Now PCMAV Released RC19
what new at pcmav rc19 (cleaner & realtime protector)?
-----------------------------------------------------------
a. added, identification database and cleaner 81 virus
local/foreign/variant new that reported to scattered in indonesia.
total 1032 virus along with variant it many go around at
indonesia has been known at rc19 this by engine internal pcmav.
b. repaired, engine realtime protector now can intercept virus
executed from lan or network.
c. added, engine"Anti Teriminate" simple so that pcmav can
walk normal. virus that do this matter is virus the example
result generate from gene.ffe.
d. renewed, change several virus names follows variant new
found.
e. added, when pcmav success integrate file
database vdb that is with give to know a success virus total
added at the end internal database total.
f. repaired, minor bug in button" cure files" which is on condition
certain cause pcmav" freeze" .
g. added, engine cleaner special to 3 variant kspoold another
that is kspoold. e, kspoold. f and kspoold. g.
h. added, engine cleaner special to variant deulledox another
that is deulledox. b. 107520.
i. added, engine to investigate according to comprehensive drivers,
services and modules that live at memory in realtime protector.
j. renewed, engine getupdates with add error handling
tighter to avoid not -load database.
k. improvisation, ability engine" deepclean" so that repair registry
perfecter Compare pcmav previous version.
l. repaired, double virus name use.
m. repair several minor bug and internal code improvisation to
ascertain that pcmav cleaner pcmav realtime protector more
from merely antivirus usually.
Downlaod
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Vista Transformation Pack
Hi, guys...
do you ever look windows vista ?
i think of all you ever seen that.
would you want change your windows xp like vista style?
if your answer yes, you can try this Vista Transformation Pack Version 7.0
This program will transform your Windows user interface to ultimate Windows Vista alike looks that everyone will never notice it’s the same old Windows XP (or 2003)
Features
Vista Transformation Pack will replace many of the resources in Windows XP/Windows Server 2003. It can change such things as:
* Boot screen
* Welcome Screen / Logon Screen
* New msstyles files (visual styles)
* New desktop and file icons
* New toolbar icons
* Progress Dialogs
* Sounds scheme
* System Tray icons
* New Wallpapers
* Windows Media Player Skins
* And much more
Changes in Version 7.0
-Added default system font option for recovery
-Added Docking support for preview and taskbar replacement
-Added DPI auto-detection in Machine Configuration
-Added hiding menubar option for Vista (Styler) toolbar
-Added information about KB925902 hotfix issues and solution on startup
-Added memory requirements checking for 3rd-party applications
-Added resetting DPI options and some extra information in Machine Configuration
-Added screen resolution auto-detection
-Added setting cleartype font automatically after the transformation
-Added Vista transformation “Express mode” (Make an appropriate setup configuration in single page!)
-Added ViStart (Vista Start Menu port for Windows XP/2003 with glass UI and search function)
-Added uninstalling existing components before updating
-Added WindowBlinds detection warning message (for user who is mistaken about glass border skin)
-Added Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 uxtheme patching support
-Fixed backing up system files bug on repair mode
-Fixed checking for Styler incompatibility with x64 edition OS
-Fixed fileversion checking bug that cause backup system files being overwritten by modified system files when update
-Fixed operating system checking bug (that allow user to install in Windows 2000 and below)
-Fixed Start Orb positioning bug
-Fixed Styler to execute Styler.exe only when user wants to hide menu bar to save up memory and some weird issues
-Fixed Styler to run in toolbar mode (prevent error and message popup)
-Fixed Vista (Styler) toolbar option with correction of menubar
-Fixed uninstalling bug with system drive icon
-Fixed uninstalling routines
-Fixed uxtheme.dll patching detection bugs on machine without any service pack
-Fixed Windows Live Messenger skin uninstallation bug
-Moved extra dialogs in the main dialogs process so user can make all decisions before transforming
-Removed customized open/save dialog due to bugs in some applications
-Replaced closeapp with pskill (some programs reported closeapp as virus though it isn’t)
-Replaced Blaero’s Start Orb with ViOrb (Auto positioning and snap over the start button upon taskbar shifting)
-Updated battery tray icons
-Updated Start Orb to full circle version
-Updated Getting Started and Help and Support FAQ
-Updated transformation to use backup system file if it has the same fileversion during update
-Updated LClock x86 to version 1.62b
-Updated Maintenance Center to be Welcome Center
-Updated minor UI graphic resources in themes
-Updated Segoe UI font
-Updated Shutdown/Logoff dialogs
-Updated Thoosje’s Vista sidebar to version 2.0
-Updated updating function to uninstall previous components before updating
-Updated Vista logon screen (Thanks to SoFtEcH for updating my logon)
|-Added status message (Welcome, Shutdown, etc.)
|-Fixed user account disapperance bug on lower resolution
|-Fixed user account moving around when focused
|-Moved shutdown button to right part
|-Updated password panel resources
|-Updated userpicture’s frame border
-Updated Visualtooltip to version 2.1
Boot
Logon Screen (Vista Transformation Pack 7)
Desktop Screenshot (It’s outstanding)
Vista Transformation Pack - Express Mode (Simplify the transformation in single page)
Vista Transformation Pack - Welcome Center (Refined Maintenance Center)
Vista Transformation Pack - Configure User Account (Personalise Vista experiences’ per-user configuration)
Desktop Screenshot (Enhanced by Vista Transformation Pack 7)
Download:Vista Transformation Pack 7.0
mirror:
sendspace.com
rapidshare.com
rapidshare.com (second mirror)
Savefile.com
Wiki Upload
WinFuture.de
Xwebhosting.org
Softpedia
do you ever look windows vista ?
i think of all you ever seen that.
would you want change your windows xp like vista style?
if your answer yes, you can try this Vista Transformation Pack Version 7.0
This program will transform your Windows user interface to ultimate Windows Vista alike looks that everyone will never notice it’s the same old Windows XP (or 2003)
Features
Vista Transformation Pack will replace many of the resources in Windows XP/Windows Server 2003. It can change such things as:
* Boot screen
* Welcome Screen / Logon Screen
* New msstyles files (visual styles)
* New desktop and file icons
* New toolbar icons
* Progress Dialogs
* Sounds scheme
* System Tray icons
* New Wallpapers
* Windows Media Player Skins
* And much more
Changes in Version 7.0
-Added default system font option for recovery
-Added Docking support for preview and taskbar replacement
-Added DPI auto-detection in Machine Configuration
-Added hiding menubar option for Vista (Styler) toolbar
-Added information about KB925902 hotfix issues and solution on startup
-Added memory requirements checking for 3rd-party applications
-Added resetting DPI options and some extra information in Machine Configuration
-Added screen resolution auto-detection
-Added setting cleartype font automatically after the transformation
-Added Vista transformation “Express mode” (Make an appropriate setup configuration in single page!)
-Added ViStart (Vista Start Menu port for Windows XP/2003 with glass UI and search function)
-Added uninstalling existing components before updating
-Added WindowBlinds detection warning message (for user who is mistaken about glass border skin)
-Added Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 uxtheme patching support
-Fixed backing up system files bug on repair mode
-Fixed checking for Styler incompatibility with x64 edition OS
-Fixed fileversion checking bug that cause backup system files being overwritten by modified system files when update
-Fixed operating system checking bug (that allow user to install in Windows 2000 and below)
-Fixed Start Orb positioning bug
-Fixed Styler to execute Styler.exe only when user wants to hide menu bar to save up memory and some weird issues
-Fixed Styler to run in toolbar mode (prevent error and message popup)
-Fixed Vista (Styler) toolbar option with correction of menubar
-Fixed uninstalling bug with system drive icon
-Fixed uninstalling routines
-Fixed uxtheme.dll patching detection bugs on machine without any service pack
-Fixed Windows Live Messenger skin uninstallation bug
-Moved extra dialogs in the main dialogs process so user can make all decisions before transforming
-Removed customized open/save dialog due to bugs in some applications
-Replaced closeapp with pskill (some programs reported closeapp as virus though it isn’t)
-Replaced Blaero’s Start Orb with ViOrb (Auto positioning and snap over the start button upon taskbar shifting)
-Updated battery tray icons
-Updated Start Orb to full circle version
-Updated Getting Started and Help and Support FAQ
-Updated transformation to use backup system file if it has the same fileversion during update
-Updated LClock x86 to version 1.62b
-Updated Maintenance Center to be Welcome Center
-Updated minor UI graphic resources in themes
-Updated Segoe UI font
-Updated Shutdown/Logoff dialogs
-Updated Thoosje’s Vista sidebar to version 2.0
-Updated updating function to uninstall previous components before updating
-Updated Vista logon screen (Thanks to SoFtEcH for updating my logon)
|-Added status message (Welcome, Shutdown, etc.)
|-Fixed user account disapperance bug on lower resolution
|-Fixed user account moving around when focused
|-Moved shutdown button to right part
|-Updated password panel resources
|-Updated userpicture’s frame border
-Updated Visualtooltip to version 2.1
SCREEN SHOT
Download:Vista Transformation Pack 7.0
mirror:
sendspace.com
rapidshare.com
rapidshare.com (second mirror)
Savefile.com
Wiki Upload
WinFuture.de
Xwebhosting.org
Softpedia
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
“Yes & NO” video may hide a Trojan
An advisory from Sophos Labs informed on Tuesday that a malware writer has been infecting thousands of computers by hiding a new Trojan variant in a cartoon video, which has been spread around the world via e-mail.The malware, identified as Troi/Agent-FWO Trojan was hidden into “Yes & No” Shockwave video , a popular cartoon created by the Italian animator Bruno Bozzetto. According to Sophos, “The video only plays, though, after embedding itself on users' computers and downloading other pieces of malicious code.”
The video ironically shows the allowed and forbidden behaviours described in the highway code, and it was published on the internet by Mr. Bozzetto in 2001. From then on, hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have watched the video but it is not possible to guess how many of them have been infected by the Trojan, until researchers will understand exactly when the malware writer began to send out infected copies of the video. Such Trojan is playing the animation as a smokescreen as it silently infects Windows Computers.
Troj/Agent-FWO drops its malicious payload in the Windows System folder. Moreover, Sophos explains that it can create registry entries to run itself on startup, and it also has the functionality to inject code into system processes to stealth itself.
"It's important to realise that the animation itself is not malicious - thousands of artists, like Bruno Bozzetto, have created funny movies whose only negative can be the hours that have been spent watching them," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "But the Trojan horse which is playing the animation in this instance is dangerous. Troj/Agent-FWO is exploiting society's predilection for forwarding humorous animations on to friends and family in its attempt to infect as many people as possible."
Written by Alberto Redi (halfmoon)
Friday, 29 June 2007
Source http://www.zone-h.org/content/view/14787/31/
PCMAV RC18 Update Build3
PCMAV (PC Media AntiVirus) is indonesia antivirus, now has been release RC18 Build3.
This time it increase 10 signature for new virus espoused scan engine and special cleaner that can handle viruses many be reported to scattered in indonesia.
You can download from http://www.divshare.com/download/1451739-247
List Of virus For PCMAV rc18 Build3 :
AdryZ
AdryZ.htm
AdryZ.inf
AdryZ.txt
Alicia-Mario.C
DeulleDoX.B.107520
Feelcomz
Feelcomz.htm
Gen.FFE
Geratis.B
Harpot.H
Jadwal.B
KabaLove
KSpoold.E
KSpoold.E.dll
KSpoold.E.htt
KSpoold.E.ini
KSpoold.F
KSpoold.G
KSpoold.G.dll
Leena.H
Leena.H.doc
Moonlight-B.AA
Moonlight-B.AA.txt
Moonlight-B.AB
Moonlight-B.AC
Remotion
Remotion.bat
Remotion.hosts
Remotion.htm.A
Remotion.htm.B
Romlah.B
Romlah.B.ini
Romlah.B.txt
Tinutuan.D
Tinutuan.E
Topinsutki-Moontok
Topinsutki-Moontok.vbs
Vires.D
Vires.D.bat
PCMAV RC 18 Cleaner + RTP, download
This time it increase 10 signature for new virus espoused scan engine and special cleaner that can handle viruses many be reported to scattered in indonesia.
You can download from http://www.divshare.com/download/1451739-247
List Of virus For PCMAV rc18 Build3 :
AdryZ
AdryZ.htm
AdryZ.inf
AdryZ.txt
Alicia-Mario.C
DeulleDoX.B.107520
Feelcomz
Feelcomz.htm
Gen.FFE
Geratis.B
Harpot.H
Jadwal.B
KabaLove
KSpoold.E
KSpoold.E.dll
KSpoold.E.htt
KSpoold.E.ini
KSpoold.F
KSpoold.G
KSpoold.G.dll
Leena.H
Leena.H.doc
Moonlight-B.AA
Moonlight-B.AA.txt
Moonlight-B.AB
Moonlight-B.AC
Remotion
Remotion.bat
Remotion.hosts
Remotion.htm.A
Remotion.htm.B
Romlah.B
Romlah.B.ini
Romlah.B.txt
Tinutuan.D
Tinutuan.E
Topinsutki-Moontok
Topinsutki-Moontok.vbs
Vires.D
Vires.D.bat
PCMAV RC 18 Cleaner + RTP, download
Monday, August 6, 2007
Open Source Software For Windows
Here are some open source for windows
Cobian Backup
Cobian Backup is now Open Source. I'm sure this is a bad decision and this eventually will mean the end of the program as we know it (Open Source is not the Holy Grail, you know?), but I have no longer the time (nor the desire) to keep developing the program year after year. So now you can download the program in binary or source form from SourceForge. The code is licensed under the Mozilla Public License 1.1 . If you are a developer, you can download the code and use it, but if yu care for the program and want to take part in the program's development, drop me a line and I'll add you to the team. You must use SVN then to work with the main depository. I will be participating in the project the first months, and then I will eventually take a break when (and IF) I find a good developing team.
ClamWin
ClamWin is a Free Antivirus for Microsoft Windows 98/Me/2000/XP and 2003.
ClamWin Free Antivirus comes with an easy installer and open source code. You may download and use it absolutely free of charge. It features:
* High detection rates for viruses and spyware;
* Scanning Scheduler;
* Automatic downloads of regularly updated Virus Database.
* Standalone virus scanner and right-click menu integration to Microsoft Windows Explorer;
* Addin to Microsoft Outlook to remove virus-infected attachments automatically.
The latest version of Clamwin Free Antivirus is 0.91.1
MP3 Gain
Easy to use MP3 manipulation tool for Windows. adjusts sound levels on MP3's so they are all the same
VLC
Plays more video files than most players: Quicktime, AVI, DIVX, OGG, and more. Pretty good interface.
OpenOffice.org
Big, full featured suite of tools for word processing and spreadsheets. Compatible with and a free replacement for Microsoft Word documents. Also supports OpenDocument Format.
AbiWord
A word processor. Leaner and quicker than OpenOffice. Compatible with Microsoft Word documents and OpenDocument Format.
Utilities
7-Zip
7-Zip is a file archiver with a high compression ratio.
7-Zip is open source software. Most of the source code is under the GNU LGPL
license. The AES code is under a BSD LICENSE. The unRAR code is under a mixed
license: GNU LGPL + unRAR restrictions.
You can use 7-Zip on any computer, including a computer in a commercial
organization. You don't need to register or pay for 7-Zip. But you can make a
donation to support further development of 7-Zip.
The main features of 7-Zip
* High compression ratio in new 7z format with LZMA compression
* Supported formats:
o Packing / unpacking: 7z, ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2 and TAR
o Unpacking only: RAR, CAB, ISO, ARJ, LZH, CHM, Z, CPIO, RPM, DEB and NSIS
* For ZIP and GZIP formats, 7-Zip provides a compression ratio that is 2-10 % better than the ratio provided by PKZip and WinZip
* Self-extracting capability for 7z format
* Integration with Windows Shell
* Powerful File Manager
* Powerful command line version
* Plugin for FAR Manager
* Localizations for 63 languages
Cobian Backup
Cobian Backup is now Open Source. I'm sure this is a bad decision and this eventually will mean the end of the program as we know it (Open Source is not the Holy Grail, you know?), but I have no longer the time (nor the desire) to keep developing the program year after year. So now you can download the program in binary or source form from SourceForge. The code is licensed under the Mozilla Public License 1.1 . If you are a developer, you can download the code and use it, but if yu care for the program and want to take part in the program's development, drop me a line and I'll add you to the team. You must use SVN then to work with the main depository. I will be participating in the project the first months, and then I will eventually take a break when (and IF) I find a good developing team.
ClamWin
ClamWin is a Free Antivirus for Microsoft Windows 98/Me/2000/XP and 2003.
ClamWin Free Antivirus comes with an easy installer and open source code. You may download and use it absolutely free of charge. It features:
* High detection rates for viruses and spyware;
* Scanning Scheduler;
* Automatic downloads of regularly updated Virus Database.
* Standalone virus scanner and right-click menu integration to Microsoft Windows Explorer;
* Addin to Microsoft Outlook to remove virus-infected attachments automatically.
The latest version of Clamwin Free Antivirus is 0.91.1
MP3 Gain
Easy to use MP3 manipulation tool for Windows. adjusts sound levels on MP3's so they are all the same
VLC
Plays more video files than most players: Quicktime, AVI, DIVX, OGG, and more. Pretty good interface.
OpenOffice.org
Big, full featured suite of tools for word processing and spreadsheets. Compatible with and a free replacement for Microsoft Word documents. Also supports OpenDocument Format.
AbiWord
A word processor. Leaner and quicker than OpenOffice. Compatible with Microsoft Word documents and OpenDocument Format.
Blogging for Fun and Profit
by: Lewis Low
A blog is an online version of diary where people write and display almost anything - their opinions, photos, jokes, thoughts for the day and more. People also share stories about their pets, their passion for soccer, stamps... the limit is only your imagination!
In the last few years, blogging has emerged to become a much more meaningful activity than simply maintaining a personal diary. People use it to advertise their products and services, in fact, quite a number of companies even create their online presence by using a blog instead of a website.
Create Your Own Blog
Starting a blog is free. You can create one at http://www.blogger.com - a free service from Google Inc. You don't need to register a domain name or buy hosting. When you sign up at Blogger, everything happens online. Your blog will be hosted by Blogger and you get an URL like http://yourdomain.blogspot.com. You simply log in to your account and start to write. This is much easier and cheaper than buying your own domain and hosting, then hiring someone to do the web design, writing and coding.
Another free blogging service available online is WordPress which is also very popular and easy to use. WordPress supports more features than Blogger while allowing you to customize your blog with various plug-in. You can check it out at http://wordpress.org.
Monetize Your Blog
While blogging for your own interest, you can in fact maximize the potential of your blog for many marketing or commercial purposes.
The quickest and easiest way to turn a blog into a money-making enterprise is to include advertising on your blog. This can be done with contextual ad programs like Adsense - an advertising program by Google. Basically, you get paid when people click on the ads displayed on your website or blog. Google Adsense program is free to sign up. You can visit http://www.google.com/adsense to learn more about the rules and guidelines of the program. Other Adsense type ads that you can use for blog monetizing are SearchFeed, AdBrite, and Yahoo's Publisher’s Network (YPN).
Affiliate program is another potential way to make money blogging. By focusing on the subject of your blog post, you can promote relevant products from cost per sale affiliate programs like ClickBank and Amazon. You can write a review about the product or service with your affiliate links embedded inside so you get the commission whenever a sale is made.
Boost Your Blog Traffic
Blogs are quickly indexed by search engines, but you need to update it regularly. Search engines love fresh content and regular update will ensure that your website is indexed and ranked high up as well. The higher up it appears, the more traffic will come to your site, which means more sales. You can actively participate in forums discussion or post comments on other blogs to get more link back traffic.
Whether you use your blog for fun or for work, remember that it’s a highly potential tool any which way. So what are you waiting for? Start blogging away right now!
A blog is an online version of diary where people write and display almost anything - their opinions, photos, jokes, thoughts for the day and more. People also share stories about their pets, their passion for soccer, stamps... the limit is only your imagination!
In the last few years, blogging has emerged to become a much more meaningful activity than simply maintaining a personal diary. People use it to advertise their products and services, in fact, quite a number of companies even create their online presence by using a blog instead of a website.
Create Your Own Blog
Starting a blog is free. You can create one at http://www.blogger.com - a free service from Google Inc. You don't need to register a domain name or buy hosting. When you sign up at Blogger, everything happens online. Your blog will be hosted by Blogger and you get an URL like http://yourdomain.blogspot.com. You simply log in to your account and start to write. This is much easier and cheaper than buying your own domain and hosting, then hiring someone to do the web design, writing and coding.
Another free blogging service available online is WordPress which is also very popular and easy to use. WordPress supports more features than Blogger while allowing you to customize your blog with various plug-in. You can check it out at http://wordpress.org.
Monetize Your Blog
While blogging for your own interest, you can in fact maximize the potential of your blog for many marketing or commercial purposes.
The quickest and easiest way to turn a blog into a money-making enterprise is to include advertising on your blog. This can be done with contextual ad programs like Adsense - an advertising program by Google. Basically, you get paid when people click on the ads displayed on your website or blog. Google Adsense program is free to sign up. You can visit http://www.google.com/adsense to learn more about the rules and guidelines of the program. Other Adsense type ads that you can use for blog monetizing are SearchFeed, AdBrite, and Yahoo's Publisher’s Network (YPN).
Affiliate program is another potential way to make money blogging. By focusing on the subject of your blog post, you can promote relevant products from cost per sale affiliate programs like ClickBank and Amazon. You can write a review about the product or service with your affiliate links embedded inside so you get the commission whenever a sale is made.
Boost Your Blog Traffic
Blogs are quickly indexed by search engines, but you need to update it regularly. Search engines love fresh content and regular update will ensure that your website is indexed and ranked high up as well. The higher up it appears, the more traffic will come to your site, which means more sales. You can actively participate in forums discussion or post comments on other blogs to get more link back traffic.
Whether you use your blog for fun or for work, remember that it’s a highly potential tool any which way. So what are you waiting for? Start blogging away right now!
Ten Ways to Write Great Blog Posts That Get Attention
Millions of blogs fight for readership online (over 75 million by some counts), with thousands more being created every day. Making yours stand above the rest may seem like a daunting task, but here are ten suggestions for making your blog posts stand out from the crowd.
1. Write each post title so it grabs the reader's attention. It is the first thing someone reads, and it should get your reader's attention right away. Your title should both pique the reader's interest and be informative. Do not write "Business Writing Advice"; instead, say "The Best-Kept Secret to Reducing Your Business Writing Worries." Longer titles have the advantage of describing in detail what your post is about; 8-12 words are a good range.
2. Keep sentences short and clear. A little goes a long way. Readers are busy people and they will not spend hours detangling complex syntax or sifting through blocks of text. Also, use strong language. Start a new paragraph every few sentences, and limit each post to 250 words, if possible. If you cannot write it in under 250 words, split it into two entries.
3. Break up the text. Use numbered lists, bullet points, and subheadings to make your posts easy to scan. Lots of white space on the page is a good thing-it allows your reader to take mental breaks and let the knowledge soak in. In addition, with the inevitable clutter of banner ads and side text, this technique puts some distance between your writing and all those distractions.
4. Keep current. No one wants to read old news. Your job is to stay up-to-date so your readers do not have to themselves. Read newspapers. Scour the web for references. For example, if you write a blog about business communication, subscribe to Google News Alerts using keywords related to the field, such as blogs, podcasting, instant messaging, business letters, memos, and business reports, so you will always be well informed. Posting items from last month or last year will lose your reader's interest faster than you can say "Enron."
5. Be bold. Timidity is an easy path to anonymity. Do not be afraid to create and state your opinions. Of course, there are some situations in which objectivity rules-but you have to give people a reason to read this blog by you and not by the person next door.
6. Be accurate. If you make a statement, be prepared to back it up. Know what your sources are and quote them accurately. Misinformation spreads like wildfire online; do not be the spark that sets it off or the wind that fans it.
7. Contribute to the conversation. Links are great-but then what? Do not just post links to the same tired sites, offer your reader something new. Contribute to the conversation. Your goal is to be the site to which everyone else is linking-so you had better have something worth writing about.
8. Stay focused. Once you have defined the theme of your blog, stick to it. A blog about piggy banks has no business posting about the latest innovation in alternative energy. Such a deviance will only confuse your reader and chip away at your virtual authority.
9. Use key words liberally. Keywords are, well, key. Harness your blog's search engine potential by dousing your title and post with effective keywords that will help interested parties find your page in the vast, muddled blogosphere. This is one of the most important elements of getting your blog read-go at it with gusto.
10. Be consistent. Keep a schedule and stick to it. Post frequently-at least several times per week if you want to increase your potential of attracting new readers. Let your blog languish for weeks without updates and your audience will move on to fresher ground.
Maintaining an informative blog that people want to read takes hard work and good writing skills. Find what makes your writing unique-and flaunt it for all it is worth.
by: Courtland Bovee
1. Write each post title so it grabs the reader's attention. It is the first thing someone reads, and it should get your reader's attention right away. Your title should both pique the reader's interest and be informative. Do not write "Business Writing Advice"; instead, say "The Best-Kept Secret to Reducing Your Business Writing Worries." Longer titles have the advantage of describing in detail what your post is about; 8-12 words are a good range.
2. Keep sentences short and clear. A little goes a long way. Readers are busy people and they will not spend hours detangling complex syntax or sifting through blocks of text. Also, use strong language. Start a new paragraph every few sentences, and limit each post to 250 words, if possible. If you cannot write it in under 250 words, split it into two entries.
3. Break up the text. Use numbered lists, bullet points, and subheadings to make your posts easy to scan. Lots of white space on the page is a good thing-it allows your reader to take mental breaks and let the knowledge soak in. In addition, with the inevitable clutter of banner ads and side text, this technique puts some distance between your writing and all those distractions.
4. Keep current. No one wants to read old news. Your job is to stay up-to-date so your readers do not have to themselves. Read newspapers. Scour the web for references. For example, if you write a blog about business communication, subscribe to Google News Alerts using keywords related to the field, such as blogs, podcasting, instant messaging, business letters, memos, and business reports, so you will always be well informed. Posting items from last month or last year will lose your reader's interest faster than you can say "Enron."
5. Be bold. Timidity is an easy path to anonymity. Do not be afraid to create and state your opinions. Of course, there are some situations in which objectivity rules-but you have to give people a reason to read this blog by you and not by the person next door.
6. Be accurate. If you make a statement, be prepared to back it up. Know what your sources are and quote them accurately. Misinformation spreads like wildfire online; do not be the spark that sets it off or the wind that fans it.
7. Contribute to the conversation. Links are great-but then what? Do not just post links to the same tired sites, offer your reader something new. Contribute to the conversation. Your goal is to be the site to which everyone else is linking-so you had better have something worth writing about.
8. Stay focused. Once you have defined the theme of your blog, stick to it. A blog about piggy banks has no business posting about the latest innovation in alternative energy. Such a deviance will only confuse your reader and chip away at your virtual authority.
9. Use key words liberally. Keywords are, well, key. Harness your blog's search engine potential by dousing your title and post with effective keywords that will help interested parties find your page in the vast, muddled blogosphere. This is one of the most important elements of getting your blog read-go at it with gusto.
10. Be consistent. Keep a schedule and stick to it. Post frequently-at least several times per week if you want to increase your potential of attracting new readers. Let your blog languish for weeks without updates and your audience will move on to fresher ground.
Maintaining an informative blog that people want to read takes hard work and good writing skills. Find what makes your writing unique-and flaunt it for all it is worth.
by: Courtland Bovee
Some Tips to Speed Up Firefox
Mozilla Firefox is an excellent web browser that does a much better job than Internet Explorer when it comes to protecting your privacy and computer security. Unfortunately, Firefox can sometimes be slower than Internet Explorer. The speed difference between the two browsers is one of the main reasons why most people do not change their browser from the quicker yet more vulnerable Internet Explorer to the slower but more secure Firefox browser, the other reason being that Firefox introduces many new features that simply take more time to learn than some users are willing to invest. To get the best of both worlds – speed and security of browsing – you can download Mozilla Firefox and speed it up with these tips.
Pipelining
This tweak is very easy to accomplish. On your Firefox web browser address bar, type about:config, then press Enter. Scroll through the list of values and look for these three crucial pipelining settings: network.http.pipelining, network.http.proxy.pipelining, and network.http.pipelining.maxrequests. You can use the filter to easily find each of these entries.
For the pipelining entry, you should change the value to true. Just double click the false value to make this change. For the maxrequests entry, the default setting is four. Change the value to your desired number. This value determines how many page requests Firefox is capable of making. You can go as high as 8 to speed up your tabbed browsing. Finally, go to proxy.pipelining and change the value from false to true.
Doing the above steps will give you greater browsing speeds by allowing Firefox to process and send requests simultaneously instead of waiting until a response has been received from a previous request. This will also reduce network bottlenecks by packing multiple requests into a single data packet.
Increase Your Firefox Memory Cache
Your computer will automatically allot a memory cache for your Firefox browser. Increasing your browser cache will actually increase the amount of objects that your browser can retain, which cuts down on time spent retrieving information from your hard disk or a web server. As a result, your frequently visited pages will load much faster.
You can modify the cache settings by going to the Firefox tools menu and clicking on Options. From here, click on the “Advanced” tab, then the “Network” tab. On the network tab, you can specify any cache size you like, but it is doubtful you will need more than about 32 Megabytes of cache.
Block Unwanted Advertisements
One of the best ways to speed up Firefox is by using an Ad Removal extension, such as AdBlock Plus. AdBlock Plus can be installed at https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1865, and it works to block annoying banner ads. AdBlock Plus also features a “learning” feature, meaning you can right-click on unblocked ads and set them to be blocked, as well. Even with no other optimizations, Firefox will load most pages much faster than Internet Explorer when using AdBlock Plus, because it does not have to worry about downloading all of the annoying, unwanted ads that clutter up so many webpages.
Another plugin, called FasterFox, implements a large number of tweaks based on increasing the speed of your browsing. FasterFox is available from: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1269
With these tips, you can speed up Firefox considerably, so don't let the slow performance you may have experienced deter you any longer. Firefox works to provide a much safer browsing experience than Internet Explorer, and its plugin interface allows for unprecedented levels of customization and convenience.
Copyright © 2007 MALIBAL, lLc
MALIBAL is the Home of the World's Fastest Laptop Headquartered in Las Vegas, this groundbreaking company has transmuted the world of mobile computing with its nonpareil laptops and unrivaled 24-hour USA-based support.
Please, check out these recommendations for the best notebook computers
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tim_Childree
Pipelining
This tweak is very easy to accomplish. On your Firefox web browser address bar, type about:config, then press Enter. Scroll through the list of values and look for these three crucial pipelining settings: network.http.pipelining, network.http.proxy.pipelining, and network.http.pipelining.maxrequests. You can use the filter to easily find each of these entries.
For the pipelining entry, you should change the value to true. Just double click the false value to make this change. For the maxrequests entry, the default setting is four. Change the value to your desired number. This value determines how many page requests Firefox is capable of making. You can go as high as 8 to speed up your tabbed browsing. Finally, go to proxy.pipelining and change the value from false to true.
Doing the above steps will give you greater browsing speeds by allowing Firefox to process and send requests simultaneously instead of waiting until a response has been received from a previous request. This will also reduce network bottlenecks by packing multiple requests into a single data packet.
Increase Your Firefox Memory Cache
Your computer will automatically allot a memory cache for your Firefox browser. Increasing your browser cache will actually increase the amount of objects that your browser can retain, which cuts down on time spent retrieving information from your hard disk or a web server. As a result, your frequently visited pages will load much faster.
You can modify the cache settings by going to the Firefox tools menu and clicking on Options. From here, click on the “Advanced” tab, then the “Network” tab. On the network tab, you can specify any cache size you like, but it is doubtful you will need more than about 32 Megabytes of cache.
Block Unwanted Advertisements
One of the best ways to speed up Firefox is by using an Ad Removal extension, such as AdBlock Plus. AdBlock Plus can be installed at https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1865, and it works to block annoying banner ads. AdBlock Plus also features a “learning” feature, meaning you can right-click on unblocked ads and set them to be blocked, as well. Even with no other optimizations, Firefox will load most pages much faster than Internet Explorer when using AdBlock Plus, because it does not have to worry about downloading all of the annoying, unwanted ads that clutter up so many webpages.
Another plugin, called FasterFox, implements a large number of tweaks based on increasing the speed of your browsing. FasterFox is available from: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1269
With these tips, you can speed up Firefox considerably, so don't let the slow performance you may have experienced deter you any longer. Firefox works to provide a much safer browsing experience than Internet Explorer, and its plugin interface allows for unprecedented levels of customization and convenience.
Copyright © 2007 MALIBAL, lLc
MALIBAL is the Home of the World's Fastest Laptop Headquartered in Las Vegas, this groundbreaking company has transmuted the world of mobile computing with its nonpareil laptops and unrivaled 24-hour USA-based support.
Please, check out these recommendations for the best notebook computers
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tim_Childree
10 Steps To IT Success
1. Choose a IT career that's in demand
It is essential to choose a career path in IT which has sufficient demand. There are hundreds of career paths in IT but NOT all offer the same levels of opportunity.
IT careers in demand can have lower entry requirements simply because there aren't enough people to fill the vacant roles resulting from skill shortages. These shortages can also fuel higher salaries to entice more people.
Technology can change quite rapidly so choosing the wrong database technology for example, could lead to less opportunity in securing work due to opportunities being few and far between than choosing a database technology which is in demand.
2. Avoid saturated IT career paths
If there's too many people vying for opportunities in a particular IT area, then there will be too much competition to get a job. This gives employers the opportunity to pick and choose only the best candidates, those who have the most experience.
Saturated IT careers can also bring down salaries on offer, as employers know that they can pay less and still get suitably qualified staff.
A recruiter colleague of mine, regularly runs job ads on several very popular internet job search sites. He told me that he can get over a 1000 applicants for each role he advertises, with roles involving Microsoft Windows and Cisco technology, generally having the most applicants.
He said that this is great because he can pick and choose only the best candidates for the jobs, generally those with a lot of experience.
On the flip side, when employers recruit in the IT sector I'm in, they get a lot less applicants, so it can sometimes be tough to find candidates, resulting in employers lowering their entry requirements and increasing salaries.
3. Avoid Dead End IT careers
Dead Ends are IT careers which may look like a good opportunity to the uninitiated but in reality offer very little in terms of career advancement. Dead end IT careers generally include working long and unsociable hours in jobs which can be quite stressful.
Helpdesk and support roles can be dead end jobs which offer little in career advancement. If you work too many hours then your real pay per hour could be very little.
So if a job pays $30,000 a year but involves working 70 hours a week with no payment for overtime, the real hourly payment is actually less than $9 an hour instead of $16 per hour.
Worse still some dead end jobs include the dreaded being on-call, where the employer can contact you, outside of work if there's a problem. This could mean your weekend is ruined by a call from the office, to fix a problem that takes several hours to fix. On-call payments can be very poor, sometimes around the $20 a day mark.
When I first started looking for a career in IT, I was offered a computer support engineer role which paid a lot more than I was on in my non IT job at the time. But when I delved deeper, it wasn't the dream move into IT that I longed for. There was absolutely no opportunity for career advancement and the hours involved were long, spending day after day travelling between many customer sites.
4. Forget Certification as the backdoor to IT success!
Relying solely on certifications to get into IT won't make you more employable. Employers look for experience and candidates who are 'paper qualified' that is, have a IT certification but no experience, will not be looked upon favourably.
It's become too easy to gain many certifications through the likes of braindumps, whereby the actual certification exam answers are posted on various internet websites.
Certifications such as Microsoft's MCSE, Cisco's CCNA and the like are only for those who already have experience in that particular certification's field. More and more employers look at certifications as a desirable and not as an essential part of their job requirements.
Some of the work I do, involves working with HP/Compaq Servers, Windows 2003, Citrix Presentation Server and Exchange 2003 and I've never been asked to provide any evidence of HP/Compaq, MCSE or Citrix CCA certification, because my experience validates the fact that I know how to work with these types of servers and systems in a variety of environments.
5. Choose a IT career with a low TTL
By choosing an IT career with a low Time To Learn (TTL), you can get onto the career ladder quickly instead of being bogged down by trying to attain the skills necessary for a career which has a longer time to learn (TTL).
Consider a career working in J2EE (Java 2 Enterprise Edition) whilst this is definitely a career in demand, the TTL is quite high, as not only is a good grasp of Java required, but there may be a requirement for IBM Websphere, Tomcat, Apache and whole host of other technologies. So unless you've worked in this field for a number of years and been able to build up a steady exposure to these technologies, it's going to take an age to learn these technologies from scratch, during which time you could lose out on earning good money.
6. Use Special skills
I find it incredibly easy to get work in retail banks even when my technology skills aren't up to date. Why? Because I have other special skills which the world of retail banking holds in high esteem, these special skills have also helped me work in the health, telecommunications and pharmaceutical sectors.
When I apply for a job, I make sure that my skills in appreciating Change Management and working in project orientated roles, aswell as document preparation are prominent. Too many people spend too much time focusing on their technological skills instead of harnessing the power of their special skills.
7. Use Inside Information and avoid the hype
By knowing someone who already works in IT or even better works in the same area in IT as you would like to, can provide enormous benefit. Mainly allowing you to sort fact from fiction by being able to get quality unbiased advice.
When I started looking at a career in IT, I was able to quickly dismiss the notion of "When I get my MCSE certification, I'll be on $500 a day" because my friend who already worked in IT told me that doing an MCSE without any experience wouldn't get me a job and only those consultants who have years of experience along with an MCSE, are the ones who would most likely earn $500 a day or more.
Yet, many of the people I met at the time who were also trying to get into IT, still believed this notion and spent thousands of pounds trying to get MCSE certified.
Training companies can all too often be guilty of starting the hype bandwagon rolling, with the only objective in mind is to make as much money as possible from IT wannabes who don't know how to distinguish fact from fiction.
8. Forget about education qualifications
As long as you can read and write, then a career in IT could be for you. A lot of people think just because they don't have a degree, they won't be able to get a good job in IT. The truth of the matter is that the majority of employers don't give a hoot about whether you have a degree (unless it's a graduate program). All they care about is whether you have the experience and skills to get the job done.
I don't have a degree and it certainly hasn't hampered my career aspirations. I don't even bother mentioning my educational details when I apply for jobs and have never been asked about my education from any of the employers I've worked for and most of my employers have been large multinational corporations.
Experience is the key in attaining well paid IT work with prospects and it isn't too difficult getting the right level of experience. I used an 'experience driven training' program which allowed me not only to understand the technology I was learning but, actually put it to practice in the workplace.
9. Be flexible
The days of fat salary cheques with a job for life are long gone but there is still plenty of opportunity to earn well by being flexible. More and more employers are looking for IT specialists who are flexible in their work requirements.
Employers may have projects involving only a few months work, which will prove difficult to hire a full time person for. What happens when the works finished, do they just fire the person hired? This could hit them with a load of legal problems such as unfair dismissal. So enter the freelancer, who works on a contracted freelance basis.
I work on a freelance basis as I found it can be easier to find work as more and more employers are looking for freelancers, therefore finding work is never a challenge. I can also earn as much as 3 times more as I would if I was hired directly by the employer as an employee, and better still I pay less tax, so I can take a lot more money home.
10. Be found
If no one knows you exist then no one will find you. To be successful in any career, people need to know you exist. People must be made aware of your presence and this is easily achieved by preparing a good résumé (CV) which gets noticed.
I spent months perfecting my résumé (CV) making sure that it contained relevant information. I treat my résumé (CV) as an advert in which I have at least four pages to attract the attention of the reader and make sure they carry on reading my résumé (CV). Instead of putting it in the bin because it’s difficult to read, irrelevant or difficult to understand.
When I send my résumé (CV) off to a potential employers, eight times out of ten, I get a call. Many people applying for IT jobs can’t get past this first hurdle, simply because their résumés (CV) are very poor. My chances of securing an interview from my résumé (CV) runs at around 50%, which is well above average. So before choosing my next assignment, I generally can have several job offers to consider.
I spend as much effort on making myself known as I do in learning the technologies of my trade. Marketing myself is very important in getting a well paid job. I've set up a web site to provide more information: www.best-it-career.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_T_Johnson
It is essential to choose a career path in IT which has sufficient demand. There are hundreds of career paths in IT but NOT all offer the same levels of opportunity.
IT careers in demand can have lower entry requirements simply because there aren't enough people to fill the vacant roles resulting from skill shortages. These shortages can also fuel higher salaries to entice more people.
Technology can change quite rapidly so choosing the wrong database technology for example, could lead to less opportunity in securing work due to opportunities being few and far between than choosing a database technology which is in demand.
2. Avoid saturated IT career paths
If there's too many people vying for opportunities in a particular IT area, then there will be too much competition to get a job. This gives employers the opportunity to pick and choose only the best candidates, those who have the most experience.
Saturated IT careers can also bring down salaries on offer, as employers know that they can pay less and still get suitably qualified staff.
A recruiter colleague of mine, regularly runs job ads on several very popular internet job search sites. He told me that he can get over a 1000 applicants for each role he advertises, with roles involving Microsoft Windows and Cisco technology, generally having the most applicants.
He said that this is great because he can pick and choose only the best candidates for the jobs, generally those with a lot of experience.
On the flip side, when employers recruit in the IT sector I'm in, they get a lot less applicants, so it can sometimes be tough to find candidates, resulting in employers lowering their entry requirements and increasing salaries.
3. Avoid Dead End IT careers
Dead Ends are IT careers which may look like a good opportunity to the uninitiated but in reality offer very little in terms of career advancement. Dead end IT careers generally include working long and unsociable hours in jobs which can be quite stressful.
Helpdesk and support roles can be dead end jobs which offer little in career advancement. If you work too many hours then your real pay per hour could be very little.
So if a job pays $30,000 a year but involves working 70 hours a week with no payment for overtime, the real hourly payment is actually less than $9 an hour instead of $16 per hour.
Worse still some dead end jobs include the dreaded being on-call, where the employer can contact you, outside of work if there's a problem. This could mean your weekend is ruined by a call from the office, to fix a problem that takes several hours to fix. On-call payments can be very poor, sometimes around the $20 a day mark.
When I first started looking for a career in IT, I was offered a computer support engineer role which paid a lot more than I was on in my non IT job at the time. But when I delved deeper, it wasn't the dream move into IT that I longed for. There was absolutely no opportunity for career advancement and the hours involved were long, spending day after day travelling between many customer sites.
4. Forget Certification as the backdoor to IT success!
Relying solely on certifications to get into IT won't make you more employable. Employers look for experience and candidates who are 'paper qualified' that is, have a IT certification but no experience, will not be looked upon favourably.
It's become too easy to gain many certifications through the likes of braindumps, whereby the actual certification exam answers are posted on various internet websites.
Certifications such as Microsoft's MCSE, Cisco's CCNA and the like are only for those who already have experience in that particular certification's field. More and more employers look at certifications as a desirable and not as an essential part of their job requirements.
Some of the work I do, involves working with HP/Compaq Servers, Windows 2003, Citrix Presentation Server and Exchange 2003 and I've never been asked to provide any evidence of HP/Compaq, MCSE or Citrix CCA certification, because my experience validates the fact that I know how to work with these types of servers and systems in a variety of environments.
5. Choose a IT career with a low TTL
By choosing an IT career with a low Time To Learn (TTL), you can get onto the career ladder quickly instead of being bogged down by trying to attain the skills necessary for a career which has a longer time to learn (TTL).
Consider a career working in J2EE (Java 2 Enterprise Edition) whilst this is definitely a career in demand, the TTL is quite high, as not only is a good grasp of Java required, but there may be a requirement for IBM Websphere, Tomcat, Apache and whole host of other technologies. So unless you've worked in this field for a number of years and been able to build up a steady exposure to these technologies, it's going to take an age to learn these technologies from scratch, during which time you could lose out on earning good money.
6. Use Special skills
I find it incredibly easy to get work in retail banks even when my technology skills aren't up to date. Why? Because I have other special skills which the world of retail banking holds in high esteem, these special skills have also helped me work in the health, telecommunications and pharmaceutical sectors.
When I apply for a job, I make sure that my skills in appreciating Change Management and working in project orientated roles, aswell as document preparation are prominent. Too many people spend too much time focusing on their technological skills instead of harnessing the power of their special skills.
7. Use Inside Information and avoid the hype
By knowing someone who already works in IT or even better works in the same area in IT as you would like to, can provide enormous benefit. Mainly allowing you to sort fact from fiction by being able to get quality unbiased advice.
When I started looking at a career in IT, I was able to quickly dismiss the notion of "When I get my MCSE certification, I'll be on $500 a day" because my friend who already worked in IT told me that doing an MCSE without any experience wouldn't get me a job and only those consultants who have years of experience along with an MCSE, are the ones who would most likely earn $500 a day or more.
Yet, many of the people I met at the time who were also trying to get into IT, still believed this notion and spent thousands of pounds trying to get MCSE certified.
Training companies can all too often be guilty of starting the hype bandwagon rolling, with the only objective in mind is to make as much money as possible from IT wannabes who don't know how to distinguish fact from fiction.
8. Forget about education qualifications
As long as you can read and write, then a career in IT could be for you. A lot of people think just because they don't have a degree, they won't be able to get a good job in IT. The truth of the matter is that the majority of employers don't give a hoot about whether you have a degree (unless it's a graduate program). All they care about is whether you have the experience and skills to get the job done.
I don't have a degree and it certainly hasn't hampered my career aspirations. I don't even bother mentioning my educational details when I apply for jobs and have never been asked about my education from any of the employers I've worked for and most of my employers have been large multinational corporations.
Experience is the key in attaining well paid IT work with prospects and it isn't too difficult getting the right level of experience. I used an 'experience driven training' program which allowed me not only to understand the technology I was learning but, actually put it to practice in the workplace.
9. Be flexible
The days of fat salary cheques with a job for life are long gone but there is still plenty of opportunity to earn well by being flexible. More and more employers are looking for IT specialists who are flexible in their work requirements.
Employers may have projects involving only a few months work, which will prove difficult to hire a full time person for. What happens when the works finished, do they just fire the person hired? This could hit them with a load of legal problems such as unfair dismissal. So enter the freelancer, who works on a contracted freelance basis.
I work on a freelance basis as I found it can be easier to find work as more and more employers are looking for freelancers, therefore finding work is never a challenge. I can also earn as much as 3 times more as I would if I was hired directly by the employer as an employee, and better still I pay less tax, so I can take a lot more money home.
10. Be found
If no one knows you exist then no one will find you. To be successful in any career, people need to know you exist. People must be made aware of your presence and this is easily achieved by preparing a good résumé (CV) which gets noticed.
I spent months perfecting my résumé (CV) making sure that it contained relevant information. I treat my résumé (CV) as an advert in which I have at least four pages to attract the attention of the reader and make sure they carry on reading my résumé (CV). Instead of putting it in the bin because it’s difficult to read, irrelevant or difficult to understand.
When I send my résumé (CV) off to a potential employers, eight times out of ten, I get a call. Many people applying for IT jobs can’t get past this first hurdle, simply because their résumés (CV) are very poor. My chances of securing an interview from my résumé (CV) runs at around 50%, which is well above average. So before choosing my next assignment, I generally can have several job offers to consider.
I spend as much effort on making myself known as I do in learning the technologies of my trade. Marketing myself is very important in getting a well paid job. I've set up a web site to provide more information: www.best-it-career.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_T_Johnson
How To Choose The Right Laptop
I am often asked how one goes about choosing the right laptop. Obviously because of the technological understanding required as well as the plethora of brands out there, it can be very confusing and daunting.
So here is some brief advice on how to go about it:
Firstly decide what you are going to use the laptop for. For example, if it is just to be used for internet, email access and documents then your requirements are very different from someone planning to run processor and memory intensive applications such as games, media applications or CAD. An entry level laptop may be more than adequate for your needs! So why pay for more?
Don’t buy a laptop just because it has "lots of features". This is because you will most likely end up paying for features that you don’t need. A good example of what I mean by "lots of features" and where this happens a lot is with cell phones. Most people just use them for calls and sms’s, yet end up paying exorbitant prices for fancy phones that have a “million-and-one” features, they never use.
Rather carefully consider the specifications and features of various models and decide what is important for your needs. I.e. wireless (mostly standard nowadays), Bluetooth, harddrive size, processor spec, memory size, built in camera etc.
When comparing models which have similar specifications go for the one with the highest performance processor (dual processor preferable) as well as the maximum amount of ram you can afford (minimum 512Mbytes). The better the processor and the more ram, the faster the laptop will be. While one should not buy IT based on "lots of features", it is worth ensuring that you get the best "value for money" with features that are important.
Weight and battery size can also be a deciding factor. If you travel frequently, then a light laptop with a 12” screen may be preferable to lugging around the world with a dead weight.
Choosing the laptop brand is always a personal thing. Sometimes you just like the look and feel of a particular brand. Other times it's a recommendation from a particular person. The brand you choose can also make a huge difference in price. For example recently, I was comparing a Lenovo Z61p against a Mecer E81 with identical performance specifications and the Lenovo was +- R6000 (South African Rands) more expensive. Also the Mecer had more inbuilt features such as a camera and TV tuner. However despite the price difference and extra features, the customer still went for the Lenovo because he loved the "look and feel" of the Lenovo brand over the Mecer.
My favorites brands in order of preference are: Lenovo, Acer, Mecer and HP.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Patrick_Gibson
Patrick Gibson - EzineArticles Expert Author
So here is some brief advice on how to go about it:
Firstly decide what you are going to use the laptop for. For example, if it is just to be used for internet, email access and documents then your requirements are very different from someone planning to run processor and memory intensive applications such as games, media applications or CAD. An entry level laptop may be more than adequate for your needs! So why pay for more?
Don’t buy a laptop just because it has "lots of features". This is because you will most likely end up paying for features that you don’t need. A good example of what I mean by "lots of features" and where this happens a lot is with cell phones. Most people just use them for calls and sms’s, yet end up paying exorbitant prices for fancy phones that have a “million-and-one” features, they never use.
Rather carefully consider the specifications and features of various models and decide what is important for your needs. I.e. wireless (mostly standard nowadays), Bluetooth, harddrive size, processor spec, memory size, built in camera etc.
When comparing models which have similar specifications go for the one with the highest performance processor (dual processor preferable) as well as the maximum amount of ram you can afford (minimum 512Mbytes). The better the processor and the more ram, the faster the laptop will be. While one should not buy IT based on "lots of features", it is worth ensuring that you get the best "value for money" with features that are important.
Weight and battery size can also be a deciding factor. If you travel frequently, then a light laptop with a 12” screen may be preferable to lugging around the world with a dead weight.
Choosing the laptop brand is always a personal thing. Sometimes you just like the look and feel of a particular brand. Other times it's a recommendation from a particular person. The brand you choose can also make a huge difference in price. For example recently, I was comparing a Lenovo Z61p against a Mecer E81 with identical performance specifications and the Lenovo was +- R6000 (South African Rands) more expensive. Also the Mecer had more inbuilt features such as a camera and TV tuner. However despite the price difference and extra features, the customer still went for the Lenovo because he loved the "look and feel" of the Lenovo brand over the Mecer.
My favorites brands in order of preference are: Lenovo, Acer, Mecer and HP.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Patrick_Gibson
Patrick Gibson - EzineArticles Expert Author
Cheap Inkjet Cartridges
Most cheap inkjet cartridge makers have to constantly fight to be heard over the voices of the big companies who issue much propaganda to convince people to avoid the cheaper inks, saying that they are inferior, don’t perform well, and cost the consumer more money in the long run, making the savings obsolete and not worth the trouble. But of course in order to sort out the facts from the mere public relations spin advertising, it is necessary to know more about the products themselves, and what things about them qualify a good or great one from one that is inferior or shoddy.
Both expensive and cheap inkjet cartridge technology is essentially the same, and if you look at the inks or at the containers they come in, you will be hard pressed to detect any differences at all, except of course the difference in price. The expensive brands cost about twice as much, and sometimes more than twice as much, as the discounted ink cartridges, and of course this causes many consumers to be nervous that they are “getting what they pay for” in the form of a lesser quality product.
Some of these products, including cheap inkjet cartridge products, may use special inks that contain an electrostatic charge and sometimes may have iron in the ink, to offer it some magnetic quality; have plastics added, have water in them, or have pigments and chemicals to bind the pigments to the ink or to the paper it prints against. The image of what is going to printed, is transferred electronically inside the printer, more or less, because the electronic signals tell the jets of the ink jet where and how often to disperse ink on to the paper.
Even the cheap inkjet cartridge is one of the most high-tech and modern versions of a technology of ink that was first instituted some four or five thousand years ago, in Egypt, where ink was first used to do block printing, where you use a block of wood to press out a carved image. Sometimes ashes or soot and various kinds of acid and iron salts were put into the dyes or liquid ink to color it or give it a texture or other physical properties that made it better for printing onto parchment or wood or even paper, if they had paper making expertise at that time in history.
The cheap inkjet cartridge is essentially a clone, made to imitate the cartridge sold when you first bought your printer. If the clone is a good one, you will get a product you can’t tell the difference from in terms of how it compares to your name brand cartridge, and the savings can be substantial. Be sure that your clone works in your particular machine, as some makers of printers engineer them so that they do not work with off-brand supplies.
For lots of information on where to find cheap inkjet cartridges and related topics, visit About Printer Ink at www.aboutprinterink.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ken_Wilssens
Both expensive and cheap inkjet cartridge technology is essentially the same, and if you look at the inks or at the containers they come in, you will be hard pressed to detect any differences at all, except of course the difference in price. The expensive brands cost about twice as much, and sometimes more than twice as much, as the discounted ink cartridges, and of course this causes many consumers to be nervous that they are “getting what they pay for” in the form of a lesser quality product.
Some of these products, including cheap inkjet cartridge products, may use special inks that contain an electrostatic charge and sometimes may have iron in the ink, to offer it some magnetic quality; have plastics added, have water in them, or have pigments and chemicals to bind the pigments to the ink or to the paper it prints against. The image of what is going to printed, is transferred electronically inside the printer, more or less, because the electronic signals tell the jets of the ink jet where and how often to disperse ink on to the paper.
Even the cheap inkjet cartridge is one of the most high-tech and modern versions of a technology of ink that was first instituted some four or five thousand years ago, in Egypt, where ink was first used to do block printing, where you use a block of wood to press out a carved image. Sometimes ashes or soot and various kinds of acid and iron salts were put into the dyes or liquid ink to color it or give it a texture or other physical properties that made it better for printing onto parchment or wood or even paper, if they had paper making expertise at that time in history.
The cheap inkjet cartridge is essentially a clone, made to imitate the cartridge sold when you first bought your printer. If the clone is a good one, you will get a product you can’t tell the difference from in terms of how it compares to your name brand cartridge, and the savings can be substantial. Be sure that your clone works in your particular machine, as some makers of printers engineer them so that they do not work with off-brand supplies.
For lots of information on where to find cheap inkjet cartridges and related topics, visit About Printer Ink at www.aboutprinterink.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ken_Wilssens
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
How Do I Fix A Slow Computer?
The one question I am often asked is how do I fix a slow computer. People want their computer to respond quickly. Especially in the days of cable and DSL internet service, they want their computer to be able to keep up. So, when it doesn’t, people sometimes lean towards needing a new computer. I will show you one simple program you can run and this is how I fix a slow computer.
First, lets look at a couple of the reasons computers get slow. One of the biggest reasons computers get slow is they do not clean them. And I am not talking about the dust in them (although, it is a good idea to clean this out as well). I am talking about the clutter in the computer system itself.
People just have way too much stuff in there. And with all of this stuff comes all sorts of storage and memory that is taken up by this. So, every now and then, just de-clutter your computer. Delete the files you do not need, and organize everything the way you can find it again.
The second way is to fix your registry files. These are files that tell the computer what to do and how to handle the software. If they get messed up, then the computer begins to run slow, as it is somewhat confused as to how to operate. Just by using a registry repair software, you can fix this.
This can take less than 10 minutes. Just download and install the registry repair software. Let the software run a scan of your computer. It will tell you all of the errors you have within your registry files. Then, the software will fix them. And that is it. Your computer is now running at top speed again.
So, how do I fix a slow computer: by organizing my files better and by using a registry repair software.
Michael Baker is a Computer Optimization Technician, and recommends using a registry repair software to Fix A Slow Computer and to fix any problems such as computers freezing, locking up, restarting for no reason, and getting the blue death screen.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Baker
First, lets look at a couple of the reasons computers get slow. One of the biggest reasons computers get slow is they do not clean them. And I am not talking about the dust in them (although, it is a good idea to clean this out as well). I am talking about the clutter in the computer system itself.
People just have way too much stuff in there. And with all of this stuff comes all sorts of storage and memory that is taken up by this. So, every now and then, just de-clutter your computer. Delete the files you do not need, and organize everything the way you can find it again.
The second way is to fix your registry files. These are files that tell the computer what to do and how to handle the software. If they get messed up, then the computer begins to run slow, as it is somewhat confused as to how to operate. Just by using a registry repair software, you can fix this.
This can take less than 10 minutes. Just download and install the registry repair software. Let the software run a scan of your computer. It will tell you all of the errors you have within your registry files. Then, the software will fix them. And that is it. Your computer is now running at top speed again.
So, how do I fix a slow computer: by organizing my files better and by using a registry repair software.
Michael Baker is a Computer Optimization Technician, and recommends using a registry repair software to Fix A Slow Computer and to fix any problems such as computers freezing, locking up, restarting for no reason, and getting the blue death screen.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Baker
How Do I Recover Deleted Files - Documents and Folders
We sometimes accidentally or purposely deleted our files and documents in our computer. And then you later realized you need it back and want it recovered. Now you start panicking on how to recover these files. I really understand when you are not too computer savvy or I must say, not too computer “literate” to deal with this kind of problem.
Well, there is always help. I will show you simple steps on how to recover these files. Have you noticed an icon located on your desktop screen (that is the main screen that you see when all programs on the task bar are closed) that looks like a garbage bin? This is actually called the recycle bin.
What happens is that, if you delete your files, it does not actually get deleted from the computer. It goes to this bin called recycle bin. Not unless you permanently delete it, you can only do this manually. But ofcourse there is always an option that you don’t have to delete it manually. You can also set it up to delete files right away without moving them to the recycle bin. I suggest you don’t choose this option though.
By knowing if your recycle bin is not set to remove files immediately when deleted, do the following:
(1) Point the mouse to the recycle bin icon
(2) Right Click the mouse
(3) Click on Properties
(4) On the Global tab, make sure the Do not move files to Recycle Bin is unchecked.
To recover your files or your documents, do the following:
(1) Double Click your recycle bin icon from the desktop
(2) It should show you the list of files that has been deleted and has been moved to the recycle bin
(3) Point your mouse to the file or document that you want to restore, then right click your mouse (press the right click of the mouse)
(4) Click on restore
You should see your file from where it was saved before it was deleted. For example, if the file was originally saved on a folder named “personal file folder”, the file you just recovered and restored is moved back to that folder. That way, you don’t have to locate the file after restoring it.
Here is the worse scenario, what if you had emptied the recycle bin?. So what are now your chances to recover these files?
The good news is, those files are actually still on your hard drive and is occupying a space. Now, there is a freeware (meaning it is absolutely free!) called Restoration. You can find this freeware by searching from many search engines on the internet. This is a utility used to possibly restore and undelete your files.
Ms. Mcbanon is an experienced Medical Biller and Coder based in New York. A graduate of Bachelor Science in Computer Engineering. A Medical Practice Billing Consultant.
Read more about the author as she shares her knowledge and expertise in her field by visiting her personal website at www.justmypassion.com
She shares her expertise and knowledge with www.medclaimsplus.com She has extensive knowledge and skill in the area of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Anesthesiology, Surgery, Physical Therapy, Speech Therapy, Mental & Behavioral Health, Pediatrics & Internal Medicine.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pinky_Mcbanon
Well, there is always help. I will show you simple steps on how to recover these files. Have you noticed an icon located on your desktop screen (that is the main screen that you see when all programs on the task bar are closed) that looks like a garbage bin? This is actually called the recycle bin.
What happens is that, if you delete your files, it does not actually get deleted from the computer. It goes to this bin called recycle bin. Not unless you permanently delete it, you can only do this manually. But ofcourse there is always an option that you don’t have to delete it manually. You can also set it up to delete files right away without moving them to the recycle bin. I suggest you don’t choose this option though.
By knowing if your recycle bin is not set to remove files immediately when deleted, do the following:
(1) Point the mouse to the recycle bin icon
(2) Right Click the mouse
(3) Click on Properties
(4) On the Global tab, make sure the Do not move files to Recycle Bin is unchecked.
To recover your files or your documents, do the following:
(1) Double Click your recycle bin icon from the desktop
(2) It should show you the list of files that has been deleted and has been moved to the recycle bin
(3) Point your mouse to the file or document that you want to restore, then right click your mouse (press the right click of the mouse)
(4) Click on restore
You should see your file from where it was saved before it was deleted. For example, if the file was originally saved on a folder named “personal file folder”, the file you just recovered and restored is moved back to that folder. That way, you don’t have to locate the file after restoring it.
Here is the worse scenario, what if you had emptied the recycle bin?. So what are now your chances to recover these files?
The good news is, those files are actually still on your hard drive and is occupying a space. Now, there is a freeware (meaning it is absolutely free!) called Restoration. You can find this freeware by searching from many search engines on the internet. This is a utility used to possibly restore and undelete your files.
Ms. Mcbanon is an experienced Medical Biller and Coder based in New York. A graduate of Bachelor Science in Computer Engineering. A Medical Practice Billing Consultant.
Read more about the author as she shares her knowledge and expertise in her field by visiting her personal website at www.justmypassion.com
She shares her expertise and knowledge with www.medclaimsplus.com She has extensive knowledge and skill in the area of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Anesthesiology, Surgery, Physical Therapy, Speech Therapy, Mental & Behavioral Health, Pediatrics & Internal Medicine.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pinky_Mcbanon
Windows Registry Cleaning: To Clean Or Not To Clean
There are a lot of people who claim that cleaning your registry will not improve your system's performance . They say it's ok to use a registry cleaner as part of a removal process of a program (e.g. when you uninstall a software and want to clean the entries from the registry). But most users use registry cleaners as part of a system cleaning routine.
So why not use a registry cleaner? Because most registry cleaners delete some dll files which are important files for some programs to run. Most registry cleaners will offer a choice of selecting which files to delete but an inexperienced user could easily choose to delete important files that are not to be deleted. Are you ready to risk that the registry cleaner deletes something you really need, causing a program or a feature to fail?
The windows registry is a really huge database with thousands of entries. If you run a registry cleaner on a typical machine you will get only a small number of errors compared to the size of the registry. If you search for performance tests that somehow prove that registry cleaners are important and should be used you won't find any real evidence that registry cleaners are important, apart from tests performed by software companies. So is this registry cleaning process just for the sake of "cleaning"?
There are people and registry cleaner software companies stating that registry cleaners are important and should be used at a timely basis. The cleaners will free some space from your computer's RAM and will make your system more responsive. If you're encountering unexplained errors or your computer crashes or freezes often then you need to repair your registry. There are a lot of corrupt files, paths, registry keys that need to be cleaned in order for your registry and your system to perform well. There are certain DLL files that need to be repaired.
If you want to avoid runtime errors, windows startup errors and especially windows explorer errors then you have to make sure that your registry is clean and stable. That is what the software companies developing registry cleaners claim.
So what is the truth? Do you really need a registry cleaner? Should you spend your time and your money and invest on a registry cleaning software? The answer is Yes mostly.
In my opinion you should use a registry cleaner to optimize your system's performance only if you know what the registry is and how it works. Furthermore you should know what a registry cleaner is and how it works. You must be aware of the importance of the registry for your system. Remember, the registry is a database where all your system's information is stored. It is so important that Windows system has built in registry tools working on the background to make sure your registry performs well and protect your system's integrity.
The fact is that because your computer's registry is so massive, problems can occur as time goes by. These problems can cause strange behaviors, could freeze up your system or cause unwanted errors. Not to mention the frustration from the end user's point of view. If your registry is clean then you don't need to worry. but if you notice your computer is becoming unstable then you need to make sure your system's registry is clean and optimized.
In my opinion it's a good practice to scan and optimize your registry every now and then but make sure you know what you're doing when making changes or when deleting files, especially dll files. Remember that a single dll file can be important part of more than one application or program. Do not delete anything, unless you are 100% sure you don't need that file. Also, always perform a registry backup before proceeding to a registry cleaning or optimizing. Most registry cleaners offer this option of taking a backup of your registry before making any changes. If anything goes wrong you can restore the backup.
Do not just clean your registry just because a lot of people are talking about registry cleaners these days. Know what you're doing when messing with this really important system's database. And always choose wisely when buying any registry cleaning software. There are registry cleaners that are sophisticated and powerful and can optimize your registry without the need to worry about deleting any needed files. And there are registry cleaners that are not so safe and cannot be trusted. The choice is yours. Check out this software for registry cleaning. The download is free. Mary Markell is a webmaster of Digitalstarproducts Products Directory.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mary_Markell
So why not use a registry cleaner? Because most registry cleaners delete some dll files which are important files for some programs to run. Most registry cleaners will offer a choice of selecting which files to delete but an inexperienced user could easily choose to delete important files that are not to be deleted. Are you ready to risk that the registry cleaner deletes something you really need, causing a program or a feature to fail?
The windows registry is a really huge database with thousands of entries. If you run a registry cleaner on a typical machine you will get only a small number of errors compared to the size of the registry. If you search for performance tests that somehow prove that registry cleaners are important and should be used you won't find any real evidence that registry cleaners are important, apart from tests performed by software companies. So is this registry cleaning process just for the sake of "cleaning"?
There are people and registry cleaner software companies stating that registry cleaners are important and should be used at a timely basis. The cleaners will free some space from your computer's RAM and will make your system more responsive. If you're encountering unexplained errors or your computer crashes or freezes often then you need to repair your registry. There are a lot of corrupt files, paths, registry keys that need to be cleaned in order for your registry and your system to perform well. There are certain DLL files that need to be repaired.
If you want to avoid runtime errors, windows startup errors and especially windows explorer errors then you have to make sure that your registry is clean and stable. That is what the software companies developing registry cleaners claim.
So what is the truth? Do you really need a registry cleaner? Should you spend your time and your money and invest on a registry cleaning software? The answer is Yes mostly.
In my opinion you should use a registry cleaner to optimize your system's performance only if you know what the registry is and how it works. Furthermore you should know what a registry cleaner is and how it works. You must be aware of the importance of the registry for your system. Remember, the registry is a database where all your system's information is stored. It is so important that Windows system has built in registry tools working on the background to make sure your registry performs well and protect your system's integrity.
The fact is that because your computer's registry is so massive, problems can occur as time goes by. These problems can cause strange behaviors, could freeze up your system or cause unwanted errors. Not to mention the frustration from the end user's point of view. If your registry is clean then you don't need to worry. but if you notice your computer is becoming unstable then you need to make sure your system's registry is clean and optimized.
In my opinion it's a good practice to scan and optimize your registry every now and then but make sure you know what you're doing when making changes or when deleting files, especially dll files. Remember that a single dll file can be important part of more than one application or program. Do not delete anything, unless you are 100% sure you don't need that file. Also, always perform a registry backup before proceeding to a registry cleaning or optimizing. Most registry cleaners offer this option of taking a backup of your registry before making any changes. If anything goes wrong you can restore the backup.
Do not just clean your registry just because a lot of people are talking about registry cleaners these days. Know what you're doing when messing with this really important system's database. And always choose wisely when buying any registry cleaning software. There are registry cleaners that are sophisticated and powerful and can optimize your registry without the need to worry about deleting any needed files. And there are registry cleaners that are not so safe and cannot be trusted. The choice is yours. Check out this software for registry cleaning. The download is free. Mary Markell is a webmaster of Digitalstarproducts Products Directory.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mary_Markell
Data Backup And Restore - Solutions For Hard Drive Crashes
These days, one of the most threatening thing that can happen to a person is that he/she suddenly looses the valuable data stored on his/her computers hard drive. The very thought of losing data from a hard disk, because of weak security measures, is horrible. The only way to avoid such a possibility, if you do not have a restore option, is to back up the data on a regular basis.
Its up to you to decide what you should do to recover the data which was there inside your crashed hard drive. The first thing that you should do is that you should not run the recovery software that you got with your PC. This way you won't overwrite original files. Now you should contact a reliable recovery company of good repute to restore those files you lost due to disk failure. Some of these recovery companies come directly at your home in order to provide you recovery services. But for home service, they can charge you more.
Format of some files are such that they cannot be recovered. The best example is DWG files or some graphic files. These special files require some media in order to get recovered. There is also a lot of difference between a hard drive crash and hard drive damage. In the latter case your lost data can not recovered while in former case you can recover your lost data. In case of poor security you can never recover the data you lost. You should always keep your data in a safer place in order to protect it.
Some of the commonly used tools to protect your data from malicious programs are anti virus softwares, firewalls and encryption technology. In encryption your data is translated into some secret code and only the person who knows the password or the key is able to decrypt it.
In case of any emergency, always keep few recovery tools ready in order to avoid data loss. One of the tools is back up option. Always keep a back up of the data that is stored on your computer. Store it one some different hard drive or some other storage medium. This way, if your data is lost due to hard drive crash or damage, you will be able to recover all of it. Go for data back up often. To protect your data from others, have preventive measures in place. If your computer is in a network like the internet, then use a good firewall to block any unwanted traffic. Anti virus softwares are also a good way to stop anything that may corrupt the files on your hard drive.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tommy_Jackson
Its up to you to decide what you should do to recover the data which was there inside your crashed hard drive. The first thing that you should do is that you should not run the recovery software that you got with your PC. This way you won't overwrite original files. Now you should contact a reliable recovery company of good repute to restore those files you lost due to disk failure. Some of these recovery companies come directly at your home in order to provide you recovery services. But for home service, they can charge you more.
Format of some files are such that they cannot be recovered. The best example is DWG files or some graphic files. These special files require some media in order to get recovered. There is also a lot of difference between a hard drive crash and hard drive damage. In the latter case your lost data can not recovered while in former case you can recover your lost data. In case of poor security you can never recover the data you lost. You should always keep your data in a safer place in order to protect it.
Some of the commonly used tools to protect your data from malicious programs are anti virus softwares, firewalls and encryption technology. In encryption your data is translated into some secret code and only the person who knows the password or the key is able to decrypt it.
In case of any emergency, always keep few recovery tools ready in order to avoid data loss. One of the tools is back up option. Always keep a back up of the data that is stored on your computer. Store it one some different hard drive or some other storage medium. This way, if your data is lost due to hard drive crash or damage, you will be able to recover all of it. Go for data back up often. To protect your data from others, have preventive measures in place. If your computer is in a network like the internet, then use a good firewall to block any unwanted traffic. Anti virus softwares are also a good way to stop anything that may corrupt the files on your hard drive.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tommy_Jackson
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