Tuesday, March 6, 2007
So What's The Lightest Notebook Computer Anyway?
I went looking for the lightest notebook computer the other day and after a couple hours of searching I was getting pretty frustrated. "Ultalight notebook computer", "light weight notebook computer" - I kept trying different approaches. What I found was a lot of old machines - 1, 2, even 3 years old. And a ton of spam websites that took my search keys and created a dynamic page. That left going to the manufacturers and looking at actual product specs to see who actually has the lightest notebook computer. Fortunately I finally found a list to start from so here they are - the light weights. The Fujitsu LifeBook Q2010 weighs in at 2.2 pounds with a 12.1 inch screen. Unfortunately it has a 1.2Ghz processor and a 30 GB hard drive though it comes with XP Pro and a DVD writer. The Dell Latitude D420 also has a 12.1 inch screen and is significantly less expensive but again 1.2 GHz and a slow (4200rpm) 30 GB HD and it weighs around 3 pounds. It also comes with 512MB of DDR2-533 SDRAM on an integrated DIMM. The upgrade to 1GB or to 1.5GB is reasonable, but the 2GB configuration costs an extra $1000 (probably because it requires a 1.5GB DIMM). The Sony VAIO VGNTX750PB weighs 2.76 pounds. it has a smaller screen (11.1 inches) than some of the others, a 1.2 GHz processor, but it includes an 80GB hard drive and a DVD+-RW dual layer combo Drive. The memory is upgradeable to 1.5 GB. The Lenovo ThinkPad X60 at 3.3 pounds has a 1.66GHz Core Duo, a 12.1 inch screen and a 60 GB hard drive. The memory is theoretically upgradeable to 4GB, but it has no optical drive. You need to get a ThinkPad X6 Ultrabase to add a CD or DVD drive. That kind of hampers its mobile uses. The Averatec AV2260, weighing in at 4 pounds, comes with a 1.8 GHz AMD Turion 64 Mobile, a 12.1 inch screen, 1GB installed DDR-SDRAM, an 80GB hard drive and a DVD+-RW Dual Layer Combination Drive. So it's a little like an overweight Sony on steroids. It's also the least expensive of the six lightweights. The others run from around $1200 to over $2300 depending on the seller and configuration. Though slightly heavier at 4.4 pounds, the HP Compaq nc6400 is unusual in having a 14.1 inch Wide XGA screen. It comes with a 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo Processor, 1GB of DDR2 SDRAM, a 60GB hard drive and a DVD/CDRW Drive. The lowest price I saw in a quick search, was $1259.99. Most of the models I saw were being advertised with 80GB drives and DVD+-RW/DVD-RAM optical drives, rather than the 60GB and DVD/CDRW drives. Obviously the lightest notebook computer in this list is the Fujitsu. If you really want an ultralight notebook computer then you will have to accept some sacrifices. Personally, I think I'd rather have a more capable machine. I also don't like the small screen sizes on the very light notebooks. As with any computer purchase it's critical that you carefully analyze just what you're going to do with a machine. Lightweight notebooks are nice simply because they're less hassle to lug around, but there compromises involved that may make extra weight a less significant issues. Aside from tending to be more expensive, a light weight notebook computer will almost always have a smaller screen and a more compact keyboard than heavier notebooks. The real question you need to ask yourself isn't "What's the lightest notebook computer?" it's "What's the lightest notebook computer that meets my requirements?"
Privacy Invaders: Spyware And Adware Dangers
Do Internet Users Really Mind Big Brother Watching Them? Let's get real about who is watching us online. No matter where we go, someone is monitoring our visits. Does this really pose any form of danger? Is this considered a privacy rights violation? It's simple. Protecting a computer is one of the most important aspects to a computer owner. Protection of software is often the highest importance for many users. One of the fastest ways that a computer can become corrupted is from viruses that attack the computer. Viruses can come in many forms, but is often a result of insufficient protection against software viruses. There can be, however, virus protection software that can be of poor quality, and still allow viruses to filter thru. Just as virus protection is important, so is the security information that is given on a computer. What's the big deal? Your credit card numbers, bank info and social security info are easily transferred to other parties in other countries. I had a client who had the pleasure of "overhauling" his credit because his identity had been compromised (stolen) for years! What are these programs? Spyware (software that records every move you make online) Adware (secretly added software, both spying and controlling) and they both are somewhat like a virus. Is my computer infected? Have you ever seen your computer make a change that you did not authorize? Don't risk it! When a computer is being used, there are many websites that can be accessed that have advertisement banners. Once a banner has been clicked on a webpage, Spyware often goes into effect. This means that the company that created the banner will track all actions that a computer user generates. This is to monitor the Internet habits of the individual. Such programs often mention that such information that is collected is often not shared, but the collection of the information alone makes Spyware and Adware a violation to the privacy of the consumer. Is it only financially dangerous? No. This is terribly dangerous. Everyday we see children will often give 'their life story' by visiting a site or leaving a simple comment. Additionally, Spyware and Adware programs are not only deceiving, but they are intrusive in the lives of those that are unaware of the hidden security dangers that lie ahead. Spending habits, times of Internet usage, and even personal information can all be gathered from Spyware and Adware manipulation. The worst form of information to be addressed with Spyware and Adware is that neither program is illegal. It's Sad. At this time, those that distribute the programs to gather the personal information can do so without breaking any federal laws. Spyware and Adware have been and continue to be programs that can be created and distributed by any company that is seeking personal information on people. The legal injustices that are associated with both programs, and the lack of attention to the personal security of the public are what bring about many fears of personal safety for many people. There will always be those that are hesitant to use such programs. My kids use our computer at home. We tried the FREE CHECK-UP and Bingo. We found the bug that was driving us crazy. I recommend the free check up at HTTP://WWW.FLUXBPM.COM -NOSPYWARE. This will alleviate the danger of 'the Spyware & Adaware Scheme' As a Spyware victim it is worth it to keep my family and business private. NOSPYWARE works.
How Search Engines Work
To make easy money online you have to get high targeted traffic to your website. This is acheived by your knowledge of how to be ranking high in the search engines. The basic step is to know how search engines work. Most searh engines have three parts: a crawler, an index, and a search interface.Let's look at each part individually to get a better understanding of them. Each part has its own role to play in the process, with all parts working together to make searches possiple. 1. The Crawler: Also known as a "spider" or "bot", this part of the search engine wanders the web, following links and picking up information for its database. Crawlers do most of their work at times of the day when searh engines are less busy, but they typically visit frequently updated pages more often. This is something to keep in mind when you are working on your pages. Your site's title and text(your content) are the most important thing to a crawler. The fastest way to raise your site's search engine ranking for specific key words is to implementthem into your title and your content. 2. The index. Once the crawler has collected all that text, it is then stored and indexed. This allows people searching for key words and phrases to get results relating to what they were searching for - their search results. Most sites will incorporate rating systems such as Google Page Rank or Alexa Rankings in positioning your site. These ratings are used attempt to ensure that sites that are important receive more traffic than unimportant sites. To see this in action, go to a search engine and type in a word. You'll see some text on the page saying something like "results 1-10 of 1,234,000". This means that the search engine's index contains 1,234,000 pages it believes are related to the word you typed. If you wanted to, you could look through all these pages to find the information you're looking for. In order to understand rating systems more thoroughly consider your own site. When you place links on your site you generally do so to increase your users understanding of the content of your site. If every site in a particular field links to a particular site, this site is probably very important to that field and should, therefore, be listed highly in the lists of search engine results. This is the basic ideology of Google Page Ranks. Consider again , a site that receives a great deal of traffic, it probably has some information or service that is very important to its users. Alexa ratings attempt to estimate the amount of traffic that a particular site gets and compare it to the amount of traffic that other sites get. The closer that a site is to the most trafficed site on the internet, the more likely it is to have important content if it is relevant to search query. 3. The Interface. Search engines provide a public intrface for users who want to find information on the web. They can type the word or phrase they're searching for, and the interface will run an algorithm to find the pages relevant to their search and display them. These algorithms are an important part of the SEO(Search Engine Optimization) business. You'll notice when the algorithms change, the rankings of your website will change with them. No two search engines have the same algorithms. They all work differently, with their unique features, and they will all respond to your website in their own way. The most popular search engines today include Google, Yahoo, MSN, Alltheweb, and AskJeeves.
How To Find The Best Deals Online
On the Internet, you can find just about anything you want to buy, but how do you get the best deal you possibly can? This article will show you how. Price Comparison Search Engines There are dozens of search engines that will allow you to compare prices at hundreds, even thousands of online stores without having to go to each site separately, which can take alot of time to do on your own. Some of the best general ones are PriceGrabber.com, Shopzilla.com, Nextag.com and MySimon.com. All of these sites will allow you to type in what you are looking for and will allow you to zero in on the store that has your desired item for the lowest possible price. These search engines should be one of your first stops when shopping for deals. Specialty Price Comparison Search Engines For different shopping categories, there are specialty price comparison search engines for them. For books, check out AddAll.com. For computers and technology items, try pricewatch.com, techbargains.com and shopper.cnet.com. For DVD's, try dvdpricesearch.com. Coupon Codes There are many sites that list coupon codes for all the large online stores. Whether it's large department stores, chain stores or smaller specialty stores, there are often coupon codes available for them. The code might allow you to take a certain percentage off the price, get you free shipping, a free gift, buy one get one free of some item or another deal. It always pays off to search around for coupon codes before making your purchase. Some great sites that list coupon codes for online stores include eCoupons.com, CurrentCodes.com and CouponMountain.com, among many others. Deal & Bargain Forums As a bargain hunter and deal finder, you are certainly not alone on the net. There are many forums where people gather and share deal information and alerts, post coupon codes and discuss online bargains. Some of the most popular ones are: FatWallet.com, SlickDeals.net and CheapStingyBargains.com. Outlets & Refurbished Items Just like the offline world where big brand name stores offer their overstock, clearance and refurbished items at outlet stores, many companies have a separate website or area of their website which offers these items for purchase online. Great deals can be had here. Apple, for instance, sells refurbished iPods at it's outlet store at Apple.com for a fraction of the cost of their new iPods. Big Stores Many of the largest web stores offer great deals and special sale areas. Don't skip sites like Amazon.com and Buy.com, they often have very good deals and prices on their items due to the massive volume they sell. At Amazon, if you find that something you want is out of stock or too expensive for you, they may have the same item available at other stores for less or even used and they will show you this on the item page! Auctions There are thousands of online auction sites, ranging from small auction sites that specialize in certain areas to the granddaddy of them all, eBay. On eBay, you can type in the item you are looking for and find both new and used auctions running for many items. It's always a good idea to check eBay when deal shopping, you'll get an idea of what the item is going for currently and whether you're getting a good deal elsewhere on the web. Extra Tips Don't forget to check reviews of your item before buying. You can check Amazon.com, Epinions.com, ConsumerReports.org and Cnet.com for reviews of a wide range of items. Also, don't forget to factor shipping costs into your deal hunting. Always check on the shipping cost before making a purchase, otherwise you could end up paying a fortune. Some web stores bring you in with great prices and deals, but will make up for it by charging you an exhorbitant amount for shipping. In summary, armed with these tips you should be able to go out on the web confidently and find the best deal on that item or special gift you have been looking for.
How Computer Viruses Work and How to Protect your Computer
Many people are afraid of tinkering with their computers because of the fear that they might inadvertently introduce a computer virus into the computer system. Computer viruses have become the technological bogeyman that scares computer users all over the world. We have all heard of how dangerous computer viruses are and how it can damage your data. Of course, aided by the bloated images Hollywood movies paint with regards to computer viruses, a big majority now have this insane (but mostly unfounded) fears about it. It is true that computer viruses are dangerous. Anyone who has lost vital information in their computers because of a computer virus will know how big a damage it can cause. But computer viruses are not these insidiously little pieces of code that could wreak havoc on the world. If you know what to do when you get a virus in your computer then you can definitely limit, if not totally stop, the damage it can cause. But what is a computer virus? Well, it is a software with a small imprint that would usually attach itself on to a legitimate program or software. Every time this program is executed the virus is also executed and it tries to reproduce itself by attaching to other programs or it immediately starts affecting the computer. A computer virus and email virus basically have the same modus operandi, the difference though is that an email virus would attach itself to an email message or automatically send itself using the addresses in the address book in order to infect the people who receive the email. A computer virus is usually embedded in a larger program, often a legitimate piece of software. The virus will be run when the legitimate software is executed. The computer virus would load itself into the memory of the computer and then it will seek out any programs where it can likely attach itself. When a likely program is found then the virus would modify the file in order to add the virus’ code to the program. The virus would usually run before the actual legitimate program runs. In fact, the virus would usually perform the infection first before it commands the legitimate program to run. This process is so fast that no one would even notice that a virus was executed. With two programs now infected (the original program and the first infected program), the same process would be repeated whenever either program is launched worsening the level of infection. After the infection phase, or even within the middle of the process of infection, the virus would usually start its attack on the system. The level of attack can range from silly actions like flashing messages on the screen to actually erasing sensitive data. Fortunately, there are steps that you can do in order to protect your computer from viruses. Among the steps that you can take are: * The simplest way to avoid a virus is to install a legitimate and effective antivirus program in your computer. The antivirus program is designed to look out for any kind of activity that could be seen as similar to a virus attack or infestation and it automatically stops it. * You can opt to use a more secure operating system in your computer. For example, Unix is a secure operating system because the security features built into it prevents a virus from actually doing what it is programmed to do. * Enable Macro Virus Protection in all of the Microsoft applications resident in your computer. Additionally, you should avoid running macros in a document unless you have a good idea of what these macros are going to do. * Avoid using programs that you have downloaded on the internet especially when they come from dubious sources. * Never open an email attachment that contains an executable file – these are files with the EXE, COM and VBS extensions.
Taking Home Movies To The Next Level
With the powerful, yet easy to use video editing software on the market today, it's easy to just shoot, drop it in the editor, and burn it to a disk. What's even easier is ending up with mediocre results. With just a little more attention you can turn average into spectacular. Most standard video editors, such as the one that comes bundled into Windows, Microsoft's Movie Maker, have many features that, if used with some restraint, can help polish the finished product. With a little planning and some time spent in planning before compiling, you can make some memorable videos, and enhance your memories and your video records. Here are some general rules that I like to follow: * Keep it simple; a well-thought out five minute video is far more effective than a thirty-minute, no cuts, no-breaks-taken video. It's OK to think in terms of chapters and to make each one a separate file. You can always combine them into longer works. * Keep everything simple; pick just a few transitions and reuse them sparingly; avoid the temptation to apply all those radical filters. If you choose to use a special effect, use it once and make it count. If you are using still images, a simple fade transition works best. * Choose a reasonable scene length. If you shoot ten minutes of video without pause, experiment with breaking it up into much shorter clips. Avoid the 3-second rule currently in vogue in commercials, where each scene only lasts 3 seconds. Some software will allow the program itself to break up any video file into several scenes, either by a detection algorithm, or by a set time span. Most can do this automatically. * Edit edit edit. Good film making results in a fairly cluttered cutting room floor. Don't be afraid to edit out uncle Henry's silly dance. Consider editing out any really noticeable camera shakes. The idea is communicate the overall event or experience, not to record every single detail. * Visual presentations must sound right. If you underestimate the power of sound, try watching a movie without the sound. You probably won't last five minutes. Most of us live in a world filled with sound, and your videos should pay as much attention to the sound as any other feature. You should consider an audio editor program that will allow you to do several things; you should be able to strip out the original sound; you should be able to overdub, or add your voice to the recorded video sound track; you should be able to enhance your voiceovers or the original sound. Video recorders are not the best sound recorders. * Titles, not family genealogies. Titles are a very effective tool; they can set the mood, position the presentation, and focus attention. They should be brief and this is one place where it's OK to get a little crazy/creative. Slide in, fly out, different colors, interesting typefaces, go for it. Just don't overdo it. A final word; you don't have to spend a fortune to have a full-featured video editing studio. I got ShowBiz, an ArcSoft product bundled into some burner software; it is a fully capable video editor. Avnex makes audio and video editors and morphers that you can download and try for free at www.audio4fun.com. Their Voice Changer Software Diamond 4.0 is one of my favorites, as it does for audio what the video editors do for visuals. Microsoft's Movie Maker and Movie Maker II are also very capable video editors. And finally, don't be afraid to experiment and to try altering the combinations of elements as you develop your video. Most programs will let you save elements as 'projects', which allows you access to the individual elements over and over. By following these simple steps and thinking creatively you can raise your home videos to a new level.
Help, My Script Isn’t Working!
Here’s a list of tips and tricks to consult at two a.m. when you’re trying to put your site to bed and that d*mn script just won’t work. 1. Make a note of the error message, and type it in Google. Leave out your unique paths and file names. Someone else has had the same problem, and some nice person will have posted a solution. 2. If it's a server error, repeat what caused the error. Go quickly to the error log on your web hosting control panel. Any clues there? 3. Read the README file. Have it open on-screen when you're setting up the script. 4. Use a text editor like Wordpad or Notepad to edit scripts. Simply put, your editor should not change anything beyond the bare text that you type on screen. Microsoft Word will alter your formatting, with unhappy consequences. 5. Avoid wrapping lines. Check that your editor is not set to do this. 6. Avoid putting characters like " , ' ; in if you don't know what you're doing. The server may read these as programming code. Apostrophes and other non-alphabet characters can be 'escaped' out of a script by putting a backward slash in front of them. 7. Get the paths to required files correct in the script itself and in the html files involved. Telnet to your site, and use the pwd command: ‘pwd somename’ (without the apostrophes) to find where directories and programs are on your server. 8. Windows (MS-DOS) may insert carriage returns which cause errors in Unix. In Perl, You need to have a line break after #!/usr/bin/perl. It appears to be there, but you may have to insert it manually via Telnet. Otherwise you may get an error. 9. Permissions: Set permissions of scripts to 705 (e.g. 'CHMOD 705 yourscript.cgi' in a telnet session). CHMOD 606 for text files the script may need to read or write to. CHMOD 707 any file or sub-directory the script author asks you to. The rest can usually be left at the default 644. (The use of 0 here in permissions is to stop people in the same ‘group’ as you peeking at your files). 10. Upload scripts in ASCII mode only, or you'll get errors in them (the text will be shifted around if you upload in Binary). FTP files with the extensions .tar.gz, .zip, and image files, in BINARY mode only. 11. Check whether you've put a trailing forwardslash / where you're not supposed to, or not inserted one when you're supposed to! 12. Email addresses in a script may need a backwardslash before the @ to work. 13. Don't change too many things at once. Do the absolute minimum to get the script working, then change one thing at a time. 14. If you are changing the HTML code of a form page that posts to the script: Clear your browser's cache. You may still be loading an old version of your page, with tags that your script now won't recognise. Your ISP may also be using its cache of your web page. Try connecting via another ISP, or use a proxy service like http://www.Anonymouse.ws to view your page. 15. The error 'document contains no data' in your browser usually means a path or a file name is wrong. It can also mean the file you're calling is 0 bytes in size. 16. Don't try setting scripts up when you're tired. If you've been working for hours, take a break, or go to bed! 17. It's a fact that, after all this, your script might have a bug. Check any discussion boards at the vendor's website, or general webmaster forums, to see if this is a common problem. Report exactly what problems you're having, and your server set-up, to the programmers. It's unlikely you're the first person to have it.
Key Advantages of Remote Power Management
Remote power management solutions provide IT professionals with the information and tools necessary to manage and maintain IT operations across geographically dispersed locations. The benefits of these tools are numerous and can offer a significant positive impact to an organization.
Minimize Downtime
As today’s organizations rely more heavily on IT infrastructure and system availability, the risk of downtime due to a server or infrastructure failure becomes an increasing concern. Recent studies show that estimated losses can reach $1.5 M per hour in manufacturing and financial organizations, and greater than $2 M per hour in other industries, such as energy and telecommunications. These numbers indicate that equipment downtime must be mitigated through all available technologies.
Remote power management products, or intelligent power solutions, reduce server downtime, outages, and losses, and shorten the Mean Time to Repair (MTTR). With traditional power management systems, when the need to perform a cold reboot arises, a third-party technician is often required. These services can cost upward of $250 per incident. Should an organization be faced with temperamental or problematic equipment, this cost can quickly rise. As remote power products provide outlet-level power control, in most cases it is unnecessary to dispatch field personnel to manually execute a hard reboot. Implementing this technology can help reduce dependency on IT staff and third-party services, facilitating cost-effective "lights-out" operation at remote offices and branch locations.
Integrate With Datacenter Management Tools
While remote power management products provide full functionality as stand-alone devices, many options allow integration with existing infrastructure management tools. These products can be easily integrated with existing KVM over IP solutions and allow power control of the same servers and devices associated with KVM equipment, providing a single interface for console access and remote power. Additionally, certain intelligent power products can also be combined with environmental monitoring devices, providing mission-critical protection by monitoring datacenter conditions such as amperage draw per circuit, humidity, temperature, and in some cases, intrusion. They can alert you automatically via SMTP/SMS/SNMP when conditions exceed established thresholds and allow IT managers to quickly respond to any irregularities before they become larger problems. Similar to integration with KVM over IP equipment, combining remote power management products with environmental monitoring devices is a simple task and can be accomplished using a variety of products.
Leverage Advances in Power
Remote power products not only provide intelligent control of attached systems, they also allow administrators to leverage leading advances in power distribution. IT administrators and datacenter managers are increasingly using 3-Phase power in server rooms and datacenters. This trend is expected to continue to rise, as the use of power-intensive blade technology increases. While 3-Phase power technology is not exclusive to remote power management products, many solutions can accommodate it. Compared to single-phase power, 3-Phase power significantly increases available amperage into the server rack, uses fewer circuits, provides a more balanced power load, and reduces the overall number of PDUs needed to power equipment. For example, in a traditional rack environment, it would require (4) 20-amp circuits to achieve 64 amps of available power (assuming a maximum 80% load). In contrast, a 3-phase circuit can provide up to 51.6 amps per circuit, or more than 82 amps of available power, while only requiring 2 circuits (assuming a maximum 80% load).
Protect Your Equipment with Power-Up Sequencing
Often overlooked, the ability to manage how devices power up can be vital to the integrity of a power system. Power-up sequencing, or the ability to control the flow of power to each outlet, can mitigate the effects of a power failure. This technology allows you to control the sequence by which your power outlets and attached devices activate, helping prevent circuit overload, and ensuring that attached devices power-up in an appropriate sequence.
Intelligent Power Management Considerations
• Amperage requirements
• Redundant power capabilities
• Grouping outlets across circuits for dual/multi-power devices
• Monitoring of amperage and environmental factors
• Value of reducing system downtime
Remote power management solutions provide IT professionals with the information and tools necessary to manage and maintain IT operations across geographically dispersed locations. The benefits of these tools are numerous and can offer a significant positive impact to an organization.
Minimize Downtime
As today’s organizations rely more heavily on IT infrastructure and system availability, the risk of downtime due to a server or infrastructure failure becomes an increasing concern. Recent studies show that estimated losses can reach $1.5 M per hour in manufacturing and financial organizations, and greater than $2 M per hour in other industries, such as energy and telecommunications. These numbers indicate that equipment downtime must be mitigated through all available technologies.
Remote power management products, or intelligent power solutions, reduce server downtime, outages, and losses, and shorten the Mean Time to Repair (MTTR). With traditional power management systems, when the need to perform a cold reboot arises, a third-party technician is often required. These services can cost upward of $250 per incident. Should an organization be faced with temperamental or problematic equipment, this cost can quickly rise. As remote power products provide outlet-level power control, in most cases it is unnecessary to dispatch field personnel to manually execute a hard reboot. Implementing this technology can help reduce dependency on IT staff and third-party services, facilitating cost-effective "lights-out" operation at remote offices and branch locations.
Integrate With Datacenter Management Tools
While remote power management products provide full functionality as stand-alone devices, many options allow integration with existing infrastructure management tools. These products can be easily integrated with existing KVM over IP solutions and allow power control of the same servers and devices associated with KVM equipment, providing a single interface for console access and remote power. Additionally, certain intelligent power products can also be combined with environmental monitoring devices, providing mission-critical protection by monitoring datacenter conditions such as amperage draw per circuit, humidity, temperature, and in some cases, intrusion. They can alert you automatically via SMTP/SMS/SNMP when conditions exceed established thresholds and allow IT managers to quickly respond to any irregularities before they become larger problems. Similar to integration with KVM over IP equipment, combining remote power management products with environmental monitoring devices is a simple task and can be accomplished using a variety of products.
Leverage Advances in Power
Remote power products not only provide intelligent control of attached systems, they also allow administrators to leverage leading advances in power distribution. IT administrators and datacenter managers are increasingly using 3-Phase power in server rooms and datacenters. This trend is expected to continue to rise, as the use of power-intensive blade technology increases. While 3-Phase power technology is not exclusive to remote power management products, many solutions can accommodate it. Compared to single-phase power, 3-Phase power significantly increases available amperage into the server rack, uses fewer circuits, provides a more balanced power load, and reduces the overall number of PDUs needed to power equipment. For example, in a traditional rack environment, it would require (4) 20-amp circuits to achieve 64 amps of available power (assuming a maximum 80% load). In contrast, a 3-phase circuit can provide up to 51.6 amps per circuit, or more than 82 amps of available power, while only requiring 2 circuits (assuming a maximum 80% load).
Protect Your Equipment with Power-Up Sequencing
Often overlooked, the ability to manage how devices power up can be vital to the integrity of a power system. Power-up sequencing, or the ability to control the flow of power to each outlet, can mitigate the effects of a power failure. This technology allows you to control the sequence by which your power outlets and attached devices activate, helping prevent circuit overload, and ensuring that attached devices power-up in an appropriate sequence.
Intelligent Power Management Considerations
• Amperage requirements
• Redundant power capabilities
• Grouping outlets across circuits for dual/multi-power devices
• Monitoring of amperage and environmental factors
• Value of reducing system downtime
Power Management—only one piece of the puzzle…..
When considering datacenter management, intelligent power management is only one piece of the puzzle. Other key considerations include effective rack cooling, KVM console management tools, and appropriate server rack or enclosure infrastructure. The team at 42U (http://www.42U.com) specializes in assessing needs, creating solutions, and supporting our clients, to ensure that IT professionals maximize their use of current technologies to improve overall business performance.
Minimize Downtime
As today’s organizations rely more heavily on IT infrastructure and system availability, the risk of downtime due to a server or infrastructure failure becomes an increasing concern. Recent studies show that estimated losses can reach $1.5 M per hour in manufacturing and financial organizations, and greater than $2 M per hour in other industries, such as energy and telecommunications. These numbers indicate that equipment downtime must be mitigated through all available technologies.
Remote power management products, or intelligent power solutions, reduce server downtime, outages, and losses, and shorten the Mean Time to Repair (MTTR). With traditional power management systems, when the need to perform a cold reboot arises, a third-party technician is often required. These services can cost upward of $250 per incident. Should an organization be faced with temperamental or problematic equipment, this cost can quickly rise. As remote power products provide outlet-level power control, in most cases it is unnecessary to dispatch field personnel to manually execute a hard reboot. Implementing this technology can help reduce dependency on IT staff and third-party services, facilitating cost-effective "lights-out" operation at remote offices and branch locations.
Integrate With Datacenter Management Tools
While remote power management products provide full functionality as stand-alone devices, many options allow integration with existing infrastructure management tools. These products can be easily integrated with existing KVM over IP solutions and allow power control of the same servers and devices associated with KVM equipment, providing a single interface for console access and remote power. Additionally, certain intelligent power products can also be combined with environmental monitoring devices, providing mission-critical protection by monitoring datacenter conditions such as amperage draw per circuit, humidity, temperature, and in some cases, intrusion. They can alert you automatically via SMTP/SMS/SNMP when conditions exceed established thresholds and allow IT managers to quickly respond to any irregularities before they become larger problems. Similar to integration with KVM over IP equipment, combining remote power management products with environmental monitoring devices is a simple task and can be accomplished using a variety of products.
Leverage Advances in Power
Remote power products not only provide intelligent control of attached systems, they also allow administrators to leverage leading advances in power distribution. IT administrators and datacenter managers are increasingly using 3-Phase power in server rooms and datacenters. This trend is expected to continue to rise, as the use of power-intensive blade technology increases. While 3-Phase power technology is not exclusive to remote power management products, many solutions can accommodate it. Compared to single-phase power, 3-Phase power significantly increases available amperage into the server rack, uses fewer circuits, provides a more balanced power load, and reduces the overall number of PDUs needed to power equipment. For example, in a traditional rack environment, it would require (4) 20-amp circuits to achieve 64 amps of available power (assuming a maximum 80% load). In contrast, a 3-phase circuit can provide up to 51.6 amps per circuit, or more than 82 amps of available power, while only requiring 2 circuits (assuming a maximum 80% load).
Protect Your Equipment with Power-Up Sequencing
Often overlooked, the ability to manage how devices power up can be vital to the integrity of a power system. Power-up sequencing, or the ability to control the flow of power to each outlet, can mitigate the effects of a power failure. This technology allows you to control the sequence by which your power outlets and attached devices activate, helping prevent circuit overload, and ensuring that attached devices power-up in an appropriate sequence.
Intelligent Power Management Considerations
• Amperage requirements
• Redundant power capabilities
• Grouping outlets across circuits for dual/multi-power devices
• Monitoring of amperage and environmental factors
• Value of reducing system downtime
Remote power management solutions provide IT professionals with the information and tools necessary to manage and maintain IT operations across geographically dispersed locations. The benefits of these tools are numerous and can offer a significant positive impact to an organization.
Minimize Downtime
As today’s organizations rely more heavily on IT infrastructure and system availability, the risk of downtime due to a server or infrastructure failure becomes an increasing concern. Recent studies show that estimated losses can reach $1.5 M per hour in manufacturing and financial organizations, and greater than $2 M per hour in other industries, such as energy and telecommunications. These numbers indicate that equipment downtime must be mitigated through all available technologies.
Remote power management products, or intelligent power solutions, reduce server downtime, outages, and losses, and shorten the Mean Time to Repair (MTTR). With traditional power management systems, when the need to perform a cold reboot arises, a third-party technician is often required. These services can cost upward of $250 per incident. Should an organization be faced with temperamental or problematic equipment, this cost can quickly rise. As remote power products provide outlet-level power control, in most cases it is unnecessary to dispatch field personnel to manually execute a hard reboot. Implementing this technology can help reduce dependency on IT staff and third-party services, facilitating cost-effective "lights-out" operation at remote offices and branch locations.
Integrate With Datacenter Management Tools
While remote power management products provide full functionality as stand-alone devices, many options allow integration with existing infrastructure management tools. These products can be easily integrated with existing KVM over IP solutions and allow power control of the same servers and devices associated with KVM equipment, providing a single interface for console access and remote power. Additionally, certain intelligent power products can also be combined with environmental monitoring devices, providing mission-critical protection by monitoring datacenter conditions such as amperage draw per circuit, humidity, temperature, and in some cases, intrusion. They can alert you automatically via SMTP/SMS/SNMP when conditions exceed established thresholds and allow IT managers to quickly respond to any irregularities before they become larger problems. Similar to integration with KVM over IP equipment, combining remote power management products with environmental monitoring devices is a simple task and can be accomplished using a variety of products.
Leverage Advances in Power
Remote power products not only provide intelligent control of attached systems, they also allow administrators to leverage leading advances in power distribution. IT administrators and datacenter managers are increasingly using 3-Phase power in server rooms and datacenters. This trend is expected to continue to rise, as the use of power-intensive blade technology increases. While 3-Phase power technology is not exclusive to remote power management products, many solutions can accommodate it. Compared to single-phase power, 3-Phase power significantly increases available amperage into the server rack, uses fewer circuits, provides a more balanced power load, and reduces the overall number of PDUs needed to power equipment. For example, in a traditional rack environment, it would require (4) 20-amp circuits to achieve 64 amps of available power (assuming a maximum 80% load). In contrast, a 3-phase circuit can provide up to 51.6 amps per circuit, or more than 82 amps of available power, while only requiring 2 circuits (assuming a maximum 80% load).
Protect Your Equipment with Power-Up Sequencing
Often overlooked, the ability to manage how devices power up can be vital to the integrity of a power system. Power-up sequencing, or the ability to control the flow of power to each outlet, can mitigate the effects of a power failure. This technology allows you to control the sequence by which your power outlets and attached devices activate, helping prevent circuit overload, and ensuring that attached devices power-up in an appropriate sequence.
Intelligent Power Management Considerations
• Amperage requirements
• Redundant power capabilities
• Grouping outlets across circuits for dual/multi-power devices
• Monitoring of amperage and environmental factors
• Value of reducing system downtime
Power Management—only one piece of the puzzle…..
When considering datacenter management, intelligent power management is only one piece of the puzzle. Other key considerations include effective rack cooling, KVM console management tools, and appropriate server rack or enclosure infrastructure. The team at 42U (http://www.42U.com) specializes in assessing needs, creating solutions, and supporting our clients, to ensure that IT professionals maximize their use of current technologies to improve overall business performance.
Efficient Business Process Management – A Crucial Requirement for Ensuring Business Success
In today’s highly competitive business climate, the success and longevity of enterprise businesses of all types and sizes primarily depend on efficient business process management. Considering the fact that a proper business process management plan that incorporates the latest, state-of-the-art business process solutions is what separates the successful, prominent businesses from the rest, all business-oriented companies are permanently looking for improvements in this particular area in order to strengthen their position in the market. By establishing a top-quality business process management plan, customized to fit the exact needs and requirements of your business, you can significantly improve the efficiency of your business, thus ensuring better profits and better exposure.
The concept of business process management encompasses an extensive series of specific activities performed by businesses in order to optimize their regular processes. The activities comprised by business process management can be divided into three distinctive categories: design, execution and monitoring.
The design phase either refers to designing customized business processes or adopting already existing processes and modifying them to fit the specific needs of a certain business. During the stage of business process management design, organizations can also test the efficiency and reliability of the newly developed business processes before introducing them into practice. By integrating specific software for process design to be used for obtaining graphical representations of workflows, as well as for implementing and maintaining workflows, organizations can transform the evolution of business processes into a less demanding and challenging experience.
The phase of process execution, just like the name suggests, basically refers to the execution of the previously designed processes by using various applications. While in the recent past the succession of activities conducted during this stage of business process management depended almost entirely on human intervention, today’s advanced technology allows for a good level of automation, significantly limiting the need for human intervention. Modern software in the category of Business Process Management Systems (BPMS) provides efficient automation solutions, allowing companies to use computer language in performing specific activities. Although the need for human intervention in the phase of process execution hasn’t been completely eliminated, nowadays it represents almost a negligible factor when using highly-competitive software tools.
In order to ensure that their used BPMS is efficient, organizations should check if the software respects the principles of business process architecture (accounts for all the major segments of business process architecture: enterprise architecture, policy and procedures, project management, logistics and so on). Some of the most popular BPMS used at present are built on the Microsoft Platform and include names such as BizTalk Server, SQL Server, InfoPath, MOM and SharePoint. With a good level of training in business process architecture and business process implementation using advanced BPMS, companies can substantially increase business efficiency and prosperity.
The last stage in business process management consists in process monitoring. The process monitoring stage involves performing a series of activities aimed at obtaining conclusive data on the performance of business processes, as well as finding and timely correcting any emerging problems. The monitoring of processes and the reporting of existing problems can nowadays be handled entirely with BPMS. With the right software tools, companies can rapidly identify performance issues, being provided with detailed statistic data and in-depth analyses of each distinctive category of business processes.
The long-term results provided by high-quality business process solutions and efficient business process implementation inside organizations are: significantly increased business efficiency, higher business adaptability, versatility and agility in the market. In order to ensure the optimal performance of your business processes through efficient business process management, you can either employ the services of a reputed business-consulting company and receive the latest solutions, tailored to fit the exact needs of your business, or form your own team of professionals with a good level of training in business process implementation using advanced Business Process Management Systems.
For more information on business process management please visit www.unitekconsulting.com?source=articlesender
The concept of business process management encompasses an extensive series of specific activities performed by businesses in order to optimize their regular processes. The activities comprised by business process management can be divided into three distinctive categories: design, execution and monitoring.
The design phase either refers to designing customized business processes or adopting already existing processes and modifying them to fit the specific needs of a certain business. During the stage of business process management design, organizations can also test the efficiency and reliability of the newly developed business processes before introducing them into practice. By integrating specific software for process design to be used for obtaining graphical representations of workflows, as well as for implementing and maintaining workflows, organizations can transform the evolution of business processes into a less demanding and challenging experience.
The phase of process execution, just like the name suggests, basically refers to the execution of the previously designed processes by using various applications. While in the recent past the succession of activities conducted during this stage of business process management depended almost entirely on human intervention, today’s advanced technology allows for a good level of automation, significantly limiting the need for human intervention. Modern software in the category of Business Process Management Systems (BPMS) provides efficient automation solutions, allowing companies to use computer language in performing specific activities. Although the need for human intervention in the phase of process execution hasn’t been completely eliminated, nowadays it represents almost a negligible factor when using highly-competitive software tools.
In order to ensure that their used BPMS is efficient, organizations should check if the software respects the principles of business process architecture (accounts for all the major segments of business process architecture: enterprise architecture, policy and procedures, project management, logistics and so on). Some of the most popular BPMS used at present are built on the Microsoft Platform and include names such as BizTalk Server, SQL Server, InfoPath, MOM and SharePoint. With a good level of training in business process architecture and business process implementation using advanced BPMS, companies can substantially increase business efficiency and prosperity.
The last stage in business process management consists in process monitoring. The process monitoring stage involves performing a series of activities aimed at obtaining conclusive data on the performance of business processes, as well as finding and timely correcting any emerging problems. The monitoring of processes and the reporting of existing problems can nowadays be handled entirely with BPMS. With the right software tools, companies can rapidly identify performance issues, being provided with detailed statistic data and in-depth analyses of each distinctive category of business processes.
The long-term results provided by high-quality business process solutions and efficient business process implementation inside organizations are: significantly increased business efficiency, higher business adaptability, versatility and agility in the market. In order to ensure the optimal performance of your business processes through efficient business process management, you can either employ the services of a reputed business-consulting company and receive the latest solutions, tailored to fit the exact needs of your business, or form your own team of professionals with a good level of training in business process implementation using advanced Business Process Management Systems.
For more information on business process management please visit www.unitekconsulting.com?source=articlesender
Issues with implementing Software Quality Assurance (SQA)
Issues with implementing Software Quality Assurance (SQA). Software Quality Assurance SQA Definition:- "The function of software quality that assures that the standards, processes, and procedures are appropriate for the project and are correctly implemented." From software definitions at NASA. This definition comes directly from the Quality Movement that was first established in Japan in 1946 by the U.S. Occupation Force's. The only difference between QA of the Quality Movement and SQA is the term software is introduced to both the term and the definition. It is understandable that many attempts have been made to metamorphous the manufacturing QA definition (and practice) into software QA, due to the overwhelming success of the quality movement as demonstrated in Japanese manufacturing. Some 60 years later, however, the only aspect of QA that has been successfully transformed to SQA is the goals, namely Fujitsu’s slogan of “Quality built-in, with cost and performance as prime consideration”. The main issue with basing SQA on QA is due to the intangible nature of the software product. As stated by Frederick P. Brooks, Jr. in his No Silver Bullet: Essence and Accidents of Software Engineering “The essence of a software entity is a construct of interlocking concepts: data sets, relationships among data items, algorithms, and invocations of functions. This essence is abstract in that such a conceptual construct is the same under many different representations. It is nonetheless highly precise and richly detailed”. It is the abstract nature of software that impedes the manufacturing QA definition being applied directly to software. To be more precise it is actually Quality Control (QC) that is problematic for software. In manufacturing there would be a separate group Quality Control (QC) that would measure the components, at various manufacturing stages. QC would make sure the components were within acceptable “tolerances”, i.e. they did not vary from agreed specifications. Within software production, however, the intangible nature of software makes it difficult to set up a Test and Measurement QC department that follows the manufacturing model. In order to overcome the essential difficulties of implementing Software Quality Control SQC procedures two strategies have evolved. These strategies are typically used together in the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). The first strategy involves a pragmatic characterization of software attributes that can be measured, thereby subjecting them to SQC. The idea here is to make visible the costs and benefits of software by using a set of attributes. These attributes include Functionality, Usability, Supportability, Adaptability, Reliability, Performance etc. Then Quality Control can be set up to ensure that procedures and guidelines are followed and these procedures and guidelines exist in order to achieve the desired software characteristic. The adage, "what can be measured can be controlled" applies here. This means that when these characteristics are measured the effectiveness of the procedures and guidelines can be determined. The software production process can then be subjected to SQA (audits to make sure procedures and guidelines are followed) as well as continuous process improvement. SQA is only a part of continuous improvement (see CMMI); however continuous improvement cannot be achieved without the measurements of SQC and the audits of SQA. A number of models, and references, for software characterization can be found on the internet. One such model is called the FURPS model which was developed by Robert Grady at Hewlett Packard. If a pure implementation of the FURPS model, or similar, was possible then QC and QA, from manufacturing, could be applied to software production. The second strategy, to overcome the essential difficulties of software production, is prototyping. With this approach a risk (or immeasurable characteristic) is identified, i.e. Usability, and a prototype that addresses that risk is built. In this way a given aspect of the software product can be measured. The prototype itself could evolve into the end product or it could be 'thrown away'. This approach takes an interactive path as it is quite possible the software requirements (which should include all the software characteristics) may need to be revisited. Whilst SQA and SQC, definitions, can be traced to their manufacturing counter parts, the implementation of SQA and SQC continues to find their own unique paths. The goal of SQA and QA, however, still remain the same and that is Fujitsu’s slogan "Quality built-in, with cost and performance as prime consideration". It is the actual measurement of the "cost and performance" of software that make SQA and SQC so problematic.
Marketing with Content Hubs
A new type of promotional medium has sprung up or evolved on the Internet over the past two years – namely "content hubs."
A content hub is a type of web site that has lots of informational articles on it. A person with a web site, who needs article content for their site, can go to a content hub and download articles for free on a wide variety of topics, and then post them on their web site. These content hubs allow you to search by topic or category or by keyword.
Writers can post articles on the content hubs. The benefit for the writer is that he can mention his company and include his web site address in the article. And that provides in-bound links to his web site, from the content hubs themselves, and from every web site where that article is posted. In-bound links, meaning links from other web sites that link to yours, increase link popularity, which is one of the main criteria used by Google and other search engines to determine web site ranking.
So the content hubs service both writers who want to get the word out on their company or products or services, and people who have web sites who need article content.
The key, for a writer, is to write something that will appeal to the general public, or at least to a sizable specific niche public (such as webmasters or web promotion for instance), so that the article gets downloaded and used on lots of sites in need of content.
It is also key to include the name of the company in the article, preferably near the beginning, and include the company web address in the article as well, and in the writer bio at the end.
The article itself should not be written in such a way that it is just a blatant promo piece for your company. It has to be written so that it is about a topic that your company deals with or you are an expert on, and it mentions your company, but it doesn’t say "call us now at 1-800-222-2222 for a great deal on tires" at the end. In other words, what in marketing is called a "call to action," where you tell your prospect to contact you or to respond for more information or to buy now, should not be included in articles for content hubs.
If there are specific key words or phrases that people use to find your web site (most web statistics programs can give you this information), or to look for your product or service, then try to find a way to include those words or phrases near the beginning of your article.
It’s a good idea to look over the type of articles that are currently being accepted on content hubs, to get a better idea of what works there, and so you can write articles that will fit this medium. Some good content hubs to look at are:
http://www.goarticles.com
http://www.isnare.com/
http://www.articlecity.com/
http://www.exchangenet.com/
http://freezinesite.com/
http://articles.simplysearch4it.com/
http://www.dime-co.com/
There are currently over 700 content hubs on the Internet.
Most of the content hubs require that you register with them before they will allow you to post an article there. Some of the sites have your article reviewed by a live person before it goes up. Some will just post it without review.
Once you get registered on a number of content hubs, it is best to post one article, then post more articles at intervals of about once a week. Make sure you include your company name and URL in each article.
If your company has any articles written already that were written for other purposes, you may be able to convert them into a form that will work for the content hubs. The key is to read the types of articles that are already appearing on the hubs and convert your content into a similar form.
Content hubs are a great way to get out information on your company, and are becoming one of the primary ways of promoting on the net.
A content hub is a type of web site that has lots of informational articles on it. A person with a web site, who needs article content for their site, can go to a content hub and download articles for free on a wide variety of topics, and then post them on their web site. These content hubs allow you to search by topic or category or by keyword.
Writers can post articles on the content hubs. The benefit for the writer is that he can mention his company and include his web site address in the article. And that provides in-bound links to his web site, from the content hubs themselves, and from every web site where that article is posted. In-bound links, meaning links from other web sites that link to yours, increase link popularity, which is one of the main criteria used by Google and other search engines to determine web site ranking.
So the content hubs service both writers who want to get the word out on their company or products or services, and people who have web sites who need article content.
The key, for a writer, is to write something that will appeal to the general public, or at least to a sizable specific niche public (such as webmasters or web promotion for instance), so that the article gets downloaded and used on lots of sites in need of content.
It is also key to include the name of the company in the article, preferably near the beginning, and include the company web address in the article as well, and in the writer bio at the end.
The article itself should not be written in such a way that it is just a blatant promo piece for your company. It has to be written so that it is about a topic that your company deals with or you are an expert on, and it mentions your company, but it doesn’t say "call us now at 1-800-222-2222 for a great deal on tires" at the end. In other words, what in marketing is called a "call to action," where you tell your prospect to contact you or to respond for more information or to buy now, should not be included in articles for content hubs.
If there are specific key words or phrases that people use to find your web site (most web statistics programs can give you this information), or to look for your product or service, then try to find a way to include those words or phrases near the beginning of your article.
It’s a good idea to look over the type of articles that are currently being accepted on content hubs, to get a better idea of what works there, and so you can write articles that will fit this medium. Some good content hubs to look at are:
http://www.goarticles.com
http://www.isnare.com/
http://www.articlecity.com/
http://www.exchangenet.com/
http://freezinesite.com/
http://articles.simplysearch4it.com/
http://www.dime-co.com/
There are currently over 700 content hubs on the Internet.
Most of the content hubs require that you register with them before they will allow you to post an article there. Some of the sites have your article reviewed by a live person before it goes up. Some will just post it without review.
Once you get registered on a number of content hubs, it is best to post one article, then post more articles at intervals of about once a week. Make sure you include your company name and URL in each article.
If your company has any articles written already that were written for other purposes, you may be able to convert them into a form that will work for the content hubs. The key is to read the types of articles that are already appearing on the hubs and convert your content into a similar form.
Content hubs are a great way to get out information on your company, and are becoming one of the primary ways of promoting on the net.
Pretexting – Identity Theft With Personality
No doubt, by now, you’ve been warned about "phishing". Phishing attempts to steal personal information via faked websites or bogus "official" communications, designed to lure the user into providing information via web forms. There are numerous tools now available to help protect users against phishing, which is a fairly "passive" form of social engineering. The recent scandal at Hewlett Packard brought a more sophisticated form of identity theft via social engineering to the public consciousness: pretexting. According to the Federal Trade Commission, pretexting is the practice of getting your personal information under false pretenses. Pretexters sell your information to people who may use it to get credit in your name, steal your assets, or to investigate or sue you. That information may include your Social Security Number (SSN), telephone records and your bank and credit card account numbers. Pretexters use a variety of tactics to get your personal information. For example, a pretexter may call, claim he's from a survey firm, and ask you a few questions. When the pretexter has the information he wants, he uses it to call your financial institution. He pretends to be you or someone with authorized access to your account. He might claim that he's forgotten his checkbook and needs information about his account. In this fashion, the pretexter may be able to obtain personal information about you such as your SSN, bank and credit card account numbers, information in your credit report. Pretexting is the key to identity theft, which most commonly results in credit card fraud, bank fraud, loan fraud and communications fraud (opening a phone account fraudulently). However pretexting is also alive and well in the private gumshoe community: investigators ostensibly working quietly but aboveboard for legitimate clients. There is a thriving network of creative con artists who gather phone records and other private data. Some of their clients are major banks and insurance companies. Pretexting has often been the corporate investigative tool of choice. The most notorious example of this practice coming to light recently has been the drama played out at Hewlett Packard, where the board chairwoman and other HP luminaries hired an investigative agency to track the source of leaks coming from board meetings. The investigators, in turn, engaged in pretexting to attempt to gain phone records on a suspected board member and on the journalist(s) who were writing stories based on the links. Computer hackers call the use of an assumed identity "social engineering." That's an endearing title for theft, but the fact is that this type of behavior has been in the news for some time preceding the HP fiasco. Presidential candidate Wesley Clark had his cell phone records purchased by a blogger, who turned them into a major political story. The HP story has resulted in an investigation by the California Attorney General’s office, which says that it currently has six "major" pretexting cases under investigation, all of them corporate in nature. HP’s filing with the Security and Exchange Commission regarding this matter states in part that, "The (HP board) Committee was then advised by ... outside counsel that the use of pretexting at the time of the investigation was not generally unlawful (except with respect to financial institutions)..." The Federal Trade Commission’s web site section on this issue reads as follows: "Pretexting is the practice of getting your personal information under false pretenses. Pretexters sell your information to people who may use it to get credit in your name, steal your assets, or to investigate or sue you. Pretexting is against the law." HP’s investigators are currently under indictment. It will be interesting to see what comes of the board members and lawyers who found their methods "not generally unlawful."
CCNA Cisco Certification Training Case Study: How Multiple Passwords Affect Router Access
Your CCNA certification exam efforts must include practicing with different password types and knowing how to configure them on a Cisco router - but for CCNA exam success and to thrive in real-world networks, you also have to know how to examine a Cisco router configuration and determine the level of network security that is already present. After all, most routers you work with already have passwords set, and it's up to you to determine if those passwords are getting the job done. Let's start with a telnet password. Telnet passwords are configured on the VTY lines, and no telnet access is enabled on a Cisco router by default. If you saw the following configuration, what would it mean? line vty 0 4 privilege level 15 password baseball login That small Cisco router configuration means three things - first, Telnet access is enabled. Second, the password is baseball. Third, the "privilege level 15" command means that any user who attempts to Telnet to the router and knows the password will automatically be placed into privileged exec mode. (If that command were not present, the user would be placed into user exec and then prompted for the enable password before being allowed into privileged exec.) You may not want to give that level of access to all incoming Telnet connections. If you walked into a client's router room and saw this configuration on a router, what would it mean to you? username halas password 0 bears username ewbank password 0 jets username ed privilege 15 password 0 mcdaniel line vty 0 4 login local This configuration means three things as well. Each user attempting to telnet in will be prompted for both a username and password. Each individual user must enter the password that's been assigned to them. For example, the user "halas"would have to enter the password "bears" to successfully Telnet into this router. The command "login local" under the VTY lines means that this local database of usernames and passwords will be used for authentication. Again, by default, users who are Telnetting in will be placed into user exec mode by default. Only users with "privilege 15" in the middle of their username / password definition will be placed into privileged exec immediately upon login. Notice that zero in each of the username / password statements? I didn't enter that when I configured these statements. This number indicates the level of encryption the password is currently under; a zero is the lowest level of encryption, indicating that the passwords aren't encrypted at all. There's a single line near the top of a Cisco router configuration that tells you why.. which of these three is it? service timestamps debug uptime service timestamps log uptime no service password-encryption Simple enough! The password encryption service is off by default. To turn it on. just run the command service password-encryption. Let's do so here and then take a look at the configuration. R1(config)#service password-encryption username halas password 7 1415170A1E17 username ewbank password 7 070524585D username ed privilege 15 password 7 082C4F4A08170C121E Now that's what I call encryption! Note that the zero has changed to a "7" - that's the highest level of encryption on a Cisco router, and as you can see, it's very effective. Knowing how to read a Cisco router configuration is a valuable skill for both the CCNA certification exam and working with production networks. Keep practicing, keep studying, and you'll have the coveted letters "CCNA" behind your name soon!
Powerful Flexibility With Rollback Rx
PC maintenance is a challenge for businesses today. Most corporations spend millions every month to keep their computers operational and running, constantly fixing computer problems and recovering lost data. They constantly encounter new viruses getting into their systems in spite of seemingly adequate prevention measures. Every time they update with new software patches, they have to be careful and prepared to fix computer issues if it goes wrong. More than anything else, they must be prepared for disaster recovery if there are network intrusions and identity thefts causing computers to crash indefinitely. The IT support is sometimes unable to identify the cause for such repairs. One way to avoid all this is by installing Rollback Rx, system restore software and the complete PC maintenance solution. Protection Against Disasters Just as better solutions are on the rise, so are new viruses, spyware and Trojans. Every computer is in danger of being infected. When a corporate network is involved the risk is exponentially high. The Rollback Rx software works as a perfect mate with antivirus software, totally compatible with it, to repair computer problems. Together, the two make a strong defense against virus attacks. But there are times when spyware comes disguised and anti virus programs may not detect them. In such cases, Rollback Rx is particularly useful because it helps to rollback any system to an earlier operational state, totally cleaning the computer of the suspect spyware. What would otherwise have meant several hours of downtime for the system is now reduced to something like three minutes per system. Almost every bit of data is recovered, with the remote possibility of a five per cent loss. And even if some systems are remotely located, Rollback Rx can still trouble shoot over a network. Boon To Beta Testers It is always a tricky thing to test new applications. There’s the risk of causing total failure. But with Rollback Rx as a safety net to fall back on, IT administrators can securely test new applications. If the deployment fails, with Rollback Rx, the system can be quickly rolled back to the point before the test was begun. It might have taken hours without Rollback, but with Rollback it only takes seconds to do a pc restore. This makes the risk of new application deployment low, with Rollback Rx. Maintenance becomes a smooth operation with Rollback Rx. Unwanted software and spyware can be easily removed by doing a pc restore, thus allowing minimum chances of damage to the corporate network. With instant system restore, Rollback Rx software strengthens the capability of every PC.
Never Miss A File Again With Rollback Rx
Rollback Rx is the most effective solution to fix computer problems for any computer user. If you were a business owner, one of your biggest nightmares would be to lose critical data because a software download misfired, or because an update failed. The data loss, big or small, could result in major losses depending on how important it was. There is always the risk of major data loss if there is no suitable computer security software installed. Easy Solution Businesses operate for profit. They would rather spend their money on growing their business than investing in fancy technology. They want a solution that is easy to use, quick to restore computers to an operational state and flexible. They do not want to wait for long periods of time for technical support to figure out what is wrong to fix computer problems. In the event of a disaster recovery due to system crash, they simply cannot afford to lose customers because they were unable to react in time. Rollback Rx fits the bill on every count. It saves money on technical support, because every user in an organization can be trained to use this system restore software. Thanks to Rollback Rx, speedy recovery from a virus attack or system crash is possible. This is regardless of whether the operating system booted or not. When Rollback Rx is installed in the system, it is as simple as clicking the mouse and returning to a healthy PC without losing data. Tremendous Time Saver Multi user systems are even more critical to maintain and keep running. Imagine a network of ten computers down because of a virus attack! The system downtime would have been several hours – but with Rollback Rx, it is reduced to minutes because of the ease with which it operates, quietly and efficiently. Even a remote network administrator can restore computers located elsewhere to working status. Response time to fix computer user complaints is only three minutes or less with Rollback Rx, whereas without it, problems often take more than a working day to fix. Rollback Rx Saves You Money Businesses prefer Rollback Rx system restore software because it saves them tension from waiting for tech support, while saving them the costs related to fixing computer problems. They are able to concentrate their efforts at satisfying their customers rather than worry about data loss and how to recover it. Rollback Rx’s snapshot technology enables them to save pictures of the entire system at various points of time so that they can rollback or roll forward to a specific configuration. Their employees are more productive with decrease in downtime of systems. They are able to save money on additional expensive software.
Instantaneous Recovery From Virus Attacks With Rollback Rx
If you think why use Rollback Rx, think again. Keeping an organization’s computers continuously online and fully functional is stressful work. Even huge corporations are sometimes at a loss to know what to do if there’s a massive virus attack. It is mind-boggling to think about the expense of replacing expensive operating systems and let us not even contemplate replacing all the data lost! It is an organization’s worst nightmare to even think about having a virus attack that will bring their business to a total standstill. It does not bear thinking about losing customers because system restore software didn’t work and critical data could not be accessed. The techies are unable to fix computer problems in such a scenario no matter how hard they try, and they spend hours of precious time trying to figure out what went wrong.
Negligible Impact On User Productivity
With Rollback Rx, you have an instantaneous recovery solution from virus attacks because you can roll back your computer to a point before the virus attacked. You can revert to a working state by doing a pc restore through a snapshot within your pc boot cycle, with almost a hundred per cent data recovery. Just before performing the rollback, support can take a snapshot of the virus-infected system to preserve all the files since the last back up. This snapshot will be accessible later to enable them investigate the cause and understand what went wrong. The most important files can be kept under quarantine, repaired and restored to the user – all minus the virus! After support identifies what the problem is, they can coordinate with the antivirus people to get the appropriate solution to avoid such a situation. But this does not affect the user as pc restore enables him continue with his work.
Rollback Rx’s ability to take multiple snapshots of the system, allowing the user to roll back or forward to a preferred system state is a powerful advantage that helps organizations come out of a virus attack with any major loss of data. In fact, it is the fastest system restore software in the market and hardly uses any hard drive space. PC users feel that it is absolutely essential to have a system restore software like Rollback Rx, which is way ahead in its capabilities compared to other conventional methods. If your Windows operating system crashes, thanks to a corrupted system file, you can still access Rollback Rx from the boot sequence and do a pc restore real quick.
Most users of Rollback Rx system restore software appreciate the flexibility and ease of use that it provides making it an invaluable and integral part of any maintenance solution.
Negligible Impact On User Productivity
With Rollback Rx, you have an instantaneous recovery solution from virus attacks because you can roll back your computer to a point before the virus attacked. You can revert to a working state by doing a pc restore through a snapshot within your pc boot cycle, with almost a hundred per cent data recovery. Just before performing the rollback, support can take a snapshot of the virus-infected system to preserve all the files since the last back up. This snapshot will be accessible later to enable them investigate the cause and understand what went wrong. The most important files can be kept under quarantine, repaired and restored to the user – all minus the virus! After support identifies what the problem is, they can coordinate with the antivirus people to get the appropriate solution to avoid such a situation. But this does not affect the user as pc restore enables him continue with his work.
Rollback Rx’s ability to take multiple snapshots of the system, allowing the user to roll back or forward to a preferred system state is a powerful advantage that helps organizations come out of a virus attack with any major loss of data. In fact, it is the fastest system restore software in the market and hardly uses any hard drive space. PC users feel that it is absolutely essential to have a system restore software like Rollback Rx, which is way ahead in its capabilities compared to other conventional methods. If your Windows operating system crashes, thanks to a corrupted system file, you can still access Rollback Rx from the boot sequence and do a pc restore real quick.
Most users of Rollback Rx system restore software appreciate the flexibility and ease of use that it provides making it an invaluable and integral part of any maintenance solution.
RSA Attack Efficiency Improves
August 2006 saw the disclosure of a fairly interesting attack against the RSA encryption algorithm (most famously being used in SSL - protecting online transactions). While it didn't target the actual algorithm, which still has not been broken, it is a so-called side channel attack, targeting the peculiarities associated with implementing the algorithm on various computing hardware.
The team behind the initial disclosure have recently submitted a modified approach to the attack, resulting in almost-astronomical improvements in attack efficiency.
In basic terms, the attacks rely upon a phenomenon known as 'Branch Prediction Analysis', where a program / attacker is able to predict what other software is doing as it passes through the CPU of a system.
In the first iteration of the described attack, the method required snooping on what was happening with the CPU for a relatively long period (or number of cycles), and certain software that implemented SSL protection (OpenSSL) quickly introduced patches to protect against this listening attack.
While many hardware manufacturers and Operating System developers have introduced defensive mechanisms to try and prevent this sort of attack taking place, it has been discovered that Pentium-IV (PIV) chips with Hyper-Threading enabled still have two caches that are not adequately protected. The new iteration of the attack, using a technique dubbed 'Simple Branch Prediction Analysis' (SBPA) targets both of these caches and can extract almost the complete secret SSL key in just one cycle. Running as an unprivileged user, this method can also target and extract data from any other software processes running on the system (SSL is an example in this case).
The technical black magic of how a branch predictor attack works can be explained as follows. Although modern CPUs are very quick, they still can't process absolutely every bit of information that they need to without a queue building up. This queue of instructions / data waiting for processing sits in a cache next to the CPU and they are executed in order of priority / time spent in the queue (various tuning settings come into play). By attempting to monopolise the CPU's attention, and filling the cache, the miniscule timing differences between when instructions from the same process are executed can give hints about what other instructions and data are moving through the CPU. Being able to interpret what this data is exactly, is key to branch prediction.
Mitigating the issue is the requirement to be running secure and insecure processes on the same processor at the same time, and for the attacker being able to run their process as a local user. Due the spying process capturing almost 100% CPU continuously while it is running, normal system monitoring software should be alerting administrators to something out of the ordinary running on the system.
What real-world threat exists for this relatively esoteric attack? Shared-server installations. It would be possible for a lesser-privileged account holder on a shared server to run the spying process while other account holders are negotiating SSL connections. A well timed attack will allow them to run their spying process once (and thus minimise the attention drawn to it), and then be able to effectively intercept SSL communications directed at the target.
The team behind the initial disclosure have recently submitted a modified approach to the attack, resulting in almost-astronomical improvements in attack efficiency.
In basic terms, the attacks rely upon a phenomenon known as 'Branch Prediction Analysis', where a program / attacker is able to predict what other software is doing as it passes through the CPU of a system.
In the first iteration of the described attack, the method required snooping on what was happening with the CPU for a relatively long period (or number of cycles), and certain software that implemented SSL protection (OpenSSL) quickly introduced patches to protect against this listening attack.
While many hardware manufacturers and Operating System developers have introduced defensive mechanisms to try and prevent this sort of attack taking place, it has been discovered that Pentium-IV (PIV) chips with Hyper-Threading enabled still have two caches that are not adequately protected. The new iteration of the attack, using a technique dubbed 'Simple Branch Prediction Analysis' (SBPA) targets both of these caches and can extract almost the complete secret SSL key in just one cycle. Running as an unprivileged user, this method can also target and extract data from any other software processes running on the system (SSL is an example in this case).
The technical black magic of how a branch predictor attack works can be explained as follows. Although modern CPUs are very quick, they still can't process absolutely every bit of information that they need to without a queue building up. This queue of instructions / data waiting for processing sits in a cache next to the CPU and they are executed in order of priority / time spent in the queue (various tuning settings come into play). By attempting to monopolise the CPU's attention, and filling the cache, the miniscule timing differences between when instructions from the same process are executed can give hints about what other instructions and data are moving through the CPU. Being able to interpret what this data is exactly, is key to branch prediction.
Mitigating the issue is the requirement to be running secure and insecure processes on the same processor at the same time, and for the attacker being able to run their process as a local user. Due the spying process capturing almost 100% CPU continuously while it is running, normal system monitoring software should be alerting administrators to something out of the ordinary running on the system.
What real-world threat exists for this relatively esoteric attack? Shared-server installations. It would be possible for a lesser-privileged account holder on a shared server to run the spying process while other account holders are negotiating SSL connections. A well timed attack will allow them to run their spying process once (and thus minimise the attention drawn to it), and then be able to effectively intercept SSL communications directed at the target.
What Is RSS?
RSS is technology - a simple software program - that allows you to access web and blog content automatically. The acronym's most popular translation is "Really Simple Syndication. Once your browser or computer has an RSS reader on board, you can subscribe to any number of RSS "feeds." A feed is simply a way in which a reader may subscribe to website content - most commonly blogs or news sites. A news site, for example, may list their latest headlines or entire articles in their feed every time a new article is published. A blog would publish this feed as a series of recent posts.
Feeds are published by millions of publishers, from small individuals to large organizations like Newsweek. The value of a feed is that it brings the most current site content to you in a format that is easily scanned; further, you are spared the task of visiting each source site each day. This is typically done through the use of what is called an 'aggregator' or 'feed reader'.
Feed readers or RSS readers, are software programs that run on your computer (or PDA or phone); let you easily subscribe to feeds, and allow you to read through them efficiently. Some are relatively simple, showing the headline and summary. The fancier ones often work with (or in) your browser to make viewing the material look much like the source page. Once you have a reader on your computer, subscribing to a feed with is an easy click or drag from your browser. Sites that provide RSS feeds will usually have a button for that purpose.
There are several RSS feed formats as well as one with an entirely different methodology called Atom. Atom has become popular with some bloggers and blogging tools. Some aggregators can read both. The other acronyms you will see in "feedspeak" are XML, which stands for 'extensible markup language' and is the code standard for these simple text feeds. An 'OPML" file is a format for indexing hierarchical feed lists. If you dive into this web habit in a big way, your aggregator or reader may keep your subscription list in an OPML file.
An RSS feed is a great method for staying abreast of issues and topics that interest you. There are a number of feed "libraries," so to speak, from which you can learn what's out there in your areas of interest. Google has a built-in reader that makes the subscription process easy, as does Yahoo. Firefox has a downloadable extension for the purpose of aggregating RSS feeds, as well as a default ability to save RSS feeds as "live bookmarks" that update via the RSS feed. You can download a number of stand alone readers and aggregators; you can find them through a simple web search.
The whole RSS "movement" is a step towards utilizing the Internet more efficiently. The trick is to avoid overloading your email inbox with daily reports that you end up ignoring most of the time. For that purpose, there are sites like Feedster that will search millions of RSS feeds for articles that are relevant to your interests. Like any search tool, however, these services are hit and miss. They are still working off keywords and sometimes what they find is relevant, sometimes not. But if you want daily news broken into categories, it's great technology once you learn how to make it work for you.
Feeds are published by millions of publishers, from small individuals to large organizations like Newsweek. The value of a feed is that it brings the most current site content to you in a format that is easily scanned; further, you are spared the task of visiting each source site each day. This is typically done through the use of what is called an 'aggregator' or 'feed reader'.
Feed readers or RSS readers, are software programs that run on your computer (or PDA or phone); let you easily subscribe to feeds, and allow you to read through them efficiently. Some are relatively simple, showing the headline and summary. The fancier ones often work with (or in) your browser to make viewing the material look much like the source page. Once you have a reader on your computer, subscribing to a feed with is an easy click or drag from your browser. Sites that provide RSS feeds will usually have a button for that purpose.
There are several RSS feed formats as well as one with an entirely different methodology called Atom. Atom has become popular with some bloggers and blogging tools. Some aggregators can read both. The other acronyms you will see in "feedspeak" are XML, which stands for 'extensible markup language' and is the code standard for these simple text feeds. An 'OPML" file is a format for indexing hierarchical feed lists. If you dive into this web habit in a big way, your aggregator or reader may keep your subscription list in an OPML file.
An RSS feed is a great method for staying abreast of issues and topics that interest you. There are a number of feed "libraries," so to speak, from which you can learn what's out there in your areas of interest. Google has a built-in reader that makes the subscription process easy, as does Yahoo. Firefox has a downloadable extension for the purpose of aggregating RSS feeds, as well as a default ability to save RSS feeds as "live bookmarks" that update via the RSS feed. You can download a number of stand alone readers and aggregators; you can find them through a simple web search.
The whole RSS "movement" is a step towards utilizing the Internet more efficiently. The trick is to avoid overloading your email inbox with daily reports that you end up ignoring most of the time. For that purpose, there are sites like Feedster that will search millions of RSS feeds for articles that are relevant to your interests. Like any search tool, however, these services are hit and miss. They are still working off keywords and sometimes what they find is relevant, sometimes not. But if you want daily news broken into categories, it's great technology once you learn how to make it work for you.
Advanced Uses For Myspace
MySpace members can generate a website quickly through templates. These templates enable users to create a generic website in very little time. For those who are just interested in making new friends or keeping in touch with old friends, this may be all the member needs. However, those who want to offer more on their website or those who simply want to create a more detailed website may require some more advanced knowledge to achieve the desired effects.
Adding Background Music in MySpace
The majority of websites on the Internet do not have background music. This may lead many novice MySpace members to believe adding music to the background is a difficult process but it really isn’t. In fact MySpace makes it incredibly simple for members to add music to their profiles. The steps to add music to a MySpace profile are as follows:
* Log into your MySpace account
* While logged in visit this web address: http://music.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=music
* Listen to the music available and select a suitable song for your profile
* Click on the link that says "Add" below the song title
* The music is then automatically added to your profile
It is important to note that users can only add one song at a time to their profile. Clicking the "Add" link on a second song will result in the original song being replaced on the profile by the new song. Songs can be removed from a profile at any time by going to the "Edit profile" section of your account and entering the "Profile songs" subcategory. Here you have the option to remove your chosen song.
Adding Videos to MySpace
Adding videos to MySpace is also not as difficult as it seems. Even those with no HTML skills can add videos produced by other members or even their own videos to their MySpace profile. The steps to add a video to your MySpace profile are as follows:
* Log into your MySpace Account
* From your MySpace homepage, click on the "Add/Change Videos" link
* You are then taken to another webpage where you can either search through a database of previously uploaded videos or upload your own video
* To search the database, click on the search videos button and browse through the available videos
* After watching a video you can add the video to your profile in a couple of ways. First you can click on the "Add to my profile" button or you can copy the source code provided and paste this code into the desired location on your profile.
Alternately you can add your own videos to your MySpace profile by first uploading them to MySpace and then adding them to your profile. When uploading a video care should be taken to ensure the video does not violate the terms of service.
Creating Interactive Features on MySpace
Creating interactive features on MySpace is a bit more involved. Members can create features which allow visitor interaction but these features require more extensive HTML knowledge. The best way to acquire the information necessary to design these types of features is to research the subject of HTML code in books or on the Internet. However, if you find a feature on another MySpace website you would like to include in your own profile you can contact the member and ask them how to add this feature.
Adding Background Music in MySpace
The majority of websites on the Internet do not have background music. This may lead many novice MySpace members to believe adding music to the background is a difficult process but it really isn’t. In fact MySpace makes it incredibly simple for members to add music to their profiles. The steps to add music to a MySpace profile are as follows:
* Log into your MySpace account
* While logged in visit this web address: http://music.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=music
* Listen to the music available and select a suitable song for your profile
* Click on the link that says "Add" below the song title
* The music is then automatically added to your profile
It is important to note that users can only add one song at a time to their profile. Clicking the "Add" link on a second song will result in the original song being replaced on the profile by the new song. Songs can be removed from a profile at any time by going to the "Edit profile" section of your account and entering the "Profile songs" subcategory. Here you have the option to remove your chosen song.
Adding Videos to MySpace
Adding videos to MySpace is also not as difficult as it seems. Even those with no HTML skills can add videos produced by other members or even their own videos to their MySpace profile. The steps to add a video to your MySpace profile are as follows:
* Log into your MySpace Account
* From your MySpace homepage, click on the "Add/Change Videos" link
* You are then taken to another webpage where you can either search through a database of previously uploaded videos or upload your own video
* To search the database, click on the search videos button and browse through the available videos
* After watching a video you can add the video to your profile in a couple of ways. First you can click on the "Add to my profile" button or you can copy the source code provided and paste this code into the desired location on your profile.
Alternately you can add your own videos to your MySpace profile by first uploading them to MySpace and then adding them to your profile. When uploading a video care should be taken to ensure the video does not violate the terms of service.
Creating Interactive Features on MySpace
Creating interactive features on MySpace is a bit more involved. Members can create features which allow visitor interaction but these features require more extensive HTML knowledge. The best way to acquire the information necessary to design these types of features is to research the subject of HTML code in books or on the Internet. However, if you find a feature on another MySpace website you would like to include in your own profile you can contact the member and ask them how to add this feature.
How to Start Video Blogging?
Videoblogging is the next generation of posting ideas and products over the internet. Everybody knows about textblogging. Now they use videos for a better way of expression. This form of communication may entail a lot of resources, but it is all worth it. If pictures say a thousand words, videoblogging exceeds that by far.
A videoblog requires larger disk spaces on websites, a faster server, and a whole new set of programs to support it. Videoblogs can be fed through RSS. This is technology of syndicating your website to other RSS aggregators.
Videoblogging works with people on the internet expressing their selves. Now if you put this on a business prospective, you are up to a lot of benefits. Think of it as a powerful tool in making showing your prospective customers your line of products or your services. It’s just like showing a commercial all for free. And if you videoblog through RSS, then most probably you are getting your target market.
People like to see what they are going to buy. Some would like to see proof and be sure that they are getting their money’s worth before shelving their dimes on it. All of us know the influence of a thirty second commercial. The effect of videoblogging is similar to that. You show your product, people watch it. If they like it, they buy it. If you present it good enough, they’ll buy the product even if they don’t need it.
Now on the web, things are pretty much static, unlike in television in which all are moving. If you post something that is mobile, it would most likely catch attention. Now imaging your product parading in all it’s royalty through videoblog. You’ll get phone call orders in no time.
If your business is just starting up, you can create a videoblog right at your own home. All you need is your web camera, microphone, video software, and lights. For as long as you know how to use your camera, then you can create a videoblog.
Invest in a good web camera. The higher its resolution is the better the output. And you like to present your goods in the optimum way so get the best one possible. Make a short story, or just capture your goods in one go. Just make sure you are getting the best profile for each. Get those creativity juices flowing.
Lights are important in a production. Make sure you illuminate entirely the area you are going to use to create videoblog. The brighter the area, the crispier the images will be. You can also use lighting effects for added appeal to the presentation.
Should you require sounds for your videoblog, you need a microphone. Record you voice as a voice over for promoting the product and its benefit to consumers. Sounds are as important as videos on a videoblog. It is advisable to make your sound effects as enticing as the video.
Your video editing software can be any program. You need this to finalize your work. You can add sounds, delete some bad angles, or insert some still pictures in there too. Some programs are user-friendly and can be used even with zero knowledge on video editing. Even simple video editing programs should do the trick. Select your background carefully too. The light affects the presentation so make sure that the background and the light complements each other.
Videoblogging is a great tool but it also has it downside. It may slow down the computer so other may steer clear of it. Download time may also be time consuming especially if customer is still on a dial- up connection.
But don’t let those stop you. Let videoblogging be an alternative for you, though it is best to still keep the text and pictures present in your presentation to accommodate all possible viewers of your site.
Nowadays, the more creative you are in presenting your product to the market, they more you are likely to succeed. Videoblogging offers an interactive way of selling. You involve the customers. You instill in them the advantage of your goods. And at times, those are enough to make a sale.
A videoblog requires larger disk spaces on websites, a faster server, and a whole new set of programs to support it. Videoblogs can be fed through RSS. This is technology of syndicating your website to other RSS aggregators.
Videoblogging works with people on the internet expressing their selves. Now if you put this on a business prospective, you are up to a lot of benefits. Think of it as a powerful tool in making showing your prospective customers your line of products or your services. It’s just like showing a commercial all for free. And if you videoblog through RSS, then most probably you are getting your target market.
People like to see what they are going to buy. Some would like to see proof and be sure that they are getting their money’s worth before shelving their dimes on it. All of us know the influence of a thirty second commercial. The effect of videoblogging is similar to that. You show your product, people watch it. If they like it, they buy it. If you present it good enough, they’ll buy the product even if they don’t need it.
Now on the web, things are pretty much static, unlike in television in which all are moving. If you post something that is mobile, it would most likely catch attention. Now imaging your product parading in all it’s royalty through videoblog. You’ll get phone call orders in no time.
If your business is just starting up, you can create a videoblog right at your own home. All you need is your web camera, microphone, video software, and lights. For as long as you know how to use your camera, then you can create a videoblog.
Invest in a good web camera. The higher its resolution is the better the output. And you like to present your goods in the optimum way so get the best one possible. Make a short story, or just capture your goods in one go. Just make sure you are getting the best profile for each. Get those creativity juices flowing.
Lights are important in a production. Make sure you illuminate entirely the area you are going to use to create videoblog. The brighter the area, the crispier the images will be. You can also use lighting effects for added appeal to the presentation.
Should you require sounds for your videoblog, you need a microphone. Record you voice as a voice over for promoting the product and its benefit to consumers. Sounds are as important as videos on a videoblog. It is advisable to make your sound effects as enticing as the video.
Your video editing software can be any program. You need this to finalize your work. You can add sounds, delete some bad angles, or insert some still pictures in there too. Some programs are user-friendly and can be used even with zero knowledge on video editing. Even simple video editing programs should do the trick. Select your background carefully too. The light affects the presentation so make sure that the background and the light complements each other.
Videoblogging is a great tool but it also has it downside. It may slow down the computer so other may steer clear of it. Download time may also be time consuming especially if customer is still on a dial- up connection.
But don’t let those stop you. Let videoblogging be an alternative for you, though it is best to still keep the text and pictures present in your presentation to accommodate all possible viewers of your site.
Nowadays, the more creative you are in presenting your product to the market, they more you are likely to succeed. Videoblogging offers an interactive way of selling. You involve the customers. You instill in them the advantage of your goods. And at times, those are enough to make a sale.
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