budget is as tight as your desk space, this is the perfect graphics tablet for you.

(Bamboo standard is the only Wacom tablet, of the newer models, which does not come with a matching mouse, or any software. The accompanying Bamboo pen does not have an eraser which could prove to be inconvenient.)

• Bamboo Fun (Small) (4x6 approx.) is terrific for children and beginners with creative minds. With four colors to choose from, (Blue, White, Black and Silver) you can personalize any office, home or at work, with your preferred color. However, despite the great Wacom quality and advantages, the active area might prove to be too small for elaborate projects.

• Bamboo Fun (Medium) (5x9 approx.) which also comes in the same 4 different colors as the Small version, is ideal for beginners and excellent for young students, digital photographers and more creative users. The new possibilities range from personalizing your work with your signature or other creations to touching-up photos.

Bringing pen to tablet: intermediate

The Intuos3 line, in its cool charcoal gray color and with an extra year warranty, replaces the Bamboo’s Touch Ring (at the top of the tablet) with a Touch Strip (at the side of the tablet for scrolling). The position of the ExpressKeys (for shortcuts) has also changed from the top (on the Bamboo) to the side (on the Intuos3). The Intuos3 also adds tilt control to the mix, an added bonus for any serious user. It even offers more pen tips for different writing and drawing results with the one accompanying cushioned Grip Pen which provides extra comfort and reduces tension. Extra accessories are available for the Intuos3 such as an array of different pen types ranging from the classic pen for a more natural, day-to-day work and feel to the sophisticated airbrush for unbelievably realistic paintings and other art designs. The whole Intuos3 series is specially designed for wide screens and multiple monitor work stations. If you are a serious graphic artist or you spend long hours using artistic software, an Intuos3 is certainly a worthwhile investment, and most graphics professionals would call it an essential tool. That said, there are still 6 different sizes to chose from !

• Intuos3 4x6 is easily portable with more features than the Bamboo series and perfect for small desk spaces yet affordable. However, this graphics tablet is not recommended for left-handed users because the single set of ExpressKeys and Touch Strip is on the left side of the drawing tablet. (All the other Intuos3 sizes have dual ExpressKeys and a Touch Strip on both the left and right sides of the tablet.)

• Intuos3 6x8 benefits more professional work yet is still an excellent size for cramped spaces and is a perfect travelling companion for the laptop and ideal for serious students on the go.

• Intuos3 6x11 targets the CAD users, and technical illustrators which may desire a larger surface area and artists who are used to drawing or painting with large sweeping motions. It is also optimized for work in single screen or for multiple monitor work stations and is ideal for editing HDTV videos. Remember, the larger your tablet surface, the more you will need to move your arms which may be viewed as a disadvantage to some users.

• Intuos3 9x12 greatly assists professional photo-retouching artists, illustrators and industrial designers with challenging endeavours, allowing for wider sweeping strokes.

• Intuos3 12x12, the only square tablet, caters to professionals with elaborate artistic ideas and highly detailed expectations like professional technicians and designers in any industry including automobile, textile and fashion.

• Intuos3 12x19 targets sophisticated and high-performance work involving precision and accurate results like professional digital imagery, audio-visual technicians, graphic artists, and architects. It offers optimal use of wide screen and double monitors and is excellent for creating HDTV videos.

Bringing pen to screen: intermediate and professional

Cintiq is the combination of the Intuos3 technology with an LCD monitor. The result: a state of the art monitor that allows you to write or draw directly on the screen with unparalleled accuracy! The fact that it is detachable and totally adjustable to any angle and for any purpose (on your desk or on your knees) makes it the holy grail of the Wacom graphics tablets and obviously, the most expensive. The Cintiq series (which comes with an Intuos3 Grip Pen for optimal comfort and fatigue prevention) will greatly improve workflow and efficiency while providing spectacular, detailed results in any professional field ranging from industrial designers, audio-editors and animators to doctors, educators and story-board creators requiring faster visual effects. This interactive pen display, with leading edge technology, literally becomes your canvas or your easel.

Yet again, there are 3 Cintiq’s to choose from. Size is measured diagonally, from the smaller 12.1”, and mid size 20.1” to the large 21.3”. The native resolution and the total number of pixels (1.0, 1.8 and 1.9 million pixels respectively) are what set them apart the most.

• Cintiq 12WX (1280x800 native resolution) is very light (4.4lbs) and portable thanks to an extra cable and a convertor box to keep it small and lightweight. It’s half the price of the other Cintiq models. However, due to its small size, you may want to add this to a multi-monitor set-up. If you are a very serious artist or technical designer, it is recommended that you save for the next model up.

• Cintiq 20WSX (1680x1050 native res.) is every professional’s dream. This 20 lb unit is the preferred choice by many due to its price and size. Less costly than its larger brother, it basically offers the same features.

• Cintiq 21UX (1600x1200 native res.) is the top of the line for pixel perfect results. Weighing in at 22.4 lbs, it’s the only Cintiq with an aspect ratio of 4:3 (standard resolution). All the others have 16:10. See it in action by going to YouTube.com and searching for Cintiq … it is absolutely incredible !

When trying to choose between all of these great Wacom contenders, wallet and desk size will always be an issue. Everyday users for home and basic office duties will delight in Bamboo, Bamboo Fun and Intuos3 4x6. Professionals at home or at the office in all fields will require and thoroughly enjoy Intuos3 6x8 and up. (Academic specials for students and schools do exist for the Bamboo and the Intuos3.) Serious illustrators, educators, technical designers and artists demanding elaborate detail and high pixel perfection will absolutely love the freedom, comfort, efficiency and convenience of drawing directly on the screen … and for many users - that is priceless.



About The Author

Article researched and written by Annie Goss for http://www.drawittablet.com, a site which specializes in Wacom graphics tablets and related accessories.

Statistical Process Control (SPC) Software: The Past, Present and Future

Statistical Process Control (SPC) Software: The Past, Present and Future
by: DataNet Quality Systems

Remember the first time in school you used a calculator instead of paper and pencil to add, subtract, multiply or divide? It made the job so easy, it almost felt like cheating. The technology freed you to focus on the problem rather than the mechanics of arithmetic.

Statistical process control (SPC) methods have been applied in manufacturing process control since the early 1930s. Over the decades, countless hours were expended plotting charts with pencils on graph paper. Then computers arrived and, like the calculator did for the schoolboy, freed the engineer to spend time analyzing the process instead of focusing on the formulae.

Over the years SPC software has matured in functionality, making statistical analysis quicker, more powerful and more flexible. The driving force has made the software easier for the practitioner to use. SPC software will continue to develop in ways that eliminate unnecessary steps, freeing quality practitioners from rote tasks and enabling them to focus efforts on improving the manufacturing process.

The Past

SPC software can show real-time control status of all data collection stations plant wide. As access to computers in the manufacturing environment grew, along came the first wave of products that automated the tasks associated with statistical analysis. Although they provided the tools for engineers to analyze the manufacturing process, these systems were difficult for many practitioners to use. They required tedious data entry and a Ph.D. statistician's knowledge to configure the software and analyze the data--a combination of tasks and abilities not easily married. Furthermore, obtaining interpretable results was a process completed long after the production run being analyzed had finished. This delay complicated the task of addressing process problems that continued to change--and probably resulted in additional process variation--in the interim.

The Present

Many timesaving features have since been added to advance SPC software usability. These software systems leverage other technologies such as automation standards and Internet access to simplify and integrate tasks--making administration, data collection, statistical analysis and reporting easier for today's practitioners.

Administration

Today's SPC software is designed to make the setup of parts and processes easy to accomplish. Common graphical user interface features such as tree views with drag-and-drop functionality dominate the market. These features reduce the repetitive tasks of separately creating items with only minor differences and instead allow for copying and duplicating similar components and then assigning unique parameters.

The introduction of communication standards across various platforms takes this ease-of-administration approach even further. Now SPC software can be configured to automatically obtain and update parts, processes, specifications, nominals and other pertinent information from values stored in other enterprise software systems such as manufacturing resource planning, manufacturing execution systems and human machine interface. Not only does this eliminate the effort spent re-entering and updating configuration information in multiple packages, it saves the effort expended tracking down entry errors that occur when the process is done manually.

Data Collection

Today's SPC software can automatically collect data from other enterprise software systems. As with the time-saving benefit for administrative tasks, this capability reduces the need to configure and maintain separate data collection interfaces and eliminates re-entry errors.

Current SPC software also has used communication standards to simplify the time-consuming job of connecting the system to data collection devices. Advances in software masking functionality permit out-of-the-box connection to a wide range of digital devices. And with dynamic masking capabilities, SPC software can automatically react to changes in device output and adjust to collect the specified data. This flexibility frees the practitioner from the tedious chore of administering SPC software every time there is a change to a device's output.

Real-Time SPC Analysis

Today's SPC software products are designed to collect data, produce charts and alarm in real time. This enables shop-floor operators to receive statistical feedback as close as possible to the point of production. Alarming capabilities include notification of supervisors, managers and other personnel responsible for maintaining and improving the production process. Immediate feedback and alarming enable all parties to begin problem solving and root causes analysis immediately. Eliminating the delay between a special cause and detection can reduce the investigation and corrective action effort by empowering quality practitioners with useful production feedback at the moment of a problem's inception.

Current development in SPC software includes the ability to provide supervisors with dashboard-style status indicators of all collection operations in the plant. Snapshot views of production status on a single screen allow busy supervisors to manage by exception instead of manage by walking around. Such SPC software systems aggregate and prioritize production information for the supervisor, reducing data-gathering demands.

Reporting

One of the most time-consuming tasks in applying statistical methods to a manufacturing process is developing relevant and understandable reports to form the basis for decision making. Modern SPC software makes the job easier by providing built-in report templates that can organize and deliver reports focused on the key characteristics of a process. Moreover, reports that are needed on a regular basis can be scheduled and automatically generated based on then-current production information. This is a time saver for those responsible for communication among quality team members.

Finally, the effort previously expended producing and distributing charts to various users and locations is reduced by leveraging the Internet. A Web-based SPC report with hyperlinks to various types of analyses can easily be distributed to multiple persons, teams or facilities.

The Future

Future SPC software development will follow the trend to eliminate cumbersome, low-value tasks and generally make SPC systems easier to administer and use. Describing the particular form such future development will take is speculative, but the combined capabilities of intelligent and expert systems is one possible way SPC software could evolve to address new challenges.

Intelligent systems emulate the human ability to learn from past experience and to make reasoned decisions and take action based on those experiences. Expert systems rely on a knowledge base to build models to diagnose, advise and act on real-world problems. Intelligent and expert systems are already deployed in control technology for manufacturing processes. It is not a great leap to believe that these technologies will profoundly change the nature of SPC software.

There are many ways in which intelligent and expert SPC systems would enhance the effectiveness and simplify the work of quality practitioners. On the most superficial level, these systems would learn from previous SPC configuration to logically reorder the system to make future administration easier. For instance, such systems could recognize which devices are being deployed and suggest effective collection methods and preferred connection approaches based on past experience.

But the administrative assistance offered by intelligent and expert SPC systems would run much deeper than that. Such systems could save countless hours helping determine how to monitor the process. Building on the history of previous production successes and failures, SPC software could select key parameters to track when to set up new parts or processes, and determine the most effective way to chart and report on those parameters. The software itself could anticipate problems and alter monitoring methodologies to adapt to changes in the manufacturing process.

The impact of intelligent and expert systems would perhaps be greatest when it comes to interpreting process statistics and acting on that analysis. There is not enough time in the day for the quality practitioner to thoroughly analyze the mountain of information generated from each production run. SPC software with learning and knowledge-based capabilities, coupled with computational power, will provide insights into the process beyond what the practitioner alone could achieve. With the advent of intelligent and expert SPC systems, the computer can transcend the earlier comparison made to a calculator. Such systems could not only assume or simplify menial tasks currently performed by the quality practitioner, but will also become a readily available and trusted source of expert guidance and advice.

Of course, the future developments suggested here may never come to pass. Nonetheless, it is almost a foregone conclusion that the SPC software of tomorrow will be more intelligent and capable of simplifying many jobs that burden today's quality practitioner. The future of SPC software is what frees those practitioners from time-consuming, low-value tasks and enables them to more easily obtain the analytical results that inform business decisions.


About The Author

DataNet Quality Systems provides quality control software (http://www.winspc.com) including WinSPC, a statistical process control software (http://www.winspc.com/datanet-quality-systems/products/winspc.html) solution designed to improve manufacturing process and product quality.