Computer Basics

Does your printer have frequent paper jams? Does it put ink where ink shouldn't be? Is the outside of your printer dirty or covered with smudges? If so, it is time to clean your printer.

First, there are some general rules that apply to cleaning just about any electrical device. It is best to turn off the printer before cleaning it. Do not spray water or cleaner on or in the printer. Instead wet the rag with it and clean the printer with the rag.

Different types of printers require different cleaning methods. So if you can get your hands on cleaning instructions for your make and model of printer, do so and follow them. Unfortunately, many manufacturers only make that kind of information available to their licensed technicians. In that case, you are stuck with these instructions, so read on.

Open up your printer and take a look.

If you have an ink jet printer and there is an ink mess inside, clean it up with wet paper towels.

If you have a printer that uses toner either vacuum or blow it out. Some toner, especially color toner, can be harmful to you, so only use a vacuum with a micro-toner filter or blow and run. Figure out where the drum is (it is shiny and larger in diameter than the rollers) and do not touch or scratch it. If you do, the scratches will turn up as marks on every paper that you print and will require that you replace the drum (not a cheap option) to fix it.

Examine the path that the paper takes through the printer. Clean all of the rollers (but on a toner printer, not the drum or rollers near the drum and watch out for the rollers after the drum because they may be hot). It may take some disassembly and/or contorting of your arm to get to some of the rollers. Access is not always easy. The most important rollers to clean are the ones which pick up the paper from the paper bin and transfer it into the printer. If these rollers are dirty or bad, they will cause consistent paper jams.

The rollers are made of either hard plastic or rubber. All of the rollers can be cleaned with water or rubbing alcohol. If the rubber rollers have deposits that you can't get off, you can use harsher cleaners but be careful because those cleaners can damage the plastic rollers and parts.

To clean a roller, wipe across the roller with a wet rag, rotate the roller, and wipe again. Do this until you have worked your way all the way around the roller. Look at the rag. If it has been blackened by the roller, move to a clean part of the rag and clean the roller again.

Once everything is clean on the inside, close it up and clean the outside. Wipe off the case and each of the buttons or knobs. If there are staples or paper clips sitting on it or wedged in the cracks, remove them and throw them away.

Other areas of the printer can be cleaned but to do so, you will have to either get training and special tools or leave it to a trained professional.


July, 12/o8

If you have not done the inspection mentioned in the previous article - How to Clean your Case, now is the time to do so. Look at the blades of the fan in the back of the computer. Also look at any vents. Is there clusters of dust there? Is there grime caked on to it? If so, the inside needs to be cleaned. If the fan blades are clean but it has been several years since you have cleaned the motherboard or if the computer is around cigarette smoke, it probably should be cleaned anyway. Dust and particles in the air (like cigarette smoke) can build up on the circuitry of the motherboard and cause it to heat up and/or corrode.

The first thing that you need to do is unplug your computer. Then open up the case to get access to the motherboard. Cases open differently. If you don't know how to open your case, look on the back of your computer along the edge for some screws. These screws may hold on side panels or an upside down U shaped panel that covers the sides and top. Removing the screws will allow you to take off the cover. Other cases have the screws on the front of the computer. To get access to these screws, you must first remove the front panel by pressing a hidden latch. The cover is there to give easy access to the inside of your computer, so if you look hard enough, you should be able to figure out how to remove it.

Remember that if you touch anything on the motherboard, you should be grounded by either touching the metal frame of the computer with your other hand or by wearing a special grounding device.

The goal of cleaning the motherboard is to remove all dust and debris from the motherboard and all components inside of the case. This can be done using one of three methods.

The preferred method is to use a can of compressed air to blow it out. Always hold the can in an up-right position to prevent the propellent chemicals which can damage or corrode components from coming out. Dust and dirt should be blown away from the motherboard and out of the case.

Another way to remove dust is to use a vacuum. The common advice is to only use a battery operated vacuum because an AC powered vacuum causes static and static can ruin the motherboard. I have used an AC powered vacuum (before I knew that it was not recommended) to clean my motherboard many times and it has never caused any problems, but I may have just been lucky. When using the vacuum, keep the nozzle a couple of inches away from the motherboard or any other components so that it does not come in contact with them and so that any small parts are not sucked into the vacuum.

If you do not have a can of compressed air or a vacuum, you can use a dry cloth and brush to clean the motherboard. Be careful not to dislodge or break anything using this method.

While cleaning the motherboard, be careful not to unplug any cables or connections or to dislodge any loose components, such as, jumpers.

Methodically clean the whole inside of the case going over all of the motherboard from one end to the other and all other components. Don't forget to clean the fans and heat sinks. Do not open up the power supply box or stick anything in it beyond the fan. If you do, you could get a shocking surprise and ruin your computer.

If your computer does not work when you put it back together, something was obviously dislodged during the cleaning. Open the case back up and push all connections and cards into their slots. Look for anything that may have become disconnected.

Cleaning the motherboard is probably the most dangerous form of cleaning but it is necessary to prevent an early death of your computer.


July, 11/o8.

RSS is an abbreviation that has evolved into the following, depending on their versions:

• RDF Site Summary (also known as RSS 0.9; the first version of RSS)
• Rich Site Summary (also known as RSS 0.91; a prototype)
• Really Simple Syndication (also known as RSS 2.0)

Today, RSS stands for 'Really Simple Syndication', and it has the following 7 existing formats or versions:

• 0.90
• 0.91
• 0.92
• 0.93
• 0.94
• 1.0
• 2.0

RSS tools refer to a group of file formats that are designed to share headlines and other web content (this may be a summary or simply 1 to 2 lines of the article), links to the full versions of the content (the full article or post), and even file attachments such as multimedia files. All of these data is delivered in the form of an XML file (XML stands for eXtensible Markup Language), which has the following common names:

• RSS feed
• Webfeed
• RSS stream
• RSS channel


They are typically shown on web pages as an orange rectangle that usually has the letters XML or RSS in it.

RSS feeds can be used to deliver any kind of information. Some of these 'feeds' include:

• Blogs feed - each blog entry is summarized as a feed item. This makes blog posts easier to scan, enabling 'visitors' to zoom in on their items of interest.

• Article feed - this alerts readers whenever there are new articles and web contents available.

• Forum feed - this allows users to receive forum posts and latest discussion topics.

• Schedule feed - this allows users (such as schools, clubs, and other organizations) to broadcast events and announce schedule changes or meeting agendas.

• Discounts or Special feed - this is used to enable users (such as retail and online stores) to 'deliver' latest specials and discounted offers.

• Ego or News Monitoring - this enables users to receive 'filtered' headlines or news that are based on a specific phrase or keyword.

• Industry-specific feed - used by technical professionals in order to market, promote, or communicate with current (and prospective) customers and clients within their specific industries.

RSS feeds enable people to track numerous blogs and news sources at the same time. To produce an RSS feed, all you need is the content or the article that you want to publicize and a validated RSS text file. Once your text file is registered at various aggregators (or 'news readers'), any external site can then capture and display your RSS feed, automatically updating them whenever you update your RSS file.

RSS tools are useful for sites that add or modify their contents on a regular basis. They are especially used for 'web syndication' or activities that involve regular updates and/or publications, such as the following:

• News websites - as used by major news organizations such as Reuters, CNN, and the BBC.
• Marketing
• Bug reports
• Personal weblogs

There are many benefits to using RSS feeds. Aside from being a great supplemental communication method that streamlines the communication needs of various sectors, RSS tools and feeds can also have tremendous benefits in your business, particularly in the field of internet marketing.

RSS tools and feeds provide Internet users with a free (or cheap) and easy advertising or online marketing opportunity for their businesses. Below are some of the RSS features that can help make your internet marketing strategies more effective.

1. Ease in content distribution services. With RSS, your business can be captured and displayed by virtually any external site, giving you an easy way to 'spread out' and advertise them.

2. Ease in regular content updates. With RSS, web contents concerning your business can now be automatically updated on a daily (and even hourly) basis. Internet users will be able to experience 'real time' updates as information in your own file (such as new products and other business-related releases) is changed and modified simultaneously with that of the RSS feeds that people are subscribed to.

3. Custom-made content services. With RSS, visitors can have personalized content services, allowing them total control of the flow and type of information that they receive. Depending on their interests and needs, visitors can subscribe to only those contents that they are looking for (such as real estate or job listings).

4. Increase in (and targeted) traffic. With RSS, traffic will be directed to your site as readers of your content summary (or 1 to 2 lines of your article) who find them interesting are 'forced' to click on a link back to your site.

These are just several of the many things that you can do with RSS. The possibilities are endless, and they are all aimed at providing you with an effective internet marketing strategy for your business.

In the mean time, Good Luck on your journey to success…

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July,11 08

The best role of business online is that of interdependency. We’ve all heard the old saying, “No man is an island.” When it comes to online business this is especially true.

If a business owner who takes their business into the online world determines they will be self reliant and never accept the help of anyone then that individual will not be in business long enough to change their minds.

It is accepted fact that the greatest tool for long-term exposure to your website is through Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Without it potential customers can’t find you. It is unreasonable to expect that you can adequately develop a website without optimizing your website for the best possible search engine ranking.

Search engines also place a high value on sites that have links placed on existing sites. These ‘backlinks’ demonstrate to search engines that others trust your site. By placing your link on their website these other businesses indicate a trust and recommendation for your site.

In effect the two strategies listed above rely exclusively on what others can do for you when it comes to your online business.

Shirley Temple once proclaimed in her movie Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, “I’m very self-reliant.” American westerns are filled with lines dealing with pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and holding down the fort. Many of us have grown up to believe if we want something done right we have to do it ourselves.

This thinking is in opposition to the rules associated with an online business.

The online world can only exist because people share. Individuals share technology, but the also share links, reviews, blogs, forums and a wide range of other marketing strategies that find a commingling of interdependency.

In online business you are as dependent on others as they may be on you. Unlike the word ‘dependent’, the term interdependent indicates a mutual dependency. In other words you are depending on others to help provide links back to your site while they are equally dependent on you (or others) for the success of their business.

Have you really taken a proactive approach to networking? It’s possible you are reading this today and you’ve never considered asking someone else to place a link to your site on his or her online business site.

It can feel awkward depending on others to achieve online success especially if you’ve been lead to believe reliance on others is also a sign of imposing on their otherwise brilliant generosity.

I suppose it could be a deep-seated sense of pride that makes it hard to consider the need to ask others for help. However, the truth is depending on others is really what has made the Internet possible. The growth of this online world is comprised of a link of computers, networks and servers that are connected in a way that provides the maximum benefit for all.

Building an online business can feel a bit like trying to build a house of cards. Without the ability to rely on the other ‘cards’ around you it is virtually impossible to build.

July,11 '08

An ASP is known as an Active Server Page. It is a server scripting technology that is for building web pages that are both dynamic and interactive. The ASP implementation was created by Microsoft and gives web developers the freedom to create dynamic websites accessed from the many Microsoft COM-compliant data sources available. It is distributed within Microsoft's web specific products including:Internet Information Server (IIS) - 2000 / XP Pro / NT4 Personal Web Server (PWS) - Windows 98HTML Editors - Front Page and Visual InterdevASP is simple to understand and create, yet powerful enough to allow:Interaction between the user and the serverBehind the scenes access to databases and other serversUser of the powerful COM componentsSupport varying types of browsers the web site visitor is usingIt uses a combination of standard HTML and text, and XML, but can also access other standard scripting languages such as VBScript and JavaScript. The standard extension for an ASP is .asp, instead of the normal .htm extension. It is incorrect to consider ASP as a language itself; it is a technology that enables web developers to create sites that don't rely on static HTML. How is an ASP processed?When an ASP page is requested by a browser the web server knows that its sole task is to interpret any ASP contained with the web page before sending the HTML to the browser. The entire ASP is run on the web server and no ASP will ever be passed to the browser. Any web pages containing ASP cannot be run by simply opening the page in a web browser. The page must be requested through a web server that supports ASP.What are the advantages of ASP?ASP is more advantageous than CGI or Perl due to its simplicity and speed. It provides security as ASP code cannot be viewed from the browser and clever ASP programming can reduce network traffic.

July, 2008.

Wow, the computer industry has phenomenally taken over the world. Did you ever think back in the 80s that computers would be our right hands? I mean, we use them for practically everything these days. From banking online, to ordering clothes, to sending a message. This is why computer education is becoming so imperative for work in today's society. We all use and need computers for some aspect of our lives. If you're not taking advantage of them at work, then you're surely browsing the World-Wide-Web at home. These magnificent innovations certainly aren't going anywhere; therefore you better make sure you receive your proper computer education for what lies ahead. Did you receive a decent computer education in high school? I have to say the Internet was just coming about when I was graduating. It was during my college career that I took a dive into computer education and modern technology concerning the Internet and more. I soon realized that I would need computers for pretty much any career path I chose. This prompted me to take a few additional computer courses and broaden my computer education. I learned all about Microsoft Office, hardware, software, viruses, creating presentations, graphs, and more. This basic knowledge is truly necessary to vie in today's job market. I noticed after graduation that every job I was interested in required some computer education and skills. Some occupations more than others. I was relieved that I had the mandatory tools of the trade. If you ponder the amount of time you interact with computers on a daily basis, you will probably be shocked. Essentially all of us, regardless of our current job, encounter computers all the time. Many of us have even resorted to online conveniences, which in turn save us a considerable amount of valuable time. Home computers and the Internet are our friends. If you lack basic computer education and wish to get a better hold on modern technology and the future that lies ahead, it's time to take action. It's easy these days to take a computer course at your local college, or even online. This way you will have a better understanding of how the incomparable systems work. If you are not even Internet savvy, you can always ask a friend to aid you in getting online to take a course in computer education. It's for your future.

July, 2008.

HTML is the programming language that has been instrumental in bringing about this revolution called 'Internet'. 'HTML' fascinates a lot of people. There are people who want to learn HTML in order to try their hands at developing a website on their own. For the website designers and developers, HTML is their bread and butter. They use HTML to bring websites to life. This community of programmers and developers is also in constant search of new HTML techniques that will enhance their skills further. The use of HTML can be judged by the fact that thousands of websites are launched everyday on the internet (and all websites use HTML in some way). Another gauge of the popularity of HTML is the fact that there are several books on HTML available in the market and there are several websites that discuss and teach HTML. For example, www.html-code-pulse.be is a website that brings together all the resources and information on HTML. In fact, this website really justifies its name "HTML code pulse". In computing, HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is a markup language designed for the creation of web pages with hypertext and other information to be displayed in a web browser. HTML is used to structure information - denoting certain text as headings, paragraphs, lists and so on - and can be used to describe, to some degree, the appearance and semantics of a document. HTML's grammar structure is the HTML DTD that was created using SGML syntax.Originally defined by Tim Berners-Lee and further developed by the IETF, HTML is now an international standard (ISO/IEC 15445:2000). Later HTML specifications are maintained by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).Early versions of HTML were defined with looser syntactic rules which helped its adoption by those unfamiliar with web publishing. Web browsers commonly made assumptions about intent and proceeded with rendering of the page. Over time, the trend in the official standards has been to create an increasingly strict language syntax; however, browsers still continue to render pages that are far from valid HTML.XHTML, which applies the stricter rules of XML to HTML to make it easier to process and maintain, is the W3C's successor to HTML. As such, many consider XHTML to be the "current version" of HTML, but it is a separate, parallel standard; the W3C continues to recommend the use of either XHTML 1.1, XHTML 1.0, or HTML 4.01 for web publishing.

July, 2008.

HTML is the programming language that has been instrumental in bringing about this revolution called 'Internet'. 'HTML' fascinates a lot of people. There are people who want to learn HTML in order to try their hands at developing a website on their own. For the website designers and developers, HTML is their bread and butter. They use HTML to bring websites to life. This community of programmers and developers is also in constant search of new HTML techniques that will enhance their skills further. The use of HTML can be judged by the fact that thousands of websites are launched everyday on the internet (and all websites use HTML in some way). Another gauge of the popularity of HTML is the fact that there are several books on HTML available in the market and there are several websites that discuss and teach HTML. For example, www.html-code-pulse.be is a website that brings together all the resources and information on HTML. In fact, this website really justifies its name "HTML code pulse". In computing, HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is a markup language designed for the creation of web pages with hypertext and other information to be displayed in a web browser. HTML is used to structure information - denoting certain text as headings, paragraphs, lists and so on - and can be used to describe, to some degree, the appearance and semantics of a document. HTML's grammar structure is the HTML DTD that was created using SGML syntax.Originally defined by Tim Berners-Lee and further developed by the IETF, HTML is now an international standard (ISO/IEC 15445:2000). Later HTML specifications are maintained by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).Early versions of HTML were defined with looser syntactic rules which helped its adoption by those unfamiliar with web publishing. Web browsers commonly made assumptions about intent and proceeded with rendering of the page. Over time, the trend in the official standards has been to create an increasingly strict language syntax; however, browsers still continue to render pages that are far from valid HTML.XHTML, which applies the stricter rules of XML to HTML to make it easier to process and maintain, is the W3C's successor to HTML. As such, many consider XHTML to be the "current version" of HTML, but it is a separate, parallel standard; the W3C continues to recommend the use of either XHTML 1.1, XHTML 1.0, or HTML 4.01 for web publishing.

July, 2008.

Right now you probably in a lot of mental pain, and all youre concerned about is recovering your data as quickly as possible - so well refrain from comments on the wisdom of regular back ups. The time for preventative measures has gone - the issue at hand is data recovery.First - a simple tip could save you a lot of money. Take out your rolodex and get hold of your tech-savvy friends. If youre in luck, theyll offer to help, and if youre really lucky, they might even have some disk recovery software.If youre out of luck, then get out your wallet or purse out now because this is going to cost you. Also, be prepared for a lot of time being wasted - data recovery can take a long time.The first thing to establish is what exactly is wrong with your hard disk:* Either your computer wont boot up, or* Your computer boots up OK but you cant see one of your other drives.Lets see if we can eliminate the worst scenario. Listen closely to your hard drive - is it making any sort of weird noise, such as scratching, scraping, ticking etc?If so, then your drive is physically damaged and the only hope that you have is to take it to a data recovery service where experts might be able to get your data off for you. These services are expensive and time consuming - so you need to make a judgement call as to the value of data on the disk:If its only your saved game data or downloaded music files you would like back, youre probably better off kicking yourself for not backing up, and accepting the data loss.If, on the other hand, its a book or other type of information product that youve been working on for years, then send it to a data recovery service for an evaluation and quote - it usually costs nothing.If your hard disk sounds OK, then you stand a decent chance of recovering data yourself.First youll need to download some software to help you out.Unfortunately, the better software utilities are not free, but the good news is that many allow you to try them out to see if they can access the data. There are some freeware products available but generally speaking these are not easy to use - no user interface little documentation, or they are not very effective.Your next steps will be based on how your hard drives were setup:* If you only have a single hard drive that has not been partitioned or split into different logical drives, youll probably need to attach the hard drive to another computer that has enough space to store all your data. This can be quite technical so if you dont have the skills please get a computer savvy friend to help out.Another option is to purchase an external USB hard drive case. You can then simply slot the hard drive into the case and plug it into another PC using a USB port.* If you have a multiple drive setup and your computer boots up fine, then it will merely be a case of getting the downloaded software to read the files and then copy them to another drive - provided you have a drive with enough space on it. If not, youll need to attach the hard drive to another machine with enough spare capacity.* The scenario where you have a multiple drive setup, where the problem drive is the one that contains your operating system files is more tricky.

July, 2008.

If you're a business owner with an internet presence, you probably already know that the rules of the web are constantly changing when it comes to maintaining profitability online. In the past, it was common for businesses to have a website built, and then leave it unchanged for long periods of time - sometimes years! But in order to achieve high search engine rankings and gain exposure in today's internet age, websites must be continuously updated with fresh, current information.Information, the primary "product" of the internet, demands to be fresh and new. In the past, building and updating sites was so complicated that only those with years of training could manage to make changes to a site. Today things are completely different. Now there is software like Dreamweaver that does all of the hard work and allows you to build web pages with as much simplicity as creating a Word document.Most people don't realize that so much can be learned in so few days of web design courses. But with advancements in web design technology, creating sharp and professional websites is simpler than ever before. If you can use Microsoft Word, you have all of the prerequisites you need for Dreamweaver training.The reason programs like Dreamweaver make building websites so simple is that they use all of the tools that you're already familiar with from using Microsoft Office products. While there are still a lot of complicated processes happening behind the scenes, Dreamweaver uses a simple editor that allows you to build your web pages visually and then transfer them to the web.Why pay someone else an exorbitant amount to build your company's website when you can easily do it yourself after taking 3 days of Dreamweaver training? The going rate to hire someone to build a professional website isn't cheap.Now add in the cost of maintaining and updating your site. In today's internet age it is essential that your site be continuously updated in order to attract both search engines and visitors. Compare that to the cost of the few hundred pounds it costs to learn how to build and maintain your own site through Dreamweaver training and web design courses.Today, site owners can learn in a few days of Dreamweaver training and web design courses what it took programmers years to learn in the old days. In the past, updating a website was a big production that only professionals could accomplish. Now everyone who has a great product, service, or idea can build and maintain a professional website.Many business owners that thought they could never build a website are often amazed at what they can do after a few days of Dreamweaver training and web design courses. After a couple of web design courses you may find yourself completely rethinking your web strategy and uncovering a wealth of new possibilities for earning revenue and attracting new business online.

July, 2008.

If you are a small business owner, brochures and other print marketing materials probably arent top priority in your operating budget. Fortunately, there are plenty of online printing companies that are at your service that can help you design brochures and can get high quality brochures to you within a few days. But for those DIYers (do-it-yourselfers), here is a short list of brochure printing software to consider. The upside is that you are in control of the entire design with your own brochure software; but, of course, that could also be a downside if you dont know what constitutes good brochure design. And, once you get your brochure designed, youre still going to need someone to print them. So, without further ado, here are some of the best brochure printing software programs: PUBLISH-iT 3.5 You can create brochures as well as flyers, newsletters, reports and many other types of publications. You are totally in charge of the layout and formatting of your brochure. It comes with a tutorial, online help and templates for you to build on. Cost: $24 Belltech Small Business Publisher 5.1 You can create professional-looking brochures, letterhead, CD labels, address labels and more with this software. You can choose from many design templates and it supports many standard paper stocks. This also has an automatic spell-checker to help you proofread (an extremely vital step in the brochure printing process!). It also allows you to save your brochure and go back to it later to tweak it or to modify it. Cost: $49 Clickbook 8.0 You can create greeting cards, posters, banners, and other print materials in addition to brochures with Clickbook 8.0. This is a good program for the beginner because you can print out a step-by-step instruction sheet on how to do double-sided printing. Clickbook 8.0 offers 80 custom booklet styles and can rotate and reduce your document automatically when you print. It works with most Microsoft applications. Cost: $49.95 SmartDraw With SmartDraw, you can create certificates, marketing charts and forms as well as brochures. With SmartDraw you dont have the option for starting with a blank slate you must choose a template from the beginning and add to it. You add text and photos and SmartDraw basically designs the brochure for you by aligning all the elements. Not for those who like to have a lot of control over their design. Cost: $197 Adobe InDesign CS3 InDesign is used by most graphic designers and professional publishing houses. This is definitely an investment that will pay for itself down the road if you create a lot of your own marketing materials. With InDesign, you can choose from bi-fold and tri-fold brochure design templates. It is easy to work with and can open many different types of file extensions. You can create a more complex brochure and you can use intricate font styling, such as drop caps, and you have more font choices than with other software. Cost: $699

July, 2008

You know you need a website for yourself or your organization. Now the only question is how you are going to go about doing it without breaking the bank. But at the same time, you don't want it to look cheap either, it needs to look professional and be easy to change when changes are needed.Having a web site today has become a necessity for individuals and organizations alike. Your online presence matters much in the global world we live in, especially if you want to be heard, to make a difference, then having your website is essential.Making your own website is even more important if you want to do business online, or want to promote your products or services online. An effective website can do wonders in the marketing domain and get you the sales you desperately need. What’s more is that a mere website can change you from having a local presence to having a global one. So what do you do if you want to have a website? The first thoughts that come to mind are thoughts that will send jitters down your spine. Instantly when you think of making a professional, classy website, with a website design that is catchy, you think of hiring professional web designers, making them understand how you want your website to be, paying them hundreds (or thousands) of dollars to make the website and then paying them more, and possibly having to wait days or weeks, for every change you want in the future. That is sure to make you weary and your pocketbook thin. In the old days (a few years ago) that used to be about the only choice you had unless you wanted to grind it out on your own trying to learn HTML coding from scratch. Yuck!Now with CSS programming, it's even more difficult to do on your own.Fast forward to today: Now even a rank newbie can have their own professional website in just a few minutes. There are now some great options to make your very own website yourself with hardly any knowledge of programming or HTML or any of those complicated things. You can make your own website design, choose from a range of website templates and fill out the content the way you want, and, if you get the right website builder, you can make changes any time you want, whenever you want without it costing you anything extra. Making your own website has now become an affordable, do-it-yourself and easy thing to do, if, and I say if, you choose the right one.But beware: choose the wrong web builder, and it could be a nightmare.What you are looking for is an affordable, workable, professional looking website building tool preferably with a reasonable monthly fee of no more than $50 (to start) and preferably no contract. If you see them ask for a long-term contract, you should step back and reconsider. About:Other options to look for in a web page builder is a user-friendly interface that will take you right through the website designing and website publishing process from start to finish. You want to be able to choose from a range of website templates, and you want to be able to change the writing and pictures on your website anytime you desire, even at 2am in the morning, for no extra cost. With the right website builder, there is no need to buy or master expensive and difficult to learn graphics programs. Less effort, less time, less money and better results can be had with the proper website building program.

July, 2008

It is very important to check a used computer thoroughly before buying it as it may lead to problems in the future. A hard drive will not show any outward signs but may be deteriorating. The same way the needle can suddenly slip and can cause scratches on the disc ultimately leading to memory loss as used computers can fail any time. If they are checked, the faults which may occur can be known. Let us first see the possible faults which may occur while purchasing a used computer.Hard disk failures can happen due to heavy wear and tear over a period of time. The read and write heads of a hard disk are used to retrieve or recode data stored on the hard disk with the help of a disk platter rotating at a high speed. Over a period of time the risk of failure or malfunction of disk increases. Faulty sectors of the hard disks can be found out only if a full surface scan is done on the used computer. The scanning time depends on the capacity and size of the hard disk of the used computer. Many skip this procedure due to the time consuming process of scanning the whole disk and end up purchasing a used computer with a faulty sector.Monitors need to be checked for any faults. The malfunctioning of a monitor is called a “dry joint” which results in the monitor not working after getting warmed. This can be checked only if the monitor is made to work for at least 20 to 30 minutes after switching on the computer.Next is to look for any possibilities of the central processing unit getting freezed. Normally all the central processing units have a fan and heat sink for keeping the unit cool. Over a period of time the fans may not work properly due to the accumulation of dust and dirt resulting in over heating of the central processing unit and even leading to stopping from functioning. While buying a used computer the fan needs to be checked and if any abnormal sound is heard, it is not good for purchase.The used computer may have a higher possibility of getting crashed and freezed due to the usage of the operating system for a good number of years. There may be a cache or RAM fault due to the over exposure leading to loss of data. To increase the performance of the computer and to avoid crashing, the operating system of the used computer can be reinstalled with a new operating system or a fresh one.While checking the used computers for any faults, it is good to disconnect the network connection if any present before performing the tests. Also it is advisable to check the drives like the CD or DVD by opening and closing them and also playing something on the drives to see how they work. Monitors of the used computers can be checked for the resolution and brightness by trying different options of color, settings and so on. To check the hard disk size the CMOS setup can be gone through and to verify the speed of the processor, cache and RAM the pause button is pressed when it appears on the screen during the booting process. To check the booting process, the computer can be turned on and off a few times and seen how it responds. Checking should be done to see if all the passwords are erased before purchasing a used computer.

July, 2008

The widely publicized attacks and vulnerabilities to software system have lead to the development of patch management. It discovers and defenses your system against vulnerabilities. Many organizations with pro-active security patch management in place are not affected by these attacks, as they get the information in advance of the attack. Patch management software allows you to scan, detect, assess, and remediate any security vulnerability on your network. The software identifies the threat and provides you with tools to remediate vulnerabilities and install missing patches. Patch management software determines footprints, perform vulnerability analysis and reports, and define domain, machine and location inventories. The advantages of patch management are – documentation, defines domain, establishment and link speed between locations. Patch management software has become one of the fastest growing segments of software market, as they are designed specifically to test and deploy fixes for software defects and alter any security vulnerabilities. Patch management tools don’t just automate rolling out patches but help to prevent many problems. Sachs Consulting offers patch management solution that is cost effective and reliable.Depending on the number of systems in an organization and the seriousness of their operation, the workflow elements of a patch management tool becomes important due to its ability to deliver the patches. The first part of the patch management process is to determine the vulnerable system. Next step is to make sure that the patches will work and they won’t break other software. Finally the patches come out of the machine. Patch management tools also ensure that the new systems on the network, such as mobile users connecting from a laptop, are quickly brought up to proper patch level. And if a patch turns out to cause more problems then the vulnerability it fixes, patch management tools help to remove or roll back the offending fix. However, the first line of defense for the average network agency is still well enforced user policies and standardized system. Patch management can at least help system administrators to keep focus on those while taking the grunt work of patch management off their hands. You can get all necessary details about database patch management and the software at www.sachsconsulting.com.

July, 2008

In this modern era, high tech devices that are very expensive like the computers can be replaced with cheaper ones. Such cheap computers mostly come in the form of used computers. Used computers can be found in abundance in the used computer warehouses in various places, even in the local area of the prospective buyer’s residence. However there is no guarantee of quality when buying a used computer. The buyer has to take his own personal risk in doing so. But, if the buyer is ready to spend some money in upgrading the level of the used computer and also some time checking the quality of the used computer before purchase, it will save him from loss. Used computers can save a lot of money for the buyer when compared to buying a new computer. There are many who cannot afford to buy a new computer like the students who do not have any source of income but definitely require computers. For such people, used computers come as a boon.Also, used computers need not always be second hand computers. They can also be recertified or refurbished computers. Refurbished or recertified computers are those, which are checked for any faults, if any corrected and sold with a warranty ensuring the working condition of the computer to be perfect. Hence, such computers are considered to be the safest form of buying a used computer. Refurbished computers can be bought from many of the online stores at very less prices. Quality computer manufacturers also sell such kind of recertified or refurbished computers. However, certain measures need to be taken while buying such kind of computers. The prime aspect to be considered while purchasing a used or refurbished computer is to look for a good branded one. There are various companies who sell used computers or refurbished computers. The main reasons for opting for a branded one is that it comes with a warranty and also the buyer can be sure that the parts used are of good quality. While buying used or refurbished computers related software documents, licenses and paperwork have to be got from the seller as this will avoid stolen computers being passed off as used computers to the buyer. If possible working for some time on the used computer will determine its efficiency. Most of the reputed dealers would allow the purchaser to use the computer for a shorter period to check the quality before purchase.While checking for the efficiency of the used computer, it is good to check if the booting process is smooth, as most of the problems occur during booting and also to check all the sound drivers, video, graphics, monitor, mouse, keyboard etc. CD drives and hard disks also need to be checked. Another aspect is the support system offered for the used computer whether technical or non-technical, support staff capabilities and the number of support staff which determine the quality of service offered. If the purchaser is not satisfied, he can very well think of another choice.

July, 10/2008