Kojex Consult Blog

Insecurity May Affect Apc’s Chances In 2023 –matthew Emiohe

2019-10-11T21:36:00.000+01:00

The raging crisis in the Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has become worrisome to many party faithful. In this interview with TONY OSAUZO in Benin, one of the party chieftains and member, Ambrose Alli University Governing Council, Elder Matthew Emiohe, bared his mind on the issue. He also warned that insecurity may affect APC’s chances in 2023.

Edo State chapter of the APC, is presently enmeshed in crisis. As a party leader, what are your thoughts?

If I tell you that I am not disturbed about this crisis I am telling a lie. What is happening in the state is a very big distraction, the problem is that the principal actors, Obaseki and Oshiomhole have not really declared that they have problem with each other. What I see is that supporters of the two leaders are either coming out to defend or promote either of them or highlighting this crisis. I know that a lot of lies are told on both sides. Yes, we know that there are problems because things are not the way they should be. The major problem is the lies and people are benefiting hugely from it.

They will go to Oshiomhole and lie to him to get money and then they go to Obaseki and tell him what he wants to hear. These two individuals must sit down and put the interest of the party first above any other interest. The party must move on, otherwise we stand the chances of losing.

If you want to believe those saying Oshiomhole is unhappy or angry with the governor, I want to ask is it not the same Oshiomhole that brought Obaseki to power? He has not come out to tell us why he is angry with Obaseki. Today, you cannot say that Obaseki is not performing, if not I will be the first to go against him. If there are personal issues we expect Oshiomhole to come out and tell us because we all know how he helped Obaseki to become governor. If it is because of performance, the governor has done well because in my constituency he is delivering on his promises.

In my local government through the council chairman, a lot is going on there. Not too long ago we had a senatorial meeting where we addressed a lot of issues and of course, one of the major problems we discussed was his relationship with Oshiomhiole. I suggested that if there is a problem the governor should look for a mutual friend and I did mentioned Aliko Dangote. In fact, a week after, I understand that a meeting was held with Oshiomhole, Obaseki and Dangote but few days after we heard that their meeting didn’t yield the expected outcome. I don’t really know what is going on.

Leaders are the ones causing this problem; they are the ones who go to Abuja to complain that Obaseki is not taking care of them. Maybe they want the governor to share money with them. But I know that from my local government most leaders have been empowered whether from local government or state. In my ward, we have two major markets where construction is going on. For example, work is on-going in Eguare and Egbodi market, maternity hospital is being upgraded, reconstruction of Ewuare primary school and roads construction are handled by party leaders. The contracts in my ward are shared among five leaders and that is empowerment to me, not necessarily sharing money. It is the leaders now that will now reach out to other people.

Are you not worried that the lingering crisis is creating a fertile ground for the opposition to take over the state and the tendency that some people will move to other party?

I am very worried. For the sake of our national chairman, I don’t think he wants this kind of problem in his own state. I think Oshiomhole is concerned about that. Today, people are talking about how we lost some APC states, it will be disastrous for us to lose Edo and that is why I said whatever the problem, we need to know now so that we can begin to address the issue. We all know that Oshiomhole brought Obaseki and he must have known that he will perform and continue with his legacies. I am sure Obaseki must have done something that convinced Oshiomhiole that he will perform as governor and he supported him.

We all know that Obaseki too must have helped Oshiomhole as well through his contacts to raise money. I also expect Obaseki to be loyal to Oshiomhole too.

What is your advice to Obaseki and Oshiomhole on how to end the political crisis in Edo State?

My advice to them is for Obaseki and Oshiomhole to sit down and put their personal interest aside to resolve the issue. Oshiomhole needs to resolve the matter because of his national integrity. For Obaseki, he wants the state to move forward and I don’t think he wants anything to derail that. He must make some concrete and genuine steps to reach out to Oshiomhole too. For the meeting they have held not yielding results there must be a reason not known to any of us. All we are interested in is peace and stability in the party.

Looking at the state of the APC generally, what is your suggestion on how to resolve pockets of problems in the states’ chapters of the party?

You see I am very concerned about Edo State. The national chairman of our party Adams Oshiomhole needs all our support for him to be focussed. He must come home to first of all put his house in order. When you have problem in your home state you can’t go to other states and say you want to solve their problem, they will always point to your home. That is why we are praying that Obaseki and Oshiomhole must come to terms and reason together for the sake of APC.

The new federal executive council will be inaugurated soon. As a member of the APC, what should they do differently to move the country forward?

I think President Buhari should give them a clear guideline on what they need to do. I was not too impressed with many of the ministers, look at the road in Ekpoma, my domain, it’s a write off and we had to travel through Delta State to get to my village in Edo. There has to be a clear guideline and direction that they have to work on so that Nigerians can begin to see some real positive change.

One of the greatest talking points today is the insecurity in the country. Do you think your party can still maintain power if this trend continues in 2023?

This question worries me. I am disturbed about killings in the land. Just like I said earlier, the President must set the tone, the bulk stops on his table; he must be firm and take bold steps that will send strong messages to these people behind the insecurity. But if he is silent, it means consent. People need to know what he intends to do. In the United States, people are reacting to the President’s body language and statement. People want to see that what he is saying is matched with actions. Buhari must come out and be decisive if not it will impact negatively on our party. But I hope we are able to find a solution.‎

What is your take on the call for revolution?

Yes, people may not be happy with the state of affairs in the country but that doesn’t warrant a call for revolution. If there are problems we must all sit down and tackle them, revolution is a serious thing to toy with. If anybody wants a change of government there are constitutional ways to go about it and we must come together to dialogue to achieve what we want.

Source: https://www.sunnewsonline.com/insecurity-may-affect-apcs-chances-in-2023-matthew-emiohe/

How to score high in JAMB 2020

2019-10-06T15:45:00.000+01:00

Preparing for the next JAMB exam? Discover JAMB secret to help you score high in the next JAMB UTME exam.

Discover how to score 300 and above in the JAMB exam. This guideline is a must-read for any JAMB candidate who wishes to know how to prepare for JAMB the right way and perform really well in the next UTME exam.

There is no magic to a high JAMB score but just a simple JAMB secret. Believe me, there are candidates like you who scored above 350 in JAMB.

Even in this coming JAMB CBT exam, some candidates will come out with scores of up to 350. So, if you are one of those who have been made to believe that JAMB is hard or that you can’t go beyond 220, stop believing those lies!

In this post, I will share with you some secrets that will help you to score high not only in JAMB but in your subsequent exams.

Remember, after JAMB and post UTME, you will gain admission and depending on the school, you may begin to face “bigger” exams.

As a “Super Lion” (a UNN graduate), I can tell you that JAMB is not where the big work is. Therefore, if you really are the kind of person who looks beyond JAMB and tries to plan for the feature, the tips I’ll share here will benefit you a lot.

Why am I in a position to give this guide?

Sat for O’Level in 2010, JAMB in 2011, UNN Post UTME in 2011, five years course (Mechanical Engineering) with many examinations, and graduated in 2016. Also, being a blogger makes me follow the trends both in JAMB and other examinations.

Hence, I believe a have a lot to share about examinations.

JAMB Exam Secret #1: Start preparing early!

Start early! We all know the tradition for many JAMB students. “Guy, what’s up about this JAMB?” “O boy JAMB still far na!” Lies! JAMB is closer than you think.

The number one mistake most JAMBites make is not starting to prepare for JAMB on time.

Many candidates tend to relax and wait for two months to JAMB before they start getting ready.

Some have concluded that 2 months JAMB lesson is all they need to prepare for JAMB.

But, can this really work for you even if it works for the next person?

JAMB CBT Secret #2: Study with JAMB past questions!

This is among the most important secret to JAMB’s success! JAMB past questions give you the idea of the type of questions to expect in your UTME exam. No serious JAMB student will neglect the importance of JAMB past questions.

Interestingly, we have thousands of JAMB past questions and answers in all the subjects and you can study them offline with EduNgr JAMB App: Download JAMB CBT app

JAMB CBT Secret #3: Have your own study timetable

A study timetable will help you organize your studies the way it will suit you best. In your timetable you indicate all the topics you need to cover (according to JAMB syllabuses) and allocate different times per week or days for each subject.

A personal timetable will also help you track your progress along the way: you know how far you have gone in each subject and what is left to be covered.

Also, having a timetable of your own will help you distribute your study time to each subject according to how challenging you find them. That is, there may be one subject you find challenging than other subjects; what you want to do is allocate some extra time for that particular subject.

Finally, a study timetable can serve as a good reminder of what you need to do. Whenever you look at your timetable you know you have a very important task to accomplish.

JAMB Secret #4: Minimize cramming, focus on understanding

“La crammer la pour” is how we describe those students who only cram and go into exam hall to “pour” the things they have crammed into their books. But, is cramming the best way to go? No!

Cramming takes a lot of repetitive efforts. In fact, cramming is more difficult than trying to understand something so you can easily remember it later. At the beginning cramming may seem easier as you can quickly pack a couple of things into your memory.

But, the problem is that as quickly it enters the head is as quickly it also disappears. In order words, many (usually not all) of the things you crammed will disappear within a short period of time.

Hence, you need to repeat the cramming over and over again! What a waste of time.

On the other hand, when you learn to understand, the things you learn will stay so much longer in your memory.

Also, even when you forget you can easily remember because you understood the topic thoroughly when you studied it.

Have you ever been in an exam hall where you are trying to remember a particular solution but couldn’t; all of a sudden a little thing popped into your brain and you were like “aha! that is it!”

When you know it, it is easier to remember every other detail with just a little clue. But, for a student who crams and pours, if one word is missing, he is totally lost!

The bottom line here is this: put much more effort into trying to understand what you study. A few cramming may be necessary of course, but, always lay emphasis on understanding because that is the best way to learn.

JAMB UTME Secret #5: Study with other JAMBites

You are a bright student, that’s okay. But, you need to study with other students. Why? You can learn more or master what you already know simply by teaching others.

Also, you will surely learn a couple of things from other students. Nobody knows it all.

Even a question another student will ask you on a topic you think you have mastered can throw you off-balance.

There are many benefits of studying with other students apart from the ones mentioned above. Also, you’ll have opportunities to connect with other JAMBites, stay up to date with information about JAMB, post UTME screening, schools, etc.

JAMB CBT Secret #6: Enter JAMB exam hall in your best possible conditions

Some people are “dying minute” students. Their JAMB exam will hold the next morning and you see them “jack” all night: no sleep, no night rest. Some will be so busy that in addition to the sleepless night, they won’t put something into their stomach and run to the exam venue.

Personally, I think this is wrong, dangerous and counterproductive! Part of my preparation before any exam is a good night’s sleep – it is something I never like to miss.

Do to stress yourself before your exam; be in your best condition. Sleep well the night before your exam; eat the kind of food that makes you feel comfortable and “awake”; simply be okay, calm and collected. This will help you stay “together” and focused on your exam.

Additional JAMB UTME Secrets: accuracy and speed

They often say speed and accuracy but, I prefer to say accuracy before speed. Exams are usually an attempt to test your knowledge of the subjects and, you are always subjected to a limited amount of time for every exam – JAMB is no different. Hence, for you to pass the JAMB CBT exam, you need to be fast enough in answering all the questions you can answer.

However, of more importance than speed is accuracy: of what benefit is it if you answer all the questions wrongly and submit 30 mins before time? Therefore, try to maintain both speed and accuracy in every exam you sit for.

Finally, never leave any JAMB CBT question unanswered: It is not encouraging when some JAMBites come out of the exam hall and say they didn’t answer a number of questions; are you kidding me? JAMB CBT is an objective questions exam.

If you see that you are almost running out of time, what you have to do is select any option for the questioned you don’t know the answer and questions you have not even read.

With random picking of answers like that you may get one or two correct answers correctly. Remember, 1 point/mark can make someone miss admission!

University of Minnesota #YouAreWelcomeHere funding for International Students 2020-2021

2019-10-04T06:56:00.001+01:00

If you are waiting for an opportunity to study in the US, then must take a look at the #YouAreWelcomeHere Scholarship which is a valuable study program to start education journey in the United States.

The bursary is available for freshman international candidates of all academic majors and field of study in order to pursue an undergraduate degree program at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

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Review
Award
Application Process
Clarity of Information

Summary

Very good opportunity for those international candidates who want to study in the US

USER REVIEW 3 (1 vote)
The University of Minnesota is one of America’s public lvy universities, which refers to top public universities in the US. It is a public research university which has the sixth-largest main campus student body in the United States.

Why at the University of Minnesota? At this university, the students will have World-renowned professors, so that they will learn from the best as they carve out a path of their future along with many research opportunities and 140+ majors to pick from.

Brief Description
University or Organization: University of Minnesota
Department: NA
Course Level: Undergraduate degree
Award: $16,000
Access Mode: Email
Number of Awards: Two grants are available
Nationality: International
The program can be taken in the United States
Application Deadline: November 15, 2019
Language: English
Eligibility
Eligible Countries: Applicants from outside the US are eligible to join
Acceptable Course or Subjects: The grant is for undertaking an undergraduate degree program in any field offered by the university
Admissible Criteria: An interested candidate must maintain F-1 immigration status while enrolled at the University of Minnesota.
Demonstrate interest and initiative in leadership and intercultural learning.
How to Apply
How to Apply: The university would like to inform candidates that they need to take admission in an undergraduate degree program at the university by November 1.
After that, they can complete the fund application form and return it to intlstudy@umn.edu With completing a 500-1000-word essay or a two-to-five-minute video*?answering the following prompt,

“Tell us about your leadership skills in your school or community, and how you plan to continue applying your leadership skills at the school you are applying to?”
Information Regarding Admission
Admission Requirements: An applicant must be a high school candidate while applying to a bachelor degree program at the university.
Language Requirement: Foreign candidates are required to satisfy the English language requirements of the university for studying in the US.
Benefits
The university will award two annual, renewable financial aids covering $16,000 per year for four years which is applied to the cost of tuition fees.

Apply Now

https://scholarship-positions.com/university-of-minnesota-youarewelcomehere-scholarship-for-international-students/2019/09/17/

University of Bridgeport General academic programs for International Students in the USA

2019-10-04T06:53:00.000+01:00

The University of Bridgeport is providing the General academic programs for International Students to help them pay for their studies in the United States.

The awards are available to first-year incoming international undergraduate applicants and transfer students seeking an associate or a bachelor degree achieve an educational goal at UB.

Summary

A valuable option to get an academic education in the USA with study funding.

Founded in 1927, the University of Bridgeport offers career-oriented undergraduate, graduate, professional degrees and learning environment to prepare students for personal and professional growth.

Why at the University of Bridgeport? The University of Bridgeport offers multiple students services, study opportunities, and also prepare students for the modern workplace and a global working environment.

Application Deadline: Spring: 1 December and Fall: 15 July

Brief Description

University or Organization: University of Bridgeport

Department: NA

Course Level: Undergraduate

Award: $11,000 to $17,000 per academic year

Access Mode: Online

Number of Awards: Varies

Nationality: International

The award can be taken in the USA

Eligibility
Eligible Countries: Application form all nationalities are accepted
Acceptable Course or Subjects: The program is available for undergraduate study in any subject offered by the university

Admissible Criteria: To be eligible, the candidate must be an incoming undergraduate international students

How to Apply
How to Apply: No separate application required for the award. Applicants will automatically consider when they will apply for admission at the university.

Supporting Documents: To be considered for admission, an applicant must submit: Official copy of all high school transcripts, standardized test scores, either SAT or ACT, a TOEFL / IELTS score and a GRE or GMAT score, a personal statement, letter of recommendation, and a resume.

Admission Requirements: Applicants are required to check all the entry requirements before entering the university program.

Language Requirement: Applicants must check the SUB’s English language requirements before applying for the degree program.
Benefits

The university will provide academic awards range from $11,000 to $17,000 per academic year, and are based on academic excellence and English proficiency.
All awards are renewable yearly based on satisfactory academic achievement and good standing at the University of Bridgeport.

Apply Now

September 18 Express Entry draw issues 3,600 invitations to apply for Canadian permanent residence

2019-10-04T06:44:00.003+01:00

A new Express Entry draw held Wednesday, September 18, has invited 3,600 candidates to apply for Canadian permanent residence.

The minimum required Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score in today’s draw was 462. This is one point lower than the previous draw, which was held September 4 and had a cut-off score of 463.

The Express Entry system manages the pool of candidates for Canada’s three Federal High Skilled economic immigration categories — the Federal Skilled Worker Class, Federal Skilled Trades Class, and Canadian Experience Class.

Eligible candidates are ranked in the pool according to their CRS score, which is based on factors such as age, education, skilled work experience and proficiency in English or French, among other factors.

A set number of the highest-ranked candidates are invited to apply through regular draws from the pool, which are typically held every two weeks.

Find out if you are eligible for the Express Entry pool

The September 18 invitation round brings the total number of invitations to apply (ITAs) issued this year to 63,400.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) had issued 58,600 ITAs by this same point in 2018 and finished that year with the current ITA record of 89,800.

Canada’s admissions targets for the three Federal High Skilled categories are 81,400 for 2019 and 85,800 for 2020 through the three Federal High Skilled economic immigration categories.

The tie-break used in the September 18 draw was August 29, 2019, at 07:57:13 UTC. This means that all candidates with a score above 462 received an ITA, as did those with a score of 462 whose Express Entry profiles were created before the tie-break date and time.

The fact the minimum score dropped one point may be due to IRCC maintaining a two-week interval between today’s draw and the previous invitation round on September 4.

The time between draws can influence the cut-off CRS score, as this graph shows:

Candidates with scores below today’s cut-off who want to improve their ranking have a number of potential options, the most valuable being a provincial nomination through an enhanced nomination stream.

A provincial nomination through one of these Express Entry-aligned streams results in an additional 600 CRS points and effectively guarantees an ITA in a subsequent Express Entry draw.

Several of these nomination streams do not require a minimum CRS score in order to be eligible, while others have CRS requirements that are well below today’s cut-off score.

The Alberta Express Entry Stream is a leading example of this latter type. In its most recent selection round held August 28, it invited Express Entry candidates with scores as low as 400.

The province of Saskatchewan also has an Express Entry-aligned sub-category that requires work experience in an occupation that’s deemed in-demand, among other criteria, but does not require a job offer in the province or a minimum CRS score.

In a new development Wednesday, the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program dramatically expanded the list of eligible in-demand occupations, from 19 to hundreds.

Here are two hypothetical examples of Express Entry candidates who would have received an ITA in today’s draw:

Jasmine is 32, hold a master’s degree and has been working as a financial analyst for four years. She wrote her IELTS and scored an 8 in each category. While Jasmine has never worked or studied in Canada, her CRS score of 462 would have been high enough to obtain an ITA during the September 18 Express Entry draw.

Ihsan and Lina are married and are 29 and 32 years old, respectively. They have each been working as advertising consultants for three years. They each wrote the IELTS and scored an 8 in listening and 7 in each of the other three abilities. Ihsan holds two Bachelor’s degrees and Lina holds one. Neither has ever worked or studied in Canada. They entered the Express Entry pool with Ihsan as the principal applicant. Ihsan’s CRS score of 463 would have been high enough to obtain an ITA during the September 18 draw.

“It’s good to see IRCC maintaining a steady interval of two weeks between draws, which is helping bring the cut-off score down little by little,” said David Cohen, senior partner with the Campbell Cohen Canadian immigration law firm in Montreal.

“It’s also great to see ongoing innovation in Canada’s Express Entry-aligned provincial nominee programs like the complete overhaul of Saskatchewan’s in-demand occupations list, which has expanded the number of eligible occupations dramatically.”

https://www.cicnews.com/2019/09/september-18-express-entry-draw-issues-3600-invitations-to-apply-for-canadian-permanent-residence-0912801.html/amp

UK post-study work visa: What we know so far

2019-10-04T06:35:00.002+01:00

The biggest news for international students last week was the UK government’s announcement that it will be bringing back the two-year post-study student work visa.

Reversing Theresa May’s abolition of the visa seven years ago, the new immigration route will be open to “international students who have successfully completed a course in any subject at undergraduate level or higher at a higher education provider with a track record of compliance, and have Tier 4 [student visa] leave at the point the route is introduced”. It’s a significant extension from the current four-month limit for bachelor or master’s graduates to look for work.

Here’s what we know of the new “graduate route” so far:

1. It’s limited to certain levels of study
A new graduate immigration route will allow international students to stay in the UK for two years after they graduate to work, or look for work, ensuring the UK continues to attract the best and brightest.
The announcement on September 10 by the Department of Education said the new work visa would apply to those who “start courses in 2020-21 at undergraduate level or above”.

2. It’ll likely be launched in 2021
According to The PIE News, the Home Office expects the new rule to take effect in the first half of 2021. Due to the wide-ranging immigration changes that will take place during Brexit, Home Office Head of Student Migration Policy, Paul Jeffrey said during a Universities UK conference last week that they are “not able to say categorically when this route will be introduced”.

3. It’s unclear who will be eligible
The initial announcement said the new work visa will be available to those who start courses in 2020/21 and after. This confused many students in various stages of their studies. Sanam Arora, Chair of the National Indian Students and Alumni Union UK, told Times Higher Education that three groups of students are “very concerned at present”: those starting courses this month, those in the UK with valid student visas when the change is in place and students “who are currently graduating”.

The PIE News reported that Home Office Head of Student Migration Policy, Paul Jeffrey, said during the Universities UK conference last week that the government can say “with absolute certainty” that any student enrolling in 2020/21 will benefit. As for those graduating from the summer of 2021 onwards, Jeffrey said: “I think we can very very confidently say that anyone who graduates from the summer of 2021 onwards will also benefit, that includes those who are currently in the UK now starting their [undergraduate] degrees.”

However, according to a THE article published yesterday, a spokesman from the Home Office said students “graduating in the summer of 2020-21 and after will be eligible”.

4. No restrictions on the type of jobs
The new work visa will apply to any level of job in any sector, according to Jeffrey, who called the rights “unrestricted”.

In a news story published on the UK government website, the new work visa is aimed not just at retaining the “best and brightest” in the UK, but to facilitate “future breakthroughs in science, technology and research and other world-leading work that international talent brings to the UK”. This includes the £200 million genetics project, a whole genome sequencing volunteer project in the UK Biobank which launched last week.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that crucial scientific breakthroughs “wouldn’t be possible without being open to the brightest and the best from across the globe to study and work in the UK.” He continued, “That’s why we’re unveiling a new route for international students to unlock their potential and start their careers in the UK.”

5. No need for sponsorship
International students require their higher education provider to sponsor their study visas, but the new work visa would offer an “unsponsored route” where universities would not need to maintain responsibility for their graduates while they try to access the jobs market.

6. No cap
Like the recent removal of a cap on the number of PhD students moving on to the skilled work visa route, there will be no cap on how many students can switch to the new work visa under this graduate route. As The Guardian explained, “Under the new policy, the visas would have no cap on numbers and would allow graduates to apply for jobs regardless of their skills or the subject they studied. The government said part of the aim was to recruit talented graduates in disciplines such as maths, engineering and technology.”

7. A work period longer than two years is possible
After the two years, the Department of Education states that international students “on the [graduate] route will be able to switch on to the skilled work route if they find a job which meets the skill requirement of the route.”

Source: https://www.studyinternational.com/news/uk-post-study-work-visa-2019/

Work visa changes: the devil is in the detail

2019-10-04T06:18:00.001+01:00

By June Ranson*
Opinion - Changes to the work visa system announced by the Minister of Immigration are not all positive for employers or migrants.

By 2021 all employers wanting to sponsor the recruitment of migrants - even if it is only one - must become accredited. Photo: RNZ / Claire Eastham-Farrelly

The existing six different temporary work visa pathways are being replaced with one. The industry is reserving comment on the effectiveness of this and awaits the policy details.
The devil is in the detail in this announcement; while there are some benefits, there are also negatives.
Employers who are currently known as Accredited Employers should know that from next month all job offers made to immigrants who wish to transition to residence through their Work to Residence (Talent visas), a salary of $79,560 or greater must be offered for a 40 hour week - an increase from $55,000 per annum.
Anyone holding the Work to Residence visa or have applied for this visa before 7 October 2019 based on a salary of $55,000 will not be affected and can still apply for residence after holding this visa for 24 months with an accredited employer.
It is a tragedy that they are curbing the Work to Residence pathway in 2021.
After 2020, Immigration NZ will assess job offers based on pay rates. Jobs paying less than $52,000 per annum for a 40 hour week will be regarded as low skilled work.
The new high skill rate of $104,000 will be based on paying 200 percent above the new median wage.
This is central to the government's plan of reducing residence numbers while increasing temporary visas.
They will have to reach the 160-point threshold in the skilled migrant category for a residence visa.
How many will give up and go home?
This is too difficult to determine. One can only speculate that residence numbers will reduce through the inability of migrants to qualify for residence.
By 2021 all employers wanting to sponsor the recruitment of migrants - even if it is only one - must become accredited.
The government has been reviewing how it can reduce exploitation of migrants, through the payment of low rates of pay and not the genuine rate for the job; to ensure migrants are only recruited for genuine jobs; employers being encouraged to employ and train New Zealanders.

Work that New Zealanders do not wish to do

The issue overlooked is that a number of employers need their migrant staff now and to train in all instances is not possible. The employer needs the skilled people to train the New Zealanders.
Low skilled workers - classed as jobs earning less than $52,000 for a 40-hour week - will receive 12-month work visas and would still need to renew them up to a maximum of three years. High skilled - jobs above the median wage - could receive up to a three-year visa.
This will impact on rest homes, restaurants, hospitality and all trades people. This work that New Zealanders do not wish to undertake is a growing requirement with our ageing population.
Employers will train immigrants up to the point that they are well-skilled and experienced, but have to let them go after three years. The government has decided not to reverse the previous government's decision to limit certain visas to three years with a one-year stand down period abroad.
But it is good that Anzsco - the classification of jobs on which visa decisions were made - is being removed from criteria for judging whether a job is skilled. This has been far too complex with many inconsistencies in the interpretation by both employers and Immigration case officers.
While a lower skilled worker earning below the medium threshold of $52,000 will now be permitted to bring their partner and children to New Zealand, the partner will only be issued a visitor visa, which will make that financially impossible for some.
The partner would be able to apply for a work visa providing they meet the criteria for such a work visa based on skills, experience relative to the job offer.
A Labour Market Test already exists for most work visas to ensure there are no New Zealanders available to do a job, before it is offered to an immigrant.
That test will be tightened under the changes outlined this week, for example employers except those advertising highly skilled jobs in the regions will have to state the wage or salary in a job advert. That can have adverse consequences for the employer eg employers revealing their pay rates to competitors.
What has not been made public at this stage is that for the positions requiring Labour Market Testing, employers will be expected to accept the people the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) puts forward unless the candidate fails to attend an interview or drug testing.
While we have been informed that training and equipping MSD staff will take approximately 18 months to come into force, it is very hard on New Zealand employers who may be forced to employ staff they do not believe will fit their organisation.
Every company is different, and what we are being told is an indication that the government is trying to run private businesses by forcing them to take on staff who do not fit the organisation.
The latest changes may make administration easier for Immigration New Zealand, but it will not do so for the employers.
Meanwhile, Immigration New Zealand could really benefit from a large investment of money to sort out its visa processing delays and to fight fraud.
Instead of spending $25m on the Maritime Mass Arrival Prevention initiative which was outlined in the Budget, the government needs to urgently sort out the service issues at Immigration New Zealand.
I believe the government has offered this sum to appease Australia over border security funding. However, our government knows full well they may not need to use it. Where is the solid action plan on how these funds will be used?
I suggest giving extra funding to Navy and Fishery Inspectors who are on patrol at sea. They are at the coal face and they can identify people smugglers and stop them.
The idea of having people dotted around Asia is a waste of money. While we definitely want to protect our borders surely a percentage of the sum could be put to better use to sort out Immigration New Zealand issues.
It is too early to say if the changes outlined this week on work visas will benefit New Zealand. But if migrants cannot get the opportunity to gain residence here it is a big ask to expect them to stay on temporary work visas, with an outlook of no permanent future.
*June Ranson is an immigration consultant and chairwoman of the NZ Association for Migration and Investment (NZAMI), which represents immigration advisers and lawyers.

Source: https://amp.rnz.co.nz/article/ae2ac7e9-d2d5-455f-86f6-479ac2182abb

DAAD Postgraduate Studies in the Field of Music for International Students in Germany

2019-10-04T06:14:00.001+01:00

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is offering scholarship opportunities for international graduates to continue their education in Germany.
The program is designed to promote the exchange of experience and networking amongst colleagues. With the program, foreign students have the chance to pursue a postgraduate or continuing course of study.

Summary

An admirable opportunity to get higher education in the field of music with some financial support in Germany.

In the field of international academic co-operation, DAAD is the most prominent German funding organisation. It provides a range of graduate and research scholarships to support German and international students to study in Germany.

Application Deadline: 15 October 2019

Brief Description

University or Organization: DAAD
Department: NA
Course Level: Master’s or postgraduate degree programme
Award: A monthly payment of 850 euros, insurance, study allowance, and travel allowance
Access Mode: Online
Number of Awards: Varies
Nationality: International
The award can be taken in Germany

Eligibility

Eligible Countries: Applicant from all nationalities are eligible to apply
Acceptable Course or Subjects: The award will be awarded for a postgraduate or continuing course of study in the field of music
Admissible Criteria: To be eligible, the applicants must meet all the following:
Foreign applicants who have gained a first university degree in the field of music at the latest by the time they commence their scholarship-supported study programme; if this is not possible, they should have at least exhausted all the training options available for their instrument in their country of origin.
Applicants who have been resident in Germany for longer than 15 months at the application deadline cannot be considered.
Applicants in the field of music should have knowledge of the language of instruction that corresponds to the requirements of the chosen university at the latest by the time they start their scholarship.
In this study program, candidates can complete a Master’s degree/postgraduate degree leading to a final qualification, or a complementary course that does not lead to a final qualification (not an undergraduate course)

How to Apply

How to Apply: The application procedure occurs online through the DAAD portal. Note: portal will open about 6 weeks before the application deadline
Supporting Documents: Applicants are required to submit the following documents by post to the specified application address (some documents need to upload with the online application):

Documents to Upload: A curriculum vitae, letter of motivation, degree certificate, proof of knowledge of the language of instruction (German or English), an overview of recorded pieces: www.daad.de/extrainfo, and letter of acceptance from the host university (If available).
Documents to Post: Send work samples together with the printed “Cover sheet to application” of the “Application summary” generated online and the reference.

Admission Requirements: Applicants should have taken their final examinations no longer than six years before the application deadline.
Language Requirement: Applicants must have proficiency in English and German language.

Benefits

DAAD will provide all the following:

Monthly payment of 850 euros
Travel allowance
One-off study allowance
Payments towards health, accident and personal liability insurance cover
Under certain circumstances, scholarship holders may receive the following additional benefits:
Monthly rent subsidy
Monthly allowance for accompanying members of the family

Apply Now

Source: https://scholarship-positions.com/daad-postgraduate-studies-in-the-field-of-music-for-international-students-in-germany/2019/09/18/

Senator petitions JAMB over withheld result

2019-10-04T06:09:00.002+01:00

Senator Uche Ekwunife has raised a petition on behalf of a member of her constituency, Anambra Central District, on the refusal of Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) to release his result based on his excellent result which is alleged to be suspicious.

The senator made the petition on the floor, on Tuesday, seeking an intervention from the senate.

JAMB registered about 1.8 million candidates for the Unified Tertiary Matriculations Examination (UTME). 76.2 per cent of the 1,792,719 candidates who sat for 2019 examination scored below 200 out of 400.

JAMB registrar Professor Ishaq Oloyede said in May, “34,120 candidates had their result withheld for examination malpractice also 15,145 results were withheld for further clarification.”

He mentioned that some of the irregularities that marred the 2019 UTME include; multiple registrations, manipulation of biometrics, impersonation and deliberate destruction of power sources during the examination.

Ekwunife, who made a vow to fight for the right of all the people of Anambra during her campaign, issued the petition based on protecting every citizen’s right.

In 2018, JAMB recorded 280 cases of examination malpractice across the country, while in 2017, it recorded 2,508 cases.

The senator, Uche Ekwufeni awaits the senate decision to intervene in the candidate result.

51% of young Americans support tuition-free public college

2019-10-04T06:05:00.000+01:00

Graduating students attend New York University’s commencement ceremony at Yankee Stadium.

Mario Tama/Getty Images

College graduates consistently outearn workers with a high school diploma. According to the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce, 65% of all jobs in the U.S. economy will require education beyond high school by 2020.
But college is also more expensive than ever. According to the College Board’s 2018 Trends in College Pricing Report, prices at public two-year and private non-profit four-year schools doubled from 1988 to 2018, and in-state tuition and fees at public four-year schools tripled.

It makes sense, then, that more than half of young Americans today are in favor of free public college.
A survey from the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics found that 51% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 support eliminating tuition and fees at public colleges and universities for students from families that make up to $125,000, and making community college tuition-free for all income levels for an estimated cost of $47 billion.
That’s a slight decrease from when Harvard conducted the biannual poll in the fall of 2018, when 56% supported free college. But support for such a policy is higher among likely Democratic primary voters (69%) and among likely 2020 general election voters (56%).
With significant support among young voters, many believe it is time to start making free college a reality. Here’s how it might work:

Candidate proposals

The issue of free college has become a common talking point among Democratic presidential candidates.

In April, Sen. Elizabeth Warren released an ambitious $1.25 trillion education proposal that would eliminate tuition and fees at all two-year and four-year public universities using funds from her proposed Ultra-Millionaire Wealth Tax, which would tax the estimated 0.1% of Americans with over $50 million in assets.
But the idea of low-cost college predates the 2020 election. In fact in some states it’s already available.
In 2015, President Barack Obama proposed making two-year community college free for qualifying students, which former Vice President Joe Biden says he supports. Free college was central to Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign platform. In 2017, he introduced the College for All Act with Rep. Pramila Jayapal.
Senator Kamala Harris supported Sanders’ bill in 2017 and also co-sponsored the Debt-Free College Act of 2018, which proposed creating a federal-state partnership to incentivize states to reduce or eliminate tuition at public colleges and universities.
Not all Democratic candidates have embraced the idea of free college. Mayor Pete Buttigieg says he opposes free college and instead prefers dramatically expanding Pell Grants. Sen. Amy Klobuchar has maintained a similar stance, saying, “If I was a magic genie and could give that to everyone and we could afford it, I would.” Klobuchar also supports expanding Pell Grants.

Free and low-cost college is already available in some places

Eleven states — Oregon, Nevada, Arkansas, New Jersey, Maryland, Tennessee, New York, Rhode Island, Delaware, Kentucky and Indiana — have programs that offer select college students two years of free tuition at participating state community colleges or other associate-degree programs and vocational schools. Several other states are working on similar legislation.
These programs are typically “last dollar” scholarships, meaning the program pays for whatever tuition is owed after financial aid and grants.
In 2017, San Francisco became the city first in the U.S. to make free community college available to all residents, regardless of income. The city approved a transfer tax on properties selling for more than $5 million to fund an education program that allows all city residents to attend the City College of San Francisco tuition-free. In order to take advantage of the initiative, students need to have lived in the city of San Francisco for at least one year.
In the same year, New York announced the Excelsior Scholarship Program and was recognized as the first state in the country to offer free four-year public college. “Today, college is what high school was,” said Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a statement. “It should always be an option, even if you can’t afford it.”
As of the 2019-2020 school year, students from families that make up to $125,000 will be eligible to attend the State University of New York and City University of New York colleges free of charge, as long as they are enrolled full-time, maintain a passing grade point average and work in the state of New York for the amount of time that they attended college.

The true meaning of “free”

When the Excelsior Scholarship was announced, New York’s state government estimated that some 940,000 middle-class families in the state qualify for the program, but a significantly fewer number students have taken advantage of it so far.
One frequent critique of programs like Excelsior is that the word “free” is misleading. Programs don’t always cover living expenses and they’re not always open to students from wealthy families. Also, some programs are tax-funded.
In states like New York and Michigan, explicitly labeling academic programs “free” has been found to increase applications and matriculation among low-income students. “We all understand that you pay taxes in order to have free tuition for K-12,” Sara Goldrick-Rab, professor at Temple University, tells CNBC Make It. “We all understand that you still have to buy school supplies and feed our children. Free does not have to mean all free in order for the word to be truthful and effective.”
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/01/56percent-of-young-americans-support-free-public-college-how-it-might-work.html

Onalaska Graduate Earns Prestigious Fulbright Award

2019-10-04T05:58:00.000+01:00

Dolan, who was born and raised in Onalaska and graduated in 2015, recently graduated summa cum laude from Pacific Lutheran University with a bachelor’s degree in political science and Hispanic studies.

The Fulbright Award will allow him to continue a project he began in 2017 when he conducted research thanks to funding from the Wang Center and the Kelmer Roe Research Fellowship. A rough draft of the website Dolan created to map the monuments can be viewed at mappingmonuments.pludhlab.org.

Fulbright Award honorees are “selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement as well as their record of service and leadership potential in their respective fields,” according to the press release.

“The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program and is designed to build lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries,” according to the press release. “The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the program, which operates in over 160 countries worldwide.”

Since its creation in 1946 through legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright, the program has provided more than 390,000 scholars, teachers, students, artists and professionals the opportunity to study, teach, research and work toward finding solutions to international concerns.

“Fulbrighters address critical global challenges in all disciplines while building relationships, knowledge and leadership in support of the long-term interests of the United States,” the press release states. “Fulbright alumni have achieved distinction in many fields, including 59 who have been awarded the Nobel Prize, 84 who have received Pulitzer Prizes and 37 who have served as a head of state or government.”

For information about the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State, visit eca.state.gov/fulbright.

Source: http://www.chronline.com/news/onalaska-graduate-earns-prestigious-fulbright-award/article_b028ffc8-d66a-11e9-9e67-9f1025bb5f42.html

The Secret On How To Reach Your Freelance Long Term Financial Goals

2013-01-05T19:34:00.002+01:00

Hi gang! To get you pumped-up to start 2013 in the right way, please watch this short video (6 minutes) and begin thinking about where you see yourself in 12 months as far as freelance design income is concerned. Before we go farther in our journey to monetize your freelance design skills, we need to start from this destination, and then work our way back to today. This will provide us with both a roadmap as well as the focal points we need to ensure your long term financial success along the way.

Three Most Important Takeaways To Reach Your Long Term Financial Goals

Set your net financial goal for the year. Your net financial goal includes all the things that you know you need or want to purchase, including technology costs, housing, food, entertainment, medical, insurance, family or relationship expenses, etc.
Divide this net goal by 12 in order to clarify your monthly goal.
Filter this monthly goal by 3 factors:
1. The type of client,
2. The geography of your client,
3. Services vs. Products.

Be careful what you wish for. By starting with a visualization of your destination, you can more easily align your financial goals with your personality and desired lifestyle.

Remember, there is no “right” way to create a freelance design business that generates your livelihood – reaching your long term financial goals…only “your” way.

There is nothing worse than working to get to a destination only to realize that you didn’t really know why you wanted to be there in the first place! ;-) I have truly enjoyed all the positive feedback and comments from the first video in this series, as well as your personal stories. Please continue to share your thoughts and personal stories in the comments below, as well as inviting any interested friends or colleagues to join our community. To your success in 2013 and beyond!

source

Get Email Subscribers From Google Search Results

2012-01-03T08:53:00.000+01:00

Email marketers might be very happy to know that Google is testing an AdWords format that will allow Google searchers to subscribe to their emails directly from search results pages.
Would you take advantage of this ad style from Google? Let us know in the comments.
It’s not set in stone yet. This may or may not become widely available to all advertisers, but I’d be surprised if it didn’t open up to a wider set. Here’s what the ads look like:

Notice the “privacy” link. If you click that, it says, “When you submit this form, your email address will be sent to the advertiser.”
The testing has been going on for a little while, but from the sound of it, it’s expanded a bit. Alexia Tsotsis at TechCrunch shared the following statement from a Google spokesperson:
“We’re currently running a small experiment of a new ad format that helps users sign up more easily for email subscriptions or other free newsletters. This new ad format contains a box within the ad that displays a user’s Google email address (if logged in). If a user chooses to click ‘Subscribe to newsletter’ then the email address is sent to the advertiser directly, which is clearly disclosed within the ad itself.”
Some email marketing firms like VerticalResponse, Constant Contact and AWeber are already using the ads.
While social networking continues to rise, email and search are still the most popular online activities, and these new ads take advantage of both. Look at this graph Pew put out a few months back. You can see how social media is growing, but look at how search and email are doing.

Social is not killing email, by any means.
But, interestingly enough, there is still a social element to these ads as well – the +1 button. Really, you’re getting the best of all three worlds (OK, maybe not the “best”. it would probably be better if they also had Facebook like buttons, retweet buttons, and StumbleUpon butons alongside the +1, but Google+ is growing like a weed, and the +1 has ramifications for organic search ranking).
These ads could be the best search-driven tool for driving email sign-ups ever available. We’re talking prime real estate on Google SERPs to drive an opt-in path directly to people’s inboxes.
This will no doubt be an incredibly popular ad format for Google, and I can’t imagine them not making it widely available.
Really, it should be a great thing for the entire email marketing industry. It may never even occur to people searching for various topics that there are even email newsletters related to what they’re looking for. They simply may never have thought to look for one. These ads will put them directly in front of users’ faces. This could very well lead to a lot more content being consumed by email at a time when many have suggested that social networks would all but kill the channel (clearly this is not happening).
Think about it. Let’s say you are a huge fan of the Detroit Lions (full disclosure: this applies to me). What if you were searching for Lions-related content on Google, only to discover that there is an amazing newsletter about the team that you had no idea existed. You might want to sign up for that.

Source: webpronews

Hardware Upgrade: How To Install New RAM

2012-01-01T15:14:00.000+01:00

Hardware Upgrade: How To Install New RAM

RAM is one of those upgrades everyone seems to skimp on when buying a PC, only to later wish for more. Regretting your underpowered memory purchase? Here’s how to speed up your machine by installing some additional memory.
Memory is often one the critical bottlenecks on a PC, so faster, larger stores of RAM can go a long way to making your PC perform better and with more stability. It’s not hard, even for beginner geeks. Crack open that PC in today’s hardware upgrade!

Identifying and Buying Your New RAM (The Hard Part)

Your RAM is likely installed in these slots on your motherboard, called the DIMM slots. This motherboard has room for six sticks of memory. Note the pins and how the RAM lines up with them—important to note to install properly. The median is off center to show you clearly which direction to orient them. If you’re strong, you can probably force them in backwards, but computers don’t really respond well to that kind of bullying.

Each motherboard has specific requirements for RAM. Sometimes you can install slightly different kinds of RAM, but this could result in decreased performance or even shorter life for your new memory. If at all possible, install memory best suited to your mainboard, meeting as many of the following requirements as possible:

Timing
Speed/Data Rate
Voltage
Number of Pins (Mandatory)
Maximum supported memory
Maximum supported memory per DIMM slot
Does your mainboard require memory in pairs or not?

While all the specs for your RAM are important, the number of pins are probably the first thing you should look at. There are going to be multiple references to the number of these pins—you can clearly see the comparison of them here, above. Note that depending on the type of RAM, including speed/data rate, a stick may have more or fewer pins, and will have the notch or notches in different locations. Your motherboard is only going to take RAM with only one kind of pin count. Again, you can probably force it in, but it will probably be the end of your PC!

While installing additional or all-new memory is not terribly complicated, even for a beginner geek, buying the proper memory can be a frustrating challenge. If you are confused, you can check out our easy beginner-friendly guide to buying memory. Here you can figure out these confusing requirements your motherboard has and buy the right RAM for your system.

What Kind of Memory Does My Computer Have Installed?

Brands of RAM do matter, especially to geeks. HTG doesn’t endorse any particular brand, although certain authors do have their favorites. If you have had good (or even terribly bad!) experiences with certain manufacturers, tell us about them in the comments.

Installing RAM in Your PC (The Easy Part!)

Every mainboard has nitpicky requirements for the settings of the RAM, but almost every machine has RAM installed the same way. DIMM slots have latches on either side that both lock in and release RAM from the pins they’re seated on to function. Let’s take a look at one very easy installation of RAM.
With your PC case open you won’t need any tools but your bare hands. (If you don’t know how to open your PC, check here for detailed directions.) Wearing gloves is generally not a good idea. And if your PC is not powered down and unplugged, you run the risk of hurting yourself or your equipment.

This particular PC has RAM on risers, which are installed in special DIMM slots (DIMM slot-like, actually) on the mainboard. Your technique for installing into mainboard DIMM slots will most likely be nearly identical to this—in fact it will have even fewer steps.
(Author’s Note: With every installation of RAM or any PC component, you’re going to want to stay grounded so that the static electricity from your body doesn’t flow into your new memory, or parts of your PC. While these parts are very sensitive, I have personally never had problems with static, only with foolishly installing things the wrong way. It is, however, best practice to stay grounded the entire time and not remove your parts and install them on a separate surface. Installing RAM on these risers, with the parts removed, was more clear and more easy to photograph and the fundamentals are exactly the same of installing in a PC mainboard. Just remember your PC may look more similar to the first examples, rather than this one. And, as in any hardware upgrade, keep in mind that you can run the risk of damaging your equipment. Keeping all that in mind, understand that installing RAM is actually quite easy.)

We can see the DIMM slots each holding a stick of RAM, very similar to the ones on your mainboard. Always remember that your memory is very sensitive to static shock, and be careful to ground yourself and work on the most non-conductive, non-static surface available–your floor or carpet are not acceptable surfaces!

To remove a stick of memory from a DIMM slot, gently push down on the tabs on either side in tandem. Don’t force it, but apply firm pressure as needed. Your memory should begin to pop free from inside the DIMM slot. If it doesn’t come free easily, rock it gently back and forth from the sides to remove it. Above all, be gentle, as damage to the DIMM slot could ensure that your PC will never work properly again!

Handle the stick of RAM by the sides as shown, touching as little of it as possible. You want to keep your fingerprints and hand oils off of your new memory. Sit the old RAM aside on an anti-static surface and find your new RAM for installation.

With your DIMM slot tabs open, line up the pins and firmly (but not roughly) press on the outside of the stick of RAM to install. If the RAM is seated properly, the pressure from you pressing in the RAM will actually begin to snap the DIMM slot tabs shut, locking the new RAM in place. Make sure that the tabs are locked into the notches on the side of the RAM.
You also may need to install your memory in pairs. If this is the case, you will probably have to buy your memory in kits—pairs of RAM meant to be installed together. Make sure you do this!

In our example, we return our risers to our mainboard spot, adding the additional steps most HTG readers won’t have to face.

And that’s pretty much all there is to installing RAM! Again, your PC may not have the risers shown before, but installing memory in the DIMM slot as shown above is similar in all cases—a DIMM slot is a DIMM slot, pretty much. The techniques and best practices for removing and installing new RAM will be the same no matter what device you install into. Just stay cautious of static, don’t be too rough with your parts, and you’ll be on your way to speeding up your PC’s performance in no time.

Source: howtogeek

What's Firefox worth to Google? Nearly $1 billion

2011-12-26T17:00:00.000+01:00

Chrome is within striking distance of Firefox for second place in worldwide browser usage, but that hasn't stopped Google from throwing its financial weight behind the non-profit browser.

(Credit: Net Applications)
Don't let the StatCounters and the NetApplications of the world fool you: despite stagnant and even slightly negative market share growth,Firefox and its default search box is still extremely valuable to Google.
How valuable? The three-year default search deal that Firefox's nonprofit parent company, Mozilla, just inked with Google is worth nearly $300 million per year, according to unnamed sources who spoke to AllThingsD.
In a statement to AllThingsD, Google's senior vice president of search, Alan Eustace, said: "Mozilla has been a valuable partner to Google over the years and we look forward to continuing this great partnership in the years to come." To those who spend a lot of time observing Mozilla, the deal is no surprise.
Mozilla revealed in October that Google contributed the vast majority of its revenue for fiscal year 2010, around 84 percent. That figure came in at $123 million, an 18 percent jump over 2009. The new deal, at nearly $300 million per year, would represent around a 40 percent jump for Mozilla, which has aligned itself with defending openness on the Web.

Openness doesn't mean a lack of business acumen, apparently. According to the report, Mozilla was entertaining offers from both Microsoft's Bing search engine and Yahoo. Even though Yahoo search is powered by Microsoft, landing the Firefox default search slot would've been seen as a way to staunch Yahoo's declining market share. Yahoo determined the deal to be "too costly," but Mozilla still has partner deals with other search providers such as Amazon, eBay, Yandex, as well as Bing and Yahoo.
Double the money may make things easier for Mozilla, but the company still has a challenging road to tread. Chrome is the still-rising star of the browser world, Internet Explorer 9 and the nascent version 10 continue to grow beyond techie punchline status, and the even with this week's release of Firefox 9 for PCs and Android, Mozilla struggles to redefine its mission against the backdrop of a rapidly changing Web.

Source: cnet

The 10 biggest perks of working in IT

2011-12-26T14:03:00.001+01:00

By Brien Posey

IT jobs usually entail a lot of stress and frustration. But if you’re lucky, they can also provide enough enjoyment to make it all worthwhile.

Regardless of what you do for a living, it’s easy to focus on the negatives of the job and let those things bring you down. However, most jobs have certain perks, and IT is no exception. This article discusses some of the benefits I’ve experienced over the years as a result of working in IT.

1: You get to meet lots of people

One of my absolute favorite things about working in IT is that you get to meet so many interesting people. Back in the mid-90s, for example, I worked for a large insurance company with about 1,000 users. I can honestly say that I knew most of those users on a first-name basis. Better still, even though I left the company about 15 years ago, some of the people I met there are still my best friends to this day.

Without a doubt, the greatest benefit that came from getting to know so many people was that I met my wife of 17 years as a direct result of working in IT. She was working in the marketing department at the time, and I met her because she called me to fix her printer.

2: The money can be good

Even though IT will probably never be the way that it was during the dot-com boom, IT does tend to pay better-than-average salaries. Of course, the pay level varies considerably from one company to the next and from one position to the next.

3: It’s easy to move around

One thing I have always noticed about IT is that it is relatively easy to move around. I have known plenty of IT pros who got bored with their position and switched to a different IT specialty with minimal effort. For instance, I have known network administrators who became database administrators and software developers who became network administrators.

4: You have personal freedom

IT pros tend to have a lot of personal freedom. I will be the first to admit that corporate culture can vary considerably from one organization to the next and that some organizations are more permissive than others. Even so, I can’t remember anyone ever making me punch a time clock or stick to a rigid break schedule. Most of the IT jobs I have had have allowed me to set my own hours and even work from home when I wanted to (within reason). Likewise, I have always had total freedom to decorate my office anyway I wanted.

5: You get to help people

Another great thing about working in IT is that you get to help a lot of people. Some people hate IT because they’re usually calling with a problem they want you to solve. Even so, I have always found it gratifying to be able to end the day knowing that I was able to spend it helping people.

6: You get paid to spend time away from the office

This may not apply to everybody, but one thing I have always enjoyed immensely about IT is the travel. The very nature of the job means that you constantly have to learn new things and oftentimes, this means traveling to training classes and technical conferences.

Although I do confess to being a travel junkie, there is also something very cool about being away from the office for a few days without having to burn up any of your vacation time. What’s even better is that technology conferences tend to be held in places where there are plenty of things to see and do after hours.

7: You sometimes face unusual challenges

Few things in life bring me down faster than monotony. While every job has some amount of repetition, IT has the unique advantage of requiring creative solutions to unusual problems. There is definitely something to be said for being challenged once in a while.

8: You have access to cool toys

A definite perk of working in IT is having access to cool toys. Just yesterday, for example, I had to spend several hours in a hospital waiting room, so I got some work done using my Windows 8 tablet. While doing so, several people stopped to ask me where I got the tablet, since Windows 8 won’t be out until sometime next year.

The same basic concept has always held true regardless of the hot technology of the moment. Back in the 90s, I remember using a flatbed scanner to copy pictures for my friends at a time when none of them had ever even heard of a scanner.

9: IT knowledge can be helpful in everyday life

Although perhaps not a job perk, IT knowledge can definitely be helpful in everyday life. For example, there was a time long, long ago when the network cabling standard of choice was coaxial Ethernet. I spent one entire summer pulling coaxial cable and attaching cable ends. At the time, I hated the job. But even though nobody uses coaxial Ethernet anymore, the knowledge I gained installing all that cable came in handy just last week.

My next-door neighbors had some carpet installed. The installer accidentally cut their satellite cable. The cable used by satellite dishes is similar to what was used for Ethernet so long ago. Since I still have my tools, I was able to repair the cable for them, so they didn’t have to wait a week and pay for a service call from the satellite company.

10: The job sometimes comes with special rewards

Earlier, I mentioned that one of the great things about working in IT is that you get to help people. Sometimes, people who you help are so grateful that they provide a special reward. Over the years, I have had clients send me various gifts as a way of saying thank-you for helping them out in a pinch. When I worked for the military, some of the people I helped even thanked me by taking me for joy rides in tanks and helicopters.

Don’t get me wrong — I don’t help people because I expect to get something in return. However, it is always a nice feeling when someone surprises you with a thank-you gift.

Other perks?

What other aspects of your IT job make you happy? Do the good things outweigh the bad?

10 hot areas of expertise for IT specialists

2011-12-26T13:57:00.001+01:00

By Debra Littlejohn Shinder
Success in the IT field is increasingly tied to specialization — but what particular tech niches are most in demand? Deb Shinder runs through the IT specialties that top the list.

My recent article 10 Ways to become an IT superstar generated a lot of feedback. Quite a few IT pros out there apparently want to increase their visibility (and paychecks). One thing that drew a lot of attention in the piece was the advice to specialize. Okay, readers replied, but what area should I specialize in? They wanted to know which subsets of skills are the easiest to master and/or which ones will deliver the most bang for the buck. So in this follow-up, I’ll look at some of the IT specialties that are likely to be in demand in the near future.

1: To the cloud

You saw this one coming, didn’t you? All the major technology companies seem to be “all in” with cloud computing — Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Dell, CA Technologies, and more. According to recent surveys, at least 50% of organizations are already using some form of cloud computing, and Gartner says the adoption rate is increasing by about 17% per year. According to Dice.com, the number of ads for cloud computing jobs has grown by 344% over the last two years.

2: Virtually speaking

Virtualization has been hot for a while, as companies jumped in to reap the cost and management benefits of consolidating their servers and delivering virtualized desktops and applications to their users. Virtualization is also the foundation of cloud computing, so those with expertise in deploying virtualized IT environments will be in demand both in the public cloud arena and with those organizations that plan to stick with private clouds for now. Dice.com’s data showed a 78% growth in the number of jobs related to server virtualization.

3: Mobile computing and consumerization integration

Everyone knows mobile computing is hot. Smartphones and tablets, along with laptops and netbooks, are the driving forces behind the increasing consumerization of enterprise IT. There are plenty of advantages for the company: Because employees are willing to buy their own devices, the organization saves money. Because those employees can stay in touch with work, read and respond to email, view attachments, and create documents no matter where they are, they become more productive.

But when employees purchase their own equipment, the downside is that you lose the standardization that comes with company-issued devices. You end up with many types of devices, made by different hardware vendors, running different operating systems and different apps, configured differently. Getting them to seamlessly connect to the company network can be a challenge. Getting them all connected to the company network without putting the network at risk is even more of a challenge. IT pros who have expertise in integrating these new devices into the network and managing them once they’re connected are likely to be in demand by many companies.

Application lifecycle management (ALM) will become increasingly important as the environment becomes more complex with some functions in the cloud and some onsite. Bob Aiello believes configuration management (CM) will evolve into ALM, and the outlook is bright for those with these expanded skills.

4: It’s all about the apps

As Toni Bowers reported in a recent blog post, the hottest job category for 2011 (according to CareerCast.com) is that of software engineer. But it’s a position that’s a bit different from the programmer of yesteryear. On the programming side of the fence, it’s all about apps these days. As smartphones and tablets become ubiquitous, companies will need to develop their own specialized apps for those devices — just as they’ve needed to develop proprietary software for desktop systems.

In addition, cloud-based applications will be big in the coming years, and that means software engineers will need new skills to design, develop, and implement programs that run in the cloud environment. Those who are familiar with Windows Azure, Google App Engine, VMware’s Spring Framework, Force.com, and other cloud development platforms will be a step ahead of the game.

5: Security and compliance

With cybercrime on the rise and increasing concern over the possibility of cyber terrorism and/or cyber warfare, security specialists are likely to continue to be in demand for the foreseeable future. There is a saying in the law enforcement community regarding job security: Thanks to human nature, there will always be criminals — and thus, there will always be a need for the police. That same dark side of human nature ensures that there will always be those who misuse computer technology to attack, intrude, and otherwise attempt to do harm to computer systems. That means there will always be a need for computer and network security specialists.

In addition, more and more government regulation of the Internet and networks, as well as regulatory provisions concerning data privacy, mean security is no longer optional for most organizations. Those who specialize in regulatory compliance are likely to see their job prospects increase as more industries come under the regulatory umbrella.

6: Four to six

When the IPv4 address pool was created in the 1980s, it was thought that the more than 4.2 billion unique addresses possible under the system would be enough. However, the creators didn’t foresee the Internet boom or the possibility that one day, we would be connecting not just multiple computers per person, but printers, phones, and even household appliances to the Internet. This month (February 2011), IANA announced that it has allocated the last batch of remaining IPv4 addresses.

The solution to the problem has been around for a while: IPv6. The new version of the Internet Protocol supports a whopping 340 undecillion (2 to the 128th power) addresses. But IPv6 deployment is not an easy task; working with it requires learning a whole new IP language. IPv6 addresses don’t even look like their IPv4 counterparts; they’re notated in hexadecimal instead of dotted quad. IPv6 is also much more sophisticated than IPv4, with many new features (including built-in security mechanisms). Most important, IPv6 does not interoperate with IPv4, so transition technologies are required to get IPv4 networks to communicate with IPv6 networks.

Obviously, now that we’ve reached the end of the available IPv4 addresses, more and more organizations will be forced to migrate to IPv6. Because of the complexity, there is a shortage of IT personnel who have mastered and really understand IPv6. If you’re one of the few, the proud, who specializes in this area, you’re likely to have plenty of business in the upcoming years.

7: Business intelligence

Business intelligence (BI) refers to technologies that are used for reporting and analyzing data, including recognizing trends and patterns, to make better strategic business decisions. BI uses techniques such as data mining to extract and identify patterns and correlations in large amounts of data.

According to a recent study of midsize organizations that was done by IBM, BI/analytics is the second most popular IT investment (after infrastructure) that companies have planned for 2011. This indicates that specializing in the BI field can be a lucrative strategy and a good investment in your future.

8: The social network

Social networking started as a consumer-driven technology, but the use of social media is now being embraced in a big way by businesses. It can be used to connect with customers, colleagues, and partners to build solid business relationships. That doesn’t mean you’ll automatically be a hot property on the job market just because you tweet and update your Facebook page regularly. But it does mean organizations are looking for people who know how to integrate social media into the business environment in a way that furthers the goals of the organization.

Many companies are looking to develop their own social sites that give them more control and let them target their audiences more precisely. Specialists in social media are sure to find many opportunities as more and more companies stop seeing social sites as just time-wasters that should be blocked and start to recognize the potential for business use. This article offers more information about exactly what a social media specialist does.

9: Public sector computing

On the one hand, many state and local governments are cutting back on their budgets and laying off personnel. On the other hand, governmental agencies are depending more and more on technology to perform their functions more efficiently with fewer personnel. That means specialists in public sector computing can likely find a home in one of the many thousands of town, city, county, state, or federal government agencies that exist in the United States alone.

Although salaries for government jobs are often smaller than those in the private sector, they sometimes offer better benefits, more time off, and a less pressured work environment. There are a number of IT subspecialties in the public sector, as well. These include computer forensics investigators, criminalistics analysts, and personnel who specialize in secure mobile communications technologies for public service agencies.

10: To your health

The healthcare industry is in a state of flux in the United States. Government mandates are predicted to result in cost reduction measures that may result in personnel cuts and/or discourage young people from entering medicine. At the same time, the baby boomer generation is aging and requiring health care. Technology may be one way to fill the gap.

An IDC report published late last year showed that the U.S. healthcare market for IT was valued at $34 billion and was predicted to increase by 24% over the next three years. That translates into a demand for software developers and IT professionals who understand the healthcare industry and its special needs and who know how to integrate technology into the caregiver’s world without dumping a steep learning curve onto people already working in an understaffed and overworked environment.

source: techrepublic

10 ways to become an IT superstar

2011-12-26T13:42:00.001+01:00

By Debra Littlejohn Shinder

Takeaway: Becoming a sought-after industry expert requires dedication, planning, and hard work. Here are some things you can do to make it happen.

You have long years of experience in the IT field and you really know your stuff. But when you go to conferences or offer to speak to local user groups, nobody knows your name and you can’t command the high consulting rates the IT superstars are bringing in. How do you establish yourself as an expert in this industry and build a reputation outside your own organization? It requires a lot more than just being good at your job. Here are 10 things you can do to get yourself recognized as one of the IT elite.

1: Gain experience
Even though IT experience isn’t enough to get you recognized as an expert in an industry that’s filled with experienced IT pros, it is the first prerequisite. No matter how brilliant you are, regardless of the fact that you were building your own circuit boards as a kid and made straight A’s in comp sci, real-world experience still counts. You probably won’t begin to be taken seriously until you’ve been working in the real world in some capacity for at least five years (10 is better).
The good news is that the form your experience takes can be flexible. It can be gained through working in the corporate environment, doing IT work in the military or for a governmental entity, running your own IT-related business, consulting, etc.
If you’re a midlife career changer (as both my husband and I were), you can even leverage your experience in a different field to help build your reputation in IT. As a former law enforcement officer, I had “instant credibility” in the areas of security and cybercrime. Tom, an M.D., was able to speak more authoritatively on IT subjects related to medicine and health care, such as HIPAA compliance, than someone without that background. And that brings us to the next tip.

2: Concentrate on a specialty

The IT field has grown to the point where, as with the medical field, it’s impossible for one person to master all of it. If you try to be a jack of all trades, you’ll probably never become enough of an expert in anything to stand out from the crowd. Sure, it’s possible to be an IT generalist, but the quickest route to “fame” (and some measure of fortune) is to find yourself a niche.
When Tom and I started to build our reputations in IT, we began by specializing in Microsoft’s ISA Server, later branching out to firewall technology in general and then to the broader field of computer and network security.
You can focus on a particular product as we did, on a brand (such as becoming an expert in Microsoft technologies or Cisco technologies), on a branch of IT, such as security or network interoperability or mobile computing, or on a subfield, such as cryptography or computer forensics or scripting. The key is to pick something that really interests you, something you can get enthusiastic about — because enthusiasm about your area of expertise is what others pick up on and it’s what sets the top “experts” apart from others who know just as much (or sometimes more) but to whom it’s all “just a job.” The second important factor in choosing a specialty is to pick one where there is currently no one established expert. That leads into our next tip.

3: Take ownership

Once you’ve decided on an area of expertise, your goal should be to take ownership of that particular product or topic area. You want to become the person whom everyone thinks of when they think about that topic. You want your name to be inextricably associated with SSL VPNs or VoIP security or whatever you’ve chosen as your specialty area.
If you don’t like being locked into such a narrow area, don’t worry. Remember that this is advice for becoming recognized in the field. After you’ve accomplished that, you can branch out to other technologies. For years, Tom was known as “Mr. ISA Server.” Then ISA became a part of Microsoft’s Forefront family and he became known for his knowledge of Unified Access Gateway (UAG), as well as ISA’s successor, the Threat Management Gateway (TMG). That led to expertise in DirectAccess, which is part of UAG but also part of Windows Server 2008 R2, and so forth.

4: Start small

No matter how ambitious your ultimate goal is, you’re more likely to attain it if you’re willing to start small and get there in increments. Begin by becoming well known and respected in one particular venue — such as on a particular Web forum or within a local IT user group. Hone your leadership skills and become a big fish in these small ponds, and that will lead to opportunities to swim in much bigger waters.
When Tom and I started our IT consulting business back in the 90s, we began building relationships with local businesses. But at the same time, we became extremely active on a few of the biggest IT newsgroups and mailing lists. We posted frequently to those groups and attempted to answer as many of the other group members’ questions as we could. Sometimes that meant extensive research, but it quickly got us both recognized as “helpers” — people who had some knowledge about IT and were willing to share it to help others.
What we didn’t know at the time was that publishers of IT books lurked on those mailing lists, looking for potential authors. Because we demonstrated knowledge of IT in our posts and because we were articulate in expressing ourselves, Tom was soon contacted by Syngress Publishing and I was contacted by Cisco Press with offers of contracts to write books. And writing a book on a subject is one of the very best ways to become recognized as an expert.

5: Take on writing assignments

Not everyone has the time, interest, and stamina to write a book. It’s a lot of hard work. Sometimes it pays off handsomely but other times the earnings, given the hours you put in, don’t even add up to minimum wage. An easier way to make money writing about IT is to produce 500- to 2,500-word articles for IT webzines. Leverage the reputation you’ve built on forums and the relationships you’ve formed there to catch the attention of editors. Pitch a query, and when you get your first assignment, put your all into the article. In the beginning, don’t worry too much about the compensation — even consider doing a freebie or two to prove yourself and show the editor that you reliably produce accurate, well-written, on-time contributions.(Don’t continue to write for free, though, if you really want to be considered an expert. People intuitively know you usually get what you pay for, and those who are good at what they do rarely give it away without some special reason.)

6: Put your name on the Web

Even if you haven’t yet reached the point where people are willing to pay you to write about IT, you can get your name out there: Put it on the Web. Create an IT-oriented Web site with your name prominently featured. It can be a help forum, where you answer questions and solve IT problems. It can be a gathering place for other IT pros to post on a Web board and do much of the problem solving. It can be just an ad for your consulting business or a showplace for you to brag about your awards (if you do it in the right way). The important thing is to get your name “up in lights.”
Your own Web site is just a start, though. You want a Web search on your name to return thousands of hits, and you want them to be connected to the “best” IT related Web sites. So get out there and post on other sites, exchange links with other IT folks, grant interviews to IT journalists, and get yourself known.
A blog is a great way to develop a following in the IT world. There, you can post articles about IT topics that are too short or not polished enough to market to the paying IT webzines or that cover things their editors aren’t interested in publishing. You can also get more “folksy” in blog posts and develop a more intimate relationship with readers than you can do on some of the more formal IT sites. And you don’t have to worry about anyone editing out the best part of your piece. Just remember to keep it professional and tech related. Set up a separate blog if you want to also blog about your personal life and non-tech-related interests.

7: Get social

Don’t get so busy building your business that you forget the importance of socializing. That includes both real-world and online social networking. Join LinkedIn and Facebook and set up a Twitter account, and use them to further your career ambitions. Seek out other IT pros as friends and followers and post with your business reputation in mind. Post tidbits of IT news, links to helpful IT articles, and of course, links to any of your articles, blog posts, etc. As with blogging, if you want to use social networking sites for more personal purposes, set up two separate accounts — one for business friends and one for personal friends.
IT conferences present another good opportunity to socialize and make contacts in the field and to meet and greet other members of the IT community.

8: Get out and about

The beautiful thing about the Internet is that “nobody knows you’re a dog.” Looks, race, gender, disabilities, etc., don’t matter. It is entirely possible to build a strong reputation and make a good living doing everything online. For several years, Tom and I made good incomes writing books, articles, and whitepapers without ever meeting, in person, any of the people we were working for. Some of them we never even talked to on the phone.
However, if you want to take your career to the next level, it pays to get to know your colleagues and “bosses” in person. There’s a good chance that after you’ve been working with them for a while, they’ll initiate the in-person meeting themselves (and pay for it). But if not, you can forge a stronger bond that may result in more favorable contract negotiations, better assignments, and so on, by taking a little trip to their locations and dropping by while you’re there. Or attend tech conferences you know they’ll be attending and get together there. Sure, it might cost you a little money (although you should recoup some of it from the tax write-off), but it’s likely to more than pay for itself in future work.

9: Seek out other superstars

When you’re socializing, whether online or at real-world events, hang out with the other superstars if you can. I don’t mean you should push your way into the inner circle, but you shouldn’t be shy about approaching the IT gurus you admire and letting them know how they’ve inspired you. Especially as you begin to be known for your own expertise, most of them will be happy to be contacted by you. Email is nonintrusive and a good way to introduce yourself. Look for commonalities: Did you both grow up in the same state or go to the same college? Do you have the same breed of dog? Are you both musicians? Support the same political candidates? Common ground makes a good basis for conversation. Who knows? Maybe you’ll become good friends with someone you once considered way above you. One day he/she might even be writing to you, asking for your help in getting work. That’s happened to me more than once.
While you’re making a place for yourself among the superstars, though, don’t ignore the “little people.” Remember that it’s your readers and “fans” who make you a star, not the other stars. When you attend a conference, go out of your way to spend time with those who have questions for you. If someone asks you to autograph a copy of your book, you should feel just as honored as you did the first time it happened. Even if you’ve “arrived,” stay humble. Your career path went up, but it can also go down. And others’ balloons may rise in the meantime. Be nice to everybody. You never know when today’s “nobody” might be in the position to hire you in the future.

10: Talk the talk

Writing will get you name recognition, but to get face recognition, you need to do more. Real-life meetings and conferences will do that, to a degree. But it you really want to be a superstar, you shouldn’t be just attending those conferences; you should be presenting at them. They say public speaking is the number one fear, even above death — but it’s a fear that anyone can get over with a lot of practice. When I was in high school, I was super shy and literally trembled and got sick to my stomach at the idea of standing up and talking in front of an audience. A wise counselor forced me into the speech and debate class, and what started as agony ended up being a huge source of self-confidence and something that shaped my life. After that, I went on to become a police officer, police academy instructor, college criminal justice instructor, and later an IT trainer and speaker at various events.
You can start by speaking at local user group meetings or volunteering to teach a class in computer usage for your library, city community center, or community college. With speaking experience under your belt, start submitting presentation proposals for larger events, such as TechEd, BlackHat, or the whatever regional, national, or international conferences focus on your area of expertise. If you’ve published articles or books on the topic, that gives you more credibility as a speaker.
When you’re standing up in front of a room full of IT pros at one of the well-known industry events, you’ll know that your plan to become an IT superstar is working.

Source: techrepublic

Is Social Media Ruining Our Minds?

2011-12-26T13:34:00.000+01:00

Are the effects of multitasking, as well as constant distractions via whatever device of your choosing, causing your brain to rewire, and potentially impacting the length of our attention spa… Oh, look! A Facebook update!

I think you get the idea.

How hard is it to avoid distraction in this day and age of always-connected devices and the social media platforms that offer a constant stream of content that can even be described as valuable on an occasion? Does this type of “multi-tasking” interfere with your ability to concentrate on an individual subject for extended periods of time? With that in mind, what were we talking about again? Let us know in the comments.

While the concept could focus on the general concept of multitasking, the infographic being referenced in this article focuses directly on social media, asking is it ruining our minds. Sponsored by the AssistedLivingToday collective, the graphic offers an extensive breakdown of how these constant distractions are effecting the very way our brains are wi… Wait, what? Did what’shisname really update his Twitter feed!?!? Squeee!!!!

As I was saying before being distracted by various Twitter feeds, the infographic, aside from focusing on the distractions offered by social media, offer this compelling concept: The average attention span, at present, is only five seconds long. 10 years ago, it was 12 minutes. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to “like” my buddy’s Facebook update after watching the new Batman trailer for the tenth time this morning.

The impact of these shorter attention spans — SQUIRREL!!!! — is that 25 percent of us forget names and details of friends and relatives. I tried to explain this to that one guy, but I’m not sure he heard me, or was even paying attention. He was on Facebook, I think. Other factoids of note, right after I check my email again:

- The average worker checks his/her email about 30-40 times an hour
- Um, what were we talking about, again?

With that in mind, whatever it is we we’re talking about will have to wait until the distraction of the infographic is consumed. Be advised, it’s over 5000 pixels tall, although, I forgot what it is I’m supposed to be explaining:

Oh, right, social media distraction. While the graphic implicates the social media industry, there is scant information within the graphic about the very industry in question. Some simple, throwaway facts are present, like so:

500,000 people join Twitter everyday, 12 million Twitter users follow 64 or more accounts, with 1.5 following over 500. The graphic further indicates people spend over 700 billion minutes on Facebook each month, and Facebook users install 20 million mobile device apps everyday.

While there’s no direct correlation between these bullet points and the distraction issue, the relationship is clearly inferred. With all these additional outlets for information/distraction, it easy to see how people are so easily distracted. Furthermore, the data about the attention span should be troubling, but then again, I’ve already forgotten what it is I’m writing about.

The Missing Guide: 301 Redirects

2011-12-25T16:10:00.001+01:00

The modern web is fluid, with new pages being built and old ones being deleted on a constant basis. If you are planning to delete pages or reroute visitors from an old page or domain to a new one, this is the guide for you.

Why do I need a 301 Redirect?

301 redirects perform two major tasks: most importantly, they inform search engines that your page or site location has moved, and transfers the page rank and “link juice” from the old to the new. It’s a relatively simple solution to preserve a page or site’s hard-earned search rankings after it has moved. The second benefit is that every outstanding link or bookmark will still send visitors to the new site, so you don’t have to worry about broken links.

Note

This is strictly a guide for an .htaccess 301 Redirect, which is the most common server-side method. It is a requirement that your website be on an Apache server with Mod Rewrite turned on; most hosting companies use this, but if you aren’t sure, check with your host.

First, you need to force your computer to recognize the .htaccess file, the file we will be editing in later steps. By default, any files beginning with a “.” are hidden on most computers because they are usually sensitive operating-system files that would cause damage to the system if accidentally edited or deleted. However, we need to be able to see and edit a “.” file for our website, so here’s what you need to do:

Mac Users

1. Go to Applications>Utilities and open Terminal. With the window selected, paste the following and hit Enter.
defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE2. Force Finder to relaunch by pasting the following code and hitting Enter again.
killall Finder3. When you are finished and want to hide system files again (which is generally a good idea), repeat the same steps, but replacing TRUE with FALSE.
defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSEThen force Finder to relaunch again:
killall Finder

PC Users (Windows Vista & Windows 7)

1. Launch Windows Explorer.
2. In the Organize drop-down menu, choose Folder and Search Options.
3. Under the View tab, scroll down and check the box next to “Show hidden files and folders.”
4. To hide the files again, simply go back and uncheck the box.

Opening the `.htaccess` File

Now that you can actually see the file you’ll working on, go to your site’s root directory, or topmost folder. There you should find the .htaccess file. If you don’t have one, I’ll explain how to create one.

If There is No `.htaccess` File

Never fear, creating one will be a quick and painless:
1. Go to any basic text editor like Notepad or TextEdit, and open a new document.
2. In the first line, write the following:
RewriteEngine ON3. Go ahead and Save As, and make sure the file name is simply .htaccess, with no .txt or anything after it. If you followed the step above to allow your computer to view hidden files, this should be no problem.
That’s it! You’re set up to begin the next steps.

If There is an `.htaccess` File

1. Download it and open it in a basic text editor like Notepad or Text Edit.
2. Ensure there is a line that reads:
RewriteEngine ONIf that line isn’t there, type it in on the first line. Make sure any code you add is below this line.

Adding the 301 Redirect

The next step is to add the code that will perform the redirect. While there are many types of redirect, we’re only going to look at redirecting single pages and domains. If you need a different type of redirect, a quick search should yield a snippet that you can paste in place of the below snippets.

Page to Page Redirect

To redirect from an old or deleted page on your domain to a new one, paste the following code into your .htaccess file below the Rewrite Engine on line, replacing the information to reflect your site and page names:
Redirect 301 /oldpage.html http://www.yoursite.com/newpage.htmlThat’s it! The old or deleted page is the first item, and the full address of the new page follows.

Domain Redirect

If you changed web addresses, you’ll need to direct search engines and traffic to the new one. In this case, you’ll need to start a new blank .htaccess file and paste the following:

Options +FollowSymLinks
RewriteEngine on
RewriteRule (.*) http://www.newwebsite.com/$1 [R=301,L]

This .htaccess file will be placed on your old domain, so this will only be effective as long as the old domain stays live. It’s suggested that you keep your old website live until search engines recognize the 301 and credit the new page with rankings. For more information on helping Google recognize your new site, I recommend this article on how to properly move domains from an SEO standpoint. In the meantime, it’s important that you contact any site or directory containing backlinks to ensure they have the new URL for your site.

Uploading and Testing

Good news—you’re almost there! Your last step is to upload the new .htaccess file to your website’s root directory. Once that is done, be sure to test and make sure the old address redirects you to the new page or domain!
Congratulations—you’re now a 301 veteran.

What’s New in WordPress 3.3

2011-12-25T15:48:00.000+01:00

What’s New in WordPress 3.3

WordPress 3.3 has been released. The world’s most popular CMS and blogging tool has been tidied and polished further to make web publishing even easier. It’s been downloaded 65 million times since v3.0 was released and is estimated to run 15% of all websites (or 22% of all new websites).
Existing users can upgrade with single click. I’ve rarely experienced problems doing that but it still makes me nervous. Back-up your files and database before proceeding.
Let’s see what goodies WordPress 3.3 has to offer…

Revamped Interface

HTML5 responsive design techniques have been implemented to help WordPress work on small-screen devices such as tablets. As you reduce the screen size, features such as the side menu automatically collapse.
If you suffer from aching fingers, v3.3′s new flyout sub-menus make it possible to access any administrative screen with a single click.

The (previously optional) admin bar and the header have been combined into a single toolbar. It saves space, is less obtrusive and provides quick access to help, comments quick add links and your profile. That said, I suspect it may cause compatibility issues with some plug-ins — it’s definitely a feature you should test before going live.

Finally, WordPress helps you discover new features with pointers which appear the first time you see them:

Drag and Drop Media Upload

Assuming you’ve got a decent HTML5 browser, you’ll never need to use the clunky “browse files” dialog again. One or more images or other media can be dragged into the media upload box.
In addition, there’s now a single upload panel for all media — no matter what file types you want to add. WordPress also supports RAR and 7z archive formats.

New Tumblr Importer

WordPress can now import content directly from Tumblr. Tumblog posts can be converted to a matching WordPress post format.

Better Co-operation

If you’ve ever received the “Warning: Bob is currently editing this post” message, you’ll be pleased to hear that co-editing activity lags should be a thing of the past.

There’s More…

Version 3.3 also offers:

a new dashboard welcome screen for fresh installations
a new post-update changelog screen
more flexible and faster permalinks
an overhaul of the editor API
a new WP_Screen API for working with admin panels
a new is_main_query() for determining whether you’re in the main loop

Time to Upgrade?

Few people will experience problems but they inevitably crop up with new software releases. If the whole of your business depends on WordPress, it might be advisable to let others find the issues and wait for version 3.3.1. If past experience is anything to go by, that’ll be available within a few weeks.
Have you upgraded to WordPress 3.3? Is it the best version ever or has your installation exploded?
Download WordPress 3.3 from wordpress.org/download

How to Convert a Hard Drive or Flash Drive from FAT32 to NTFS Format

2011-12-25T15:22:00.000+01:00

How to Convert a Hard Drive or Flash Drive from FAT32 to NTFS Format

If you’ve got a hard drive formatted with the FAT32 file system, you might have found that you can’t copy large files to that drive. So how do you fix that, and convert the file system over to NTFS? Here’s how.
Scratching your head? Here’s the deal: the FAT32 file system, which most external drives are still shipped with, can’t handle files larger than about 4 GB in size—which means most full-length movies and anything really large, like a virtual machine. If you do try and copy a file, you’ll get an error just like this one:

It’s worth noting that FAT32 works just fine on just about any OS, but NTFS is usually read-only on Linux or Mac OS X.

Convert the File System Directly

If you’ve already got a ton of files on the drive and don’t have the free space to move them around, you can convert the file system directly from FAT32 to NTFS. Just open up an Administrator mode command prompt by right-clicking and choosing Run as Administrator, and then you can type convert /? to see the syntax for the convert command.

In our example, the drive letter is G: so the command we’d use is this:

convert G: /FS:NTFS

The conversion process might take a while, especially if you’ve got a really large drive.

It’s pretty simple, right?

Option 2: Reformat the Drive

If you don’t have a ton of data on the drive, the best bet is to copy any data from the drive to somewhere else, reformat the drive, and then copy the data back. All you have to do is right-click on the drive and choose Format.

And then select NTFS in the file system drop-down.

Finish the format, and copy your data back. Nice and easy.

Source: howtogeek

How to Reset Your Windows Password Without an Install CD

2011-12-25T15:18:00.000+01:00

How to Reset Your Windows Password Without an Install CD

If you’ve forgotten your Windows password and you don’t have an install CD laying around, there’s no need to worry. Not only are there half a dozen complicated ways to reset the password, you can do it easily with the Offline Windows Password editor.
Of course, if you do have a Windows CD, you can reset your password the easy way with a simple trick.

Create the Boot Disk

You’ll need to create a boot disk using another PC. If you don’t have another PC, you’ll have to bug one of your friends to use theirs. First, you’ll need to download the boot disk from here:
Download the Offline NT Password & Registry Editor

Then download and launch ImgBurn, which is a really simple piece of software that helps you burn an ISO image to a disk. Note: if you have some other application for burning an ISO image, you can use that instead.
Choose the Source, click the burn button, and create the boot disk.

You could also create a bootable USB drive instead if you’d like, the instructions are on the Offline NT download site.

Resetting Your Windows Password

Boot your PC from the boot disk (you might have to adjust the BIOS to allow booting from the CD). You’ll be prompted at a couple of screens, which you can generally just hit the Enter key at. For instance, this screen asks if you want to select the first partition, and [1] is already selected, so just hit Enter.

The same thing happens at the next step, where you have to choose the path to your registry. The default is fine, so hit Enter.

Next you can choose whether to use password reset or some other thing, so just hit Enter for password reset.

Next you’ll be prompted whether you want to edit users or the registry. You want to edit user passwords, so hit Enter again.

And now, the first screen where you’ll need to do something other than hit the Enter key. In this case, you’ll want to type the username that you want to reset. In my case, this was “geek”, so I just typed that (without the quotes). Then hit Enter.

Now you’ll want to probably just blank the password, which is already selected, so hit the Enter key again (you can always change it once you’re back in Windows).

And now, you’ll have to save what you just did. So type an exclamation point to quit (or the “!” symbol), then type the letter “y” to save.

At this point it should say “EDIT COMPLETE”, and you can reboot your computer. You should be able to login without any problems—just make sure to go set a new password.

Source: howtogeek

How to Reset Your Forgotten Windows Password the Easy Way

2011-12-25T15:13:00.000+01:00

How to Reset Your Forgotten Windows Password the Easy Way

Forgetting your password is never any fun, but luckily there’s a really easy way to reset the password. All you need is a copy of the Windows installation disk and one simple command line trick.

Resetting Your Forgotten Windows Password

Boot off the Windows disk and select the “Repair your computer” option from the lower left-hand corner.

Follow through until you get to the option to open the Command Prompt, which you’ll want to select.

First you’ll want to type in the following command to backup the original sticky keys file:

copy c:\windows\system32\sethc.exe c:\

Then you’ll copy the command prompt executable (cmd.exe) over top of the sticky keys executable:

copy c:\windows\system32\cmd.exe c:\windows\system32\sethc.exe

Now you can reboot the PC.

Resetting the Password

Once you get to the login screen, hit the Shift key 5 times, and you’ll see an administrator mode command prompt.

Now to reset the password—just type the following command, replacing the username and password with the combination you want:

net user geek MyNewPassword

That’s all there is to it. Now you can login.
Of course, you’ll probably want to put the original sethc.exe file back, which you can do by rebooting into the installation CD, opening the command prompt, and copying the c:\sethc.exe file back to c:\windows\system32\sethc.exe.

Source: howtogeek

How to Recover Windows and Software Keys from a Broken Computer

2011-12-25T15:03:00.003+01:00

How to Recover Windows and Software Keys from a Broken Computer

Product keys are one of the most important parts of your computer. Unfortunately, most people don’t have them backed up. Here is how you can recover your product keys in case your computer crashes.
The methods described below will also work to backup your product keys before your computer crashes. If you are the cautious type, and you should be, use the tools described below to backup your software product keys before it’s to late.

Copy the needed files

The first think you need to do is recover some files from your broken computer’s hard drive. To do that you can either pull out the hard drive and plug it into a second computer using a spare hard drive connector or use a SATA USB docking station like the one below.

If you don’t have any SATA openings and don’t have a SATA docking station you can recover the files with a live Linux USB drive too. Use whatever distribution you feel comfortable with because you just need to copy a folder to the drive.

If you are using Linux, boot the broken machine from the drive, and copy this folder to the USB drive.

C:\Windows\System32\config

Our config folder was only 140 MB in size which will easily fit on most USB drives. Yours may be slightly bigger but you will need to take into account the ~700 MB of space needed for the Linux files.
Once you have the folder, go to another computer running Windows to use the free utility to recover your keys.

Use ProduKey to Recover Your Product Key

ProduKey is made by our friends at Nirsoft and will allow you to recover your product keys from a running version of Windows just the same as a copied C:\Windows\System32\config folder.
Start by downloading ProduKey from the link below and extract the exe file to a place of your choosing. Launch the program and it will immediately recover the available product keys from your current Windows installation.
Now may be a good time to save your current product keys somewhere safe.

To recover the keys from the broken copy of Windows, drop down the file menu and choose select source.

From the new window select “load the product keys from external Windows directory” and then browse to your saved Windows folder.
If you used a live Linux disk to recover the config folder you will need to manually make Windows and System32 folders and then place your config folder inside of them for the keys to be read.
If you are using a USB docking station, you can also just select “load the product keys of external Windows installations from all disks currently plugged to your computer” and the drive will be scanned automatically.

ProduKey will now show you all the keys it was able to find from your broken computer which makes it very handy when needing to re-install.

To make sure your keys stay safe click the save icon and save a text file of your product keys. We would recommend emailing yourself the text file or saving it to an off site location for safe keeping.

ProduKey Download

Source: howtogeek

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