Cruise Vacations And Travel Agents What You Should Know

If you decide to use a travel agent to book your cruise travel, know whom you are dealing with! Some cruise agents are very competent; others may have been selling stereos or aluminum siding over the telephone six months ago. A cruise travel agent will be able to give you lots of information on many different cruise lines.

For instance, Carnival is known as the fun ships, Celebrity for their excellent cuisine. Disney, of course, is geared towards children, Holland America is more of an older group (not dead-they just don't want to be on a party ship), Princess is family oriented. Then there is the whole roster of luxury lines, SilverSeas, Radisson, and Crystal Cruises. All of them offer there own style of cruise travel

Ask the cruise travel agent some pointed questions. See if they have CLIA accreditation. CLIA stands for Cruise Lines International Association and is the industries standard. Find out how many cruise vacations the travel agent has been on and on which cruise lines. If the travel agent has only cruised on one line you know that will be the cruise line that they recommend. If they give the pros and cons of several cruise lines you know you have found a good cruise travel agent.

Always ask if they are a preferred supplier of the cruise line they are recommending. Many cruise travel agents who have booked numerous cabins on one particular cruise line will get preferred status meaning they will get an additional bonus from the cruise line for everyone they book for a cruise vacation.

Local travel agents or otherwise self-appointed cruise experts frequently read the cruise ship line PR veneer right out of the catalog. Often this turns out to be nothing more than selling you the standard discount for booking your cruise vacation that is available to virtually anyone off the so-called brochure rate.

The result is that you think you're getting a cruise ship that does not fulfill your criteria. What you find yourself on is a garish neon nightmare of a ship filled with people whose idea of a good time is drinking, partying, and then waking you up at 3AM as they boisterously announce their arrival back to their room--all right outside of your cabin.

For sure, this is the idea of a roaring good time for some--but the point is KNOW WHAT YOU ARE REALLY BUYING! There are many significant points and nuances that can differentiate between an OK trip, and one that falls short for the money you spend.

Many travel or cruise agencies often offer "special discounts". This is a common travel agency ploy to offer promotional deals that frequently focus on a special "cruise night." You may get a mailing or perhaps there is an ad in the local newspaper. You go in, are met and greeted, enjoy punch and free cookies, and view a dreamy cruise video.

Keep in mind that this is intended to appeal to a strong emotional purchase decision. Experts about the Psychology of selling relate this experience to what any top car salesperson knows. In the dealer's showroom, if you can get the potential customer behind the wheel to experience the "smell of the new car" and the fantasy of pulling it into the driveway--you've likely already made a sale!

However when you go to one of these get-togethers to preview cruise travel often they dont try and tailor your needs to a cruise that will fulfill those needs. Theyll provide you with general information trying to sell as many of the same cruise vacations as possible. You deserve to have your considerations met.

Cruise travel agents are certainly the easiest way to go when booking a cruise vacation, but if you do use a travel agent, have them one-on-one instead of in a group situation. Be sure they listen to what you are saying, and if you have any hesitancy, address it immediately. Most agents are professional enough to take a step back and make adjustments based on what you tell them.

So take a little time and research your cruise travel agent until you find one that you are comfortable with. When you find the right travel agent they will steer you to the best cruise line for you and you will experience a great cruise vacation.

Happy Cruising

Copyright © Mary Hanna, All Rights Reserved.

This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.

Mary Hanna has traveled the world by Air and Ship while writing eBooks, Software Reviews and Practical Articles on Internet Marketing, Cruising, Gardening and Cooking. Visit her websites at: http://www.CruiseGold.com http://www.CruiseTravelDirectory.com and http://www.CruisingTips.com.Anetta Blog78089
Brandy Blog82764

Underwater Lighting Basics: Which Light Is The Best Light For You?

Every diver must think of underwater kinetics at some point. Unless you want to feel around in the dark every time you go under the water youll have to consider what kind of flashlight you need. Here are a few tips for choosing the right scuba light.

First, let me give you an introduction. The basic types of light include LED, HID, and Xenon. Each, of course, has its special characteristics and which one is right for you depends on your diving goals. Lets examine each type of scuba light on its own merits.

LED

LED stands for light-emitting diode. These lights are long lasting and use very little power, which makes them quite useful to divers.

HID

High-intensity discharge lights are useful if you need more light at longer distances. They tend to be more expensive but worth the extra price if you are charting darker territory.

XENON

Xenon lights use the highest intensity available for more light, longer durations and super super power. These are the underwater lights for the experts.

All three kinds of dive light have a host of features you can try on for size. You can get them with lanyards, clips, head mounts, key rings, fiber optic probes, and various battery sizes and unique features for type of light. But which one is right for you?

What type of diver are you? Do you dive for sport and entertainment, are you an instructor, or do you go on dangerous shark hunting missions? That makes a huge difference in the type of light you need. For most of us, a simple LED light is ideal. This is especially true if you are a beginning diver.

If you are new to diving you should get a mini-light. They are less bulky and chances are youll be going out with a more experienced diver who has a more powerful light. But youll still want one of your own.

If you are more experienced and tend to dive for longer periods of time then you will want a more powerful light. If your dive sessions tend to be for hours on end then you want a light that can stand the test of time. You want one whose battery isnt going to fizz out while you explore those coral reefs.

For divers who like to explore dark, unexplored corners of the sea, youll want something that offers some brightness. What sense does it make to go into an underwater cave with a flashlight that only operates at 2 lumens?

Are you a photographer? Do you like to shoot pictures of marine wildlife? Then youll definitely want a head lamp. Get something that has enough power to illuminate at greater distances, particularly if you plan to photograph exotic sea life or dangerous creatures like sharks and other aqua predators. Its imperative that you have your hands free to fiddle with the camera.

If you dive in places where there is a possibility of bumping into other divers then you should probably wear a beacon. This lets other divers see you before they harpoon you. Put one on your back because you will not always meet other divers eye to eye. But youll also want to wear one on the front side of your body as well. If possible, put one on your head and one on your foot or leg as many divers like to scale the floors of the waters in which they dive. You want your beacon to be seen from any direction front, back, side, top or bottom.

The most important thing to keep in mind when choosing a diving light, next to safety, is personal style and taste. What makes you comfortable? Do you like holding the pistol grip in your hand and pretend you are James Bond under the sea? Or do you prefer having your hands free? Do like your light bouncing around as you dive as they tend to do with a lanyard, or do you prefer to have them clipped to your wetsuit or other gear?

These are some of the questions you need to ask yourself when you are shopping for a diving light.

Rick Abbott is an avid diver, part time author, and consultant in the IT field. For more dive articles and tips, go to http://www.divervillage.com. If you are a writer and like writing articles about diving, submit your articles to http://www.divervillage.com where divers can read them online. Also, visits Ricks diving blog at http://divervillage.blogspot.com.Ashlan Blog99165
Bobbie Blog1823

The Freelance Writer's Thanksgiving Prayer

CLIENTS

Im thankful for clients.

Im thankful for clients who pay.

Im thankful for clients who pay on time.

Im thankful for clients who pay what Im worth.

Im thankful for clients who pay their thanks to me.

Im thankful for clients who realize my value.

Im thankful for clients who have ideas.

Im thankful for clients who have no idea.

Im thankful for clients who know when to give up their ideas.

Im thankful for clients who know what they want.

Im thankful for clients who know when they dont know what they want.

Im thankful for clients who let me do my job.

Im thankful for clients who realize writing IS a job.

Im thankful for clients who realize writing is MY job.

ME

Im thankful for the gift of writing.

Im thankful for the gift of writing for a living.

Im thankful for the gift of writing words that matter.

Im thankful for the gift of writing just for me.

Im thankful for the gift of writing love notes to those who matter.

Im thankful for the gift of writing editorials that change peoples minds.

Im thankful for the gift of writing to help others.

Im thankful for the gift of writing down what Im thankful for.

FRIENDS

Im thankful for friends who realize I write for a living.

Im thankful for friends who dont ask me to work for free.

Im thankful for friends who dont tell me to get a real job.

Im thankful for friends who pick up the tab during dry spells.

FAMILY

Im thankful for family who respect my working hours.

Im thankful for family who encouraged me to purse my dream.

Im thankful for family who ignore me when Im on deadline.

Im thankful for family who know I love them, even when Im on deadline.

Im thankful for family who realize that my computer really is a person to me.

Im thankful for family who know Im a professional, even in my fuzzy slippers.

DEADLINES

Im thankful for deadlines that pass.

Im thankful for deadlines that pass with pay.

MONEY WISH LIST

Im thankful for checks;

Im thankful for checks that come in the mail,

Im thankful for checks that come in the mail on time;

Im thankful for checks that come in the mail on time in my name;

Im thankful for notification of payment received emails from PayPal;

Im thankful for bank lines of credit;

Im thankful for bank lines of credit in my name;

Im thankful for bills that dont come;

Im thankful for bills that dont come in my name;

Im thankful for bills that are paid;

Im thankful for bills that are paid on time;

Im thankful for bills that are paid on time in my name.

WISH LIST FOR CLIENTS

I wish for vodka shots before talking to unreasonable clients;

bottles of tequila to share with good clients;

a moonshine hangover to nonpaying clients; and

a three-martini introduction to new clients.

WORK

Im thankful for work.

Im thankful for work that matters.

Im thankful for work that I love.

Im thankful for work that I love that pays.

May be reprinted with the following, in full:

Yuwanda Black is the publisher of http://InkwellEditorial.com: THE business portal for and about the editorial and creative industries. First-hand freelance success stories, e-courses, job postings, resume tips, advice on the business of freelancing, and more! Launch a Profitable Freelance Writing Career in 30 Days or Less -- Guaranteed! Log on to http://InkwellEditorial.com to learn how.Almira Blog68567
Bunnie Blog54485

What Is CLASSID

Before you go ahead and download a registry cleaner understand why it is necessary. As a web page loads on your system, you may be prompted to install several ActiveX components before the page can be fully downloaded. This is so that the browser can interpret the ActiveX components and display them properly on the system. This only would only occur if the controls used in the web page were not already on the system. If you decline permission for the installation, the page will not function properly. However, once these ActiveX controls are on your system, you won't have to download them again, even when you come across them on other web sites. These download clutter up the registry over time and need to be removed with the help of some registry shareware cleaner.

Other ID Tags

So how can the web page determine that the required ActiveX controls are not installed on the system or not? The browser does this by referring to the CLASSID in the OBJECT tag of the web page. To cut a long explanation short, an ActiveX control is added to a web page using the and container tags. The CLASSID is unique to each ActiveX component; it is with the CLASSID that you specify which control you are using. The Registry has a special section for CLASSID and they run into thousands of IDs. The useless records in the Registry have to be removes with the aid of a registry cleaner. Free PC registry cleaners are available for download and help keep the system running smoothly. If you were to look at a CLASSID it would look something like this: Class ID: 99B42120-6EC7-11CF-A6C7-00AA00A47DD2.

So How Does CLASSID work

CLASSID is a unique registry-identifying component that is used to identify an ActiveX control. The actual download process consists of six different steps. First, Internet Explorer will process the OBJECT tag in the browser code and get your requirements from it. Then Internet Explorer will determine if checking different things needs a download. Then Internet Explorer will process the CAB file and the INF file. Then the control and its dependencies will be installed. Finally, the control will show up on the screen.

The Registry is the centre of all records for the system. The registry records all the activities such as the users and the hardware details of the system. It also records where what program or file is located on the disk. This is why the registry gets filled up with redundant entries over time and as it gets older it keeps building up and slowing down the system. Registry Repair and Cleaners are ideal for such times when your computer has grown sluggish and irritatingly slow. PC registry cleaners can greatly enhance the speed and performance of your system.

It is all code language and you need not understand the technicalities of it. Suffice it to know that if the browser determines, through the CLASSID on your browser that your system already has that CLASSID in the registry the browser will load and display the page, else it will prompt you to download that particular control.

A Singh is admin and technical expert associated with development of computer security and performance enhancing software like Registry Cleaner, Window Cleaner, Anti Spam Filter etc. More information can be found at http://www.pcmantra.comAlejandrina Blog29834
Arleyne Blog17891

Top 10 reasons to write a Top 10 reasons article

Want to make sure to get a lot of traffic? Then I recommend to write a "Top 10 reasons" or "Top 10 tips" article. Top 10 articles are on the rise, and there are some good reasons to jump on the bandwagon as they usually get a lot of readers and hence generate a lot of traffic. So here they are, the Top 10 reasons to write a Top 10 reasons article!

1. Top 10 articles are popular, they can increase your traffic and income. That might already be the ultimate reason for writing such an article, as you wish to become incredibly rich, don't you? But why are they so attractive for potential readers, and how hard is it to write a Top 10 article that will catch the attention of the masses?

2. "Top 10" is catchy. In a list of titles the or on search engine results pages the "Top 10" article will instantly catch your attention. It seems that "Top 10" looks somewhat interesting to our brain - maybe it's because we associate "Top 10" with positive emotions, after all we have been trained to love top ten charts when we were teenagers.

3. They're hard to resist. Once a reader clicked on the article link he/she will most likely at least read the first paragraph or the first (eventually bold) sentence of each paragraph. Top 10 articles look interesting, we expect a lot of information from them and we surely don't want to miss something that could be important to us.

4. Top 10 articles are easy to digest. They are well structured, readers can quickly fly over the article and focus on paragraphs that seem to be interesting for them. Top 10 articles can be read faster than ordinary articles, without decreasing the level of information that's captured.

5. They are informative. It's not only easier to read them, it's also easier to memorize their essence. This has to do with the fact that the human brain is only capable of keeping about 6 or 7 elements simultaneously in short time memory, and each dispensable sentence will reduce the amount of information the reader can memorize. That's why people like them - after reading them it's still possible to remember the most important facts.

6. You can write a Top 10 article about almost anything. It's often hard to find a good subject that will allow to write a great article, but simply writing a Top 10 article may help you out of the mess. The sequential nature of a Top 10 article helps us to structure your ideas and to keep a high information level 'till the end.

7. Enough, but not too much. Writing a Top 10 article may also help to hit the right article length and the required information density to make it really interesting for your readers, without losing focus and strength at the end of the article.

8. Easy text construction. A good Top 10 article might be easier to write than an ordinary article. Just write down your 10 reasons and then construct two or three good sentences for each one of them, add a short introduction and you're done!

9. High keyword density and good search engine results. Because of the structured content Top 10 articles often have a high keyword density, which can result in better search engine rankings and can end up in even more traffic and income. This is because many sentences with tons of useless words that would generally lead from one paragraph to another can be left aside.

10. You never have to worry about the tenth reason, because you can write almost anything here. Yes, it's true, and this article finally proves it!

Jos Kirps is the creator of several software and web projects, including the Open Source CorneliOS webOS, the Galaxiki community portal and the OLEFA Information Management System. On his website he offers information about Agile Development, Marketing and Internet Business Strategies. Visit http://www.kirps.com for more information.Cathlene Blog55567
Ailee Blog39510

Choosing Small Business Website Names

I disagree with the comment made by some web developers that all the good domain names are taken. Search engine optimization, or seo, does not depend heavily on the www name you select. For my clients just starting out the decision choosing small business website names has never been an issue. It is a fact that all the 3 character and 4 character domain names with the key extensions are taken. Furthermore, I agree that a vast number of choice domain names are no longer available; however, the selection of a suitable www domain for your small business is possible if you remain flexible.

The real value in the name you choose from a search perspective is how easy it is to spell and remember. Of the two types of visitors to your site, the human visitors and search engines, the ability of a person to remember your domain name and spell it correctly to pass it on to others outweighs any SEO value. Search engines are robots and don't care.

Using words like "greatest", "best", or other exaggerated terms in your domain name is thought by some to be a disadvantage and penalized by search engines. Search algorithms change often and likewise that theory, and although you may not be penalized for using such words, consider the reaction of your human visitors. They may not stick around if they feel you boast without the content to back it up. For a serious small business commercial enterprise, my advice is avoiding adjectives in the domain name entirely.

In some cases new clients approach me to redesign an existing website, and it surprises me that some of the basics are overlooked. For example, a commercial enterprise in business for profit should not select a dot ORG domain simply because the dot COM was taken. This was the case from a conversation with a client interested in a site makeover. Their ORG version was online for two years with little or no backlinks or serious indexing from search engines. The mindset of getting one particular name should be reconsidered especially if it's your first online venture.

Here's a breakdown of the most desirable domain extensions and the usual purpose of each:

COM - Commercial for profit enterprise
INFO - Information only related website
NET - Companies providing internet services
ORG - Non-profit organizations

Certainly there are many more like BIZ, US, WS, and others which are all reasonable choices, but for your commercial small business my recommendation is always acquire a dot COM www domain name. The client mentioned earlier did not realize a dot ORG was intended for a non-commercial enterprise, and they decided the poor website SEO performance was something that justified getting a new dot COM. We easily found an available www domain using their company initials and one key word about their target market which is medical. Despite my advice that they keep the existing site and simply change the theme, they decided to just let it go when it expired.

My commercial site choice was my first and last name, and very unique at that. Using your name is okay, and expected if you're famous. There is, however, little or no value as far as keywords in my www domain to attract visitors, so is that a mistake for search engine optimization? Certainly not. The fact that I have collected more than 100 screenshots of generic phrases relative to my business that made Google page one is evidence the content, not the domain, is key.

Here's some advice to help you when choosing a new dot COM small business website domain name.

Start out with a list of about 10 domain names that you would like to have. Next, make a list of market related single word terms about what you do and the customer base you service. If your market is localized, consider geographical terms that relate to where you sell or provide services. Spend 30 minutes brainstorming to come up with the initial names and additional lists of single word terms. You may want another list of significant initials.

Next, search for "WhoIs" in Google to find free online services that keep a database of available domain names, and follow the link in the search results. Each database has a search box which allows you to input the domain name and extension. Begin with your first choice and work down the list and keep track of available names for review later. It may not be easy, so try combinations of the key terms as you continue to search, and keep in mind you want a domain name that is easy to spell and remember. By the time you're done you should have a half dozen or more available names, so take your time and select the best one, and then register the name immediately.

Tip: The domain name may not be significant for search engine optimization, but the length of your registration can be. My advice is registering domains for 2 years minimum, and 5 to 10 years if that's in your budget. Search engines consider that the length of your registration reflects your commitment to be online long term, so at today's prices 5 years is practical and should cost less than $50 USD.

There's nothing wrong with getting the dot COM domain name you want, and then registering the other major extensions that are available for the same name. If you are highly successful in your online venture, having the other extensions registered in your name prevents others from attempting to take advantage of your reputation by association. In conclusion, the concept that all the good domain names are taken is a myth. You may not get exactly what you want, but practical options are available with a little research and due diligence.

Jim Degerstrom writes small business advice based on 30 years in management, sales, and marketing, including GM or President of small companies in 5 states. He is proficient in website and graphic art design, and runs his online Small Business Resource Center http://www.jimdegerstrom.com and offers advice on his Small Business Advice Blog http://www.jimdegerstrom.com/blog from Kissimmee, Florida USA.Andriana Blog87581
Arabele Blog4020

What To Do With A Man Who Has Commitment Phobia

There are some men who make women feel very lovable and desirable. They lavish love and gifts on them, and make them feel very special. But when it comes to marriage, they back out. They have a great fear of getting tied to a single woman for life. They run away from the very idea of marriage. Their relationships never have fairytale endings; instead they are littered with heartbreaks.

These men suffer from commitment phobia, a fear of committing themselves to one single woman. However, they dont hesitate to play the loving game. They go out of their way to make their women feel special. They woo them with all the passion that they can command. But they cool off once the woman talks of marriage.

How to spot a commitment phobe

For any woman it is important to spot commitment phobes that is men who suffer from commitment phobia -- early in the relationship. This is the only way they can keep their feet firmly on the ground, and not get swept away by the charm offensive launched by such men.

Fortunately, the commitment phobes are very predictable and display several common traits. These are:

1. They have been involved in several relationships in the past, but all of them have been brief. The reason, they will charmingly tell you, is that they are yet to come across a woman of their dreams, someone with whom they can have a lifelong relationship. You are that woman, they will tell you. It is for you to spot the lie or swallow it hook, line and sinker.

2. They would show much more interest in you that you do in them They will follow you, beseech you, please you, woo you try every trick in the trade to win you over.

They will even drop hints of long and stable relationships; they will talk of we and us not I and me.

3. They will make you feel very special. They will shower you with love and affection. They will make you feel their world will come to an end if you spurn them or misunderstand them. You will find it impossible to resist them, unless you realize what is happening.

However, this ardent wooing will be limited to the first phase of the relationship. The relationship will take a different turn the moment you surrender It is not that such men treat women as trophies to be won, and then displayed in their personal museums; but they are driven by contradictory feelings. They neither want to give up a woman nor want to commit themselves to her. It is a psychological disorder. But it can have serious effects both on the relationship, and on you.

You will not realize what has happened to your relationship. The same man, who could not live without you for a moment, will start looking for excuses to stay away from you. You will no longer be the shining light of their lives. The talk of matrimony will freeze them. Your tears may make them unhappy but it will not move them. It wouldnt be long before you are left only with memories and tears; the commitment phobe would have moved forward to another woman.

Why do they behave like this

You need not search for reasons for the souring of the relationship. You should also not blame yourself for what has happened. You must realize that commitment phobia is an emotional disorder, and you have become a victim of a person suffering from such a disorder.

According to psychologists, the commitment phobes behave like this because they suffer from certain beliefs about relationships. This may happen because:

1. As a sensitive child, a commitment phobes world was torn by a bitter divorce between his parents. He grew up with a feeling that there can be no permanent relationship between a man and a woman. Such a relationship can only bring pain in the long run.

2. Some commitment phobes cannot reconcile to the death of their father or mother or forget the sadness and grief that overcame their parents when one of them died. They therefore grow up with the feeling of not to enter into permanent relationships relationships that can bring pain on account of the death of a loved one.

3. Some commitment phobes may have been betrayed by those whom they loved. This would have created a mindset of never to give in to a woman again.

How to deal with a commitment phobe

You must realize that you have very few chances of winning a commitment phobe. You must therefore play hard to get. You must refuse to get into bed with him for very often this signals the end of a relationship. Let him feel desperate; let him step up his wooing. But dont give in.

It is important that you continue to live your own life. You should not allow a commitment phobe to set the pace of your life. You should continue dating other men and act as an independent woman who can live her life on her own. Never make the mistake of playing second fiddle to such men or switching to what-a-wife-would-do mode.

You should not drum excuses for his behavior, or try to convince yourself that he is right and you are wrong. In your mind, you should not become his advocate. You must look at his actions, not his words. Words are easy; they can be lavished with freedom. But it is hard to match them with action.

If possible, you should convince him to see a psychologist. There is always a chance that a psychologist may be able to remove the fears that a commitment phobe has about marital relationships. But this cannot happen in an instant. You have to be patient, aand you have to see how the commitment phobe takes your suggestion or the counseling.

Finally, dont grieve if your relationship breaks down. Take it in your stride. Treat it as a fun fling that was bound to end this way.

(To know more about commitment phobes read How to spot a commitment phobic before he breaks your heart! at www.relationship-remedies.com.)

Cucan PemoBeth Blog23055
Adelice Blog94017

Early Vintage Computer Buses Have Their Influences On Your Computer Today

The term expansion bus is a frequent term in vintage computer terminology which requires elaboration. Much of the legacy of vintage bus systems are in our current computer systems today.

To begin with the expansion bus" is a data highway for computer data information to travel on: the bandwidth is in essence the number of lanes. The bigger the bandwidth the more data can be sent. As examples, an 8 megabyte bandwidth means that data can be sent in 8 bits chunks. Our current systems use between 32 bit and now 64 bit bandwidth.

An expansion bus is where cards connect to the computer; Cards have an expansion edge, which fits snugly into the bus much like an electrical plug fits into a wall socket.

When cards are plugged into the bus, they communicate with the system, sometimes through the BIOS and others not. (The BIOS is the basic input /output system that tells the computer how to move data from the different components.) The 8, 16 or 32 bit bandwidth is an important consideration due to communication time between the cards. For example you have a 16 bit vintage 286 PC and it is sending out data at 16 bits a: your video card is also 8 bits. If you have an older 8 bit bus, such as in early IBM PCs and clones, the bus will become a bottleneck in the system; it is like having a 4 lane highway connected to another 4 lane highway by way of a 1 lane road. At most times regardless of the faster 4 lane highway traffic will be slow limited by the single lane connection road.

There were basically 3 types of expansion bus available in vintage computers: ISA, MCA, EISA systems.

Each early development in major ways paved the way for the later systems which indeed we take for granted today. This was both in terms of hardware and basic concepts in our computer systems and technology as well as computer marketing that we take for granted today as simple basic facts of life without any consideration due.

Basically the newer buses offered increased performance over the older technology buses.

The basic explanations of the buses are as follows:

The 3 bus standards to note were Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) .Micro Channel Channel Architecture (MSA) and Extended Industry Standard (EISA) bus systems.

Industry Standard Architecture (ISA). This was the original AT bus also called an ISA bus. It was the original 8 bit IBM PC bus which was bumped up to 16 bits at some point in its later development. Fine for a 16 bit 286 or very early 386 computers

Micro Channel Architecture (MSA). This was an early 32 bit bus system which was not received well but set the stage for an industry consortium of the major non IBM computer manufacturers ( at the time referred to as The Group of Nine) to develop the EISA standard bus.

Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA). The EISA bus standard was a standard of its own right which was 32 bit, included bus mastering and importantly remained compatible with previous older expansion cards. 32 bit systems were first to incorporate in later 386 systems. The 486 line solidified and standardized the 32 bit systems in the established software of the day.

Backward compatibility at the time was a novel new concept which has remained an important consideration in the computer industry.

EISA slots would accommodate both the ISA and EISA expansion slots to allow hardware upgrades, However the EISA expansion boards would be of little advantage and would seldom work in the older ISA expansion slots.

On the other hand the Micro Channel setup was not backward compatible. On the one hand the Micro Channel developers were free to initiate new radical changes in computer development and hardware which would have allowed for major new useful features in computer software. However owners of previous systems would have been left with then obsolete vintage useless hardware which would have been of no use and certainly little financial value.

Hence there was a lot of resistance to the Micro Channel bus setup.

It died a lingering death with its legacy living on in the aspirations of features offered in future developments and standards.

Thus the die was set for future hardware standards and software function as well as standard computer marketing concepts that we take for granted like mothers milk today.

Arthur Z. FelonAlexina Blog36334
Athena Blog17165

A Fireplace Turns A House Into A Home

Having a fireplace in your home is a great way to heat your home... and it can look great while doing it. But when choosing a fireplace there are some important aspects besides the aesthetic beauty that you must consider in order to maximize efficiency for the heating of your house. A good-looking fireplace is useless in a cold room!

One thing that must be looked at is the efficiency rating of the fireplace. This is measured by the heat that is produced by the fireplace. Generally fireplaces have an Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) rating. The higher the AFUE rating the more efficient the fireplace. Make sure that when you compare fireplaces that the numbers used for the ratings are on the same scale.

In choosing a fireplace you need to look at which one will be the best fit for your home. It depends on the model type and the space you have for the fireplace in your home. There are three main types of fireplaces which are inserts, direct vent and vent free models. Generally most of the gas models can be converted so they will run on propane and many fireplaces that are wood burning can have gas jets added to them to add to the desired heat.

You will also have to look at the cost of the form of gas or wood to factor in what you will use as fuel to heat your home.

Once you have the right model in terms of heating capability, you can decide on the look. The fireplace that you choose must match the dcor of the room you wish to put it in. But there are literally thousands of styles of fireplaces so there is bound to be one that fits your style needs.

Fireplaces can be a great addition to any home as well as a very attractive part of your house.

Christine Loxley writes for http://fireplace-focus.com, a website full of fireplace articles and resourcesAnnabelle Blog17826
Ashil Blog20771

Top 10 Home Software Programs in 2006

Word processing and spreadsheets were the first of the killer apps for home computers when PCs first started to propagate to the millions of households out there. Then, there were Internet Browsers that took everyone by storm. So what are the hot categories and hot products now? There are more products then ever out there for the home shopper and many of them not that good. We looked over many, many different products and product categories to find the best home products, the hot home product categories, and the best software products period. The list is neither exhaustive nor scientific, but the products listed here are definitely great! If you have a computer at home, take a look at these products!

The Hot Product Categories

When searching reviews and products out there on the web some of these categories were not the top on my list, but nevertheless, they are not only out there, but getting a lot of attention. Here are ten top selling software categories for the home computer:

* Home design and gardening software
* Spyware and Adware
* Family Tree Legends
* Video Sharing
* Website builders
* Speech to text conversion
* Parental control and Internet filtering
* Disk-imaging utilities
* Spam Blockers
* Internet Security

Top 10 Best Software Products

The home software market has never had so many choices and for the categories listed above there are too many products to mention. Below are ten standout products for each of these areas.

* Home design and gardening software - Home Designer Pro 7.0
* Spyware and Adware - CounterSpy 1.5
* Family Tree Legends - Family Tree Legend 5.0
* Video Sharing - Grouper
* Website builders SiteMaker
* Speech to text conversion Dragon Naturally Speaking 8
* Parental control and Internet filtering ContentProtect 2.0
* Disk-imaging utility - Acronis True Image
* Spam - Cloudmark Desktop
* Internet Security - ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 6

The information about Home Software Programs presented here will do one of two things: either it will reinforce what you know about Home Software Programs or it will teach you something new. Both are good outcomes.

For each of these products there are additional information in the following articles. Take a look at these home software products!

Below are some things to watch for in 2006, some of them are good and, unfortunately, some arent.

First the good news:

- We are getting a lot more serious about our security. This has a lot of reasons behind it. For example, new privacy laws are mandating organizations to tighten their security. Look to see more consumer privacy laws passed in the coming year and more tightening of security systems.

- Authentication requirements are increasing. This is closing in large security holes. Corporations are requiring a great deal more of authentication to get into secure systems (this also is on the bad news side)

- There is a plethora of sophisticated programs to help us be more secure and they will continue to get better. Competition right now is strong in the security industry sparking a lot of innovation.

- ISPs are now taking on the responsibility to help us with our security. Take AOL's recent commercials as a good sign that others will follow the trend.

Now the bad news:

- Securing our networks is costing us. Most companies are globalizing their organizations and making them secure costs a lot of money. It will get worse before it gets better.

- Authentication requirements are increasing. This is getting claustrophobic. Corporations are requiring a great deal more authentication to get into secure systems (This is also on the good news side) Unfortunately, for the end user, it is one more thing to be unhappy about, not unlike airport security lines.

- Hackers are getting more sophisticated. For example, Botnets are becoming more complex and harder and harder to catch and stop. Do a search on botnets on the Internet. They really are causing a whole lot of problems, but it does not stop there. The number of viruses and malware out there is staggering.

- Spammers keep finding more creative ways to fill our email boxes. Don't look for this trend to stop anytime soon.

So now you know a little bit about Home Software Programs. Even if you don't know everything, you've done something worthwhile: you've expanded your knowledge.

Dina Fedorova, finding a Home Business that's Right for You.Visit my site and download "Dotcomology:The Science of Making Money online". Absolutely Free at: http://www.Net-Plus-Profit.com 3 Easy Steps to Make money Online: http://www.Net-Plus-Profit.com/pips.htmlFor more information please visit : http://successuniversity.com.Belita Blog29303
Brenda Blog81405

How Does Credit Repair And Debt Consolidation Works?

Even though everyones financial situation is unique, practically all of us have some sort of debt. It might be huge debt like with mortgages and loans or small credit card or department store credit debt. The only way to wind up with debt is as a result of being extended credit. In these financial times we are in it can be difficult to get by without credit. But too often it becomes difficult to pay off the credit and that is when the trouble begins. Once you are late in your payments, your creditors will report this to the credit bureaus and it will affect your credit rating. When you are stuck with a bad credit report, even if you have a good reason such as illness, etc, it will be very difficult for you to get credit in the future when you are back on your feet financially. This means you may not be able to buy a house or a new car on credit. Or, if you are able to get a loan, it will be from a subprime lender who will charge you exorbitant interest fees.

If you have been through a tough spell and now have bad credit, you can undergo credit repair and one way to do this is through debt consolidation.

One thing about bad credit is that it can continue to get worse. It is not a case of having good or bad credit, it is a case of your credit being assigned a numerical value on a scale from good to bad and with each late payment, your credit slips farther into the bad side of the scale. So to repair your credit you need to get your creditors paid up to date as quickly as possible.

Chances are that you dont have the money to do this or you wouldnt be behind in the first place. This is when debt consolidation can be a useful tool for credit repair. You take out a single load which is used to pay off all your other loans. Now all your bills are paid up to date and you just have one monthly payment to make on your new consolidated loan which probably wont be due for thirty days so you have some breathing room to get back on your feet.

You will still owe the same amount of money, but if you arrange your loan to do so, it can be spread over a long enough period that the payments are more manageable. The advantage of a debt consolidation loan is that it can repair your credit quickly and help you get back on your feet financially.

The disadvantage of a debt consolidation loan is that if you dont use it properly it can get you deeper into financial difficulty. There is a saying that you cant borrow your way out of debt and this is very true. You should examine your financial situation carefully and make sure that your situation has improved so that you will be able to handle the payments on your new loan or you could wind up damaging your credit further and making credit repair even more difficult down the road.

Geoff Spencer is a staff writer at http://www.finance-journal.com and is an occasional contributor to several other websites, including http://www.onlinebusinessgazette.com.Celeste Blog2114
Cassandra Blog76912

Secured Loans - Cashing In On Rising House Prices

Look in any estate agent's window and it becomes clear very quickly how much house prices are rising across the UK. But that can be a real advantage to a homeowner looking to raise some quick cash - perhaps to consolidate credit card and other debts or to embark on some home improvements.We're talking secured loans here, of course, perhaps the easiest form of loan to obtain.That's because security for the loan is provided by bricks and morter - your home, in other words.And because there are so many lenders willing to provide such loans, because the borrower is offering bricks and morter as security, some really competitive loan rates are available.The secured loan takes advantage of the equity which may be locked up in the value of a home. For example, a home bought for 60,000 (via a mortgage) may, years later, be worth double the purchase price or more because of the steady, increasing rise in house prices.And it's this difference in value then and now, known as the equity, which allows the homeowner to borrow against and which is attractive to the lender.

The loan may be provided by the lender of the original mortgage. Or it may be obtained via a second mortgage, through a different lender. The homeowner could also obtain a remortgage, for a larger amount.No matter by what method the secured loan is obtained, if the homeowner defaults on repayments, the lender can repossess the property and get back the money borrowed.And of course the lender providing the original mortgage has a legal first charge.This means their claim has priority over the claim of any subsequent lender involved.As such, because of the perceived increased risk, the rates offered by the second lender will usually be higher.

So how much can you borrow? Depends on the equity. What sort of terms are available? Anything from a few years to 10, 20 or more years. What rates can you expect? Somewhere around 6% to 7% is fairly common.But it all depends on your circumstances - and everyone's situation is different.Talk the matter over with an independent financial adviser first before taking the plunge.

Ian Duncan is the owner of http://www.1clickfinance.com and http://www.dm-loans.co.uk - proving secured loans.Alberta Blog81507
Ashien Blog91311

Home Theatre Speakers - What You Need To Know

Speaker types

There are four basic home theater speaker categories: towers, satellites, subwoofers, and center channels. A tower speaker is a tall, freestanding model capable of reproducing a full range of sound. Satellites, which can be used as both front or rear-channel (surround) speakers, are small, bass-limited models designed to be paired with a subwoofer - a dedicated speaker for reproducing both bass and the low-frequency-effects channel in Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks. And a center channel speaker is a horizontally oriented satellite that's designed to reproduce dialog.

Freestanding vs. on-wall

In the past, home theater speakers were usually installed alongside big-screen TVs - either freestanding or placed on top of speaker stands. But many new models are on-wall designs that come with wall-mounting hardware. One advantage to these kinds of speakers is that they get positioned on walls where they don't take up any room space. A second advantage is that their slim, wall hugging design nicely complements flat-panel plasma and LCD TVs.

Do you really need a center channel?

With some systems - especially those built around a large, slim rear-projection TV - finding a place to put the center channel speaker can be a problem. Although you can get by without using one, it's not recommended - center channel speakers are specifically designed to reproduce voices. You'll find that movie dialog will sound much clearer when you use them. So instead of bypassing the center speaker or using the TV's built-in speakers as a center channel substitute (a terrible option, since the tonal balance of your TV's speakers isn't likely to match that of your other speakers), look for an alternative mounting method. Speaker wall mounts make a fine option, especially with flat-panel TVs. Most TV stands also include storage shelves that can hold a small center channel speaker.

Speaker connections. A variety of connectors can be found on the back of speakers.

A spring-clip connector is a plastic, spring-loaded clamp that's usually found on the back of inexpensive speakers. The connection provided by spring clips isn't as secure as other types, and they can only accept bare speaker wire.

Binding posts are a step-up connection option found on high-quality speakers. There are two types of binding posts: regular and five-way. Regular types accept both banana plug and spade-lug connectors on speaker cables. The connection they provide is very secure, and in some cases the connector is also gold-plated to prevent oxidation - a condition that can potentially degrade performance. And five-way binding posts, which accept bare wire and pin-type connectors in addition to banana plugs and spade lugs, offer even more hookup flexibility than regular types.

In-wall and in-ceiling speaker + and

For those who prefer to keep their audio/video equipment out of sight, in-wall and in-ceiling speakers make a great alternative to regular models. Although the sound quality of in-wall and in-ceiling models is generally a notch below that of regular speakers, they can be mounted inside of cutout cavities in the walls or ceiling of your room where they won't take up any space. Both types are also designed to contain vibrations within the cabinet, so you won't have to worry about rattling the walls during action movies. Installation of in-wall and in-ceiling speakers involves running wires through the walls and/or ceiling of your home. If you're an experienced DIY type, you might be up to that task, but for most people it's best left to a custom installer.

Surround speaker considerations: direct-radiating, dipolar, and bipolar There are several options to consider when choosing surround sound speakers for your system.

Direct-radiating models fire sound directly out from the speaker's front baffle toward the listener's ears. These are a good all-purpose surround sound speaker choice since their clear, focused dispersion pattern can accurately convey the directional sound effect pans in DVD soundtracks.

Dipolar models radiate sound from both the speaker's back and front, with the opposing driver sets wired out-of-phase with each other. This design offers a more diffuse, spacious sound than a direct-radiating model while retaining some of the latter's focused dispersion characteristics. (Dipolar models are favored for THX-certified designs specifically because of their diffuse sound, which more accurately resembles what you'd hear in a real movie theater.)

Bipolar models also radiate sound from the front and back, except that in this case both sets of drivers are wired in-phase with one another. This design allows a bipolar speaker to provide the best of both worlds: a direct-radiator's clarity and focus, and a dipole's spaciousness.

What is frequency response, and what should I look for?

The range of audio frequencies that a speaker can reproduce is known as its frequency response. Human hearing extends from 20 Hz to 20 kHz (20,000 Hz) - a span that few models are able to cover fully. The bass frequencies at the bottom of the range (approximately 20-120 Hz) are the most difficult for a speaker to cover. Satellites don't attempt it at all, but instead pass the task off to a subwoofer - a dedicated bass speaker with drivers large enough to move the massive quantity of air needed to reproduce low frequencies. Since tower speakers usually contain one or more woofers, they generally deliver decent bass. But if you're shopping for tower speakers - especially if you plan to use one in a system where there's no subwoofer - make a point of checking the low end of its frequency response specification. And remember that not all measurements are the same. For example, the bass response of a speaker spec'd at 6 dB at 40 Hz probably won't sound as full as one that measures 3 dB at 40 Hz.

Speaker impedance and selection

Most new speakers are designed to be compatible with a wide range of receivers and audio amplifiers, so specifications like impedance-the measure of a speaker's resistance to electrical power flowing through it as specified in Ohms-generally aren't things you need to worry too much about. But what you should know is that an amplifier has to work harder to drive a speaker with a lower impedance rating than one with a higher rating. Say that your receiver is rated to deliver 100 watts into an 8-ohm load. If your speakers have an 8-Ohm impedance spec, then you aren't likely to encounter any problems. But if your speakers' specified impedance is 4 ohms or less, the chances for that same receiver to overheat and shut down will be increased.

Placement: the final frontier

Many people tend to be casual about where they put their speakers; more often than not, they get shoved into any old space where it's convenient. But speaker placement becomes crucial when setting up a home theater system. You'll want the positioning of surround sound effects in your room to correspond to what's happening on screen, and that will only happen if speakers are set up properly.

Front channel towers or satellite models on stands should ideally be placed equidistant from the TV's sides and about three feet out from the front wall. This setup will heighten imaging and reduce any sound-muddying room reinforcement effects. And your subwoofer should be pushed into a corner of the room to permit the sound-reinforcing effect of adjacent walls to strengthen the bass. While placement guidelines for surround speakers are less strict than those for front speakers, installing them in a high position at the sides and slightly behind the listening area will usually enhance surround sound envelopment.

Microtek Lab Inc. is a consumer electronics company focused on scanners, plasma and lcd televisions, digital projectors, lcd monitors, digital cameras, home theatre equipment, and accessories. You can view their online store at http://store.microtek.com Use of this article is permitted provided that the article is used in its entirety.Bellina Blog24639
Brier Blog91554

How To Correct A Continually Rebooting Computer

When you sit down at your computer desk and press the power switch on your desktop, the last thing you want to experience is a continually rebooting computer.

There are a variety of causes that contribute to this problem, from something as simple as a stuck power button to a much more serious problem as your power supply slowly failing. Other causes for this problem may be overheating PC components, or viruses affecting your system.

Now, if youre like the rest of us, having a computer that reboots constantly is not our idea of a productive day. So how do you diagnose this problem and where do you start to to make corrections. Here are some common but often overlooked causes and solutions that will get your system running again.

First take a look at the power button and see if its stuck in the socket. If so, you may be able to simple tap the front of the case to release the button. In some cases, you may have to remove the system unit cover to get the button to return to the out position.

If you cannot stop the computer from rebooting by pressing the power button and releasing it, turn off the power switch in the back of the computer next to the power supply. If your power supply do not have a power switch, you will have to unplug the system from the wall outlet.

This must be done as soon as possible so that the constant rebooting will not damage components such as the hard drive. Constant rebooting also have the danger of power surges that can further damage larger components such as the motherboard.

Second you check your computers software by checking to be sure no virus or malware have not effected your hard drive. Virus and malware are small software that is downloaded along with other files that is designed to cause mischief.

To remove any viruses and malware, use a anti-virus program that will search your hard drive and remove these file quickly. These files can cause such damage as wiping your hard drive of all data or hijacking your web browser so you have no control over your online surfing.

If you find no malware on your computer, take a look at your BIOS to see if it has become unstable or has been changed. BIOS stands for Basic Input Output System and is a small program designed to check all components for proper operation when the computer is turned on.

If your BIOS has been changed or if youre not sure if its been changed, try to reset the BIOS settings to the default settings after you access the BIOS as the computer reboots.Once inside the BIOS, you should have the option to load your default settings, save the change, and reboot the computer.

However, there are times when a continually rebooting computer will not allow you to access the BIOS. You can then reset the BIOS by removing the system unit cover and locating the jumper on a three pin header.

You must consult your computer or motherboard manual to properly perform this procedure and it should be done as a last resort. Before making any changes to your BIOS, you should backup your BIOS if your computer reboots at long intervals.

After checking your computers software for its rebooting problem, you must check to be sure hardware is not at fault. This problem may exist because one of your memory modules are unseated from its socket . Memory modules are long, narrow sticks that attach to the motherboard.

Remove any static electricity from yourself, remove the system unit cover and check these memory modules to be sure they are secure. Check the connections to the hard drive and the connections leading from the power supply.

Power supply connectors should be checked if youve done work inside your computer recently. Power Supplies are known to slowly fail and lead to rebooting problems. There is no way to check an ailing power supply and this should be considered the problem as a last resort.

Following these steps will help you correct any computer that continually reboots itself. If no virus or malware is found, carefully and thoroughly check all connections. And if the problem still exist, the most likely cause would be the Power Supply.

Otis F. Cooper is solely dedicated to boosting the knowledge and confidence of every computer user. Sign up to receive his informative articles every month and learn PC Repair absolutely free.Sign up now at http://www.ultimatepcrepair.comCandi Blog98240
Beverlie Blog83065

5 Qualities to Look for in a Stewardship Consultant

With only 4 percent of American church members tithing, many churches badly need a boost in offerings. Unfortunately, most of us pastors have no training in stewardship development and have no idea how to lead people to generous, biblical giving.

The Bible tells us what to do in this situation: Hire a stewardship consultant. Okay, that's not exactly what it says, but the message is there. In Proverbs, the wisest man who ever lived tells us that 'Without consultation, plans are frustrated, But with many counselors they succeed' (Proverbs 15:22). And when the apostle Paul wanted to make sure the Corinthians gave generously to the famine-relief collection, he sent men to Corinth to encourage the people.

'So we urged Titus that as he had previously made a beginning, so he would also complete in you this gracious work [the collection] as well.' (2 Corinthians 8:6).

'So I thought it necessary to urge the brethren that they would go on ahead to you and arrange beforehand your previously promised bountiful gift, so that the same would be ready as a bountiful gift and not affected by covetousness' (2 Corinthians 9:5).

Titus and his unnamed companions were the first church stewardship consultants. Just as we hire church staff members with specialized skills in music or youth ministry, so we should not hesitate to engage the temporary services of a minister with stewardship expertise.

All right, you're ready to take the plunge and look for help. How do you know how to find the right consultant? Having hired consultants while pastoring, and now serving as a stewardship consultant, I've concluded that there are five indispensable qualities you want in your stewardship consultant.

1. Biblical.

Above all other qualities, you want someone who builds their stewardship ministry on the word of God. In the Christian world, fundraising isn't primarily about raising money; it's about discipling people.

A good stewardship consultant deepens your people's spiritual walk by building the entire consultation on biblical principles--in both the methods used and the content delivered. God's people respond with great generosity when a pastor or consultant faithfully teaches what the Bible says about money and giving.

2. Pastoral experience.

I'm always amazed at the number of men and women who have never pastored a church, yet glibly dispense advice about how to do it right. You want someone who understands just how important it is that your people be approached tastefully and respectfully about money. Only someone who has been there can really understand the level of discomfort we pastors feel about talking about money, or the Byzantine complexity of internal church politics.

When the church I pastored interviewed stewardship consultants I wanted someone I could talk with pastor to pastor. We ended up hiring someone who had extensive pastoral experience. He had a wonderful ministry to me and our people. And we are good friends to this day.

3. Proven track record.

You want a stewardship consultant who can give you case studies with specific churches, pastors, phone numbers, email addresses, and dollar amounts raised. When the church I pastored was searching for a capital fundraising consultant, one of the biggest and most expensive companies was vague about how much money we could expect to receive. We found that unsettling.

We chose to work with Stewart McChesney of Titus Stewardship Ministries, because Stewart had a track record of raising 2.7 times a church's annual giving in three-year commitments. He charged two-thirds as much as the bigger company and he had years of experience. Under Stewart's wise guidance our people pledged over three times our annual giving in three-year commitments.

When looking for help with increasing weekly offerings, search for a consultant who has consistently helped churches increase giving by at least 30 percent.

4. Great references.

I just fired an Internet marketing coach because a friend alerted me to the fact that none of the references listed on her website checked out. (I had hired her through a larger organization who I-wrongly-trusted.) When I called her she told me her former clients didn't want to be bothered with phone calls. She wasn't at all moved when I pointed out that if a reference can't be contacted, it is worthless.

Insist that any stewardship consultant you are interviewing give you many excellent, contactable references. If she is evasive or makes excuses, you are in danger. Flee!

5. Personable.

You want a consultant who is warm, friendly, and easy to communicate with. Believe me, I have met more than one socially abrasive church consultant! Likeability is an especially important quality in a stewardship consultant because you've hired him to help you navigate the emotionally charged waters of asking for money. If your consultant isn't a warm people person, he may cause unnecessary conflict.

********

I believe it is God's will that every church reach its full giving potential. The secret is bold, biblical, pastoral leadership. And often that leadership is most effective when guided by the wise, biblical counsel of a godly stewardship consultant.

Copyright 2006 Rod Rogers

Rod Rogers, D.Min., is a stewardship consultant, speaker, and author of Pastor Driven Stewardship: 10 Steps to Lead Your Church to Biblical Giving. His ten-step Dynamic Giving System has helped over 900 churches worldwide biblically increase their giving 10% - 300% in five weeks. Get a FREE twelve-page eSermon when you sign up for his FREE monthly e-zine at http://www.pastordrivenstewardship.com.Benni Blog28934
Ariel Blog31543

Windows Cleaner: Protect Your Online and Offline Privacy

If you do not want anyone to invade your privacy on your personal computer, installing Window cleaner is certainly the way to go. Let me explain to you a brief overview of why you need to install the windows cleaner and how does it help you protect your online and offline privacy.

Why Is The Need To Install Window Cleaner

All your activities on your computer are tracked by your operating system in various places. These places include document histories, cookies, temporary Internet files, etc. While you work offline or surf the Internet, all your activities are stored in the form of various files in these folders. Windows cleaner makes sure that all such information is removed when you shut down your computer system. Thus, it maintains your privacy. Other users on the same computer do not get to know about your online or offline activities.

Is This Just All About Maintaining Privacy?

No, it is not like that. Windows does not only maintain your online and offline privacy by deleting the various history folders, but it also keeps your computer free from garbage files that are stored in your computer system while you browse Internet. These garbage files include various application files and temporary files. A huge log of such files may cause certain problems for your computer. For example, it may slow down the processing speed of your computer, or sometimes it may intercept in the running of some software applications. Sometimes, it may also cause your computer hang. Therefore, it is not just all about maintaining your online or offline privacy, but by installing and running a free Window cleaner, you ensure a safe and soothing working experience on your computer system.

Can The Windows Cleaner Be Customized?

Yes, it is not like that the windows cleaner will always automatically erase all the history and junk folders. It will do so only if you have adjusted such a setting in its options menu. You can easily customize the same as per your requirement. It allows you to erase browser cache, cookies, history, visited URLs, typed URLs, auto-complete data, index.dat, temp folders, run history, search history, open/save history, recent documents and more. At the same time, it also allows you to specify cookies to keep, so that you do not erase your important login cookies.

Overall, if you want to keep your online and offline privacy on, and want your computer to be free from all the unwanted junk and garbage files, installing Windows cleaner is certainly the way to go.

Arvind Singh is admin and technical expert associated with development of computer security and performance enhancing software like Registry Cleaner, Window Cleaner, Anti Spam Filter etc. More information can be found at http://www.pcmantra.com. Related Information: http://www.pcmantra.com/WindowsCleaner.aspx?id=9Addie Blog54651
Alexi Blog40950

Domain Name Disputes on the Internet

Have you ever had a third party register a domain name that is either exactly the same or very similar to your trademark? If so, it may be a Cybersquatting issue. Cybersquatting is registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with a bad-faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else. To address this issue, Congress enacted what is known as the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act ("ACPA"). The ACPA amended the Lanham Act by providing trademark owners with a civl remedy against cybersquatting.

If you're not sure how this may affect your business, let's run through some examples. The typical scenario is that the name of your product, or your company name is a registered trademark (or a strong common law trademark). However, you failed to register the domain name for whatever reason. Joe Schmo cybersquatter decides to beat you to the punch and registers the domain name of your trademark. He may have even registered plural versions or misspellings of your trademark as well (this is known as typosquatting). Joe Schmo cybersquatter is simply holding the domain name for ransom hoping to sell it back to you for a nice profit, or he may decide to keep domain name knowing that he will get a lot of traffic to his websites. The cybersquatter may sell products similar to yours or is simply engaged in affiliate marketing and makes money off of the clicks on his website. These situations can obviously cause consumer confusion and can easily cause lost profits to your company and dilution of your trademark(s) as well.

One avenue of recourse is filing an ACPA claim in federal court. The Plaintiff in an Anti-Cybersquatting suit must establish:

1. The Defendant has a bad faith intent to profit from the mark, including a defendant name which is protected as a mark;

2. registers, traffics in, or uses a domain name that--

(I) in the case of a mark that is distinctive at the time of registration of the domain name, is identical or confusingly similar to that mark;

(II) in the case of a famous mark that is famous at the time of registration of the domain name, is identical or confusingly similar to or dilutive of that mark; or

(III) is a trademark, word, or name protected by reason of 18 U.S.C. section 706.

However, you must distinguish cases where the cybersquatter is obviously acting in bad faith, from situations in which the individual has merely registered the domain with the good faith intent of doing something else with it (that is unrelated to trademark owner's goods and/or services).

The ACPA excludes a finding of bad faith where the domain name holder reasonably believed that the use was "fair use" or otherwise lawful. Accordingly, bad faith is the biggest component in an ACPA claim. So what is bad faith? There are several elements the federal courts will consider such as:

The trademark ownership rights held by the mark owner; The closeness of the domain name and the cybersquatter's name; The cybersquatter's commercial use of the domain name for access to a web site; The cybersquatter's intent to divert web traffic from the mark owner; The cybersquatter's offer to sell the domain name to the mark owner; Whether the defendant gave misleading information when registering the domain; and Similar or repeated cybersquatting on other marks. For example, in Hasbro Inc. v. Clue Computing Inc.[66 F. Supp.2d 177 (D. Mass 2000)], the district court held that Clue Computing's use of its registered domain name clue.com, was in fair use, despite Hasbro's existing registration of the trademark "Clue" for its famous board game. The two company's fields in which the names were used were not related; Clue Computing had registered the disputed domain name first, used it in legitimate commerce, and not attempted to sell the domain name to Hasbro.

UDRP or ACPA?

So if you've concluded that someone has cybersquatted one of your trademarks, should you file a ACPA lawsuit? You should consult your intellectual property lawyer about other possibilities such as the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy ("UDRP")"UDRP"). UDPR is an ICANN-approved arbitration that resolves domain name disputes submitted to ICANN for resolution. Very often (nearly 75% of UDRP cases) results in the cancellation of the cybersquatter's domain name registration. The standards to establish cybersquatting in UDRP cases for wrongful registration is very similar to ACPA's standards. Furthermore, UDRP proceedings are typically much less expensive and quicker (about 2-3 months total compared to ACPA which is federal litigation and may take years if not settled before trial). Another advantage with the UDRP is that it's well suited for international domain name disputes because the hearings are ex parte (based only on filed documents; no parties or witnesses are present). UDRP can be used in addition to an ACPA litigation or possibly done before or after an ACPA ruling because UDRP rulings are not binding upon the courts. Also, UDRP findings may be appealed. This is a departure from most arbitration practice (www.icann.org/udrp).

However, the remedies in UDRP proceedings are limited to only transfers of the domain name. Compared to an ACPA litigation, the Plaintiff may obtain monetary damages, attorney's fees and costs (in exceptional cases), and/or an injunction, in addition to the cancellation or transfer of the improper web domain name to the original owner. Furthermore, under ACPA the Plaintiff has the option of suing for statutory damages for $1,000 to $100,000, as the court deems just under the circumstances.

© 2007 Michael N. Cohen

This article is not intended as a substitute for legal advice. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. You should consult with an attorney familiar with the issues and the laws.

Copyright (c) 2007 Michael Cohen

Michael Cohen can be reached at 310-288-4500, http://www.patentlawip.com or http://www.trademarkattorneyip.com . Mr. Cohen specializes patent and trademark law and is located in Los Angeles, California. No portion of this article may be copied, retransmitted, reposted, duplicated or otherwise used without the express written approval of the author.April Blog29852
Amelita Blog81166

What is FAFSA?

FAFSA or Free Application for Federal Student Aid is a form that is filled out by university students and parents to apply for federal financial aid, which includes grants, scholarships, student loans and work-study programs. In addition to the federal government, schools, states and private financial institutions also use the information from the FAFSA to determine a students eligibility for non-federal aid

Each year, the Department of Education issues a new FAFSA for the subsequent academic year. You can either use the online version of FAFSA or you can obtain a printed copy of the application form from your high school counselor. If you intend to use the online version, then you would have to apply for Personal Identification Number (PIN). For this you would have to submit your name, date of birth, social security number and address. Once, you get your PIN, you can fill out the form and submit it online or print it and send it by mail.

While the printed version of FAFSA becomes available in the second week of October, the online version becomes accessible on January 1. Although the last date for the submission of FAFSA is June 30, but you can submit the form in either format as early as January 2. Most colleges and universities award financial aid on first come, first serve basis. Hence, to improve your chances of receiving financial aid, try to submit the FAFSA latest by March 1.

There are 102 questions in FAFSA, which are segregated into six sections. The primary aim of these questions is to retrieve your academic, personal and financial information. You would also be required to divulge your dependency status, colleges you want to receive your FAFSA results and your identification information. For filling out the FAFSA properly, you would need previous two years copies of your income tax returns.

Once you submit the FAFSA, the government will scrutinize it thoroughly, and then send you a Student Aid Report (SAR). The SAR typically includes a summary of your financial aid information and the EFC (Expected Family Contribution). The colleges enlisted in your FAFSA will also receive SAR. When you apply for admission in these colleges, you will be asked to submit additional financial information. Thereafter, your eligibility for financial aid will be calculated, and then you will be notified about the kind of financial aid package the college can award you.

Anubha Shyam is studying computers, and also works as a part-time freelance copywriter. She writes regularly for http://www.blogcharm.com/BollywoodSizzlers.Alberta Blog9606
Celestyn Blog4729

Current Load Balancing Technology Solutions

In order to run a profitable business in the competitive world today, it is very essential for a business to have instant access to clients, information and potential future liasons. The dependibility on computers has increased to a point that any transaction without the invlovement of the technology is unimaginable.

Computers have opened up new vistas that have made it possible for many small amd medium scale industries and regional applications to go global. The amount of business that can be generated is not comprehendable and the prospects are not countable.

However, with the application of the technology also comes the dedicated services that are a part of the interal complexities of the system and much needed to ensure that the show goes on and that too, uninterrupted.

The technology of load balancing is primarily applied to increase the existent capacity of a dedicated server farm. This application is usually accessible beyond any single server. The technology also enables the user specific access service to remain operational and continue to funtion, despite the limitations such as server down time, failure of the server or a technical snag within the server maintenance.

The solutions:

Load balancing also involves the operations and funtions of the virtual servers. The virtual servers or vservers or VIPs, implement the availability of a specific IP address and a dedicated IP port. The physical services comprise of the content within the physical server IP address and dedicated IP port.

The load balancing solutions include the practical application of many different Internet or dedicated ISP links. These could be both, inbound and outbound. There is a Link Proof solution that provides and ensures consistent Internet access. The package includes bandwidth management and specific intrusion prevention.

The application is available in a single and easy-to-manage box. The other solutions include load balance routers and cable modums or DSL. It is possible for the user to select a router dedicated load balancing solution. There are a number of technical specifications and application drawings that can be accessed on the Internet.

The optimization:

Load balancing solutions for servers optimize the operations that fall within the design and parameters of the server. The solutions ensure the availability of quality application twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. The solutions ensure efficient and timely web traffic distribution. They also take care of prioritization and user specific intrusion prevention that is multi-gigabit in nature.

The load balancing solutions are dedicated towards optimizing precision and quality with every application. The industry strives to ensure that the solutions are targeted at meeting the specific requirements of the end user. The application of the solutions enhance the results desired and make the entire experience worth the money and effort.

Allan Wilson owns and operates http://www.load-balancing-help.com where you can find more load balancing information. Load Balancing HelpAbbye Blog17920
Bethina Blog60498

Atlanta School District Receives High Marks and Scholarship Funds

Newsweek Ranks North Atlanta High School in Top 2%

Newsweek magazine ranks twenty-seven thousand high schools throughout the nation and North Atlanta High School, part of the Atlanta School District, ranks among top 2%. Newsweek magazine compiles the lists of Best High School and releases the list at the end of every school year. This year North Atlanta High School was ranked at 531 out of the 27,000 schools ranked. These rankings are based on the high schools use and offering of Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses. Advanced placement classes are college preparation courses. The international baccalaureate uses an internationally recognized course curriculum.

North Atlanta High School offers and encourages students to take and pursue advanced placement classes or international baccalaureate courses. North Atlanta High School also operates International Studies and Performing Arts magnet school programs. The International Studies magnet program offers courses that focus own foreign languages, communications and social studies courses. The International Studies magnet program offers students opportunities to take part in youth foreign exchanges and internships in international companies. The Performing Arts magnet program stresses high academic achievement with performance art training.

Mays High School Teacher Receives Award

A Mays High School, a high school in the district of Atlanta Schools, teacher received the Close Up Foundations Linda Myers Chosen Award for Teaching Excellence in Civic Education. Hajj Womack received a plaque and one thousand dollars. Mr. Womack, a social studies teacher, was awarded the Close Up Foundations Linda Myers Chosen Award for Teaching Excellence in Civic Education while in Washington D.C. with students participating in the Close Up Washington program. Civics education is vital for students because teens often feel separated from politics in America.

Atlanta School Districts Douglass High School Receives Scholarship Funds from Magic Johnson

Former NBA player Magic Johnson visited Douglass High School on his nationwide AIDS awareness tour. He spoke to the students about safe sex, the value of education and their future. He gave the school twenty thousand dollars for college scholarships for graduating seniors. Twenty students were awarded $1000 scholarships as part of Douglass High Schools Visions of the Future Awards program. The awarded students were: Bianca Barnswell Talesha Noble, Lawrence Boddie Jihan Pankey, Mychael Bond Andrea Parks, Seron Fields Louis Perrino, Ramia Finley Shatila Platt, Aamir Fard Adrienne Richardson, Mavia Hanson Anthony Rogers, Yareli Hernandez Catrina Searcy, Kadayas Howard Delisa Stevens, Kenya Merritt Paul White. Magic Johnson gave the students advice that they should continue their education in college or start their own business. Johnson discussed his own work as a businessman after retiring from basketball. He also gave out Los Angeles Lakers jerseys to eight students in the audience. The jerseys bore Johnsons own number and current Lakers players.

Stacy Andell is a staff writer for Schools K-12, Which provides free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. Stacy has a nose for research and writes stimulating news and views on school issues.Bamby Blog99806
Cele Blog3180

Make The Most of Your Search Part 3- Media Search Secrets

The search tricks that I am going to show you in this article are a combination of different media searches that search engines have and some search strings. Utilizing these methods that I am going to show you will bring back results of the media files you want to find on a particular webpage that you are reading. Such as audios, videos, PDFs, images, and flash presentations. For the purpose of this article I am going to use one site and show you how to find all of the different media files within. The site I am going to use is www.incredible-adventures.com, this is a extreme vacation/adventure website, other than it being a cool site the reason I am using it is because this website contains all of the media files above.

Images

Google is the best search engine to use to help you find the images on a page, it has its own image search called Google Images. You can find Google Images simply by going to google.com and selecting the images link above the normal search box(very easy to find). Once your within Google Images the only results returned when you search here are images relating to your search term. Now this is a great way to find images on almost anything you search for, but were going to take it one step further. Were going to find only the images that are within a specific site, which can be any site you would like. For the sake of this article though I said we were going to use the incredible adventures site. To perform this search you type in site:www.incredible-adventures.com. By adding the site: directly followed by the web address this will only return images within that website. Go ahead and give this a try using the incredible adventures site and you will see that there are 2,300 images throughout the entire site. This can drastically cut down the time it might normally take you to search for images on a website of your choice.

Audio

Audio is becoming quickly a very popular way to get a message across on the internet. Many more sites nowadays have different audio files available. For this search we are going to use the search engine AltaVista. When you get to the homepage of AltaVista you will see you can perform a MP3/Audio search. This works the same exact way as the Google Images trick does. You type in site:www.incredible-adventures.com (or whatever site you want to look through) and you get back only the audio files contained on the website. With my incredible adventures example it only returns one audio file. But go ahead and try it just so you can understand what Im saying and see for yourself how it works.

Videos

For videos I find the best search engine to use in Yahoo. Same thing applies here as the previous two tricked I discussed. Once at Yahoo.com click to search through videos. Now type in again site:www.incredible-adventures.com bearing only the video files within that website. Go try this with my incredible adventures example and you will get 47 videos returned.

PDFs

Again we return Google, which I find being the best search engine for the next trick. This is how to find any PDF documents that a site may contain. Within the search box you type filetype:pdf site:www.incredible-adventures.com ( or again whichever site you want to find PDF documents in). If you use my incredible adventures example above you will notice it returns 62 different PDF documents within that website. Incredible Adventures has a PDF document on every single on of their adventure vacations they offer. This allows people to print out this nicely formatted document ot read and find all the information they would want and need to know about the vacation they would like to go on. PDFs are extremely useful in providing much information and many sites offer them about all sorts of things. The only problem is you may not find the document just navigating throughout their entire site, but this trick mentioned above makes it a whole world easier to find them.

All of these tricks above I personally find to be extremely useful in my never ending quest to find more information. Please go out and use these things I taught you next time you are trying to use the internet as a means to gather information and knowledge. I promise you will find them useful and uncover useful and cool things you otherwise never would have found.

Search engine specialist Steve Bis, is the author of the free search secrets newsletter and owns a unique web search tool that will help you find anything on the internet in 60 seconds, eliminating your search frustrations. http://www.ultimatesearchpro.com.Cathrine Blog22528
Beitris Blog70988

You're Not Alone

A genius friend of mine is starting a new venture. Hes an accomplished technologist, sales executive, consultant, and entrepreneur.

During a recent telephone conversation he said something striking. Before I tell you what he said, heres some background. Over the years, hes experienced his share of ups and downs in selling and business building, but hes unquestionably a success. He consistently earns in the moderate six-figures and it appears that he has recently become the beneficiary of a transaction exceeding $1 million. Now, after a short stint working for another consultant, hes itching to call his own shots. Heres what he said to me:

Andr, Im going to move ahead on my new business idea. Things are a little different than they were a few years ago. When I was working on that last business I was sitting in my basement, making calls and sending emails. I had no network. I felt alone in the process.

But now, he says, he feels he can make a go of it.

Heres whats striking. This is an individual who has no shortage of contacts. He once invited me over to his house for an impromptu get-together and I felt like I was waiting to get into New Yorks Studio 54 in its heyday. He had them packed in.

I would never think he would feel alone at anytime. Hes got a great personality, hes scary smart, and he has a sizable family and network of friends and business associates. Hes also waist deep in church and community activities and has legions of people who admire him. Yet when he described the experience of his last venture, he emphasized loneliness.

Entrepreneurs have often felt lonely believing that no one else shares their vision or their passion for building a business. But, we are not alone (pun intended) in that feeling. With todays growing workforce of soloists, telecommuters, work-at-home parents, independent salespeople, and virtual teams, loneliness is a feeling that millions are fighting.

During the ups and downs of completing a project, or finding new customers, the feeling of loneliness can set in and limit our vision and our productivity. It can be discouraging and be a wallop to that old self-esteem. And, with the gadgets we tote around, we unknowingly make it worse.

Technology thats supposed to connect us -- email, voicemail, and PDAs often fuels our loneliness, enabling us to do a better job of isolating ourselves. For some reason we dont treat every email or voicemail like a real person is behind it. Why acknowledge it?

Were also intentionally distracted. Were plugged into our new iPods, or tapping our PDA screen playing a game. How about using technology to interact with real people once in a while?

Teenagers are ahead in figuring this out, instant-messaging all day, but even they are lonely. Instant-messaging must often be combined with conference calls involving multiple friends for full effect. You see, you really need to hear someones voice.

Speaking of voice, theres the mobile phone. Its one of those technologies that help us cope with our loneliness. However, the obsessive use of mobile phones in our culture is perhaps the biggest clue that we are all eager to talk to somebody willing to hear our story. Walk down any street and youll see tons of people ignoring the people around them, talking to someone else on the telephone. As soon as we get into our cars we call somebody, so we wont be alone.

So what does this all mean to those in business and professional careers? I have three thoughts:

1. Make money. Loneliness is one of the biggest business opportunities I have seen in decades. If we can make our work and our businesses friendlier, more responsive, and more raucous like family gatherings, our businesses will soar. No matter how big our businesses, we have to make our customers, our friends and make them feel that way. Reach out. How about sending some freshly baked oatmeal raisin cookies to your friends? Better yet, how about delivering them?

2. Be nice to strangers. I know this is not the advice that your parents gave you, but there are millions of people looking for new contacts, conversations, and ideas. So what are you waiting for? Stop isolating yourself, turn off your mobile phone and strike up a conversation with the person next to you on line at the bagel store. Remember the old fashioned hello?

3. Unite and connect. How often have you called two people and introduced them to each other. If we are to cure this international epidemic of loneliness we must act now and decisively. Bring people together. Make life one big social gathering. And when someone gives you a new book, or tells you about a new restaurant, tell the author, restaurateur etc., how much you liked it. Write notes. Make calls. Be aggressively friendly. When people walk by and pretend they dont see you, shout Good Morning, loud enough to rattle their wisdom teeth.

Theres no need anymore to pretend that youre not lonely that youre too busy dealing with important people and projects. I know the truth. Im encouraging you to use your loneliness to your advantage. Most of the world is longing for what we used to call friends, to hear about their challenges, triumphs, and endeavors. Yes, this is you -- and youre not alone.

© Copyright 2007 Andr Taylor Taylor Insight Group, LLC. Go to http://www.andretaylor.com and get Andres free newsletter.Alfreda Blog30007
Brear Blog80671

8 Tips For College Students Wanting To Apply For A Credit Card

High school life is over. Youve moved away from home and youre starting a brand new chapter in your life with college. Independence feels great, but its sure to feel greater if youve got your own credit card, dont you think?

8 Tips for College Students Wanting to Apply for a Credit Card

Heres what you can do to make the credit card application process as hassle-free as possible.

Tip #1 Prepare proof of identification. Have your photos ready as well as all your valid IDs. Credit card companies will always have to verify that you are indeed who you say you are before you can proceed any further. IDs where your age is stated are also preferred because you have to prove youre at least 18 years old as well. If you have any bills under your name, take them with you as well because they can serve as proof of residence.

Tip #2 Prepare proof of schooling. Credit card companies generally prefer to issue credit cards to students who belong to accredited colleges and universities. If you belong to such a school then youre in luck. If not, you can compensate it by showing your previous records if theyre excellent, that is. Just like when youre applying for a drivers license, credit card issuers also take academic and extra-curricular excellence as a sign of maturity and trustworthiness in your part.

Tip #3 Prepare proof of financial assets. Student credit cards tend to charge higher rates than usual, but you might be qualified for lower rates if youre already working or you have money and a bank account in your name. Either way, make sure you can submit documentary proof of your work or assets.

Tip #4 Speaking of interest rates, the first thing you should look for in a credit card is the lowest possible interest rates. This might mean not being able to enjoy a reward-based credit card, but at your age, you might not yet afford the higher rates charged by credit cards offering reward points. If you see a 0% APR credit card, make sure to check how long the offer would last and what the standard APR is afterwards.

Tip #5 A number of credit cards allows you to apply even without a cosigner, but some of them tend to have stricter application requirements. If you dont want to go through the trouble of submitting additional requirements, simply ask your parent or legal guardian to act as your guarantor when you apply for a credit card.

Tip #6 Always look for a credit card that allows you to manage your account online. This will allow you to check your account balance regularly and know when and how much you have to pay for your credit card every month.

Tip #7 There are a few additional perks that you might deem necessary. If you are fond of shopping online, look for a credit card that offers you fraud liability guarantee at no extra cost. Other credit cards offer you thank you points for being a prompt payer.

Tip #8 Now that you know what you need from a credit card, find one that matches your preferences and then submit your application. Remember to be courteous and answer all their questions honestly. Youre sure to have your application approved in no time. Have fun with responsible swiping!

Mario Churchill is a freelance author and has written over 200 articles on various subjects. For more information checkout http://www.i-want-a-credit-card.com and http://www.creditcardcorridor.info.Aurie Blog89741
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