Moving to cloud-based computing has many advantages for businesses of all sizes, although the biggest benefits are likely to be most obvious to SMEs, with limited resources to manage their IT infrastructure themselves.  As cloud-based computing relies upon a third party to keep critical applications running, it is crucial to work with the right partner.  Here are 7 things to consider when deciding on your hosting solution.

1. Where will the application data be held?

Unless there is no possibility whatsoever of customer data ever touching the provider’s servers, then it is critical that you understand exactly where the data is being stored and processed.  If the provider is using international facilities, then you will need to comply not only with data-protection laws in your home country, but also with any relevant laws in the host country.  If you are changing from domestic hosting to international hosting then it is vital to check if you need to get the customer’s explicit permission for this.

2.  What is the process for communicating with the hosting provider?

Some companies become notorious for putting much more effort into their sales process than they do into anything that happens afterward.  Companies who put effort into their after-sales support will offer clear support channels with appropriate hours of operation.  These will typically include a business support telephone number and email address, which should be available during standard office hours in your country, along with a technical-support telephone number and email address.  There should be at least one out-of-hours emergency support channel.  The provider should have clear targets for response time as well as a clear escalation process.

3.  Look at past performance and current performance guarantees

Established companies should be willing to share statistics of their performance (i.e. uptime) over past years.  They should have clear explanations of any occasions when their quality of service dropped, along with what steps were taken to correct the situation and what measures were taken to prevent a recurrence.  The company should also be able to provide details of any major upgrades planned for the near future and what impact (if any) they will have on service availability.  While it is highly unlikely that any company will guarantee 100% uptime, they should ideally guarantee well above 90%.

4.  Check the stability of their company

Although many businesses wind up their affairs in an orderly manner if they cease trading, for whatever reason; you do not want to run the risk of being left in the lurch if an ailing company goes out of business.  It’s therefore wise to check that any potential partner has solid financials.

5.  Check the options for supporting change

As a rule of thumb, the longer the length of the contract, the more important it is to be able to accommodate change.  While the details of any proposed change will depend on your specific requirements, a potential partner should at least be able to outline the process for making changes.  Ideally they should also be able to give guideline costs and times for common requests.

6.  Check the process for ending the contract

Ideally you and your hosting partner will have a long future together; however at some point you may wish to move to another provider.  Alternatively your provider may choose to (or be forced to) wind up their operation.  One of the hallmarks of a company with a genuine commitment to professionalism and customer service is that it will continue to provide support to customers even when the relationship is drawing to an end.

7.  Check their readiness for emergencies

There are effectively two sorts of emergencies which need to be considered – those which take place at your side and those which take place at your provider’s.  With regards to emergencies which take place at your side, you need to know what sort of support your provider can give if your needs suddenly change due to an unexpected event.  This can be positive as well as negative.  For example, you may run a very successful advertising campaign, which results in your staff having to make much greater use of an application.  Alternatively, you may need an application to be changed at short notice in anticipation of an important event.

Similarly you need to be confident that your provider can resolve any contingency situations which affect them.  While it is almost inevitable that a provider will experience some unplanned downtime on the odd occasion, a reputable provider will have clear and tested plans in place to cope with outages and will be happy to share them.  These plans should include their strategy for contacting and updating customers during the period of the outage.

When looking for a reputable mobile games provider it is important to do some proper research in order to get the best. The mobile gaming environment is booming because of the easy accessibility of gaming on the go and it is important to use a reliable supplier for optimum results.

1. Research your options

Before you commit to downloading a game that you have to pay for, do some research into the games performance and look for any glitches that may regularly occur. Forums are a great place to search for game information as they give a very clear picture of what you can expect. Reviews may be sponsored or biased but forum posts generally offer a realistic idea of how the game will run on your mobile device.

2. Use a reputable payment service

There are several trusted and reliable payment service providers that allow you to conduct mobile transactions to purchase games or credits. Look for recognised credit card, voucher or ewallet names and avoid unknown service providers or unsecure options. If you are playing android casino games for real money ensure that the mobi site you are utilising is safe and secure, as there is a huge amount of competition between sites for players custom.

3. Know the prices

Online and mobile fraud is a harsh reality and there is a lot of competition in the market, with sites offering bonuses and special promotions to improve their custom. Knowing what you are paying for is very important when purchasing an app or buying gaming credits. If a download is free and you are still asked for payment details be aware that updates may be charged for or other costs incurred that are hidden in the small print. When choosing a site to game with stick to recognised options or download Android games from the Play Store.

4. Compatibility and optimisation

Always know what the specs of the device you are using are and whether they are compatible with mobile games. Certain games require higher specs and will be unable to play on a device that is using older or outdated software. Compatibility should always be checked as certain OS versions cannot handle the fast pace of newer games.
As technology improves so do the mobile gaming options and there are huge opportunities for players to enjoy all their favourite quality entertainment on the go.

This is the main reason for clients to look into every minute detail about the business before commiting into one.

Suggestions and opinions

Before commiting to any service , you should look into customer reviews of these businesses. This gives you a clear picture about how they work. Looking for good CD duplication reviews online is convenient as most people share their views to educate others. Certain review sites are assigned to say good about certain companies, you must be careful about such sites.

Than counting on online reviews you can also ask the people around you for any suggestions or views. Their opinions can be trusted since their words are unbiased and based from experience and usage of the company’s products and services.

Packaging and promotion

CD duplication is booming and has called for a lot of competition in the market. Companies are prone to create promos and packages to woo in customers. This allows customers to opt which is high quality and is affordable for him. Knowing the prices and features of cheap CD duplication companies and comparing them, people can know when choosing the company to hire. Competition rises a positive impact in the market giving public opinions to opt from. This enables prevention of monopolization of prices and giving room for opportunities for clients.

Best quality work and Customer service

One of the most important factor is the quality of work these companies put in their service. This gurantees you that you’ll be on the receiving end of outstanding customer service. This is a great measure to take a look into their portfolio. This enables a glimpse of their work in terms of their graphic design, materials and priniting done on the cover and packaging. The priniting must be aptly done so that it does not fade away.

Check for any queries by calling them. Thouroughly go through their policy in terms of defects in their products. This will relieve you of experiencing bad CD’s to be given away and receive calls of complaint. By adopting such measures, you are assured that you are going to get the best CD duplication service. Clients can be relieved of being tricked of paying more.They will be saved from receiving defective products and have a company that has no goodwill. All it requires is some patience in doing research work giving you best results.

About Author:
Hi I am Anna a marketing head at IDG Partners pioneering CD replication and DVD duplication services.

In this day and age, it should be assumed that when you are applying for a job, one of the first things that your potential employer will do is search for you on Google. The Internet has become an integral part of the job market, not only for those looking for new careers, but also for business owners looking to hire the right people.

A good way to make an excellent first impression before even meeting the employer is to give yourself a quality online presence and presentation. If a search for your name comes back with more than just a Facebook profile, you’re going to make a better early impression than the job seekers who only have social media profiles.

Here are seven great websites and services that you can use to host your resume online and make your qualifications searchable for prospective hirers.

1. Your Personal Blog

If you own and manage your own blog, it’s as good a place as any to host your resume. Not only is it easily searchable, but it also allows employers to see you as a proactive citizen of the Internet that creates their own content as well. This is especially helpful if your blog is related to the niche that you are interested in finding a job in. Stumbling on to your blog after finding your resume online shows employers that you have enough expertise in this field to operate a blog related to it.

2. LinkedIn

Easily the most popular and effective social media site for business professionals, LinkedIn provides you with a great opportunity to not only present your qualifications, but to network as well. Not only can you post your resume here for all to see, but you can also receive recommendations and words of praise from former co-workers or employers that will be visible to everyone as well. Another great thing about LinkedIn is that once you have perfected the look of your resume, you can actually export it as a PDF to use as a hardcopy or to use when creating resumes on other sites as well.

3. PeopleJar

If you are looking for a site that allows you maximum self-promotion online, this is the one. This relatively new social media site allows you to not only host your resume, but also a portfolio and samples of your work that you would like the world to see. It also allows you to network professionally in a similar way that LinkedIn does. PeopleJar’s resume builder gives you a very concise and clean-looking resume and allows you to add various media to your profile and resume in order to enhance it.

4. Resume.com

This is a dedicated site for resume building and hosting. You will be able to create a sleek and engaging resume and make it publically available. You can also use the site to search for potential jobs. The simplicity of the site and the resume creation and hosting process is what makes this website a favorite for both job seekers who are fresh out of college and experienced professionals.

5. Visual CV

One really great thing about this website is that it allows you to import your resume from LinkedIn in order to get started. There are many different templates to choose if you are looking to make your resume stand out from the crowd, and there are also great options for including various multimedia in your resume and portfolio to spice it up. There are many companies using Visual CV to attract new employees, so it’s definitely a good place to network as well.

6. About.me

This site is like a more sophisticated, grown and professional Myspace. It allows you to include just about anything you want about yourself, we gives you the opportunity to make a creative online resume and multidimensional portfolio on your profile. It also gives you statistics on how many people are viewing your profile and when they are doing so, which lets you know if some of the changes that you made are working to attract new visitors.

7. My Resume Online

My Resume Online is a great option for people who want a minimal and very straight-laced design with no strings attached. This site gives you the option to create a minimalist, but effective resume with the option of including pictures and attached PDFs into your online resume as well. Most importantly, you’ll have a very searchable and effective URL in the form of www.myresumeonline.org/yourname or something similar, which will make it easy to find you on Google.

Why Java Certifications?

We all know that Java Professionals are more hot in IT industries and certified professionals are even more on demand. Java programmer level certifications are intended for the programmers to prove that they really know the Java programming language for latest Java Language Fundamentals and APIs. Being Java Certified can help you to get more remuneration and recognition. The latest programmer level certification is for Java SE 7 version and it is divided into two levels, 1. OCA and 2. OCP.

Who are all can take this certification?

The OCA for Java SE 7 (OCAJP) is for entry level Java programmer to know the basic language fundamentals and OO design (class, methods, constructors, interfaces, abstraction…etc). So anybody interested to move into Java career / peoples already have enough experience in Java technologies can take this certification. Note that this certification does not require any pre-requirement.

The OCP for Java SE 7 (OCPJP) is an advanced level Java Programmer exam which can be taken after clearing OCPJP.

My preparation experience

My actual plan to complete Java Programmer certification was for Java SE 6 since it has only one exam instead of two levels in SE 7, but my colleague suggest me to take latest exams. My colleague said that the first part (OCA exam) was much easier than second part (OCP) when he took the exam. It is hard to cope up with latest technology changes when you prepare for a new certification which does not have proper study books. My colleague gifted epractize labs exam simulators for my preparation. I already have Kathy Sierra book which was purchased last year. He also gave me some study notes that he collected from Oracle’s free tutorials for Java 7. Finally I had some kind of material in my hand.

- Started my preparation with OCA Training Lab.
- The product has so many components for tracking goals, schedule, reports and overall weakness areas. I planned my OCA Java 7 preparation schedule like below:

• Pre Measurement – 2 days
• Basic Sessions – 7 Days
• Advanced Sessions – 7 Days
• Session Rewind Quiz – 5 Days
• Mock Exam Lab – 10 Days
• Final Exam – 2 Days

The product really simplified my exam preparation, it has study guide and so many practice questions with brief explanations. I decided to take exam after getting more confidence with mock exams. The SCJP book by Kathy Sierra is good for understanding fundamentals along with OCA Training Lab study notes.

Completed my OCAJP with 84% score. Thanks to my colleague Dieter for providing enough guidance.

Following week I started preparing for OCPJP exam. Oh.. god, this exam is totally different from OCA. This exam requires lot of Java SE 7 changes like NIO2, Exception handling changes (try with resources, multi catch), design patterns, and much more. The preparation for OCP tooks around 67 days and still I feel that my knowledge is not enough to take real exam. I took another 2 weeks to brush up my knowledge and appeared this exam.

Completed my OCPJP with 71%. I am not bothered about my score. I just wanted to pass the exam. But I prepared very well and some wrong answers happened only because some questions were not clear in my opinion. E.g. the questions about Path, diamond operator and patterns were not clear – sometimes several answers looked correct to me.

Which resources you use to prepare for these Java exams?

In my experience, the following resources are sufficient :

The book “SCJP Sun Certified Programmer for Java 6 Study Guide” (Author: Kathy Sierra): This book will be useful for OCA exam and not for OCP Java 7.

OCA Java SE 7 Training Lab for OCAJP 7: Excellent mock exams, I think you need to have this simulator to prepare based on latest OCA syllabus. These mock questions are tougher than real exam. If you can reach 60 percent goal in each topic here, you will probably pass the real exam.

OCP Java SE 7 Training Lab for OCPJP 7: You must have this product to clear OCPJP 7 exam. During my preparation, no book or simulator was available for this exam except this software kit. If you can reach 70-80 percent mock exam score here, you will probably pass the real exam. The real exam is slightly tougher than these mock exams.

I propose every Java programmer to do the exam, but if you have time to prepare only after work or at the weekend, plan at least six months for completing this two exams.

If you have any comments about my experiences, please buzz me.

Best regards, Michael

Foobar2000 is an freeware windows application. It’s an easy-to-use, skinnable and highly customizable audio player that aside from basic playback features, sports advanced capabilities such as conversion and tag editing.Foobar2000 is an advanced freeware audio player for the Windows platform.

Key Features of “Foobar2000″:

• Supported audio formats: MP3, MP4, AAC, CD Audio, WMA, Vorbis, FLAC, WavPack, WAV, AIFF, Musepack, Speex, AU, SND and more with additional components.
• Gapless playback.
• Full unicode support.
• Easily customizable user interface layout.
• Advanced tagging capabilities.
• Support for ripping Audio CDs as well as transcoding all supported audio formats using the Converter component.
• Full ReplayGain support.
• Customizable keyboard shortcuts.
• Open component architecture allowing third-party developers to extend functionality of the player.

Download: Foobar2000 1.2.1

Here is a complete list of Top 10 World’s Most Innovative Company in 2012 . This analysis is carried out by Booz & Co. In this analysis Apple tops the ranking. It’s no doubt that Apple is ranked No.1 for their endless Innovation and creativity which attracts Millions of people across the Globe .  The study also found that Apple, for all its impressive earnings, continues to spend a lot less than its rivals on research and development.

Booz & Co says Apple not only topped the rankings again – as it did last year, and the year before – “it [actually] increased its lead substantially.”

This year, Apple didn?t just top the rankings (as it did the past two years); it increased its lead substantially. The company ? which in August 2012 became the most valuable in history, measured by market capitalization ? was named by almost 80 percent of respondents as one of the three most innovative companies in the world, up from 70 percent last year.

Other interesting statistics include the fact that Apple only spends 2.2% of their sales on product Research and Development (R&D). Apple has doubled its R&D spending over the past three years. The full chart is aboveshoudl you want to take a look at the top ten companies.

List of Top 10 World’s Most Innovative Company in 2012:

1. Apple
2. Google
3. 3M
4. Samsung
5. GE
6. Microsoft
7. Toyota
8. P&G
9. IBM
10. Amazon

I personally love Apple, Google and IBM. What about you?

Website or company Logo branding is highly essential to make your Business unique. Logo design has become a huge business worldwide, with a professionally designed logo and visual identity necessary for just about any business anywhere to succeed. Wanna make money out of your creativity?  ;) Then just participate in the logo contest conducted by Design crowd, create mind blowing logo designs and earn money. Find Freelance graphic design work  and design jobs from around the world.The terms “crowd sourcing” and “logo design contest” are often used interchangeably, although there are a few subtle differences between the two. While the word crowd-sourcing in the world of logo design refers almost exclusively to logo contests, the term is also used for more legitimate business pursuits.

• Opportunity: 50 open jobs & contests. $5,250,846 paid to designers.
• International: Find clients from around the world and build your portfolio.
• 100% Guaranteed: Prepaid projects mean projects are awarded everytime.
• Participation Payments: Reserve payments on design contests.

How Design Crowd Works?

DesignCrowd – risk free, fairer, cheaper and the best crowdsourcing site.   In crowd sourcing, you are asking a select group of consumers to be creators, with payment agreed upon in advance or no payment at all. They are not asked to perform highly specialized work, merely to offer a real world perspective.

Price for Your Creativity:

When you go to a professional agency to have a logo designed, you will be giving input and answer questions designed to find out what the design company needs to know about your company and your ‘brand’, then uses this information (combined with years of experience and education) to create a logo that is uniquely yours, perfect for your business, your community, and your customer base.Crowd sourcing is also attractive to potential logo designers. If you are looking to break into the field, these websites may seem like a great way to build up your portfolio and begin to gain professional respect. Having several successfully completed projects is a huge bonus for a new logo designer looking to go into freelancing or get a job with a larger agency.

Despositphotos is one of the best stock agency with millions of premium high-quality stock photos, royalty-free images, illustrations and vector art at affordable prices. People in different fields like bloggers, photographers, website designers, webmasters, advertisers are in great demand of fresh and high quality stock images. Today morning I was looking for stock Illustrations and finally found a get set of images in this site.

“Picture speaks louder than words” so only I publish a photo followed by the article.When a visitor sees the picture he/she can understand what the article is all about. For bloggers like Depositphotos is a boon we can find all sort of images on different topics.

Categories covered under Depositphotos

Despoitphotos has got millions of high-quality photographs and vector images available at affordable prices to fill all your image needs. They cover a wider category of images to satisfy different kinds of people and provide them what they looking for,

• Abstract,
• Animals,
• Architecture & Buildings,
• Beauty & Fashion,
• Business & Finance,
• Cities,
• Computers & Electronics,
• Education,
• Fauna & Flora,
• Food and Drink,
• Interiors,
• Medicine & Health,
• Nature,
• People,
• Places,
• Professions,
• Religious,
• Science & Technology,
• Travel,
• Vectors,
• Vintage & Retro are some of the popular categories covered in Depositphotos.

Depositphotos libraries are updated daily through contributor uploads that are closely scrutinized for quality and originality. You can also try out their Free Trial Subscription. You will be able to download any stock photos or vector images you like absolutely free of charge. Depositphotos Free Trial Subscription allows users to download 5 free photos per day for 7 days.

Enjoy the world of fascinating 3D Technology now at your home with 3D Video Player.With powerful 3D Video Player you can watch any format video in HQ 3D on the fly.

From the main window, you can browse for the desired file and then enjoy viewing it in 3D format. You can browse for any video, including avi, mpeg and other common formats. With this 3D player you can watch 3D movies not only in theaters, but create your own and enjoy them anywhere you like.This 3D Video Player Giveaway is provided by SoundTaxi, a professional MP4 to MP3 converter.

Also Checkout, [FREE Giveaways]Free 10 license keys of SoundTaxi Pro+VideoRip 

With 3D Video Player you can convert 2D to 3D and enjoy the video in 3D!  3D Video Player enables you to watch any movie or video in HQ red cyan 3D format on-the-go simply by activating anaglyph 3D mode. Achieve maximum 3D effect by manually adjusting levels of 3D Shift and 3D Depth in your video.

Screenshots of 3D Video Player:

3D Video Player 3D view OFF mode

3D Video Player 3D view ON mode

Just click on the 3D button which is below Seek bar to Turn ON the 3D view mode.

How to Enter Giveaway Contest?

Do you wish to enjoy watching 3D movies at home with 3D Video Player? Then here are more chances of winning a FREE License of that software. All you need to do is just leave a comment in the comment section. We will select 10 random winners and mail them the License key. This contest ends on 3oth October, 2012.

Download:  3D Video Player 

So, for what you are waiting for? Just start commenting to enter the contest. And also pass this information to your friends

The winners will be picked up using lot method, and will be announced within 3 days after the giveaway expires.
Good luck to contestants

There are also some Giveaways in Geekyard. Check frequently to get FREE softwares every month.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay updated with future Giveaways.

Contest Over

We have selected 10 lucky winners using random picker and the winners are,

1. ZC
2. Owen
3. Vaibhav Srivastava
4. Dimek
5. Zeff
6. Vhick
7. Cool
8. Mukesh
9. Kunal
10. Mahesh

Participate and win FREE License key in future giveaways too