Useful Everyday Tips

What Causes a 404 Error

2009-11-27T19:21:00.001-08:00

Reasons for 404 Errors
There are many reasons you will see 404 errors in your log files. In
case you forgot, a 404 error means a request was made for a file (or
an object) and it did not exist.

Some of the more common reasons are listed below.

- Renaming Pages-

There a few instances where the name of the page is changed. For
example, you might have originally created "associatedcontent.htm" and
changed it to "ac.htm". In these instances, be sure and create 301
redirects when you do this.

-Moving a Page-
At times, webmasters decide to reorganize their websites, in such
cases references to old pages may still exist. Even though it has been
transfered to a new hosting service or domain. This is especially true
of off-site references - search engines, link exchanges and others.
When you reorganize a site, you must remember to include 301
redirection to the new pages. This informs the search engines that
your pages have moved.

-Case Sensitive Operating Systems-
There are some operating systems which are case sensitive. On Windows
(IIS), the case (upper and lower characters) of files and folder names
does not matter. Windows will match "ThisIsAPage" and "thisisapage" as
identical. However, on Unix and Linux, these names are not identical.
In fact, you have have both at the same time. This will cause 404
errors. It's very common when webmasters move their site from Windows
to another operating system. In general, it's best to stick to
lower-case characters for file and folder names, regardless of the
operating system.

-Misspelling-
A very common reason for 404 errors is Misspellings. Sometimes users
do type URLs, especially if it's been printed on a business card, in a
magazine or in an advertisement. These URLs are often misspelled and
this causes 404 errors. To prevent this, you can create 301 redirects
for some common misspellings, and keep those URLs which are entered by
users short.

-Nimda and other Worms-

Many worms attempt to gain access to web servers by exploiting known
vulnerabilities. These often consist of strange URLs and bizarre
combinations of characters. The result is lots of 404 errors (assuming
your system is secure and it is not compromised). There is really no
way to prevent these errors.

-Used Domains-
If you purchase a domain name which has been previously owned, then
you might find yourself getting strange 404 errors for files and
directories which have no relation to your site. These are left over
from the previous owner. There probably isn't much you can do with
these, although you might set up 301 redirects for some of the more
active pages.

-Used TCP/IP Addresses-
If someone would have used the same TCP/IP address before, you might
be catching some of the old traffic. It wont be for long, but it will
create a lot of 404 errors.

-Robots.txt file-
The robots exclusion standard specifies that web sites should include
a file called robots.txt in their root directory. This file indicates
which parts of the web sites should NOT be spidered. Thus, spiders
will attempt to open this file, and 404 errors will result of the file
does not exist. You should always create a robots.txt file, even if
it's empty.

Thanks a lot, I hope it was useful for you. If you have any more
please let me know on my e-mail address.

Using Google Voice Without a Google Voice Phone Number

2009-11-27T19:20:00.001-08:00

Google Voice is on the verge of revolutionizing the way we communicate
with each other, from personal reasons, to business matters and work.
Google Voice gives users the ability to carry on telephone
conversation over the computer, treat email like
they were voicemail, get free international calls (you will still
have to pay for your cell phone or land-line phone provider's long
distance charges), and read your voicemail like it was an email. There
are many very useful purposes for using Google Voice, including
customizing all of the greetings that your callers receive when they
are transferred to voicemail.

Tips on using Using Google Voice without getting a Google Voice phone
number start with knowing that using the Google Voice service without
the Google Voice phone number is sort of like buying a 4-G phone and
not getting text or web browsing capabilities from your service
provider. Google Voice has great features that make using and
organizing your emails and voicemails much more easy to use, and the
features are all customizable. You will not be able to record,
translate or transcribe your phone calls, emails or voicemails without
first getting a Google Voice phone number, but you will have great
options to work with your incoming phone calls and voicemails.

Using Google Voice with your personal phone numbers, either cell (3-G
and 4-G), land-line or computer-based, allows you to receive Google
Voicemail, an email like voicemail service. You can have your
voicemails transcribed by the computer, so that you can read them,
over and over if you so wish, from your computer, or any of your
web-enabled phones. You can also forward, imbed or download any or all
of your voicemails, giving you much more flexibility with dealing with
your voicemail account(s).

One great feature of Google Voice, used without the Google Voice phone
number (which gives you control over incoming phone calls) is that you
can make each separate incoming phone number have a distinct ring, or
have your computer say something, like "don't answer, it's the ex!".
You can
customize the greetings that each separate incoming phone number gets
when they are forwarded to voicemail, and then you can store the
transcribed voicemails for later reading.

International calls are free on Google Voice, but without the voice
over Internet protocol (VOIP) Google Voice phone number, you will have
to pay the normal long distance rates of your phone service
carrier(s). You can even share your voicemails with others, or store
them to your hard drive using Google Voice.

Adding a Google Voice phone number adds more than just the ability to
record any incoming phone calls, something which could be dangerous if
the person being recorded is not told of the recording before the
conversation, and finds out that you are sharing that conversation
with others. This has the potential to be a hot-potato income source
for litigious lawyers, but used with proper morals, and not
embarrassing the caller, can avoid any possible troubles.

Enjoy Google Voice. Try it out, if you really love it, sign up for a
Google Voice phone number to release the full potential of Google
Voice.

Excel Tips for Financial Spreadsheets

2009-11-23T15:24:00.003-08:00

Excel spreadsheets are very suitable for financial sheets, with a
variety of formatting features, as well as numerical functions.
Overall, there are a few tips worth considering for Excel financial
spreadsheets.

To begin with the sort of financial spreadsheets that you can set up
in Excel. Typically, financial spreadsheets such as budgets are a good
suggestion for a spreadsheet. Alternatively, other accountancy sheets
such as P & L accounts and also Balance sheets make suitable financial
spreadsheets. Remember that more than one spreadsheet can be used for
any Excel worksheet.

Excel has a few templates for financial spreadsheets. Such templates
as the balance sheet, and sales invoice are good examples. To select a
spreadsheet template click new and then templates in the task pane.
From here, you can select an appropriate template.

With regard to formatting financial spreadsheets, it is recommended
that you use the accounting number format. To format the cells, simply
select the range of cells from the spreadsheet, right-click and select
format. Then you can select the number format accounting, and also
change to a suitable currency as well.

You should also make use of bold lines and borders for a financial
spreadsheet. For example, between various column or row headings, or
alternatively above cells that have numerical functions. Again, select
the relevant cells and then via the formatting menu go to the borders
menu. From here, you can edit the cells borders appropriately.

Cell shading is always good to include, although not essential. With
the conditional formatting option, cells with numbers below zero can
be changed to red shading. To do so, go to format and then conditional
formatting. Then, from here, the condition can be set.

Aside from the variety of formatting options, Excel also has financial
functions. For example, such functions as DDB return the depreciation
of an asset. Financial functions are selected from the function menu,
under the category of financial.

Comments, or notes, can also be added to a financial spreadsheet. With
these, comments and notes can be made for any cell or groups of cells
included on the spreadsheet. To add a comment to any cell, simply
right click and select comment. Then you can add the comment or
notification.
Cells with comments added, will include a small red marker in the top
right of the cell.

Overall, these are just a few tips for financial spreadsheets.
Financial functions, comments, conditional formatting and other
appropriate formatting such as accounting number format will enhance
any financial spreadsheet.

Benefits of Converting PowerPoint to MOV

2009-11-23T15:24:00.001-08:00

For some reasons, you may want to convert your PowerPoint to MOV
files. So, what is a MOV file? What are the benefits of converting
PowerPoint to MOV, and how to convert PowerPoint to MOV?

What's MOV MOV is a file extension used by the QuickTime-wrapped
files. The format was created by Apple Computer to work with
multimedia files. Though MOV files are quite often found in the web,
to play them on Windows computer one has to install an extra component
or convert to other
format. MOV is a container format and can contain video, animation,
graphics, 3D and virtual reality (VR) content or text (for subtitles,
for example).

The advantage of MOV files is the ability to contain abstract data
references for the media data. That means that they can be easily
edited - no need to rewrite all media data after editing.

Benefits of Converting PowerPoint to MOV
PowerPoint is commonly saved with PPT, PPTX, PPS, PPSX file
extensions. To view a PowerPoint file, we will either need PowerPoint
or a PowerPoint viewer installed on the computer. Otherwise, we will
not be able to view the PowerPoint file. By converting PowerPoint to
MOV, this problem can be solved easily.

Besides, converting PowerPoint to MOV helps us to:
1. View PowerPoint files without a MS PowerPoint installed computer
2. Review PowerPoint in MOV format with iPod, iPhone, Pocket PC or Apple TV
3. Upload PPT files on video sharing sites or your own blog for
sharing with others

How to Convert PowerPoint to MOV
Now that there are so many benefits of converting PowerPoint to MOV,
how to do it? Wondershare PPT to video is just such a PowerPoint to
MOV video converter, which can help us easily convert PPT, PPTX, PPS
and PPSX to MOV with all things in the original presentation retained.

Here are the steps to convert PowerPoint to MOV with Wondershare PPT to Video:
1. Download the free trial version of the program here and install it
on computer
2. Click Add to import the PowerPoint files you want to convert to
MOV, 12 PPT files can be converted at a time
3. Set the output video format to MOV, and change the output video
resolution if necessary
4. Click Start to start the conversion process.

Try it now, expand the way you share your PowerPoint by converting
PowerPoint to MOV.

What is Google Voice?

2009-11-23T15:23:00.001-08:00

An Overview of Google Voice
Google Voice is the new name for Google's GrandCentral email
forwarding system, which will give the user a phone number for their
Google Voice account. You can then give this number out to people, and
when they call you, you can then store their incoming number, so
that you can have a different ring tone for them, and store their
number in a group, like "friends", "the boss", or "family". Once
stored, you can change the settings for each individual caller,
routing their calls to specific phones, the computer or straight to
voice mail.

At no cost to the user, except for your normal telephone charges,
Google Voice will forward voicemail to where you have routed the
number to go, so that a voicemail from your wife would go straight to
your 3-G phone, and one from your boss would go straight to your cell
phone or laptop. And the computer can read the voicemail to you, as
long as you have voice recognition software installed and running
properly. Phone calls into your cell phone can be taken at the
computer, and vice-versa, making one number have complete control over
all of your telecommunications gear.

Google Voice has the potential to take over the telecommunications
market with the demographics of people between the ages of 16 and up.
If you have a land-line telephone, cellular telephone, and voice over
Internet protocol (VOIP) phone numbers, you can have all of them ring
at the same time when receiving a call through Google Voice. On top of
your computer ringing as well, in order to amalgamate all of your
telephones into one customizable service, you will be able to block,
avoid or include any incoming calls, from any source, through any
source.

When you combine a Google Voice phone number, at no cost, with your
existing telephone numbers, landline and/or mobile, you can have all
of your phones ring at the same time when you have an incoming Google
Voice phone call. Answer the call
with any, or the closest phone, or leave it to Google to take care of
if you are busy, or just don't want to talk to who's calling. Google
Voice has caller ID, which will show you the name, phone number,
Google Voice number, email address and/or screen name of the person
calling.

For people who are hard of hearing, the deaf, or the simply lazy,
Google Voice will be able to display the name of the person calling
your cell phone on your computer's display. You will also be able to
have a different ring announcement for each number that calls, so you
can have the computer say "Mom is calling" when you mother calls. For
people that you do not want to talk to, you can put their name or
number in the blocked calls list, and when they call you, their call
will go straight to voicemail.

Google Voice's voicemail feature is also interactive, allowing you to
read what the voicemail says, or listen to it. International calls are
offered at extremely competitive rates, and you can share your
voicemails with all of your contacts, some of them, or just one, and
you can download the voicemails as well. This is ideal for when you
enter into contracts over the phone, so that you can prove what the
caller actually told you, making aggressive sales pitches easier to
disprove.

Answer your cell phone with the computer, or answer your computer with
your 3-G phone, it is all the same, and the only costs will be your
normal phone access fees. The best part of Google Voice, though, may
be the ability to have your computer read your voice messages to you,
or to store all cell phone calls for later reading.

There may be a line-up of lawyers waiting to file lawsuits with the
ability to record cell phone conversations without the caller first
being told that the call may be recorded, but the service, if working
as described, should revolutionize the personal phone market.

Google Voice will revolutionize your phone use, and blow your mind.

How to Change Your Gmail Username

2009-11-23T15:22:00.001-08:00

Want to change you gmail username? Well you can't. But there is
something you can do. Go and make another gmail account then you can
move your data from your old to the new account. So to do this just
follow the below steps.

1./ Make a new account. (Just make sure you sign out of the old
account so you will be able to click the create an account on the
login
page.

2./ So you have created your new gmail account and are logged in. Look
up the top left hand side of the page and you will see the "settings"
link. Click Account & Import tab. Check mail using POP3. Then enter in
the following information.

Username: Old gmail email address
Password: Password for your old gmail account
POP server: pop.gmail.com
Port: 995
Always use secure connection: checked
Label incoming messages: checked

Now you will have all your old emails sent to your new gmail account
and it will also send any new email you have sent there as well until
you decide to discontinue the old email address.

3./ Now go and export all of your old contacts from the old account
Just use the instructions on the Export Gmail contacts page. Take note
of where you save the csv file. Go to your new gmail account and use
the import to put all your old contacts into your new account.

If you have other goole products you can go to
http://www.dataliberation.org/ where they should have all the
information need to move data from one google product to another
(calendars etc).

Pong Cell Phone Radiation Reduction Case

2009-11-23T15:21:00.001-08:00

One of the latest new products on the market for cell phone users is
the Pong Cell Phone Radiation Reduction Case. These uniquely designed
cases are being advertised to reduce the radiation that reaches the
brain when using a cell phone. For years there have been debates about
radiation
and the damage caused from constant cell phones use. The Pong Cell
Phone Radiation Reduction Case is a product that addresses this
problem. Pong Research has created a radiation reduction case which
currently limited to certain cell phone models but hopefully will
expand the variety of models in the future. According to the
information provided with the product this is the first cell phone
product that is said to reduce the radiation thus reducing the
propensity for brain and salivary gland damage.

Since cell phones have been a popular item over the past 15 to 20
years it has been thought that constant use could eventually cause
brain damage with prolonged use over a certain period of time.
According to the research provided by the makers of the Pong Cell
Phone Radiation Reduction Case the risk was as high as 80% for people
who have used cell phones for ten years or longer (www.pongresearch).

The Pong Cell Phone Radiation Reduction Case is a form fitting case
that at this time is designed to fit certain models of phone include
the iPhone 3g and 3GS. The theory behind the product is that there is
an embedded pong module that provides protection when cell phone users
habitually engage in heavy cell phone use.

The Pong Cell Phone Radiation Reduction Case is made of lightweight
silicone and is designed with the protective Pong Gold PCB module.
Again the product is currently designed for specific models; however
the Pong Cell Phone Radiation Reduction Case does not interfere with
easy access to the features and controls of the phone.

Currently the Pong Cell Phone Radiation Reduction Case is available
from the official web site for Pong Research for specific phone
models. The retail price for the radiation reduction case is
approximately $59.95. For the owner of an iPhone, 3G or 3GS this is
actually a great gift item
or stocking stuffer to consider for a special occasion or during the
holiday season. For more information on the Pong Cell Phone Radiation
Reduction Case visit the official web site for Pong Research.

www.pongresearch.com

A Guide to Using Bing

2009-11-23T15:20:00.003-08:00

Bing is Microsoft's foray into the search engine business, with a
fully customizable home page that has explosively-rich colored
pictures in high definition, with little factoids hidden like the
"Easter eggs" from video games on the pictures. And this is just the
home page, where you
decide what you are going to do. Bing is feature rich and
aesthetically pleasing, and has many great features that start with
the amazingly crisp and beautiful pictures on the home page, of which
when you scroll the cursor around, you will find those hidden "Easter
egg" factoids. A guide to using Bing would start with the home page's
options.

On Bing's home page, the user has the choice between the "Bing", "MSN"
and "Hotmail" links on the top, left-hand corner of the picture. The
Bing link will be inactive, since that is the page that you would
presently be on. Clicking on MSN takes you to MSN's home page, and
clicking on Hotmail takes you to your MSN email page, MSN's Windows
Live, where one Windows Live email address allows you to show all of
your emails on the one page. Sign up, include all of your email
addresses, then enjoy seeing all of your emails on the one page. At
the far-right side of Bing's front page, the user can choose between
the "Make Bing your search provider", "Sign in", "Canada" and
"Preferences" links (for those of you in other countries, "Canada"
will be your country).

Selecting Bing's "Make Bing your search provider" link will turn your
search engine box use the Bing search engine, as opposed to the one
that you had been using before selecting the link, and once selected,
the link will no longer show, unless you chabge preferences and
deselect Bing's search engine. Selecting the "sign in" link takes you
to the MSN Live sign in page. Signing in keeps your searching
preferences saved and your email open.

Selecting the link that is your country takes you to Bing's search
engine for your country, and selecting the Preferences link takes you
to the Bing preferences page, where you can change your preferences
for searches. Your preferences include;

A. General Settings. Apply to all of your searches.

1) SafeSearch. A filter to filter out adult-oriented pictures, text
and video from your search queries.

2) Location. Allows you to input a geographical area, by city and
State (or Province), or by Postal Code. Here, you should enter either
where you live or where you are researching makes sense for logical
choices to change the geographical area to. Searches relevant to the
area
selected will be given priority in the returns.

3) Display. Select the lanhuage that you want the searches to be
performed and returned in.

B. Web Settings. Settings that apply solely to your Web search queries.

1) Results. You can choose how many results are returned per page.
also has a box to select if you want to have all links opened in new
windows.

2) Search Suggestions. Selecting the box will enable search
suggestions, which change as you type, offering the most logical or
most frequently selected sites related to what you have typed into the
search box so far.

3) Search Language. Narrow your search results by selecting one or
more languages that the search engine will use for it's search.

At the bottom of the Preferences page, you can select the "restore
default settings" link to change all of the settings to the way they
were when you first opened the Bing Preferences page.

Bing's search engine box, located near center of the page, has a few
links over top of it that will narrow your search results even more,
thereby giving fewer results to pour over. You can search the Web, for
Images, Videos, News, Maps or "More". Selecting the "More" link adds
xRank and Translator to the options. xPage is like pagerank, where it
shows what and who the most people are searching for. Translator
instantly translates everything into the chosen language.

On Bing's home page, for those of you who are blown away by the
beautiful and crisp pictures, you can browse through a set of
pictures, by selecting the little arrow keys at the bottom-right hand
corner of the picture. Each picture has it's own hidden factoids, so
scroll your cursor over the picture, and learn more than what you had
intended to.

Enjoy Bing! It will change the way you search for information on the Internet.

Put Your DVD Movies on Your IPod

2009-11-23T15:20:00.001-08:00

The iPod is one of the great inventions of modern times. When I bought
mine off eBay, I was like a kid in a candy store. I couldn't wait to
get it, load it up with music and movies and go crazy! Being the video
60, I just knew there was enough room to store
my entire music collection (CDs purchased throughout my lifetime) and
after many hours of using iTunes, I was happy to see my 4500+ songs
residing on my iPod.

Then it came time to load up one of my favorite DVDs and put it into
my shiny new iPod. But hold on a minute. I can't just drag it into
iTunes. What's up here? What's the problem?

So hit the ol' Internet and search. Wow. I quickly learned that there
is more to putting movies on the iPod than just dragging and dropping
them.

If you have read my other iPod articles, you know that I am a
proponent of freeware; that is, software that is provided free of
charge and without any limitation. Within this realm, I did my
research and by reading this article, you will learn the easiest, free
method to copy your DVD collection to your iPod.

You will need two pieces of software. It will save time if you just
download them and install them now. They are:

1.DVD43 http://www.dvd43.com/
2.Handbrake http://handbrake.fr/

After you have installed both applications, reboot, and you are ready to roll.

Worth mentioning here is that it's important to stay with software
that is updated. Don't use old software because technologies update
and the software "breaks" by virtue of changing technology. Both of
the applications I recommend in this article are updated, and actively
supported.

In a nutshell, DVD43 defeats the copy protection and Handbrake
converts the DVD to the iPod format. When no DVD is loaded, or a
non-copy protected DVD is loaded, you will see a yellow face. When a
copy protected DVD is detected, the yellow face turns to a red devil
fact for a few seconds then to a green happy face. This means it is
ready.

Run DVD43 first. Then insert your DVD. When you insert your DVD, if
your media player starts, just close it.

Now run Handbrake. After the application starts up, click on Source.
Select your DVD and it will be read. You will also need to set the
destination. This is where the converted file will be written. A new
folder on the desktop is probably the best option here. This is the
file you will
drag into the iPod.

On the right hand side are Presets. Under Apple, click iPod. This sets
most everything for you. The only thing I recommend is clicking the
Video tab and checking the box for 2-Pass Encoding. This option will
instruct Handbrake to perform a separate analysis pass through the
video before doing the actual encoding. This helps Handbrake to
determine the best possible bitrate to encode for any given section of
the video, and will generally result in better overall quality and the
reduction of artifacts in the resulting video stream. The downside to
this is that it will double the required time for conversion. I'm only
going to run this once, and I want a good quality, watchable video
when I'm done, so I'm OK with the extra time needed. I'm also a firm
believer that the computer should not multi-task during conversion. It
is a very resource intensive operation and should be done when you go
to bed and the computer can be left to do it's thing. Your mileage may
vary.

When the conversion is complete, the resulting video can be simply
imported into the iPod via whatever your preferred means may be.

If you are still using iTunes, I would like to recommend you take a
look at another freeware offering I discovered. It offers many
advanced features iTunes doesn't, plus it lives on the iPod itself. I
welcome you to read my information about Floola at the link posted at
the foot of this article.

I hope this information will make it easier for you to get your DVD
movies on your iPod than it was for me

6 Free Websites that Can Save You Money and Time

2009-11-23T15:19:00.001-08:00

Most of us will agree that the internet and our computers are two
great inventions. They can easily make our lives more manageable and
more entertaining. However, there are times when searching for just
the right website can seem overwhelming. For this reason, it is nice
to know exactly
what site is the one that is going to help you to save time and
money. Here are a few interesting sites that may do just that.

Moneysavers.com

Moneysavers.com is a site many moms will love. It offers coupon codes
to help save you money on a variety of items, printable coupons and a
lot of advice on how you can save money right in your own home.

The Barganist

Bargainist.com should be your first stop before ordering anything off
of the internet. It is updated several times a day and lists online
sales, coupons and freebies. The best part is that you don't need to
waste your time joining or registering.

Paperbackswap

Do you love to read? Do you wish you had a place to exchange the books
you read for some you haven't? If you said yes, then paperbackswap.com
is the site for you. All you do is join, post the books you want to
swap and look for those you wish to order. You can even print the
mailing labels right from the website. The only cost is postage which
averages $2.23 per pound.

Usa.gov

Usa.gov is a site all Americans should bookmark. It is the official
site for the US government and lists a huge list of all government
agencies, services and activities. You can learn about tax
information, how to obtain a government grant, the latest health
updates, etc.

Findhow

Want to learn how to do something and get the information from
reputable companies and universities? If you said yes, then
findhow.com is the site for you. It can show you how to do many
projects such as cutting your child's hair, in clear concise language.

DAFONT

Do you like working with many different types of fonts and handwriting
styles? If you said yes, check out dafont.com. They have over 9,000
fonts that will allow you to preview the text you want, without having
to download it first. Many of the fonts are free to use.

Budgetsimple

Budgetsimple.com is the site you need to check out if you have having
problems figuring out how to write up your own family budget. It will
help you figure out where your money is going and help you get out of
debt quicker. A big plus is that the site does not contain any ads.

Discover America

Discoveramerica.com tracks attractions, events, museums, parks and
festival every state. This site is great if you are going on vacation
or maybe even planning a stay at home vacation.

Free is always nice. However, it can be hard finding those free sites
across the internet that is truly helpful to you. That is why guides
that can actually give the names of free websites that can save you
money and time can be a real blessing.

Safe & Secure Shopping Online - How to Protect Your Privacy and Sensitive Information

2009-11-23T15:18:00.001-08:00

t is no secret that we have to be careful when shopping online. The
amount of threats that surround us when we are making a purchase on
the web are great in numbers. This is why safe and secure shopping
online should be our number one priority when we are about to make a
purchase or submit our personal information over the web.

It is easy to let your guard down when shopping online. Since it is
only you and the computer screen, you may feel as if you are already
safe. Like the saying goes, out of sight - out of mind. However, the
threats may be out of sight but they should not be out of your mind.
Cyber crimes are very common and should not be overlooked. You should
always take precautions before you make any transaction over the web.

The first thing you should look for when you are shopping on any
website is an SSL lock. This is a small yellow lock that would be
located on the bottom right or bottom left corner of any webpage
asking you for a credit card number or any other type of sensitive
information. SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer This system encrypts
any information that you enter into a website before you send it over
the web. This makes it hard for anyone to see and steal your
information.

Some websites have fake yellow locks on their websites to make their
sites look secure. In order to see if a lock is authentic, you should
click on the lock. A pop-up window should appear verifying its
authenticity.

Online companies do what they can to protect their shoppers. However,
the bulk of the responsibility is still up to you. You must also have
your own form of protection. The best protection is an antivirus
software. This form of internet security can protect you from hackers
and computer viruses. The most popular brands on the market today are
Norton and McAfee but there are many to choose from. You can get an
"ok" program for free but a good, solid program will cost anywhere
between $60-$100 per year.

hese are just a few ways we can practice safe and secure shopping
online. The threats will always be out there. However, that should not
deter us from the convenience of shopping online. There are many deals
online that are not always available to offline shoppers. If we are
cautious, we can take advantage of some of these deals without risking
our privacy and sensitive information.

Photographing a Ghost: Tools and Tips for Capturing a Spirit on Camera

2009-11-23T15:16:00.003-08:00

I'm going to be perfectly frank. Photographing a ghost or even a true
orb is very difficult, and while I have captured a few EVPs
(electronic voice phenomenon) over the past 3 years since I've been
involved in a paranormal investigation group, I personally have never
caught a spirit or
ghost on camera.

While I am a believer in the paranormal; I wouldn't spend my free time
researching and investigating claims of such if I weren't, I'm also a
skeptic. I feel that the majority of photos of orbs and other
phenomenon circulating the web are likely fakes. What most people are
seeing when they look at photos of what are thought to be spheres of
energy or ghostly mists, are likely just droplets of water, bugs doing
a fly by, dust or smoke.

There are several factors to take into consideration when
photographing a reportedly haunted site, and studying a photograph of
what you think might be a ghost.

Orbs

As I stated earlier, dust, bugs and moisture will all cause countless
round spheres in a photograph or video. All of these things reflect
light and depending on how much you are moving around, may appear in
one photograph and not the next. A true orb will will be solid in
color and shape, with a defined border, and will appear to be emitting
it's own light. An actual energy orb may even have a trail behind it,
indicating movement. One of the most important pieces of information I
can pass along about orbs, is that they are not truly paranormal in
nature. They are simply balls of energy which occur naturally, and
while they can be present during the manifestation of paranormal
activity, they can also be present in the most mundane situation and
location. In a nutshell, orbs are NOT manifestations of spirits or
ghosts.

False Positives

Another common mistake new investigators make is not paying attention
to their clothing, hair and camera straps when taking photos. These
completely mundane objects can look pretty impressive framing a photo
of a dark room, especially once the flash hits it. Check to make sure
your hair
is tied back, your sleeves are rolled up and the camera strap is
secured and out of frame. You should always go through this short but
important checklist prior to taking photos.

I highly suggest using a digital camera when doing an investigation.
That way, you can analyze each photo as it's taken and if anomalies
appear on film, you have an opportunity to reassess the circumstances,
and try to recreate the photo. Even if that means letting that camera
strap or strand of hair fall into frame to compaire the images, and in
the end, debunking the photo. As an investigator, I would rather be
disappointed than risk putting a false piece of evidence into
circulation.

Smoke and Mirrors

If you are a smoker, extinguish your cigarette. If you are in a
location where the temperatures are low enough for you to see your
breath when you exhale, try to hold your breath when taking a photo.
Cigarette smoke and the moisture your warm breath creates when it hits
the cool air can look like a pretty amazing manifestation of a ghost,
or ectoplasm on film. I've seen countless photos of these exact
mistakes and believe me, it's frustrating to witness. If you are
photographing a location where mirrors are present, pay close
attention to angles, as a flash can create strange refractions and
reflections of light that can appear to be something supernatural on
film. This is another situation where you will want to make an attempt
to recreate the photo to see if any anomalies that have appeared can
be debunked as a reflection.

Remember this: the best thing to do when setting out to take a spirit
photograph, is to pay close attention to the guidelines I've listed
above, and to simply be in the right place at the right time. It takes
a lot of energy for a spirit to physically manifest so bring along a
digital voice recorder as well. A true EVP is a little easier to
capture as it takes less energy. Be respectful of any energies that
may be present, ask them to allow you to take a photo of them, bring
extra batteries and memory cards and snap as many pictures as
possible. And always be safe, and have fun.

How to Choose a Laptop

2009-11-23T15:16:00.001-08:00

What Type of Laptop is Best for Me?
Buying a new laptop can be a stressful event; especially if you're not
sure what type of laptop you need to fit your lifestyle (and your
budget). While laptops come in a staggeringly diverse array of styles
and prices, almost all of them can be classified into one of the
following groups.

Power Laptop

These behemoths come packed with the latest in high-tech gear and
maxed out RAM, hard drive capacity, and processor speed. They have a
heavy price tag as well, many of these powerhouses can cost $2,000 and
up. Unless you require enormous computing power for tasks like 3D
modeling or heavy computations, you probably don't need to shell out
for one of these.

Top-Rated Power Laptop: HP Pavilion dv8000z 85, $2200

Gaming Laptop

While not as powerful as the high-end power laptops, gaming laptops
come packed with top-of-the-line video cards, memory, and processors.
If you're an avid gamer and want crisp performance playing the latest
games, a good gaming laptop is right for you. Average gaming laptops
have a price tag of $1200-$1500, although many gamers claim the price
is well worth the improved gaming experience.

Top-Rated Gaming Laptop: Gateway M350XL, $1,900

Lightweight Laptop

Lightweight laptops are perfect for the constantly on-the-go. Many of
these beauties weigh in at only 3-4 pounds, and are slim enough to be
slipped into a handbag or small backpack. These lightweights are
perfect for business travelers and students, and can handle any
everyday computing tasks with ease. The cons include a higher price
(due to the high cost of small components) and limited computing
power, while the pros include extreme portability and convenience.

Top-Rated Lightweight Laptop: Apple MacBook Air, $1,500

Economy laptops are preferred by the majority of casual laptop buyers
due to affordable prices and the ability to handle everyday computing
needs. Economy laptops can handle videos and most video games as well
as word processing and Internet programs, making them attractive to
many types
of computer users. You can usually find a good economy notebook for
anywhere between $400 and $900, as there is a vast array of choices
and upgrades available. Choose the laptop that seems to best fit your
needs.

Top-Rated Economy Laptop: AcerAspire 1810T Timeline, $600

Once you have decided which type of laptop best fits your needs, do
some research to find out which brand and model is right for you. Ask
at your local computer store, and be sure to check for deals online.
Choosing a computer can seem like a daunting task, but you'll find it
to be much easier if you make use of all your resources to find the

How to Photograph Ghosts and Spirits

2009-11-23T15:15:00.000-08:00

Catch Orbs, Spirit Lights and Ghostly Images on Film
Taking a photograph of a ghost or spirit does not require fancy
equipment or extensive training. Any camera is capable of capturing
images of ghost and spirits. Digital cameras are preferred because it
produces immediate results, can be stored on a memory
card or transferred to a computer without losing quality and there is
no film to fiddle with in the dark.

Select a location that has reports of paranormal activity. Although
you can certainly capture a ghost image in the most unlikely of
places, exploring paranormal hot spots increases your likelihood of
capturing apparitions or ghostly figures.

Take pictures of a defined object to provide perspective and to judge
distance. Focus on a tree, gravestone or fence post if you are
shooting photo outside in a haunter location. Include people in your
photos whenever possible. It is believed that some spirits are
attracted to people and you just may catch that perfect shot while
photographing your team members.

Avoid shooting into the sun as this causes lens flares that can easily
be mistaken for paranormal images. Any source of light, even the moon,
can cause lens flare. Be conscious of all sources of light, including
flashlights.

Watch for reflective surfaces like windows, mirrors or shiny objects
in the camera's field of view. If you are using a flash, objects out
of the view of the camera can also reflect light that may appear on
film in unusual patterns.

Tie hair back or wear a hat to prevent a strand of hair from
accidentally falling in front of the lens. Check lens straps and caps
and keep away from the front of the camera.

Avoid taking photographs in humid conditions or if it is raining or
snowing. This creates orb-like images on the picture. Mist or fog may
distort images or create a myriad of orbs.

Take a deep breath and hold it while you take a photograph to prevent
your breath from appearing in front of the camera in cool weather.
Even when you cannot see your breath, it may show up on film.

Take two shots of the same location without changing position. Do this
before exhaling as movement as simple as breathing out can shift the
focus of the camera and result if a different angle. If you are lucky
enough to catch evidence of paranormal activity, you will have another
photo to
compare images.

Examine photos closely for unexplained images. Beware of a process
called matrixing where the brain translates sensory stimulus to create
a familiar image from the unknown. If that ghostly face you see in the
trees is composed of leaves and branches, then it is not a real ghost
image. An authentic ghost or spirit image is not created from parts of
the environment. It has a distinct shape and form that differs from
the surroundings.

Study orbs carefully, as they are most often created by moisture,
dust, pollen or flying insects. True spirit orbs emit their own light
and may cast a shadow. Study images of common dust and pollen orbs to
learn to distinguish them from genuine spirit orbs.

The tools you use to take spirit or ghost photographs is up to you,
but keep in mind that the better the quality of the camera, the higher
quality image it will produce. Get in the habit of snapping photos
whenever you visit a site or when you get a gut feeling a spirit may
be present, but do observe standard precautions. Not only does this
prevent you from mistaking camera straps, reflections and orbs from
insects or dust for ghostly images, it prevents real images from being
compromised as well.

Facebook : Hide Update

2009-11-23T15:13:00.003-08:00

Facebook has made a change to the way the hide button works in your
newsfeed. Before, when you hovered over hide, you were given a choice
to hide the person or hide the application. Now, hovering will cause
the hide button to appear, but you will not see a drop down. Clicking
the hide
button immediately makes the post disappear, and you are notified
what you've hidden. If the post is the result of an application
action, you will see something like the following in a yellow box:

App Name has been hidden from your News Feed.
In the future, you won't see posts from App Name.

You will also have two options. One is to undo in the upper right part
of the yellow box. Clicking undo will reverse your decision to hide,
you might use this if you wanted to hide an app and accidentally hid a
person.

The other option in the yellow box is 'edit options'. This click will
bring you to the newsfeed options window, which has always been there,
but now has a new way to access it. Here you can see everything you've
hidden, and choose to unhide if you wish.

The news feed options window is also where you'd go to change the
amount of friends you wish to see displayed in the news feed. This
number is low by default, but if you have a substantial number of
friends or potentially go over the number in this box, you'll stop
seeing some of your friends' updates. Change this number to a large
number, and you won't have to worry about this in the future.

Have you adjusted to the switch from news feed to live feed? If you
still aren't used to it (or just don't like it), you can change the
way you see your feed. First, click 'home' on the blue bar at the top
of the screen so you go to your news feed. On the left side of the
screen below where it says 'facebook', you will see a list of things
including your networks, photos, News feed, and more depending on your
settings. To go back to the old view of news feed, click More, find
'Status Updates' and drag it to the top of the list, above news feed.
You will no longer see live updates in real time and will see a notice
at the top if there are new updates posted by your friends. If you
decide to go back to the 'new' live feed, you can always make this
change at any time.

Why Cell Phone Recycling Can Be Dangerous

2009-11-23T15:13:00.001-08:00

Do you know why recycling or throwing away your cell phone or any
other digital device can negatively alter your life? You would if you
were 2.1Certified!

The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone Communication
(I.R.O.C2) is a non-profit organization providing "2.1Certifications"
to schools, communities, business, and individuals through its
acclaimed "I Rock Responsibility 2.1C Concerts," (or educational
seminars). "2.1C" is the
Why Cell Phone Recycling Can Be Dangerous
understanding of 21st Century digital safety, responsibility, and
awareness, and being "2.1Certified" means you are one of the rapidly
growing number of digital citizens guaranteed to know and understand
how to proactively avoid making life altering mistakes with any form
of current or future digital technology!

Cell phone and digital cameras by themselves are not dangerous;
however, the personal content you store on the digital media card or
hard drives in these devices can easily become destructive if in the
hands of someone other than you. For example, pictures, phone numbers,
bank account information, etc. stored on your digital devices can
easily be exploited by someone with malicious intent. The increasing
number of campaigns to recycle these devices are great for the
environment; however, if you fail to remove and destroy your media
card or hard drive prior to the disposal of your digital device, you
could easily become a victim of cyber-crime or exploitation. Deleting
your content from these devices does not mean the content is gone - it
is actually quite easy to recover or "undelete" any file ever viewed,
created or saved to a digital media card or hard drive inside any
digital device.

Unfortunately, in a digital world you are either informed and practice
"2.1C," or you are uninformed leaving yourself and your loved ones
open to the very real risk of becoming a victim in less time than it
takes you to read this article (or blink)!

Remember, your digital actions are public and permanent. Understanding
21st century digital safety, responsibility and awareness is your
responsibility, and the repercussions that accompany your poor digital
judgment (due to ignorance, a lack of common sense, or for malicious
intent), are
Why Cell Phone Recycling Can Be Dangerous
your own fault!

So Get Informed!

Visit the I.R.O.C2 website for more vital 2.1C digital safety tips and
tools, and to schedule a "I Rock Responsibility 2.1C Concert" to
become "2.1Certified" guaranteeing that you will know and understand
how to proactively avoid making a life altering mistake with any form
of current or future digital technology!

IPod Dimensions and Sizes, Get the Facts Here!

2009-11-23T15:12:00.001-08:00

The Apple iPod series comes with a wide variety of sizes. Some iPod
dimensions range from being extremely small like the shuffle to a
moderate size like the iTouch. Each of these iPods has various
features depending on the size. For
example while the iPod shuffle is very small because it has no video
displays what-so-ever. So make sure to take in consideration the
features the iPod comes along with as well as the overall size.

So what are the exact iPod Dimensions? Here is a list in order from
smallest to largest.

iPod Shuffle: The smallest of the bunch.

This is by far the smallest iPod of the bunch. It's actually touted as
the smallest mp3 player in the world. It has a height of 1.8 inches
and a width of 0.7 inches. The total depth of the iPod shuffle is also
only 0.3 inches. If I had to put it to a relative size I would say
it's not much bigger than a stick of gum.

iPod Nano: Slightly larger than the shuffle.

The iPod Nano is a quite a bit larger than the iPod shuffle due to the
fact it has a LCD screen. The iPod Nano height is 3.6inches with a
width of 1.5 inches. The depth is approximately 0.24 inches. Although
larger than the iPod shuffle the iPod Nano is still very small.

iPod Classic: Bigger than the Nano but has more features.

The iPod classic is larger than the prior two iPods. I would describe
the size of this iPod as being "medium". The iPod classic height is
4.1 inches with a width of 2.4 inches. The total depth of the product
is 0.41 inches.

iPod touch: Biggest iPod with a much larger LCD screen.

Like the classic, the iPod touch is a medium sized music player. The
iPod touch height is 4.3 inches with a width of 2.4 inches. The total
depth of the product is 0.44 inches.

One thing in common with the iPod dimensions is that the larger the
iPod the bigger the LCD screen. So depending if you just want a simple
mp3 player like the shuffle or a full blown media center like the iPod
touch it's going to vary greatly in size.

Some recommendations would be to use the smaller iPod's such as the
Nano and Shuffle during physical activity, exercise, on-the-go, or
using discretely. The larger iPods with the bigger LCD screens such as
the Touch are great for long flights or just full blown mobile
entertainment.

The Crosley Director CD Recorder - Product Review

2009-11-23T15:11:00.001-08:00

Record Albums to CDs
Do you happen to have old albums that you can do absolutely nothing
with? I have tons of old school albums that just sit in my basement
and rot away. The only reason I don't play them any more is because I
don't have anything to play them on. Ever Since the millennium hit,
I've been a CD
buying fool. I had no plans of keeping these albums any longer until
my husband came home with the Crosley Director CD Recorder - Record
Albums to CD.

At first glance I thought it was an old floor model television. You
can imagine the look I had on my face when he brought it into the
house. But once he told me what it was, I immediately ran downstairs
to grab a hand full of albums,

The Crosley Director CD Recorder - Record Albums to CD is a CD
recorder that allows you to record your albums into CDs. So if you
have plans of throwing away your old albums then you might want to
hold off for a minute.

What I found interesting about the Crosley Director CD Recorder -
Record Albums to CD

Outside of the way it looked I love the fact that it looked exactly
like an old record player. I know that may sound contradicting but it
really does make sense. Compared to what I own now, the style of it is
extremely ugly but it's also reminiscent. At first sight, I was taken
back to the older days when I would play my records on my record
player. Memory after memory popped into my mind.

Another thing I liked about the Crosley Director CD Recorder was that
not only was I able to record my old albums I was able to record my
old cassettes as well! AS I write this, I'm still in awe that this
product even exists.

The crazy thing about the Crosley Diretor CD recorder is that it not
only plays records and records them into CD it also plays MP3 and wave
files. I'm not really sure if I will be sitting this in my living room
for display because I'm not really in the mood to explain to people
what it is and what it does.

It comes with an LCD display so you can easily read the name of your
tracks and it has the repeat and random option.

If that wasn't enough, it plays at 3 different speeds and also it
7",10" and 12" records. The speakers are amazing and that is a shock
that I'm saying this because I have a hard time giving praise to
certain audio devices I buy. Speakers are an important thing to me so
to actually have a
pair that work properly is plus.

Is there anything I dislike about the Crosley Director CD Recorder -
Record Albums to CD ?

Honestly I can't say that I have anything negative to say about it. I
love the way it functions and it transfers my music from my albums to
CD's effortlessly.

I will say that I wasn't to keen on the price of the Crosley Director
Cd Recorder, which was $300. But since my husband bought it and I
didn't, who cares. If I were faced with purchasing it myself, then I
more than likely wouldn't hesitate. You have to admit that it's a
really great gadget.

My conclusion?

If it just so happen there is a box of old albums in your basement,
collecting tons of dust. Then you might want to consider investing in
the Crosley Director CD recorder. I personally feel as if has saved me
not only time but money as well. Who wants to get rid of their
favorite past times? We all have a collection of favorite songs that
we no longer play because we have nothing to play them on. Consider
the Crosley Director CD recorder, it's the neatest thing since sliced
bread.

Buying Wholesale Mp3 Players on the Internet

2009-11-23T15:10:00.001-08:00

Wholesale MP3 player is individual of the biggest innovation
technology presented for the singing diligence. Because of which,
therefore Many wholesale mp3 players reseller outlets sprouted in the
market today and offer manifold sort of players. Online businessmen
even set higher internet site stores to compete in the mp3 market
proper immediately. Here are some tips in selecting greater wholesale
mp3 players on the internet.

Know what you indeed want before buying on the internet. How do you
need to use the gadget? Are you an active person who wants to pay
attention to singing during jogging every morning? Flash remembrance
based device is perfect for alfresco active use; it is frivolous and
comfortable to hold. On the different hand, supposing you're a
die-hard singing suitor who wants to store every song you knew in your
player, rigid drive model is perfect for you. It is larger in size and
has a wider memory storage capacity. You might even sight photos and
videos in bigger screens.

Some gadget websites propose a huge range of gadgets that could succor
you assess yourself in how you desire your player need to be similar.
To have a quarrel free online shopping, it is pleasant to relate total
the brands and form of players to favorite the right deal. If you are
confused and wants to have the features and capability of together
flash based copy and rigid drive model, you could opt to balancing
equally whether their lineament beside opting micro callous drive
models. It is a diminutive version of hard drive copy that has a
remembrance capability of up to 8GB.

In buying your mp3, create certain you prefer the copy that has
pleasant features, characteristic built-in vocality recorder,
stopwatch, high-quality headphones, belt clip, or armband. Also think
the pattern of your player. Remember that to fully enjoy your singing
player gadget, its lineament must suit your trend.

If you decide to purchase a wholesale MP3 player away wholesale
suppliers based in the Chinese Mainland, you are not solely. As the
Chinese market continues to open its doors and additional Chinese-made
electronics are imported in the United
States, consumers would advantage from a greater option of
high-quality nevertheless inexpensive electronic effects.

Some inform for you before you order your MP3 player out of China:
make convinced to purchase out of a reliable dealer, and look for out
what kind of warranty is offered by your MP3 player. And as alongside
any electronic device, do your research around the features you
desire. The MP3 player market has grown tremendously, with dozens of
unfamiliar styles and models coming out each one season. You'll be
spoiled for choice.

Life Saving Rat Bot

2009-11-23T15:09:00.003-08:00

This is a robot inspired by rats, and it's purpose is to search for
survivors through rubble and burning buildings. It does all this using
only it's whiskers. So, rescue teams be prepared and save some money
to get you hands on this.

This rat like robot is called SCRATCHBot, (Spatial Cognition and
Representation through Active TouCH roBot). The SCRATCHBot is able to
search for survivors under many conditions, it easily search through
smoke filled and pitch black rooms, and all this is possible due to
the touch sensors
located on a set of whiskers.It can really be very helpful in
searching through rubble or debris and also can be really handy in
mine clearing operations. Just imagine, now it's absolutely okay to
get trapped in the most weirdest conditions because even if they
failed getting you out they at least found you!

Okay, this device is the brainchild of UK researchers from University
of Bristol and University of Sheffield, who have spent six years in
researching and designing this robotic rat. Well that's a lot of
years, if would be married, I would have had at least a minimum of
seven children by that time, if possible! Well moving back to
SCRATCHBot, it is a part of the pan-European project to develop
biologically-inspired artificial intelligence systems. The project got
inspiration because of the use of touch in the animal kingdom,
specifically rats as they are the ones who use whiskers to move around
in poorly lit places. They are able to determine the positions, shape
and texture of the object using precise rhythmic sweeping movements of
their whiskers, and then map it all mentally.

This technology has a number of applications, like using robot
underground, under the sea or also in extremely dusty conditions. It
can also be used for tactile inspection of materials in textile mills
or in domestic products it can work as a really advanced vacuum
cleaner from the future.

"In Humans, for example, where sensors are at the fingertips, they are
more vulnerable to damage and injury than whiskers." said Tony Pipe,
of the Bristol Robotics Lab. Professor Prescott said, Although touch
sensors are already implied in robots, the use of touch as a principle
sense has
been overlooked until now. By developing these biomimetic robots, we
are not just designing novel touch-sensing devices, but also making a
real contribution to understanding the biology d tactile sensing.

As this indeed is a great development which would save you ass, under
a lot a circumstances, please be careful. Here is a video of the
SCRATCHBot.

A Guide to Using Picasa Face Recognition

2009-11-23T15:09:00.001-08:00

Picasa is a picture labeling, sorting, storing and retrieval program,
which can find all pictures with one person included anywhere in the
picture, when using the included facial recognition software. Picasa
is a great program if you want to store your pictures in such a way
that you can
retrieve all of the pictures in your gallery, or even on-line, that
contain the same person as the one you have selected to search for.
You can only select the one person that you want all pictures
containing them returned, multiple selections are not yet available,
and the pictures do not need to be tagged to be selected.

Using Picasa face recognition, you can upload all pictures in your
picture gallery, folders or both, which have the person's face that
you selected to search for in them, either alone or in a group of
people. if you tag one picture of a group of people for one person in
it, whenever you retrieve that picture's name, all pictures of groups
that have that person in it will be included, not just that picture
alone.

To start using Picasa face recognition, download Picasa, and have all
of your pictures in one picture folder, like Windows Picture Gallery.
You can have your pictures separated into different groups and
sub-groups, and any pictures in all of them containing the person that
you have chosen to search for will be included in the returns. You can
add pictures one at a time, or in bulk, as long as one person is in
all of them.

When using face recognition for your pictures with Picasa, you do not
have to have name tags included in your groupings or file folders, as
the facial recognition software picks through all of the pictures in
your library that have that person in them, alone or as part of a
group, in the foreground or background, or off to the side, in any
picture file. As long as the people's faces are in relatively good
focus, they will be included in the returns.

Another feature of Picasa's face recognition is that it will group
together a bunch of people who look extremely similar to the person in
the picture that you are using to find more pictures with. These
pictures with similar looking people will be returned in a group. If
you want, you
can un-group the pictures of similar looking people, and have them as
stand-alone pictures. You can also add a name to the picture you are
using to find other pictures of a person, so that in the future you
can simply type in the name, and all pictures with that person in them
well be returned.

Try Picasa's face recognition software for yourself. After using it a
few times, you will find that it is very simplistic in nature, and
tagging or finding pictures is extremely easy,

Review of the HP Pavilion Dv6t Series Laptop

2009-11-23T15:06:00.001-08:00

Good Basic Laptop from HP
I'm in the mood for some new computers this Christmas and I'll be out
on Black Friday hunting for bargains like all of the other crazies on
that day. So I began to ogle the HP dv6t I saw in the store last week
in hopes of a
Black Friday miracle. Hewlett-Packard is one of my favorite computer
styles because they seem to be built to last and are user friendly in
their design with nice mouse pads, endless accessories and add-ons,
and computers that have a specific purpose.

The base configuration for their Pavilion dv6t series is $650 and it
includes a Blu-Ray DVD player, regular DVD burner, and has all the new
bells and whistles on it such as quick entertainment buttons, HD
displays, and a built in camera. For a basic computer that works and
has all the right accessories, it is a joy to use like every other HP
computer.

What I like about this computer is that what normally what comes in a
desktop is in a laptop. You can record your favorite TV shows on your
computer with TV tuner if you want. Just plug it in to your television
and record. Too bad the Blu-Ray drive can't record onto Blu-Ray discs
yet, but give that tech a year and it will be mainstream.

Luckily they have Windows 7 instead of Vista, which is much better on
HP sets like it used to be. For basic computing, this is a fine basic
model for the price. It is fast and streamlined like a sports car but
gets the job done like an SUV. It's your sports car and utility all in
one. It's the perfect size because it's not too big and not too small.

All of the HP accessories that come with computers are always fun to
get with a laptop. Wireless mice, printers, and larger keyboards all
work with this HP number as per usual. I can't wait to try my
headphones on this sucker if we buy this in a week. Definitely get one
that is outfitted with Bluetooth for all your wireless attaching
needs, and getting a Verizon wireless card is nice too when you sign
up for their service and get a connection where ever you can.

Overall, the HP dv6t computer is a nice addition to the line and will
certainly do well in sales. It makes a good basic computer and allows
all kinds of add ons that will jazz it up even more. For a standard
size laptop it is a good choice.

3 Greats and Not-So-Greats of the Macbook Air

2009-11-23T15:05:00.000-08:00

3 Great Things About the Macbook Air

1. It's lightweight. Weighing in at only 3 pounds, the Macbook Air is
easy and convenient to transport. You can easily fit it in your
backpack, briefcase or bag. This makes it perfect for college
students. It is also about the thickness of your
index finger, making transport even easier.

2. It's environmentally friendly. The Macbook Air has been designed
with the environment in mind, so you can surf the web and feel good
about it. It is made of recyclable aluminum, so when it no longer
works it won't be taking up precious space in our landfills. Many of
the chemicals found in other laptops are absent in the Macbook Air.
For example, it doesn't Arsenic in the glass, or Mercury in the LED
Screen. It was rated EPEAT Gold and meets Energy Star 5.0
requirements.

3. It has a full-size keyboard. While many other companies are
reducing keyboard size to achieve a light weight, the Macbook Air has
a full-size, backlit keyboard. It also has a 13-inch screen, so you
can easily surf the web, play games, or work on the research paper.

3 Not So Great Things About the Macbook Air

1. It's price. As with all Macs, the Macbook Air is more expensive
than other laptops, such as Dell and HP. However, it's price has gone
down substantially since it first came out, while at the same time it
gained more storage space and a faster hard drive. Before you count
out the Macbook Air based on price, consider all of it's features and
the features it lacks.

2. It has just one USB port. Unlike other Mac models, the Macbook Air
has just a single USB port. While this may be a problem for some, most
people will only use one USB at a time. However, if this
is a problem, there are some solutions. Solution number 1: buy a
bigger flashdrive and put all your stuff on to it. You still might run
into some problems, say trying to plug in a camera and a flashdrive at
the same time. This brings me to solution number 2: Buy a USB Hub. You
can find these in most any office store, or online. This website has
some cool ones, including a folding snake and one that glows.
http://www.coolstuffexpress.com/Cool-usb-hub.html for the folding
snake or http://www.coolstuffexpress.com/color-morphing-usb-expansion-hub.html
for the glowing one.

3. It is the slowest of the Macs. In testing, compared to the rest of
the Macs, the Air is the slowest one currently shipped from their
online site. For example, the Macbook scored a 198 in tests, with
higher numbers being better, while the Air scored only 175. The
MacbookPro scored 239, while the Air that is the same price scored
only 156.

Keep in mind that before deciding if the Macbook Air is right for you
or not, you must consider what your needs are, depending upon what you
will be using it for.

Can Digital Guitar Pedals Really Simulate Analog Sound?

2009-11-23T15:04:00.001-08:00

There are literally tens of thousands of guitar effect pedals
available out there, and the number grows every year. Some of the
pedals coming out on the market rival the greatest pedals of all time,
and many effect pedals can do things today that were never possible in
the past.
Acoustic simulators can make an electric guitar sound (something)
like an acoustic guitar. Loop machines can provide upwards of twenty
minutes of live delay, and they keep things affordable for the average
gigging guitarist. In other words, it's a really cool time to play the
guitar.

However, many guitarists claim that today's pedals don't really stack
up to the pedals of the '60s or '70s. They claim that older pedals
were able to get awesome tones that digital pedals will never come
close to replicating. So, can digital guitar pedals simulate analog
pedal sound?

Well, no. Not yet, anyways.

To understand why, it's helpful to understand the difference between
digital and analog sound. Analog sound was recorded directly onto tape
back in the day (some studios still use analog equipment), and analog
pedals directly altered the signal being fed through them. The
introduction of digital sound provided sound waves that sounded
crystal clear--but actually, they weren't complete representations of
sound. Digital products take samples of sound waves at tens of
thousands of points over the course of a second, and those samples are
strung together to create a full sound that resembles what was
recorded or played. However, unlike analog sound, it's not a complete
reproduction. Make sense?

The argument you'll hear a lot from audiophiles and vintage gear heads
is that analog pedals and equipment simply provides better sound. If
you're basing your idea of "better sound" off of whether something's a
complete reproduction, or whether all of an original sound wave is
used through a foot pedal to create a new tone, they're right.

But in the modern musical world, it's really hard to tell the
difference. Digital pedals use such accurate technology to reproduce
and change sound that they're practically at analog levels, and if you
meet someone who can tell the difference, they tend to be few and far
between.
Certainly the fans who show up to most rock shows won't notice the
minute differences between digital and analog pedals, as far as
straight sound quality goes.

Analog foot pedals can also have variables that digital pedals don't
have. For instance, if a pedal has a tube or older circuitry,
something might go wrong to make a much cooler sound. With digital
pedals, something breaking tends to mean...well, the pedal breaking.
Many newer digital pedals have controls that allow them to simulate
these inconsistencies in analog pedal controls, however.

The reality is that the gap between digital and analog guitar effects
pedals is gradually being eliminated, and newer pedals are getting
close and closer to accurately simulating the old analog pedals
without any of the old analog problems. Like I said--it's a great time
to be a guitarist.

Do you think digital guitar pedals can ever simulate analog guitar
effects? Post in the comments section below.

better than the cheaper models. Personally, I wish that this report came out long ago. Not only did me and my aunt lose money, we both lost important data. So what if the data wasn't life threatening. It was still our digital life that temporarily di

2009-11-23T15:02:00.001-08:00

Thanks to SquareTrade's new report that states nearly a third of
laptops fail in first three years, Christmas shopper's have a better
idea of what they are buying. At a time when most computer shoppers
are swearing that they will no longer buy (insert brand name here)
because of a badpersonal experience, the SquareTrade report both helps
to concrete those feelings and advise what brand to buy.

As it turns out, you really do get what you pay for. Premium laptops
have a low failure rate of only 18.1%. While that does seem like a
high failure rate, it is quickly put into perspective with the
knowledge that entry level laptops are at 20.6% and netbooks are even
worse at 25.1%. However, while netbooks do fail 20% more than an entry
level laptops, there is not enough data to accurately conclude the
three year failure rate.

Out of this report comes hard feelings for previous Hp customers like
me. Hp is ranked last in laptop reliability. While the exact amount is
not stated, the fact that over one-fourth of Hp laptops are expected
to fail within three years. That fact makes it perfectly clear that I
wasted money by trying to save money by buying the popular brand. Acer
and Gateway customers are second in line at the complaints table with
a malfunction rate of over 23%. Unfortunately, because of my
experience, I suggested my aunt buy a Acer, which she did and regrets.

One of the largest surprises was Apple having a 17.4% fail rate.
Perhaps Apple should review the script for their 'Mac versus PC'
commercial. After all, while Apple is moderately reliable, it is still
the PC that has a lower laptop failure rate.

So maybe the key to buying a durable laptop is to purchase the most
expensive, less popular laptops. Asus and Toshiba fair far better at a
failure rate of only 15.6% and 15.7% respectively. In simpler terms,
Asus and Toshiba were 40% more likely to outlast HP. For anyone
looking to invest in a laptop or buying one for Christmas, that fact
will most decidedly be a deal breaker.

The conclusion of SquareTrade's report on the failure rate of laptops
and netbooks is that the brand name should be number one factor in
choosing a new laptop. The second factor, according to the report, is
the cost. Premium laptops, those that cost over one thousand dollars,
survived better than the cheaper models.

Personally, I wish that this report came out long ago. Not only did me
and my aunt lose money, we both lost important data. So what if the
data wasn't life threatening. It was still our digital life that
temporarily died.

The full SquareTrade report on laptop failures can be found here.