Rajendra Choudhary

Internet Security: The Secure Free Option

2010-10-01T01:40:00.000+05:30

This high speed revolution has increased the swiftness of accessibility for unscrupulous hackers to upload private information quickly and easily, through your home internet connection.

With the threat of viruses, identity fraud, phishing, spyware and keyloggers, never has it been more important to protect the valuable contents of your home computer.

There are many types of internet security software out there, which offer varying ranges of performance when it comes to security. The most popular software requires the computer owner to purchase a license and download the software over the internet or buy the software from a reputable computer outlet for a set fee which includes 12 months of free updates, with a view to paying a further fee every 12 months to keep this update service going, this for some computer owners can be a slightly expensive encounter and can put owners off placing that all important security software on their home computer.

Is there a FREE and secure alternative? The answer I'm happy to say is yes.

Home internet security comes in four main categories of protection, Spyware Protection, Anti-Virus Protection, Firewall Protection and Windows Updates.

Spyware Protection

Spybot found at www.spybot.info is an excellent free spyware removal tool which helps clear your system of any threats from Adware, Keyloggers, Malware etc, the program is very easy to use and updates can be downloaded for free and are updated on a regular basis to help make sure you are protected.

Anti-virus Protection

Avast! Anti-virus found at www.avast.com is a more than adequate anti-virus protection, registration is absolutely free for home and small business users and just requires the user to register once every twelve months, which is a very small burden especially when you can download virus definitions and program updates totally free.

Firewall Protection

Sygate Personal Firewall found at www.sygate.com is again a totally free for home and small business users personal firewall, the setup of the program is very user friendly and can easily be setup by someone with little computer knowledge. The protection is highly suitable and very secure.

Windows Update

All computer users should make it their fortnightly chore to visit the Windows update service and download the latest security patches, these are most important to cover any floors which have been discovered in Microsoft applications. You can also switch the update to automatic, so when important downloads are available windows will download them using low bandwidth, so not to disturb your internet browsing.

CONCLUSION

Internet security is a high priority for all computer users, and whether this service is paid for or users wish to take advantage of the three excellent and secure software programs above for free, that is completely up to the individual. Some sort of internet security is better than none at all.

Finding Your MAC Address On Wired And Wireless Network Cards

2010-10-01T01:38:00.000+05:30

The Answer To The Media Access Control Question
----------------------------
Over the past few weeks I have received quite a few e-mails about Ethernet cards, both wired and wireless, and more specifically, about Media Access Control (MAC) addresses. I think the main reason I've received so many questions about Ethernet cards and MAC addresses is people trying to secure their home wireless networks and their desire to use MAC address filtering. This type of filtering in wireless networks can be configured to allow or deny specific computers to use or attach to the wireless network, based on the MAC address.

My first thought was to write an article just about MAC addresses and wireless Ethernet. After thinking about it I decided to expand on this and go over some specific information about Ethernet cards and communication.

Different Ways Of Finding Your MAC Address And More
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There are several ways of finding your Ethernet and communications protocol information. Many Ethernet card manufacturer's have proprietary software that can reveal this information but they work differently depending on the manufacturer. So we will use the Windows 2000 and XP "ipconfig" utility since this is available in the majority of Windows Operating Systems.

First, go to "start" -> "run" and type "cmd" without the quotes. Then hit the enter key. At the command line type "ipconfig /all", again without the quotes. Actually, just typing ipconfig without the /all will work but will only provide you with abbreviated information regarding your network cards. An example of what you might see by typing the "ipconfig /all" command is below with each item commented in green lettering:

Fault Tolerant And Highly Availability Computer Systems
----------------------------
There are several ways of finding your Ethernet and communications protocol information. Many Ethernet card manufacturer's have proprietary software that can reveal this information but they work differently depending on the manufacturer. So we will use the Windows 2000 and XP "ipconfig" utility since this is available in the majority of Windows Operating Systems.

First, go to "start" -> "run" and type "cmd" without the quotes. Then hit the enter key. At the command line type "ipconfig /all", again without the quotes. Actually, just typing ipconfig without the /all will work but will only provide you with abbreviated information regarding your network cards. An example of what you might see by typing the "ipconfig /all" command is below:

OutPut Of The "Ipconfig /All" Command
----------------------------------------------------------
Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Home Computer
This is the name of your computer, typically defined during the windows installation. However, it can be changed after installation.

Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . : domain.com
If your computer participates in a network such as a Microsoft Windows domain this item may contain the name of the domain.

Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
The Node Type may say Unknown, or peer-to-peer, or in some cases "hybrid". It is a setting that has to do with the Windows Internet Naming Services used in certain types of Windows domain networks.

IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
This setting determines if Windows XP or 2000 will function as an IP router. If you have two or more network cards you can setup your system to act as a router, forwarding communications requests from one network to another. Windows 2000 can be configured to do this in a pretty straight forward fashion; Windows XP will need a registry modification.

WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy is another setting that is related to the "Node Type" we discussed earlier. It is normally not a required setting in a home or small office network, or newer types of Microsoft Windows domains.

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection 2:
If you have multiple Ethernet (network) cards in your systems, as I do in this laptop, you will have multiple listings. This one happens to be the second Ethernet card, an internal wireless Ethernet card.

Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom 802.11b/g WLAN
This is the description of the Ethernet card, usually the Name / Manufacturer and type of Ethernet card. In this case, it is a Broadcom wireless Ethernet card built into my laptop.

Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-90-4B-F1-6E-4A
And here we have the MAC address. The MAC address is a 48 bit hexadecimal code and is suppose to be a totally unique address. It is 48 bits because each number or letter in hexadecimal represents 8 bits. Hexadecimal numbers range from 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,A,B,C,D,E, F. There are 6 alpha-numeric codes hence 6*8=48(bits). The first 3 codes identify the manufacturer of the card and the remaining codes are used to create a unique number. Theoretically there should never be a card with same MAC address on a local network. However, there are a few exceptions. There are software tools that allow you to change this code. In fact, this is a step some hackers take to attack other systems on a local network. I say local network because MAC addresses are not routable between network segments. By spoofing this address, you can impersonate another machine on the local network. Traffic that was bound for the intended target can be redirected to the hacker's machine. This is the address you would also use to populate a MAC address, or physical address table when setting up your wireless access point to support MAC address filtering.

DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
DHCP, or the Dynamic Host Control Protocol, if enabled means your computers IP address is being provided by a DHCP server on you network. The DHCP server could be your wireless access point, cable/dsl router, cable modem, or a server on your network. Also, if a DHCP server is not enabled on your network, your computers Operating System will auto generate a random IP address within a certain predefined range. This means you could network a group of systems together without having to manually assign the IP settings.

IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.117
This parameter provides you with your current IP address. The address listed above is what is called a "private" address. There are certain classes of IP addresses that have been set aside for private use. This means for your internal, local, or private network at home or office. These addresses are not, or should not, be routable on the Internet. The Internet routes what are called "valid" IP addresses. Your cable/dsl router or cable modem has a valid IP address assigned to its "external" network interface. The external interface may be your phone line or cable TV cable.

Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
The Subnet Mask is a special number, or in some sense, filter, that breaks down your IP address, in this case private IP address, into certain groups. IP addresses and Subnet Masks can be a complicated matter and would take an entire article to go over.

Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.254
The default gateway, the IP addresses listed above, is the IP address of the device that will route your request, such as when you try to browse a website, to the Internet. It is a bit more complicated than that though as gateways or routers can route traffic to various different networks, even other private networks. At your home or small office, this gateway most likely is your cable/dsl modem or router.

DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.49
The DHCP server, remember we talked a little about this above, is the device that assigns your computer an IP address and other information. DHCP servers can assign all kinds of information such as; Default Gateway, Domain Name Servers (DNS), IP address, Subnet Mask, Time Server, and much more.

DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.49, 64.105.197.58
DNS Servers are internal or external servers that resolve Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDN), such as www.defendingthenet.com , to IP addresses. This is done because computers don't actually transmit your requests using the domain name, they use the IP address assigned to the FQDN. For most home or small office users, the primary DNS server is the IP address of your cable/dsl router. Your cable/dsl router than queries an external DNS server on the Internet to perform the actual resolution of the FQDN to IP address. The address 192.168.0.49 is an internal private device on my network whereas the 64.105.197.58 is an external public Internet DNS server and is present just in case my router has trouble performing the DNS resolution tasks.

Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, March 19, 2006 6:38:16 PM
This information tells you when your computer received its IP address and other information from a DHCP server. You will notice it says "Lease Obtained", that is because most DHCP servers only lease the IP address to you from a pool of available address. For instance, your pool may be 192.168.1.1 through 192.168.1.50. So your DHCP server has 50 IP addresses to choose from when assigning your computer its IP address.

Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Wednesday, March 29, 2006 9:38:16 PM
When the IP address, assigned by the DHCP server, lease expires it will attempt to lease you the same or another IP address. This function can typically be changed on the DHCP server. For instance, on some fully functional DHCP servers, you can configure the Lease to never expire, or to expire within 1 day and so on.

Why Are MAC Addresses So Important And How Do They Work
------------------------------------------------------
To jump back to MAC address for just a bit. You may think that IP addresses are the most important thing when it comes to network communication. The reality is, MAC addresses are very important because without them computers would not be able to communicate over Ethernet networks. When a computer wants to speak with another computer on a local network, it will make a broadcast request, or ask a question, of who owns a particular IP address. For instance, your computer may say "Who is 192.168.0.254". Using the information above, my default gateway is 192.168.0.254 and will answer "I am "00-90-4B-F1-6E-4A" 192.168.0.254". It sends back its MAC address. That MAC address then goes into what is called a Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) table on your computer. You can see this information by going to the command prompt like you did above and typing "arp –a". You will get information like the following:

Internet Address Physical Address Type
192.168.0.49 00-12-17-5c-a2-27 dynamic
192.168.0.109 00-12-17-5c-a2-27 dynamic
192.168.0.112 00-0c-76-93-94-b2 dynamic
192.168.0.254 00-0e-2e-2e-15-61 dynamic

How A Hacker Can Use MAC Addresses In An Attack
----------------------------------------------
You will notice the IP addresses and to the right of them the MAC addresses. Without this information, without the MAC address, you would not be reading this article right now. MAC addresses are not routable like IP addresses. They work on your local or private network. However, devices on the Internet perform the same tasks. Routers and switches maintain a list of their peer devices MAC address just like your computers and devices on your home or office network. I mentioned above that MAC addresses can be changed in order to redirect requests. For instance, if I were on your office network and you had an internal web server that took personal information as input, I could tell your computer to go to my laptop for the web site by broadcasting my MAC address tied to the real web servers IP address. I would do this when you computer asked "Who is the "Real Web Server"". I could setup a fake web server that looks just like the real thing, and start collecting information the real web server would normally collect. You can see how dangerous this can be.

Conclusion
-----------
There are several other easy ways you can find your MAC address but they can be a little confusing if you have more than one internal network card. Most external USB, or PCMCIA wired and wireless Ethernet cards have their MAC address printed on them. In cases where the wired or wireless network card are inside your computer, such as in laptops, the MAC address is sometimes printed on the bottom of the laptop. Even Desktop systems cards that are inserted in PCI slots have the MAC address printed on the Ethernet card.

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

Spyware - Know Your Enemy

2010-10-01T01:34:00.001+05:30

Spyware is a term that has become quite common to hear.

The term spyware refers to a broad category of malicious software designed to intercept or take partial control of a computer's operation without the "known" consent of that machine's owner or user. Spyware is as a term is being used quite loosely and includes a number of different programs. The thing they all have in common as spyware, is that they monitor the computer and/or user and share information with a third party. With or without the consent of the computer's owner.

Semi spyware has become widely used and they manifest themselves as software, plugins or help files to other programs you want or need, and if you accept their policies and term of usage, you also accept the fact that these semi spyware programs will be installed and used.

They are normally not directly malicious as the secret spyware, but they do send out information from your computer to a third party. Most commonly some kind of habit tracing or statistics of surfing or similar. In most cases the information is completely anonymous and do not pose any kind of threat to you as an individual.

Spyware – a virus or not?

Spyware differs from viruses and worms in that it does not usually self-replicate. Like many recent viruses, however, spyware – by design – exploits infected computers for commercial gain.

Typical tactics furthering this goal include delivery of unsolicited pop-up advertisements; theft of personal information (including financial information such as credit card numbers); monitoring of Web-browsing activity for marketing purposes; or routing of HTTP requests to advertising sites.

These things are very hard to keep track of and know if a spyware is alive in your computer or if pop ups and other changes in your surfing programs behaviour should occur.

The only reliable way to know if an evil spyware is living and thriving inside your computer, is to install and use a good spyware removal program.

How does spyware infect?

Spyware does not spread like a computer virus or worm. Instead, spyware installs on your computer through deception or exploitation of software vulnerabilities.

Spyware Trojan horse!

A Trojan horse, by definition, smuggles in something dangerous in the guise of something desirable. So spyware often hide as an add on to some other program you really want.

Bundled Spyware

Spyware can also come bundled with shareware or other downloadable software, as well as music CDs. The user downloads a program (for instance, a music program or a file-trading utility) and installs it, and the installer additionally installs the spyware. Although the desirable software itself may do no harm, the bundled spyware does.

Manipulating Security Features

Another way of distributing spyware involves tricking users by manipulating security features designed to prevent unwanted installations. Internet browsers like Internet Explorer for example are easy targets t this method. Everybody has them and use them online almost daily. The way you protect yourself against this, is to always keep your operating system up to date when it comes to security updates.<

Use Microsoft Update regularly (and often).

Examples of Spyware

As with computer viruses, researchers give names to spyware programs which frequently do not relate to any names that the spyware-writers use. Researchers may group programs into "families" based not on shared program code, but on common behaviours, or by "following the money" or apparent financial or business connections.

For instance, a number of the spyware programs distributed by Claria are collectively known as "Gator". Likewise, programs which are frequently installed together may be described as parts of the same spyware package, even if they function separately.

It is also important to know that different anti spyware program creators and big antivirus software creators may have different names for the save spyware. This can cause you to believe that you have 2 or more spyware products installed when you actually only have one, but mentioned with different names.

* CoolWebSearch, a group of programs, installs through the exploitation of Internet Explorer vulnerabilities. The programs direct traffic to advertisements on Web sites including coolwebsearch. To make this happen, they display pop-up ads, rewrite search engine results, and alter the infected computer's hosts file to direct DNS lookups to these sites.

* Internet Optimizer, also known as DyFuCa, redirects Internet Explorer error pages to advertising. When users follow a broken link or enter an erroneous URL, they see a page of advertisements. However, because password-protected Web sites (HTTP Basic authentication) use the same mechanism as HTTP errors, Internet Optimizer makes it impossible for the user to access password-protected sites.

* 180 Solutions transmits extensive information to advertisers about the Web sites which users visit. It also alters HTTP requests for affiliate advertisements linked from a Web site, so that the advertisements make unearned profit for the 180 Solutions company. It opens pop-up ads that cover over the Web sites of competing companies.

Toolbars from any other then the big players like Google, Yahoo, Msn and similar very often contains spyware to some degree today.

And even the big guns have started to incorporate "spyware like" statistics gather from their toolbars. They do tell you about them, and ask for your permission to install or active these routines. But they often do it in such a convoluted way, no one actually understand it.

So start out the day by cleaning your computer and then working. Make sure you have a restful safe day, download, scan and clean your computer from any spyware today

Dumping Old PCs Is Not "PC"

2010-10-01T01:15:00.000+05:30

-According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, nearly 250 million computers will become obsolete in the next five years. Unfortunately, less than 20 percent of PCs retired in the U.S. are recycled most years, instead creating what is being termed "e-waste."

To help reverse this trend, the U.S. government recently passed legislation that imposes penalties and fines on companies that do not practice environmentally proper IT disposal. According to a survey conducted by HP, the majority of companies-especially small-to-medium businesses (SMBs)-underestimate the security, financial and environmental impact of technology equipment disposal. Key findings include:

• 70 percent of respondents underestimate the cost of disposing of PCs;

• 66 percent of executives with purchasing authority are unaware of the financial implications of ignoring environmental regulations when disposing of IT equipment; and

• The biggest concern regarding disposal of IT equipment is data security and privacy.

So, what is the "politically correct" way to dispose of aging technology equipment? IT leaders like HP are increasing their commitment to real-world solutions that help customers achieve environmental responsibility, while also helping them get a better return on their IT investments.

E-Cycling computers and their components can be done to build new computers. HP helped its customers recycle more than 140 million pounds of hardware and print cartridges last year-the equivalent weight of 280 jumbo airliners! More and more retailers are also offering recycled products, which helps keep them out of landfills and other disposal sites.

Leasing is another way for companies to mitigate the various risks involved with acquiring IT assets, because the lessor assumes the responsibility for proper disposal of equipment at the end of its useful life. Leasing protects customers against the fines and consequences associated with violating environmental regulations, as well as from violations of data security and personal privacy laws. Similarly, older systems can be traded in for discounts on the price of new machines through such programs as HP's "Ditch Your Dinosaur," which offers a $100 rebate when customers trade in an outdated computer.

Donating computers to charities in need is a positive option to consider. Like older cars, they can be used as an effective tax write-off for a business, while benefiting worthwhile organizations. For example, HP and many others work with the National Cristina Foundation. This organization helps people with disabilities, students at risk and economically disadvantaged persons lead more independent and productive lives by providing them with computer technology and training.

Cisco Certification: Introduction To ISDN

2010-09-25T09:57:00.000+05:30

From the CCNA to the CCIE, ISDN is one of the most important technolgies you'll work with. It's also very common in the field ISDN is frequently used as a backup connection in case an organization's Frame Relay connections go down. Therefore, it's important to know ISDN basics not only for your particular exam, but for job success.

ISDN is used between two Cisco routers that have BRI or PRI interfaces. Basically, with ISDN one of the routers places a phone call to the other router. It is vital to understand not only what causes one router to dial another, but what makes the link go down.

Why? Since ISDN is basically a phone call from one router to another, you're getting billed for that phone call -- by the minute. If one of your routers dials another, and never hangs up, the connection can theoretically last for days or weeks. The network manager then receives an astronomical phone bill, which leads to bad things for everyone involved!

Cisco routers use the concept of interesting traffic to decide when one router should call another. By default, there is no interesting traffic, so if you don't define any, the routers will never call each other.

Interesting traffic is defined with the dialer-list command. This command offers many options, so you can tie interesting traffic down not only to what protocols can bring the link up, but what the source, destination, or even port number must be for the line to come up.

One common misconception occurs once that link is up. Interesting traffic is required to bring the link up, but by default, any traffic can then cross the ISDN link.

What makes the link come down? Again, the concept of interesting traffic is used. Cisco routers have an idle-timeout setting for their dialup interfaces. If interesting traffic does not cross the link for the amount of time specified by the idle-timeout, the link comes down.

To summarize: Interesting traffic brings the link up by default, any traffic can cross the link once it's up a lack of interesting traffic is what brings the link down.

Just as important is knowing what keeps the link up once it is dialed. Why? Because ISDN acts as a phone call between two routers, and it's billed that way to your client. The two routers that are connected by this phone call may be located in different area codes, so now we're talking about a long distance phone call.

If your ISDN link does not have a reason to disconnect, the connection could theoretically last for days or weeks before someone realizes what's going on. This is particularly true when the ISDN link is used as a backup for another connection type, as is commonly the case with Frame Relay. When the Frame Relay goes down, the backup ISDN link comes up when the Frame Relay link comes back not billed for all that time.<

To understand why an ISDN link stays up when it's not needed, we have to understand why it stays up period. Cisco's ISDN interfaces use the idle-timeout to determine when an ISDN link should be torn down. By default, this value is two minutes, and it also uses the concept of interesting traffic.

Once interesting traffic brings the link up, by default all traffic can cross the link. However, only interesting traffic resets the idle-timeout. If no interesting traffic crosses the link for two minutes, the idle-timer hits zero and the link comes down.

If the protocol running over the ISDN link is RIP version 2 or EIGRP, the most efficient way to prevent the routing updates from keeping the line up is expressly prohibiting their multicast routing update address in the access-list that is defining interesting traffic. Do not prevent them from crossing the link entirely, or the protocol obviously won't work correctly.

With OSPF, Cisco offers the ip ospf demand-circuit interface-level command. The OSPF adjacency will form over the ISDN link, but once formed, the Hello packets will be suppressed. However, the adjacency will not be lost. A check of the adjacency table with show ip ospf adjacency will show the adjacency remains at Full, even though Hellos are no longer being sent across the link. The ISDN link can drop without the adjacency being lost. When the link is needed, the adjacency is still in place and data can be sent without waiting for OSPF to go through the usual steps of forming an adjacency.

This OSPF command is vital for Cisco certification candidates at every level, but is particularly important for CCNA candidates. Learn this command now, get used to the fact that the adjacency stays up even though Hellos are suppressed, and add this valuable command to your Cisco toolkit.

One myth about ISDN is that Cisco Discovery Packets keep an ISDN link up. CDP is a Cisco-proprietary protocol that runs between directly connected Cisco devices. There is a school of thought that CDP packets have to be disabled on a BRI interface in order to prevent the link from staying up or dialing when it's not really needed. I've worked with ISDN for years in the field and in the lab, and I've never seen CDP bring up an ISDN link. Try it yourself the next time you're working on a practice rack!

Chris Bryant
CCIE #12933

Mortgage your home restoration

2010-09-15T23:59:00.001+05:30

A commuter rail boom in the New York and New Jersey has enabled many professionals in the area to live further from the big city. One of the places they're moving is Morris County, New Jersey, a group of historic small towns 20 miles to the west. Settled more than 300 years ago, the area offers a well-established, attractive residential base, and solid property investment potential. Morris County includes more than 30 municipalities, and a wide variety of charming unincorporated areas. Homes here are often beautifully restored Victorian and Colonial-era buildings dating back to the early 20th century, which add to an already high quality of life in this attractive area.

Big City professionals also know Morris County for its wide variety of Fortune 500 headquarters, offices, and major facilities. Companies with operations here include AT&T, Honeywell, Bayer and Wyeth, BASF, Novartis, Exxon, and Colgate-Palmolive - good news for anyone who wants to avoid the daily commute to their corporate office job. Many professionals who move to Morris County also find jobs here, and are able to confine their relationship with New York and New Jersey to weekend visits.

Morris County's uncrowded layout is another reason for its popularity. The county has less than 500,000 residents spread across more than 1,247 km and dozens of communities, which compares nicely to the urban sprawl of millions per square mile just to the east. Morris County's low density has put it in high demand with wealthy buyers - it's the sixth wealthiest county in the Nation by median household income, and tenth by per capita income.

Affluence with a taste for old world charm is part of the reason many of Morris County's older homes here have been carefully preserved. A wide variety of old mansions have also been converted into museums, art studios, and schools. When visitors come to Morris County, they make a point of checking out heritage buildings like Acorn Hall in Morristown, which dates back to 1853.

Guide to Buying a Laptop Computer

2010-09-15T23:57:00.000+05:30

With the many different brands and models on the market, buying a laptop or notebook computer may at first seem confusing. But simply breaking down the process into a few key areas and using Myshopping.com.au to search for the most suitable features and pricing makes it much easier to access exactly the machine you're looking for.

How important to you is mobility?

Mobility in laptop computers is a combination of size, weight and battery life: how often you carry it around, and if you will be relying mainly on the notebook's battery, or whether you will access an external power source. Laptops can weigh from a little over 1 kg up to 6kg, depending on the model and features included. The screen, storage space and disc drive all affect the weight.

Battery life is shortened by bigger screens and multiple disc drives. Manufacturers advertise the weight of the laptop in their specifications, but it is important to consider whether that specification includes batteries and other peripherals such as external drives that you may be lugging around. The most common battery type is Lithium Ion (Li-Ion), which can operate for one to three hours under normal working conditions. But many power saving options available and higher celled batteries can extend the discharge time considerably. Battery life deteriorates over time however, and as your laptop ages; the discharge rate of the battery will diminish. Sometimes it is worthwhile carrying an additional battery.

Application and cost

If mobility is of a lesser concern, then battery life and weight will be less important. You may be more inclined to have a bigger processor, screen size and memory capacity. The type of work you do can affect the screen size and type that is most suitable for you. For a lighter load, and less graphics intensive applications a 12-14in screen instead of 15 or 17in widescreen will be more suitable. If, on the other hand, the graphics capabilities and size of the screen are important then the best screen you can afford will be more of a priority. It may work out cheaper to buy a basic unit and add such things as an external TV card and DVD burner when the need arises.

How much you need to spend is closely related to how you use your laptop. If you only want to access your e-mail, browse the Web and do word processing, then you can consider lower budget machines with smaller processors, screens and facilities.

A medium-level user, perhaps playing games or working in multimedia applications, will need a powerful processor, graphics controller, storage space, and a bigger screen. The more features your laptop has, the more expensive it will be. Including a DVD-burner instead of DVD-ROM, hard drive capacity of more than 40GB, a 17in widescreen screen and wireless capabilities results in a more expensive machine.

If you are not looking for high power and graphics capabilities, then you may find a suitable laptop for around $1500. The latest processor, full blown graphics capability, DVD burner, widescreen and wireless connectivity may cost over $4000. Use Myshopping.com.au to search with different price ranges.

Other key components

Having determined by what you will do with it, and how mobile you need to be that you are definitely buying a laptop, you now need to get down to the nitty gritty and find the specifications that will meet your needs. So, what to look for? Essentially, you are considering differences between the following components: display, graphics controller, memory (RAM), hard disk, removable storage, networking options, peripheral connectivity, sound and battery.

Display and Graphics

Notebooks now all feature LCD screens (Liquid Crystal Displays) presenting crisp text and reduced eyestrain. These screens display sharper text than standard CRT monitors, but are less capable of displaying well-rendered graphics. If you will be using your notebook for graphics work, it may be worthwhile having a CRT monitor to connect to. Screen sizes for notebooks range from 12.1in to 17in (widescreen). A 15in display or 15.4in widescreen alternative is the most common in notebooks today. Widescreen is quickly becoming more common, partly to accommodate playback of DVDs and also because widescreen proportions make it is more durable.

On-screen graphics are affected by both the size and type of screen as well as the graphics card. It is reasonably safe to assume that larger displays offer higher on-screen resolution. Screen brightness (measured in nits) is another specification that can vary between makes and models. Brighter screens impact less on eyes and can be more easily read in bright conditions. Some manufacturers have a glossy, reflective coating over the display improving contrast and colours. But, because it increases the reflectivity of the screen, it can show you reflected in the screen. Surface scratches may also show up more readily. Not all LCD screens have the same viewable angle, with some screens not easily viewed from a side angle.

Graphics performance in laptops is still inferior to that of desktop machines. All graphic controllers easily render 2-D images and if you don't need more from your graphics, then an integrated graphics controller is ample. However, if you want to play the latest 3-D games at a decent resolution and frame rate or you're a CAD designer, then you'll need a discreet graphics controller with a dedicated DDR video memory.

Memory and Storage

In all computers RAM chips keep the CPU efficiently fed with data or instructions from programs on the hard drive. Notebook computers now commonly use DDR SDRAM (Double Date Rate SDRAM), the default standard, and DDR2 SDRAM which is a next-generation memory type offering considerable performance and power benefits over SDRAM. Either way, when it comes to RAM, more memory is better and you should consider 256MB as the absolute minimum. Upgrading memory can achieve better performance, and quite a number of vendors offer higher RAM configurations as a 'deal sweetener' at the time of purchase. Search through Myshopping.com.au for bundled extras such as more RAM.

The hard drive provides the long-term storage and is the centre of program control. There are two critical specifications of hard disks. One is disk speed, measured in revolutions per minute (rpm). Faster disks speeds provide quicker access for loading and saving and 'file swapping'. The other is storage capacity, and drives are now available for notebook computers with 120GB capacity. If you work with large file sizes, then you will probably want at least 40GB of hard drive space. You may also want to consider the type of removable storage such as a DVD writer, removable hard disks and media or 'flash' card systems that will suit your use best.

Networking and connectivity

Laptop computers now include 56Kbps modem (RJ-11) and 10/100 Ethernet (RJ-45) connections as standard features. Some feature an Infrared port and you can use it to connect your mobile phone. Other wireless technology for connecting mobile phones, printers and PDA devices includes Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, allowing connection at certified public access points and home wireless networking. Most laptops use USB 2.0 or FireWire connection for connecting keyboard, mouse, printers, cameras and other peripherals. Nearly every new notebook will have around three USB 2.0 ports, and one FireWire port and a VGA-out port to connect an external monitor to.

Notebook computers have traditionally been able to expand their capability through simple plug-in PC Cards. Recently a new standard has emerged called ExpressCard, a smaller, faster and more portable plug-in card to provide such things as expanded video and sound capacity.

Choosing a laptop becomes much easier once you've decided on these basic requirements. You can search Myshopping.com.au to compare makes, models, prices, accessories and all the important specifications. You can also compare vendors and their prices and service

Credit Card Deals and Family Life

2010-09-13T22:41:00.000+05:30

Being in love, you have got some sweet dreams and thoughts. You make plans about your house, garden, children, and so on. But couples usually avoid talks about finances, credit card deals, and bills.
Do you know that more than 35% of couples aren't ready to share their financial secrets? A recent survey held by Engage Mutual has found that most couples wouldn't like to discuss problems like credit bills and the amount of credit card spendings.
Going to start living with your loved one, you face this problem anyway. Habits of your mate including financial ones have a great impact on the relationships.
According to that research, couples have many financial secrets. Interestingly, those who have children hide their credit card debt more often than couples without kids.
Married cardholders hide the truth about their finances much more often in comparison with the other couples. It is oddly enough. Also men are not so secretive about their financial situation, while more than 40% of working women hide their credit debts compared to 22% of men.
So, what financial secrets couples are not likely to share? Firstly, it is the cost of luxury items. More than 40% of those surveyed point this problem out. About 30% of cardholders keep a secret of their credit card bills and statements. And 33% admit that they have secret money savings.

Perhaps, the problem is that people treat plastics in different ways. For some, one credit card is quite enough, while the others can't live without a bunch of cash back plastics. Though the subject seems so delicate, it's very essential to take steps towards the solution of this problem.
Follow these steps to prevent problems associated with credit card matters:
• Try to find out how your mate feels about money matters and credit cards. Financial habits of you dear one is of great importance for your future.
• Talk about money. Still, it's not so difficult as it seems. Speak out your current ideas about credit card fees, and rates. If you carry a rewards credit card, you may discuss with your partner the way you are going to redeem the points.
• Consult with your partner before making credit card purchases. No need to tell about everything, but you can discuss the purchase of some big ticket item together.
• Join or separate credit accounts. This point is a big step that means a lot for both of you. You may think about joint account if your partner's credit score is more favorable than yours.

A Guide To Plasma Televisions

2010-09-13T22:40:00.002+05:30

One of the newest additions in television technology, Plasma Televisions are the 21st century display devices which are fast becoming a popular choice among television viewers. Plasma televisions have higher resolution and quality performance than other conventional televisions; they guarantee crisp and clear images, and superior quality.

Plasma televisions became a reality after the successful invention of the plasma display panel in 1964, by Donald L. Bitzer and H. Gene Slottow at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Embracing a unique technology, Plasma televisions produce pictures from a combination of inert gases such as xenon and neon. When the gas is charged using electrodes, the atoms collide with each other and release energy in the form of invisible ultra violet (UV) light. The light is then focused on the three phosphors (red, green, and blue) and a brilliant picture is produced.

Plasma televisions come as Enhanced Definition TV (EDTV) with a resolution of 852x480 and the Higher Definition TV (HDTV) featuring a native resolution of 1024x768. Plasma televisions have a high widescreen aspect ratio - the ratio between the width and height of the screen. As plasma televisions do not use any electron beams like the conventional ones, they are immune to the effects of magnetic fields. They offer a wider viewing angle and accurate image reproduction. Plasma televisions are slim and space-saving and can even be hung on a wall. Moreover, most of the plasma televisions come with a flat screen which eliminates edge distortion.

Plasma televisions can be used in meeting rooms, corporate offices, and network control rooms. They are ideal choices for home-theater enthusiasts. On account of quality performance in ambient light, plasma televisions are widely opted for teleconferencing.

A countless number of retail and online stores specialize in plasma television sale. Due to their inherent merits, plasma televisions are becoming the most demanded alternative to the standard CRT and projection televisions.

How To Pick A Profitable Mutual Fund

2010-09-13T22:40:00.001+05:30

We have all heard the advantages of investing in a mutual fund over trying to pick individual stocks. First of all mutual funds hire professional analysts that are market experts and devout many hours of study to the various stocks. Unless you want to devout a large portion of your free time to the study of the financial reports, you probably won't have as much information to make a decision as a mutual fund manager.

Then there is the well documented advantage of diversification. Risk is reduced by holding several non correlated investments. Put simply, some go up, some go down and combined, the return levels off the fluctuations, or risk.

Finally, a mutual fund offers smaller investors a chance to invest in small increments rather than having to save a large chunk of cash to purchase 100 shares of stock.

Given the above advantages, it's no wonder that mutual funds have become a very popular form of investing. Now there are thousands of mutual funds to choose from, so how does one make a selection? Here are a few tips:

1. Do not be seduced to jump on the recently performing best fund. It may seem like the safe and rational thing to do, but like individual stocks, you want to buy low and sell high, not buy high and pray for more growth.

2. Even good funds may not be able to overcome the force of the overall market. You should be looking for funds that can exceed the broad market without increasing risk. Each fund has certain risk parameters that it is required to follow. Read the prospectus closely to understand what these are.

3. Limit the number of funds that you own. Unless you are trying to simply achieve the same returns as the broad market, diversifying into many mutual funds will not reduce your risk or increase your return by much.

4. Funds that become too popular and too big tend to slip in performance. There are several reasons for this.

Find more valuable mutual fund resources at www.best-mutual-fund.info

One final point to keep in mind is that the type of fund will totally depend on your investment objectives. There are certain funds that are designed for your objectives be they retirement, income, growth, funding the kids college, etc.

The Interesting History Of The Stock Market

2010-09-13T22:39:00.000+05:30

Talking about the Stock Market we seem to mean a different dimension, not a physical location.
However, the Stock Market does have physical locations.

Wall Street, also known as the Dow, or the NYSE, is located in New York

Wall Street is the Address(or is it?)

Many people think of Wall Street and the Stock Market as one in the same, and indeed, it used to be that way.

Dutch settlers initially built a stockade here in 1653 for defense purposes.
In 1685 the stockade was torn down and a street was built called Wall Street.
In 1790 the first Stock Exchange was founded in Philadelphia which became the model for the New York Stock Exchange.

In 1817 the NYSE was officially opened.
The NYSE was moderately successful till the early 1900's when the market entered a boom period which lasted more or less until 1929.

This boom period of course could not last forever, things were so out of kilter that people were mortgaging their homes and leveraging themselves to the limit to buy shares.
The boom period crashed in 1929 and caused the Great Depression.

The 1929 Crash was caused in part by the fact that the Stock Market was virtually unregulated, which it remained even until after the market crash of 1987 which saw the Dow suffer what was the largest losing day in the Market's history.

Black Tuesday - October 29th, 1929

On Black Tuesday, a record of 16.4 million shares were traded and the ticker tape fell behind two and a half hours. On Monday, the stock market suffered a record one-day loss of around 13 percent. On Black Tuesday, the market suffered a loss of about 12 percent and did not recover for 22 years.

The economy eventually recovered from its catastrophic losses but the unregulated Stock Market practices that had partially caused the crash in the 1929 still existed and caused the stock market crash of 1987, which saw the Dow Jones suffer what was the largest single-day loss in the stock market's history.

Today's Stock Market

Today's stock market consists of about 500,000 computers all networked with dealers for the NYSE or market makers for the NASDAQ. Up until recently the Dow still used human intervention but at present all trades are computerized.

The 2 most important stock market networks are the NYSE and NASDAQ

NASDAQ is a relatively new Stock Trading System that has been computerized since its inception, where market makers normally lead trades.

It used to be that more risky stocks were traded on the NASDAQ than on the NYSE, but that distinction is fading.

The difference between the NYSE and Nasdaq is in the way securities on the exchanges are transacted between buyers and sellers.

The Nasdaq is a dealer's market, wherein market participants are not buying from and selling to one another but to and from a dealer, which, in the case of the Nasdaq, is a market maker.

The NYSE is an auction market, wherein individuals are typically buying and selling to each other and there is an auction happening; the highest bidding price will be matched with the lowest asking price.

All these computers are linked to computers worldwide. These computers can be found in banks, small businesses, and large corporations.

These computers comprise the banking networks which make computerized transactions possible.
To give you an idea as to how much gets traded: in New York City Stock Market Trades amount to over $2.2 trillion dollars daily

How has the U.S. Stock Market done in Times of War?

The worst Stock Market returns were achieved during the Vietnam War.If this happened because of the uncertainty of the times is a good question. Stock Markets do not like uncertainty and will act negatively.

Returns during the Korean War however were excellent and averaged about 18% per year while 2nd world war returns averaged about 13% per year.

The 1987 Stock Market Crash

The crash of 1987 was one of the most remarkable financial catastrophies of the 20th century, perhaps since the start of the financial system several centuries ago. Why it was so strange because it should not have happened and even today we cannot fully comprehend that it did happen.

Markets fell, an unbelievable 23%, and that they did so all over the world at the same time.
It only lasted one day.

There is no explanation. No definite reason for the crash has been isolated.
The best that one can say is that there were too many similarities to the 1929 crash and that this became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Why We Play Games, Part 3

2010-09-13T22:37:00.002+05:30

In part 2 of this series we took a look at Creative Expression and Escapism, two significant motivators of the common gamer. The week before that, we covered Challenge and Competition. This week we have a look at Socialization and try to tie it all together.

Social interaction is a subject on which we gamers take a fair bit of static from our non-gaming peers. Sometimes this is because they mistake differing priorities for introversion. Wanting to talk about the relative merits of the Western Plaguelands against Winterspring as a post 55 grinding location isn't really any different from wanting to talk about the strength of the Bill's secondary, its just that one of them is relevant to a somewhat narrow audience (give it time.) Sometimes, however, the criticism is merited. We tend to be somewhat socially awkward folk, in part because the hobbies in which we invest a sizeable amount of our time have rigid rules governing most interactions, making them poor training for the free wheeling reality of human discourse. For some gamers, the Social Interaction found in the gaming experience is a primary motivator.

Social activity in gaming occurs on many levels. At a very low level, gaming can be a reinforcer for existing social groups. Think of a group of friends getting together to play a board game or some Half Life. The social activity found in modern online games can be much broader in scope. MMORPGs, to which discussion of the current state of gaming always seems to gravitate, are essentially groups of people that already share some primary common link. The friendships formed through online cooperation and friendly competition can be one of the biggest draws of such games. Anyone who has ever stayed up later than they should because their guild needed them or because someone asked them to has experienced this. These online relationships are no less real, no less significant than their offline analogues. They are, however, different.

The interaction that takes place within a game is structured and often, online gamers see only part of one another. It is difficult for a group formed around a particular activity to bond as deeply as a group of friends that exists solely for the purpose of supporting one another. To avoid turning to diatribe on not forgetting your real loved ones we'll stop following that chain of thought. The important thing is that some game players are purely Socially Motivated. Such individuals thrive online, where other players can be met and interacted with. For these people, the heavier the social component of the game, the better. Interestingly, many games with a high degree of social complexity also have a large amount of the mathematical complexity that may drive away socially motivated gamers. In pure form, this type of gamer is seeking an experience that blurs the line between games and chat environment.

Challenge. Competition. Creation. Escape. Socialization. Five different motivators, all of which combine to make up the motivation of a particular gamer. We could add more, certainly, but these will do for now. So where do we go with this? I'm having to physically restrain myself from drawing a pentagonal map and plotting individual gamers on the five motivational axes. While it would look neat and might be an interesting topic for an esoteric role-playing text, it wouldn't get us anywhere.

A more useful tack, perhaps, is to think about what motivates us individually. Knowing yourself and what drives you can help you figure out what sort of games you should be playing and, more importantly, which will never give you anything but frustration. Understanding the motivations of others can give us insight that will better help us relate. Many arguments over what to do in online games arise because the different party members are motivated differently. A Creative and a Challenger aren't likely to crave the same activities from a night of dungeon delving. Nor are an Escapist and a Competitive going to even speak the same way about a game. For one, a game may be a world waiting for his immersion. For the other, a game is a matrix of numbers waiting to be solved and conquered. We all have a little of each in us and if we can understand what drives us we can both better interact with one another and increase the joy we find in gaming.

Should EBooks be Part of Your Internet Marketing Strategy

2010-09-13T22:37:00.001+05:30

Ebooks have become and inseparable part of the new frontier of cyberspace. They are a great medium for sharing marketing information, ideas, techniques, and expert knowledge. Each day the number of people accessing the Internet grows, causing the exposure of your ebooks to increase incrementally. It's obvious why electronic self-publishing has become so popular so quickly.

Ebooks can assist small business website owners market their sites and in some cases even become a source of revenue. Having said that, let's look at what makes ebooks so important and so unique.

"Ebooks have unique characteristics that printed books can't match. For example, ebooks are relatively easy to produce and they can be inexpensive to produce. Just think about it: you don't need a publisher, an agent, a printing press, offset film, ink, paper, or even a distributor. You just need a great concept, the ability to write it or to hire a writer, and the right software.

"Ebooks can be easily updated. As information changes, ebooks can be updated without a second print run. All you need is to go into your original creation and modify the text or graphics. Because of this flexibility, ebooks can change and grow as fast as you can type.

"Ebooks are convenient. You don't have to go to a bookstore or search through endless titles at an online bookstore. All you have to do is download it from a website, and presto! It's on your computer, ready to be read.

"Ebooks are interactive. This is one of the most unique and specific qualities that ebooks offer. You can add surveys that need to be filled out, order forms for customers to purchase your products or goods, sound and video that draw your reader into the virtual world of your ebook, even direct links to relevant sites that will expand your ebook outward. The potential is virtually limitless.

"Ebooks have a particular kind of permanence that other mediums do not possess. Television shows and radio shows air once, and then may rerun a few times. Ebooks remain on your computer for as long as your choose, and they can be read and reread whenever you choose to. They can even be printed out and stored on the shelves of your traditional home library.

"Ebooks have very low entrance barriers. You don't need to go through the endless process of submitting your manuscript over and over again, and then once you land an agent, having the agent submit your manuscript over and over again. Nor do you have to shell out thousands of dollars for printing a self-published book. All ebooks require is a writer and appropriate software.

"Ebooks are great for Niche content. Ever wanted to find a book on a highly specific or niche product? Looking for tips on mouse killing? Good luck finding that in print. The costs are prohibitive and bookstores can't afford the shelf space. But with an ebook, no shelf space is needed so even the most niche content can find a place on the Internet.

"You have creative control over your ebook. You don't have to compromise with an editor or the publishing trends of the time. You don't have to haggle with a designer or wait for copyedited galleys to arrive by snail mail. You are in complete control of the design and the text.

If you're not convinced that ebooks are something you should consider click over to Google and search for ebooks. At last count there were over 70 million search results. Something with that kind of Internet presence is not something you want to miss.

Small Camera Bags for Active Travelers

2010-09-13T22:36:00.001+05:30

Summer is here and it's a great time for outdoors action and adventure. Many photographers will travel great distances this season to find the perfect shot. For all photographers, just as important as the camera, is the camera bag. If you're travels find you hiking in the Grand Tetons, or cycling in Moab, travel with a quality small camera bag like those made by M-Rock to ensure your camera is safe. M-Rock is leading the way for small camera bags with unsurpassed quality and attention to detail.

M-Rock small camera bags offer lots of advantages to the active traveler. Many times stories are told of a trip put on hold when a camera was lost or destroyed. A quality camera bag like those made by M-Rock keeps this from happening. M-Rock small camera bags have comfortable shoulder straps and belt loops to keep the camera at your side where you need it, or on your back for comfort. The camera inside is protected by thick foam and durable water resistant material. Plus, the small bags offer triple protection from the elements with a rain-flap, zipper, and front buckle. And all M-Rock camera bags come with a weather jacket that acts as a dry bag when the weather acts up.

M-Rock offers several sizes and styles of small camera bags, as well as medium and large bags. The smallest bag is the Mesa Verde, and it holds a great number of digital cameras and camcorders models. The Niagara is a vertical bag that holds cameras with lenses up to seven inches. The bags come with two additional side pockets for storing accessories, and rubber straps to hold water bottles.

The greatest advantage to M-Rock camera bags is their modularity. All small M-Rock camera bag products can attach to the sides of M-Rocks medium and larger camera bags. The modular bags allow an active traveler to gear up when necessary, or reduce bag size when less equipment is needed.

So, no matter what this summer season holds for you, enjoy your adventure and take along a great small camera bag to protect your gear. Visit M-Rock.com today to see the products they have available and see why everyone is switching to M-Rock.

Why Should You Use Digital Photography?

2010-09-13T22:35:00.001+05:30

Digital photography is quickly becoming the preferred way to take pictures. If you are in the market for a new camera, consider the following advantages of digital over traditional film photography.

In the long run, digital is less expensive. All photos are recorder are on memory device within the camera and then downloaded straight to your computer. You skip the need to keep buying rolls of film and paying for developing. You can send unlimited copies of the same picture to friends and relatives without spending a penny extra.

You see your pictures quicker. Most digital cameras allow you to view your photos immediately. There is no waiting and worrying about whether or not that "perfect shot" turned out. You can take a picture of that new baby and immediately download it to your computer to share your good good news with friends and relatives. There's no need for anxious grandparents to wait days or even weeks for a picture.

Most digital cameras have built in editing features. Cropping and re-centering the picture to make it look its best can be done easily. You no longer have to worry about a stray hand distracting from the main subject of your photo. Sharpening can be done immediately to bring out the details. Within minutes you can have a print-perfect photo.

You avoid the frustration of running out of film and having to find a store that is open in the middle of an important event or on vacation. Depending on the size of your memory card and the setting of file size and quality, which you often control, you can store a couple hundred pictures on one tiny card. That is the equivalent of nine or ten rolls of film.

These are just a few of the advantages of digital photography. It is definitely worth considering as you search for your next new camera.

SLR Film Photography Special Effects (Part 1) - Ghosting Effect

2010-09-13T22:34:00.002+05:30

I know there are some photographers that still like to pick up that trusty ol' SLR, insert a roll of film and get out there and experiment in the field. Then approach with grinning anticipation as they pick up the developed film from their favorite photo shop and have the person behind the counter ask, "How did you take that picture? It's awesome!"

It is this photography 'purest' to whom I appeal (this time) – the ones that still like using film every now and then. Most photographers have Digital SLRs (DSLR - "et moi aussi"). I know you can create this effect with Photoshop, after the fact; but having creative control over this special effect makes it exciting because you execute this photo miracle at the precise moment you push the shutter button.

Ghosting. This is what this special effect is called; accomplished by using your SLR's multiple exposure feature, but with a simple twist to ensure proper film exposure. The procedure detailed in this article is different from the instructions in your SLR manual. Ghosting is perfect for pictures involving subjects in motion, taken when the camera and the background is stable (not moving) and the subjects move through, around, or across the frame. I have had great success using this effect when photographing people moving about an historic site or children as they scamper over rocks. I have also used this effect for weddings and sports shoots.

Example: In one wedding photograph, the groom stood still at the bottom of stone steps to an historic dwelling, his hand extended towards his bride, who slowly moved down the steps toward her groom. My six deliberate 'clicks' of the shutter created an airy, surreal picture of the wedding couple.

Depending on the speed of the moving subjects, the shutter can be held down in rapid fire mode or each exposure can be meticulously choreographed:

1) each subject deliberately positioned in the frame,
2) one 'click' of the shutter, and
3) repeat steps 1 and 2 to the total number of multiple exposures you set in your camera.

So what are the mechanics of this "through the lens" shot to achieve the ghosting effect?

1. Stabilize the camera – using a tripod is best, a stable surface is a second option or, a steady hand as a last resort;

2. Set number of multiple exposures you require for the frame to (N) – usually 1 to 9;

3. For the roll of film in your SLR, determine the film speed (S);

4. Reset the camera film speed (Yes, you can override the setting) to (N × S) or, if not an exact match, set it to the absolute closest speed ((N × S) ± adjustment);

5. Take your picture, depressing the shutter button for a total count equalling the number of camera exposures you set in step "2".

Example:

1. You want 6 exposures on the frame (N=6) so set the number of multiple exposures to '6';

2. You've determined the film speed is 200 (S=200);

3. Reset the camera film speed to '1200' (= 200 × 6);

4. Depress the shutter button 6 times (for 6 exposures).

REMEMBER: Check and reset the SLR film speed and number of exposures to their original settings before continuing with your next shot. Some SLRs will automatically reset the number of exposures back to '1' before advancing the film to the next frame. It's always better to verify this.

There are no special instructions for developing your film. Normal developing at the rated film speed will ensure the picture is properly exposed and developed – simple and beautiful. This is photo art!

Cisco CCNA - CCNP Home Lab Tutorial: The (Many) Cable Types And Their Purposes

2010-09-13T22:34:00.001+05:30

Straight-through cables have quite a few uses in a CCNA / CCNP home lab. You'll need them to connect a switch port to an AUI port on a router (and you'll need a transceiver for that as well). If you have an ISDN simulator, straight-through cables can be used to connect a router's BRI port to the simulator.

Crossover cables are used to connect switches and allow them to trunk. If at all possible, get two switches in your home lab. This will allow you to gain valuable experience in manipulating root bridge election, working with STP, and creating EtherChannels.

DTE/DCE cables are used to connect two routers via their serial cables. If you are planning on using a frame relay switch in your lab, you'll need several of these. You can also get some great practice in by directly connecting two routers and bringing the connection up (and making sure it stays up!). This is valuable practice for your CCNA exam.

Octal cables are used to connect an access server to each of the other routers and switches in your lab.

Finally, there's that precious blue cable, the rollover cable. Rollover cables (sometimes called "rolled cables") allow you to connect a host device directly to a router or switch's console port. These cables have a way of disappearing around an IT shop, so make sure to take one home - and leave it there!

Acid Vs Alkaline Diet

2010-09-13T22:30:00.000+05:30

Our body's internal system needs a PH of just above 7.0; our immunologic, enzymatic and repair mechanisms all function at their best in this alkaline range.
If our body becomes over acidic, i.e. under a PH of 7, you may start to experience a combination of these symptoms;
Low energy, fatigue
Nasal congestion
Hives
Muscle Pain
Weak nails, dry skin, dry hair
Frequent colds, flu and infection
Headaches

If you have these symptoms and eat foods which create acid in the body, you may need to balance it with an alkaline diet.
What foods cause acid in the body?
There is a whole list of foods that cause the body to be over-acidic: dairy and dairy substitutes, animal meat, most grains, chickpeas, condiments, aspartame, prunes, chocolate, peanuts, alcohol and quite a few other types of foods.

To balance your PH, the remedy is simple and logical; eat more alkaline causing foods.
To name but a few of these foods, there is; watermelon, lime, mango, most vegetables, vegetable juices, almonds, sprouts, avocados and green tea.

When you're body becomes more alkaline, the changes that will take place are truly amazing! It will seem magical, but it's all perfectly normal. You will feel how we all have the right to feel, we just don't know it.

Benefits include:
Rapid weight loss
Increased energy
The need for less sleep
Improved skin and hair condition
Better mental attitude

Are these benefits worth pursuing? I think so, and you are crazy if you don't agree with me! Fortunately, it is not hard to slowly alkalise your body. Take it one day at a time, add more and more green food to your diet, reduce the number of cups of coffee you have every day and you'll soon reap the benefits.

How to Market Your Ebook

2010-09-13T22:29:00.002+05:30

Writing and marketing your own ebook is an excellent way to help build your online and/or home business.

Being able to offer your own informative, quality ebook will establish you as someone who knows what they are talking about. This will earn you trust and respect and go a long way towards building your online presence.

People will start coming to you and your site when they need products, advice, support, help, etc. thus bringing you many more customers and /or subscribers.

There are many ways to market your ebook. Some of the best ways are listed below:

Put your ebook in your sigtag along with a free bonus. The free bonus will attract more people and bring in more sales.

Joint Ventures: Team up with other ebook authors or ezine publishers or webmasters to cross promote each other's products or services. Agree to send referrals to each other and recommend each other's products.

Use an excerpt from your ebook as an article and submit it to as many directories as possible. Be sure to mention your ebook in your resource box.

Search out quality targeted ezines and purchase solo or top sponsor ad spots.

Submit your ebook to as many ebook directories as you can. The more links to your ebook, the better.

Write a keyword rich sales page and optimize it for the search engines with meta tags and page title.

Offer two or three free bonuses with your ebook. make and offer that is very hard or impossible to refuse.

Ask a few people to write reviews for your ebook in exchange for a free copy. Post the reviews on your site.

Offer a free report as a lead-in to your ebook. People love free information and if you offer a quality report that gets them interested they very well may want to buy your ebook.

If you publish an ezine, ask other ezine publishers to swap solo or top sponsor ads. I prefer top sponsor ads but many marketers have said that solo ads get the most results.

Start an affiliate program and offer people a percentage to sell your ebook. One of the best places to do this is Clickbank. For a small fee you can set up your affiliate program and increase your sales many times over.

Offer the first chapter or two as a freebie. Be sure and leave them wanting more.

Visit message boards or join discussion groups to learn marketing strategies that have worked for other publishers and authors. If it works for them, it can work for you as well.

As with any marketing campaign, you have to stick with it. Be consistent. You cannot submit to a couple of directories and post to a couple message boards and then sit back and wait to get rich. Marketing is a daily commitment.

The possibilities are endless as to ways to market your ebook. Be sure and combine many of the strategies for one successful marketing campaign. Be creative and come up with new innovative marketing ideas. Find out what works and get started marketing that new ebook!

Risk In Forex Trading

2010-09-13T22:29:00.001+05:30

There are risks involved with FOREX trading, and even though getting started trading is not difficult FOREX trading is not simple. It is very important for anyone interested in trading on the foreign exchange to learn as much as possible about the market before they start trading.

Foreign Exchange market trading in a very rapid growing field that offers some significant advantages over other investment methods. However lots of people are reluctant to become involved basically because they lack the necessary knowledge. This guide will help explain the basics of FOREX trading so that you can participate in this market trend.
At once the Foreign Exchange market was restricted to very large players such as national banks and corporations. In the 1980's though the rules controlling the market were changed to permit smaller investors the chance to participate using margin accounts. Margin accounts are the primary reason that FOREX trading has become so popular, with margins of 1:100 you can control $100,000 with only a $1000 investment.

You will require to go through a broker to actually make trades on the exchange. You should be sure to find a reputable broker that is associated with an established financial institution such as a bank. To help protect yourself from fraud be sure that the broker you select it registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM).

Opening a FOREX account will involve filling out paperwork and providing an acceptable form of ID. You will require to sign a Margin Agreement, this form will state that the broker can interfere with any trade, if the broker feels it is risky. This form is to protect the broker since most of the trades will actually be done with the brokers money, in a margin account. Then you will require to fund your account so you can start trading. You can fund the account several different ways such as wire transfer or even credit card depending on the broker.

It is highly recommended that you perform paper trades for at least a month before you attempt any real trades. Paper trades are where you record the trade you require to do with out actually investing any money and then see how much money you would have made or loss accordingly. This allows you to learn how the system works without losing money to do so. I would recommend that you continue to paper trade until you can consistently show a profit doing it.

Most brokers will provide several different account types. Usually there will be a mini account that you can open with as little as $250. The standard accounts will usually take an investment of $1000 or more. The actual margin rate will also vary by account, this is the amount of money you can control per each dollar of your money. Higher level accounts will provide you with greater leverage and permit you to control more money.

Most brokers will have demo system that you can use for free for at least 30 days. This allows you to practice your paper trades online just like a real trade except there will be no money gained or lost. This not only teaches you about the market but also allows you to learn the program system used for trading. <

Each broker will have their own system for making trades and gathering information. Most brokers though will provide the following tools: real time quotes, news feed, technical analyses and charts and profit and loss analyses.

A forex broker is defined as an individual, or a firm, that acts as a mediator, matching buyers and sellers for a fee or for the commission. A forex broker is also regularly employed to maintain and monitor the 24-hour Forex marketplace.

all brokers have an online system that will you to make your trades online. You will require a computer with web access to take advantage of this. You can also make trades over the phone with most brokers. There are no commission charges on the trades, the brokers make their money on the spread between the bid and ask price.

The interactive forex brokers have lots of years of experience in Forex online and all aspects of web trading. Forex Brokers tailor our accounts to suit our needs, taking into consideration our budget, requirements, and risk tolerance. The forex broker will understand the value of having the trust, direct access broker.

they can be sure that they will receive the highest level of service available in the forex trading market. The forex broker offers customer support for different countries. they are present as a broker so as to clarify the concern they may have to regard the foreign currencies in trading. The interactive forex brokers can easily make a big success in trading.

web trading is now a role lots of people take on as part of everyday life in every business not only for the forex broker. The web is playing a large role in forex trading. The broker forex maintains the high standard which is built in lots of companies, which is based upon having guaranteed customer satisfaction and security, All the customers are issued with a bank guarantee.

In today's society, for a majority of investments there is now some level of money exchange or transaction to be made, for trading on the stock market, or any other market foreign exchange is always involved. This has created a diverse market in the forex broker. Most people already have some level of dealing with currencies. The worth of the very money you save and invest is determined through the worth of another country's money.

A bank guarantee offers the customers security and peace of mind. Years of the roles of a Forex Broker in forex online trading have provided the forex market trading with the best online brokers and the lowest cost brokers. All the customer information is regarded as highly confidential by the forex brokers. A Forex Broker does not disclose such information to third parties. Most of the companies provide all their clients with a bank guarantee to ensure the return of the invested sum.

Microsoft's Student 2007

2010-09-13T22:28:00.000+05:30

The previous versions of Encarta included a host of homework tools. Last year, these have been made into a separate product called Microsoft Student. It has now been gainfully repackaged and very much enhanced. Among the new or revamped features: free online access to MSN Encarta Premium, Step-by-Step Math Solutions calculator, Step-by-Step Math Textbook Solutions, Triangle Solver, Equations Library, tutorials, and foreign language help. MS Student comes replete with the entire Encarta Premium encyclopedia!

Homework assignments are the bane of most students I know (not to mention their hard-pressed and nescient parents). This is mainly because of the tedious and mind-numbing chores of data mining and composition. Additionally, as knowledge multiplies every 5-10 years, few parents and teachers are able to keep up.

Enter Microsoft Student 2007 - a productivity suite which, as we mentioned, includes the Encarta Encyclopedia, English and foreign language dictionaries, thesaurus, quotations library, assignment templates, tutorials, graphing calculator software and a Web Companion.

Similar to the Encarta, MS Student's Web Companion obtains search results from all the major search engines without launching any additional applications (like a browser). Content from both the Encyclopedia and the Web is presented side by side. This augmentation explicitly adopts the Internet and incorporates it as an important source of reference - as 80% of students have already done.

I am not sure how Microsoft solved the weighty and interesting issues of intellectual property that the Web Companion raises, though. Copyright-holders of Web content may feel that they have the right to be compensated by Microsoft for the use it makes of their wares in its commercial products.

MS Student would do well to also integrate with new desktop search tools from Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and others. Students will benefit from seamless access to content from all over - their desktop, their encyclopedias, and the Web - using a single, intuitive interface.

MS Student's templates are actually clever adaptations of the popular Office suite of products - Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. They help the student produce homework plans and schedules, projects, book reports, presentations, research reports, charts, and analyses of problems in math, physics, and chemistry. Detailed step-by-step tutorials, Quick Starters, and pop-up toolbars (menus) guide the student along the way in a friendly, non-intrusive manner.

The graphing calculator is a wonder. It has both 2-D and 3-D capabilities and makes use of the full screen. Aided by an extensive Equations Library, it does everything except cook: trigonometry, calculus, math, charting, geometry, physics, and chemistry. And everything in full color!

For the student keen on the liberal arts and the humanities, Student 2007 provides detailed Book Summaries of almost 1000 classic works. Besides plot synopses, the student gets acquainted with the author's life, themes and characters in the tomes, and ideas for book reports.

MS Student 2007 is a great contribution to learning. Inevitably, it has a few flaws and glitches.

Start with the price. As productivity suites go, it is reasonably priced had its target population been adult professional users. But, at $70-100, it is beyond the reach of most poor students and parents - its most immediate market niches.

MS Student 2007 makes use of Microsoft's .Net technology. As most home computers lack it, the installer insists on adding it to the anyhow bloated Windows Operating System. There is worse to come: the .Net version installed by MS Student 2007 is plagued with security holes and vulnerabilities. Users have to download service packs and patches from Windows Update if they do not wish to run the risk of having their computers compromised by hackers.

Fully installed on the hard disk, MS Student 2007 gobbles up less than its predecessors but still a whopping 4 Gb. That's a lot - even in an age of ever cheaper storage. Most homesteads still sport PCs with 20-40 Gb hard disks. This makes MS Student less suitable for installation on older PCs and on many laptops.

Finally, there is the question of personal creativity and originality. Luckily, MS Student does not spoon-feed its users. It does not substitute for thinking or for study. On the contrary, by providing structured stimuli, it encourages the student to express his or her ideas. It does not do the homework assignments for the student - it merely helps rid them of time-consuming and machine-like functions. And it opens up to both student and family the wonderful twin universes of knowledge: the Encarta and the Web.

Why Imitating Big Companies Is Dumb For Small Businesses

2010-09-13T22:27:00.000+05:30

If you're in business and want to grow quickly, there are 397 ingenious marketing strategies in just 12 areas of business to get your there. Most of these strategies your competitors have never even considered using.

Why? Because they make the mistake of relying on commissioned sales reps for marketing advice.

That's dumb.

As psychologist Abraham Maslow is famous for saying: "to the person who only has a hammer all problems look like a nail."

The same is true of ad agents. Since the only thing ad agents sell are ads, they never advise on other ways to grow a business. They instead preach "branding" and "top of mind awareness".

That's the wrong focus for small to medium sized businesses.

I know that may sound offensive. Many business owners have yelled at me, cursed me, even scornfully ridiculed me before walking away without testing a single strategy. Why? Because their egos were bruised when I pointed out imitating big business image advertising is a mistake for a business of their size.

Instead of imagining even for a moment there might be a better way to grow a company than throwing away money on ads that don't work, they chose to act like the naked emperor who refused to admit his nakedness.

Whether you realize it or not, the real purpose in marketing an independent businesses is totally different than the reasons large corporations advertise.

Large corporations advertise first and foremost to avoid being forgotten. Second, they advertise to appear proactive to investors, retailers, and wholesalers.

By running big expensive ads, the corporations appear to support retailers and investors with big ad budgets. They are NOT advertising to generate leads or to increase sales. They are simply trying to give the image of spending money to help drive sales.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Few investors, wholesalers, or retailers have spent decades studying marketing. Most have no clue what a good ad is or what a bad is. All they know is whether or not an ad made them laugh, and whether or not a company is advertising at all.

I've heard investor say things like, 'any ad is better than no ad.'

Not for small business it isn't.

Ads that don't generate sales actually hurt your bottom line. You are losing money instead of making money.

When an independent business tries to grow by imitating the ads big businesses create, they are flushing cash down the toilet. That's because those "entertaining" image ads were never designed to generate a sale in the first place.

And that's the way ad agents like it.

Ad agents don't want companies running ads that are supposed to generate verifiable sales. Ad agents make their money in volume of ads sold, not on sales results. Besides, IT'S NOT THE AD AGENT'S JOB TO MAKE YOUR AD PROFITABLE. It's your job!

Ad agents provide you a medium to communicate with your market. Getting your market to respond is your job.

If you really want to grow your company, focus on marketing methods designed to generate sales.

Why run ads that never were designed to make your phone ring, make someone visit your web site, send you cash, or step through your doors? Isn't getting a predictable action from your market really what you want?

I've seen as much as a 6,000% return on smart marketing dollars. Increasing your sales is possible. But not through image advertising.

For every dollar you invest in smart marketing you MUST get back $10, or $100, or more in new sales. It isn't uncommon for smart marketers to generate $15,000 in sales from a $100 marketing investment. All without advertising.

As I said in the beginning, there are 397 ingenious marketing strategies in just 12 areas of business that can help just about any company double or triple sales in a short amount of time. But the bottom line is, I can't make you believe this is true. And I can't make you agree with me.

In the end, it's your company and your decision. Just ask yourself, do you want marketing that generates more sales and more leads, or do you just want to make people laugh at you?

You decide.

Free Real Estate Listings

2010-09-12T12:21:00.001+05:30

Forget Ebay and other forms of advertising for your property that costs you hard earned money. Why not do it all for free? Investment Assets Properties have ready several locations around the world to take your free listings for any luxury property you have.

Each location web site is purpose built so every Search Engine will pick up new listings within minutes. This way your customers only have to type in keywords relating to their search for a luxury home and the Search Engine will show the Invest Asset web site applicable to their location they are looking for.

Most real estate companies are way too busy with selling their client's properties to put any effort forth to their web site. Hence, making it difficult for web surfers to find their listings.

Now times have changed and we at Investment Assets Properties are thinking of the customer before the business.

If you have a property in a location not listed at Investment Assets Properties. Don't worry. A quick email to us will ensure your location is built to accommodate your listing.

Selling your luxury home, condominium or property should not be a painstaking event. It should be easy and stress free and it should be able to be advertised on a global scale for free. Investment Assets Properties can and will do this for you in a hassle free way.

Fun Team Building Activities

2010-09-12T12:20:00.001+05:30

The number of fun team building activities you can utilize to improve productivity at work are limited only by the imagination. From more simple and traditional games and sport-related activities, to more elaborate adventures drawing inspiration from popular reality tv shows, there are many ways to have fun while learning to work together as a team.

Creative and critical thinking, trust-building, problem solving, conflict resolution, and more are involved in many of these activities that give you and your team a chance to get to know and appreciate one another better as people outside of your typical environment, and help strengthen and revitalize work relationships. Some popular ideas include scavenger hunts, music and rhythm exercises, and other physical activities or games that require people to interact, work together, and have fun. Even a team cooking activity can provide a valuable team building experience. Many approaches to team building incorporate humor as an essential component to helping people lighten up, relax, and explore their potential as a group working together.

Some of the essentials to building an effective team include:
- helping each individual feel like a valuable member of the team with a unique purpose to fulfill that contributes to a common goal.
- encouraging open, non-threatening communication
- overcoming any barriers to group cohesiveness
- providing safe ways to manage conflict
- facilitating group interaction

Whether you have a new group of people who need to quickly get to know one another in order to form effective working relationships; renew an atmosphere of enthusiasm in a work environment that has grown stale or unproductive; or tackle some difficult issues such as the need for restructuring, or work on interpersonal conflict, there are many fun and helpful activities that can help accomplish these goals.

Depending on the size of your organization, the seriousness of the issues you need to address, and your current leadership capabilities, you may want to bring in a professional consultant, or order products you can implement on your own. Try browsing some of the latest ideas in fun team building activities online to get inspired and start considering the best approach for your team. Although the right solution will depend on the particulars of your situation, most team building activities are designed to suit a wide variety of groups, and can generally be adjusted to accommodate your needs.

Enjoy getting your group together for some enjoyable time outside of the office, and bring new vitality and cohesiveness to your organization. This investment in your people will have innumerable rewards in improving job satisfaction, reducing employee turnover and the associated expenses, and creating a better work environment for everyone. Why not take advantage of some proven strategies to creating a more effective team, and have a little fun while you're at it?

Does Creatine Really Help Build Muscle?

2010-09-12T12:19:00.002+05:30

If you are a gym rat or bodybuilder or simply interested in beginning an exercise program you have probably heard a lot about creatine and the muscle miracles it performs. Unfortunately, most people believe that creatine helps build muscle and it does in a way, but probably not the way you are thinking. The best way to describe creatine is to say that it helps the muscles help themselves build muscle. If that is not clear enough, continue reading.

Creatine does exactly what it claims to do and that is to retain water in your muscles. This is the point of creatine and it really is effective at keeping water in the muscles. Now, what happens is when your muscles are retaining water they are in an optimal state for building new muscle. As a result, when you take creatine and water is retained in your muscles then when you weight train you will get more of an effect because your muscles are better capable of building muscle. After this period you may develop more strength and increased endurance as well. So, if you are taking creatine to help you build muscle and you understand what creatine does and how it helps you build muscle then you will not be disappointed. On the other hand, if you are taking creatine and hoping it will simply grow you bodybuilder's muscles without putting in the work then you are mistaken.

The best thing to do is begin taking creatine and working out with weights on a regular routine or even with a trainer. By taking the creatine your muscles will be poised to grow and get stronger while building endurance. However, keep in mind you have to put in all the hard work and that all creatine does for you is helps your muscles retain water in order to be in a state where building muscle is easier. Over time you will see your muscles growing and should not see any loss of definition because of the retained water in your muscles. Don't become confused about creatine building big muscles; it just helps your muscles build themselves stronger and better when you put in the work.