tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16498098354618588312024-03-13T05:57:19.376-06:00The Mind of Thinkingabdi theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17234470698964479701noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649809835461858831.post-63069205008003668012008-03-04T02:05:00.000-07:002008-03-04T02:10:51.768-07:00New Computer Filters Offer Simple, Inexpensive Dust Protection<div align="justify">Computer filters offer dust and dirt protection for your PC. A common fear is that adding a computer filter to the air inlet port near the power supply fan may do little to block dust and dirt from entering the computer unit. New pcs have numerous internal fans and it is often not easy to figure out where air is supposed to enter the main unit and where air is intended to be exhausted. Some fans are used just to circulate internal air as well. A simple computer filter on the back of a PC is not going to work for the long term.<br /><span class="fullpost">A better computer filter solution is one that is relatively new on the market. It is essentially a breathable filter bag that covers all inlet and outlet ports of a computer unit but still allows the computer to be cooled properly. New dust bag style computer filters protect the entire unit from dust, dirt, and other airborne contaminants. They are designed in sizes to fit virtually any computer tower and can be installed in minutes. They work well for monitors and printers as well, both of which need clean filtered air to assure proper long-term operation.<br /><br />Computer filters used on computer enclosures also do a poor job protecting your computer from dust and dirt in the long term. One reason is because most computer cabinets require you to open the cabinet to operate the computer, for instance to access the CDROM or floppy drive. These operational requirements allow dust to bypass the cabinet dust filter and traps dust within the cabinet which eventually will be pulled inside the PC and settle there. This is completely preventable with a dust bag filter.<br /><br />It is very important to use computer filters with PCs used in industrial or workshop situations where dust and dirt can very rapidly reduce the reliability and lifespan of the computer. Critical computer components exposed to dust and dirt, particularly the mechanical components like the keyboard and CD-ROM, can cease to operate without warning, and many times cannot be repaired once damaged by these contaminants. Studies have shown that dust can fill an unprotected computer in a matter of days, causing it to overheat. And metal dust can cause circuits to short-out, introducing a new workshop hazard. Dust bag style computer filters can do a lot to minimize these issues.<br /><br />A problem with traditional computer filters is that they are designed to capture dust without impacting the amount of air that can enter the computer for cooling. This requires them to be fairly porous with the filter designed to capture the larger dust particles and allowing smaller dust particles and other airborne particles to pass through. The small surface area of the standard filter means that the air-flow must be relatively high, and dust and dirt collecting in the filter material quickly begins to restrict air flow. This problem is ameliorated by the larger dust bag, where the huge surface area of the filter translates into lower air-flow speed and a larger area to spread the dust trying to enter the computer. The lower air-flow speed also ensures less dust makes it through the filter material, especially smaller dust particles and airborne mists. A small investment in a dust filter can offer a level of insurance that your computer equipment will operate when you need it to, and not wear out before its time. Dust bag style computer filters are especially effective, easy to install and inexpensive.<br /><br />Computer Dust Solutions strives to provide the best <a href="http://www.computerdust.com/">computer filters</a> and covers to protect your computer equipment in harsh, dusty conditions.<br /><br /></div><br /><br /></span>abdi theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17234470698964479701noreply@blogger.com47tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649809835461858831.post-67466560374351731002008-03-04T01:54:00.000-07:002008-03-04T01:56:21.984-07:0010 Computer Maintenance Tips<div align="justify">Before you start making mistakes that could cost you the life of your precious computer, you had better learn how to take care of your new arrival. The things you do to your computer now will determine how long your computer will last without crashing.<br /><span class="fullpost">Below are some tips you should know when using your computer:<br /><br /> 1. Never EVER switch off your computer without waiting for Windows to shut it down. This may cause permanent hard drive defects caused by the hard drive heads contacting the surface of the disc drive and cause a host of Windows problems.<br /><br />The only time you can force a shutdown is if your hard drive "hangs" or refuses to respond. In this case, try pressing ALT+CTRL+DEL keys at the same time and wait for task manager to launch. The Task Manager window will have a tab you can press to enable you to shutdown normally. If Task Manager fails to launch, then you can safely switch off your computer and switch it on again after about 3 minutes. Perform emergency shutdown only when absolutely necessary.<br /><br /> 1. Plug your computer into a UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply). This will prevent power surges in cases of low and high voltage occurrences. A UPS will protect your computer from any type of power disaster.<br /><br /> 2. Backup important files as soon as you can. Purchase a CD burner to store files (make at least 2 copies of the same files on CD). Don't wait until the next day if you can help it. A crash may occur any time.<br /><br /> 3. Use Scandisk and Defragmenter at least once a month. Just like you need to have a check up once in a while to catch any disease that may be forming, your computer also needs to be checked up to keep it healthy and crash-free.<br /><br /> 4. Do not unplug peripherals while they are powered up. Doing so may damage your motherboard.<br /><br /> 5. Keep at least 100 MB of your C: free for Windows to use. Maxing out your drive may result in Windows dumping data to your hard drive, or your computer will run really, really slow.<br /><br /> 6. Do not let a lot of programs load when starting up your computer. Uninstall or delete programs that start up as soon as you start up your computer.<br /><br /> 7. Use an antivirus program. You really need one if you want your computer to keep running smoothly. Downloaded attachments from friends, installed programs downloaded from the net and a host of other ways could infect your computer. An antivirus program will make sure no "bad" stuff is allowed into the system.<br /><br /> 8. Use a firewall if you have a high speed internet connection. A firewall will prevent your computer from getting "hijacked". You may not be aware of it, but your computer may have been hacked at least once. Hackers use search programs to seek out computers at random. Get a firewall program and use it.<br /><br /> 9. Do not throw away installer software once you've installed the program. You will need to reformat your computer some time and all data on the drive will be erased and you will need to reinstall your software.<br /><br />F Stewart is an IT Professional. His company, Ambient Technology Group, provides website development and IT services. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.AmbientTechnologyGroup.com">http://www.AmbientTechnologyGroup.com</a><br /><br /></div><br /><br /></span>abdi theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17234470698964479701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649809835461858831.post-9607603421712941192008-03-04T01:43:00.001-07:002008-03-04T01:49:43.409-07:00Know Your Keyboard Shortcuts<div align="justify">Long live the mouse!<br />Being without a mouse can be frustrating. That's when knowing some basic keyboard shortcuts comes in handy.<br />If your mouse is not working, the first thing you need to check is to see if it is plugged in. If it is plugged in and it still doesn't work, reboot your computer. You will need to use your keyboard to turn off your computer.<br /><span class="fullpost">This is the quickest and safest way to shutdown without using your mouse.<br /><br />1. If you have any open programs use ALT-F4 to close them.<br /><br />2. Use your arrow keys and the enter key to answer any pop up warnings.<br /><br />3. Continue pressing ALT-F4 to close all open programs until the 'Turn off computer' display pops up.<br /><br />4. Use your arrow keys and the enter key to select turn off or restart.<br /><br />Another way to shutdown your computer is to use the Start menu.<br /><br />If you are using Windows XP try this:<br /><br />1. Press the Windows Logo key<br /><br />2. Press the up arrow key once to select 'Turn off computer'<br /><br />3. Press the enter key to continue.<br /><br />4. Press the right arrow key once to select 'Turn off' or twice to select 'Restart'<br /><br />5. Press the enter key to continue.<br /><br />Using the Start menu also gives you access other programs you may want to use before shutting down your computer.<br /><br />Now that your computer has been rebooted, your mouse should be working again.<br /><br />If it is not, try connecting another mouse to your computer.<br /><br />Here are some common keyboard shortcuts that you will want to keep taped to the back of your keyboard or laptop.<br /><br />F1: Starts Windows Help<br /><br />F5: Refresh your page in Explorer and Web browser windows<br /><br />F10: Activates menu bar options<br /><br />SHIFT+F10: this is the same as right-clicking on an object<br /><br />ALT+F4: Closes the current windows<br /><br />ALT+TAB: Switch to another running program<br /><br />CTRL+ESC: Opens the START menu (use the ARROW keys to select an item)<br /><br />Windows Logo: Opens the START menu (use the ARROW keys to select an item)<br /><br />Windows Logo+C: Opens Control Panel<br /><br />Windows Logo+E: Opens My Computer (aka: Windows Explorer)<br /><br />Windows Logo+F: Find files or folders<br /><br />Windows Logo+M: Minimize all open windows<br /><br />Windows Logo+Break: System Properties dialog box<br /><br />TAB: Move to the next control in the dialog box<br /><br />SHIFT+TAB: Move to the previous control in the dialog box<br /><br />So the next time your mouse goes south, just keep this list handy.<br /><br />Long live the mouse!!<br /><br />For more computer tips visit <a href="http://www.buildtheperfectpc.com">http://www.buildtheperfectpc.com</a><br /><br /></div><br /><br /></span>abdi theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17234470698964479701noreply@blogger.com356tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649809835461858831.post-9019410093376597502008-03-04T01:40:00.000-07:002008-03-04T01:43:28.151-07:00How To Watch Any TV Channel Online - Watch Live TV Right On Your PC<div align="justify">One question that we get a couple of times each week is "How can I watch live TV on my computer?" It's a good question that we thought would be worth exploring in a quick article. Nowadays it is possible to watch just about any TV channel right from your PC.<br /><span class="fullpost">It's pretty impressive how much you can now find online. There are many benefits to watching TV on your computer compared to regular cable or satellite services.<br /><br />With cable or satellite service there is always some restrictions on what channels you received. Usually there are extra fees you have to pay if you want certain specialty channels such as movie or sports packages.<br /><br />It's a lot different online. The TV services don't have the same restrictions as the regular cable or satellite providers so they are able to offer far more channels than you can find elsewhere.<br /><br />For watching TV online, there are two options that you have:<br /><br />Option #1 - Live TV Online<br /><br />You can find certain websites that claim to offer free TV - many people try this as their first choice. However, there's a lot of downsides to using this type of service.<br /><br />As you can probably guess the selection of channels on these sites is very limited. You can only get the most basic channels - any specialty channels aren't available.<br /><br />Another complaint about these websites is that the picture quality can be poor. Remember that since these websites are free there isn't any money being invested in new technology or bandwidth. Because of this the video streams can be choppy and sometimes unclear.<br /><br />These websites can be frustrating so we rarely recommend them. The second option is a lot better and eliminates the problems you find with this one.<br /><br />Option #2 - Live TV Online<br /><br />There are online TV services that let you choose from literally thousands of TV channels. This includes all of the major networks, movie channels, specialty channels and even sports packages. You can also find thousands of international channels in all sorts of languages.<br /><br />There's a fee for using these websites, but it isn't very expensive. You will be asked to pay a one-time membership fee which will give you full access to all the TV channels and services. There are no monthly or additional charges.<br /><br />We included a link at the bottom of this article that you can use to try a free trial at a couple of the top-ranked online TV services. We should warn you though - it's easy to get addicted!<br /><br />If you have a laptop, a great feature is that you can use this service no matter where you are. It works all over the world - you just need an internet connection and you can watch any channel you want.<br /><br />The charge is about $50 for these services so you can see why many people go this route. That's less than many monthly cable or satellite services and in this case you are only charged once.<br /><br />Watching TV right on your computer is a great way to always be able to catch your favorite show, movie or sports team. It's something that can be highly addicting once you start!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.allthebestchannels.com/">Click Here</a> to find out how to start a free trial at the top-ranked online television service.<br /><br />It's the easiest way to <a href="http://www.allthebestchannels.com/">watch live TV online</a> right from your laptop or home computer!<br /><br /></div><br /><br /></span>abdi theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17234470698964479701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649809835461858831.post-26682314289547977382008-03-04T01:14:00.000-07:002008-03-04T01:35:27.308-07:00Quality Tribal Arm Tattoo - Locating Good Artwork Online<div align="justify">Finding a quality tribal arm tattoo online can be a real pain, I know, but it doesn't have to be that way any longer. I will tell you what to watch out for when it comes to generic websites with tattoos and how to bypass them, while getting right to the original tribals and artwork on the internet.<br /><span class="fullpost">I have no doubts that a lot of you have scoured the web, trying to locate the quality tribal arm tattoo designs. Most people either come up empty, quit looking all together, or worst case scenario, they settle for some cookie-cutter design that they didn't; really want. Needles to say, this is something you do not want to do.<br /><br />You need to remember that you do not have to settle for a Google search or artwork from some generic, random website that has a lot of tattoos. The problem with these kinds of places is that they have tattoos and artwork that is most likely over five years old and the content is plastered all over the internet already. Who knows how many other people might have that tribal arm tattoo inked on their skin already? That is not something you want, especially when it comes to choosing tribals. You want your tattoos to be of quality and you also want them to be original.<br /><br />The good news is that there are simply ways around the generic tattoos and artwork on the internet...<br /><br />It starts with using internet forums. I can't tell you how good forums are when you need information on any given subject, and yes, this included finding a quality website that has great tribal arm tattoo designs that have not been plastered all over the internet. Remember, people love to brag to one another when they find a hidden treasure, like a websites that has fresh, quality tattoos and artwork for them to choose from. There is into a better place on the web for people to spread the wealth to others who are looking for the same thing than by posting in a forum. They do the hard work of finding the good designs and you reap the benefits of their findings, which is bound to be filled with tribal arm tattoo knowledge.<br /><br />Locating the quality tribal arm tattoo designs does not have to be hard anymore, and can even be fun, so go on and get the original artwork you have always wanted.<br /><br /></div><br /><br /></span>abdi theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17234470698964479701noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649809835461858831.post-27857368458499835162008-03-04T01:10:00.000-07:002008-03-04T01:12:37.299-07:00The First Look at the IE8 Beta 1 Graphical User Interface<div align="justify">Expect little and you won't be disappointed. This has got to be the rule for Internet Explorer Beta 1.<br /><span class="fullpost">And yes, I did integrate the Beta 1 reference as a way to indicate that, at this stage in the development of the browser, anything beyond reasonable expectations won't be met. At least not when it comes down to the graphical user interface. Traditionally, the UI details are among the last aspect of Microsoft software products that will be implemented before it is finalized. It is the case with Windows and Internet Explorer 8 makes no exception to this rule.<br /><br />But at the same time, there are anodyne details that do offer a sneak peek at not only the changes but also at what may be coming. In the screenshots integrated with this article, you will be able to get a taste of the IE8 Beta 1 GUI, in comparison to IE7 and Firefox 2.0, courtesy of Long Zheng. And there is one thing that many users have stated when confronted with the first screenshots from Windows 7 Milestone 1 (M1) in comparison to Windows Vista. This is why I thought I would spare you the trouble and note it myself. Yes, Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 does look a lot like Internet Explorer 7.<br /><br />But you have to keep in mind that this is Beta 1, and that the UI will undoubtedly evolve. However, there are a few minute aspects of the user interface that are changed. First off, you will notice that the domain name is now highlighted in respect to the rest of the link in the address bar. This is of course a move to counter phishing attempts. Secondly, there is now a continuity between the Links item and the rest of the toolbar. And of course, the search box in the upper right hand side corner now features an icon of the default search provider. Nothing much else, except that the up has gained a few pixels, but nothing to grab too much screen real estate.<br /><br />source: <a href="news.softpedia.com">news.softpedia.com</a><br /><br /></div><br /><br /></span>abdi theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17234470698964479701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649809835461858831.post-75192100124411785922008-03-04T00:57:00.000-07:002008-03-04T00:59:54.556-07:00Office 2008 vs. iWork vs. NeoOffice vs. OpenOffice<div align="justify">Last week, I posted a few thoughts on Apple Pages. As I noted there, one of my real goals in buying a Mac was to see if this platform really did make it easier to focus on teaching my classes, rather than on creating the electronic materials my students expect to support those classes.<br /><span class="fullpost"><br /><br />I’m especially interested in features that make it easy for the average teacher to crank out documents, presentations, web content, and multimedia.<br /><br />We can all use Word (or, at least, most teachers can) and PowerPoint is fairly straightforward as well. As we slowly migrated schoolwide to Office 2007, many teachers began using OpenOffice, both for a familiar look and feel to the Office 2000 they left behind and for compatibility with the majority of students who use the free suite.<br /><br />On the Mac, we now have Office 2008 (which, at first glance, is a bit less intimidating to users of earlier versions of Office than Office 2007); NeoOffice (a port of OpenOffice fully integrated into OS X); OpenOffice itself, which runs in OS X’s X11 windowing environment; and Apple’s iWork suite. Choices, choices, choices! Click here for a gallery of their most interesting features and interface particulars. Read on for a teacher’s perspective on ease of use and productivity in each.<br /><br />To test these suites, I completed a number of simple, day-to-day, teaching tasks in each.<br /><br />* To evaluate Word and its moral equivalents, I created a worksheet to lead one of my classes through an activity in Geometer’s Sketchpad.<br />* For Excel and its ilk, I created a spreadsheet to track book numbers and generate a pie chart of book conditions<br />* For PowerPoint, et al, I shot a few video clips giving directions for an activity and created a presentation around the video.<br /><br />It should be noted that the latest version of OpenOffice (2.3.1) is unavailable currently for OS X. OpenOffice for X11 (essentially a port of the *nix versions of the suite) is up to version 2.3. NeoOffice is at version 2.2.3 (2.2.2 was evaluated here). Functionally, this has little impact; Sun has also thrown considerable effort lately into improving support for the Mac platform.<br /><br />source: <a href="education.zdnet.com/">education.zdnet.com/</a><br /><br /></div><br /><br /></span>abdi theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17234470698964479701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649809835461858831.post-31808415195887560112008-03-03T05:52:00.000-07:002008-03-03T05:57:13.004-07:00House Tools You Can Use To Clean Your Computer<div align="justify">Personal Computers specifically, your CPU is a very disgusting, dust-prone and -infested place. It started gulping dust the moment you turn it on-when your in-house fan started rotating carelessly, vacuuming anything that goes within its radius. Dusts in particles may not pose as a threat, but when you have a group of dusts trapped, they turn into creepy-looking cobwebs that make your computer look old, feel old, and act old.<br /><br /><span class="fullpost">Personal Computers specifically, your CPU is a very disgusting, dust-prone and -infested place. It started gulping dust the moment you turn it on-when your in-house fan started rotating carelessly, vacuuming anything that goes within its radius.<br /><br />Dusts in particles may not pose as a threat, but when you have a group of dusts trapped, they turn into creepy-looking cobwebs that make your computer look old, feel old, and act old. Yes! Dusts, cobwebs and everything else in between, are proven to affect your computer's performance.<br /><br />These dusts are like termites that slowly, strategically, and effectively gathers around and start depriving your computer from one of the most important element that your computer needs, fresh air.<br /><br />You see, computers are so sophisticated that even though they aren't really alive to be needing air to breathe, they will need air for ventilation to keep those internal hardware from overheating. Maybe you've forgotten the main reason why you have an exhaust fan and inhaust fan installed on your PC.<br /><br />A lot of people have been in this undesirable and very expensive situation. When your hard drive burned due to overheating, your chances of retrieving important data is as slim as waiting for a miracle to happen. You'll either retrieve some small amount of data and buy a new hard drive or, more likely, not retrieve anything at all and buy a new hard drive. Either way, you're surely going to be spending a few hard-earned bucks for a new hard disk.<br /><br />The good news is you don't have to go through all of these hassles. With a consistent cleaning, and with a little tool-help, all of these can be prevented easily. So easy that in fact, the tools you will need to prevent such catastrophic situations is just around your house sitting dormantly, waiting for them to be called upon to help.<br /><br />Meet your long, lost, and unused friends.<br /><br />1. Paint Brush. Yes! You can use a paint brush to dust off those 2-year-old cobwebs on your PC. This is perhaps the most economical and the most-of-the-time available (if not always) replacement for those hundred-dollar and powerful air-blower equipment. Just make sure that the paint brush is clean-meaning it's free from paint residues, maintaining its soft, hairy structure.<br /><br />Directions: So easy to use. Just gently brush off the cobwebs and dusts.<br /><br />2. Eraser. You have no idea how useful this "I-thought-I'll-never-use-again-since-6th-grade" tool. I thought in this digital age, erasers are just "have beens". I never knew that even the coolest man-made machines (computers) will need help from an 18th century eraser. A simple pencil eraser can help clean your PC's Random Access Memory. The best time to use this is after you turn on your computer, and you don't hear any single, short beep, and your monitor doesn't display anything. That usually means your motherboard did not detect any RAMs installed, even if there is. No need to fret when you encounter this problem because more often than not, it's just caused by dusts and your eraser can easily take care of this situation. Believe me, it works!<br /><br />Directions: Remove your RAM from your PC. Simply and gently brush the sides of your RAM's teeth (they are gold in color and are row-arranged like your teeth). This should take care of any memory problem.<br /><br />But remember, an eraser can only do so much. There will come a time when your eraser has already done too much erasing, and that you need to replace your memory.<br /><br />3. Hair Blower. This will never replace a paint brush in wiping off dusts, but your mother's hair blower will come in handy in times when you're trying to remove dusts that are trapped inside those teensy-weensy openings that only air can go in and out of it.<br /><br />Directions: Just simply aim the blower to that teensy-weensy hole. And don't forget to plug it in.<br /><br />So there you have it. Your dormant house tools that can help you save some years of entertainment and livelihood.<br /><br />Harry Arbasa is the sole writer of websites such as <a href="http://digitalcare.blogspot.com/">http://digitalcare.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br /></div><br /><br /></span>abdi theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17234470698964479701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649809835461858831.post-55688797811242537912008-03-03T05:30:00.000-07:002008-03-03T05:35:23.955-07:00New Windows XP SP3 RC2 Build 3311 Available<div align="justify">Microsoft failed to diverge from the strategy of synchronized development milestones for the two service packs and the latest Windows server platform, with the only difference being in the nature of the builds. While Vista SP1 and XP SP3 had been virtually joined at the hip throughout their development in 2007, the service packs diverged in February. Vista SP1 moved from RC1 Refresh 2 directly into RTM, while XP SP3 evolved from RC1 Refresh 2 to Release Candidate 2 with no release to manufacturing date in sight. <br /><span class="fullpost">As the initial build of XP SP3 RC2 was released only to a selected pool of 15,000 Microsoft testers, the company subsequently opened up the Release Candidate 2 testing process to all XP users on February 19, 2008. XP SP3 RC2 was dropped via Windows Update, accessible via a registry script designed to permit copies of XP SP2 to detect the third and last service pack for XP on the WU servers.<br /><br />One small detail that Microsoft neglected to make public was the direct download link of XP SP3 RC2. This is now available, and users will not have to integrate the RC2 build via Windows Update. The XP SP3 RC2 bits are up for grabs via this link and it will offer Build 3311. The initial XP SP3 RC2 version offered through Windows Update was Build 3300, and this means that Microsoft has pushed onward with the service pack compared with the release of last week, which essentially delivered only the Windows XP SP3 Release Candidate 2.exe registry script. The official release notes for XP SP3 RC2 remain unchanged.<br /><br />Download:<br /><a href="http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Windows-XP-SP3-Download-90001.html">Windows XP SP3 RC2 Build 3311 (link 1)</a><br /><a href="http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Windows-XP-SP3-Download-90001.html">Windows XP SP3 RC2 Build 3311 (link 2)</a><br /><br /></div><br /><br /></span>abdi theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17234470698964479701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649809835461858831.post-35179533437549970282008-02-23T23:50:00.000-07:002008-02-23T23:52:00.172-07:00Spam - It Used To Be Lunchmeat In A Can - Now It's A Costly Annoyance<div align="justify">If you have an email account, you most likely have received it without asking - Spam. It is unwanted email assaulting your Inbox. It promotes things like porn websites, cheap Viagra, credit repair and get-rich-quick schemes. It can maybe become the one unifying factor for the planet - no one wants it. So why are there spammers and what is their impact?<br /><br /><span class="fullpost">Attributes of Spam<br /><br />There are some essential characteristics of all spam:<br /><br /> * It is unsolicited and uninvited<br /><br /> * It promotes products or services for sale - a transaction is proposed.<br /><br /> * Spam can also refer to any unwanted email such as chain letters from known senders or commercial email from retailers you have dealt with previously.<br /><br />Why do Spammers Spam?<br /><br />Simple; there's potential money in it with easy leverage of resources. Spammers send out their messages in the millions in the hope that a few people reply. Income is gained from actual products sold. Response rates and profit margins are typically low - but so are the costs. Tools and mailing lists for sending spam are cheap and easy to use. Many operations are in warehouses or spare bedrooms.<br /><br />The millions of messages spammers can send in a day can add up to significant revenues with even the most modest response rates. All a spammer needs to send spam is:<br /><br />• An email address list. These can be bought cheaply on a CD, or harvested<br /><br />• Spamming software. This is inexpensive and easily obtained over the Internet<br /><br />• An email server. To hide their identities, spammers often piggyback on top of an unsuspecting third party's mail servers and relay spam through them. These servers are known as open relay servers.<br /><br />• A financial opportunity. There seems to be no shortage of opportunities for spammers. Common spam topics include product sales, memberships to adult websites and the Nigerian Money Letter to name a few.<br /><br />How Are Email Addresses Acquired<br /><br />There are several sly methods of collecting email addresses. Here are seven ways spammers can get your email address<br /><br />1. From user registrations at unscrupulous sites<br /><br />2. From user newsgroup postings<br /><br />3. From user chat sessions<br /><br />4. From spambots that crawl the web for any @ sign<br /><br />5. From email lists the spammer buys<br /><br />6. From mailing lists to which users subscribe<br /><br />7. By randomly generating name combinations for your domain<br /><br />How Does Spam Affect Me?<br /><br />So why all the concern for something that can easily be deleted? As you will see below, spam is a real problem for organizations around the globe. The volume of spam is growing, it costs corporate organizations by lowering productivity and consuming IT resources, and it can represent a potential legal liability.<br /><br />Incidence of Spam<br /><br />Spam has rapidly emerged as a major issue for organizations and individuals alike, particularly in the United States. A recent Marshal Report indicated these observations for the week ending Feb 17, 2008:<br /><br />• 10.1% of email is now image spam - an increasing amount.<br /><br />• 100% increase in the SVI over the past seven months. The SVI is a measure of the volume of spam sent to a representative sample of the honeypot domains that we monitor. Spam volumes have continued to creep upwards since the New Year.<br /><br />• 61% Health and 27% Product - the two largest categories of Spam being sent<br /><br />• United States, Russia and China are the top three countries where Spam originate<br /><br />• Corporate organizations outside the US typically have a lower incidence of spam.<br /><br />Costs of Spam<br /><br />Spam is not only annoying - it costs. Some of the figures can be staggering - estimates in lost productivity are now 12-15 billion dollars in a year. These amounts are so large, that they begin to become unrelated. Perhaps similar to trying to comprehend the amount of our national debt.<br /><br />Let's try to narrow the cost estimates to a single mid-sized company. Keep in mind this relates to email, which almost every employee has and uses hourly. If a portion of each hour is spent reviewing and removing spam, then the cumulative costs can be more relevant.<br /><br />In an online model that determines spam's costs, a scenario was created. The model had 1,000 employees with an average salary of $35,000 receiving an 80% spam rate (which is currently 91%) on 100 messages daily. The computed cost for staff time, bandwidth and storage was over $565,000 annually.That equates to an additional sixteen employees before benefits. That is how Spam can cost.<br /><br />Conclusion<br /><br /> * We are all now in the electronic world.<br /><br /> * We rely more on email in our business and personal lives daily.<br /><br /> * As long as we have open email accounts on the Internet, spammers will attempt to penetrate with their scams.<br /><br /> * Spamming is a low cost, boiler room operation that can be conducted from anywhere in the world.<br /><br /> * A return of less than 1 percent on millions of emails can be lucrative.<br /><br /> * Ignoring Spam will continue to increase your staff's admin time and cut into your productivity, bandwidth and storage. All costs to you.<br /><br />We work with companies of all sizes to assure their messaging is in compliance and spam is blocked effectively. Our current blockage rate is greater than 99.5%. Our solutions are state of the art, quick to implement, cost effective and provide the comfort to know your data is secure. A phone discussion is a great way to assess your environment and what would be the best action plan. Visit our website Enclave Data to learn more.<br /><br />You have the responsibility to maintain your company's digital environment. With the right tools you can now also have the control to assure productivity and compliance for your company's assets.<br /><br />Dan Schutte is the President of <a href="http://enclavedata.com">http://enclavedata.com</a>, specializing in messaging security, content filtering, anti-spam software, email/IM archival and compliance. Visit our <a href="http://www.enclavedata.com">http://www.enclavedata.com</a> to read actual Case Studies of how companies have successfully protected their data network and met compliance requirements. Free trials and downloads are available on all of our products.<br /><br />Please feel free to republish this article provided a working hyperlink remains to our site.<br /><br /></div><br /><br /></span>abdi theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17234470698964479701noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649809835461858831.post-46731677378385550702008-02-23T23:48:00.000-07:002008-02-23T23:49:39.403-07:00How To Request Technical Support<div align="justify">I've been in and around computers for many years and so I've seen lots of help requests - both addressed to me and in general programming or other technical forums. While I've seen lots of help requests I've seen very few good help requests. Here are a couple tips to keep in mind when requesting any kind of technical help:<br /><br /><span class="fullpost">1) Don't assign blame. "Your program doesn't work" is a bad way to request help because you're assigning blame. It's a request that sets a bad tone for the conversation and will tend to get you dismissed. If you say my program doesn't work then all I have to do is show you it working in my own environment. That proves that the program does work and even though you can't get it working in your own environment I'm done with you.<br /><br />2) Describe the problem and not your own guess as to the cause of the problem. "My e-mail is broken" is an underlying cause that's most often not correct. "I'm not able to login to my e-mail" is a description of the problem you have that you'd like me to help solve.<br /><br />3) Provide relevant details. Even though it's a slight improvement "I'm not able to login to my e-mail" is still a pretty poor way to request help. Much better is to describe in detail what you're doing. "I'm trying to login to the web-based e-mail which I've done successfully before. When I enter my username and password I get the error message 'Your account is unavailable'. It's been doing this for 3 hours." That's some relevant detail that gives me something to work with.<br /><br />4) If something has changed - tell me. I've frequently gotten "Your script used to work but it's not working anymore." When questioned further the requester then reveals that the recently changed servers. It's a general principle of engineering that you change one thing at a time and re-test so that if something breaks you know what change caused it to break. If a program stopped working when you changed something like the web host, the operating system, which browser you're using to access the site then that is extremely relevant information to should be prominent in your request<br /><br />5) Address your request to the appropriate person. Don't complain to your ISP that you can't get your word processor to work. Don't ask me about how to get someone else's program running. Don't post on a forum asking for "a little help" when what you really want is someone to provide you with a complex solution.<br /><br />6) Keep your support expectations realistic. Microsoft sells software packages for hundreds of dollars and then charges you another hundred if you want to ask them a question about it. Yet I've seen people expect demand hand holding and free upgrades for life for a $10 script. Very little software or online services have enough margin built into the price to provide more than basic support and that will often be limited to pointing you to the documentation.<br /><br />I can understand the frustrations of being a customer with an issue that you want resolved and really most companies want to provide you with good support. Follow these tips and you'll find you get a faster, better more helpful response out of almost everyone.<br /><br />Read <a href="http://soloprogrammer.com/">Solo Programmer</a> - adventures of a dot com millionaire who's trying to do it all over again. Solo Programmer covers the trials and tribulations of an independent website developer as well as wider issues of computers and the Internet.<br /><br /></div><br /><br /></span>abdi theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17234470698964479701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649809835461858831.post-87973823980315079032008-02-23T23:45:00.000-07:002008-02-23T23:47:43.337-07:00The Wonderful World of Pixel Art - Animated Gifs and Free Emoticons<div align="justify">The internet is a huge place. By its very nature it's home to an almost infinite amount of weird and wonderful interests and pursuits that most of us probably don't even now exist. With its sheer size and user-generated content, it's a place full of discovery that panders to every human whim, fancy, and interest. One of these is the wonderful, quirky, and often adorable world of pixel art.<br /><br /><span class="fullpost">Let's cover the basics: what is pixel art? Pixels are the tiny little squares used to make every image on your computer screen, and can be used to make tiny animations in .gif format. You can make these yourself in programmes like Corel Photo-Paint, or more specific programmes like Jasc's Animation Shop. Many, particularly younger people, will be familiar with some of the uses of pixel art. Emoticons, anikaos, and animated gifs are all examples of basic pixel art used on forums, MySpace, and Windows Live Messenger as a means of aiding expression in an essentially text-based form of communication, as well just simply for fun. Emoticons are perhaps the most widely used and searched for.<br /><br />A range of emoticons come as standard with Live Messenger and most forums. These tend to be your basic set of emoticons to cover the main emotions and actions expressed while chatting. Many websites however offer more advanced and diverse emoticons in varying sizes and shapes, some even with sound. The latter tend to frequent more on pay-sites. There are though far more user-generated emoticons on the net, and are frequently exchanged between users of Messenger - which allows you to add and save emoticons used by others.<br /><br />While emoticons are by far the most popular in the west, their eastern counterparts 'anikaos' (pronounced ani-cows, meaning literally 'animated faces' in Japanese) are becoming more and more popular as interest in Japanese popular culture continues to grow. Anikaos are typically floating spherical blobs bobbing up and down with a cute face depicting any number of emotions and actions. They tend to be used more on forums and are incredibly diverse, ranging from generic white blobs to household animals, peas, and characters from anything between Star Wars and Dragonball-Z. The user-generated nature of anikaos, like most pixel art, means their diversity and numbers continue to multiply.<br /><br />Yet, beyond the world of communication-aiding emoticons and anikaos, the possibilities are even more varied. People can make literally anything they want in miniature using pixel art - and they do. People love to have things made tiny and love to use them on their websites, MySpace pages, and on Messenger.<br /><br />A very popular form pixel art at the moment is animated gifs of Nintendo and Sega characters from the '80s and '90s such as Mario, Kirby, Link, and Sonic the Hedgehog recreated exactly from the 8-bit, 16-bit, and 32-bit games on which they appeared. The current craze for all things retro, especially in gaming, is certainly adding fuel to this. Particularly with girls, animated gifs of the characters Hello Kitty and Pucca Love are also extremely popular, and can be found on many a MySpace page. Hello Kitty and Pucca Love are very cute characters that are used frequently to personalise web pages and make them more attractive.<br /><br />The fact that both Hello Kitty and Pucca Love have huge merchandising markets 'offline' easily explains their popularity in this respect. Likewise with both sexes, Pokemon animated gifs are extremely popular, particularly on MySpace and gaming sites. The cuteness of many Pokemon characters and the fact they are already computer game sprites makes them perfectly convertable into animated gifs.<br /><br />But it doesn't end simply at branded corporate characters, oh no. There is a whole pixel art culture out there with people creating weird and wonderful designs of their own constantly. Witness blinking cheeseburgers, winking cake slices, a strange beige bob running towards you with a chefs for absolutely no reason at all! The possibilities are endless and quite frequently very, very strange. Very aptly, there seems to be a perfect miniature of the boundless lengths of human creativity contained within this little culture.<br /><br />Mostly, gifs get passed around in networks fairly randomly, but if you're actively on the lookout, my advice would be to specifically refine your search. For example if you're specifically after gaming gifs, try punching in 'nintendo animated gifs' or 'super mario animated gifs'. Many sites with the best gifs don't even have domain names, so it pays to be patient. There are sites out there that endeavor to collect gifs together from around the net, but some are more organised than others and the quality varies from site to site.<br /><br />A frequent problem is that they just won't be categorised, making your search difficult. If you find yourself falling in love with this kooky little world, then it doesn't even end here. Pixel art is not just animated gifs and emoticons - there are communities out there dedicated to making 'pixel art for pixel art's sake'. These people make incredibly high quality pictures and landscapes of such complexity that it takes your breath away. Pixel Joint is a great little community to get involved in if you find yourself going for this more advanced stuff, whether to appreciate or to create. Have fun!<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.cutecoregifs.com/">Cutecore Gifs</a>a GREAT resource for free animated gifs and emoticons<br /><br /></div><br /><br /></span>abdi theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17234470698964479701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649809835461858831.post-60911322241520193452008-02-23T23:42:00.000-07:002008-02-23T23:44:02.753-07:00Your First Appointment - Pregnancy<div align="justify">By: Prahalad Singh - Your first visit with a care provider is important. During this visit, he or she will take a full medical history to determine if you have any underlying health problems. In addition, your care provider will ask you about any health problems that run in your family, and in your partner's family.<br /><span class="fullpost">Your first visit with a care provider is important. During this visit, he or she will take a full medical history to determine if you have any underlying health problems. In addition, your care provider will ask you about any health problems that run in your family, and in your partner's family.<br /><br />Unless you have a preexisting medical problem, your doctor will usually treat you like any other pregnant woman in terms of scheduling your first appointment, at about 8 weeks. One of the main reasons for the delay is that early miscarriage is very common and in most cases can not be prevented by medical treatment. There fore, most care providers wait until you have passed the danger zone of early miscarriage before they order all the pregnancy blood tests.<br /><br />Preparing For Your Appointment<br /><br />If your partner is not going to come with you to your first visit, it's important for you to sit down together and brainstorm about possible family problems. Any family conditions may be passed on to your baby and testing may be an option.<br /><br />If you have any health problems, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, bring your medical records with you. Your questions can then be answered right away instead of having to wait until your care provider can get copies of your records. You may be asked some embarrassing but important questions about drug use, sexually transmitted diseases and past pregnancy terminations. It's critical that you tell the truth about your medical history. If your partner doesn't know about it, you can arrange to tell your care provider when your partner is not present.<br /><br />Standard Tests<br /><br />In addition to answering a lot of questions, you will probably have a thorough physical exam, including a pelvic examination and cervical (PAP) smear (unless you have recently had one). Your doctor should also discuss your options for first trimester screening for abnormalities so that tests can be arranged between 10-14 weeks if you want them. Depending on how many weeks pregnant you are, you may get to hear your baby's heartbeat. Finally, you will be asked to give samples of your blood and urine for routine testing and have your weight and blood pressure checked.<br /><br />Testing for HIV is recommended for all pregnant women. If you have HIT, the chances of passing the virus on to your baby can be significantly reduced by taking antiretroviral agents. In additional to these routine tests you may also have additional. tests. A swab may be taken from your cervix for testing for chlamydia and gonorrhea, which can be symptom-free but could affect your baby if not diagnosed and treated.<br /><br />In some cases, blood tests may also be done to check for varicella (chicken pox) and toxoplasmosis. Past infection with toxoplasmosis is a good thing because you will be protected from developing an infection during pregnancy when it can harm your baby.<br /><br /></div><br /><br /></span>abdi theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17234470698964479701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649809835461858831.post-21020080624225539332008-02-23T23:39:00.001-07:002008-02-23T23:42:43.549-07:00Routine Tests - Pregnancy<div align="justify">By: Prahalad Singh - Usually your care provider will see you again in 4-6 weeks to review your test results and discuss first trimester screening results. However, your doctor should call you before your second visit if any of the results are abnormal.<br /><span class="fullpost">Blood tests<br /><br />Complete blood count<br /><br />This test screens for anemia, which is very common during pregnancy. Anemia may be due to low iron levels, or can be an inherited form, such as thalassemia.<br /><br />Blood type<br /><br />This test will determine your blood type<br /><br />as well as show if you are Rhesus positive (Rh+) or negative (Rh-). If you are Rh- you will usually receive a medication called rhogam after medical procedures such as amniocentesis, or if you have vaginal bleeding. You will usually get an extra dose at around 28 weeks.<br /><br />Antibody screen<br /><br />This test determines whether you have antibodies that could cross the placenta and cause the baby to become anemic.<br /><br />Hepatitis B<br /><br />This test will identify women who are actively infectious with hepatitis B, a viral liver disease that can be transmitted to the baby during pregnancy and labor.<br /><br />HIV<br /><br />This test will identify women who have been infected with the HIV retrovirus.<br /><br />Rubella<br /><br />This blood test determines whether you are immune to rubella. If you are not, you will usually get vaccinated right after delivery. You cannot have the vaccine during pregnancy.<br /><br />Syphilis<br /><br />Syphilis does not always cause symptoms but can cause serious problems for the fetus.<br /><br />Urine test<br /><br />This test looks for extra sugar or protein in your urine, and for signs of a urinary tract infection (UTI). Extra protein can be a sign of kidney disease extra sugar may indicate diabetes. UTls will be treated with antibiotics to prevent a serious kidney infection, which can cause pregnancy complications.<br /><br />Cervical smear<br /><br />Unless you have had one recently, you may have a cervical smear (PAP smear).<br /><br />Blood pressure<br /><br />Blood pressure usually falls at the beginning of pregnancy. Women with high blood pressure or blood pressure at the high end of normal early in pregnancy are at increased risk of having blood pressure problems later.<br /><br />Weight<br /><br />This baseline value will let your care provider calculate how much weight you have gained as your pregnancy progresses, and guide how much weight you need to gain during the pregnancy.<br /><br />If your are uncertain as to whether you have had chicken pox, a blood test will let you know whether you should stay away from people with this infectious disease while you are pregnant. If you are not immune, and do happen to be exposed, there is treatment to prevent severe chicken pox during pregnancy. If you are African American, Hispanic, or of mediterranean , descent you will have tests for blood disorders such as sickle cell anemia or thalassemia, which are more common in these groups.<br /><br />Last but not least, you will be given your due date at this appointment (some times called the EDC - estimated date of confinement). Your due date is based on your last menstrual period. Even if you think you know the date you conceived, your last menstrual period is usually the most accurate way to estimate your due date. The exception occurs when you don't remember when your last period was or if you have very irregular periods. In this case, an early ultrasound will be the most accurate way to date your pregnancy. Don't get too attached to your due date remember, it is only an estimate.<br /><br />Usually your care provider will see you again in 4-6 weeks to review your test results and discuss first trimester screening results. However, your doctor should call you before your second visit if any of the results are abnormal.<br /><br />Author writers about <a href="http://www.pregnancychildbirth.org/">pregnancy stages</a> and <a href="http://www.pregnancynutrition.org/">cause of pregnancy</a> He also writes about <a href="http://www.nutritionalvitamins.org/">benefits of vitamins</a><br /><br /></div><br /><br /></span>abdi theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17234470698964479701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649809835461858831.post-58129634031818844282008-02-23T23:37:00.000-07:002008-02-23T23:38:50.040-07:00Article Marketing - Want To Know Who Makes More Money In This Business?<div align="justify">By: Franck Silvestre - Article marketers are lucky people. They just sit down, write an article and after a few week, their name is all over the Internet. It's the ideal viral marketing technique because of it's nature. The leverage is incredible. Let's have a look at 3 major players in this industry.<br /><br /><span class="fullpost">Article marketers are lucky people. They just sit down, write an article and after a few week, their name is all over the Internet. It's the ideal viral marketing technique because of it's nature. The leverage is incredible.<br /><br />Let's have a look at 3 major players in this industry.<br /><br />1. Article writers<br /><br />They are the heart of this whole business. I am not talking about those who write one or two articles a week, but folks who wwrite hundreds of articles per week.<br /><br />I write as much as ten articles a day, and I am still a small player in this game.<br /><br />Anyway, they drive the machine. Without them, the other players can't earn any money.<br /><br />2. Website owners<br /><br />These are desperate people. Why? Because they need fresh content for their websites or blog every single day.<br /><br />If they want to achieve top search engine rankings, they need to show to Google, Yahoo, MSN and others that they are authority on the subject.<br /><br />This means a lot of content and frequently updated.<br /><br />Web masters often create site after site, and no one can produce content for each of those sites.<br /><br />That's why they need writers so badly. It's a perfect match.<br /><br />3. Ezine publishers<br /><br />These are men and women earning a full time income sending news, tips and offers to their list of thousands of loyal subscribers.<br /><br />They need to send them the best of the best on the web. To succeed, their e-zine must be so original that only a fool would choose to unsubscribe.<br /><br />Think about it. If you receive the best information about your passion or hobby, would you refuse that?<br /><br />These are the three major players. And you know who is profiting from this? You and me, information junkies. We read so much that we are often drawn in information overload, but this is another problem.<br /><br />Do you know who really profit from this industry in term of money? The pay per click search engines! They rip most of the rewards while we get our little share of the pie.<br /><br />To learn more, download my Free Guide: "How To Earn $100K Per Year With Article Marketing"<br /><br />Franck Silvestre makes thousands of dollars a year from affiliate and article marketing. Wonder what the secret to his success is? Discover how he does it at: <a href="http://www.mynetmarketingland.com/article-marketing/">http://www.mynetmarketingland.com/article-marketing/</a><br /><br /></div><br /><br /></span>abdi theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17234470698964479701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649809835461858831.post-76723029670964873892008-02-23T23:35:00.000-07:002008-02-23T23:37:31.180-07:00How To Promote Your Affiliate Programs With Article Marketing?<div align="justify"><br /><br /><span class="fullpost">By: Franck Silvestre - As an affiliate, you need to drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website every single month if you want to earn money and finally quit your day job. A few hundreds visitors is not enough.<br /><br /></div>As an affiliate, you need to drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website every single monht if you want to earn money and finally quit your day job. A few hundreds visitors is not enough.<br /><br />If you don't know how to build a money making website, don't worry, just register with blogger.com or wordpress.com and create you first blog. It will take you less than five minutes.<br /><br />If you are brand new to online business, I recommend you start with blogger because it is newbie friendly and the best part is that it' totally free.<br /><br />For the rest of this article, I assume that you already have a niche and an affiliate program.<br /><br />Next, write an article about your topic. If you decided to promote dog training ebooks, write an informative article about dog training.<br /><br />Let me show you a quick and easy way to wrire an article in any topic even if you never wrote a single word for the last two years...<br /><br />Step 1: Wikipedia<br /><br />Just go to wikipedia.com and type your keyword in the search box. You will be taken the dog training page. You just need to read the article and take note of the main keywords.<br /><br />Do not copy the article there. It's not ethical.<br /><br />Step 2: Search Engines<br /><br />Type your main keyword in any search engine, and browse the various websites to find even more information.<br /><br />Note: You will find more information in the organic results because those webmasters need good and original content to get high rankings.<br /><br />Step 2: Write your own article<br /><br />Will all the information you gathered in step 1. Voila! you are now an expert. Just write a "7 steps article". Basically, you list seven important points and add a few paragraphs.<br /><br />Step 3: Submit your article with a bio box and a link to your site.<br /><br />Franck Silvestre creator of the FREE Affiliate Marketing Course earns thousands of dollars every single year. His own methods have increased traffic to his website by more than 467%! If you want to boost your website traffic and sales, download his amazing report today. Visit his website at: <a href="http://www.mynetmarketingland.com/">http://www.mynetmarketingland.com/</a><br /></span>abdi theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17234470698964479701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649809835461858831.post-58695951527859403092008-02-23T23:32:00.000-07:002008-02-23T23:35:36.836-07:00Organize Your House For Pregnancy - Preparing Your Home For Your Bundle Of Joy<div align="justify">By: Apurva Shree - Your bundle of joy is going to share your home with you. Shouldn't you make an effort to change it for the baby? Organizing your house for pregnancy will make it special for the little one once it comes into this world.<br /><br /><span class="fullpost">Your bundle of joy is going to share your home with you. Shouldn't you make an effort to change it for the baby? Organizing your house for pregnancy will make it special for the little one once it comes into this world.<br /><br />Start At The Pre - Pregnancy Stage Itself<br /><br />It is better to start preparing your new baby's home from the pre pregnancy stage because once you are pregnant it will get quite tiring for you. If the place is too small for your new born, you can think of a new home. You may require a new cradle for the baby to sleep in beside you immediately after it is born. Later on, it can sleep in another room close by or with your older sibling if this is your second pregnancy period. A diaper changing table maybe thought about, a firm hard table with a soft mattress that you can put the little baby on while changing the diaper. This could also have some storage drawers that store the diapers, clothes, creams, shampoos and medicines used for the new born infant. This should all be a part of pre pregnancy planning.<br /><br />Making Your Home Child Safe<br /><br />In pre pregnancy planning, it's important to make your home and surroundings child safe. Children's curiosity knows no bounds and they grow very fast. Please put away all sharp objects in a place where the baby cannot reach them. Keep all electrical fittings covered. Keep your soaps and cleaning items locked in a cupboard. Buy a special car seat for the new born. You may also want to purchase a pram or a stroller to take your little bundle of joy for a leisurely walk outside.<br /><br />A Happy Disposition<br /><br />It is important that your house be clean, quiet and airy at all times to welcome your newborn infant, in fact even if you are just planning on getting pregnant. If you don't feel up to doing the housework get some house help. Finally, try to keep yourself in a healthy, peaceful, calm and happy state of mind. Do what you like best- read or listen to music, or just watch baby pictures that you've put up on the walls of your home. These are some of the things that you can do to organize your house for pregnancy.<br /><br />Your home and your surroundings are an important part of your life. <a href="http://www.pregnancy-period.com/organize_your_home.html">Qrganize your house</a> for pregnancy during the pre pregnancy stage as it can can make a lot of difference. A cozy, clean and comfortable home that is safe from any hazards or harmful illnesses can work wonders for the new born and you. Read good books and magazines that will help you in organizing your home at this time of <a href="http://www.pregnancy-period.com/pre_pregnancy_planning.html">pre pregnancy planning</a> Here are some home organizing tips that you can follow before getting pregnant as well as for your second <a href="http://www.pregnancy-period.com/">pregnancy</a><br /><br /></div><br /><br /></span>abdi theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17234470698964479701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649809835461858831.post-240953174900197562008-02-23T23:29:00.000-07:002008-02-23T23:32:35.168-07:00Stretch Mark Removal - Finding The Right Option<div align="justify">By: Apurva Shree - Many women enquire about various stretch mark removal options post pregnancy. Almost 90% of pregnant women do end up getting pregnancy spots.<br /><br /><span class="fullpost">Many women enquire about various stretch mark removal options post pregnancy. Almost 90% of pregnant women do end up getting pregnancy spots. However, with the treatments available today, there is no need to worry about stretch marks. On the other hand, if you have not taken care of yourself during pregnancy period and you have ended up with some really bad red lines, then you do need to worry. There is a huge chance that you might never be stretch mark free.<br /><br />Sudden weight gain is the primary cause of it during pregnancy. As the skin stretches beyond its limits, the collagen breaks up, thus leading to ugly lines. In the initial stage, it appears as red or dark horizontal lines along the skin. Over a period of time, if not taken care of, they become whitish lines.<br /><br />Whether you would get stretch marks or not, depends on your heredity. If your mother had them, then you would most probably get them also. It also depends on your ethnicity. The greater the melanin in your skin, the lesser are your chances. Pregnant women who drink lot of water, exercise, and eat a balanced diet are lesser prone to it.<br /><br />Prevention Is Better Than Cure<br /><br />Doctors always say that it is best to prevent it than to treat them. However, if you do get them, there are number of options that you can consider. Your first option for treatment would be to go for a lotion for pregnancy lines. Go for creams containing Vitamin A, Vitamin E, cocoa butter, shea butter, wheat germ oil, lanolin, Aloe Vera, etc. Lotions help to rebuild your skin structure and thereby aid in the removal process.<br /><br />Once you have bought a lotion, you should try it out for some time. You will not be seeing the results in one or two weeks. But if over a period of month or so, you do not see any results; you should opt for another lotion. Often a lotion that has worked for your friend might not do the trick for you. So, you have to keep trying various lotions, before you hit upon the right one for you.<br /><br />Other Options<br /><br />If lotions do not give you the results, you can go for laser treatment for stretch marks. Laser treatment is quite expensive and time consuming. If you are not able to make up your mind about laser treatment, it is best to first read on the subject. There are many books, articles, and websites that provide detailed information on all aspects of the topics. Be sure to learn about the pros and cons of laser treatment.<br /><br />To find out what the best option for you is, you can always consult your physician. Besides telling you about various lotions, laser treatment, and home remedies, he/she would also inform you about blue light therapy and plastic surgery. Discuss thoroughly with your doctor and you would be able to reach the right decision. However, I always say that, before you go for expensive surgery or laser treatment for stretch mark removal, it is better to try out the lotions and some home remedies.<br /><br />Weight gain is the main cause of stretch marks during pregnancy<a href="http://www.pregnancy-period.com/">pregnancy</a> There are lotions for pregnancy stretch marks as well as <a href="http://www.pregnancy-period.com/lasertreatmentforstretchmarks.html">laser treatment for stretch marks</a> available as options for <a href="http://www.pregnancy-period.com/stretchmarkremoval.html">stretch mark removal</a><br /><br /></div><br /><br /></span>abdi theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17234470698964479701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649809835461858831.post-14130982833448218112008-02-23T23:27:00.000-07:002008-02-23T23:29:21.037-07:00Toenail Fungus Treatment - Tea Tree Oil Remedy<div align="justify">By: Ryan English - Tea tree oil is a great natural home remedy for curing toenail infection especially the fungal ones. Tea tree oil is derived from the tree called Melaleuca alternifolia that grows abundantly in Australia.<br /><br /><span class="fullpost">Toenail fungal infection is a common condition in which, the toenail gets infected with micro sized living fungus. Any fungal infection is generally caused by fungi called as 'dermatophytes'. These fungi live on the dead skin and the hair on the skin. Such infections are also labeled as ringworm but different names are just referred to the parts of the body where those infections attack.<br /><br />Toenail fungus is tinea corporis and it lives on the skin around and underneath the toenail. Once the fungus gets seated it gradually spread to the surrounding areas like cuticles and then finally nail-bed. It might change the color of the nail and sometimes produce severe pain that a person limps finding difficulty to cope up with the infection troubling the toe. It becomes difficult for a person to wear shoes and to walk comfortably. Many treatments are available to treat such condition in an effective way.<br /><br />Tea tree oil is a great natural home remedy for curing toenail infection especially the fungal ones. Tea tree oil is derived from the tree called Melaleuca alternifolia that grows abundantly in Australia. The oil was used in Australia since many years but after researches on it, Tea tree oil has now drawn everybody's attention and has now become one of the most popular essential oils as home remedy or alternative therapy used to treat various health ailments.<br /><br />The Tea tree oil contains chemicals known as terpenoids that are believed to be having medicinal properties. Another useful ingredient Tea tree oil contains is cineole. Both of these ingredients are active components that posses antifungal and antibacterial properties. Tea tree oil kills the microorganisms that are resistant to some antibiotics and if applied locally, it can be very effective antiseptic and anti-infective for fungal infection. The oil has been widely used to treat condition called as Athlete's foot, a fungal infection of the toenail.<br /><br />Tea tree oil is also used to treat insect bites, sunburn and other minor skin problems where there is itching and irritation. Tea tree oil has also been practiced curing to kill bacteria in the mouth before the dental surgery and to lessen the mouth irritation that is caused by dental procedures. In oral candidiasis, Tea tree oil has proven results when used as gargling. Oral candidiasis is nothing but a fungal infection of the mouth and throat and hence, it can also work on toenail fungal infection.<br /><br />One can use Tea tree oil alone or with some other essential oil as combination. Using Tea tree alone can help healing the newly detected toenail fungal infection. In other words, uncomplicated and toenail infection on the initial stages can effectively be treated with Tea tree oil and when it is more advanced, it can be treated by using Tea tree oil with combination of olive oil or lavender oil or apple cider vinegar. To use these oils, one can take cotton-ball and can dip into oils before applying onto the affected area. If you are using Tea tree oil as single oil, you can use eyedropper to take and put onto the affected area. Once the application is over, do not forget to make the area dry after sometime.<br /><br />Related Articles:<br /><br /><a href="http://antinailfungus.com/nail-fungus-treatment/best-nail-fungus-treatment">Top rated nail fungus treatment</a><br /><br /><a href="http://antinailfungus.com/toenail-fungus/natural-cure-for-toenail-fungus">Some natural ways to cure toenail fungus</a><br /><br /></div><br /><br /></span>abdi theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17234470698964479701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649809835461858831.post-87840636937416059302008-02-23T23:25:00.000-07:002008-02-23T23:27:15.982-07:00How to Create Great Content On Your Blog - Creative Ideas for Compelling Content<div align="justify">By: Ian Hollander - One of the biggest hurdles that ALL new (and experienced) bloggers face, is the constant and continuous chase to create good and compelling content. In the big buck battles you see fought over the hearts and minds of your readers, it's often the blogs that have the MOST continuously updated content that get the most views, NOT those that have the best ideas, or freshest thoughts. In many ways, this is a sad thing - but in a very different senses, it does provide a wonderful window of opportunity to those willing to work harder and smarter than anyone else.<br /><br /><span class="fullpost">One of the biggest hurdles that ALL new ( and experienced) bloggers face, is the constant and continuous chase to create good and compelling content. In the big buck battles you see fought over the hearts and minds of your readers, it's often the blogs that have the MOST continuously updated content that get the most views, NOT those that have the best ideas, or freshest thoughts. In many ways, this is a sad thing...but in a very different senses, it does provide a wonderful window of opportunity to those willing to work harder and smarter than anyone else.<br /><br />Let's take a closer look at what I mean. Have you ever come across a blog, or a site that you just LOVE in terms of the content, or tactics that are shared...yet, when you go to check out some of the various categories/pages or other miscellaneous musings put forth by the site authors, you find there really isn't that much there? One or two simply spectacular posts in a month does not a big buck blogging empire make.<br /><br />On the other side of the coin..some of the VERY best and most successful bloggers out there are simply POINTING their readers to other, bigger and better resources on a given topic. So simply by excerpting a collection of great posts on a given range of topics, and then linking to the post in question on someone else's site, actually...over time makes you a far better stop on the informational highway than the guy who makes one masterpiece post a month.<br /><br />Of course if you can find 30 people who do this...and simply link to one of their posts everyday, you have a GREAT jumping off point for people who come to YOU to find the great content, and you just send them on their way to get it! In many ways, some of the biggest and brightest bloggers out there got their start the very same way, and if you look REAL close under the hood, you'll see that many of them still do just that today, even if they dress it up a little bit more for show.<br /><br />All in all, a great "authority site" on your topic CAN be comprised of lots of helpful resources, not just tons of literate prose...which we all know is much tougher to do well than the first..:-)<br /><br />Are you a Guru Groupie? Stop! Online Marketing is EASY....and I'm going to PROVE it to you for FREE!<br /><br />If You Want to Make More Money Online I am going to very simply show you how you can - starting today, earn more money, quickly, easily and ethically using elegant marketing principles that are timeless, powerful and simply work and do it fast. But I don't want you to believe me. Instead...Let me prove it to you for FREE!<br /><br />Join the growing group of online entrepreneurs who are getting "Good Karma" through our simple to follow and completely free resource of kick a*s renegade Online Marketing Magic. You are standing on the threshold of a new financial future. And the journey of a thousand miles begins with one simple step.... <a href="http://karmicconsulting.net/">Click here</a> to take YOURS right now<br /><br /></div><br /><br /></span>abdi theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17234470698964479701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649809835461858831.post-90934492588681614702008-02-23T23:24:00.000-07:002008-02-23T23:25:31.071-07:00Bad Credit Personal Loans - Offers Sound Financial Assistance<div align="justify">By: Peter Taylor - Bad credit personal loans are offered to borrowers in secured and unsecured form. These loans are meant to help borrowers fulfill their needs as well as to improve the credit score.<br /><br /><span class="fullpost">The ominous sign of bad credit is all that required by a lender to refrain from offering any monetary assistance to borrowers. In such cases availing finances becomes a distant dream, leave alone fulfilling the various needs. Eventually the financial standing of the borrower deteriorates. In such a situation, borrower can take the help of bad credit personal loans. These loans release monetary assistance for the borrowers which basically assist the borrower to reestablish the financial condition back to its original glory.<br /><br />These loans are made available only to those affected borrowers who are having a history of credit problems like CCJs, IVA, arrears, loan defaults etc against their name. The amount under these loans can be used to serve a number of purposes like consolidating debts to improve the credit score or home renovation, purchasing a car, going for a vacation and many more.<br /><br />Borrower can avail these loans in the secured and unsecured form. Secured form of the loans can be accessed only by attaching any valuable asset such as home, real estate etc as collateral. This loan option offers a bigger amount at very low interest rate. The low interest rate is due to the presence of collateral which provides an assurance to the lender that the amount is safe. If the borrower is looking forward to avail a bigger amount, then he can opt for this loan option.<br /><br />On the other hand, unsecured form of the loans does not require any collateral pledging. Being collateral free, it paves the way for borrowers like tenants and non homeowners to access these loans. Homeowners who do not want to attach any asset can also apply. This loan option offers a limited amount over a short period of time. Without any collateral, the interest rates for the loans are slightly higher. But with a detailed research of the market borrower can come across low rate lenders.<br /><br />For faster approval and cheap rates, borrower can use the online application method. The process is simple and borrower can access these loans by sitting at the office or home. Before availing the loans, borrower must compare the quotes of various lenders to get the best of the loan deals.<br /><br />With bad credit personal loans, borrower gets a chance to fulfill the needs as well as rebuild the credit score.<br /><br />Peter Taylor is a senior financial analyst at Bad Credit Loans with an acumen for finance and insurance. In recent years he has taken up to provide independant financial advice through his informative articles. His articles are widely read because of the lucid manner of wriiting and thoroughly researched datas. <a href="http://www.badcreditloans.uk.com/">http://www.badcreditloans.uk.com/</a><br /><br /></div><br /><br /></span>abdi theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17234470698964479701noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649809835461858831.post-21977459540247346202008-02-23T23:22:00.000-07:002008-02-23T23:24:11.635-07:00Unleashed - The Unknown Secret To Cashing In On Pay Per Click Marketing<div align="justify">By: Fabian Tan - Many people spend obscene amounts of cash on pay per click marketing such as Google Adwords and lose a ton of money doing it. This is because they are using traditional tactics. While these tactics do work for some, most fail at it.<br /><br /><span class="fullpost">Many people spend obscene amounts of cash on pay per click marketing such as Google Adwords and lose a ton of money doing it. This is because they are using traditional tactics. While these tactics do work for some, most fail at it. How do you change this paradigm? This article reveals a simple Adwords system that most people don't know about.<br /><br />When you create a new Adwords campaign, you are given the choice between creating a keyword-targeted campaign or a site-targeted campaign. Most people choose the first choice, which has the ads showing on the search engine's results page. However, the second choice, the placement-targeted campaign, is what we are going to be discussing.<br /><br />A placement-targeted campaign allows you to target your ads on sites which have Google Adsense ads on them. In other words, it's like the Content Network option, only you have the choice to now target your ads to which site you want them to display on.<br /><br />So what I want you to do now is to pick a keyword which you know receives a lot of searches. Find the top 3 sites for that keyword, and see if they display Adsense ads. Are they prominent on the page? If they are, that's good news. You can target your ads to display there.<br /><br />The benefits of these are immense. You can literally pay only $0.01 per click compared to the astronomical costs from normal pay per click advertising! This is because placement targeting works by CPM (cost per thousand impressions), which you means you get to site the price for every thousand impressions your ad receives. If you get a good click through rate for your ads, this can be a great traffic generator.<br /><br />Fabian Tan is the author of the free 51-Page Report:<br /><br />"Murder Your Job: How To Build Cash Sucking Autopilot Businesses In 30 Days Or Less!"<br /><br />Head over to <a href="http://www.MurderYourJob.com">http://www.MurderYourJob.com</a> to get your free copy now before it's gone!<br /><br /></div><br /><br /></span>abdi theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17234470698964479701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649809835461858831.post-58129333152256623512008-02-23T23:21:00.000-07:002008-02-23T23:22:52.904-07:00Affiliate Marketing - Can You Really Make Money From Affiliate Programs?<div align="justify">By: Fabian Tan - Affiliate marketing is often touted as one of the fastest ways to create cash online. But can you really make a full-time income from affiliate programs?<br /><br /><span class="fullpost">Affiliate marketing is often touted as one of the fastest ways to create cash online. But can you really make a full-time income from affiliate programs? We'll talk about this and more in this article.<br /><br />Firstly, one of the advantages that people often talk about when discussing affiliate programs is that there is no market research or product creation needed. All of that is done already. All you have to is promote your affiliate link to earn instant commissions.<br /><br />However, because this is the case, you do 'give up' some of your profits. For digital products on Clickbank or Pay Dot Com, the commissions are really nice though, ranging from 50% to 75% of the product's selling price. Which means that the lost is minimized.<br /><br />But if you promote physical products, your margins will be much lower. Physical product vendors typically pay no more than 25% of the selling price because there are more costs involved when developing physical products. There might be a warehouse the vendor needs to rent, or the product might be expensive to produce. This means you are not fully maximizing your profit potential from marketing these products.<br /><br />So yes, you can make money with affiliate programs. But in my opinion, stick with promoting digital products. You get high profit margins, which will give you a better Return On Investment on your online marketing efforts. So go do affiliate marketing while you hold your day job to earn a healthy side income. If you find that it's making you a fortune, you can even quit your day job for good.<br /><br />Fabian Tan is the author of the free 51-Page Report:<br /><br />"Murder Your Job: How To Build Cash Sucking Autopilot Businesses In 30 Days Or Less!"<br /><br />Head over to <a href="http://www.MurderYourJob.com">http://www.MurderYourJob.com</a> to get your free copy now before it's gone!<br /><br /></div><br /><br /></span>abdi theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17234470698964479701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649809835461858831.post-24225142385589616982008-02-23T23:20:00.000-07:002008-02-23T23:21:43.687-07:00The #1 Missing Element In Internet Marketing Programs<div align="justify">By: Fabian Tan - Most Internet marketing programs typically are filled with fluff and junk. Following most of these programs will more often than not lose you money rather than make you some money.<br /><span class="fullpost">Most Internet marketing programs typically are filled with fluff and junk. Following most of these programs will more often than not lose you money rather than make you some money. The truth is most of these programs are missing one crucial element for achieving success.<br /><br />And that is the fact that Internet marketing success requires hard work! Most programs promise autopilot income overnight. The truth is, you will not get rich overnight. Don't buy into these wild promises. Tell yourself that if it is too good to be true, then it probably is!<br /><br />Working hard doesn't mean working stupid. If you work hard and smart, that's when you'll start to see radical results from your Internet marketing efforts. In other words, if you think you can create riches by working half an hour every day, forget it! Get rid of that mindset now.<br /><br />Have the mindset of a business owner, not an opportunity seeker. Opportunity seekers go round and round hopping from program to program, getting nowhere. They might spend a week on a program, then give up. A business owner, on the other hand, spends time building a business from the ground up until the business grows from a 'baby' to a self-sufficient adult you can rely on.<br /><br />Whenever you see a program promising instant riches, run. It takes time and effort to build a real online business. Once you realize that, the 'battle' is half won. Put into action your business plan, never give up and you will succeed.<br /><br />Fabian Tan is the author of the free 51-Page Report:<br /><br />"Murder Your Job: How To Build Cash Sucking Autopilot Businesses In 30 Days Or Less!"<br /><br />Head over to <a href="http://www.MurderYourJob.com">http://www.MurderYourJob.com</a> to get your free copy now before it's gone!<br /><br /></div><br /><br /></span>abdi theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17234470698964479701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649809835461858831.post-78642433175144665602008-02-23T23:17:00.000-07:002008-02-23T23:20:03.767-07:00Mobile Phone Ringtones Sales on an Upsurge<div align="justify">By: Grigoriy Anoshenko - Mobile phone ringtones market is on boom, with people in favor of special ringtones to be set in their handsets. According to ARC Group consultants, ringtones fetched sales of USD 3.5 billion worldwide in 2007, an increase of 40% to what it was in 2002.<br /><br /><span class="fullpost">Mobile phone ringtones market is on boom, with people in favor of special ringtones to be set in their handsets. According to ARC Group consultants, ringtones fetched sales of USD 3.5 billion worldwide in 2007, an increase of 40% to what it was in 2002. Mobile phone ringtones are serving like hot cakes amongst the youth. The market is expanding like anything, with a worldwide revenue generation USD 2.5 Billion annually.<br /><br />Basically, there are four kinds of ringtones. To start with, Monophonic Ringtones can play a song one note at one time, with no harmonies. Polyphonic Ringtones are music files with harmonies. True tones or Real-life Ringtones may include voice, quotes, or even weird sounds. Master Ringtones, on the other hand, refer to compressed clips of actual song files from a movie or album.<br /><br />Europe and Asia are leading the way, with the sales of ringtones costing a price of USD 4 each. People are making more money in the sales of ringtones today than in CD singles. Not just that, ringtones have also outperformed legal Internet download services like Apple's iTunes, which mints a wealth of about USD 1 million in a year across the globe.<br /><br />Teenagers, who act as a fashion symbol, are more inclined more towards ringtones. There has also been an improvement in the sound quality so far. Almost all latest mobiles now offer polyphonic playback and support actual music clips (True tones) that can be used as ringtones. This is where even mobile operators and record labels can mint huge money. A ringtone can be derived from a pop song, on paying a certain royalty fee. For true tones, you will require record labels to get a licensed master recording. No dubious firm that used to provide porn phone lines will be allowed to stay in the industry. Verizon Wireless in the US has tied up with BMG and EMI. T-Mobile is planning to partner with Universal and Sony in Europe.<br /><br />Record labels and operators are now eating a larger slice of the music download industry on its success of true tones. With the new 3G networks launched in the market, mobiles and music playback are fetching more thriving demand for music downloads to handsets. According to record firms and mobile operators, mobile-music downloads will also command a premium on mobile handsets for using fixed-lines services like iTunes.<br /><br />Several people even pay for ringtones to be directly uploaded on their mobile phones via SMS on a regular basis. Not many are aware with fixed-line services, such as iTunes or Napster, or being a member of such kind of services can enable them to download legal music and transfer ringtones to their mobile phones without paying anything. What is required is nothing but a Bluetooth device that will not fetch you more than 10 pounds.<br /><br />If you are planning to make your ringtone a little more adventurous, you can always download software from the Internet that can facilitate you to create your own music and later you can transfer it to your mobile phone on your own with ease.<br /><br />To find out more and download <a href="http://www.freeringtones4all.net/">free ringtones</a> <br /><br /></div><br /><br /></span>abdi theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17234470698964479701noreply@blogger.com1